MILFORD, Mich. – Dwindling school funding continues to force educators to make tough spending decisions. At Milford High School, the electronic sign out front stopped working, and students stepped in to solve the problem.
"If it weren't for the school buses, you would never know this is the entrance to a high school, because the sign is missing," Joe Bravo said.
The sign was removed two weeks ago, with only the slab remaining. Bravo and his cousin, Aiden Warzecha, got tired of looking at the old broken down sign.
"As a whole community, not just our school, it looked bad in the community and it wasn't working," Bravo said. "Let's just get it down."
All that's left of the decade-old analog sign is the computer and transmitter. Principal Kevin McKenna admits it was bad.
"Every service call was anywhere between $200 and $1,000 to time out, and we can't afford that," McKenna said.
Aidan and Joe took a leadership class together and decided on a new sign that requires about $15,000. So they built a GoFundMe page, talked to local businesses and got the project on its way.
The next step for the students is to design the sign with the school board's help. The hope is that because they have most of the funding, they can get the bricks and mortar up before snow falls. Officials plan to pull more money together this school year and apply the finishing touches to the sign in the spring.
The new sign will not be electronic. Social media will be used to deliver important schedules to school families.
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