UP Gazette

State Rep. Dave Prestin announced on Thursday that Rudyard Area Schools will receive $6 million in the upcoming school aid budget to address critical infrastructure issues. The funding was confirmed following the signing of the budget into law by Governor Whitmer on Tuesday.

“Many of the problems Rudyard faces are just simply unimaginable to folks outside the community,” said Prestin, R-Cedar River. “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.”

The school building, constructed in 1954, is currently equipped with a 40-year-old boiler and has numerous windows and doors that do not properly seal, leading to snow drifts forming inside during winter months. The leaking roof has become so problematic that parents have resorted to sending their children to school with umbrellas for indoor use on rainy days.

“This is how government should work,” said Tom McKee, Rudyard Area Schools Superintendent. “Through the diligent work of Representative Prestin and others, the needs of our district and our students will be greatly improved. The students in my district in the Eastern Upper Peninsula are just as important as those in other parts of our state.”