Michigan House Democrats tweeted a quote recently from State Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Detroit, bemoaning a lack of funding for the Detroit Public Schools Community District.

“Detroit’s children deserve better, and we should do better for them,” the quote from Thanedar reads, implying that Detroit students are losing out on literacy funding.

But the district received 54% more in per-pupil funding than the state average in 2020-21. The troubled school system also received the largest infusion of federal COVID-19 dollars of any district in the state.

Detroit schools received $18,469 per pupil in the 2020-21 school year, according to the Michigan Department of Education financial report known as Bulletin 1014. The statewide average is $12,018. Grosse Pointe Schools, located in a wealthy suburb of Detroit, received a per-pupil allowance of $14,563 in 2020-21. Detroit schools were given $1.28 billion in federal COVID-19 funds, which is more than all other districts. Its federal funding equates to $28,618 per pupil.

Benton Harbor Area Schools received $47.1 million in COVID-19 relief money, or $29,356 per pupil. The Beecher Community School District received $20 million, or $28,620 per pupil. Grosse Pointe Schools received $11.4 million, which equals $1,676 per pupil, $26,942 less than Detroit’s student allowance.

“Budget Updates: A child’s quality of education shouldn’t depend on where they live. Detroit’s children deserve better, and we should do better for them,” MI House Democrats tweeted April 28.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer tweeted April 24 that she is working to cut costs for Michigan families. The governor, however, is declining an opportunity to cut their costs by signing a state income tax cut approved by the Michigan House and Senate earlier this year.

The Senate Fiscal Agency estimates that taxpayers would save more than $2.5 billion annually if Whitmer had signed the bill. It would have restored the 3.9% tax rate in effect before former Gov. Jennifer Granholm and legislators raised it to 4.35% in 2007. A 2012 tweak trimmed the rate to 4.25%, where it remains.

The tax cut passed by legislators in early March recognized that state spending has increased from $34.4 billion when Whitmer took office in 2019 to $39.1 billion in the current fiscal year. This means that the average household’s share of the budget went from $8,634 to $9,820, an increase of $1,186, according to James Hohman, director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Whitmer has proposed $42 billion in state spending in the next fiscal year, tacking on another $743 per average household.

Many municipalities in Michigan offer employees a lucrative enticement to stick around a few extra years as they approach retirement.

It comes through a program called a Deferred Retirement Option Plan, or DROP. The plans are most commonly used by police departments, as they try to keep experienced officers on the force in exchange for the opportunity to earn several hundred thousands dollars.

But the program is not limited to police departments. Macomb County offers it to all employees. For example, Kevin Lokar, the county medical director, will receive an estimated extra $488,557 if he stays on his job from 2019 through Jan. 25, 2024.

The county has 258 employees enrolled in a DROP program, according to its response to a FOIA request.

John Schapka, an attorney representing Macomb County, said the county’s DROP program is open to any employee, in any department, who was vested with the county by Dec. 31, 2012.

Exposing DROP’s lucrative incentive is the work of David Jaye, a former Republican state representative and senator. Jaye, who represented a Macomb County district, was known as a budget hawk during his tenure. He was expelled from the Senate in 2001 after three drunk-driving convictions and an assault allegation.

Jaye has spent the last few years tracking government spending in Michigan and Florida, where he has residences. He puts in Freedom of Information Act requests, pays the fees and publishes on a website called TripleDippers.org. He says he puts in the work because he has lived in Washington Township for 30 years and feels he pays too much in property taxes.

He tried to get information about the Michigan State Police employees who are enrolled in a DROP. But, according to Jaye, the department told him it would cost $200 to get that information. He is also trying to get information from the city of Monroe.