Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced this week that teachers and support staff who worked through the pandemic will be eligible for state grants.
The state’s budget set aside $53 million for teachers and $20 million for support staff to receive payments recognizing their work in the spring.
Ron Leix is with the states treasury. He says the goal is to recognize educators for the additional work they put in during the 2019-2020 school year.
“Teachers and support staff put in extra hours and spent a few dollars to ensure that things would be up and running. These grant programs provide a little relief on what may have occurred.”
Support staff will be eligible for up to $250, and K-12 teachers will be eligible for up to $500.
“It recognizes the efforts that teachers took during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic," explains Leix. "The legislature and the governor thought it would be good to allocate a few dollars to help them out.”
Leix says teachers and support staff should reach out to the district they worked at during the 2019-2020 school year for more information.
A spokesperson for the Michigan Education Association said they hope as many educators and paraeducators as possible take advantage of the offer.
Payments are expected to go out in February.
