Republican budget cuts to public education aren't the only danger Michigan public school students face. A new study released earlier this month revealed that most of the state's public school students are exposed to high levels of pollution, endangering their health and hurting their academic performance.

Researchers at the University of Michigan studied the state's 3,660 K-12 schools and found that 62.5 percent were located in areas with high levels of industrial pollution, mostly in the lower peninsula.

Scarce resources force officials to build new schools in areas with low property values often located near large sources of pollution or waste like highways or industrial plants.

This situation may disproportionately affect students of color, according to the study. Scrutiny of the 10 worst pollution sites in the state found that less than half of the students in those areas are white, while more than eight in 10 are African Americans and more than six in 10 are Latinos.

The research also linked exposure to high amounts of pollution with high rates of poor health and to low performance on required standardized testing. The schools with most exposure to industrial pollution showed low attendance rates and the highest numbers of students who failed to meet the state's minimum education requirements.

National studies conducted in 2009 and 2010 found that location near industrial plants or highways increased students exposure to unsafe pollution. One study linked higher incidents of asthma to exposure to pollution while in school.

The authors of the University of Michigan study argued that states should mandate an environmental quality analysis as part of the decision-making process when choosing sites for new schools.

Michigan currently ignores Environmental Protection Agency guidelines put in place by the Obama administration for environmental quality analysis for new schools.

In fact, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, R, has shown little interest in regulating pollution or enforcing environmental protection laws as indicated by his appointment of Dan Wynant as Director of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, according to ProgressMichigan.org. As a prominent figure in a previous Republican administration, Wynant tried to block federal enforcement of the Clean Water Act and promoted laws that would have halted local efforts to regulate industrial farms.

The Snyder administration has shown that it will neither take special steps to protect the state's children nor improve the quality of the state's public schools.

The failure to address this particular issue shows a callous lack of concern for the state's children and their future well being. But it is also short-sighted in a practical sense. It means the state will pay more in long-term health costs caused by exposure to pollution. And the state will certainly not benefit from an under-educated workforce.

People aren't leaving Michigan because of high taxes, as the Republicans claim. They are leaving because they are tired of their children being poisoned.