While Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s eighth and final education budget is being called a “historic investment in student literacy” and applauded by several state lawmakers, some Michiganders are hesitant to call it a “win” for Michigan public schools.
Several former educators-turned-legislators, including Reps. Dylan Wegala (D-Garden City), Regina Weiss (D-Oak Park), and Veronica Paiz (D-Harper Woods), voted against Whitmer’s education budget, saying that it siphoned money dedicated to K-12 education from the state’s general fund to pay for higher education and community college initiatives.
Grassroots groups, like 482 Forward, are also concerned that the new state education budget will reduce pressure on Gov. Whitmer and other elected leaders to opt out of the Trump administration’s federal education voucher tax credit program.
“The federal voucher scheme is a handout to the wealthy with no accountability or oversight while taking away funding to the kids who need it most,” said Molly Sweeney, director of 482 Forward, adding that public funds should be used to address Michigan’s $4.5 million education funding gap.
While 482 Forward has circulated a petition encouraging Gov. Whitmer not to opt into the program, some Michiganders are speaking out against divesting funds from public education—like Rachel Gross, a mother of four and nurse living in Ionia County.
“I want to be very clear. I believe parents should have the freedom to choose the education that is best for their children and their family, but my concern is not with parental choice,” said Gross, adding that choice isn’t available in rural communities across Michigan where private schools are “few and far between.” She said the ECCA would further weaken local communities who rely on public schools for more than just education, but for jobs, too.
“Voucher programs may sound appealing on the surface, but the long-term consequences for public education and for many Michigan communities are too significant to ignore,” said Gross.
Related: Michigan parents to Whitmer: Don’t sign us up for Trump’s vouchers
What are education vouchers?
Education vouchers, also known as school vouchers, use public education funds to help parents send their child to another school district or a private school.
It typically works like this: Residents pay state and local taxes, like income and sales tax. That money funds government budgets, which are distributed by elected leaders. Those leaders are guided by state responsibilities, such as those outlined in the constitution. That’s why a chunk of funding is always earmarked for public education—with specific amounts per student set aside at the discretion of elected officials.
While some elected leaders in Michigan believe that public funding should still be used exclusively for public schools, based on the founding principles of the country, others believe that funding should be used for any school a family chooses to send their child to—even if that school is private, for-profit, or discriminates during its student selection process.
Related: Education vouchers 101: What are they and how could they impact Michigan’s K-12 students?
What does the Trump administration have to do with it?
As part of the Republican-backed reconciliation bill signed by President Trump last summer, the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) allows individuals to receive up to $1,700 in tax credits for donating to certain scholarship organizations, which then provide scholarships for private school tuition and tutoring—ultimately diverting resources away from public schools across the state.
Education advocates say the ECCA is yet another attempt by President Trump, his administration, and private school supporters and longtime allies—like former US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos—to restructure the US Department of Education. They warn that these efforts at the national level have already impacted Michigan students.
“Instead of investing in our neighborhoods and public schools, some politicians want to do even more diverting public resources by instituting this voucher scheme that only benefits private interests at the expense of our communities,” said Terrence Martin, President of AFT Michigan, which represents nearly 40,000 educators and school employees across the state, during an online town hall meeting with the Michigan Education Justice Coalition (MEJC) in June.
Are education vouchers coming to Michigan?
While the US Department of the Treasury has not yet released a draft of the voucher program rules, Alexandra Stamm, an education policy analyst at the Michigan League of Public Policy, estimates that they will be released this fall.
“There are a lot of questions that the Treasury needs to answer about state control and accountability of this program. People are rightfully anxious to talk about the impacts of this program because we don’t have all of the rules yet,” said Stamm during MEJC’s town hall.
Once the draft rules are published, Michiganders will have 60 days to offer public comments about the ECCA before the rules are finalized and released to Whitmer, who will ultimately decide whether to opt Michigan into the program. Stamm added that Whitmer has said she is waiting for the official rules to be released before she makes her decision.
Although the federal voucher program won’t impact state budgets in the same way that a state voucher program would, Stamm said Michiganders can still look to other states, like Wisconsin and Arizona, to understand what is at stake when considering bringing education voucher programs into the Great Lakes State.
“Wisconsin’s voucher program was so costly that it caused public school spending to freeze for over a decade. Arizona’s expansion was so big that it blew a hole in its state budget,” said Stamm, adding that the states had to freeze infrastructure projects, including water replacement in Arizona, because the voucher program expanded too fast.
Related: Michiganders say Trump’s voucher push put Michigan public school funding at risk
