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Wed, 2 Jul 2025 — Steven Norton

House K-12 budget shell game

Chart of number of pupils by district est increaseWhile the overall spending level of the House and Senate budgets appears to be the same, the documents represent radically different priorities for funding public schools. The Senate bill reflects the work done by members of both parties over the last few legislative sessions, but with certain tweaks which reflect the priorities of the Senate Democratic majority. The House bill, in contrast, is a radical departure from the shape education budget bills have had for over a decade and reflects - sometimes openly, sometimes obscurely - the priorities of the House GOP majority.
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Tue, 24 Jun 2025 — Steven Norton

Nothing new under the sun

Hang on to your hats, folks: the drumbeat of messaging on school failure has started up again. Unfortunately, this round of political focus on public education - on display at the Mackinac Policy Conference - mostly offers the same distorted critiques and questionable solutions that Michiganders have seen in the past. Do Michigan’s children desperately need stronger public education? Absolutely. Will these hackneyed critiques and prescriptions get us there? Probably not. Would this serve as a convenient distraction from the political chaos in Washington? Almost certainly.

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Tue, 18 Mar 2025 — Steven Norton

Redrawing the lines

Education policy in Michigan has undergone a major shift over the past two years. Much of the credit for that must be given to the state’s voters, who in November 2020 approved a constitutional amendment creating an independent, non-partisan, redistricting commission. Newly drawn legislative districts changed the look of Michigan government as Democratic lawmakers narrowly took control of both houses for the first time since 1981. That alone has brought important changes to Michigan’s public schools.

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Wed, 12 Mar 2025 — Steven Norton

Playing chicken with our kids

We had hoped that the redrawn legislative districts would encourage moderation and compromise on education spending and policy issues. Evidently, we will need to keep waiting. So far, this year’s budget process consists of more posturing than governing, and there is no question that the costs of division and gamesmanship will continue to mount. In one of their first acts upon retaking control of the state House of Representatives, Republican leaders revealed their intended governing style: confrontation.
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