Burt Township School District

File:Grand Marais Public School (early 1900s).png

File:Burt Township School Forest, Grand Marais, Michigan (30862430246).jpg

The district's history dates to 1885 when a small school was built in Grand Marais serving 50 students. As the area boomed in the early 1900s, the district's attendance grew to 520 students in 1905. The current school building, originally known as Grand Marais High School, was completed in 1929 at a cost of $125,000.{{cite web |title=About Us: Burt Township School History |url=https://burt.school/about-us/ |access-date=March 12, 2021 |publisher=Burt Township School District}} The building, which overlooks Lake Superior, is a two-story brick structure with high ceilings and oak-trimmed interiors.

Ira W. Jayne was school superintendent at the onset of the 20th Century.{{cite book |last1=Marquis |first1=Albert Nelson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rz4XAQAAMAAJ |title=The Book of Detroiters: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men of the City of Detroit |publisher=A.N. Marquis |year=1914 |edition=2nd |location=Chicago |page=266 |language=English |quote=JAYNE, Ira W., lawyer; born, Fenton, Mich. , 1884; son of Daniel G. and Alice C. (Waite) Jayne; A.B., University of Michigan, 1905; married, Dec. 27, 1911, Jean Farland Bilton, of Detroit. Superintendent of Burt Township schools, Alger County, Mich., 1905-7 |authorlink1=Albert Nelson Marquis}} In 1936, The Escanaba Daily Press touted the district's "modern public school system, which offers the children of the community educational advantages comparable to those offered by other cities in the Upper Peninsula."{{cite news|title=Grand Marais High School|newspaper=The Escanaba Daily Press|date=May 9, 1936|page=|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73320352/grand-marais-high-school/|via=Newspapers.com}}

Beginning in 1983, the school district implemented a novel telephone teaching program. The program, which included microphones and electronic blackboards allowing students in Grand Marais and teachers in Marquette to remotely view each other's work, was funded with a $22,000 grant from the state and made it possible for students to participate in classes offered by the Marquette Public Schools in subjects including art, foreign languages, and advanced mathematics. At the time, it was the only school in Michigan to use telephone teaching.{{cite news|title=Telephone transmits lessons to UP school|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|author=Thomas BeVier|date=March 25, 1986|page=7D|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73317553/telephone-transmits-lessons/|via=Newspapers.com}} In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the district has instituted remote learning. which is used as needed.{{cite web |url=http://burt.school/coronavirus/ |title=Coronavirus (Covid-19) Hub |publisher=Burt Township Schools |accessdate=April 13, 2021}}

In 1954, the Burt Township School received an award from the Northern Michigan Sportsmen's Association for its outstanding conservation education program.{{cite news |date=October 1, 1954 |title=Conservation Education Programs Included In Curriculums of Upper Peninsula Schools |page= |newspaper=The Escanaba Press |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73312565/conservation-education-programs/ |via=Newspapers.com}}

In 1984, the Burt Township school system spent more per pupil ($4,958) than any other school district in Michigan.{{cite news|title=School outlay rise smallest in decade|newspaper=Lansing State Journal|date=March 29, 1984|page=5B|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73312237/school-outlay/|via=Newspapers.com}} In 2007, the teachers' union voted to become "local only" and disaffiliated with the National Education Association and the Michigan Education Association.{{cite news |date=August 15, 2007 |title=Burt Township teachers vote out MEA, NEA |work=Michigan Education Report |publisher=Mackinac Center for Public Policy |url=https://www.mackinac.org/8824}} In 2018, the voters of the township approved a bond authorizing expenditure of approximately $1 million for maintenance of the school building.

As the area's population declined in the late 20th century, so too did the school's attendance. As of 2007, the school attendance stood at approximately 70 students from kindergarten through 12th grade. By 2015, attendance had declined to 30 students.

The district's future was called into question in 2019 by a proposed cut in a state program providing funding for school districts in remote areas. Governor Gretchen Whitmer used a line-item veto to eliminate the cut.{{cite news|title=State budget cuts could mean the end for Burt Township Schools|publisher=TV 6: Upper Peninsula Source|date=October 3, 2019|url=https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/content/news/State-budget-cuts-could-mean-the-end-for-Burt-Township-Schools-562109101.html}}{{cite news|first1=Trent |last1=Bailey|title=Whitmer's vetoes "crippling" small northern Michigan school districts|publisher=ABC 10 UP|date=October 2, 2019|url=https://abc10up.com/2019/10/02/whitmers-vetoes-crippling-small-northern-michigan-school-districts/}}

The school has also served other purposes, including the library serving the community at large and the gymnasium serving as a community recreation center. The Burt Township Schools own a 1,300-acre school forest adjacent to Lake Superior, bordering on the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

The schools are unranked by U.S. News & World Report, which has compiled demographic information on the district's population and students.{{cite news |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/michigan/districts/burt-township-school-district/burt-township-school-143121 |title=Burt Township Schools |work=U.S. News & World Report |accessdate=April 12, 2021}}

{{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://grandmaraisschools.org/ Burt Township Schools]
• [https://www.niche.com/k12/d/burt-township-school-district-mi/ Burt Township Schools] niche.com

Category:School districts in Michigan

Category:Alger County, Michigan

Category:1885 establishments in Michigan