Those that know me, know that I have always tried to make a difference in what ever I am doing. My children were blessed with having the opportunity to go to what I think was the best elementary school we could have had. That school was Lapeer Community Schools Attica Elementary. When my wife and I moved into Lapeer County in 1991, we looked at many houses all within 2 miles of where we eventually called home. We wanted our future children to attend this neat little school. It was the kind of place where whether you were a kid, a parent, or one of the great staff, it was like going to a buddy's house, open and inviting. It was the kind of school that as parents, we would have liked to have attended when you were a kid.
You might ask yourself what was so great about this school? Very simply, it was the entire community of people. We had parents that were INVOLVED, everyday. Whether it was a bake sale, classroom project, putting together new playground equipment, or whatever was needed, parents were ALWAYS there and ready to help. When a parent walked down the hall, thirty kids would say "Hi Mr Gavette" and run up to hug you, not just your own child. T
his would not have been possible if we had not had a principal and staff that were ready and willing to allow us to get that involved. This staff understood that our children's education was a partnership. The staff worked hard to build a relationship with parents to help reinforce and promote that education at home. We as parents respected and had trust in the staff, from the principal, to the custodian and kitchen help. Everyone played an important role. For my kids, as well as myself, they are treasured years and memories that you can't put a price on. To this day, grown children still come up to and shake my and and say Hi, with the respect they learned way back then. Sadly in 2006 it became necessary to close Attica. The kids and community tried their best to convince the powers that be that it our school was worth saving, but budgets had to be balanced that year L.C.S. closed Attica and Irwin Schools. The Irwin kids were all absorbed into Schickler as an entire group. Our Attica kids had to be split up. 1/3 went to Lynch, and the other 2/3 went to Maple Grove. Friends had to say goodbye, and many would not see each other for a long time. As a parent, this was very tough to watch and a hard lesson for little ones to understand.
This was just the 1st of many closings to come. In the following years, I have watched as we have lost most of our "neighborhood" schools. Closed now are Attica, Irwin, Elba, and Hadly. Crampton is now the Community High School. Just in the last month, our Administration and School board voted to close Seaton and Maple Grove. Maple Grove is especially hard to see to as this is where my daughter and many of her friends went after the closing of Attica. As with all of the closings of our elementary buildings, ALL of the kids, Parents and Staff are families now dealing with the same kind of loss. Yes, they will move on, and our kids will deal with this because we will show them how. In the end, they will succeed, but it will hurt for a little while. This is the sad fact of our bad economy, but is that the whole story?
I like so many other parents we're too busy with life to be concerned about what was is happening at the district level. For me, it was all about our local school. Not until we were told that our building was closing did I get involved and start to learn why this was happening and why what happens at the district level matters. I just assumed that the higher ups would always know what was best. As I have found over the years, that is not always the case.
I watched last year at the board meeting in May, when the district was concidering cutting funding for 2 sports teams a total of $60,000. At that meeting, there were well over a hundred people pleading their case to NOT cut the funding. One month later, in June of 2011, I was the only non administration person attending as our current Board of Education voted to take almost half of the little money we had left in the bank and use it to fill in the whole in the budget. This tactic seems to be much easier than making the tough choices for our kids that sometimes MUST be done as we have been picking around the problem for several years. I appealed to the board to look further and dig a little deeper to try to not use the money as there is no way of replacing it in the near future, but it fell on deaf ears. Not dealing with our budget issues last year meant that Lapeer Schools started out with a 2.6 million dollar shortfall before we even began this year. We now have the grim task of trying to fill in a projected $8 million dollar plus deficit.
This was the running point for me. I have considered running for the board in the past, but now, I believe that it is imperative that we get parents and citizens involved with the decision making process and look at ALL options, not just the ones that are the easiest.
Though I disagree with much that this board has done recently, I have great respect for them and the countless hours they dedicate with no pay or benefit, I just simply disagree with the direction they are going.
This is why I have decided to run for one of the 2 available seats on the Lapeer Community Schools board of education. As the years have gone by, I have learned how our schools work, how they are financed, and some things that this current board is not doing as well as it should. In the coming months, I will be attending as many local community meetings of Parents, Taxpayers, and Citizens to help bring about better public awareness of the issues facing our school district and some tactics for the future. Whether I win or lose, it is my hope, that by having conversation with people, more people will do as I have done and make it a point to get involved with our schools. With this blog, I will try to share information and unbiased perspective that you won't hear from most of the regular sources. I welcome any comments and or suggestions.
Schools are designed for one purpose, and that is to educate our children. In all things, the kids and their parents must come first. That is my belief and towards that end is what I will always strive for. I look forward to meeting many new faces and will work hard to earn your trust and vote this November.
Bill Gavette - L.C.S. volunteer, and candidate for LCS School Board
