Casperson Town Hall Meeting

Many people who were outside the Marquette County Courthouse for last week’s Workers United Rally were inside it tonight.

They were there for a town hall meeting with Escanaba State Senator Tom Casperson.

Casperson angered many in the crowd by saying he supports Governor Rick Snyder’s proposal to cut the foundation allowance for K–through–12 schools.

And he supports a transfer of surplus money from the school aid fund to other state programs.

But he says he doesn’t support carrying either of those ideas through to the degree that Snyder has proposed.

Casperson says he wants much less money to be taken from the school aid fund than Snyder is talking about taking — he claims school districts can’t afford to bear a $450 or so cut per student and keeping more of the money in the fund will avert that.

RaeAnn Loy, a Negaunee teacher, says many of the financial problems Michigan school districts are facing would go away if Snyder and the legislature were to leave the school aid fund alone.

Quite a few retirees whose pensions would be taxed were also concerned about that change.

Casperson says it’s an attempt to make the tax structure fairer for all residents.

Marquette State Rep Steve Lindberg, and former State Rep Gary McDowell of Rudyard, were among many others on hand to listen.

Casperson has other town hall meetings in Munising and Seney this Thursday.