(Community Matters 127) Battle Creek STARBASE Closure Tied Up in Washington Budget Wrangling

STARBASE Battle Creek, a science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) academy which provides supplemental learning for hundreds of west Michigan students, has been closed since early February 2025.When or if it - and 89 others in the US, Puerto Rico and Guam - will reopen is caught up in partisan budget wrangling in Washington.STARBASE Battle Creek Director Amber Waterbury calls it a "discrepancy" in the federal budget, which has only allocated one-third of the academy's $60m budget nationwide. She tells Community Matters what the academy does and how it affects local schools and students from its location at the Battle Creek Air National Guard Base.Episode ResourcesWhy is STARBASE Closed?ABOUT COMMUNITY MATTERSFormer WBCK Morning Show host Richard Piet (2014-2017) returns to host Community Matters, an interview program focused on community leaders and newsmakers in and around Battle Creek. Community Matters is heard Saturdays, 8:00 AM Eastern on WBCK-FM (95.3) and anytime at battlecreekpodcast.com.Community Matters is sponsored by Lakeview Ford Lincoln and produced by Livemic Communications.