MEA calls $34k-per-student district ‘woefully underfunded’

Benton Harbor Area Schools, which receives more money on a per-student basis than almost every other district in Michigan, is hiring virtual teachers to fill teaching vacancies — a move the Michigan Education Association cites as evidence of inadequate funding.

Bridge Michigan reported in December that the Benton Harbor district has turned to virtual teachers, paired with an adult in the classroom, to fill some vacancies. The state teachers union blames lack of spending. ”This is clearly an example of a district that is woefully underfunded,” said MEA spokesman Thomas Morgan.

Only a handful of districts in the state get more money per student than Benton Harbor. The district received $34,116 from all sources for each student in the 2023-24 academic year, according to the Michigan Department of Education’s annual 1014 Bulletin. This put the district at 21 out of 904 school districts and charter schools in Michigan for revenue on a per-student basis, according to Great Schools.

Most of the 20 districts that received more funding than Benton Harbor had tiny enrollments — some with as few as 125 students. Excluding small-enrollment districts leaves Benton Harbor Area Schools the fourth-best-funded district in the state, said Michael Van Beek, director of research at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. The only systems that received more were Flint Community Schools, the Beecher Community School District and New Buffalo Area Schools.

Despite its high revenue, Benton Harbor’s teacher pay lagged the state average — $46,011 versus $69,067 — Bridge reported.

The district should reconsider its hiring and salary practices, an education expert told Michigan Capitol Confidential.

“Considering how well funded they are and their problem with teacher recruitment, you’d think they’d consider restructuring their salary scale to incentivize the recruitment of teachers for hard-to-fill vacancies,” said Molly Macek, education policy director at the Mackinac Center. She also recommended the district offer merit pay.

Macek commended the district for using an innovative solution that could work until it is fully staffed with in-person teachers.

“The virtual teacher is able to do everything an in-person teacher does, except he/she is not present physically,” Macek said. She added that there is an adult in the room to monitor students.

Benton Harbor officials did not respond to a request for a comment.

[editor’s note: this story has been edited to clarify that few districts receive more funding, not less, than Benton Harbor.]