"Madam President, half a dozen construction workers came to my office yesterday wanting to talk about Michigan's roads, and I was struck by the great pride with which they talked about the careers that they built, making Michigan's roads smooth and safe for us to travel on. We agreed that Michigan needs a sustainable plan to keep our roads fixed and fixed the right way so they last as long as possible. When we talked about road funding, the guys I spoke with did not want to pay for roads by cutting money from our public schools. I showed them how around 46% of Republican Speaker Matt Hall's road plan is paid for out of the School Aid Fund. They didn't like that and agreed that we have to find a way to fund roads that isn't on the backs of Michigan's public schools, which are still underfunded by billions of dollars each year. Speaker Hall's roads plan is a clever shell game involving holding schools harmless on the revenue side only to inflict serious harm on the appropriations side as it pushes $1.47 billion of higher ed appropriations currently paid for using the General Fund to the School Aid Fund. Speaker Hall's budget proposal also strips $600 million of the MPSERS savings the Democrats gave back to schools. So, in all, his plan guts school funding to the tune of over $2 billion. So when you hear him say, 'We will pay for roads with no new taxes,' please know that he can claim that because his plan blows a $2 billion hole in school funding, but doesn't raise taxes. It's classic smoke and mirrors. I look forward to voting on a real roads plan that leaves our great public schools alone."

Good morning and happy Election Day. The closest I'll come to a prediction: Eight years ago, I wrote about the conflict between my brain and my gut. Everything I knew (state data, demographic trends, etc) pointed to a Clinton victory. Yet everything I saw (hidden support, intensity of opposition toward Clinton) suggested Trump would win. Today feels eerily similar—with the roles reversed. Everything I know (high floor, erosion within the Dem coalition, good environment) points to a Trump victory. Yet everything I see (hidden support, intensity of opposition toward Trump) suggests Harris will win. My brain has told me, since springtime, that Trump is the favorite. That didn't change when Harris took over the ticket; I told audiences throughout September and part of October that I thought he'd win. But my gut—especially over these last two weeks—keeps saying Harris, and maybe even Harris by a comfortable margin. Bottom line: a massacre in the suburbs would realign the electorate more than any shift among urban non-whites. Trump may well improve in Detroit, but if he loses Oakland County by 20 points it ain't gonna matter.

I am obsessed with this New America graphic on the cycle of school and neighborhood inequality. So easy to understand and so powerful.

Detroit superintendent Vitti is urging lawmakers to keep all savings from Whitmer's pension maneuver in Sec. 147 - it'd enable MI to lower what districts pay to 14% of payroll, from 21%, freeing up $ for schools locally. Whitmer wants much of that $ for other education spending.

Thank you to the hard working @K12Michigan for making your way from Michigan to press law makers to fully fund special education in this country, in addition to free and reduced lunch, and ways to address the teacher shortage. Your partnership and work is so appreciated.

After tirelessly advocating, @RepBrendaCarter & I are proud to deliver debt relief for the Pontiac School District. This will ensure funding is directed right into the classroom to provide students with the resources, opportunities, & education they rightfully deserve.