Public School Funding: Why it’s Important and What’s at Stake

📅 Wednesday, September 2 | 6:30–7:30pm | Zoom

 Your town can pass a bond for a new gym — but not one dime of it can legally pay a teacher. That's not a loophole. That's the system working exactly as designed.

Join us to break down:

• Where the money actually comes from. Proposal A passed in March 1994 and moved school funding from local property taxes to Lansing. Your school's budget is now a line item in the state budget.
• Why "more money" hasn't meant more money. Inflation has outrun school funding for more than two decades. Flat dollars in a rising-cost world is a cut with better PR.
• The bond trap. Bonds and sinking fund millages can only pay for buildings, buses, and technology — never teachers, counselors, or classroom staff. Voters say yes to a bond and wonder why class sizes never change.
• Who gets shortchanged. Michigan ranks in the bottom ten nationally for directing dollars toward students who need them most.
• Why local ballot measures keep failing — and what actually moves them.
• Where your vote lands. School board, county, state rep, state senate, governor. Every one of them touches this.

No jargon. No lecture. Bring your questions.