New Statewide Poll: Michigan Voters Overwhelmingly Prioritize K-12 Public School Funding, Remain Frustrated by Legislative Failures to Prioritize It
Survey finds broad, bipartisan support for protecting education dollars, mandating inflationary funding increases, and holding lawmakers accountable on budget deadlines
LANSING, MI — April 15, 2026 — A comprehensive new survey of Michigan voters commissioned by the K-12 Alliance of Michigan and conducted by the Glengariff Group, Inc. reveals that voters across party lines view K-12 public school funding as a top priority and are deeply frustrated with how state lawmakers have managed education dollars.
The live-operator telephone survey of 600 likely November 2026 voters, conducted March 23–26, 2026, with a margin of error of ±4.0%, finds that Michigan voters approve of their local public schools by a nearly 3-to-1 margin, that half of all voters believe their schools are short of the funding they need, and that commanding majorities oppose the Legislature’s failures to prioritize public education funding and their practice of diverting School Aid Fund dollars away from K-12 classrooms.
Voters Choose Schools Over Tax Cuts by Wide Margin
When asked to choose between cutting property taxes and funding K-12 public schools, voters picked schools by a margin of 57.1% to 35.2%. The preference for school funding held across age groups, with voters under 50 favoring schools by more than 30 points. Independent voters chose schools over tax cuts by a margin of 62.0% to 33.1%.
Asked which approach would do more to strengthen their local economy over the next twenty years, 51.8% of voters chose increasing investment in K-12 schools to improve the community’s skilled workforce, compared to 41.5% who chose property tax relief. Among independent voters, the margin was 60.3% to 30.6%.
K-12 funding also ranked as voters’ top legislative priority, scoring 8.4 out of 10, ahead of reducing property taxes (8.0), and funding community colleges (7.2) and public universities (6.4). When asked to choose directly between K-12 and higher education, 83.6% of voters prioritized K-12 schools.
“Parents, small businesses and community members are telling legislators that the money they have voted for and sent to Lansing is for K-12 students and educators. This investment by taxpayers is significant and should be spent on resources and programs that have a strong return on investment,” said Michael DeVault, Superintendent of Macomb Intermediate School District. “Prioritizing classroom funding ensures that every dollar invested serves student success. With the resources supported by voters, schools are empowered to offer specialized pathways like CTE, STEM, and the arts, providing students with the diverse skills they need to thrive. Lawmakers should listen to what voters are saying and return to the basics by keeping K-12 dollars where voters intended them.”
School Aid Fund Diversion Draws Bipartisan Outrage
The survey’s most striking findings center on the School Aid Fund. After being informed that $1.3 billion in School Aid Fund dollars are currently being used to fund priorities other than K-12 schools, 78.4% of voters said they oppose the practice, including 60.1% who strongly oppose it. Opposition was overwhelming across party lines: 85.2% of independents, 86.5% of lean-Republican voters, 82.1% of strong Republicans, and 73.6% of strong Democrats all opposed the diversion.
Voters’ distrust of the Legislature on this issue is deep. By a margin of 68.1% to 24.5%, voters say they do not trust the Legislature to allocate School Aid Fund dollars properly, with 44.5% saying they strongly distrust the Legislature.
“The School Aid Fund exists for one reason: to fund our kids’ education. When $1.3 billion gets siphoned off to backfill other parts of the state budget, that’s money that should have gone to hiring teachers, keeping class sizes manageable, and maintaining the buildings where our students learn every day,” said Kenneth Gutman, Superintendent of Oakland Schools. “Our communities passed taxes with the understanding that those dollars would go to their children’s schools. Diverting them is a breach of that trust.”
Near-Unanimous Demand for Budget Accountability
Voters expressed near-unanimous frustration with the Legislature’s handling of the school budget process. Support for requiring the Legislature to pass a school funding budget by July 1 surged to 93.3%, up from 82.5% in August 2025, with 75.4% of voters strongly supporting the requirement, and support exceeding 89% across every partisan group.
After being reminded that the Legislature did not pass the school budget until October of last year, more than a month after schools had already opened, 89.0% of voters said they support freezing and withholding legislator pay until the budget is completed. Similarly, 93.0% of voters support requiring a mandated 24-hour waiting period before the school budget can be adopted, following last year’s passage of the final bill just minutes after it was presented and containing language that lawmakers themselves hadn’t seen that withheld funding from critically important school programs.
Additionally, after being told that Michigan’s public schools have received funding increases below the rate of inflation for the past two years, 82.6% of voters said they support legislation requiring that school funding at minimum keep pace with inflation. Nearly 60% strongly support such a requirement. Support was strong across the political spectrum, including 64.2% of lean-Republican and 71.7% of strong Republican voters.
“During the 2025–2026 school year, school districts were forced to plan for and open schools in late August and early September without knowing what state funding would be. That is not a fiscally responsible way to run a school district effectively or efficiently. It prevents us from finalizing staffing, fully executing contracts, and confidently assuring students and families that the programs we offer will not have to be streamlined or cut because of funding uncertainty,” said Dr. Daveda Colbert, Wayne RESA, Superintendent. “And when the budget finally arrived in October, it included increases below inflation, which amounted to a real dollar cut. Our schools need a budget by July 1 and funding that at least keeps pace with the cost of educating our students. That should not be a controversial ask.”
Voters Reject Privatization, Uphold Constitutional Protections
On the question of whether Michigan should participate in a new federal tax credit program for private school scholarships, 61.1% of voters said the state should opt out in order to uphold Michigan’s constitutional prohibition on using public dollars for private schools. Support for opting out was, again, strong across the political spectrum, including among lean-Republican voters (72.8%) and independents (64.5%).
“Public schools serve every child who walks through our doors, regardless of background, ability, or zip code. That’s the promise of public education in Michigan, and it’s a promise worth protecting,” said Dr. Stephen McNew, Superintendent of Monroe County Intermediate School District. “Voters are telling us they don’t want their tax dollars diverted to private institutions that aren’t held to the same standards or obligations as our public schools. We should listen to them.”
Additional Findings
Teacher pay: 69.4% of voters say providing schools more funding to raise teacher salaries is the most effective way to address the teacher shortage, compared to just 16.3% who favor the tax incentives and tuition reimbursement programs prioritized by legislators in recent years.
Third-grade retention: 66.3% of voters prefer the state’s current laws allowing parents and teachers to jointly decide whether a student who fails the state reading test should be held back, compared to 28.6% who favor a statewide mandatory retention requirement.
Teacher retirement: 91.1% of voters oppose allowing the Legislature to divert teacher retirement system funding to other priorities, with 81.1% strongly opposing.
Policy stability: 61.1% of voters say lawmakers should prioritize long-term stability in education policy rather than constantly updating standards and requirements, a view shared equally across party lines.
Methodology
The survey was conducted by the Glengariff Group, Inc. on behalf of the K-12 Alliance of Michigan. The live-operator telephone survey of 600 likely November 2026 Michigan voters was conducted March 23–26, 2026, and carries a margin of error of ±4.0% with a 95% level of confidence. Of respondents, 86.4% were contacted by cell phone and 13.6% by landline.
To access the survey, which includes additional findings, visit k12michigan.org/survey.
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The K-12 Alliance of Michigan is a coalition of education leaders committed to fighting for strong K-12 schools across Michigan. Comprised of Superintendents from every district in Genesee, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne counties, they are collectively responsible for educating over half of Michigan’s students.