FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 13, 2026
Contact: Hannah Osantowske
press@johnjamesmi.com
James to Whitmer: Stop Letting Your Political Allies Steal Education Money from Michigan Kids
Board Voted to Send Michigan’s Federal Tax Dollars to Competing States; James Pledges Day 1 Action
SHELBY TOWNSHIP, MI — While Governor Gretchen Whitmer stays silent, the Michigan State Board of Education voted on a formal resolution to block Education Freedom scholarship money from reaching Michigan families — directly defying a new poll showing 72% of Michigan voters, including 79% of Democrats, support opting into the program.
Republican gubernatorial frontrunner John James is calling on Governor Whitmer to reject her political allies and immediately opt Michigan into the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit.
“At West Point they taught me that a leader who abandons the mission to protect their own comfort is no leader at all. President Trump signed this into law. I championed it in Congress. Free private scholarship money is ready for Michigan families today. Seventy-two percent of voters want it. Seventy-nine percent of Whitmer’s own Democrats want it. Gretchen Whitmer will not move because the political organizations that bankrolled her told her to stand down. She answers to them. I answer to those families. That is the difference between us. And on Day 1, that difference will matter.”
— John James
A Michigan Poll by Marketing Resource Group, conducted March 16-18, 2026, found supermajority support across every party:
- 72% of all Michigan voters support opting in
- 79% of Democrats support opting in
- 71% of Republicans support opting in
- 68% of independents support opting in
This program is not limited to private school families. Public school students are fully eligible to use these scholarships for tutoring, transportation, computers, books, and therapy. When the Michigan State Board of Education votes today to pressure Whitmer to stay out, it is not protecting public schools. It is voting to send Michigan’s share of federal tax dollars directly to Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee rather than allow that money to flow to Michigan public school children who need extra support right now.
“Three out of four Michigan kids cannot read at grade level,” said James. “This money could be paying for tutors for those children today. Instead this board is voting to mail it to our competitors. Every parent with a child in a Michigan public school should be outraged by what is happening in that room right now.”
The Education Freedom Tax Credit, signed by President Trump on July 4, 2025, allows private donors to fund scholarships for tuition, tutoring, transportation, books, computers, and therapy. Not one cent from Michigan taxpayers. Thirty other states have already said yes. Michigan families are seven months away from this money if Whitmer acts.
“If Michigan does not opt in, that money goes to Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee,” said James. “The same states Michigan families are already moving to.”
The vote comes from the same board that has presided over Michigan falling to 44th in reading, with three out of four children unable to read at grade level. The same board that voted 5 to 2 to impose controversial gender ideology health standards over hundreds of objecting parents. The same board maintains a taxpayer funded contract with an organization that has pushed materials into more than 500 Michigan school districts most parents have never seen.
“This board has been in charge the entire time Michigan has been falling,” said James. “They have not fixed our reading scores. They pushed a radical curriculum. And now they are voting to block the one program that gives families a way out. Enough.”
“Governor Whitmer. Seventy-two percent of your own voters want you to opt in. Democrats. Republicans. Independents. Choose the kids over the politics. For once. But if you won’t, I will. Day 1. Done.”
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