Gratiot County Herald

Dear Editor:

I was appalled and disappointed yesterday when Governor Granholm and House Speaker Dillon joined with Senate Majority Leader Bishop in calling for the use of School Aid dollars to offset funds in the state’s general fund.

Anyone who values Michigan’s future cannot allow this to happen!

Despite the rhetoric coming out of Lansing, Michigan’s schools do not have any surplus revenue.

The past few years have been devastating for schools; massive cuts, record layoffs and school closures have been commonplace. In the past year, school funding has been slashed $165 per pupil.

The “extra revenue” projected as part of the most recent fiscal estimate is not even enough to restore that cut, let alone cover the $150 per pupil cost of the retirement rate increase or the over 20% health care cost increase coming next year.

As parents, grandparents and public servants, we need to ensure that every child has access to the same quality education that our parents afforded us.

Please join me in expressing your commitment to protecting School Aid dollars for their intended purpose.

Tell Lansing to keep their hands off of our children’s future!

Sincerely,

Sean McNatt
Breckenridge

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To the Editor:

This is a season of transition when graduates from all educational institutions make speeches and say their good-byes to the places and people who have influenced their lives and prepared them for the future. I would like to share with you a special place that recently graduated 222 students. I am speaking about the Fulton Adult & Alternative Education (FAAE) program whose commencement was held Friday, June 4, 2010.

I discovered this rare treasure last summer when invited by the Director, Phil Garcia, to join his staff as a temporary counselor. I was uncertain about what I would have to offer in a school setting, but equally looking forward to something new.

What I found was surprisingly unexpected. After years of working with people who have endured traumatic childhood experiences, at times made worse in their home school environments, I found the FAAE environment to be refreshingly different. No one appeared to be singled out, bullied, or labeled as someone who doesn’t “fit in.” Sure at times I felt different for not having a single tattoo or body piercing, but at FAAE, you are guaranteed to not be chastised for being unique.

Now I hope traditional school loyalists will not be offended by this article. Many advances have been made in public schools to reduce tolerance of bullying and to embrace the uniqueness of each student. However, it would be negligent to say these problems have been totally eradicated.

The FAAE program offers students an incredibly talented and caring group of professionals who deliver quality education in nontraditional classrooms. Diversity is the norm. Unique learning styles are accommodated. I witnessed a level of confidence and comfort among the students that can only be achieved when one is truly in a safe place. But the most life changing transformation that I witnessed was that of graduation. Among the student body were previous drop outs, some homeless, some pregnant teens, returning adults, and talented kids. The list of who attends goes on and on.

As I said my good-byes to the staff this spring, one thing was very clear to me—there is little in life to offer a person that will boost confidence, restore hope, and provide future choices so efficiently as that of helping a student complete their education. Bravo to the staff at Fulton Adult & Alternative Education. They do this well and often!

Anne Swan-Vanegas
Alma