Students Take Plea to Lansing
By Amy Polk

Les Cheneaux Community Schools will take at least two bus loads of students and community members to the steps of the state capitol Wednesday, May 16, where they will read essays about public education.

The trip will be an exercise in the democratic process, said Elementary School Principal Eric Cardwell, and a chance to lobby lawmakers for school funding reform.

Driven by statewide school funding deficits, Mr. Cardwell said the district wants to be active in reform, rather than simply complain. The Les Cheneaux district's own budget deficit is expected to top $200,000 next year.

"We can't just sit back and do nothing," Mr. Cardwell said. "We should try to do something. We're looking to put faces on the decisions Lansing makes, so they know it's not all about money."

He is inviting other Eastern Upper Peninsula school districts to join what he calls an educational rally.

"I'm excited about it because it's participation in the democratic process, and it should be empowering for the students," he said. "These kids don't have the opportunity to vote, and this gives them the opportunity to be heard. I think it could be a powerful thing to drive 250 miles, one-way, to Lansing for this."

The Les Cheneaux district trip will be funded by private donations from the community. It will include a tour of the state capitol, meetings with State Representative Gary McDowell and Senator Jason Allen, a meeting with a representative of the Michigan Department of Education, and reading student essays about the meaning of education on the capitol steps. So far one bus driver and one retired teacher have donated their time to the trip.

The group will leave Cedarville at 6 a.m. and return by 8 p.m. Wednesday evening.

The trip is voluntary, and the first seats on the bus will go to fourth and fifth grade students, because of the relevance of the trip to Michigan history and social studies lessons in those grades. If there is room, the rally will be open to the rest of the elementary and to middle and high school social studies and history classes.

One budget concession already made at Les Cheneaux Schools is to eliminate all non-essential field trips like this one from the general fund budget in 2006. Another, decided on this year, was to move the sixth grade back to the elementary school, where Mr. Cardwell will return to classroom teaching. Part of his salary will be reduced to reflect the lower teacher's salary, saving the district from hiring an additional teacher.

Mr. Cardwell said the idea for the trip came from school and community discussions about petitioning lawmakers to improve school funding. He said it is the first time an Eastern Upper Peninsula school has rallied at the state capitol building.

"We're building citizens, and developing critical and essay-writing skills, and it's being done in a meaningful way," Mr. Cardwell said. "Kids tend to learn by participation."