{"id":1970,"date":"2011-05-28T08:54:53","date_gmt":"2011-05-28T12:54:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/05\/school-superintendent-to-governor-please-make-my-school-a-prison.html"},"modified":"2011-05-28T08:54:53","modified_gmt":"2011-05-28T12:54:53","slug":"school-superintendent-to-governor-please-make-my-school-a-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/05\/school-superintendent-to-governor-please-make-my-school-a-prison.html","title":{"rendered":"School superintendent to Governor: Please make my school a prison"},"content":{"rendered":"A school superintendent observed that his state pays more per prisoner\nthan per student, and suggested improving his school by declaring it\na prison.\n

\nHere’s his\n\nletter to the editor<\/a> of the Gratiot County Herald of 12 May 2011:\n

\n\n<\/a>\nDear Governor Snyder,\n

\nIn these tough economic times, schools are hurting. And yes, everyone\nin Michigan is hurting right now financially, but why aren\u2019t we\nprotecting schools? Schools are the one place on Earth that people look\nto to “fix” what is wrong with society by educating our youth and\npreparing them to take on the issues that society has created.\n

\nOne solution I believe we must do is take a look at our corrections\nsystem in Michigan. We rank nationally at the top in the number of people\nwe incarcerate. We also spend the most money per prisoner annually than\nany other state in the union. Now, I like to be at the top of lists, but\nthis is one ranking that I don\u2019t believe Michigan wants to be on top of.\n

\nConsider the life of a Michigan prisoner. They get three square meals a\nday. Access to free health care. Internet. Cable television. Access to\na library. A weight room. Computer lab. They can earn a degree. A roof\nover their heads. Clothing. Everything we just listed we DO NOT provide\nto our school children.\n

\nThis is why I’m proposing to make my school a prison.\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

\n\n<\/a>\nThe State of\nMichigan spends annually somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000 per\nprisoner, yet we are struggling to provide schools with $7,000 per\nstudent. I guess we need to treat our students like they are prisoners,\nwith equal funding. Please give my students three meals a day. Please give\nmy children access to free health care. Please provide my school district\nInternet access and computers. Please put books in my library. Please give\nmy students a weight room so we can be big and strong. We provide all of\nthese things to prisoners because they have constitutional rights. What\nabout the rights of youth, our future?!\n

\nPlease provide for my students in my school district the same way\nwe provide for a prisoner. It\u2019s the least we can do to prepare our\nstudents for the future…by giving our schools the resources necessary\nto keep our students OUT of prison.\n

\nRespectfully submitted,\n

\nNathan Bootz\n
\nSuperintendent\n
\nIthaca Public Schools\n<\/blockquote>\nMeanwhile, Georgia is not only at near the top of the incarceration heap,\n\nit is actually increasing the number of people it locks up.<\/a>\nAnd Georgia just passed\n\nan anti-immigration law<\/a>\nthat benefits private prisons.\nThere are a few good directions, such as\n\nsome movement towards sentence reform.<\/a>\n

\nBut we don’t need a private prison in Lowndes County.\nSpend that tax money on education instead.\n

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