Reps. Palmer, Accavitti, Baxter, Booher, Brandenburg, Brown, Casperson, Caul, Clack, Condino, Farhat, Farrah, Garfield, Gleason, Gosselin, Hildenbrand, Huizenga, Hummel, Jones, LaJoy, Marleau, McDowell, Meyer, Newell, Nitz, Nofs, Palsrok, Pastor, Pavlov, Pearce, Proos, Rocca, Sak, Shaffer, Stahl, Vagnozzi, Vander Veen, Wojno and Zelenko offered the following resolution:

House Resolution No. 187.

A resolution recognizing January 29 through February 4, 2006, as Catholic Schools Week in the state of Michigan.

Whereas, There are 86,664 students attending 308 Catholic Elementary and High schools throughout our great state; and

Whereas, Catholic schools provide young people with a strong foundation of values and academic skills needed to become responsible citizens of our state and nation; and

Whereas, The Catholic Church sees the parents as the primary educators and that parental supervision and involvement play a major role in the education of students; and

Whereas, Catholic schools believe that teaching morals and values is essential to the complete education of the student since every member of society continually makes moral decisions; and

Whereas, Catholic schools educate many students who are non-catholic; and

Whereas, Based upon Michigan’s public school foundation allowance of $6875, the Catholic schools of our state save taxpayers in excess of $595,815,00 annually; and

Whereas, Catholic educators are dedicated to producing academically strong students who also commit themselves to service; and

Whereas, January 29 through February 4, 2006, has been designated as Catholic Schools Week with the theme "Catholic Schools: Character. Compassion. Values." by the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; now therefore, be it further

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body recognize January 29 through February 4, 2006, as Catholic Schools Week in the state of Michigan.