Schools today are changing, they are taking on more students, and running many more classes. The budget that schools are given is miniscule compared to their actual needs and with every new challenge they encounter, their once small budget is becoming increasingly smaller. In Michigan, only 25% of funding is determined by the size of the school. The other 75% is determined by performance and location. Performance of the school is decided by the scores on standardized tests such as the “Meap,” and location is important because a portion of state property tax is used in the funding of schools. If a school has low standardized test scores, then the amount of money they receive every year is reduced. If the school is in an area of low property value, then the property taxes collected in that area will be lower, and therefore the amount of money given to schools from those taxes will also be lower. Now if you live in a nice area with high property value and the schools in your area perform well, then you have nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, this means that if a school has low test scores and is in a lower valued area then the schools will be severely under founded. This means that along with the schools, the students are suffering as well. When a school is low on funds, they must cut out extracurricular programs as to save money so that the core classes can continue to have enough resources to function. Without extracurriculars, the students are missing crucial experiences that could potentially change their lives forever! Never should money be out before people, but in our public schools that is exactly what is happening.