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Faulty school board decisions will impact future projects

At the APS board meeting on February 23, 2026, Robert Crook, Presque Isle Commissioner District 5 defended the Board's decision to accept a higher asphalt bid. He obviously doesn't understand the public school bid process. At the APS board meeting January 27, 2025, the Payne & Dolan bid was $681,400, while the Goodrich bid was $713,950. Both bids were for a newer mix of asphalt that uses a smaller size of aggregate that is more visually appealing. These specifications were in the bid documents. Goodrich submitted an alternate bid of $685,000 for a lesser grade of asphalt. Payne ...

The quiet part, out loud

At the Feb. 23 school board meeting, board president Eric Lawson said the quiet part out loud. If you haven’t noticed the board hasn’t been talking about the Fairview Bathroom Policy lately, now infamously known as the Potty Policy, that’s exactly what they were hoping for. Eric Lawson along with Sarah Costain, Monica Dziesinski and AJ MacArthur made the Potty Policy a high priority on their personal agenda list early last year. This despite legal opinions from APS legal counsel, Thrun Law, and the ACLU saying instituting this policy would have devastating financial consequences ...

Development cannot thrive under fear – the danger of conditional love

Communities often ask how trusted institutions begin to feel increasingly rigid or ideologically narrow. The change is rarely dramatic. It is gradual, relational, and strategic. High-control movements rarely begin with extreme demands. They begin with ideas most people support: protecting children, strengthening families, restoring values. From there, emotionally resonant language builds trust. Once influence is secured in institutions that shape young minds and moral life — classrooms, congregations, libraries — access to information can narrow, critics may be reframed as threats, ...

A standing ovation for Alpena Public Schools’ CTE and industry expo

We would like to congratulate Alpena Public Schools on a truly successful Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Industry Expo held Wednesday night. The evening was impressive from start to finish and reflected the strength, vision, and collaboration happening right here in our community. As we toured the various labs and classrooms, we were struck by both the quality of the facilities and the enthusiasm inside them. Congratulations are due to CTE Director Jessie Gillard and Principal Romeo Bourdage for executing such a dynamic and well-organized showcase. It was also clear that ...

The wrong ideals for the job

When members of a PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD are endorsed by an organization called "NE MI League of Conservative Education", and that organization spells out their “key ideals” on their website as: "1. Supporting school of choice vouchers. 2. Support public charter schools. 3. Support facilitation of home schooling.", then it should be abundantly clear that those board members will be doing everything they can to DISMANTLE public education, the local public school system and move tax payer dollars into the hands of private entities. Fun fact! Did you know that more than 80% of ...

Thou doth protest too much

A recognizable Shakespearean phrase, “Thou doth protest too much”, is a commonly used expression to describe someone’s excessive denials that suggest those disclaimers are insincere and blatantly false. Such was the case at the February 16th school board meeting when Board President Eric Lawson attempted to normalize his recent attempts to suppress public comment at board meetings by intimidating and threatening community members. Lawson claimed that stationing sheriff deputies at board meetings, as he did, is not unusual and not unprecedented…that it happened prior to his time ...