Michigan

Michigan Democratic lawmakers decry proposed Department of Education changes

Published

10 months ago

February 14, 2025

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Michigan Democratic lawmakers decry proposed Department of Education changes

Democratic lawmakers in Michigan are criticizing the Trump administration’s proposed changes to the U.S. Department of Education, including potential funding cuts.
They argue that these changes could harm vulnerable students, particularly those with disabilities, who rely on federal funding for support services.

A group of Democratic state lawmakers, joining a chorus of education advocates, decried the Trump administration’s whirlwind sweep of the U.S. Department of Education in a news conference Friday.

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak; state Rep. Kelly Breen, D-Novi, and state Rep. Matt Koleszar, D-Plymouth, said they were raising the alarm about federal education funding at stake in Michigan during the news conference at a union hall in Southfield.

The Democrats were reacting to a slew of changes and the Trump administration’s proposed elimination of the federal Education Department. In recent days, the department under Trump has moved to slash nearly $1 billion in research contracts, a court has temporarily barred the department from allowing Elon Musk’s government efficiency team from accessing sensitive student data and civil rights investigations have stalled. The state lawmakers also criticized Trump’s pick to lead the Education Department, Linda McMahon, the subject of U.S. Senate confirmation hearings this week.

“What we heard confirmed our worst fears,” McMorrow said. “McMahon is grossly unqualified and fundamentally out of touch with the needs of students.”

Only Congress can eliminate the department with a supermajority of votes, so advocates are skeptical that will happen. Instead, critics say they are fearful that the institution will be weakened, particularly in areas such as education research and support for students with disabilities. McMorrow said she hopes that an outcry from constituents will put pressure on the administration to minimize the impact.

“If your child is in a special needs program, if your child has an IEP, if you want that program protected, call your local official, your state official, and your federal official because at the end of the day, they work for us,” she said.

McMorrow and Koleszar, in an interview with the Detroit Free Press, said they were particularly concerned about the major funding streams that support students with disabilities and other vulnerable children.

“These are our most vulnerable kids,” Koleszar said. “What happens to those kids? This is something that could legitimately harm the kids who need support the most.”

Breen said the most recent move to axe federal research grants will hurt local schools by clouding efforts to understand whether children are effectively learning.

“We are not talking about a hypothetical worst case scenario here,” she said. “The damage has already started. … It has taken a meat cleaver to the entire educational system when they should be using a scalpel.”

The lawmakers said they felt Trump’s administration has misled constituents into thinking federal officials help set school curricula, which actually falls on local school boards in Michigan.

Federal funding accounts for about 10% of the money, about $2.3 billion, that goes to state public education. The largest chunk of that federal money is Title 1 funding, meant to boost schools that serve the highest proportions of disadvantaged students, according to the Michigan League for Public Policy.

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act is federal law. Funding for it, and the law itself, would not be eliminated through an executive action eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, according to the School Superintendents Association. Michigan schools received about $460 million in federal funding for special education in 2024, about 15% of the funding for special education services, according to the Michigan League for Public Policy.

While the lawmakers outlined what’s at stake, they said minimizing funding cuts at the state levels would be difficult, with $2.5 billion in the state’s rainy day fund.

“If some of what Trump is calling for were to go through that would be wiped out immediately and would only cover us for one year,” McMorrow said.

Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@freepress.com.

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Michigan

Greg McElroy reveals two coaches for Michigan search if Kalen DeBoer turns down job

Published

9 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Greg McElroy reveals two coaches for Michigan search if Kalen DeBoer turns down job

With what transpired yesterday regarding Sherrone Moore, the latest opening on the coaching carousel now belongs to Michigan. Now, several names once thought to no longer be candidates elsewhere could be again with this availability as of yesterday in Ann Arbor.

Greg McElroy also discussed possible names who could be hires for the Wolverines in appearing on ‘SportsCenter’ on Thursday morning. That began with him addressing the candidacy of Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, whose name has reportedly come up to an extent this cycle, but certainly so after yesterday in this search specifically, depending on how he may feel about his future with the Crimson Tide.

“I’d start with Kalen DeBoer,” McElroy said. “You gotta wonder, though, is Kalen DeBoer really interested, and what do the optics look like? Kalen DeBoer is the ultimate competitor. Would he leave Alabama? It would look like he was running? I don’t know if he’s truly going to consider it, but it is Michigan. It’s a great job, and you have to listen to what they’re proposing.”

Through two seasons in Tuscaloosa, DeBoer is 19-7 (.731), including being 10-3 this season in making the SEC Championship and returning the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff. That’s not to mention all the successes he has had elsewhere coaching in college, namely as a head coach at Sioux Falls, Fresno State, and Washington, in which he led the Huskies all the way to an appearance in the national title game against, ironically, Michigan. However, despite some of his successes at ‘Bama, DeBoer did have his name come up to some point in rumors during the search at Penn State, and is seeing it come up even further now in this new one at Michigan.

From there, McElroy named three other possible candidates for the maize & blue. He first said two other college options in Louisville’s Jeff Brohm, who’s 27-12 (.692) the past three seasons with the Cardinals, and Washington’s Jedd Fisch, who’s 14-11 (.560) the past two seasons with the Huskies while also having ties to the program having spent two years on the offensive staff for the Wolverines. He then also named another option with connections to the program in Jesse Minter, who was their defensive coordinator for two seasons under Jim Harbaugh and is still with him now with the Los Angeles Chargers, but with McElroy noting that it may be time for Michigan to move on from those involved in or connected to their past two tenures.

“Ultimately, I think this will come down to either Jeff Brohm at Louisville or Jedd Fisch at Washington. I think those are probably the two best candidates,” said McElroy. “They have an elite quarterback in Bryce Underwood. They want someone that has a history of developing that position. Both Jedd Fisch and, if you look at what Jeff Brohm’s done in (his) career? They’ve done a great job.”

“And Jesse Minter is the other name to keep an eye on, the defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Chargers,” McElroy added. “But, like what Paul (Finebaum) just said, I think distancing themselves from the Harbaugh era? That’s what many Michigan people want at this point, given some of the hurdles that they’ve had the last two years in the court of public opinion.”

We’re less than day since this job even came open, although, based on the details, it may have been trending this way for some time, at Michigan. That leaves a lot to still unfold, including more major names like some of these ones, who could become targets in the coming time for the Wolverines.

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Michigan Senate votes to block pursuit of COVID jobless aid overpayments

Published

21 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Michigan Senate votes to block pursuit of COVID jobless aid overpayments

Lansing — The Michigan Senate voted unanimously this week in favor of a bill that would prevent the state’s Unemployment Insurance Agency from continuing to try to recoup jobless aid overpayments that were made during the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting as many as 350,000 people.

Many lawmakers have reported receiving a deluge of calls from constituents, in recent weeks, after the agency began sending out letters, wanting money back from people whom state officials believe received more assistance than they should have during the pandemic. The messages came after the settlement of a three-year court battle over the repayment effort, which allowed the agency to resume collections.

Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, contended that the Unemployment Insurance Agency was demanding money back from low-income and gig workers who were simply trying to access a financial support system that was available to them in 2020.

“Somewhere along the line, in the maze of boxes that they have to check every week to stay compliant, there was one box that was unchecked,” Irwin said. “And now, the UIA comes after them alleging fraud, turning their life upside down, sending them threatening letters.”

The Senate bill, which passed Tuesday in a vote of 35-0, would require the agency to waive the recovery of improperly paid benefits if they were distributed more than three years ago. The first cases of COVID-19 in Michigan were identified in March 2020, five years ago. The pandemic and government efforts to combat the spread of the virus spurred a rush of unemployment claims and a wave of fraud.

The bill still allows the state to seek repayments that were “the result of the claimant’s fraud.”

Both Democratic and Republican senators — Democrats have a majority in the Senate — voted for the measure Tuesday. However, it will have to be approved by the GOP-controlled House and signed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to become law.

Jason Palmer, the Unemployment Insurance Agency’s director, said in a statement on Sept. 8 that his staff was “legally obligated” to seek the repayments from the pandemic if they were improper. Roughly 350,000 workers with claims in collections dating back to March 2020 would be required to return the unemployment benefits they received, the agency has said.

The value of the overpayments, many of which lawmakers believe were made or sought by accident, has been estimated at $2.7 billion. The Unemployment Insurance Agency faced a tidal wave of claims and fraudulent activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the state’s jobless rate reached as high as 22.7% in April 2020.

Palmer has said the overpayments primarily resulted from claimants not providing the requested or required proof of employment or income, starting a job but continuing to certify for benefits as if they were unemployed and not satisfying the required work search activities.

“In these situations, we have a legal and fiduciary duty to recover the funds,” Palmer previously said. “The unemployment trust fund is taxpayer money, and we must be responsible stewards of it.”

Much of the unemployment money in question flowed through the federal government. Many business groups, like the National Federation of Independent Business, have voiced concerns that the U.S. Department of Labor might try to force the state to reimburse the federal government for the overpayments if they’re specifically forgiven by the Legislature.

“We would still like to see a waiver or waiver language because we don’t want to see the state end up with a budget crisis,” said Amanda Fisher, Michigan state director for the National Federation of Independent Business.

Lawmakers attempted to address that concern in the bill by adding a provision that says the new policy doesn’t obligate the Unemployment Trust Fund for any amount of money.

Brian Calley, president and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan, called the new language an improvement. But Calley said he wants to see a specific statement in the bill that makes it clear that employers will not be assessed any additional liability because of the policy.

Forgiving the overpayments isn’t the problem, Calley said. It’s the potential liability to the small businesses that fund the Unemployment Trust Fund, he said.

“You could inadvertently create a massive obligation for small businesses,” said Calley, a former lieutenant governor.

Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, who’s running for governor, was among 16 Republicans who voted for the bill Tuesday. He said it was a shame that lawmakers were still dealing with the “ineptitude” of Whitmer’s administration.

From the other side of the aisle, Irwin said the Unemployment Insurance Agency was acting “irresponsibly” in seeking the repayments from the pandemic.

“They bully our residents,” Irwin said. “I’ve had residents … who have paid UIA back money, not because they owed, but because they’re scared. They’re bullied. And they’re harassed by the agency.”

Sen. Darrin Camilleri, D-Trenton, the proposal’s sponsor, called on the House to pass it next week before the holidays.

“They should do the right thing,” Camilleri said Wednesday in an interview.

cmauger@detroitnews.com

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Lumen Christi pulls away to beat Michigan Center

Published

2 days ago

December 10, 2025

Press Room

Lumen Christi pulls away to beat Michigan Center

JACKSON — The Lumen Christi girls basketball team opened the coaching tenure of Scott Stine by pulling away in the second half to beat Michigan Center 50-28 on Tuesday.

The Titans led by five early in the third after McKynley Gaddy hit a putback and Mayrese Vieau added a pair of free throws for the Cardinals, but Lumen Christi responded with an 11-1 run, then added a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter.

“We worked all off season and are working right now to get to be able to play against Michigan Center,” Lucy Wrozek said. “They’re a good team who likes to push the ball up the floor, but we stopped that tonight.”

Lumen Christi’s stellar sophomores, Wrozek and Kenna Hunt, combined for 38 points, with Hunt leading the way with 20 and Wrozek adding 18.

In the first half, it was Wrozek coming up with key shots, scoring seven of the Titans’ first eight points of the night with a 3-pointer, a spin move in the lane to get a layup, and a drive down the lane.

“She’s a basketball player,” Stine said. “That’s one of the best compliments I can give her. She can shoot the ball, she can get to the hoop, she plays defense. She’s a tough kid who, one game it might be hitting 3s. The next game it might be getting to the hoop and getting to the foul line. But she’s going to make winning basketball plays.”

Hunt scored six points in the first half, limited by Michigan Center’s use of a box-and-one against her.

“I thought we played great defense,” Cardinals coach Greg Vieau said. “I thought we had a really good game plan to really squeeze in on Kenna. And I thought Mayrese did a really nice job defensively on her that first half. And then they got us into some switches that second half and really caused us some problems. They made some nice adjustments at halftime to get other girls on Kenna, and she was just more effective than that second half.”

But in the second half she scored six points in the third and eight more in the fourth. Hunt had a series of third-quarter layups, one in transition off of a steal, to extend the Titans’ lead to 33-18 after three. She then opened the fourth with another layup before Wrozek drained a 3-pointer off a drive-and-kick from Lily Ganton.

That 3-pointer answered one at the other end moments earlier from Gaddy off of a Mayrese Vieau assist. That bucket, and a Karsyn Smith floater in the lane moments earlier, helped the Cardinals briefly keep pace with Lumen Christi, but the Titan defense clamped down from there, getting defensive stops on the next eight Michigan Center possessions before a transition layup ended that string, that basket coming off a Gaddy steal, with the Michigan Center junior guard then feeding a behind-the-back pass to Mayrese Vieau for the layup.

Mayrese Vieau led the Cardinals with 12 points and Gaddy added eight.

“They’ve played together forever with AAU and now with high school,” Greg Vieau said. “They know each other really well. They missed some shots I think that they would like to get back, but they played really well off each other. They seem to know where the other one is going at all times. So while their shots were off tonight, I expect them to be two of the better guards in the state.”

But the Titans also kept coming up with defensive stops. Michigan Center turned the ball over 20 times in the game and Lumen Christi held the Cardinals to 11 points in the first half.

“I’m really proud of the way we played defense for four quarters,” Stine said. “To hold that team to 11 points at halftime, even with our offensive struggles, it’s impressive.”

Both teams struggled with cold spells shooting the ball at times. Michigan Center, after an Ella Best 3-pointer in the first quarter, did not connect from long range again until Gaddy’s 3-pointer early in the fourth. The Cardinals shot 10-for-41 overall from the field.

“Offensively, we looked like we had three girls with experience and five girls without,” Greg Vieau said.

But Lumen Christi also suffered through shooting woes, going 6-of-32 from the field in the first half before knocking down 12-of-35 in the second half.

Part of that surge came from adjusting to what Michigan Center was doing on defense.

“When they came out in the box-and-one, we had a little issue with it,” Stine said. “At halftime, we drew up some stuff where we could just put our shooter in the corner and put Kenna in a situation where if they were switching the high screen, she could attack the mismatch. And they had to pick their poison at that point.”

Helping limit the Titan shooters was Kara Straub, who swatted away a pair of shots in the paint in the first half.

“Kara has a knack for blocking shots,” Greg Vieau said. “She’s big, she’s long, she’s athletic, so we expect her to block a lot of shots. She’s very active in the post, so defensively she really anchored us. She really makes up for some of those mistakes that we might make on the perimeter.”

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