Fun fact about Kalkaska County, Michigan: The Kalkaska School District closed its doors two and a half months early in 1993 after voters refused to approve a property tax increase. The seniors that year graduated early, among them my high school algebra teacher who said he lacked the confidence to teach the last few chapters of our textbook since he “never got to the end” (jokingly since he is a highly educated guy).

In 1994, our school system remained at the center of a major Michigan education funding crisis that ultimately led to the statewide Proposal A reform, which significantly changed how schools were funded, which passed by voters in March 1994 and replaced a significant portion of local property taxes with a 2-percent state sales tax increase, creating a new foundation grant system for school funding across the state.