Group launches ballot initiative to fund public schools by taxing wealthy Michiganders
The statue of former Gov. Austin Blair at the Michigan Capitol | Susan J. Demas
Underfunded public schools continue to be a political football in the Michigan Legislature, but a new coalition announced Thursday has a potential solution: taxing wealthy Michiganders and using the money to pay for schools.
The coalition, Invest in MI Kids, is seeking to place a proposal on the November 2026 ballot that would change the Michigan Constitution's flat tax rate of 4.25% for individuals earning more than $500,000 and couples earning more than $1 million, increasing that to a surcharge of 5% on their income in state taxes.
Invest in MI Kids noted in a news release that currently, average Michiganders – including the state's own teachers – and billionaires pay the same rate.
The state's schools are estimated to be underfunded at $4 billion to $5 billion annually, the coalition said. The ballot measure, which needs 600,000 signatures to be placed on the statewide ballot in the next election cycle, would direct new revenue to Michigan's School Aid Fund and allow funding for things like career and technical education, attracting and retaining teachers, and reducing class sizes. That would have a positive impact on underfunded and underserved communities, the coalition added, with the revenue estimated to generate $1.7 billion annually for public K-12 schools.
Rachelle Crow-Hercher is director of the Michigan Education Justice Coalition and part of the Invest in MI Kids ballot committee. In an interview with Michigan Advance, she said that most people agree that Michigan's education system needs to be fixed, but the main question she hears is whether that's a funding or a policy fix.
'I think it's a 'both/and' situation,' Crow-Hercher said. 'We're addressing the funding situation with this ballot initiative, but the other part of what we're doing is we're strapping our shoes on and going out to meet folks where they are and get their ideas for what they think we should change at the state level to make our schools better for all our kids.'
The coalition described the ballot initiative as an admittedly bold plan, one that could shore up existing 'tax the rich' sentiments but could face headwinds from anti-tax and ultra-wealthy residents.
Crow-Hercher said the momentum behind making those ultra-wealthy individuals pay their fair share in taxes to fund things like education is strong enough to get the initiative over the finish line, but she also believes that Michganders realize that the Legislature has failed continually to address adequate funding for schools.
'Between those two things, my sense is Michiganders across the state, rural and urban, are sort of ready for this type of bold plan,' she said.
Molly Sweeney, organizing director of 482 Forward, said in a statement that Michigan's flat tax system was designed to benefit wealthy residents, not working families.
'That's why we're coming together to rewrite the rules so those who aren't paying what they owe in taxes finally chip in to support the services we all rely on – especially public education,' Sweeney said.
Charlie Cavell, an organizer with Fund MI Future, said it was a matter of fairness.
'When you include sales tax and other taxes, working and middle-class families in Michigan actually pay a higher percentage of their income in state taxes than the top 1%,' Cavell said in a statement. 'That's upside-down. Our ballot initiative will restore balance and ensure that those at the very top finally contribute to our schools and communities like the rest of us already do.'
The campaign is being backed by Michigan Education Justice Coalition, the American Federation of Teachers Michigan and dozens of grassroots organizations.
'We know that for years Michigan schools have been underfunded and students are feeling forgotten and unheard,' Christina Yarn, a senior at Heritage High School in Saginaw and a member of the Michigan Education Justice Coalition's Youth Collective, said in a statement. 'We have been suffering in schools that are falling apart, with little to no school transportation, schools that have poor water and air quality, where students aren't safe in their own classes.'
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