On December 1st, Republican candidate for Governor Rick Snyder had this to say about Michigan’s career politicians, failing schools & school funding:
“Once again, career politicians in Lansing have been slow out of the gates. Michigan should not have waited this long to become eligible for the ‘Race to the Top’ funding. Addressing our failing schools, providing an alternative teacher certification process, tracking teacher performance, and loosening charter school restrictions are common sense reforms necessary to improve the quality of education our students are receiving,” said Snyder. “Instead of using our students as political footballs, I urge the Governor and Legislature to swiftly enact the legislation necessary to qualify our state and provide these reforms. Continually improving and reforming our education system is essential for the long-term recovery of our state. We must have agile, forward thinking and innovative leadership working for the people of Michigan.”
When Snyder was CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, almost 40 percent of the funding for the boondoggle came from public funds, property tax dollars “captured” by a TIF entity (the Local Development Finance Authority [LDFA]) created specially for the purpose of funneling money to SPARK. LDFAs skim tax dollars from—wait for it—local schools. In September of 2009, the Ann Arbor Public School District considered canceling a $750,000 textbook order because the District didn’t have the money for the books. In 2009, Ann Arbor SPARK was given $1.1 million dollars of public funding skimmed from the school millages.
Rick Snyder left SPARK in May of 2009, and launched his run for for Governor in July 2009. He didn’t have a single word to say in September of 2009 about Ann Arbor SPARK’s use of public school dollars. In fact, Snyder hasn’t said a word about any of the 10 Michigan SmartZone entities that have been created and which, yearly, skim tens of millions of dollars from our state’s foundering public schools.
When Snyder was CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, almost 40 percent of the funding for the boondoggle came from public funds, property tax dollars "captured" by a TIF entity (the Local Development Finance Authority [LDFA]) created specially for the purpose of funneling money to SPARK. LDFAs skim tax dollars from—wait for it—local schools. In September of 2009, the Ann Arbor Public School District considered canceling a $750,000 textbook order because the District didn't have the money for the books. In 2009, Ann Arbor SPARK was given $1.1 million dollars of public funding skimmed from the school millages.
Rick Snyder left SPARK in May of 2009, and launched his run for for Governor in July 2009. He didn't have a single word to say in September of 2009 about Ann Arbor SPARK's use of public school dollars. In fact, Snyder hasn't said a word about any of the 10 Michigan SmartZone entities that have been created and which, yearly, skim tens of millions of dollars from our state's foundering public schools.
Since 2006, Rick Snyder's Ann Arbor SPARK has picked over $3 million dollars from the pockets of the taxpayers. The SmartZone created by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation [MEDC] in 2001 extends into Ypsilanti, and in theory the LDFA should capture funds from the Ypsilanti Public Schools, but there's no money to be had. So Ann Arbor taxpayers, as well as Washtenaw County taxpayers, support not only Ann Arbor SPARK, but SPARK-East, in Ypsilanti. SPARK uses the public millions to have "events," "consult," "market" and "manage talent." Translation? SPARK exists to employ the fine folks who have jobs at SPARK. Since 2006, when Rick Snyder began as CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, the only jobs created by Ann Arbor SPARK have been jobs for the 15 members of the SPARK Team.
Know why this Ponzi funding scheme is so complicated and hard to follow? Because if the politicians came to taxpayers with a millage request to support a local LDFA, the millage would never pass. It would be crushed, simply because the politicos would be totally incapable of explaining to the taxpayers why an entity such as Ann Arbor SPARK needs public funding at all.
"I want to give your tax money to my political friends," wouldn't play well in any robo-calling situation I can think of.
However, that's exactly what's happening. Politicians count on taxpayers to be willing to fund education. In turn, the education money can be skimmed off to fund entities like Ann Arbor SPARK and SPARK-East, staffed by political friends, business associates and other cronies who, in turn, give the politicians donations, and generate wildly inflated (and rarely independently verified) job creation "success stories" to be used on the politicos' résumés and in their campaigns.
In the meantime, schools in Ann Arbor can't buy textbooks, and the CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK earns a cool $200K per year.
He may not be a career politician, but Republican Rick Snyder spent three years as the CEO of SPARK using school kids for his own political gain—it was like taking candy from a first grader. In Lansing, I suspect he'd find ways to shake down middle schoolers for their lunch money. It's how the "economic development" game in Michigan works.