'Northport Promise' program convinces Ohio man to plan move to county, enroll children in school

An Ohio native who spent his honeymoon in Northport wants to keep a silent promise he believes he owes his children — to provide them with a college education.

Steve Adams, who with his wife, Brenda, and four children reside in Wauseon, Ohio, has subscribed to the Leelanau Enterprise for years with the hope of eventually moving to the area.

Last week he walked into the Enterprise office to place an advertisement looking to rent a house.

The Northport Promise, a program set to begin in the fall, will provide students who attend Northport Public School with scholarships to attend college. The more years a student attends classes in Northport, the more money he or she will receive with the goal of providing a full ride for tuition to students who enroll 12 years in the district.

The Adams family includes four children — Logan, 4, Emma, 6, Brittany, 12, and Amanda, 14.
Steve Adams was thinking specifically of Logan when placing the classified ad for housing. The family pool of money to spend on college could be strained after already paying for post-high school educations for her three siblings.

“I’ve been keeping up on stuff,” said Adams. “She could get a full ride to college, and my other children would get partial scholarships.”

“That’s great news,” said Ruth Steele-Walker, who with other Northport-area residents started planning for the “Promise” program last fall. “We’re delighted to welcome new families to Northport. We look forward to getting to know them as they become part of the Northport community.”

Two weeks ago, the Northport Promise Steering Committee announced that it will begin funding the program for the graduating class of 2008.

Enrollment at Northport has taken a dive in recent years, falling from a high of about 350 to 154 in 2007. Northport is one of the rare districts in Michigan that is out-of-formula — meaning that local property taxes pay for most of its budget; other districts receive state aid on the basis of the size of their enrollment —so having less students has not affected its budget.

But having just a handful of students in each class presents a challenge for providing an in-depth curriculum, and for offering extra curricular activities such as bands and sports teams. The Board of Education entertained a serious discussion about closing down the high school before voting in the spring to keep doors open.

Two reasons for the school board’s decision: A groundswell of support for keeping the school open, and a pledge to begin the Northport Promise in hopes of attracting families to the district such as the Adamses.

Moving will take a leap of faith for Steve Adams, who is part-owner in a family business related to the real estate field that includes selling home warranties. But the real estate market has been in decline, and Adams believes he will eventually find employment in northern Michigan.

“I’m going to have to work, but this is something I can do for my kids,” he said.
Adams is looking beyond free scholarships in choosing to move to Northport.

“Every kid I’ve ever talked to at Northport loves it. When you hear positive things like that, you know the teachers are doing something right,” he said.

Steele-Walker, herself a Northport graduate, concurs. “Northport has a lot of offer in quality of life, and especially in the quality of the school system,” she said.