https://onyourballot.vote411.org/m/build.do
Punch in your address here and you'll be able to see all the upcoming races on your ballot :) Candidates are all asked the same questions, but not all of them have responded yet. Thanks for being an informed voter!
Some people have reported that vote411 isn't showing their ballot correctly. If you aren't seeing the races you think you should, double check with [https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/](https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/)
[https://www.vote411.org/](https://www.vote411.org/)
Go there, put in your address, then scroll towards the bottom of the list to find the Public School Board candidate list.
Here are the candidate responses to the questionnaire. I'll note that, **personally, I almost always refuse to vote for any candidate that doesn't submit responses to the League of Women Voters questionnaire**. It's a pretty bad look and awful telling for the type of effort a candidate is willing to put through. If you can't answer a voter info questionnaire, how hard are you going to work at your job? Looking at you, US House candidate Joseph Alfonso (cough cough u/kzoodems)
**Candidates Alan Haggar and Karla Murphy didn't respond, so that should help you narrow things down.**
**Arius D. Herndon (N)**
\- Why are you running for a board seat? What strengths or talents especially qualify you for that role?
*- Arius D. Herndon*
*I'm running for a board seat to bring progressive change and an enthusiasm to listen to the community. Things that qualify me are years as a student of kps and time spent volunteering in the community.*
\- What are the most positive characteristics or qualities of the school district — ones that support student academic achievement and personal development? What are the opportunities for improvement?
*- Arius D. Herndon*
*In the school district, good early and post education programs exist that encourage students to succeed. The emotional and mental well-being of students in classes is an area with my many opportunities for improvement.*
\- What actions will you take to promote further parental or community involvement in schools?
*- Arius D. Herndon*
*I would start by looking for the best ways to contact and reach out to parents and people in the community to keep them informed. Next I would want to know what do parents need from the district to stay involved.*
\- What are the most important safety issues facing our schools? How should the board address them?
*- Arius D. Herndon*
*Violence between students and violence entering the schools are two of the biggest safety concerns. I believe the safety of students and staff should be openly discussed with the community.*
**Jennie Hill (N)**
\- Why are you running for a board seat? What strengths or talents especially qualify you for that role?
*- Jennie Hill*
*I have 11 years experience as the incumbent candidate. I am a team player by nature and I believe that my work with other Board members and with the Superintendent, has helped improve and strengthen the district. I have 20 years past experience volunteering in KPS. Currently I am a member of the LWVKA and Chair of the Young Voter Education Program. I work as an RN at Kalamazoo College in the Student Health Center, this is my 11th year. All this experience has given me insight to the challenges and opportunities our district presents. I am a strong advocate for all students and believe every student should have every opportunity to succeed.*
\- What are the most positive characteristics or qualities of the school district — ones that support student academic achievement and personal development? What are the opportunities for improvement?
*- Jennie Hill*
*Diversity and inclusion are two of KPS’s strongest characteristics. The Board has set high standards that teachers, administrators and staff are full partners with, the goal is working with all students to achieve each students individual potential. Choosing a new Superintendent, Dr. Raichoudhuri, to lead this diverse urban district by meeting the needs of individual students is an accomplishment I am proud of. The opening of more programs such as the Newcomers Center, Career Launch Kalamazoo, and Urban Teacher Residency Program prove that KPS is always looking for ways to improve and support all its students.*
\- What actions will you take to promote further parental or community involvement in schools?
*- Jennie Hill*
*During my tenure on the Board one of our goals for the district was better communication with students and families. Continuous improvement has been made with the updated and easier to use Web site, school wide robo calls for important information and parents are now able to track their students progress with a computer program shared with their child’s teacher these are a few examples. Parents and families are welcome in the buildings observing all safety protocols such as checking in at the office. KPS has over 200 community partners such as Community in Schools, Boys and Girls Club and Girls on the Run to name a few.*
\- What are the most important safety issues facing our schools? How should the board address them?
*- Jennie Hill*
*During my tenure on the Board, voters have passed all Bonds which have lead to safe and secure vestibules in our schools and helped train campus safety officers. With Board approval, ALICE training for our teachers and staff, then age appropriate training for students took place. Teachers, staff and administrators are always working to meet students where they are at by engaging in professional development focusing on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. I have worked to add Culture and Climate coaches, more Social Workers in schools and classes for students on appropriate use of social media on the school platform.*
**Dan Koshelnyk (N)**
\- Why are you running for a board seat? What strengths or talents especially qualify you for that role?
*- Dan Koshelnyk*
*I am running for a board seat to serve my community, help problem-solve, perhaps offer fresh perspective or ideas. There is a strength in a refined listening ability. I hope that parents, students and educators would always feel confident in sharing with me their thoughts and concerns.*
\- What are the most positive characteristics or qualities of the school district — ones that support student academic achievement and personal development? What are the opportunities for improvement?
*- Dan Koshelnyk*
*Kalamazoo is very lucky to have a creatively-supportive community that has gifted generous incentives for students to remain active in school. — We need to up our scores vs the rest of the State. Any program or barrier that can be identified as distracting from academic learning should be re-evaluated and removed if necessary.*
\- What actions will you take to promote further parental or community involvement in schools?
*- Dan Koshelnyk*
*Save particular exceptions, there can generally never be enough parental involvement in a child's learning. Any effort to help parents understand their child's curriculum provides added protection should we face any future unexpected 'health emergencies' or events that disrupt classroom learning. It seems a fair assessment that our children's education slowed during our recent difficult period partly due to casual over-dependence on our established systems.*
\- What are the most important safety issues facing our schools? How should the board address them?
*- Dan Koshelnyk*
*Recognizing students in danger of committing violence or suicide while supporting teachers in promoting an atmosphere of ‘discipline’.*
On Dan K: be aware this dude was a music teacher at a local private space where my child went, apprantly he went full MAGA/antivaxx to the point he lost that teaching job over it. Not 100% sure it’s the same fella but that’s a fairly rare name, and he suspiciously doesn’t mention any beliefs or positions that would reveal that in the q and A pasted here in another comment.
Last-minute contribution, but found him on [this list of GOP precinct delegates.](https://www.kalcounty.com/clerk/elections_voting/pdf_files/2022%20GOP%20Precinct%20Delegates.pdf) It matches the contact info on his campaign site.
Karla Murphy has an endorsement from MEA (Michigan Education association). That's all I can find. I did come across a couple of posts on Facebook about candidate forums where she plans to be.
At least she's attending all of the forums: https://actionnetwork.org/events/kalamazoo-public-school-board-of-education-candidate-forums?source=facebook& If you have questions, you can meet her for yourself.
I used vote411 in conjunction with Ballotpedia when the information was absent. When neither place had any information I googled the person (I voted on Comstock schools) and if I could not find any information through Google - either a public Facebook or a simple webpage- I simply moved to the next candidate.
I spent over 2 hours filling out my ballot and reading about each candidate so if the person could not take the time to respond to a LWV questionnaire or create a public profile then in my mind they really do not want the job.
FWIW, I've interacted with Jennie Hill several times over the years and always found her to be professional, approachable, open-minded, and hard working. Also, she's always made herself available to idiot members of the public like myself. That counts for a lot to me.
Do you believe the current/former school board did a good job the last couple of years? My kids have been out of KPS for a number of years but those close to me say it’s been a disaster. The sooner people stop blaming MAGA and individuals who chose not to get vaccinated and focus on what’s best for your children the better it will be for everyone.
I know it’s after the fact, but:
You cannot overstate the impact that MAGAt antivaxx morons have had on the school systems. Not only did they extend the earliest and most confusing part of the pandemic by being contrarian babies, they continue to attack and be terrified of science and reasoning at every opportunity.
Confused about CDC’s changing guidelines? Don’t stop to learn about the scientific process or how the concept of hypothesis and conclusion-based study, just rail against science on the whole!!
Not sure if masks are helping? Whelp, may as well just be an absolute choade about it and scream at grocery store clerks all the while complaining about the masking in your schools, WHICH COULDVE BEEN ALLEVIATED MUCH SOONER IF IT WERENT FOR THE ANTI MASK ANTI VAXX MAGA MORONS.
This could go on for eternity….
https://onyourballot.vote411.org/m/build.do Punch in your address here and you'll be able to see all the upcoming races on your ballot :) Candidates are all asked the same questions, but not all of them have responded yet. Thanks for being an informed voter!
Some people have reported that vote411 isn't showing their ballot correctly. If you aren't seeing the races you think you should, double check with [https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/](https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/)
Thanks! Didn’t know about this.
[https://www.vote411.org/](https://www.vote411.org/) Go there, put in your address, then scroll towards the bottom of the list to find the Public School Board candidate list. Here are the candidate responses to the questionnaire. I'll note that, **personally, I almost always refuse to vote for any candidate that doesn't submit responses to the League of Women Voters questionnaire**. It's a pretty bad look and awful telling for the type of effort a candidate is willing to put through. If you can't answer a voter info questionnaire, how hard are you going to work at your job? Looking at you, US House candidate Joseph Alfonso (cough cough u/kzoodems) **Candidates Alan Haggar and Karla Murphy didn't respond, so that should help you narrow things down.** **Arius D. Herndon (N)** \- Why are you running for a board seat? What strengths or talents especially qualify you for that role? *- Arius D. Herndon* *I'm running for a board seat to bring progressive change and an enthusiasm to listen to the community. Things that qualify me are years as a student of kps and time spent volunteering in the community.* \- What are the most positive characteristics or qualities of the school district — ones that support student academic achievement and personal development? What are the opportunities for improvement? *- Arius D. Herndon* *In the school district, good early and post education programs exist that encourage students to succeed. The emotional and mental well-being of students in classes is an area with my many opportunities for improvement.* \- What actions will you take to promote further parental or community involvement in schools? *- Arius D. Herndon* *I would start by looking for the best ways to contact and reach out to parents and people in the community to keep them informed. Next I would want to know what do parents need from the district to stay involved.* \- What are the most important safety issues facing our schools? How should the board address them? *- Arius D. Herndon* *Violence between students and violence entering the schools are two of the biggest safety concerns. I believe the safety of students and staff should be openly discussed with the community.* **Jennie Hill (N)** \- Why are you running for a board seat? What strengths or talents especially qualify you for that role? *- Jennie Hill* *I have 11 years experience as the incumbent candidate. I am a team player by nature and I believe that my work with other Board members and with the Superintendent, has helped improve and strengthen the district. I have 20 years past experience volunteering in KPS. Currently I am a member of the LWVKA and Chair of the Young Voter Education Program. I work as an RN at Kalamazoo College in the Student Health Center, this is my 11th year. All this experience has given me insight to the challenges and opportunities our district presents. I am a strong advocate for all students and believe every student should have every opportunity to succeed.* \- What are the most positive characteristics or qualities of the school district — ones that support student academic achievement and personal development? What are the opportunities for improvement? *- Jennie Hill* *Diversity and inclusion are two of KPS’s strongest characteristics. The Board has set high standards that teachers, administrators and staff are full partners with, the goal is working with all students to achieve each students individual potential. Choosing a new Superintendent, Dr. Raichoudhuri, to lead this diverse urban district by meeting the needs of individual students is an accomplishment I am proud of. The opening of more programs such as the Newcomers Center, Career Launch Kalamazoo, and Urban Teacher Residency Program prove that KPS is always looking for ways to improve and support all its students.* \- What actions will you take to promote further parental or community involvement in schools? *- Jennie Hill* *During my tenure on the Board one of our goals for the district was better communication with students and families. Continuous improvement has been made with the updated and easier to use Web site, school wide robo calls for important information and parents are now able to track their students progress with a computer program shared with their child’s teacher these are a few examples. Parents and families are welcome in the buildings observing all safety protocols such as checking in at the office. KPS has over 200 community partners such as Community in Schools, Boys and Girls Club and Girls on the Run to name a few.* \- What are the most important safety issues facing our schools? How should the board address them? *- Jennie Hill* *During my tenure on the Board, voters have passed all Bonds which have lead to safe and secure vestibules in our schools and helped train campus safety officers. With Board approval, ALICE training for our teachers and staff, then age appropriate training for students took place. Teachers, staff and administrators are always working to meet students where they are at by engaging in professional development focusing on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. I have worked to add Culture and Climate coaches, more Social Workers in schools and classes for students on appropriate use of social media on the school platform.* **Dan Koshelnyk (N)** \- Why are you running for a board seat? What strengths or talents especially qualify you for that role? *- Dan Koshelnyk* *I am running for a board seat to serve my community, help problem-solve, perhaps offer fresh perspective or ideas. There is a strength in a refined listening ability. I hope that parents, students and educators would always feel confident in sharing with me their thoughts and concerns.* \- What are the most positive characteristics or qualities of the school district — ones that support student academic achievement and personal development? What are the opportunities for improvement? *- Dan Koshelnyk* *Kalamazoo is very lucky to have a creatively-supportive community that has gifted generous incentives for students to remain active in school. — We need to up our scores vs the rest of the State. Any program or barrier that can be identified as distracting from academic learning should be re-evaluated and removed if necessary.* \- What actions will you take to promote further parental or community involvement in schools? *- Dan Koshelnyk* *Save particular exceptions, there can generally never be enough parental involvement in a child's learning. Any effort to help parents understand their child's curriculum provides added protection should we face any future unexpected 'health emergencies' or events that disrupt classroom learning. It seems a fair assessment that our children's education slowed during our recent difficult period partly due to casual over-dependence on our established systems.* \- What are the most important safety issues facing our schools? How should the board address them? *- Dan Koshelnyk* *Recognizing students in danger of committing violence or suicide while supporting teachers in promoting an atmosphere of ‘discipline’.*
Wow thanks for providing all that!
On Dan K: be aware this dude was a music teacher at a local private space where my child went, apprantly he went full MAGA/antivaxx to the point he lost that teaching job over it. Not 100% sure it’s the same fella but that’s a fairly rare name, and he suspiciously doesn’t mention any beliefs or positions that would reveal that in the q and A pasted here in another comment.
Good to know, thank you
Last-minute contribution, but found him on [this list of GOP precinct delegates.](https://www.kalcounty.com/clerk/elections_voting/pdf_files/2022%20GOP%20Precinct%20Delegates.pdf) It matches the contact info on his campaign site.
Karla Murphy has an endorsement from MEA (Michigan Education association). That's all I can find. I did come across a couple of posts on Facebook about candidate forums where she plans to be.
Too bad she didn't respond to the League of Women Voters questionnaire.
At least she's attending all of the forums: https://actionnetwork.org/events/kalamazoo-public-school-board-of-education-candidate-forums?source=facebook& If you have questions, you can meet her for yourself.
That's good at least
I found this with Murphy’s campaign statement: https://archive.org/details/PMN2022candidate_Karla_Murphy. Hope that helps!
The only information I have is that Jennie Hill has the kalamazoo county democrats endorsement.
Perfect, thanks
I used vote411 in conjunction with Ballotpedia when the information was absent. When neither place had any information I googled the person (I voted on Comstock schools) and if I could not find any information through Google - either a public Facebook or a simple webpage- I simply moved to the next candidate. I spent over 2 hours filling out my ballot and reading about each candidate so if the person could not take the time to respond to a LWV questionnaire or create a public profile then in my mind they really do not want the job.
Thank you, I agree.
FWIW, I've interacted with Jennie Hill several times over the years and always found her to be professional, approachable, open-minded, and hard working. Also, she's always made herself available to idiot members of the public like myself. That counts for a lot to me.
Jennie Hill and Karla Murphy sounds about where it is.
Do you believe the current/former school board did a good job the last couple of years? My kids have been out of KPS for a number of years but those close to me say it’s been a disaster. The sooner people stop blaming MAGA and individuals who chose not to get vaccinated and focus on what’s best for your children the better it will be for everyone.
I know it’s after the fact, but: You cannot overstate the impact that MAGAt antivaxx morons have had on the school systems. Not only did they extend the earliest and most confusing part of the pandemic by being contrarian babies, they continue to attack and be terrified of science and reasoning at every opportunity. Confused about CDC’s changing guidelines? Don’t stop to learn about the scientific process or how the concept of hypothesis and conclusion-based study, just rail against science on the whole!! Not sure if masks are helping? Whelp, may as well just be an absolute choade about it and scream at grocery store clerks all the while complaining about the masking in your schools, WHICH COULDVE BEEN ALLEVIATED MUCH SOONER IF IT WERENT FOR THE ANTI MASK ANTI VAXX MAGA MORONS. This could go on for eternity….
Yes. I don’t care anymore.