LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The debate in this state over the lagging K-12 academic performance revolves around the role money plays.

State and federal K-12 spending has increased 17% above the rate of inflation over a 6-year period from 2018-19 to 2024-25.

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Yet, in one corner are the union representatives and other longtime proponents of spending more money on education that say even more funding is needed.

Erik Edoff, senior executive director of the Michigan Education Association, advocated for more spending on K-12 education. In an op-ed published in the Detroit News this week, Edoff said school funding falls below “what’s needed to adequately and equitably ensure every Michigan student gets a great public education, no matter where they live.”

In the other corner are the growing number of politicians that have seen K-12 spending increase from $14.8 billion in 2018-19 (the last year before the pandemic hit) to $20.6 billion in 2024-25.

Even Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer acknowledged the increase in spending has not produced results.

“I get that this is a national trend, but we invest more per pupil than most states and achieve bottom 10 results,” Whitmer in February in her state of the state address. “We spend more, and we get less. It’s not acceptable. For our kids, let’s do better. Let’s face our literacy crisis with fierce urgency.”

Kevin Rinke, a Republican who ran for governor in 2022 and lost in the primary, chimed in on the debate.

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“Michigan spends $450,000 per classroom, but half our kids can’t read at grade level,” Rinke said recently on X. “We don’t need more money. We need more accountability. No more shiny buildings. No more iPad gimmicks. We fix education with discipline, books, and phonics, not bureaucracy.”