Educators Slam Legislature’s Continued Attempts to Hand K-12 Money to Private Corporations

Michigan educators today called-out the legislature for continuing the debate on HB 5127 & 5128, the latest in a long line of tax handouts to private corporations at the expense of Michigan’s School Aid Fund. At a time when there is a growing consensus surrounding the state’s revenue problem, educators from the Tri-County Alliance for Public Education say these bills are a sign that the legislature is continuing to move our state in the wrong direction.

“Decades of of this exact type of misguided policymaking from our legislature where we hand the taxpayers money over to private companies has directly led to the funding crisis our schools are now facing,” said Mark Greathead, TCA President and Superintendent of Woodhaven-Brownstown Schools. “As an educator, it’s beyond frustrating to watch our legislature continue us down this failed path instead of listening to the growing consensus from business & education leaders about the need to better fund our schools.”

House Bills 5127 & 5128 would exempt any entity that can describe itself as a data center from paying the majority of sales & use taxes on their business for 35 years. In exchange, these companies are only required to create 30 new jobs in the state, an exchange that puts generations of Michigan’s residents on the hook for only a small handful of jobs today.

While the legislature added language intended to hold schools harmless from these tax handouts, that language is not guaranteed and could easily be reversed by future legislative action. Further, educators pointed out that any impact to the state budget as a whole increases the likelihood of the legislature diverting money out of the School Aid Fund to cover other shortfalls in the future.

“It’s fitting that these bills were being debated on Halloween because the priorities they represent are downright scary,” added Greathead. “Half-baked promises from the legislature that schools will somehow be held harmless from these bills are neither legitimate or assuring for educators that have seen similar promises be broken time & time again. Our students deserve far better than this.”