The state’s top education official is refusing to weigh in on the debate over school funding ahead of the November election.
As The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Jake Neher reports, that’s been a central issue in the governor’s race.
Governor Rick Snyder says he has increased education funding every year he’s been in office. He includes money that went to shore up teacher pension funds. Democratic nominee Mark Schauer says Snyder has cut funding by about a billion dollars.
State Superintendent Mike Flanagan says he’s not interested in getting involved in the debate this close to the election.
“I’m not going to, a month before, get into that,” he says.
In June, Flanagan credited increased state funding for helping reduce the number of districts with budget deficits. But he has also urged Governor Snyder and the Republican-led Legislature to spend more on public education.