Snyder Signs $15.8 Billion Schools Spending Budget

By DAVID EGGERT
Associated Press

LANSING (AP) - Gov. Rick Snyder has signed $15.8 billion education spending plan that includes substantially more money for public universities and a preschool program for disadvantaged 4-year-olds.

The budget bill signed Tuesday also boosts K-12 districts' traditional funding by $50 to $175 per student.

The Republican governor has told a crowd of robotics students at the state Capitol building that it's a "great budget" and a "major success."

Minority Democrats say some schools aren't getting enough of a funding increase given rising payments districts must make for retiree pension and health care coverage. Snyder says that lower-funded school districts will receive more state aid to reduce a gap between them and higher-funded districts.

Snyder plans to sign the $37.5 billion general budget bill within a week once it reaches his desk.