Members of the Grow Michigan Together Council, a board tasked with presenting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and legislative leaders with policy solutions to increase the state’s stagnant population, said Thursday that population growth will continue in the coming decades. Heard the first recommendations from a series of working groups aimed at maintaining the . .
And although some recommendations lacked policy specificity, the task force’s findings appear to be an ambitious shift in the state’s current strategy on education, infrastructure, and job creation. Among the recommendations are extending the current scope of public education from kindergarten through 12th grade by providing two years of free tuition at community colleges and public universities and by “fully funding” state education systems. Includes expansion from kindergarten through 14th grade.
In total, the Council heard recommendations from working groups in four areas: K-12 education, higher education, employment, human resources and talent, and infrastructure and location. For some recommendations, work group leaders pointed to goals that state leaders should strive to achieve, rather than pointing to specific policy changes. Below are some of the recommendations submitted to the GrowingMichigan Together Council.
preschool education
Karen McPhee, former education policy advisor to former Gov. Rick Snyder, said public schools provide opportunities for students not only to achieve academic success, but also to receive career-based extracurricular activities and adequate training. said that there is a high possibility that families would prefer it. Teachers.
“High-performing public schools are the source of growing communities,” McPhee said.
McPhee said Michigan’s current K-12 education system, citing factory jobs that were once plentiful during Michigan’s industrial boom, suggests that a high school education provides a comfortable middle-class lifestyle. He said it was designed in an era where it was guaranteed.
Among the K-12 working group’s recommendations were “fully funding” the state’s public schools and increasing opportunities for teachers to receive career training. In addition, Michigan State Education Association President Chandra Madafferi said that to ensure graduates are ready to attend higher education or enter the workforce, Michigan requires up to one year of additional education after high school. He said that it is necessary to provide.
higher education
Bill Pink, president of Ferris State University in Big Rapids, said Michigan is offering free tuition for two years at either a community college or public university to provide a kindergarten through 12th grade education. He said that education for children should be reconsidered. Additionally, Pink said the state needs to have safeguards in place to ensure that students who attend community colleges receive credit when they transfer to four-year universities.
“It’s frustrating for students to enroll in college after completing 60 to 70 credits at a community college, only to have 35 transfer hours,” Pink said.
Michigan also needs to do a better job of reversing its “brain drain.” Currently, more students who earn a degree in Michigan are likely to leave the state than students who earn a degree outside of Michigan and enter the state. Russ Kavarna, president of Pink and Henry Ford College, said the state needs to encourage new graduates to find jobs in Michigan.
work, talent, and people
Attracting and retaining talent is central to Michigan’s population goals.
Marty Fittante, CEO of InvestUP, a northern Michigan economic development organization, highlighted areas where Michigan can improve retention and attraction of talent by creating workforce development programs and making community placemaking investments. In addition, Fittante said Michigan needs to develop a pipeline of international talent, but also create a welcoming environment for people moving to Michigan internationally so they can stay in the state long-term. Said it was necessary.
infrastructure and location
Terry Lynn Rand, a former secretary of state and current Wayne State University trustee, said “decades of disinvestment” has left Michigan with crumbling roads and a lack of accessible housing.
Regine Beaubeuf, RAND and Central Michigan University Trustee, highlighted a series of areas in which the state should invest. These include revitalizing the housing stock, ensuring water infrastructure is climate-ready, updating the state’s transportation funding model, and investing in construction site readiness programs. Shift the nation’s economic model from a reactive model to a proactive model.
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What’s next for the growing Michigan Together Council?
The GrowingMichigan Together Council plans to hold a series of public participation sessions in November, although dates have not been announced. After the public session, the council will consider the policy recommendations and is expected to adopt them on December 1st.
If the recommendations are adopted, the council will submit its findings to Whitmer, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids), and House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit).
Contact Arpan Lobo at alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @arpanlobo.
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