By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
Three of the seven seats on the Plainwell Community Schools Board of Education are up for grabs.
Four candidates are on ballot for the Tuesday, Nov. 5, election to fill those spots.
Of those candidates, three are incumbents: current vice president Anthony McNeel along with current trustees Mike Hopson and Jill Dunham.
Derek Dunn is the other candidate.
All three open seats are for full, 4-year terms.
Here is a look at each of the candidates in their own words:
Jill Dunham
Can you provide a brief biography, including your background and relevant experience?
I am married to David and we have two grown sons that graduated from Plainwell in 2012 and 2020. I am an engineer and have spent 40 years in the telecommunications industry. I currently work for Allegan County government as the Broadband Project Manager, overseeing a $65 million fiber build to bring high-speed internet to all the areas of Allegan County that do not have access to high-speed internet. I am also a yoga teacher and Sunday School teacher.
Why are you running for a position on the school board?
I have learned so much over the last eight years and I want to continue to serve my community. We currently have a diverse board with various perspectives and we work well together to advocate for the best education for our students.
What do you see as the primary role/responsibility of the school board?
A school board’s role is to:
o Set policy.
o Ensure the budget is aligned with vision, mission and policy.
o Approve the budget and payment of bills.
o Hire the superintendent and provide input and feedback.
What are the key issues facing the school district, and how do you plan to address them?
- Issue – 2019 Bond Project – Our community approved a major, multifaceted investment in our school buildings in 2019. All budgeting was completed in 2019, according to the rigorous standards from MDE.
MDE guidelines dictate how we should account for inflation, how construction costs are to be calculated and this does not allow for “padding” a project. By the time the bid packages were sent out for Phases 2 and 3 (new fieldhouse and pool and elementary air conditioning) the world was facing unpredictable inflation and the bids all came back much higher than budgeted.
We worked closely with GMB architects and Beckering Construction to find ways to reduce costs with minimal impact on functionality of the new facilities. Despite all our efforts, creativity and scaling back, our 2019 Bond projects are short around $7.2 million, even after removing the renovation of the old pool and postponing the restoration of the planned Community Locker Room at the new pool. - Issue/Opportunity – Four-year-old PreK funding from State Budget: The State of Michigan has announced a plan to include four-year-old PreK in our per pupil allowance. Currently, the funding is available based on financial need. The financial threshold will increase over the next 3 years, with full funding by 2027. The average class size at Plainwell is two hundred students and class size for four-year-olds is 15, so we need at least 13 classrooms. While we currently participate in Great Start Readiness and Head Start programs, we need more classrooms.
- Plan to Address Bond Project overage and PreK need: The board discussed these issues and looked at additional needs in our system. The decision was unanimous to seek a Bond Proposal that would prepare us for the foreseeable future.
The current Bond Proposal includes funding to cover the 2019 Bond Proposal overage, address safety and security needs, a new preschool, addition of gymnasiums at Gilkey and Cooper, plus replacement of the Turf & Track at Streidl Field, which has exceeded its useful life. This investment is critical not only for our school district, but for our community. We must have the preschool to attract young families and continue to be a destination school district. - Issue – Student anxiety and mental health: No one can deny that the last four years have been a huge challenge. Our board has been aligned on the need for Social Workers, School Counselors, Behavior Specialists and other support staff to address the social and emotional needs of our students.
PCS trains all staff in Capturing Kids Hearts, plus we have a contract with Clayful, which gives students the ability to connect with a human coach in 60 seconds to work through everyday challenges & manage big emotions in real time. We have also surveyed the students and teachers via HumanEx and a Building Climate survey. - Plan to Address: Mental health requires vigilance, and we must continue to monitor and explore support for students.
What is your vision for education in this community?
Plainwell High School was ranked #1 in the Holland, MI Metro Area High Schools and 57th best high school in the state of Michigan. I am incredibly proud of this recognition. My vision is to continue to provide the learning experiences inside and outside the classroom that will allow our students to excel. In my eight years on the Plainwell Board of Education, our administrative staff has become even stronger, with talented leaders that collaborate to provide what is best for kids. My vision is for us to continue to be a destination school system.
Derek Dunn
Can you provide a brief biography, including your background and relevant experience?
I have lived in Plainwell school district for 20 years and have two girls in the middle school. I have been an Alamo on call firefighter for 22 years and work full-time Fire for the City of Portage. I am the secretary of the Union local executive board and have been the treasurer of a local committee for 10 years previous to that
Why are you running for a position on the school board?
I have always wanted to give to the community in whatever way I can. I feel with my background and views that I would be able to add a lot to the board. I want to be a part of making it better and allowing more transparency with parents and the community.
What do you see as the primary role/responsibility of the school board?
I think setting the tone for the whole district and for supporting the administration in bettering our kids’ education.
What are the key issues facing the school district, and how do you plan to address them?
One hot topic right now is the bond. If it passes, making sure that the money is being spent wisely for the community and if it doesn’t trying to work on alternative funding and ways to bring the options to the community that they can get behind.
Also standing with parents in making sure that our girls are protected whether they are in the bathroom or playing sports.
What is your vision for education in this community?
Plainwell has always been known as a great school district to raise a family in. I would like to see us stay in that small-town feel while improving test scores and graduation rates that have been dropping over last five years. Our kids and their education are the most important aspect of this board.
Mike Hopson
Can you provide a brief biography, including your background and relevant experience?
Resident of Plainwell school district for 23 years, married, my wife is a teacher at Portage West Middle school. I am a Public Safety officer at Kalamazoo Valley Community College.
Our sons graduated from Plainwell in 2016 and twins in 2019. I was an active volunteer. I coached Little League for eight years and served on their board. Served as a weekly Mentor at Prairie Ridge Elementary for five years through the Kids Hope program. I have served on the Security Task force at Plainwell since 2018, to develop our safety plan.
I have been on the board as a trustee since 2020, becoming a certified board member through the MASB in 2021.
Why are you running for a position on the school board?
I am running for re-election because I have seen what a great school system Plainwell is and want to see it continue its path of constantly striving to improve the quality of education.
What do you see as the primary role/responsibility of the school board?
That is clear by legislation: we have oversight for Policy, Budget and Curriculum. By oversight, we watch and advise, we don›t dictate. We have an excellent administration that listens, and we collaborate.
What are the key issues facing the school district, and how do you plan to address them?
That would be in all schools budget and safety of the students and staff, and of course learning and catching up from COVID.
Budget-wise, we are conservative and the third-party auditor we have review finances give excellent reviews. The safety is being reviewed constantly, we’ve added mental health staff and are looking to add weapons-sensor systems.
We consistently are rated in our scores and graduation rate is 91.1; the state average is 80.
What is your vision for education in this community?
To continue its positive-growth path in education and its offering in both traditional education and alternative education, the trades and more. Two years ago, Plainwell Renaissance High was named Alternative High School of the year in Michigan.
Anthony McNeel
Can you provide a brief biography, including your background and relevant experience?
My family and I are originally from the Pacific Northwest. Following completion of my PhD in Animal Science and post-doctoral training with the United States Department of Agriculture, we moved to Plainwell in 2015 for my job with Zoetis.
My wife and I have three children (two high school and one at Cooper) and all three of them are actively involved across the community. I am currently the Global Key Accounts Lead for Precision Animal Health within Zoetis where I provide consultation to dairy farmers across the globe as they strive to breed a better herd of cows more accurately through DNA testing (similar to 23andMe but for cows).
I have served on the Plainwell Community Schools Board of Education since 2017 and I leverage my scientific and professional training to help implement data driven decisions when it comes to policy and financial investments.
Why are you running for a position on the school board?
I am running for a position on the school board in order to help position the Plainwell community for continued long-term success when it comes to student enrollment and financial goals. I am a firm believer in the value of public service and see my participation in local government as one way in which I can give back to my local community.
What do you see as the primary role/responsibility of the school board?
The Board of Education is responsible for the long-term strategic planning of the district on the scale of 3 to 20 years, development and enforcement of district policy in collaboration with the administrative team and provide oversight of district finances to help ensure Plainwell Community Schools is making the best investments possible in terms of facilities, staff development, and curriculum.
What are the key issues facing the school district, and how do you plan to address them?
The largest issues currently facing Plainwell Community Schools are aging infrastructure and a rapidly tightening pool of qualified educators.
The 2019 bond and the bond currently on the ballot are examples of how continued investment in the district can rectify the infrastructure issue (the middle school had not seen a remodel in more than 40 years), while helping to make the district more attractive for recruiting and retaining teaching, support, and administrative staff.
This is especially important as the number of new teachers entering the profession has struggled to keep up with the number of educators who leave the profession do to either retirement, burnout, or a change in their personal aspirations. As a result, the competition between districts for educators is anticipated to become more intense with benefits outside of compensation (work environment, culture) likely playing a larger role in how educators evaluate potential employers.
These challenges are not small and nor are they easy to fix, but through the continued development and utilization of long-term strategic plans which are regularly reviewed and updated, Plainwell Community Schools can make progress towards revitalizing it’s infrastructure.
What is your vision for education in this community?
My vision for education in Plainwell focuses on a “provide, prepare, and promote” approach to public education. By providing students with an environment where they have the best opportunity possible to succeed in terms of academic and social growth.
The goal is to help prepare students to leave Plainwell Community Schools as full contributing members of our society regardless of the path (trade school, college, parent, entrepreneur) their individual journey takes them. In doing so, we will be able to promote Plainwell Community Schools as one of the best schools in the area where students are able to individually demonstrate substantial growth across multiple measurements of success.
