Voters To Decide Gros Cap School Millage Renewal, Retain Cope and Dandona on Board
By Paul Gingras

Nancy Dandona

Trustees Mike Cope and Nancy Dandona are running unopposed for seats on the Gros Cap School Board of Education in the Tuesday, May 8, election, when voters will also decide whether to renew a millage on non-homestead properties. The district needs the millage to continue operating.

A mill is $1 per $1,000 of taxable property value. Gros Cap's millage does not include taxes on primary residences.

The election will decide whether Moran Township's kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school will remain open for the next three years because, unlike most Michigan school districts, it operates almost exclusively on local taxes. The district's request for a three-year, 16.8734 millage renewal will decide the future of the school. If passed, it will bring in $914,000 in 2007.

Board members and Superintendent Bill Peltier note that township residents have consistently voted to pass the millage that keeps Gros Cap operating, but if the millage fails, the school is likely to close.

If Gros Cap were to close, it would be absorbed by another school district, most likely St. Ignace Area Schools, Mr. Peltier told The St. Ignace News. This could mean higher school taxes for Moran Township residents, he added.

Mike Cope

School board trustee Mike Cope and treasurer Nancy Dandona are committed to keeping Gros Cap operating. Mr. Cope has spent four years on the board. Ms. Dandona has served for 12 years.

Nancy Dandona

Ms. Dandona, 59, is a graduate of Gaylord High School. She has an associate's degree in science from North Central Michigan College in Petoskey and attended the University of Michigan in Flint. She moved to St. Ignace in 1970 and bought Totem Village on US-2.

She said her candidacy is driven by a desire to keep Gros Cap open.

The upcoming millage is likely to pass, she said. Township residents have voted in favor of keeping Gros Cap open since the millage became the district's primary source of funding six years ago. As long as it passes "we're in good shape," she told The St. Ignace News.

As treasurer, her emphasis is on budgeting wisely.

Ms. Dandona has helped keep the budget balanced by voting to reduce costs for the district's superintendent, she said.

The board has struggled to provide Gros Cap with experienced, inexpensive leadership, she explained. When she took her seat on the board in 1995, the district had a full-time superintendent. This was too expensive, she said, so the board decided to employ a part-time superintendent who also taught classes. When staterequired paperwork, district duties, and a teaching load proved "too much to expect of any one person," she supported hiring Mr. Peltier, a decision that has improved the financial health of the district, she said. Mr. Peltier works part-time. He is a retired superintendent from Tahquamenon Area Schools, meaning Gros Cap employs an experienced superintendent who does not require a retirement package or a full salary.

Ms. Dandona said the decision to hire Mr. Peltier has "kept us going," and, although he is retired and will eventually leave Gros Cap, Ms. Dandona is confident Mr. Peltier will help the board develop a plan for the district's continuing financial stability.

Scores on standardized tests reveal the district's academic strength, she said. In particular, Gros Cap has poured effort into training its students in computers and technical skills.

Small class size is another district strength, and students at Gros Cap receive more individual attention than they would in larger classes, she said.

Ms. Dandona has written letters to state legislators in support of small schools and in 2004, she attended discussions on the topic in Sault St. Marie, which included school board members and state legislators.

She is supporting efforts by Mr. Peltier to convince state legislators to allow schools' building funds, known as sinking funds, to be applied to busing and technology upgrades.

Ms. Dandona seeks to improve the district by helping fund state mandated programs, in particular, special education. She recently voted to support the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District's (EUPISD), which will ask voters throughout the region for an additional 0.75 mills for special education. The state requires schools to provide for special education.

Mike Cope

Mr. Cope, 54, is a lifetime resident of Moran Township. He attended Gros Cap, was graduated from LaSalle High School in 1970, and went on to study pre-law at Lake Superior State University and correctional law at Northwestern Michigan College. He is married to Mary St. Onge of Mackinac Island and has three children. Jordan, 22, is a student at Grand Rapids Community College. Drew, 18, attends Northwestern Michigan College, and Michaela, 13, is in seventh grade at Gros Cap.

He is a the supervisor of a housing unit for 40 prisoners at Hiawatha Correctional Facility in Kincheloe.

His employment requires him to find creative solutions to problems, Mr. Cope said, an ability he uses to help manage the district. Thinking creatively, in addition to his four years of experience on the board, makes him an asset to school management, he told The St. Ignace News.

In addition to his duties as a prison supervisor, he is a prison outpatient substance abuse coordinator, and a cognitive restructuring group coordinator, a job that requires him to teach prisoners new ways of thinking. The goal, he said, is to help inmates change the way they think, to help change behavior.

These responsibilities require planning and time management skills, which Mr. Cope said he applies as a school board member.

The most pressing issue facing Gros Cap is school funding, Mr. Cope said, a problem exacerbated by "the legislature's inability to fund Michigan's schools."

To keep Gros Cap solvent, he supported hiring Mr. Peltier, which costs the district one quarter of the amount the district would pay for full-time superintendent, he said.

To battle school financial problems, Mr. Cope also voted to contract with St. Ignace Area Schools for busing services, a decision he calls "a win" for both districts.

Gros Cap applies for grant money frequently, he added. Mr. Cope cited grants received from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

Moran Township residents are responsible for keeping Gros Cap's building in good shape by passing millages for the school's building and site fund, Mr. Cope said.

Mr. Cope helped direct building funds to install new energyefficient furnaces, windows, and lighting. The funds were also used to re-wire the school. Two new classrooms were constructed, and the school continues to upgrade its computer systems. These improvements have enabled the board to save money for "the bottom line, which is teaching our students," he said.

Mr. Cope voted to install phones and an intercom system and to implement a lock-down to respond to an outside threat to the school.

He echoed Mrs. Dandona's view that Gros Cap's small classes, and its focus on technology, are two of its main strengths.

In the months to come, Mr. Cope wants to continue upgrading the school's technology, which is one of the ways he believes the district helps prepare its students for college.

"By providing students with the latest technology, we are laying the groundwork to help them compete at the college level," he said. Other ways the school helps prepare its students for college are emphasizing strong writing and science programs, he said.