EAST LANSING — The following statement can be attributed to MEA President Paula Herbart regarding the announcement of an unconstitutional school voucher ballot campaign that tries again to end run Gov. Whitmer and voters:

“Michigan voters have resoundingly opposed attempts by mega-donors like Betsy DeVos to enact voucher schemes in our state. We value our neighborhood public schools and know that funneling money to private schools does nothing to provide equal opportunity for Michigan students.

“While Michigan’s public schools face many real issues, including a crippling shortage of educators to serve students, Republican lawmakers have fast-tracked yet another unconstitutional effort to ignore the will of voters. Gov. Whitmer has rightly committed to vetoing this legislation. Now, another ballot measure has been announced to end-run her office and make a mockery of our democracy and our Constitution.

“This comes at a time when our public school educators are often doing more with less to serve the academic, social and emotional needs of our students as we recover from the pandemic. Instead of working to support these efforts, this is just another partisan game.

“MEA will always stand up for the promise of public education, the dedicated educators who work in our schools, and the students they serve in every Michigan community. If donors like Betsy DeVos want to fight again over the same tired, rejected ideas that pit students, families and communities against each other, MEA and our members will fight back once more – while we work tirelessly to ensure every student, regardless of where they live, benefits equally from a quality public education.”

 NOTE: MEA is urging members and the public to submit messages to Gov. Whitmer in support of her veto of HBs 5404-05 and SBs 687-88.