The recent suggestion of the demise of the Suttons Bay Public Schools is premature. In a number of local media (outlets) the schools appear to have laid off as many as half of our teachers. While generating headlines, this is simply not the case.
It is true that we find ourselves with some significant financial problems. Since we live in a state where half a billion dollars is spent on prisons, and where schools in more politically powerful parts of the state are funded at double the per-pupil amount that schools such as ours receive, this is not surprising.
State law required that public schools have in place a budget for the 2008-'09 school year by June 30 of this year. No other entity responsible for determining what our revenues and expenses might be is required to supply us information by that date, so determining this budget requires looking deeply into a very cloudy crystal ball. All public schools in Michigan face this dilemma.
At Suttons Bay, we have had the good fortune to recently hire a new superintendent who cares passionately about educating each and every child who walks through our doors. Mike Murray has worked hard to establish a curriculum and programs that can do that. Mike understands that schools receiving the lowest per-pupil funding will have to operate within a budget that gets smaller every year, while at the same time offering a curriculum that keeps students from choosing to attend those schools that might be better funded. This is no small feat.
Suttons Bay will continue to offer more advanced placement classes than our neighboring schools. This fall we will be the host school for Northwestern Michigan College instructors who will be offering college classes to high school students. We will continue to offer a wide variety of on-line classes.
For our students who are encountering problems with the new state graduation requirements, we will offer a modular learning system to enable students a second chance to learn the chapters they were unable to master the first time. And we will maintain our excellent teacher/student ratios in our elementary school.
Suttons Bay Schools have an outstanding faculty and excellent support staff. People looking for a wonderful place to raise their children with an excellent school system, who can see around the news they hear and read, will find the Suttons Bay community the place they are looking for.
We believe that public schools are what made this country great. When you consider Suttons Bay Schools please think, "They might have some money problems, but they will do what is necessary to successfully educate my kids."
About the author: Roger Merriman of Suttons Bay has been a school board member for 11 years.
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