Glenn Maleyko, superintendent for Dearborn Public Schools, selected by the Michigan State Board of Education to be the next state superintendent. Aug. 19, 2025 | Screenshot
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In August, Maleyko was chosen by the board in a 5-3 vote from among three finalists. The other two were Lisa Coons, former state superintendent in Virginia and a former Tennessee education official, and Judy Walton, superintendent of Harrison Community Schools.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to support children and families, educators, and other school staff at all of Michigan’s public schools,” Maleyko said in a Michigan Department of Education statement Tuesday.
“From my experience in Dearborn Public Schools and the relationships I have with educators across the state, I know that local districts, the Michigan Department of Education, and the State Board of Education are all strongly committed to doing whatever we can to improve student achievement.”
He will be taking on the job at a critical time. State test results released a day after he was selected showed slight gains for students in many areas, but third grade English language arts results reached an 11-year low. There has long been criticism and concern about school performance in Michigan, especially in literacy, with the most vocal critics being many Republican lawmakers and even Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who said earlier this year that the state must “face our literacy crisis with fierce urgency.”
The contract was signed Tuesday by Pamela Pugh, the president of the State Board of Education, and Judy Pritchett, the board secretary. On Sept. 9, the board voted to allow Pugh to negotiate on its behalf with Maleyko.
Here is a breakdown of the contract’s benefits:
He’ll be eligible for the same retirement, insurance benefits, and deferred compensation plans as other state of Michigan cabinet level officials.
He’ll receive 104 hours or 13 days of sick leave each year.
He’ll receive 240 hours or 30 days of annual leave.
He’ll be provided with a state vehicle for work within the scope of his official duties. The vehicle can be used for personal use, but Maleyko will have to reimburse the state each year.
The board will evaluate Maleyko’s work each year. If his work is deemed satisfactory, his salary will be increased by “at least the average percentage increases granted to other department directors in state government,” according to the contract.
Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
The State Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies teaching plan that will dedicate more time across school grades to Texas and U.S. history while placing less attention on world history and cultures.
The Republican-dominated board voted 8-7 in favor of the proposal, which marks only one step in a longer effort by the group to revise Texas’ social studies standards and set new guidelines for what students should learn before they graduate. Republicans Evelyn Brooks and Pam Little joined Democrats in opposition to the plan.
The final tally was a reversal from a preliminary vote on Wednesday, when a board majority signaled support for a different teaching plan that included what educators considered a more inclusive approach.
Some members who voted Friday for the new plan, which was championed by conservative groups, did not participate in the preliminary vote on Wednesday. Will Hickman, a Houston Republican board member, voted with the majority Friday after having supported the former plan earlier in the week, telling his colleagues that he did not think there was “one right answer.”
The board will soon begin the endeavor of developing official standards for social studies, which will include outlining specifically what the group expects students to learn in each school grade. That politically-charged process will provide the board’s Republican majority an opportunity to more heavily influence what happens in the classroom, following legislative action in recent years to restrict how schools teach about topics like race, racism, gender and sex. The board undertook that process in 2022 but delayed it after pressure from Republican lawmakers, who complained that the plan at the time amounted to indoctrination.
The group is aiming to vote on the revised social studies standards by June 2026.
The framework approved on Friday would teach students in kindergarten through second grade about the key people, places and events throughout Texas and U.S. history. It would then weave together lessons on the development of Western civilization, the U.S. and Texas during grades 3-8, with a significantly heavier emphasis on Texas and the U.S. after fifth grade. The topics are in chronological order, meaning children would learn about ancient history in earlier grades and approach instruction about the modern era as they advance.
The teaching plan board members preliminarily approved Wednesday and later abandoned would have used kindergarten through second grade to teach children about local, state, U.S. and world history and geography. It would have then taught them Texas history in third grade; U.S. history in fourth grade; world history in fifth grade; world cultures in sixth grade; and U.S. and Texas history in seventh and eighth grade.
Conservative groups who spoke in favor of the newly approved framework said they favored its story-based, chronological approach, which they believe will help students better analyze historical patterns. Others argued that it would also place America in a global context and allow students to critically analyze the country’s strengths and weaknesses.
“Because students have this robust chronological and thematic instruction, they can then deeply explore the ideas that form the state in the Texas capstone,” said Matthew McCormick, a K-12 education policy analyst for the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
But social studies educators criticized the plan’s lack of attention to geography and world cultures. They dislike how the plan fragments instruction, as opposed to dedicating specific years to teaching children about Texas, U.S. or world history. They also worry the plan’s chronological approach would disrupt historical continuity and make it harder for kids to see cause-and-effect relationships.
“Relevance is what makes history memorable, and that comes alive from teaching it in context,” said Courtney Williamson, a parent of school-age children who taught eighth-grade social studies for 15 years and served as a social studies department head.
Williamson added that the teaching plan favored by educators provides students with knowledge “that they can connect and apply.”
Conversations among the board earlier in the week about the new teaching plan revealed some of the disagreements and tension to come when it begins revising Texas’ social studies standards.
“When do people that look like me, Tiffany, Evelyn, Gustavo, Marisa, LJ, get to learn about themselves before the fifth grade?” asked Houston board member Staci Childs, referring to the people of color on the panel. “Just curious, if we adopt this.”
Keven Ellis, a Lufkin Republican on the State Board of Education, expressed confusion about engaging in debates about the content of lessons so early in the process of revising Texas’ social studies standards.
“I think those important questions, those very important questions, are going to come shortly as we start writing the actual student expectations,” said Ellis, who voted in favor of the teaching plan approved on Friday. “It’s going to be our job … that we make sure everybody’s story is told, because I 100% believe in that too, because, I think, that’s when students learn, is when they can see themselves in the material they’re learning.”
Disclosure: Texas Public Policy Foundation has been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
Three featured TribFest speakers confirmed! You don’t want to miss Deb Haaland, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior and 2026 Democratic candidate for New Mexico governor; state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston and 2026 Republican candidate for Texas Attorney General; and Jake Tapper, anchor of CNN’s “The Lead” and “State of the Union” at the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Get your tickets today!
Eric Underwood, former chair of the NEGOP, center, leads a news conference with his new nonprofit Advocates For All Nebraskans to announce two ballot measures intended to lower property taxes and cap annual increases to property valuations. Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — Advocates launched a pair of ballot measures Monday for the 2026 election, one that aims to halve property taxes and the other to cap annual property valuation increases.
The petitions are the first of a handful being sought for 2026 by the new nonprofit “Advocates For All Nebraskans.” Leading the effort is former Nebraska Republican Party Chair Eric Underwood of Malcolm, State Board of Education member Kirk Penner of Aurora, former Nebraska State Patrol Superintendent Tom Nesbitt of Lincoln and former Lincoln talk radio host Doug Fitzgerald.
Eric Underwood, former chair of the Nebraska Republican Party and leader of the new nonprofit Advocates For All Nebraskans. Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
The first petition would amend state law and halve the percentage of a property’s valuation subject to property taxes after 2026 — for homes, from 100% to 50%, and for agricultural or horticultural land, from 75% to 37.5%.
A total of $5.3 billion in property taxes was assessed statewide in each of the past two years. A 50% reduction would mean a property tax savings of more than $2.6 billion.
“This immediate property tax relief and others that are out there are literally one signature and then one vote in 2026 away from becoming reality for the people,” Underwood said at a Monday news conference launching the effort.
The second petition would amend the Nebraska Constitution to cap property valuation increases at the growth rate of Nebraska’s general fund tax receipts (as calculated at the end of each calendar year) or 3%, whichever is less.
The valuation cap would not apply when a property is built, sold or purchased.
Influence of valuations
Reducing property valuations does not mean property taxes will go down at the same rate, or at all.
There are more than 2,300 taxing subdivisions in the state, including 245 school districts, 93 counties, 528 municipalities, 408 fire districts and 327 townships. About 60% of property taxes pay for local schools, 17.2% for counties and 11.5% for municipalities.
The proposed ballot measures would offer no replacement revenue to cover immediate reductions in property valuations.
Qualifying for the ballot
Voter-led changes to state law require verified signatures from at least 7% of registered voters (about 90,000). Voter-led changes to the Nebraska Constitution require signatures from at least 10% of voters (about 126,000).
Voter totals are calculated when petitions are due to the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office.
Petitions seeking verification on the November 2026 ballot must be submitted in early July 2026.
Some local officials speaking with the Nebraska Examiner after Monday’s announcement said they were still reviewing the ballot language but noted a taxing entity at or below half of its tax-asking authority could theoretically make up the difference over time.
That would mean a school district at or below a 52.5-cent levy and counties or municipalities at or below 22.5-cent levies. The Legislature has capped how fast these three governments can increase property tax rates year over year.
School and local government officials have in the past worried that tight spending caps could hinder growth or hurt employee recruitment or retention, and some have noted local leaders are buying products facing inflationary pressures as taxpayers are.
Property tax rates can vary widely in the allowable range, such as for school districts. In the most recent year, Hyannis Public Schools and Humphrey Public Schools had mainline school levies of roughly 35 cents, while others were at or just below a $1.05 cap — public schools in Sidney, Plattsmouth, Medicine Valley, Gering or Walthill
Entities within the upper half of their tax-asking authority would absorb the reduced valuations and resulting decline in tax revenue, unless they have access to additional state funding or other sources of revenue.
In short, some Nebraskans would not receive a straight 50% reduction in property taxes.
It’s not yet clear how lower valuations might pair with changes to the state’s main funding formula for schools. A new state commission is looking at long-term fixes to that funding, with first recommendations to the Legislature due Dec. 1.
Leadership for the Nebraska State Education Association, Nebraska Association of County Officials and League of Nebraska Municipalities had no immediate comment Monday.
Underwood argued property tax savings from the ballot measure would be spent in local communities, which he said would energize and boost state and local sales or income tax revenue.
‘Rebalancing the funding structure’
Penner, who sat on the Aurora school board for 16 years before joining the State Board of Education in 2021, said he understands that property taxes play a balanced role in supporting schools. He said the ballot measures are “not about crippling local services. It’s about rebalancing the funding structure.”
State Board of Education member Kirk Penner of Aurora. Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
Over the next 18 months, Penner challenged local governments and taxing entities to prepare and engage with constituents to find new efficiencies and sustainable funding models. He said it could be a “new era” for transparency and direct public engagement.
“This is where elected representation should always be: a purposeful engagement of government to their constituents in a time and manner that truly listens to the voice and embraces the will of the people,” Penner said.
Underwood told the Examiner he understands the effort might seem a “forceful way” forward, but he asked at what point conversations would occur without the people as the “primary driver.” He said he also believes the effort could increase voter turnout in the 2026 midterm elections.
The group intends a “staged” release of petitions for 2026, Penner said, with the first two. He pledged another petition would “ensure our schools are properly funded while still moving them away from heavy reliance on property taxes.” He said the school funding mechanism is “broke” and has been for a while.
Doug Fitzgerald, a former talk radio host in Lincoln, Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
Underwood said subsequent petitions would prioritize local control and lead to a “historical rebalancing of schools” with a focus on caring for teachers and ensuring student education.
The group did not further detail or offer a timeline for when future petitions would be released.
Countering or pairing with EPIC Option
The Nebraska Constitution requires ballot measures to contain no more than a “single subject,” barring detailed but interconnected changes from appearing as a single item and requiring signatures to be gathered across multiple petitions, with each voted on separately.
However, juggling multiple petitions has proven challenging, as indicated in past years for medical cannabis advocates or the similarly tax-centered “EPIC Option.”
The “EPIC Option,” an acronym for the effort to eliminate property, income, inheritance and corporate taxes, is trying again for November 2026 with a “2.0” version that would take effect in 2028. Instead of two petitions to detail an alternative consumption tax, supporters landed this cycle on a single sentence.
If the EPIC Option is successful, the Legislature would be left to devise alternative revenue.
Then-State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard leads a news conference at the Nebraska State Capitol on his EPIC Option tax proposals at the Nebraska State Capitol. May 21, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
Underwood told reporters Monday that his group’s effort no way counters EPIC and can be complementary or parallel.
“We don’t think there’s going to be confusion,” Underwood said.
However, former State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard, an EPIC creator and spokesperson, said while the Underwood-led effort might make Nebraska’s tax system better, it won’t fix the issue.
“There’s only one way to fix it, and that’s start over,” Erdman told the Examiner.
Erdman said he is worried about confusion because the more explaining his team had to do with EPIC, it hurt signature gathering in the past year, compared to now. He also expressed concern about whether the Legislature would carry out the intended 50% property tax reduction or whether capping valuations up to 3% would instead lock in unfair valuations.
State Sens. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha and Bob Andersen of north-central Sarpy County are continuing to look at legislative ways to tackle property valuations, including a cap as Underwood’s team proposed.
The Andersen-Kauth effort did not advance past the Revenue Committee this spring, but the pair has not given up ahead of the 2026 legislative session, with hopes to reach the 2026 ballot, too.
‘Historic, lawful power’
Underwood, who led the Nebraska Republican Party between 2022 and 2025, and his fellow ballot sponsors said the Legislature has not listened to the public on property taxes, an argument Erdman has also championed.
Retired Nebraska State Patrol Superintendent Tom Nesbitt. Aug. 25, 2025. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
The 49-member, officially nonpartisan Legislature, where members do not formally caucus by party, has a Republican supermajority. Underwood and his supporters are Republicans.
Fitzgerald said he’s heard loud and clear from Nebraskans fed up with the state’s “property tax nightmare.”
Nesbitt said he appreciates the one-house Legislature, the only statehouse of its kind in the country. But he said that “over the years, I’ve watched an erosion of something fundamental: the will of the people taking a back seat to the machinery of government.”
“Our petitions aren’t radical by any means, or even partisan,” Nesbitt said. “They’re to return to a historic, lawful power of Nebraskans to legislate of, by and for the people.”
