Chalkbeat Detroit: They [MEA members] heartily applauded as Benson, a former teacher whose parents were also teachers, was introduced.

Last week, during the Michigan Education Association gubernatorial forum, Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson shared her plans to make Michigan’s public schools the best in the country. Her personal story as a former educator, the daughter of special education teachers, and a mom – and her commitment to always standing up to protect Michiganders’ rights and freedoms – resonated with MEA attendees in the audience. 

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Chalkbeat Detroit:

They [MEA members] heartily applauded as Benson, a former teacher whose parents were also teachers, was introduced.

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Benson replied that she would push to ensure the average starting salary is at least $60,000, about $20,000 more than the average starting salary in the state. She said it’s a sign of respect for the important work educators do daily.

“You will have a voice … and I will reflect my commitment to that by ensuring that your compensation reflects the respect, the professional respect, that you all have earned. To me, that is a critical component of attracting and retaining talented people,” Benson said.

[...]

Among Benson’s priorities: Ensuring equitable funding for schools, ensuring educators have the “compensation and wraparound services and support needed to do their job, and investing in postsecondary support. 

Michigan Advance:  

Throughout the panel, Benson referenced her experience growing up as the child of two special education teachers, as well as her time as the dean of the Wayne State University Law School, as driving her focus on education. But when discussing how she would respond to ICE enforcement in schools in Michigan, she called on her time as the Secretary of State to say that she has been “unafraid to stand up to any bully.”

“The next governor of Michigan must demonstrate that they will live the moral courage that I have as secretary of state to protect the young people, the educators, every resident of every community in the state, no matter what type of tactic the bully in the White House tries to bring to our communities,” she said.

The Detroit News: 

During the forum, Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Michigan needs an "equitable education funding model." Afterward, she told reporters the current funding system that's based around a flat per-pupil allocation for all schools is "broken."

"The fact that we have defunded our schools at a higher rate than any other state for three decades now and the small amount of work that Democrats have done recently to restore some of that funding is far from what's needed to actually get to where we need to be to have the excellent schools we want," Benson of Detroit said.

Michigan Public Radio: 

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said the state should stop relying on a per-student funding model.

“Different needs meet different communities. And, as I’ve talked to educators around the state, the number one thing that keeps coming up is just that, that an X amount of money for a student in Muskegon is not going to be the same as X amount of money or the same amount of money for a student in Iron River. The needs are different. The cost model needs to be different,” Benson told reporters after the event.

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