LANSING — Cuts in the state budget are leaving some Northern Michigan school districts without community services that support kids and families around the region.
Great Start Collaboratives, or GSC’s, are community-facing organizations that provide educational and recreational activities for children and parents.
But families in the Wexford-Missaukee Intermediate School District will lose their collaborative next month, owing to the state’s cuts.
The state cut all support for GSC’s — close to $20 million — in this year’s budget plan.
Paris Philo, early childhood contact for Wexford-Missaukee, says that the reduction in funding will leave the district’s nearly 500 kids and families worse off.
“It impacts our literacy outreach, it impacts building healthy, strong families, and impacts access to resources,” Philo said. “I just can’t say enough of how impactful our Great Start Collaborative was in our community — and now that’s gone.”
The Wexford-Missaukee GSC, which also serves Manistee, offered educational events, classes for new parents, community development activities and more.
They also hosted recreational events throughout the year like arts and crafts, nature walks, charity drives and reading groups.
Some services will run into December, but the program will be disbanded come 2026.
“Folks are really devastated by not having that support,” Philo said. “Our Great Start Collaborative also supported home-visiting through private agencies and our health departments — and that funding was cut, and so those home visiting programs have been cut in our communities.”
The Crawford, Oscoda, Ogemaw and Roscommon ISD will now fund its Great Start Collaborative, at the cost of $300,000 in district funds.
”They’re our family engagement, they’re our community outreach. They are what help children be ready for kindergarten,” said Katie Keith, early childhood supervisor for COOR ISD. “They help build the strong partnerships between schools, families and local organizations and that’s one of the big reasons why COOR chose to invest maintaining staff and the work.”
COOR ISD’s collaborative will run through at least September 2026.
“This ensures that the families and children still have access to the coordinated programs and resources and community supports that help prepare our children for kindergarten, life and strengthen our early childhood system,” Keith said.
Philo says she’s hopeful the state will provide funding for GSC’s in a new spending bill or in next year’s budget.
“It’s a tough world out there, and any support that we can give children and families will make a difference,” she said.