One of the most powerful groups in Lansing heard from one of the youngest lobbyists in the state today: A 7-year-old second-grader from Brighton.
Holland Urbain, a second-grader at Hilton Elementary School in Brighton, came to Lansing to testify before the House K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, which handles school aid for every traditional public school and charter public school in the state. The meeting took place Tuesday morning at the State Capitol in Lansing, and Holland took to the microphone like a seasoned veteran.
Holland’s message to the lawmakers was a simple one: Schools like hers deserve equal funding.
“It is unfair the some kids get more money than others,” Holland said during her testimony. “Schools that get more money for their kids get more field trips, more technology and more materials for fun days of learning. The schools that don’t get as much money as they do have less field trips, less technology and less materials for fun days of learning.”
The Brighton Area Schools district – like all traditional public school districts in Livingston County, and like all charter schools in the state – is at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to per-pupil state funding. Holland told the legislators that she doesn’t think that’s fair.
“Kids should all be treated equally,” she said.
The House and Senate are in the middle of the budget process, which includes deciding per-pupil state funding for the coming year.
Holland said she was moved to take action after listening to her mother, Alicia, talk about her work with the Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA), the state charter school association. Alicia was telling her daughter about MAPSA’s efforts to lobby for a higher per-pupil increase for schools at the bottom of the funding pile.
When Holland heard that her school – Hilton Elementary – was funded lower than many other schools across the state, she asked her mom if she could come to Lansing to make her voice heard. “I didn’t think it was fair,” she said.
Holland also prepared a graphic illustration for each of the committee members that illustrated how higher-funded districts are able to provide more for their students than lower-funded districts.
By testifying at the Capitol, Holland was following in the footsteps of her older sister, Genna, who came to Lansing as a second-grader herself back in 2012. Genna was asking lawmakers to declare a special day to honor Willis Ward, an African American football player for the University of Michigan who was benched by his school back in 1934 when visiting Georgia Tech said it would refuse to play against any school that fielded a black player.
Genna’s efforts to honor Willis Ward were highly successful. As a result of her lobbying efforts, the State Senate declared Oct. 20, 2012, as “Willis Ward Day” in the state. She also successfully lobbied the University of Michigan Board of Regents to honor Willis Ward.
You can see Holland’s testimony in the video below.
