Schools

Grosse Pointe Teachers Inform Parents of Snyder's Plans

Dozens of teachers in the Grosse Pointe Public School System participated in a peaceful protest of sorts of Gov. Rick Snyder's school budget plan Tuesday.

Teachers at many of the handed out fliers to parents Tuesday—some before and some after the school day—providing information about Gov. Rick Snyder's budget plans and what those mean for Grosse Pointe students. 

The peaceful protest of sorts is part of a larger plan by the Michigan Education Association, which organized the MEA Day of Action for Tuesday. Teachers across the state were encouraged to wear red in support of education.

Events by local education associations were planned through the state according to the MEA website and locally, the Grosse Pointe Education Association members were encouraged to participate, President Ranae Beyerlein said.

Find out what's happening in Grosse Pointewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Some of the Grosse Pointe schools chose not to participate but others planned a variety of activities, including peaceful demonstrations such as handing out the informational fliers, Beyerlein said. 

Teachers from some of the schools, including , encouraged parents to wear red Tuesday with the educational leaders to show their support. The request came in a note sent home with students late last week stating "feel free to join the teachers in the district" who will wear red Tuesday to show "how much we believe in investing in your child's education." 

Find out what's happening in Grosse Pointewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Motorists spotted teachers protesting near Mack and Vernier roads following dismissal Tuesday, which is near . Parents of students received the informational fliers during the typical morning drop-off time. Similarly, parents of students received a flyer and teachers held signs protesting the more than $1.4 million Snyder's plan calls to cut from Grosse Pointe schools alone.

Beyerlein said teachers from and had planned to participate as well. Many of the teachers in Grosse Pointe keep in regular touch with legislators, she said. 

Some teachers needed more encouragement to participate Tuesday because of the conservative nature of Grosse Pointe and the thought that they didn't want to upset parents, Beyerlein said. 

The efforts were not of a picketing nature but as an informational distribution and an attempt to educate parents about what's going on in Lansing and what potential effect it could have on students locally. 

Several support staff members were marching near Mack Avenue and Vernier Road late Tuesday. They were not able to be out at the same time as the teachers but still wanted to show their support and let the public know about Snyder's plan.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here