If you're the kind of person that likes to read Michigan based conservative media sources, which being on the Detroit News website suggests you do, you have seen a trend recently of these sites claiming that under Rick Snyder education spending is on the rise. Some like my colleague Darren Littell, the MIGOP Communications Director, do so because they have skin the game and need Governor Rick Snyder to look like a champion of the people. Other sources like Michigan Capital Confidential and the Mackinac Center make this argument because they realize the public believes education spending is important and they want Republicans in as many positions of power as possible.
The problem in reading these slanted opinions on Michigan's education spending is that these people really don't believe in education spending. For example one author has an article touting that under Rick Snyder "Funding has indisputably increased" only to turn around two days later and publish an article titled 'States Spending Less Money On K-12 Education Get Better Results'.
If more funding for education is a bad thing then why argue that Rick Snyder, the Republican in the governor’s race, has increased spending? Shouldn't conservatives stick to their core beliefs regardless of the party designation of the guy doing the spending? One doubts that if the roles were reversed these conservatives would write this many glowing articles defending a Democratic governor that increased education spending.
Having said that, it is tough to understand who these authors are trying to convince with these articles. Republicans really don't want to spend more on education and the number gymnastics necessary to claim that funding has indisputably increased are completely lost on Democrats who are well aware of the reality that since the turn of the century inflation adjusted state education spending in Michigan has fallen by 24%. While these authors are more than happy to ignore inflation to manipulate low information voters it seems unlikely they would have such a positive view of nominal value if it were their wages that had experienced a real 24% drop.
Most people also understand that in order to make the numbers work for Rick Snyder's supposed per pupil increase you have to include the additional money going into the pension system for educators. A fact that many conservatives latch on to in order to advocate for cutting teachers wages even further.
Yet this too is a completely disingenuous position considering that a portion of the money the governor claims as "new spending" comes from an increase in pension contributions by teachers. This robbing Peter to pay Paul situation hardly qualifies as the concerted devotion to improving education by the governor that many conservatives pretend it does.
Of course the governor and his Republican cohorts are partly to blame for this sudden need for pension funding since their putative cost cutting reform measures like charter schools and early retirement have increased the number of retiree’s collection pensions while simultaneously decreasing the number of educators contributing to the fund.
Not only have these decisions resulted in less money ending up in the classroom they have also lead to a near 7% drop in teachers employed in Michigan on the governors watch. Odd that a group so interest in increasing education spending and creating jobs has so little concern over the loss of more than 4,000 teaching jobs.
So while some conservative voters who would typically oppose increased government spending contort their beliefs in the hopes of retaining power for their party, most voters recognize that in terms of real dollars Rick Snyder is committing less state funds currently to education than at any point under the previous administration. And while clever manipulation of per pupil funding allows the governor to claim a spending increase, the amount of money flowing to classrooms has indisputably declined. Obfuscation won't change these facts.
Having said that if you're the kind of person that likes to read Michigan based conservative media sources, this reality is unlikely to change your mind. But for those who put the educational outcomes of Michigan's children above their political affiliation, this bizarre obsession with a total spending statistic that is nothing more than an immaterial election year ploy is deeply disheartening.
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