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Opinion | Michigan taxpayers are paying more and getting less in education
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There’s a frustrating truth that Michigan families already understand: Taxpayers are paying more for public education, but our children are getting less in return.
Despite decades of promises that more money will fix education, whether from the Michigan Lottery’s inception in 1972 or the business and labor coalition called “Launch Michigan” in 2018, academic outcomes remain dismal.
In 2018, Launch said the state needed $2.5 billion in new revenue and $1 billion in efficiencies. Fast-forward to now, and the state’s School Aid Fund (SAF) has increased by more than $6 billion, which, even when inflation adjusted, is more than enough to meet the new revenue goal. Yet the promised efficiencies never materialized, and meaningful accountability has been rolled back. Taking more from hardworking taxpayers but delivering less to our kids.
Michigan is now spending more than $15,000 per student, which is the equivalent to $375,000 per classroom of 25 students. But instead of seeing improved results or better teacher pay, taxpayers see growing administrative costs and ballooning bureaucracy. Where is the money going? Overwhelmingly it is not going into the classrooms, and certainly not into better outcomes.
We see the consequences in Michigan’s academic performance. Gov. Whitmer and the Democrat state Legislature rescinded our state’s third-grade reading law, an accountability measure tied to reading proficiency and focused on learning this fundamental skill. Meanwhile, Mississippi, which spends roughly $3,000 less per student, or $75,000 less on that classroom of 25, embraced a similar law and saw remarkable gains.
Dubbed the “Mississippi Miracle,” their approach focused on the science of reading, literacy-based promotion, and clear A–F letter grading for schools and more options to meet the needs of individual kids. The result? Not a miracle but common-sense policy that led to dramatically improved student outcomes and national recognition.
If Mississippi can do it, why can’t we?
Michigan’s education woes aren’t due to a lack of funding; they stem from a lack of focus. Instead of doubling down on fundamentals like reading by third grade, our leaders continue to chase gimmicks and pour more money into a broken system. Families deserve better. So do taxpayers.
People aren’t opposed to investing in public education. But investment without reform is just waste. Spending without providing kids with the skills they need is a travesty. Good teachers deserve better pay and more support. Parents deserve transparency and accountability. And our children deserve the opportunity to succeed through a system that focuses on them and their individual needs.
The current Legislature needs to re-prioritize. We all need to defeat efforts to penalize workers to throw more money at the problem. Instead, we should restore and strengthen third-grade reading standards, implement transparent school grading systems, ensure dollars reach the classroom, and expand options for kids.
Michigan voters are being asked to sign a petition that would write a permanent graduated income tax hike into the state constitution, which would hammer small businesses by making many of them pay 50% more than our state’s biggest corporations, with no guarantee that a single new dollar reaches the classroom. This proposal is being pitched as a fix for education, but it fails to require performance reporting, school accountability or even teacher-focused funding.
Small businesses, which often pay taxes as individuals, would bear the brunt of this increase, unlike Michigan’s largest corporations. It’s a dangerous proposition that punishes job creators while ignoring the root causes of our education decline.
If someone asks you to sign this ballot petition, strongly decline. Then share why with your neighbors, coworkers, and friends. Michigan’s education system needs reform, not a blank check and a penalty on small businesses.
Let’s demand results and turn around the rising cost of failure. Taxpayers deserve more. Our kids need better.
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