Lawmaker requests two earmarks for one Dearborn athletic organization

Rep. Erin Byrnes, D-Dearborn, submitted two separate earmark requests that will benefit a single organization, Hype Athletics, which has programs in Dearborn Heights, Wayne and Belle Isle.

The organization, handpicked by the representative, would receive two grants totaling $650,000.

One request calls for a $250,000 grant to address “racial disparities in maternal outcomes by promoting healthy lifestyles, early screenings, and stress management.” It singled out “mothers of color and low-income mothers,” saying they would be empowered through programs the grant supports.

Byrnes justified her second request, for $400,000, by saying it would promote academic achievement for students in Dearborn, Detroit, Wayne-Westland and Redford.

“This programming will provide free after-school and summer literacy programs focused on improving reading fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary among elementary students,” reads a summary document released by the Michigan House. Programs, which would include tutoring and parental participation, would lead to increased reading proficiency and academic confidence, it says.

One policy analyst, however, says the earmarks are not appropriate means for funding literacy or women’s health services.

“Policymakers should focus on fixing public schools so that these types of literacy programs aren’t necessary,” Michael Van Beek, director of research at the Mackinac Center for Public policy, told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email.

And if legislators think the after-school literacy program is worth taxpayer support, Van Beek added, they should act through the School Aid Fund. Likewise, he said, if lawmakers want to spend more on women’s health, they should channel funding through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Hype Athletics has various membership levels for its services, which include sports, fitness, social services, academic assistance and vocational training.

Hype Athletics had $4 million in revenue in 2023, of which $476,259 came from contributions, according to its federal Form 990.

Ali Sayed, the organization’s chief executive officer, earned $173,683 the same year.

Earmarks, Van Beek told CapCon, extend public money to recipients without oversight of how the money is spent and without vetting to ensure the best organization was chosen for the funding. Other nonprofits that would like an opportunity to compete for the money are shut out, he added.