District Pleased by Field of Candidates

The following was submitted to White Lake Patch by Huron Valley School Board of Education President Sean Carlson.

In July we announced that two Huron Valley Schools Board of Education seats would be up for election on November 8, 2011. I am pleased to say we have nine candidates who decided to run.  Following are the candidates for these two seats on the Huron Valley Board of Education:

• Robert Artinian of White Lake
• Xuan Avallone of Milford
• Bonnie Brown of Milford
• Kim Galbraith of Milford
• Joe Ghislain of Milford
• Russ Krawczyk of Commerce
• Kevin Lawrence of Milford
• Jeffrey Long of White Lake
• Karen Wallis of Highland

Public service and commitment to community is alive and well in Huron Valley Schools as evidenced by these candidates.  On behalf of the Board and the District, I would like to thank them for their willingness to step forward and pursue a community leadership position.

In October, the District will host a candidate forum facilitated by the League of Women Voters.  This will be taped and aired on HVSTV.  At that time, candidates will be given an opportunity to share their positions on school policy as well as ideas they have on continuing to improve our District.  More details will follow in the weeks ahead.

Election Cycle Change

I also want to remind our community the Board of Education approved a resolution to revise the election cycle for Huron Valley Schools from odd years to even years to align with state and national election cycles. Elections held in odd years cost the District, and in turn taxpayers, approximately $40,000 to $60,000 per election, while elections held in even years are held at no cost to the District.

To transition to the even year cycle, on December 16, 2010, (in a 5 to 1 vote) the Board voiced their intent to support a resolution where Board members elected in the November 2011 and 2013 elections will have their terms extended by one year to align with the even year cycle.

Although the November 2011 ballot will state the Board member is elected for a four-year term, following the election, the Board will support the community’s decision and will act to extend the new members’ terms by one additional year to effectuate the policy change approved last December.

Please contact Board President Sean Carlson at carlsons@huronvalley.k12.mi.us or Superintendent Jackie Johnston at johnstonj@huronvalley.k12.mi.us if you have any questions concerning this communication.