(Source: MIRS.news, Published 08/10/22) On Wednesday afternoon, the Let MI Kids Learn Ballot initiative filed 520,598 signatures with the Bureau of Elections.
The initiative would create Student Opportunity Accounts funded by private donors to equip families with grants they can use for education related expenses, including tutoring services, curriculum materials, transportation costs or additional out-of-school learning programs.
Any family that qualifies for free or reduced school lunches could apply for funding, and over one million Michigan public school students would be eligible, according to the Let MI Kids Learn site.
Public school students would be allocated grants of up to $500, and students living with disabilities or special needs could receive up to $1,100.
School shutdowns and COVID learning loss contributed to the decision to create the proposal, said Let MI Kids Learn campaign spokesperson Fred Wszolek.
“Michigan families will soon have more educational choices for their children than anywhere in America, and that’s good news for the future of our state,” he said.
He added that the campaign is confident that the Bureau of Elections can quickly canvas the petitions for the initiative and “get these vital reforms in front of the state legislature this year.”
The quality of the signatures and the size of the Secretary of State’s team should help the process, said Amy Hawkins, communications director for Let MI Kids Learn.
“We feel very positive and optimistic about the quality of these signatures,” she said. “The Secretary of State, I know, has other petitions on the docket, but this is her job, and she has a huge team.”
In October 2021, similar legislation was introduced by conservative lawmakers and moved through the chambers with incredible speed.
But the bills were deemed controversial for compensating individual contributors to the scholarship program with a state income tax credit, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed the package when it reached her desk.
Now, the ballot initiative is receiving similar negative reactions from groups like For MI Kids, For Our Schools.
For MI Kids Spokesperson Casandra Ulbrich said the attempt to get the proposal in front of the legislature is a loophole.
“DeVos and her allies have made it clear they do not plan to allow Michiganders to vote on their proposal,” Ulbrich said. “Instead, they are trying to use a loophole that allows them to ram it through the Michigan Legislature without being subject to a gubernatorial veto.”
The coalition opposes the initiative, claiming that it would strip funding from public schools to benefit for-profit private schools.
Ulbrich, who also serves as state Board of Education president, said the plan "will guarantee less funding for local public schools across the state.”
“Our local schools are struggling with an educator shortage and a lack of mental health resources for our kids,” she said. “This voucher proposal will only make the situation worse by taking away hundreds of millions of dollars every year from our local schools and giving the funding to for-profit private schools that are unaccountable to taxpayers. This proposal is bad for Michigan students, parents and the future of our entire state.”
But Hawkins said the ballot initiative only deals with privately funded dollars that individual donors can contribute and receive a tax credit.
“Kids will have all they need in public school. The projected budget is in the billions,” she said. “There’ll be a few dollars that won’t be showing up in the classroom, but very minimal.”
The For MI Kids coalition reported in a recent analysis that the five-year impact on tax credits alone is estimated to be $3.68 billion, which could reduce state funding by up to $500 million the first year, increasing 20% each year after that.
The coalition also looked at the state budget impact, including a loss of state funding for each K-12 public school student transferring to a private school.
And current tax law mandating future income tax rate decreases combined with the proposal could further reduce state revenue by $90 million in 2024 and continue each year after, the coalition reported.
Paying for the program would also take a toll, the coalition reported, likely on budgets for health and human resources.
And the coalition's analysis also warned that benefits would be seen most by not only the wealthy individuals that donate and receive a tax credit, but also private school students.
While public school students are eligible for a $500 credit, private school pupils could receive up to $7,000.
But those larger grants are still for students who qualify for the reduced lunch program, just those who also wish to attend a private school instead, Hawkins said.
“There are different phases, so if your kid stays in a public school and needs help with tutoring, they’re going to meet the requirements for a smaller scholarship,” she said. “But then if your kid says, ‘I need a break from public school for a year, I’m going to go to a private school,’ they can apply for a larger grant.”
Nothing in the proposal would require private schools to meet the same requirements as their public counterparts, including admitting all students or providing remedial programs and special education services, according to For MI Kids.
Ulbrich said the For MI Kids coalition will continue to educate the public about the negative impact of the proposal.
But Sen. Lana Theis (R-Brighton) called the ballot initiative an opportunity to make up nearly $17 trillion in earning losses that the pandemic learning loss could cost this school-aged generation.
“We need to step up and help the kids, and this is doing that,” she said. “They're going to be able to compete on a world stage, and the parents are the ones that are being given the power to help their children.”
