LANSING, Mich. — Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, on Wednesday issued the following statement in response to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s out-of-touch press conference alongside American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten to discuss “closing the talent gap” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland:
“It is the height of arrogance for Gov. Whitmer to jet off to an exclusive Swiss resort to lecture the world on a ‘talent gap’ that her own policies helped create here in Michigan. While she is enjoying fireside fondue with foreign billionaires and union bosses today, families back home are struggling to make it in Michigan, and our children are trapped in a failing education system.
“For seven years, we have seen nothing but failure from this administration. Instead of holding politically motivated teachers’ unions accountable for the crisis they helped engineer, the governor is sharing a stage with them in the Swiss Alps. Michigan parents don’t need more empty platitudes from another Whitmer world vacation; they need a governor who shows up for work in Lansing to fix the reading crisis, restore accountability and ensure our kids have the education they need to be successful and actually make it in Michigan.”
The Whitmer administration has presided over a historic decline in student achievement. Recent data confirms Michigan’s education scores have plummeted, with proficiency levels falling to some of the lowest in the nation. Despite these alarming trends, the governor and Lansing Democrats repealed Michigan’s Read by Grade Three law, a critical accountability measure designed to ensure early literacy, effectively surrendering on our kids’ future.
