Here we go again. Another budget cycle, another bitter fight in Lansing over how to fund our schools. This year’s stalemate feels particularly sharp, with both sides dug in and unwilling to budge. Meanwhile, the people who bear the brunt of this dysfunction are not the lawmakers making speeches, but the students, teachers, and families who depend on the state’s education system.
At the heart of the dispute is a fundamental question: How should Michigan spend its education dollars? Democrats, led by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, have pushed for broad-based increases to per-pupil funding, along with targeted programs like free school meals, early childhood education, and expanded mental health support. They argue that every child, no matter their ZIP code, deserves access to a full and fair education.
Republican lawmakers counter with concerns about fiscal sustainability and fairness. They favor a more restrained budget, with dollars steered more narrowly toward struggling schools or specific programs rather than blanket increases across the board. They argue that simply pouring more money into the system doesn’t guarantee results and that accountability measures must accompany spending.
Both arguments have merit. Michigan’s school performance data is troubling—reading and math proficiency rates have stagnated or declined, particularly since the pandemic. Teacher shortages are acute across the state. Rural districts are struggling to keep schools open five days a week. Yet Detroit and other urban districts face an entirely different set of challenges, from crumbling infrastructure to concentrated poverty. A one-size-fits-all funding model risks missing the mark, but so does an approach that starves the system of the resources it needs to function.
What makes this stalemate so frustrating is that there is room for compromise. A balanced solution would provide a meaningful across-the-board per-pupil increase—ensuring every student benefits—while also targeting additional dollars to the districts facing the most severe challenges. This would recognize the diverse realities of Michigan schools, from the Upper Peninsula to Grand Rapids to Detroit.
But instead of negotiating toward that middle ground, Lansing is treating education like a political chess match. Each side digs in for partisan advantage, hoping to score points with their base, while superintendents across the state are left waiting for answers. Budgets can’t be finalized, hiring decisions are delayed, and families have no clarity about the programs their children will have access to in the fall.
This uncertainty is more than an inconvenience, it’s real harm. Students only get one shot at third grade, or ninth grade, or senior year. When a district can’t hire enough teachers, when extracurriculars are cut, when mental health counselors aren’t funded, those opportunities are gone forever. A child who falls behind this year may never fully catch up.
The stakes are even higher when you consider Michigan’s long-term economic future. Employers consistently cite education and workforce readiness as top concerns. If Michigan wants to attract businesses, grow its economy, and keep young families here, it must provide a world-class education system. That won’t happen if funding remains a political football.
It’s worth remembering that Michigan was once a national leader in education. For decades, our schools were a point of pride, producing a highly skilled workforce that powered the state’s economic engine. But in recent years, our performance has slipped compared to other states. Reversing that decline requires more than tinkering at the margins—it requires sustained investment, innovation, and a willingness to put children ahead of politics.
I guess you could say that about most states. Public education is not what it used to be. The United States, depending on who does the ranking, is any where from 12th to 30th in the world. That simply put is unacceptable.
So what’s the solution? The current stalemate makes clear that Lansing has lost sight of the mission to make public education better. Lawmakers need to reset their priorities. Compromise isn’t a sign of weakness—it’s a recognition that education is too important to be held hostage to ideology. Michigan students don’t get a do-over on their education. Neither should lawmakers get away with kicking the can down the road.
Every day this fight drags on is another day lost for our kids. The legislature and governor must come together, find common ground, and deliver the funding our schools need. And they must do it now. Heck their deadline was July 1. It’s already September. I implore our lawmakers to compromise and fund our public schools, now!
