Michigan spends $6.9M advertising 'cost-free' pre-K

Michigan’s new education department will spend $6.95 million on marketing “Pre-K for All” in 2024 and 2025, according to a document obtained through a records request.

The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential — the state’s second education agency — blitzed residents with a statewide advertising campaign.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s decision to expand income eligibility allows more of the state’s roughly 118,000 four-year-olds to attend preschool at taxpayer expense.

About 45,171 students were enrolled in the Great Start Readiness Program, the state’s primary PreK program, as of November 2024. This represents an increase of nearly 10% over last year’s final enrollment number of 41,120.

Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential

The document says the marketing budget for the Great Start Readiness program and Pre-K for All is $5 million in fiscal year 2024 and will be $1.95 million in fiscal year 2025.

The funds will pay for mailing and advertising costs, organizing community events, spreading the positive impacts of early childhood education, and developing a state website for the program.

The advertising cost $1.5 million for ad buys and creative services, while mailing, designing, and printing flyers cost $79,157, the document said.

Scott McClallen

Scott McClallen

The state mass mailed flyers advertising: “Pre-k for All is a NO-COST option for Michigan families that:

• Saves an estimated $10,000 per year and gives children access to no-cost, high-quality PreK education

• Provides access to free developmental screenings to identify kids with autism or developmental delays so issues can be addressed early.

• Sets children up for success with benefits that last far beyond their time in school, including higher high school graduation rates.”

The flyer concludes with the statement “All Michigan four-year-olds can now qualify for no-cost, high-quality PreK.”

The state’s fourth-graders rank 41st nationwide for reading scores, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation’s report card.

Michigan keeps increasing education funding but more money doesn’t necessarily bring better results, according to research from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

MCPP

Instead of advertising pre-kindergarten, Michigan should improve the K-12 education system, said Molly Macek, the director of education policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

“Thousands of families are opting out of government preschool, despite the state spending millions to market and expand the program,” Macek told CapCon in an email. “Taxpayer dollars would be better spent on improving the state’s K-12 education system.”

Michigan should improve literacy rates, Rep. Tom Kunse, R-Clare, who serves on the House Education Committee, told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email.

“Many Michigan kids can't even spell ‘marketing campaign’ because our schools aren’t teaching students to read and write well,” Kunse wrote. “Instead of just spending money, we should focus on helping young people achieve academic success from preschool on.”