This past December, twenty students in Heather Loeschke’s AP Government class competed in the state-level We the People competition, and won. It took a massive amount of hard work and determination to get there, and it now will take a massive effort on their part once more not only to prepare for the national-level, but to raise the money to get there.

The We the People competition used to have funding from the government, however as time passed and the budget needed to be cut in order to lower spending, the money provided for winning teams to travel to Washington D.C. was eliminated. Thus the burden of footing the bill for travel was thrown onto the states, an expense many cannot afford to cover. For a few years, there were some large donations promised, but those funds are no longer available, and the payment responsibility now rests almost solely on the shoulders of the winning school, in this case, Cannon Falls. This year, the price tag for the class has ended up being about $33,000 and the individual cost per student is roughly $1,600- a steal compared to how much it could be.

Already the class has been holding fundraisers in order to cut the costs to each family, such as the flowers sold for Valentine’s Day, working at the concession stand, as well as asking local groups like the Rotary and Masonic Lodge for donations. The class is also holding an event at the Cannon Falls Winery on March 27th, from 7:00pm to 10:00 pm. The class will be hosting a trivia contest, with six rounds of questions at $5 per round. Individuals or teams are welcome to come and participate and join in on the constitutional questioning. There will be a silent auction in addition to the trivia, with a basket submitted by each unit.

The class leaves on April 24th for competition, and is planning to fundraise until the very end. Currently the class has collectively raised around $13,000, a little more than a third of what they need. If anyone wishes to donate, make checks out to Cannon Falls ISD 252, memo “We the People”. This is a rare opportunity for these students to participate in, and as the national tournament date draws closer, they’re working harder than ever, hoping to do just as well in D.C. as they did at the state level.