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Debate Over K-12 'Lie' Heats Up Governor's Race

By David Eggert, Associated Press

LANSING (AP) — Gov. Rick Snyder, the non-confrontational Republican who's averse to slamming his critics, is more forcefully countering what he calls "the big lie" in his re-election bid — charges that he cut $1 billion in education funding in 2011.

His opponent, Democrat Mark Schauer, isn't shying away from the claim even though it's largely based on an outdated legislative fiscal analysis.

Whom voters believe — either about the $1 billion figure or, more broadly, the question of whether K-12 schools are adequately funded — could help determine the election. Both sides are airing TV ads featuring retired or current teachers with opposing stances, and the funding debate has overshadowed the candidates' other education policy differences on charter schools, cyber schools and Michigan's embattled K-12 turnaround district.

The ad blitzes likely are the reason education, not the economy or roads, was the top issue for likely voters in a new poll released Wednesday, said EPIC-MRA pollster Bernie Porn.

Snyder first began disputing "misinformation" about his record of funding public schools in his January State of the State speech. But now the stakes are higher, and he's more aggressively challenging Schauer by noting that state-based K-12 spending, not including federal funding, has increased in all four budgets he signed. It's $1 billion higher than before he took office.

"It's a math thing. That's the troubling part of all this, is when you have people that simply think they can earn an office by lying about things. That's not right," Snyder told The Associated Press in an interview.

Schauer countered that the governor should "spend time in classrooms as I have. You don't have to take my word for the fact that schools are dealing with less funds when it comes to the classroom. ... Teachers are dealing with less resources. Technology in some cases is older than the students. Basic educational programs and services have been cut."

Snyder signed a 2011-12 state budget that allocated less money for education, which he blames on the loss of extra federal money the state received in the Great Recession. The actual reduction — factoring in later adjustments to that budget and the prior year's spending plan — was roughly $462 million: $235 million less in K-12 funding, $214 million less for universities and $12 million less for community colleges.

By giving Schauer the benefit of the doubt and looking just at the bill Snyder signed as a snapshot, the education cut was $701 million — still below the $1.1 billion-plus figure used in Democratic ads. According to a Senate Fiscal Agency document, there were $930 million in "ongoing" cuts to K-12 before $455 million in "one-time" spending was added in.

With the $1 billion number in question, Schauer's campaign argues that Snyder also "cut" available money from a fund that traditionally would have gone to K-12 districts and signed a business tax cut that deprived the fund of revenue. Snyder has transferred some general fund revenue to K-12 schools in the last four years as well.

While state K-12 spending is up under Snyder, it largely has helped to meet growing unfunded retirement liabilities from the 2008-09 market collapse and a 2010 early retirement incentive for school employees. Snyder also pumped new money into a state program to help low-income families afford preschool.

Schauer said Snyder shouldn't get credit for making required pension payments that are on the rise. Snyder countered that Michigan's lump payment to pension and retiree health care — along with changes that made school workers and retirees pay more for their benefits — mean districts are saving money they otherwise would have owed.

Democratic consultant Adrian Hemond, who also works for Republican candidates at Grassroots Midwest in Lansing, said Democrats have done a better job with their messaging on education. Snyder, he said, "should be out there talking about how he protected the retirement of teachers" instead of having a "semantic" argument over funding cuts.

Snyder did highlight the pension spending in is first town hall-style event Monday in Kalamazoo, telling a teacher: "I hope you're feeling good that you're going to have a funded retirement now instead of what was likely to happen otherwise."

Another Lansing-based strategist, T.J. Bucholz, said the truth may not matter just a month before Election Day.

"At this point in the game, people perceive that education funding has been cut, because their teacher, their local educator, their principal, their superintendent has said so. Or they've experienced it directly. Some of this stuff has not been Rick Snyder's fault because there's a lot of legacy costs that are catching up in education. But I think people (for whom) public education is important ... will very much take it out on the governor in November."

GOP state Rep. Pete Lund, of Macomb County's Shelby Township, said Republicans have been disputing claims about education funding cuts all year, but "not hard enough." He wants TV stations to pull a new ad with the $1 billion cut claim, which they declined to do earlier in the year.

"If the number that goes into the schools goes up, that's an increase. Saying you wish it was more is not a cut," Lund said.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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