Most Michiganders Say Our Schools Are Falling Behind
A Michigan Enjoyer poll showed that 53% of Michiganders believe that Ohio does a better job educating students than Michigan
Despite the massive investments in public schools that Democrats have touted during the Whitmer administration, there’s still a big problem with our state’s education system, according to likely voters.
According to a statewide Cygnal poll commissioned by Michigan Enjoyer in September, more than half of Michiganders say our state does a worse job educating students than our neighboring states.
Fifty-three percent of respondents said Michigan is doing a worse job instructing our kids than neighboring states like Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin, with 28% saying our school system is probably worse and 25% saying it’s definitely worse.
Oof. That’s a gut punch given that Democrats have been in power in Lansing. For the last eight years, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed “record investments in K-12 education” in each school budget, and was lauded by Democrats for it.
By the Michigan Education Association’s own estimation, the state is now dropping $10,300 on every K-12 student. And for what?
The kids are failing pretty much every proficiency metric, and Michiganders can no longer ignore that these so-called “investments” aren’t having much of a return.
Only those who buy into the MEA’s talking points actually say the schools are doing great. Of the 25% who said our schools are better than neighboring states, 44% identified as liberal, and 39% said they voted for Kamala Harris in 2024.
But even 32% of liberals say Michigan is doing a worse job than surrounding states. Other voters agree: 72% of conservatives and 47% of moderates say we’re not on the level of nearby states.
Bigger education budgets simply can’t fix everything. You need quality teachers and, frankly, the kids are worse at learning today than they were 20 years ago. Parents stopped disciplining their kids and letting the internet raise them.
No amount of taxpayer-funded social-emotional curricula or school support staff can solve the crisis of total parental abdication that bleeds into the classroom when the problem kid is throwing desks around the room.
Michigan could do more to support teachers by giving administrators and teachers clear direction on what behaviors are expected from all K-12 students and provide a tool chest of real-world consequences schools can use to curb bad behavior.
The state should also audit schools to cut needless administrators, contractors, and support staff who feed off the public school system without helping students. Embattled teachers haven’t seen their pay go up despite more challenges in the classroom, so use the money saved to bolster their paychecks and hire great talent.
Michigan can also invest in programs to teach principals and superintendents how to better manage schools and make them more effective. Most school leaders are former teachers who lack the skills and training to make them as effective as they can be.
These aren’t overnight fixes, but Michigan needs to do more than throw money at the problem. Otherwise, we’ll keep throwing our investments away and trailing Ohio where it matters the most.
