Repeating Inaccurate Claim About School Funding Does Not Make It True

Capitol Confidential ^ | 5/5/2014 | Tom Gantert

[MichCapCon]

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer recently visited the West Bloomfield School District with a familiar message: Michigan schools, like West Bloomfield, are receiving less and less money.

Except, according to state data, neither statement Schauer made April 23 was accurate.

The Oakland Press reported Schauer's claims of a reduction in spending on K-12 education without challenging them.

"Public education has been cut dramatically, it's been systematically privatized," said Schauer, walking alongside running mate Lisa Brown, Oakland County's clerk. "What I've seen here at (West Bloomfield High School) is amazing. They're doing more with less, they've felt the state budget cuts, but there are great students, incredible teachers that are motivated and highly trained and we need to support them more."

Overall, state and federal funding for K-12 education has increased from $12.7 billion in 2011-12 to $13.4 billion in 2013-14, according to the Senate Fiscal Agency. State dollars spent on K-12 education have increased every year Gov. Rick Snyder has been in office, going from $11.01 billion in 2011-12 and $11.21 billion in 2012-13 to $11.6 billion in 2013-14, according to the Senate Fiscal Agency.

And, according to state financial documents, the West Bloomfield School district receives about $357 more per student this school year than it did in 2010-11, which was Gov. Jennifer Granholm's last budget.

The West Bloomfield School District has lost just under 800 students since 2010-11.

"After Michigan Capitol Confidential pointed the way, many media outlets have exposed as bunk the claim that public school spending has been cut in this state," said Jack McHugh, senior legislative analyst for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. "Therefore, this is beginning to look like a deliberate political 'big lie' campaign, based on the notion that the truth can get lost when a false claim is repeated often enough."

Schauer, the state's teachers unions and some others have claimed that Gov. Snyder has cut $1 billion in education funding. But in doing so they are only counting the state foundation allowance and ignoring other state aid that school districts receive.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Michigan spending per pupil is about the middle of the pack. Adjusted for per capital income, the state spends the 8th most nationwide.

[ilgipper]

As long as education success is measured in dollars spent, our kids will be the losers.

[Vigilanteman]

I challenge anybody, anywhere to show me a public school which says it is “fully funded.” That includes libtard school districts where their union rubberstamps control everything from the most junior school board member up to the governor’s office.

[Jeff Chandler]

I just looked up spending per student in Arizona and found recent articles bemoaning the fact that it is among the lowest at a little more than $7000.00 per student. The reader comments on the articles were full of slanders against Republicans, the Koch brothers, religion, etc. Lost in all of this was the fact that for a classroom with 30 students, the total spent comes to $210,000.00 for a 10 month period. That comes to over a quarter million dollars per year. I think that is more than enough money.

[Vigilanteman]

Not when you hire a unionized teacher making just a little south of a six figure salary and an administrator making just a little north of the six figure salary for every classroom.

These "needs" are non-negotiable according the the NEA hacks. You can't cut their salaries and benefits. You can't have more than 30 kids per classroom. You can't have insufficient administration to oversee the teachers, however they define that.

So it has to come from utilities, building and maintenance funds, useful academic programs and elsewhere . . . or making greedy taxpayers bend over and pay more. Waaaaaaaaaaaah!

[petitfour]

I don’t think teacher salaries in Arizona are very high.

[1Old Pro]

I don’t think teacher salaries in Arizona are very high.

I don't think any Arizona teachers would disagree.

[Vigilanteman]

Where's all the money going? I've done the same math as post #4. I'm very familiar with expenses of running a manufacturing plant with 150 employees, some of whom make almost as much as public school teachers and a handful of upper management who make as much as administrators.

Our district always has 2-3 people running for every school board opening, a job which pays a pittance.

It just doesn't add up.

[shotgun]

School districts don’t spend the money in the classrooms the bulk of it goes to ADMINISTRATION! That is why when you go to even the small elementary schools they have a Principal, and 2-6 Vice Principals, and several secretaries.

Then go to the district Admin offices and see all of the rest...

[petitfour]

I couldn’t tell you where the money goes. The budgets for facilities and maintenance are separate from salaries for teachers and administrators.

Our current elementary school has school fundraisers all year long. They are separate from PTO fundraisers. The school fundraisers pay for extra things for the school. LIKE TOILET PAPER AND PAPER TOWELS AND CLEANING SUPPLIES. The principal spent like $60K out of fundraiser monies for items that should be already in the budget by the school system. My jaw dropped when I heard this at the beginning of the school year. The PTO has its own fundraisers to buy things for the school like a track or like covered walkways to protect children going from downpours. It is a different culture here than we have experienced in other states. BUT our children have daily PE now. In Arizona, they had daily recess in which they could do nothing or play like animals or maybe organize a game of something if they were so inclined. In Virginia, our children had daily PE, recess, and a short period of just walking in order to keep them focused during class time. I prefer the Virginia way. (It could have been the principal at our school who insisted on more activity. He was older and had grown children.)

Anywho, I wonder if transportation costs are a big factor in school budgeting.

[Vigilanteman]

I wonder if they are being skimmed to pay for inflated contracts, fill Democrat coffers and other stuff. It is a damn good question.

We have a school board member (Democrat, of course) who owns a construction company which, while it isn't awarded an outsized share of contracts, always seems to be a subcontractor for one which is.

We have a Taj Mahal style high school field house which would be the envy of many universities but still have to hold fund raisers for the penny ante type of stuff which you mention. Go figure.