Babies Over Billionaires
FULL AND FAIR FUNDING FOR MICHIGAN SCHOOLS
WE WON'T GIVE UP ON MICHIGAN
Every student in Michigan should receive an exceptional public education that prepares them for the ever-changing environment in the 21st Century and helps mold them into educated citizens. Public education is woven into the fabric of being a Michigander. We should be a state that ranks at the top when it comes to providing a great education to every child. In Michigan, many schools are not funded at the levels they need to be to ensure that students, parents, teachers, and support staff are equipped with the tools they need. In every corner of the state, from Metro Detroit to the Upper Peninsula, from Kalamazoo to the Thumb, we must ensure that every student is able to succeed now and in the future.
Once ranked near the top, education in Michigan continues to decline. Many of our representatives in Michigan have caved to special corporate interests who demand tax giveaways on the backs of our children. It’s time to say enough. These actions have left our kids and their learning experience far behind where we need to be as we look toward the future. No longer can we sacrifice our kids and the future of this state for profits that go to few.
The Babies Over Billionaires campaign is working to engage community members across the state to take action to demand that our elected officials dedicate the necessary funding to our public schools. Our schools will only become the best they can be when our children and teachers have the learning materials they need in a school building that is fit for learning. Sign our petition now and join us on the quest to full and fair funding for every public school in Michigan. Our kids deserve it!
Our voices matter.
Our schools and districts should not be guided by corporate executives, entrepreneurs or philanthropists. Those closest to the education process—the educators, administrators, school staff, students and their parents—must have a voice in education policy and practice.
Stronger schools create stronger communities.
Schools are community institutions, as well as centers of learning. While they cannot eradicate poverty alone, they can equip our communities with the skills to build the economy, jobs, and cities of the future.
Our schools must be fully funded for success and equity.
A just and democratic society requires an equitable educational system that empowers students to become engaged global citizens. For too long, our schools have been short-changed—expected to do more with less. If we value education, we must dedicate more of our nation’s vast wealth to supporting it.
ABOUT US
We are students, parents, community members, and educators who are committed to providing a quality public education for every child in Michigan. Our schools belong to all of us: to the parents who support them, the educators and staff who work in them, the students who learn in them, and the communities that they anchor. Together, we will make quality and equitable education for all a reality.
MEET THE COALITION MEMBERS
482Forward // Detroit
AFT Michigan // Statewide
Detroit Federation of Teachers // Detroit
Ezekiel // Saginaw
Good Jobs Now // Detroit
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Metro Detroit Educators for Immigration Justice // Metro Detroit
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Metro Detroit Democratic Socialists // Metro Detroit
Michigan Association of Charter Teachers and Staff // Statewide
MOSES // Metro Detroit
Mothering Justice // Statewide
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Pontiac Policy Council // Pontiac
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Student Advocacy Center // Detroit, Jackson, Ypsilanti
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WeROC // Washtenaw County
GALLERY
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We demand that, if elected, you work to increase public school funding by 2020 by at least $3 billion per year. Michigan needs to fund schools fairly, which means extra money for students in poverty, in special education, in isolated districts, and English language learners. With more money must come more guardrails - establish new accountability measures to keep public money in classrooms rather than corporate bank accounts. And, it’s time for corporations and wealthy Michiganders to pay their fair share to generate this extra revenue, rather than cutting it from other public services or community colleges.