Category: Related News

The greatest public health crisis of most of our lifetimes — which sadly shows few signs of going away any time soon — has ravaged our country in ways too numerous to mention. Yet, as we examine COVID-19’s impact on public education in our state, surely it’s at the top of any list.

Michigan businesses rely on our K-12 schools to equip students with the academic, technical and life skills needed to succeed in a no-holds-barred, global economy. The inconsistent patchwork of back to school plans across Michigan — some of which have already resulted in schools re-closing due to outbreaks — threatens to clog the talent pipeline businesses rely on to survive in this time of great economic uncertainty.

Read More ›

Gardenia Avenue in Madison Heights is a stark dividing line for education equity in Detroit’s suburbs.

On the south side of the street, children living in the Madison District Public Schools get $8,111 in taxpayer support for their education each year.

On the north side, students in the Lamphere school district get $10,789 contributed to their education each year — 33 percent more than the kids across the street.

Read More ›

As chairman of Barton Malow Enterprises, I can tell you firsthand Michigan’s businesses rely on our K-12 schools to prepare students for the real world and careers in the global economy.

Unfortunately, long before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan has failed to invest in a K-12 school funding approach that meets the individual needs of all students and positions them for success.

Read More ›

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Across the state districts are preparing for next year’s school budget during this coronavirus pandemic. The expenses they’ll need to cover include price tags they had not planned for.

Thursday afternoon, business leaders and educators met for a call to action. They’re asking lawmakers to pay careful attention to the study done by the School Finance Research Collaborative when determining school funding during this pandemic.

Read More ›

Every day, Michigan’s public school teachers and support staff are going above and beyond to serve the unique needs of our students and their communities during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

Teachers are providing online instruction, support staff are ensuring individual student mental health needs are being met, and our food service workers are making sure no student goes hungry. As school buildings remain closed, educators across Michigan are working harder than ever to help every child succeed under unprecedented circumstances.

Read More ›

As a business leader in Detroit during our city’s continued resurgence, I know firsthand high quality K-12 education is imperative for our kids to compete for in-demand, good-paying jobs.

Unfortunately, Michigan’s broken school funding approach continues to fail our kids, creating a disheartening gap between the demands of the 21st century workforce and the skills our K-12 students graduate with.

Read More ›

As Michigan business and education leaders, we greatly appreciated the opportunity to discuss the findings of Michigan’s first comprehensive school adequacy study with the Traverse City Area Public Schools Board of Education.

At the Oct. 28 public meeting, we represented the School Finance Research Collaborative, which produced this first-of-its-kind research that provides the framework for a new, fairer school funding approach that helps every student succeed, regardless of location, income, learning challenges or other potential hurdles to learning. The meeting provided a forum to discuss this critical issue as we work together as business, education and civic leaders to fix Michigan’s broken school funding method.

Read More ›

As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and lawmakers discuss a potential supplemental budget, they have a renewed opportunity to begin the process of addressing Michigan’s broken school funding method that continues to fail students from Detroit’s suburbs to west Michigan to the U.P.

It’s time for our leaders in Lansing to finally embrace what the research tells us: There is no one-size-fits-all way to educate our kids, and a new approach is needed that meets the needs of every child, regardless of location, income, learning challenges or other circumstances.

Read More ›

As teachers and students across Michigan return to classrooms this fall, school funding remains unsettled as the governor and legislative leaders continue haggling over the 2020 budget.

While these budget talks appear to center on our urgent need for increased road funding, the important matter of school funding seems to have been relegated to a lower priority. This is bad news for Michigan’s future prospects and will only continue our current years-long educational slide and economic underperformance.

Read More ›

I was disappointed by a recent opinion piece by Sue Kelly, Traverse City Area Public Schools Board President, that completely mischaracterizes the School Finance Research Collaborative’s first-of-its-kind study that determined the true cost to educate a child in Michigan. It’s truly disappointing to see misinformation being spread by anyone on this issue of such great importance to the future of Michigan’s schools, its students and our state’s economic comeback.

Read More ›