Moran Township School District Interim Superintendent Bill Peltier and supporters of the Gros Cap School can’t emphasize enough the facts behind the district’s May 3 non-homestead millage renewal request.

Through letters, brochures, and pleas, Mr. Peltier and his school board, along with many Gros Cap School staff, teachers, and parents, have told voters that the 16.8734 mills request is a not a tax increase, but a renewal of millage which expired with the 2004 tax levy. Gros Cap receives all of its operational funds from these non-homestead taxes. The 16.8734 mills is the most it can levy, Mr. Peltier said, and the district receives no state Foundation Allowance.

Homestead property is not affected by the tax, but if the millage fails and the district is forced to merge with St. Ignace Area Schools, Moran Township residents would pay the St. Ignace millage, which is now 17.2 mills, but may be 18, if that district’s millage passes May 3.

Mr. Peltier has been the district’s interim superintendent for less than a year, but has a strong sense of what the school represents. Gros Cap school enrolls 90 students in grades kindergarten through eight.

“We want to continue to give citizens the opportunity to have a choice,” he said. “It’s a great place to send kids to school and a positive learning environment. There are parents who send their kids to this school who want them to be there. That’s why it’s been here 122 years.

“There’s all kinds of research that shows the effectiveness of small schools, that they are very conducive to learning,” he added. “The parents and the staff really work together.”

“No child falls between the cracks there,” said Janice O’Boyle, the school board president who is running for a fifth term. “They all pull together.”

Mr. Peltier emphasized that although there is competition between Moran Township and St. Ignace Area Schools, there is also strong cooperation between districts, starting with the shared transportation services. “The two districts have taken some big steps,” he said. “And the Governor (Jennifer Granholm) has been very clear that wherever districts can share services, they should do so.”