Academy for at-risk youth still hopeful funding can be found
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – Staff and cadets at the Michigan Youth Challenge Academy in Battle Creek are waiting for word on the program's fate as a funding battle continues raging in Lansing.
If $1.2 million can't be found, the academy could shut down on December 26th, meaning the current class of cadets could be the last to graduate.
Staff and cadets are still hoping the funding can be found, and with that in mind, they're hosting nearly 200 at-risk youth from across the state. All have submitted applications to attend the academy in January.
The school is run by the National Guard, and to day has graduated 1,700 teens who have or were at risk for dropping out of high school.
The 2009 graduating class of 130 is the largest in the academy's ten year history.
