Education agency in SW Michigan is dropping Cass name

A regional education agency named for former U.S. Sen. Lewis Cass is dropping the name. Trustees last week voted unanimously to change the name of the Cass Intermediate School District in southwestern Michigan. A new name will be selected in January. Cass, who died in 1866, was a U.S. senator as well as governor of Michigan before it became a state. He also owned slaves and removed Native Americans from tribal lands while in President Andrew Jackson's administration. The Cass ISD provides special education and career technical education coordination to school districts in Cass County and parts of three other counties. Superintendent Brent Holcomb says the name change is an "opportunity to show some grace" in a diverse community.