Business & Economy
Michigan State University students walk near Chittenden Hall, the home of graduate school.

With relief stalled, debate continues over tuition costs

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While the Biden administration continues a legal fight to save its student debt forgiveness plan, public policy attention is beginning to focus on the causes of rising college tuition.

The average student loan debt for recent college graduates is nearly $30,000, according to U.S News data. That amount has been rising as tuition-driven schools raise fees to keep up with their own costs.

Education

Dozens of school districts running in the red, state says

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By IAN K. KULLGREN
Capital News Service
LANSING — Nearly 50 school districts and public charter schools across the state ended last year with a deficit, according to the Department of Education, prompting action from state officials and legislators. Although the state expects many of those districts and schools were expected to eliminate or at least reduce their deficits by the end of this fiscal year, Sept. 30, 22 are projected to slip even further into the red. One of the financially direst situations involves Benton Harbor Area Schools, which has a 50 percent deficit — meaning the district is only taking in half the revenue it needs to cover expenses— the result of bleeding enrollment that means less per-pupil state aid. The district’s school board agreed to work with the state on an austerity plan after Gov. Rick Snyder declared a financial emergency in August.