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Who are the NERD fund donors Mr Snyder?Tweets about "#RightMi, -YoungLibertyMI, -dennislennox,"
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Kentwood Public School Board - Entering The ArenaBy Kevin Rex Heine, Section News
Around 430 BC, Pericles - a prominent Athenian statesman and general - said, "We do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics is a man who minds his own business; we say that he has no business here at all. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you." I've said before that though I would probably have disagreed with him on many of his policy positions, I will readily concede that the man had a point.
Many people might be surprised to learn that between 55% and 60% of their property taxes go to directly support the local K-12 school district, and might likewise be unaware that the government authority levying those taxes is the local school board. But the fact is that both of those things are true, and ought to be true if we want a high-quality public K-12 education system over which the local citizens have the maximum possible control.
The taxpayers who fund that school system, and the parents who entrust their children to it, have every expectation that the resources of the school district will be dedicated to a single-focus mission: to prepare our children to be self-sufficient adults in a globally competitive society. In the case of the Kentwood Public Schools, these resources include at least 18 separate facilities, a teaching faculty and support staff of about 1,385, and a current budget of $87,145,000.00. All of this is supporting a current enrollment of 8,780 students. The school board's first and foremost responsibility is the management and oversight of those resources. Anything that doesn't directly and efficiently support the school district's focus doesn't deserve so much as one penny of tax money. Management and oversight is something that I know a bit about, because all but the first seven years of my professional career were spent in one management position or another. Anyone who's been following the budget debates in Lansing and Washington is probably aware that local government units (including this school board) may be facing some tough fiscal choices in the coming months. It's my belief that we best serve our community and our children by staying as far "ahead of the curve" as possible on potential budget issues, and adjusting our own fiscal planning accordingly. I've long held to the axiom that if you want to make a difference, then you have to get involved. The man whose shoes I seek to fill, Bill Joseph, lived that principle in this school district for the past 16 years. It will be a challenge indeed to live up to his legacy. I'm comfortable with that challenge. I won't always do the same things that he did, nor always do things the same way that he did them. What I will always do is to look out for the best interests of the children that we are responsible for educating, and insist on providing the best possible value for the taxpayers that fund our school district. I will identify what is working, so that we can reinforce it, replicate it, and encourage its continued use. I will identify what isn't working, so that we can defund it and eliminate it (unless it can be economically made workable). My name is Kevin Rex Heine, and I'm running for the Kentwood Public School Board. If you live in the district, then I'm asking for your vote on May 3rd. If you know of others who live in the KPS district, then please remind them of the election day and encourage them to vote for me. (And campaign contributions are always appreciated.)
Kentwood Public School Board - Entering The Arena | 41 comments (41 topical, 0 hidden)
Kentwood Public School Board - Entering The Arena | 41 comments (41 topical, 0 hidden)
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