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State wants to reduce STEM funding

Joan Oppliger, director of the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics & Environmental Education at Michigan Technological University, discusses the consequences to the western Upper Peninsula of a proposal to cut funding to math and science centers in the region. (Daily Mining Gazette photo by Graham Jaehnig)

By GRAHAM JAEHNIG

Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

HANCOCK — The Michigan Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Council wants to make drastic changes to STEM in Michigan, according to Shawn Oppliger, director of Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics & Environmental Education at Michigan Technological University.

The MiSTEM council’s Dec. 15, 2016, report recommends the rebranding of the math/science centers in Michigan as STEM Centers, and reducing the current number centers from 33 to 10 across the state.

The result of this shift would be to eliminate legislated funding for the Michigan Mathematics and Science Centers Network, and drastically change the WUPC’s primary role from building teacher capacity and developing student talent at the local level to a convener of STEM organizations within a large prosperity region.

This shift would dismantle the MMSCN, and in turn eliminate legislated funding for the WUPC, which is currently $47,387, as well as additional funding the WUPC leverages by being a member of the MMSCN and additional grant support through partnerships with local state entities, estimated at $330,513 for 2016-17, according to Oppliger.

For the WUPC, this means the local current structure that provides student and teacher programs to local districts the Copper Country and Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School Districts will shift to one STEM center that services the entire Upper Peninsula funding of $200,000.

“So, that means we will have one math/science center in the U.P., which will probably be centrally located, so that probably means our schools will not be serviced by that math/science center, just because of the geographical distance,” Oppliger said.

Currently, there are five math/science centers in the UP that provide services to local school districts.

Oppliger said while the Math and Science Center has existed for approximately 30 years, and the WUPC has been a member of it for 20 years.

“And through that networking, we have received money out of Section 99 of the School Aid Act. It’s not a lot of money,” Oppliger said. “Our amount of money has decreased over the past number of years, but…we get $47,000 from the School Aid Act, and then we also leverage with that money, bringing in additional grants of over $300,000. That provides student and teacher services for the schools in the five counties.”

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