Whitmer appoints parents council to give input on education spending in state budget

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has named 13 individuals to the Michigan Parents' Council, a new group meant to give input to state leaders on how money is allocated to Michigan schools. 

The parents, Whitmer's office said, represent several areas of the state and students with differing education needs. They'll hold a series of roundtable meetings across the state in the coming weeks to get input on the state budget's education priorities. 

"We need parents’ perspectives to help our kids learn in-person, tackle unfinished learning, and get on track for long-term success," Whitmer said in a statement. "The bipartisan education budget I just signed delivers record resources to our schools, and with the input of Michigan parents, we can help schools implement this historic funding." 

The parents' council will hold their first meeting virtually Tuesday and are expected to summarize their findings in a report for the governor by Dec. 9. 

The announcement of the appointments comes as the questions of parental involvement in Michigan schools, the importance of in-person learning and ways to recover from learning loss due to pandemic school closures have become targeted issues in the gubernatorial race between Whitmer and her Republican challenger Tudor Dixon.  

The council appointments announced Monday include Blanca Astua of Holland, LaQuitta Brown of Detroit, Jennifer Figler of Gwinn, Bailey Nuss of Traverse City, Yazeed Moore of Grand Rapids, Rafael Turner of Grand Blanc and Ranya Shbeib of Bloomfield Hills. 

Several of the members currently serve as volunteers and community organizers; others work for organizations such as the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Muslim Foster Care Association, Consumers Energy and United Way of Northwest Michigan. 

Two of the 13 represent the Michigan Department of Education and governor's office: Stacy Ann Sipes, a Potterville resident who serves as a department specialist for the MDE, and Stephanie O'Dea, Whitmer's K-12 education policy advisor. 

“This council is the opportunity to empower Michigan parents and caregivers to work collaboratively with Gov. Whitmer and Michigan Department of Education to help students reach their full potential," said Tracey Troy, one of Whitmer's appointees to the group who also serves as president of the Michigan PTA and a project manager for Dart Container Corp. in the Lansing area.

The appointments come days after Whitmer's administration sent a reprimand to the Michigan Department of Education over training it had disseminated to teachers that discouraged them from "outing" a child's sexual orientation or gender identity to their parents when discussing a child's disclosure of suicidal thoughts.

The training was first reported by conservative education activist Christopher Rufo, a senior fellow at Manhattan Institute who has campaigned across the U.S. against critical race theory in schools. 

Teachers have a duty to report if students intend to hurt themselves or others, one trainer said, but teachers also can tell parents "your kid is having suicidal thoughts, without outing them, without saying why."

"...I would 1,000% recommend working with the student to let them guide that process," the trainer said. 

The training also included instruction to teachers to "go with what the kid says" when it comes to the pronouns they prefer. 

"They're the best experts on their lives," one trainer said. "They're the best experts on their identities and their own bodies."

Dixon called the training "sickening" and a departure from the reading, writing and math students should be learning. 

"Make no secret about it — this government department is being weaponized to actively recruit our kids and advance their radical gender theory with zero input from parents," Dixon said. "They are hiding information about our children from parents, even if a child is suicidal."

More:More Michigan transgender students using pandemic to come back as 'authentic self'

Whitmer's chief operating officer Tricia Foster sent a letter Friday to Michigan Department of Education Superintendent Michael Rice, encouraging him to "continue bringing parents' perspectives into the work you do" and focus on reading, writing and math. 

"Knowing we all seek those common goals, the recent teacher training video that went outside of that scope was concerning," Foster said. "We urge you to review your trainings to ensure they comply with all applicable regulations, maintain department guidelines, and are reflective of best practices."

Foster argued "parents are their children's first and most important teachers" and indicated in her letter the parents' council appointments would be forthcoming.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, questioned the sincerity of Whitmer's formation of the parents council less than two months before the Nov. 8 election.

He pointed to controversial LGBTQ training for teachers administered by the Michigan Department of Education and a deleted January Facebook post from the Michigan Democratic Party that negated the role of parents in deciding what is taught in public schools. 

"The governor will have to forgive Michigan parents for doubting the sincerity of this election-season stunt after watching her party repeatedly dismiss or outright mock their role in the education of their own children," Shirkey wrote on Twitter.

eleblanc@detroitnews.com