Citizens Research Council of Michigan

A series of papers was published by the Citizens Research Council that discussed past and expected trends for Michigan's population growth, jobs, earnings, health, educational achievement, and the quality of public services at the state and local levels. This Research defined the policy discussions at the state and local levels for parts of the year, ultimately leading to governor whitmer creating a commission to recommend policy changes that could address some or all of these issues and help Michigan retain and attract young families.

The Citizens Research Council established itself as the go-to source for analysis if the use and role of covid relief funding for k-12 school districts. A january paper identified how much of the funding made available had been spent and the remaining balance. It discussed the high levels of funding sent to districts with large enrollments of at risk students and the challenges of spending it all in the short time it is made available. It categorized the purposes for which the funding was used, such as onetime staff bonuses, additional technology, updated textbooks, new curriculum, or building improvements. The work discussed the possibility of a "covid cliff" that could occur when the funding is fully spent if it was used for ongoing expenses, a phenomenon being seen at a few districts.

The Citizens Research Council published a paper which detailed how Michigan does less to support higher education than other states on average. It showed how that pattern of public support has affected the cost to attend universities and community colleges relative to the median household income levels. It suggests that funding is needed both in support of the schools and for direct scholarships to directly reduce the end price of enrollment.