Traverse City Record-Eagle

Election 2007

November 5, 2007

TCAPS' future direction at stake Tuesday

By Lindsay VanHulle

TRAVERSE CITY -- In 24 hours, the fate of Traverse City's school board will be up to voters.

Seven candidates are seeking votes for two spots on the Traverse City Area Public Schools board of education, in hopes of replacing outgoing members Richard Crampton and Joel Casler.

Voters also will decide on a millage renewal proposal, which would keep the district's levy at 3.1 mills. The tax would generate $105 million spanning 10 years for capital improvements to elementary and secondary buildings, buses and technology.

Most people, from administrators to candidates, seem to agree that with a change in leadership comes fresh perspectives that inevitably will alter the board's dynamic.

But what isn't as unanimous is the direction the board will take following Tuesday's general election.

Some say it depends on who earns the most votes. Others say the two new members, regardless of who they are, represent a shift in the community's vision of how a school board should function.

"No matter who is elected, I think that it's kind of going to be a wake-up call a little bit," candidate Kirt Kilbourne said. "I really think it will help the administration understand that the community is really worked up about this and they really want some changes."

The current board voted 4-3 in July to close three elementary schools, a decision that prompted a sense of mistrust and disillusion among some parents who believe they were left out of the process. Crampton and Casler both supported the closures.

Now, more than ever, the board has an opportunity to change public sentiment about the district through more transparency and greater communication, Kilbourne said.

"I truly believe that this is a point where the district can turn more in the direction that the community is looking for," he said. "The board knows now, the school board as well as the administration, that they need to keep everybody involved whether they want to or not."

That may be true, candidate Chris Thompson said, but there still are board hopefuls who are inclined to maintain the district's status quo. He said he is not among them.

A crucial factor, Thompson said, is whether a candidate would be willing to revisit the decisions to close elementary schools and reconfigure the district's boundary and secondary buildings before moving to create an actual long-term plan for TCAPS.

Those who would revisit those decisions want to make sure they accurately reflect what the community wants, he said. Those who would pick up where the previous board left off are only toeing the line, he contends.

"It depends on who's elected, but I also get a sense that more of the candidates are interested in putting trust back into the process and finding out what people actually want," Thompson said. "If the community wants it, that makes this whole process of long-range planning much easier."

Superintendent James Feil, who reports directly to the school board, said he is looking forward to new faces in the board room and is glad that all of the board candidates either attended or have children attending TCAPS schools.

And although some candidates might have sought office because of the school closures, he isn't worried about backlash.

"I don't have any apprehensions," Feil said. "We always need to be raising questions and seeking deep levels of understanding. I truly believe if we continue to try to put students at the center of our decisions that we're going to be successful."

Whenever new members join an established board, the entire group goes back to square one, current board President Gerald Morris said, adding the new board then can begin to establish itself.

"That's just normal group dynamics," Morris said. "I don't think it's going to be negative. I think it's going to be a change. I don't view change as negative, I view change normally as good."

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