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Michigan’s gubernatorial candidates, who face off Aug.4 in Democratic and Republican primaries, have only a few similar priorities in addressing the state’s biggest education crises.
Improve literacy rates among elementary students? Check.
Ensure students leave high school well prepared for careers or college? Check.
Support teachers? Check.
After that, the education plans veer off into divergent paths, with Republican candidates focused on issues such as school choice while Democratic candidates push for equitable funding for students. The plans include a lot of broad ideas, with few specifics on how they will accomplish them. Some of their ideas replicate things already in place or soon to be underway in Michigan.
They all agree that Michigan’s schools are troubled, given state test results that show students are struggling with reading and math. On the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, nearly 38.9% of third graders last year were considered proficient, the lowest percentage in the 11-year history of the exam. Students similarly struggled in math. Performance on the rigorous National Assessment of Educational Progress is also troubling.
Candidates include Democrats Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s current secretary of state, and Chris Swanson, current Genesee County sheriff; and Republicans John James, current U.S. representative, and Perry Johnson, a businessman. Republican Mike Cox, former Michigan attorney general, dropped out of the race July 17, citing President Trump’s June endorsement of James.
Chalkbeat read through the candidates’ education plans and listened to what they said in recent debates and interviews to give readers a clearer picture of how schools could be affected by whoever becomes Michigan’s next governor.
Here’s what you need to know.
Benson: “Everyday we don’t fix this … is a day lost.”
Benson’s plan is built around five “pillars,” each of which has a number of steps she would take to improve education. They include creating a world-class education for every Michigan child; recruiting, paying, and keeping educators; focusing on children from birth to prekindergarten; funding school fairly, equitably, efficiently, and transparently; and making the system work together.
“I’m a mom, and I know that every day we don’t fix this for our kids and our teachers, is a day lost that we won’t get back, for these kids, for their childhood,” Benson said during a WDIV interview.
Her plans to improve education include tackling student chronic absenteeism by creating a statewide strategy, ensuring students are reading by the third grade, expanding after-school programs, and working with families and advocates to improve education for students with disabilities.
Benson is advocating for requiring starting salaries for teachers to be set at $60,000 a year minimum, ensuring competitive pay for childcare workers, and expanding the state’s PreK for All program, which provides funding so students can enroll in the state’s preschool program for free, regardless of income.
In the WDIV interview, Benson acknowledged that schools have received increased funding, but she said it’s not enough. She advocates for a weighted funding system (that Michigan has experimented with for several years) that provides additional funding for students with the greatest needs, such as students from low-income families and students learning English.
James: “There’s no accountability.”
James described education as a “basic civil right,” and said that his plan prioritizes transforming Michigan from a state that ranked near the bottom in fourth-grade reading on a rigorous national exam to one at the top.
One of his first actions if elected would be to opt Michigan into the Trump administration’s federal tax-credit scholarship program, which allows people to receive tax credits for donations they make to organizations that provide scholarships for private school tuition, tutoring, and other educational expenses.
He also would reinstate a retention policy that requires schools to hold back third graders who don’t meet reading standards.
His education plan also includes working with parents and teachers to address student absenteeism and protecting girls’ sports, locker rooms, and restrooms. James opposes allowing transgender girls to compete on girl’s sports teams, saying on Facebook last month, “It’s INSANITY that Michigan is going to continue to allow biological boys to play girls sports. That ends in 6 months when I’m Governor.”
Accountability is key, James said in a WDIV interview.
“I’m going to make sure we have fiscal accountability, make sure that as we are losing school age populations we are not overspending on overhead and waste in our school systems,” he said.
Johnson: “My administration will focus on results.”
Johnson’s plan revolves around a handful of topics: returning to academic fundamentals, maintaining and expanding school choice, preparing students for postsecondary life, supporting teachers, and accountability for schools.
“Too many students are leaving school without strong reading, writing, and math skills despite record levels of education spending,” Johnson says on his website. “My administration will focus on results, restore accountability, and ensure that education dollars are reaching students and classrooms.”
His plan isn’t as detailed as some of the other candidates. He says he will “promote proven instructional methods, including phonics-based reading instruction and early intervention for struggling readers.” He’ll also focus on reducing the amount of bureaucracy teachers deal with, so they can prioritize teaching.
“My administration will work to restore classroom discipline, reduce administrative burdens, and allow educators to focus on teaching instead of paperwork,” Johnson said on his site.
In an interview with WDIV, Johnson said schools need more accountability.
“In my companies, we always reward on the basis of performance and I think we’ve lost sight of the fact that we have to have something like that. If we incentivize teachers for actually achieving certain levels of performance, we’ll change the focus.”
Chris Swanson: “We’re on the right track.”
Swanson has a seven-point plan that prioritizes a state initiative that provides free breakfast and lunch to all students, regardless of income; expands access to preschool; and ensures the state School Aid Fund is used for K-12 schools, rather than directing some of it to higher education.
He would also place emphasis on early career exploration, attracting and retaining educators, expanding GED diploma and high school completion programs, and ensuring public money goes toward public schools, not private schools.
During a forum for gubernatorial candidates hosted by the Michigan Education Association earlier this year, Swanson pushed back against candidates who say Michigan should replicate what Mississippi has done to improve its standing on a rigorous national exam. He said then that, “I’m not interested in the Mississippi model. I’m interested in the Michigan model.”
He expanded on that during a WDIV interview. He said he believes Michigan students are doing better academically than what the national test data shows, and he said the results in Michigan can’t be compared to Mississippi.
Swanson believes Michigan schools “are on the right track,” and are getting a “bad rap.” But he said one of the first things he would do if elected is an assessment of the state’s education system.
“We’re going to figure out where are we, really.”
Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.
