Priorities
Financial Health
Everything a district wants to do for kids depends on getting the money right. Financial stewardship isn't a side issue. It's the foundation under every other promise.
I spent seven years managing election operations for Ottawa County: public money, public scrutiny, zero tolerance for error. Public budgets are how institutions tell the truth about their priorities, and school budgets should be legible to the people who fund them.
What I’ll work for
Budgets the public can actually understand
A district budget shouldn’t require an accounting degree to read. I’ll push for plain-language budget summaries alongside the official documents: what came in, what went out, what changed from last year, and why.
Facing our enrollment numbers honestly
GHAPS has lost more than a thousand students since the 2014–15 school year, and further decline is projected over the next five years. Michigan districts are funded per pupil, so declining enrollment means declining state revenue. The state’s per-pupil foundation allowance is rising to $10,300 for the coming year, a 2.5% increase, but that doesn’t offset what years of enrollment loss cost the district in total dollars. Responsible boards plan for the enrollment picture they actually face, not the one they wish for, and make facilities and staffing decisions early, when options are still good, rather than late, when only painful ones remain.
Right-sizing while building for the future
For years now, this district has been losing students, and that trend won’t reverse on its own. GHAPS needs a real financial plan that right-sizes the district for the enrollment we actually have, while still investing in what comes next. That means honest conversations about buildings, staffing, and programs, started early and held in the open, rather than forced on the board by a budget crisis.
Community partnership, and housing families can afford
None of this works if the board treats it as a spreadsheet problem. Enrollment, staffing, and the health of this community are tied together. The board should work with the city, county, and local employers on solutions that reach beyond the school budget, including affordable housing, so the teachers who work here can afford to live here, and so this community can keep growing in a way that’s sustainable. A district can’t right-size its way to health if the community around it can’t support families in the first place.
Classrooms first
Every budget decision should answer a simple question: what does this do for teaching and learning? Administrative growth, consultants, and software contracts all deserve the same scrutiny. When money is tight, the classroom is the last place to cut, not the first.
Earning trust before asking for money
When a district manages its money visibly well, the community says yes when it genuinely needs help: a bond, a millage renewal. That trust is built in the boring years, through consistent transparency. That’s the work I’m signing up for.