Now PETA says it will donate money to the school to help ease their cash
problems, but there are strings attached to that offer. PETA, or People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals, says it will give the Montrose School District
money if the district puts anti-dissection ads on lockers. It's an offer that
has never been made to any school in Michigan and has Montrose Superintendent
Mark Kleinhans scratching his head.
"I had more questions than probably answers," Kleinhans said. "Immediately tried
to contact the company, pulled their website down, made a phone call."
The ad reads, "Stop School Violence. Do your Homework - Choose Not to Dissect"
PETA will donate $1,000 to the district if two ads are placed: one in the middle school and one in the high school. They're vinyl and will stretch across nine lockers.
Dissecting animals like frogs is common practice in most high school biology classes across the state. According to PETA, this offer has been made to other schools, but Montrose is the only district in Michigan. The organization decided to make the offer after hearing media reports about the district's budget cuts that included teacher layoffs and an end to bus transportation.
"We really think this is a win-win situation because the school gets
much-needed funding and also students get a lesson in that there's a lot, far
superior, less cruel methods out there to learn biology than cutting into
animals," PETA spokesperson Kate Brindle said.
However, Kleinhands does not see it as a quick fix for financial problems.
"Do I think PETA is going to give us $500,000 to bring busing back?
No," he said.
Kleinhands says he hasn't turned the offer down just yet. He still has a lot of
questions and is in talks with PETA. He says they would never eliminate the
practice of dissecting animals for their curriculum.
