Michigan's largest education employees' union has endorsed twelve Michigan state and federal political candidates who support K-12 tuition tax credits that are officially opposed by the union.

Dawn Cooper, director of communications for the 140,000-member Michigan Education Association (MEA), said in an interview with MER that U. S. Representative James Barcia of Bay City and eleven other candidates responded differently to education questionnaires sent out by pro-school choice groups and the MEA, which opposes school choice.

In surveys from education reform advocacy groups School Choice YES! and Michigan Family Forum, the candidates expressed support for tuition tax credits to help parents choose alternative K-12 schools for their children.

The candidates include Democratic incumbent Barcia of Michigan's 5th Congressional District and eleven state legislative candidates: Democrats Karl Holzhueter and Steve Pestka of Grand Rapids, Maureen Keane-Doran of Dearborn, Vera Rison of Mt. Morris, John Espinoza of Croswell, and Walter Wendling of Montrose, and Republicans Gerald Law of Plymouth, Alan Sanborn of Richmond, Charles LaSata of St. Joseph, Philip Hoffman of Horton, and John Schwartz of Battle Creek.

The problem, according to the MEA's Cooper, is that these candidates previously assured the MEA they were opposed to such reforms. The MEA would not have endorsed them if they had indicated on MEA questionnaires that they supported tuition tax credits, she said. "This demonstrates a real ethical problem," Cooper said.

The MEA survey refers specifically to several school choice measures that it says would "use public tax dollars." Proposed tuition tax credits would not "[give] tax dollars to any person or school," according to the School Choice YES! survey. (Exact wording of the candidate surveys appears at the end of this article.)

The MEA supports Michigan and federal government tax credits to help parents offset the cost of college and university tuition, but has so far opposed similar measures for parents of K-12 students.

Cooper did not indicate that the MEA would withdraw its endorsement of the candidates. MEA's political action committee has donated at least $13,000 to candidates who have publicly supported K-12 tuition tax credits, according to School Choice YES! President Gary Glenn.

"We welcome the MEA's financial support of candidates who publicly pledge to support tuition tax credits to help ensure all parents have the freedom to choose better or safer schools for their K-12 children," said Glenn.

The MEA endorsements prove that union officials must face the reality of growing political support for the proposal, said Glenn. "Even those who opposed K-12 tuition tax credits in the past are now endorsing candidates who support our tuition tax credit plan," he said.

Rank-and-file education employee union members are also increasingly accepting of parental school choice, according to a Hudson Institute study that shows more than 40 percent of all public school teachers in Grand Rapids, and 33 percent of those in Detroit, send their own children to private schools. Public school teachers in those two cities are far more likely than parents in general to seek private education for their children.

"Parents who happen to be public school teachers would appreciate as much as anyone else receiving the same kind of tuition tax relief Michigan already gives college and university parents," said Glenn.

The Michigan AFL-CIO, which includes the Michigan Federation of Teachers labor union, has also endorsed Barcia, Keane-Doran, Rison, Pestka, Espinoza, Wendling, and Holzhueter, as well as nine other candidates who have supported tuition tax credits in answer to surveys.