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August 29, 2007

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Confound it, Mr. Lessenberry, it's that damn special-interest group called "voters"; can't anything be done about them? If only they had known that a leading liberal journalist from Ann Arbor, via Detroit, had a better idea for them. Then, they might have understood.

Now that you are through with Whitehall and Montague, could you please fill us in on how much money those two systems are begging the state for, versus the Detroit Public Schools?

I grew up in Montague and attended those high school football games. I never missed one. It is too easy to blame football for the reason that we never consolidated. It wasn't the game that stopped it from happening - is is what the game stands for that stopped it.

Montague and Whitehall have their own identities. Whitehall is the city with their 2 stop lights and fast food joints. Montague the country with just one stop light and miles of corn fields. We are different. Our school are different. We play football differently. And in the end we understand loyalty that runs deeper than a football team.

I am proud to be from Montague and it isn't because of our football team. It isn't because we are one community that comes together every Friday night for a couple of months to watch some high school boys full of passion give it their all in the name of Montague. It is for all the other reasons - it is because even though I graduated 11 years ago the teachers still ask my mom about me. It is because my name is still in the trophy case in the agriscience room. It is because we have an agriscience room. It is because we look out for each other because we know each other. It is for Saturday morning at the farmers market making fun of the tourists. It is for Cruizin' on that hot July night when the whole town turns out for a celebration. Very little of it has to do with the football team - but in the end it is part of what connects us and gives us a sense of community and loyalty.

As for the actual schools - we might have ended up with more classes but we would have lost the connection that exists between teacher and student when the teacher has the time to make the investment. We didn't fall through the cracks - there were no cracks to fall into. In a time where students have lost faith in our elected officials, are frustrated by the lack of attention being paid to the environment and basically figure no one gives a crap out their future - it is nice to know that we are safe at school - that the teachers care - that in the end even if everything else goes you can always count on a football game Friday night. And that there are just 2500 hundred other people in the world who really get "it" at that very moment.

I have gone on in life to do some good things - I work for an environmental non-profit here in Michigan. It was my education at Montague that gave me the want to do more, be more and say more. I don't know if that would have happened had we joined forces with Whitehall. A little healthy rivalry never hurt anyone...Go Cats! Beat the Vikings!

Like Math 101....Small Town + Small Town = Small Minds!
Why not have one "White Lake Community Scools and Sports Teams?
Gee....Makes too much sense. Too much for the average Small-Towner to comprehend. Better not confuse the already confused!

Sir:

Read with great interest your comments. I live in rural Nebraska, and the situation is exactly the same out here. In my local case, it is even worse then your situation. We have 4 towns within a 20 mile radius. The largest has 600 people and the others have 400 each, and each school stubbornly insists on keeping both a high school and grade school. And my taxes have gone up 50% in the past five years.

Sometimes I think these small town people are still stuck in the 1950's. Don't they realize that kids need a good education and the advantages that larger schools can give?

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