RUDYARD — The state’s school aid budget for next year includes $6 million earmarked for Rudyard Area Schools to complete much needed physical infrastructure updates.
The Rudyard School building has been operational since 1952, and even though it has undergone many renovations and repairs over the years, much of the building is still using the original equipment.
Rudyard Area Schools Superintendent Tom McKee has been working for the past year to get an increase in funding for his school to make the repairs.
“I noticed in recent school aid budgets that there’s been a lot of projects in urban areas for things like infrastructure improvements and I thought it would be nice to see some of that money come across the bridge to rural areas in the Upper Peninsula,” said McKee.
McKee reached out to every representative and senator in the state he could think of and regularly made calls and visits downstate to gain support for his school budget. Eventually, he got the support he needed from State Rep. Dave Prestin of the 108th District.
“Many of the problems Rudyard faces are just simply unimaginable to folks outside the community,” said Prestin in a press release. “Students shouldn’t need to bring an umbrella out of their locker to stay dry in math. Infrastructure problems like this stand in the way of kids receiving the education they deserve. This money means the school can finally make the fixes they’ve been working toward for decades. The kids at Rudyard will finally be able to leave their umbrellas in their lockers where they belong.”
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The school will replace many parts of the infrastructure, including the boiler, some windows that don’t properly seal in the winter, cast iron water pipes and about half of the roof.
The leaking roof has become such a widespread and known issue that parents have begun sending their students to school with umbrellas to keep them dry in class on rainy days.
“My hope is that this starts a trend. This is the way government should work, they should be investing in the kids,” said McKee.
While there is no planned timeline in place for the repairs, they will be addressed during the upcoming school year.
“I’m excited because I think this is going to help secure the education of our kids because you can’t start to educate someone until you meet their basic needs and make them comfortable,” said McKee. “We have some of the best education and best staff in the state, we can’t also ask them to watch out for drips coming down from the ceiling.”
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com