Steven Norton
@sjnorton.bsky.social
Advocating for strong, community governed, public education in Michigan (going on two decades), and analyzing public policy in the public interest
This is a really frustrating delay for the Invest in MI Kids campaign, and a sign of underhanded tricks to come.
Members of the Michigan Board of State Canvassers on Thursday walked back their approval for a proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy to better fund the state’s public schools following a controversy surrounding changes to the petition language.
Story from @kdavidsonjrn.bsky.social
Story from @kdavidsonjrn.bsky.social
Michigan canvassers walk back approval for petition aimed at taxing the rich to fund schools • Michigan Advance
Members of the Michigan Board of State Canvassers on Thursday walked back their approval for a proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy to better fund the state’s public schools following a controversy ...
michiganadvance.com
July 10, 2025 at 10:50 PM
This is a really frustrating delay for the Invest in MI Kids campaign, and a sign of underhanded tricks to come.
Reposted by Steven Norton
Some useful history on Michigan's Proposal A system of school funding, from former State Representative Lynn Jondahl. A sincere bipartisan compromise, it was never meant to be the last word.
How a “BLT” of Republicans and Democrats Teamed Up to Reform Michigan’s School Finance System - MI Good Government
One July day in 1993, Michigan had a system to pay for public schools across the state. The next day it was gone.
migoodgovernment.com
July 10, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Some useful history on Michigan's Proposal A system of school funding, from former State Representative Lynn Jondahl. A sincere bipartisan compromise, it was never meant to be the last word.
I am a grandchild of relatively recent immigrants, a descendant of earlier ones. My grandparents' citizenship papers were their most prized possessions. I have always believed in the promise of this nation, and worked toward making that real. But right now, I mostly feel sadness and betrayal.
July 4th: No Celebration for Me Today
I have always been a patriotic American. I love the United States. To me, this country has always represented the words of welcome–the poem by Emma Lazarus– attached to the statue of Li…
dianeravitch.net
July 5, 2025 at 11:35 PM
I am a grandchild of relatively recent immigrants, a descendant of earlier ones. My grandparents' citizenship papers were their most prized possessions. I have always believed in the promise of this nation, and worked toward making that real. But right now, I mostly feel sadness and betrayal.
Our very own GULAG archipelago: "In answer to the question 'How many more facilities like this do you feel that the country needs...?' Trump said today: 'Well, I think we'd like to see them in many states,.... And,... they might morph into a system where you're going to keep it for a long time.'”
July 1, 2025
Just after noon today, the Senate passed its version of the budget reconciliation bill.
open.substack.com
July 2, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Our very own GULAG archipelago: "In answer to the question 'How many more facilities like this do you feel that the country needs...?' Trump said today: 'Well, I think we'd like to see them in many states,.... And,... they might morph into a system where you're going to keep it for a long time.'”
Reposted by Steven Norton
The federal government is scaling back data collection used to calculate the inflation rate. Economists warn that could make for less accurate cost-of-living measures.
Why inflation data won't include prices from these cities in Utah, Nebraska and New York
The federal government is scaling back data collection used to calculate the inflation rate. Economists warn that could make for less accurate cost-of-living measures.
n.pr
June 5, 2025 at 6:20 PM
The federal government is scaling back data collection used to calculate the inflation rate. Economists warn that could make for less accurate cost-of-living measures.
Reposted by Steven Norton
Cyber charter reform that could save public schools $616M advances with unclear future in Pa. Senate
https://www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia/2025/06/05/pennsylvania-cyber-charter-school-reform-bill-passes-house/
https://www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia/2025/06/05/pennsylvania-cyber-charter-school-reform-bill-passes-house/
Pennsylvania public schools could save $616 million under cyber charter reform plan
The state House passed a bill to cap the tuition payments school districts make to cyber charters. It's part of a several-year effort to boost oversight and cut spending on the cyber schools.
www.chalkbeat.org
June 5, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Cyber charter reform that could save public schools $616M advances with unclear future in Pa. Senate
https://www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia/2025/06/05/pennsylvania-cyber-charter-school-reform-bill-passes-house/
https://www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia/2025/06/05/pennsylvania-cyber-charter-school-reform-bill-passes-house/
OMB Director Russell Vought "was a key author of Project 2025, whose aim is to disrupt and destroy the United States government...."
June 4, 2025
Just hours after President Donald J.
open.substack.com
June 5, 2025 at 8:43 PM
OMB Director Russell Vought "was a key author of Project 2025, whose aim is to disrupt and destroy the United States government...."
We've been making this argument for a while: "accountability" systems reward short-term thinking and teaching, when the impact we really care about is in the long term. Plus, private sector actors' legal first duty is to their owners, not their "customers" (the students). New word: enshittification
The Perverse Incentives of School Choice
When researcher Josh Cowen is talking about the negative effects of school vouchers on education, he often points at "subprime" private schools-- schools opened in strip malls or church basements or s...
open.substack.com
May 30, 2025 at 7:59 PM
We've been making this argument for a while: "accountability" systems reward short-term thinking and teaching, when the impact we really care about is in the long term. Plus, private sector actors' legal first duty is to their owners, not their "customers" (the students). New word: enshittification
Reposted by Steven Norton
About that $14 trillion Trump claims to have raised over the past few weeks...
He made it up.
The tell: The White House won't send receipts
The other tell: He's claiming that every dollar a Qatari earns over the next 5 years will be invested in the US
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
He made it up.
The tell: The White House won't send receipts
The other tell: He's claiming that every dollar a Qatari earns over the next 5 years will be invested in the US
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
If You Believe Trump, He’s Already Brought In New Investments Totaling Half Of The Entire GDP
Spoiler alert: You shouldn’t be believing Donald Trump.
www.huffpost.com
May 18, 2025 at 4:33 PM
About that $14 trillion Trump claims to have raised over the past few weeks...
He made it up.
The tell: The White House won't send receipts
The other tell: He's claiming that every dollar a Qatari earns over the next 5 years will be invested in the US
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
He made it up.
The tell: The White House won't send receipts
The other tell: He's claiming that every dollar a Qatari earns over the next 5 years will be invested in the US
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
Reposted by Steven Norton
Trump's tariffs aren't just raising costs for you—they're putting a squeeze on our state budget. That makes it harder to invest in the services Michiganders rely on, from roads to schools to public safety. www.freep.com/story/news/l...
Trump tariffs prompt nearly $1B reduction in state of Michigan revenue projection
The state of Michigan's financial picture has eroded considerably since January 2023, when the state was sitting on a $9.2 billion budget surplus.
www.freep.com
May 18, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Trump's tariffs aren't just raising costs for you—they're putting a squeeze on our state budget. That makes it harder to invest in the services Michiganders rely on, from roads to schools to public safety. www.freep.com/story/news/l...
More from Florida Man. Remember "Purity Of Essence"?
This action is a positive demonstration of stupidity. The state should pay for dental bills. www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/05/15/d...
DeSantis signs a bill making Florida the 2nd state to ban fluoride from its water system
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure Thursday prohibiting local governments from adding fluoride to their water systems, making it the second state in the country after Utah to imp…
www.orlandosentinel.com
May 19, 2025 at 5:28 PM
More from Florida Man. Remember "Purity Of Essence"?
Reposted by Steven Norton
Important study provides concrete examples of how schools and educators are responding to these "anti-DEI" policies. It's dystopian.
Thanks to @micapollock.bsky.social and @hiroyoshikawany.bsky.social for these research.
Thanks to @micapollock.bsky.social and @hiroyoshikawany.bsky.social for these research.
What happens to education opportunity when policymakers ramp up threats and attacks on DEI?
In a new study on the fallout of such policies in Florida, researchers Mica Pollock & Hirokazu Yoshikawa show how pressures on schools can end up hurting everyone. pen.org/its-time-for...
In a new study on the fallout of such policies in Florida, researchers Mica Pollock & Hirokazu Yoshikawa show how pressures on schools can end up hurting everyone. pen.org/its-time-for...
May 19, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Important study provides concrete examples of how schools and educators are responding to these "anti-DEI" policies. It's dystopian.
Thanks to @micapollock.bsky.social and @hiroyoshikawany.bsky.social for these research.
Thanks to @micapollock.bsky.social and @hiroyoshikawany.bsky.social for these research.
Reposted by Steven Norton
I have rock bottom expectations for congressional Republicans but the fact that they actually used Trump’s dipshit phrase for the bill suggests I’m still overestimating them
The Republican "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" certainly doesn't want to display its beauty in daylight.
May 19, 2025 at 12:01 PM
I have rock bottom expectations for congressional Republicans but the fact that they actually used Trump’s dipshit phrase for the bill suggests I’m still overestimating them
Reposted by Steven Norton
Trump's budget is back on track after Speaker Johnson made concessions to GOP hardliners on Sunday.
The holdouts demanded the bill's devastating Medicaid cuts — already the largest in history — be made even deeper and faster.
Their priorities couldn’t be clearer.
The holdouts demanded the bill's devastating Medicaid cuts — already the largest in history — be made even deeper and faster.
Their priorities couldn’t be clearer.
After 'Backroom Deal' to Make Medicaid Cuts Even Worse, GOP Passes Budget Bill Out of Committee | Common Dreams
"The only reason this vote passed tonight is because they've plotted behind closed doors to hurt even more families."
www.commondreams.org
May 19, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Trump's budget is back on track after Speaker Johnson made concessions to GOP hardliners on Sunday.
The holdouts demanded the bill's devastating Medicaid cuts — already the largest in history — be made even deeper and faster.
Their priorities couldn’t be clearer.
The holdouts demanded the bill's devastating Medicaid cuts — already the largest in history — be made even deeper and faster.
Their priorities couldn’t be clearer.
Remember the long term strategy: "The Manhattan Institute’s Rufo summed up this strategy [of endless culture wars] quite frankly in a speech at Hillsdale College in 2021: 'To get to universal school choice, you really need to operate from a premise of universal public school distrust.'”
May 19, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Remember the long term strategy: "The Manhattan Institute’s Rufo summed up this strategy [of endless culture wars] quite frankly in a speech at Hillsdale College in 2021: 'To get to universal school choice, you really need to operate from a premise of universal public school distrust.'”
After a review of Trump using outrageous tweets to distract, this: "[N]ews broke that Homeland Sec Kristi Noem has been in talks with [the makers of] Duck Dynasty for a new show [where] immigrants compete against each other in cultural contests to [speed up] their U.S. citizenship applications."
May 16, 2025
MAGA world is performing over-the-top outrage over a photo former Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey posted on Instagram, where he has been teasing a new novel.
open.substack.com
May 17, 2025 at 9:32 PM
After a review of Trump using outrageous tweets to distract, this: "[N]ews broke that Homeland Sec Kristi Noem has been in talks with [the makers of] Duck Dynasty for a new show [where] immigrants compete against each other in cultural contests to [speed up] their U.S. citizenship applications."
Reposted by Steven Norton
Just a reminder that the GOP had to tuck a controversial school voucher program into the budget reconciliation bill in order to get around their own voters. Opposition to vouchers among Trump supporters deserves way more attention than it's gotten...
May 13, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Just a reminder that the GOP had to tuck a controversial school voucher program into the budget reconciliation bill in order to get around their own voters. Opposition to vouchers among Trump supporters deserves way more attention than it's gotten...
Reposted by Steven Norton
Fast Fact: 26% of all charter schools shut down by year 5. Learn more about charter schools and how they impact YOUR local public schools at the National Center for Charter School Accountability. networkforpubliceduc...
May 13, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Fast Fact: 26% of all charter schools shut down by year 5. Learn more about charter schools and how they impact YOUR local public schools at the National Center for Charter School Accountability. networkforpubliceduc...
Reposted by Steven Norton
Defunding PBS Is an Attack on Compassion: Remember What Mr. Rogers Said cloakinginequity.com/2025/05/12/d...
Defunding PBS Is an Attack on Compassion: Remember What Mr. Rogers Said
As calls to defund PBS resurface in today’s political climate, it’s worth remembering a quiet, powerful moment in American history—Fred Rogers’ 1969 testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Comm…
cloakinginequity.com
May 13, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Defunding PBS Is an Attack on Compassion: Remember What Mr. Rogers Said cloakinginequity.com/2025/05/12/d...
Reposted by Steven Norton
This weekend's sweeping rejection of education extremism by Texas voters was about more than just school board races. Look closely at the Texas tea leaves and you can see the weakness of the MAGA movement. My latest open.substack.com/pub/educatio...
Red State Blues
Conservative candidates just got wiped out in Texas. Here's why it matters
open.substack.com
May 7, 2025 at 7:52 PM
This weekend's sweeping rejection of education extremism by Texas voters was about more than just school board races. Look closely at the Texas tea leaves and you can see the weakness of the MAGA movement. My latest open.substack.com/pub/educatio...
Reposted by Steven Norton
Check out this powerful op-ed penned by one of my incarcerated students in the BC Prison Education Program. He's convinced that if he'd had access to social and emotional learning tools as a kid the *trail of destruction* that's been his life might have been avoided www.chalkbeat.org/2025/05/12/i...
In prison, I finally learned to embrace social and emotional learning
I can’t help but wonder what my life might have been like if I’d had access to these tools in grade school.
www.chalkbeat.org
May 12, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Check out this powerful op-ed penned by one of my incarcerated students in the BC Prison Education Program. He's convinced that if he'd had access to social and emotional learning tools as a kid the *trail of destruction* that's been his life might have been avoided www.chalkbeat.org/2025/05/12/i...
Budgets as Propaganda
“Trump’s budget echoes Mao’s Cultural Revolution, which used propaganda to justify an attack on higher education, fueling a lost decade for Chinese research and a much longer period of damage to state capacity and innovation.”
“Trump’s budget echoes Mao’s Cultural Revolution, which used propaganda to justify an attack on higher education, fueling a lost decade for Chinese research and a much longer period of damage to state capacity and innovation.”
Budgets as Propaganda
Trump's budget proposal formalizes the paranoid style as government policy
open.substack.com
May 5, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Budgets as Propaganda
“Trump’s budget echoes Mao’s Cultural Revolution, which used propaganda to justify an attack on higher education, fueling a lost decade for Chinese research and a much longer period of damage to state capacity and innovation.”
“Trump’s budget echoes Mao’s Cultural Revolution, which used propaganda to justify an attack on higher education, fueling a lost decade for Chinese research and a much longer period of damage to state capacity and innovation.”
Reposted by Steven Norton
I talked to someone who didn't vote in 2024. I asked her why. She said she hates Trump policies, but thought Kamala "couldn't speak well." I asked her what she meant.
She watched a YouTube video that was spliced to make Kamala look like an idiot. This voter fell for it and stayed home. The point?
She watched a YouTube video that was spliced to make Kamala look like an idiot. This voter fell for it and stayed home. The point?
May 2, 2025 at 1:02 PM
I talked to someone who didn't vote in 2024. I asked her why. She said she hates Trump policies, but thought Kamala "couldn't speak well." I asked her what she meant.
She watched a YouTube video that was spliced to make Kamala look like an idiot. This voter fell for it and stayed home. The point?
She watched a YouTube video that was spliced to make Kamala look like an idiot. This voter fell for it and stayed home. The point?
Reposted by Steven Norton
NPR receives $2-3M/year in federal funding.
PBS receives $80-85M.
The military-themed birthday parade Trump is throwing himself will cost taxpayers $92M.
We’re told cutting news and kids programming to fund an authoritarian birthday bash somehow “makes America great again”
PBS receives $80-85M.
The military-themed birthday parade Trump is throwing himself will cost taxpayers $92M.
We’re told cutting news and kids programming to fund an authoritarian birthday bash somehow “makes America great again”
May 2, 2025 at 12:45 PM
NPR receives $2-3M/year in federal funding.
PBS receives $80-85M.
The military-themed birthday parade Trump is throwing himself will cost taxpayers $92M.
We’re told cutting news and kids programming to fund an authoritarian birthday bash somehow “makes America great again”
PBS receives $80-85M.
The military-themed birthday parade Trump is throwing himself will cost taxpayers $92M.
We’re told cutting news and kids programming to fund an authoritarian birthday bash somehow “makes America great again”
Reposted by Steven Norton
Gutted Education Department’s New Agenda: Roll Back Civil Rights Cases, Target Transgender Students #Sickening #Heartbreaking www.propublica.org/article/educ...
A Gutted Education Department’s New Agenda: Roll Back Civil Rights Cases, Target Transgender Students
The Trump administration is subverting the traditional priorities of the department’s decimated civil rights office by making discrimination investigations practically impossible — instead enforcing i...
www.propublica.org
May 2, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Gutted Education Department’s New Agenda: Roll Back Civil Rights Cases, Target Transgender Students #Sickening #Heartbreaking www.propublica.org/article/educ...