By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
Ten candidates are on the Tuesday, Nov. 8, ballot for four seats on the Plainwell Community Schools Board of Education.
Last week, the first five of those candidates—Laura Alderton, Andrea Barrows, Julli Bennett, Derek Dunn and Rex Hall, Jr.—were profiled.
This week, Carla Hux, Eric Jorgensen, Monique MacQueen, Chris Miller and Shannon Zabaldo are featured.
Each candidate was recently asked to provide their thoughts on the following: Can you briefly tell us about yourself?; Why are you running for the Board of Education and, if elected, what will be your priorities?; What do you see as the primary work of the Board of Education?; and What is your vision for education in this community?
Here are the responses:
Clara Hux
Can you briefly tell us about yourself?
I am a 34year old wife and mother of five (four of whom attend Plainwell schools). I’ve worked many years in the mental health care field and also three years as a hospice aide. I am currently employed as the children’s ministry director at Kalamazoo Community Church.
Why did you choose to run for the Board of Education and, if elected, what would your priorities be?
I choose to run for school board after years of watching a barrier built between school and home. One of my number one priority if elected will be to be transparent with families. To listen to their concerns and help form a plan that helps all children and parents feel included in the educational process.
What do you see as the primary work of the Board of Education?
I believe we are the bridge between the school and the home. We should take time to see the big issues but also hear the community and their concerns.
What is your vision for education in this community?
I envision a district where parents are more involved. Where teachers and parents work together to make decisions concerning the students. I want to make education the focus.
Eric Jorgensen
Can you briefly tell us about yourself?
I’ve been married to my wife Cassy for 22 years. We have three sons: Dane, a senior, Abel, a sophomore, and Judd, a sixth grader. We’ve been Plainwell residents since 2008 and love our community. My kids are very involved in extra curriculars, and my wife and I have both been very active in supporting those endeavors. I have volunteered in Plainwell Rocket Football, Plainwell Jr. Hoopsters, and Northwood Plainwell Little League for several years and currently serve on the Board of Directors for Plainwell Rocket Football. I’m passionate about giving back to the youth of our community and helping shape their future. Professionally. I’ve spent over twenty years in leadership roles as an accountant in a few small businesses and a large Fortune 500 company. I have extensive history with working on committees to solve complex problems with a wide variety of possible solutions.
Why did you choose to run for the Board of Education and, if elected, what would your priorities be? First, service to community. I’m a big believer that our community is only as strong as its members. Finding opportunities to serve has been a passion of mine since moving to Plainwell in 2008. Second, I think based on my professional skills and experience I can make a difference in this role by taking those skills and marrying them with my passion for community. And finally, many current PCS staff, friends, and community members encouraged me to run. My voice in this community has proven to be a voice of fairness, understanding and accountability in my fourteen years here. I’m humbled of the support I have and excited to continue to work hard for my community if elected to this role. My priorities: A sounding board and advocate for parents, students, and our educators. To prioritize education over any political agenda, and to make sure that our students receive the education that we promised them that will propel them onto a successful path to adulthood.
What do you see as the primary work of the Board of Education?
To support the goals and policies of the board they are a member of. Also, to listen to the community/organization in which they serve by taking in public input and effectively communicating your thoughts on that input to your peers on the board. Listening to the here and now is key, but also anticipating future changes in community and education is critical.
What is your vision for education in this community?
A path for each student. We should have the ability to make sure each student understands every career option available to them. As a society I believe we have a problem. We have prioritized a 4-year college degree above anything else including military service, trade schools, and certificate programs. Guidance given to our high school students across the country by default is to figure out what four-year college or university the student should attend and the requisite college prep curriculum that goes with it. This default guidance has led us to a huge gap in our workforce. Blue collar jobs are at a premium and in more demand than ever with employers across our area looking for mechanics, plumbers, electricians, and machinists. All while we see record numbers of college graduates struggling to repay college loan debt. We must change the narrative. Highlighting these career options and seeing what aligns with a student’s interests must be a priority in our district. It’s not enough either to just send them to the Vo Tech for a portion of their junior and senior years. Their classroom curriculum should marry with their interests and give them a great foundation for their chosen career. We shouldn’t be asking someone in the welding program to take a third year of foreign language. We instead should be teaching future entrepreneurs basic bookkeeping and how to market a business.
Monique MacQueen
Can you briefly tell us about yourself?
My name is Monique MacQueen and I am a third generation educator. My parents were both teachers and my grandfather was a teacher and superintendent of schools. I have a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Arts in education from Western Michigan University. I am a retired Plainwell educator and thrilled to be back at WMU as an instructor for future educators. My husband is a teacher at Renaissance High School. Our oldest daughter graduated in May of 2022 and our youngest daughter will graduate in 2024. Our family attends Northpoint Church in Plainwell. I met my husband Mike when I was hired at Plainwell Middle School. After a year of friendship and a year of being engaged we married in 2002. We had a home in the Kalamazoo Public School district but made a decision to buy a home in Plainwell because of the wonderful schools and community.
Why are you running for the Board of Education and, if elected, what will be your priorities?
My life’s work and passion is educating, empowering, and advocating for the youth of the Plainwell Community Schools. I have dedicated twenty-five years to education as a teacher, coach, and volunteer and I am committed to doing my best for the students and families of the Plainwell community. Being a member of the Plainwell School Board would allow me to make a positive impact on a broad scale. I want to be the voice on the board for students, families, and all community members. I love the Plainwell Community and I would be honored and grateful to represent the members of our community as a member of the Board of Education. I promise to be a voice for the community and to represent and make decisions that are in keeping with the values of the citizens of Plainwell. Transparency in all communication between the board and the community is of the utmost importance. The teachers, parents, and community members deserve to be heard and followed up with properly and in a timely manner. I would like to be the point person who will allow the voices of ALL shareholders to be heard. Appropriate and timely action should be taken if necessary. Retaining quality and dedicated teachers who are invested and passionate is extremely important to me. We cannot afford to allow good educators to leave to teach in another district. In a time of an extreme teacher shortage it is essential to not just retain talent, but to also recruit quality and dedicated educators. Teachers should be respected, nurtured, celebrated for their knowledge, passion, and facilitating best teaching practices for our students. Our educators should be treated with the kindness, compassion, and with the respect that they deserve. They must feel safe and secure and I want to be the person that ensures that it happens. I will do all in my power to stop the bullying and harassment of students and teachers. When students and staff are being bullied, intimidated, or harassed they are not able to learn and retain information, and teach to their potential. I promise to use my education, experience, knowledge, and insight to improve the Plainwell Community Schools. I was a part of the district when it was thriving and I want that back for the students who need and deserve our best. Plainwell can be a premier district again, and I will do all in my power to make that a reality!
What do you see as the primary work of the Board of Education?
The primary role of a school board is in the title, The Board of Education. The school board must make every effort to ensure that all students are getting the best education possible within the parameters of the community, state, and government. Anything that has to do with how students are educated and who is educating them should be the charge of the Board of Education. The board must ensure that all resources are used effectively and are in direct alignment with what is best practice for the education of the students. Additionally, the board determines the district’s mission and purpose and establishes policies to ensure that the mission is being upheld. The board selects and evaluates the Superintendent as well as determines, monitors, and strengthens the administration and teaching staff. The Board of Education should monitor all decisions that could hinder or strengthen the programs and services that affect the students and the teachers who are with them each day. Legal and ethical integrity and accountability of administration, teaching staff, support staff, and all school staff must be monitored carefully and properly. Finally, the board must provide support and orientation for new board members.
What is your vision for education in this community?
I envision an education that is designed to meet learners where they are and allow each student to reach their full potential. I want all of our students to be prepared to succeed as adults as they face tremendous social and economic challenges. There must be a focus on skills and dispositions that come from meaningful experiential learning opportunities. Each student’s interests, passions, dreams, skills, and needs shape their learning experience. This should drive the commitments and actions of the adults and the community members who support them. The learning experiences provided should be intentionally designed to support, challenge, engage, and excite all learners. Students need access to the highest level of academic knowledge which they can apply to learning and performance skills. I want to contribute to the transformation in education where all shareholders are united in a new conversation about education. All children should be given every opportunity for success by learning and thriving to reach their full potential. No matter the disagreements on philosophies of education and social issues, all shareholders in the educational community share the fundamental commitment for all children to learn and thrive regardless of their circumstances. Although education alone cannot change social and economic inequities, it will contribute greatly to minimizing their impact.
Chris Miller
Can you briefly tell us about yourself?
We are a second-generation Plainwell Trojan family that has been involved in the community since 1989. My wife Angela (Winn) Miller was part of the Plainwell class of 1994 and my oldest daughter graduated in 2020. I have three more currently attending Cooper Elementary, the middle school and the high school. I have a passion to advocate for our students and parents, volunteering over eight years in the local youth programs. Having 25 years of successful sales negotiation and communication skills will prove imperative to utilize to restore excellence to Plainwell Schools.
Why are you running for the Board of Education and, if elected, what will be your priorities?
I chose to run for the board as there is not a true representation of the community and we need immediate change from the direction that we are heading.
If elected, I will fight for total transparency from the board and push for change so every community member can more easily see and know what the board is making decisions on. I will challenge the current narrative and bring a renewed focus driven from the families of this community. I will also support in removing any outside issues or distractions that take away from the education and safety of our students and faculty.
What do you see as the primary work of the Board of Education?
The role of the board is to adopt policies, bylaws and allocate funds to provide our students with the best administrators, faculty and resources, to give them an environment to excel in learning, to be kept safe and succeed in life. Currently, I feel that we are falling short of this in areas and there is always room for improvement.
What is your vision for education in this community?
Again, I feel that the current board does not have a true representation of the majority of the community and what it wants to be taught to our children. Whether it be explicit books in the library, curriculum, sex education or where our district funds are best allocated, we need to do a better job of listing to the community. We have to get back to the basics and foster an environment where our teachers are freed up to concentrate on teaching and give them and those around them the resources so this can happen.
Shannon Zabaldo (I)
Can you briefly tell us about yourself?
I grew up in West Michigan and graduated from Western Michigan University with a degree in Sociology with a focus on criminal justice and social work. We have lived in Plainwell for 14 years and moved here for the school district. Mark and I have been married for 21 years and we have two children. Our daughter who graduated from Plainwell in 2022 and now attends Kalamazoo College and our son is a junior at PHS. I have served on the Board of Education since 2014 and have been Vice President and chair of the policy committee since 2017. I am the financial assistance case manager for our local food pantry and helping agency and work with many families in our community.
Why did you choose to run for the Board of Education and, if elected, what would your priorities be?
I am running again because I strongly believe that the district needs the stability of the incumbents to continue the growth of our amazing district. While we have accomplished so much in the past eight years by passing a bond, focusing on improving the work culture, hiring a resource officer and implementing many changes that focus on school safety, we have more to do in the next four years! Our current focus is on students’ mental health and anti-bullying initiatives. We have recently added three guidance counselors, two mental health counselors and four social workers. We have also trained all of our educators in Capturing Kids’ Hearts so they can better support their students’ social and emotional learning. Continuing these initiatives and adding more will be a main priority for me. Focusing on reversing Covid learning loss will also be a focus. We have added interventionists at each building, and we are taking our educational experts’ leads on how and where we should focus our ESSER funds judiciously and effectively.
What do you see as the primary work of the Board of Education?
The technical answer is that the Board of Education is in charge of hiring and evaluating the superintendent, approving the budget and maintaining a healthy fund balance, approving curriculum that meets state standards and setting the vision and goals for the district. Of course, the perception of the community is that our role is more focused on the day-to-day operations, but that is not the role of the board. We are, however, the eyes and ears of the community and can listen to community members and share concerns with the superintendent. The current board has a strong and healthy working relationship with Mr. Montange and will continue to work in partnership with him to strengthen the district. An important role of the board is setting the vision and goals for the district, which we will do in our upcoming strategic planning while collaborating with parents, educators and other key stakeholders in the community.
What is your vision for education in this community?
It is my hope that we will get back to a working partnership between parents and teachers in this district. Even though it is state law and in school policy that parents have access to classroom curriculum, there seems to be this underlying false narrative and fear mongering from school board candidates across the state that teachers aren’t working with parents, or they are withholding information. I want the vilification of teachers to stop and I would love to see more active participation from parents, community members and key stakeholders to support the education of the youth in our district. It truly takes a village, and we are better when we work together to support our educational goals. I also want diversity to be embraced and celebrated in our schools. I want every student to know they should be proud of who they are and know that they have value. My hope is that our learners will know that embracing inclusion and diversity will enrich their lives by learning from those that are different from them. We need to prepare our students to live and thrive in this world after graduation.