Democrat Bettie Cook Scott stopped showing up to legislative sessions as a state representative for the 2nd District in the Michigan House after she lost her bid for a state Senate seat in the August primary election.

The Detroit representative was far and away the state legislator who missed the most votes in 2018, according to an analysis done by Michigan Votes, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s vote-tracking website.

Scott missed 599 of a possible 1,045 votes in 2018. She missed all 488 votes from August through December 2018. MichiganVotes.org said in its analysis that it is unable to recall a similar situation in the past 25 years. Michigan Votes released its report on missed legislative votes on Friday.

State representatives are paid $71,685 a year. Scott didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

The next-closest state legislator in terms of missed votes was Republican Sen. Tom Casperson of Escanaba, who missed 199 votes out of a possible 1,043 in 2018.

Leon Drolet, a former state representative who is chairman of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance, questioned whether it mattered if Scott showed up at all.

“If she had been there, would any outcomes have changed?” Drolet asked. “Unless there was an outcome that changed, to the public, it really doesn’t matter. People resent when someone is collecting a paycheck and not doing anything for it. It is more of an ethics concern than a policy concern,” he said “Frankly, there are a large percentage of lawmakers that really don’t matter. They don’t use political capital to fight hard to change the outcome of legislation. There is a large percentage of lawmakers who are there just to push a button, and contribute nothing else.”

Drolet continued, “In some ways, she is just more honest by not even bothering to show up. Some lawmakers show up and do nothing else. They are just there, but they don’t try to make a difference.”

Scott couldn’t run for the House again because of term limits. She ran for the state Senate finished behind winner and current state Rep. Stephanie Chang and another candidate in the primary.

During the primary election, Scott made news for making racial slurs about Chang at the polling precincts. Scott called Chang “ching-chang” and “the ching-chong” to many voters at the polling precinct, according to The Metro Times. Scott also said one of Chang’s campaign volunteers was an immigrant, and told that volunteer “you don’t belong here” and “I want you out of my country,” according to The Metro Times. Scott later apologized for her comments.

Scott’s voting record took a turn for the worse in 2018. She missed just 14 votes out of 509 in 2017.

Even before coming up short in the August primary election, Scott had missed 111 of 557 votes from January through July of 2018.

Outgoing House Minority Leader Sam Singh didn't respond to an email seeking comment.

The president of a teachers union local became the latest school union official in Michigan to complain about school funding.

Mark Hackbarth, a teacher who is also the president of the Midland City Education Association, made his claim recently in the Midland Daily News, and his remarks don’t stand up to scrutiny.

Hackbarth, who earned $96,544 in the 2017-18 school year, recently submitted a letter to the editor. He wrote, “The actual reason why many school districts have budgetary issues is due to the fact that the state has not adequately funded schools over the past 12 years. For example, the Midland Public School’s foundation allowance is about the same as it was for the 2005-06 school year.”

Yet financial data from Midland Public Schools, where Hackbarth teaches, dispute his claims.

Midland Public Schools’ per-student foundation allowance was $8,297 in 2005-06 and increased to $8,531 in 2018-19. The foundation allowance for each district in the state, based on a complex formula, is money that follows students to whatever district they attend.

The foundation allowance is not the only money that flows into school district budgets each year. But proponents of higher spending on schools often cite just the foundation allowance when they argue that schools are not adequately funded.

When all state dollars are considered, funding for Midland schools increased significantly from 2005-06.

The district’s enrollment decreased by 19 percent from 2005-06 (9,533) to 2017-18 (7,687), yet its support in total state dollars (not including local and federal) increased from $48.6 million to $54.1 million.

When inflation is factored in, total state support increased from $6,332 per pupil to $7,040 per pupil over the 12-year period that Hackbarth says schools in Michigan have been underfunded.

By citing just the foundation allowance, Hackbarth ignored millions of dollars his district received last year that it didn’t get in 2005-06.

For example, the district received $512,711 for at-risk students and $114,030 for an early literacy program in 2017-18. Money for those purposes was not offered in 2005-06.

Also, the district received $6.7 million from the state in 2017-18 to help pay for its employees’ pension costs, something the state didn’t offer in 2005-06.

Hackbarth didn't respond to an email seeking comment.