Local Schools Wait to See a Final State Budget

We’re now into August and families are thinking about the start of the school year. However, school districts like Chelsea, Dexter, Milan and Saline are still in the dark as to how some things will look this upcoming year. The reason being is that Michigan lawmakers have not yet put together a final budget that would in part help fund public schools.

This is impacting planning for various things, including school lunches and breakfast.

Over the past couple of years, K-12 students around the state have had the opportunity for universal free breakfast and lunch. This was because state lawmakers had approved budgets over those years providing funding to cover this. The state budget is typically in place in July.

As of the writing of this article, Aug. 5, 2025, the school districts didn’t know if this opportunity would continue. This offering has been a big help and a convenient option for many families who have used it.

Here’s the latest on this in Saline:

“Update for 2025-26: The Michigan Free Meals for All Program, which provides free breakfast and lunch to every public school student, is funded through the State of Michigan’s annual School Aid budget. At this time, the budget for the upcoming school year has not yet been approved. However, the program is fully funded through at least September 30, 2025. We are closely monitoring the budget process and will update this website as soon as more information becomes available. Thank you for your continued support of our students and schools!”

The assumption and hope is lawmakers will finalize the budget in the coming days or weeks. However, the next question then will be whether or not funding is set aside for this program. The Sun Times News will update this story when more information becomes known.