Mr. Bill Fetterhoff, Director

Public School Funding

All an individual needs to do is turn on the television or pick up a newspaper. The state of Michigan’s economy is the worst in the nation. The media runs story after story on the budget woes that are being battled out in Lansing, our state’s capital.

Better yet, walk or drive our city’s streets. Empty business fronts, homes for sale (or worse, foreclosed upon) or the stories told by the looks on the faces of our unemployed neighbors and friends. These tell the true tale of the repressed economy our state is facing.

Many of us ask the question “what will fix our economy and state budget?” That answer is better left to economists, legislative representatives and those learned in finance. The one thing I know that won’t help us is cutting funding to our schools. How many times have we heard it said that our future is in our children’s hands? They are our future! Why then would we take away their options for learning and growing? Why would we take away the tools of society’s maintenance and repair crew? These children are our future citizens, our police and firefighters, our lawyers and doctors, our governmental representatives and policy makers, our next presidential candidates! More importantly, they are our future voters and taxpayers. If there is hope for tomorrow, it lies with our children. So let’s do something. Let’s write to our state senators and representatives. Let’s write to our governor. Tell them. Tell them loud and clear: sustain and increase our funding for schools by not cutting our per pupil dollar allotment. Tell them to be relentless in a search to find ways to truly fix educational funding in the state of Michigan once and for all. You have a voice. Let it be heard through phone calls, letters, and e-mails to our representatives and heads of government in Lansing. Together, we truly can make a difference in our society’s future.