Higher Education Spending Still Down After Michigan's 'Lost Decade,' But Rising

In the latest issue of the Michigan Education Association's online magazine Voice, the union makes another claim about taxpayer support for education that doesn’t hold true.

The MEA wrote a number, 30 percent, followed by this statement: “Percentage decline in Michigan’s higher education funding since 2002 ..."

ForTheRecord says: According to the Senate Fiscal Agency, the high-water mark for state higher education funding was $1.95 billion in the 2001-02 fiscal year. During Michigan’s “lost decade” of the 2000s, the amount fell to a low of $1.36 billion in the 2011-12 fiscal year.

In 2016-17, state higher education spending was back up to $1.58 billion. Compared to the 2001-02 high of $1.95 billion, the current amount represents a cut of about 19 percent, not 30 percent.

However, the higher education budget has increased the last five consecutive years.