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FCHS student recounts national JAG leadership trip; district says local partners will fill funding gap
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Summary
Savannah Leach, a senior and Indiana JAG president-elect, described attending the JAG National Student Leadership Academy in Washington, D.C., and said the state has stopped funding JAG; district leaders said they have a plan and reported $7,000 in local business commitments to support the program.
FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ind. — Savannah Leach, a senior at Franklin County High School and the State of Indiana JAG president-elect, told the school board on Feb. 9 about attending the JAG National Student Leadership Academy in Washington, D.C., and about how the program supports students preparing for careers or higher education.
"JAG, also known as Jobs for America's Graduates, is a nonprofit organization that helps the youth better prepare for life after high school," Leach said. She described touring national monuments, meeting other students across the country and meeting legislative staff. "We also discussed what JAG was and how the state of Indiana stopped funding for JAG," she said.
District leadership responded that they will continue to support JAG locally. The superintendent said the district has already developed a plan and that Tanya Works (the local JAG sponsor referenced at the meeting) "will be with us still because we're not letting that go." He added that district staff and the community are working to keep core services in place.
Superintendent and staff also told the board the district has seen strong local business interest in supporting school programs; "Over the weekend, within 2 days of announcing it, we have $7,000 worth of business partners that have come through to say, yes, we wanna connect," the superintendent said, noting the funds will be split across buildings based on ADM to support PBIS and related activities.
The board's recognition of Leach's trip highlighted a tension between state funding shifts and local efforts to sustain extracurricular supports. District officials said they will continue to pursue partnerships and internal options to preserve JAG programming for students.
