A campaign for a K-12 school funding initiative could launch soon.
On Friday, Michigan's Board of State Canvassers is scheduled to review petition language for the "Invest in MI Kids" campaign.
The proposed ballot question would ask voters to approve a 5% state tax that would be assessed on individual high earners' income over $500,000, and assessed on income over $1 million for joint filers.
Organizer Rachelle Crow-Hercher said the state's flat tax is a greater burden for middle and low income citizens than for affluent ones.
"For us, this is an easy way to address the wealthiest Michiganders who are not paying their fair share to our shared resources that lead to the success of Michigan overall," she said.
Crow-Hercher said the initiative, if approved, would add more than $1.5 billion a year to the state's School Aid Fund.
Some Republican leaders oppose the idea, saying problems with state's education system aren't due to the lack of money (EdTrust-Midwest notes the state spends the 7th-highest per-pupil amount for K-12 among U.S. states) but how it's spent.
Crow-Hercher said on the other hand, Michigan significantly lags other states in terms of annual increases for K-12 education funding.
"I'm not saying that money is whole solution — I think this is a systems approach — but money is quite frankly a significant part of the problem," she said.
