Latest news, weather, high school sports for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

ESCANABA -- The Escanaba School Board held a special public hearing to discuss their budget for next year.  The amount is a little bit lower than years past because they're getting less money from the state.  They're also anticipating their expenditures to go up.  So what is the Escanaba School District’s projected budget for 2012-2013?

Superintendent Michele Lemire says it will be about $585,000.  For now, the district will use grant funds and explore how they can gain revenue.  The goal is to increase efficiency.

One example is to use less paper and rely more on technology.

“We're continuing to explore the area of technology,” explains Lemire. “We know that this is the direction our state is going and our country is going. We want to make sure our students are adequately prepared so that they're ready to use technology in positive ways."

The board also discussed using some of the district's savings to help buffer the storm.  School officials say one thing parents were adamant about was to not eliminate any teachers.  So the board made a conscious decision to not only keep the teachers, but also to hire four more this summer.

Lemire says she hopes people realize how much the district values their pupils.

“We're hoping that our community will say, 'Let's make sure we stay here in Escanaba and send our kids to Escanaba Public Schools because we know that our kids are going to get quality education,'" Lemire says.

Another big change for the upcoming school year is the addition of seventh grade to Escanaba High School, which currently houses eighth through twelfth grade.  The middle school will now be considered the upper elementary, with fourth, fifth, and sixth grade configuration there.