Meet Your 2011 Lake Orion School Board Candidates

Voters in the Lake Orion School District will go to the polls May 3 to elect candidates to the Lake Orion Board of Education. Up for election are four four-year seats (candidates Mark Brackon, Terrie Campbell, Joe Knight, Terry Lang , Birgit McQuiston, Connie Meech, John Michalik, Kelly Weaver, Janet Wolverton, Deborah Porter, Melissa Miller and Daniel Myslakowski) and  one two-year seat (candidates Steven Drakos and Bob Gritzinger). Here's a look at the candidates.

Mark Brackon

Age: 63
City: Oxford Township
Occupation: Retired financial executive, adjunct faculty member at Central Michigan University
Degrees earned: Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Master’s degree in business administration, Master’s degree of science in taxation, certified management accountant
Public offices held: None
Other activities or organizations: Has served as treasurer of Paint Creek Estates Homeowners Association
Spouse: Elaine Brackon
Family: Brackon has two children and four grandchildren, one of whom attends Lake Orion Schools.
Why do you want to be on the school board? “I have been living here for 10 years; I have a very large extended family who have lived in Lake Orion for 30 years. I want to spend a little time, give back time and use my past experience to help the school board.”
What is the main issue you think the school board faces? “The major issue they’ll be facing in the next two to three years is dealing with the reduced revenue they’ll be getting from the state," said Brackon. "My financial background will help extremely well with the issues of finance coming up.”
Did you support the recent proposed school bond? Yes.
Why or why not? “I supported the bond issue to ensure that the schools could move forward in technology. The bond itself was written very poorly. This is the reason I am running for the board." he said. "The current board lacks a strong financial person.  I believe that my 37 years as a  financial executive at Chrysler Corporation is the type of finance representative that this community needs.”

Terrie Campbell

Age: 51
City: Orion Township
Occupation: Labor relations
Degrees earned: Not applicable
Public offices held: None
Other activities or organizations: Campbell has taught classes on collective bargaining and stewardship.
Spouse: Tom Campbell
Family: Campbell has two children, one of whom graduated from Lake Orion High School.
Why do you want to be on the school board? A former Lake Orion Schools employee for 13 years, Campbell explained that she has been close to the students, the community, the administration and the school board staff and has a love for the district. “It’s my turn to give back,” she said. “I’d like to be able to do that.”
What is the main issue you think the school board faces? “(In) every school district right now, the biggest issue is the new mandates that are coming down from our new governor. There are a lot of unknowns directly related to the budget."
Did you support the recent proposed school bond? Yes.
Why or why not? “There have been a lot of people who complained about how the district got where they were to force them to have a bond,” she said. “Whatever happened, happened. We need to have things done now.”

Bob Gritzinger

Age: 51
City: Orion Township
Occupation: Automotive Journalist
Degrees earned: Bachelor’s degree in journalism
Public offices held: 12 years on the Lake Orion Board of Education
Other activities or organizations: Volunteer for Lake Orion Band Boosters, Lake Orion Youth Baseball League, Lake Orion Sons of the American Legion
Spouse: Julie Gritzinger
Family: Gritzinger has two children, one of whom attends Lake Orion schools.
Why do you want to be on the school board? “Specifically, I am now running for the two-year seat as a write-in candidate due to a failure by our school board to approve a fully discussed and properly negotiated contract with our teachers," said Gritzinger. "This action puts our entire district at risk because of a total breakdown of trust in our board and administration. We cannot put our relationship with our teaching staff at risk because of ill-informed and ill-advised votes. We need to restore trust and integrity as the only way to move our district forward in these troubling times. “
What is the main issue you think the school board faces? “We have $7.5 million to cut from our budget this year. I don’t know how we’re going to do it.”
Did you support the recent proposed school bond? Yes.
Why or why not? “I supported the bond issue as the best, least expensive way for the district to address myriad needs in safety and security, technology and transportation without taking money out of the classrooms," said Gritzinger.

Joe Knight

Age: 46
City: Lake Orion
Occupation: Plant manager at an automotive supplier
Degrees earned: Bachelor’s degree in industrial administration
Public offices held: None
Other activities or organizations: Examiner for Michigan Quality Council; Lake Orion Schools Strategic Planning Committee member
Spouse: Diane Knight
Family: The Knights have five children, three of which attend Lake Orion schools.
Why do you want to be on the school board? “I was involved in the strategic planning committee last year," said Knight. "I thought that they could use some business expertise. I thought I could help the district.”
What is the main issue you think the school board faces? “The biggest issue is the funding cuts and how we’re going to handle it," said Knight. "The biggest thing I’d like them to do is have a plan and communicate that plan to the community, the parents and the students. There are going to be some hard choices coming up.”
Did you support the recent ? No.
Why or why not? “I thought that we were going after things that we wanted as opposed to what we needed. In this economic climate, there are a lot of people hurting out there; we need to be more judicious with our money.”

Terry Lang 

Age: 44
City: Orion Township
Occupation: Process and quality analyst
Degrees earned: Bachelor's degree in general studies and master's degree in management
Public offices held: None
Other activities or organizations: None
Spouse: Mary Lang
Family: Four children, three of which attend school in the district.
Why do you want to be on the school board? “My business acumen lends me to believe that we need to put some businesslike principles into the leadership on the Board of Education. I’m extremely disappointed in the board that’s up there now... This board is extremely reactionary. Having 20-plus years of operations leadership experience, I think it’s time we put some forward-thinking into this board.”
What is the main issue you think the school board faces? "The obvious issue is finances. But I think the reactionary approach we took today of what money they will give us and what we will cut tomorrow is extremely short-sighted. I’d like to see us look for creative revenue sources as opposed to creative ways to cut the budget.” Lang gave examples of corporate sponsorship, leasing the school buildings after hours, hiring a full-time grant writer and exploring virtual educations.
Did you support the bond issue (a special bond issue was turned down in February for technology, school buses and building improvements)? Yes.
Why? “While I thought the bond issue was ill-timed and ill-prepared, the capital expenditures were a necessary evil.”

Birgit McQuiston

Age:  47
City: Lake Orion
Occupation:  Registered Nurse and Certified Nutritionist
Degrees earned:  Bachelor’s degree in science
Public offices held: None
Other activities or organizations: McQuiston has been involved in several organizations, including: School Improvement Teams for Lake Orion Schools and the District School Improvement Committee, Lake Orion High School SIT team, Lake Orion High School PTO president, Lake Orion Community Schools Involved Citizens, Healthy Traditions and Kensington Community Church.
Spouse:  Greg McQuiston
Family: McQuiston has two children who attend Lake Orion Schools.
Why do you want to be on the school board?  “Maintaining our district's high quality of education is my chief motivation for running for the school board," she said. "We are facing unprecedented challenges, and as such, our school board can no longer continue doing things status quo.  I would like to help be the change that our district needs.”
What is the main issue you think the school board faces? “The primary role of a school board is to oversee and provide an excellent education for the students in their district. Maintaining an exceptional education for our students will be an ongoing challenge while leading the district in a fiscally responsible manner and fostering a culture of trust with the staff and the community," she said. "The school board is also responsible for the recruiting, hiring and evaluation of a superintendent. Unless Ms. Ginopolis stays with an extension to her current two-year contract, the incoming school board will be responsible for hiring a suitable successor.”
Did you support the recent proposed school bond? Yes.
Why or why not? “My hesitancy was fueled by: how schools are funded, what drives schools to propose bonds, capitalization costs versus operation costs, debt load, and dissatisfaction with the management of the school budget," she said, adding that "the bond was less than ideal. It lacked explicit detail, capitalized computers and buses and was particularly heavy in its financial request. Ultimately, however, my personal decision to support the bond was driven out of a realization that the district has several critical needs that the bond could have resolved. From a taxation perspective, local school bonds are virtually the only taxes where we are the direct recipients of our own dollars! It would have been an investment in our community.”

Connie Meech

Age: 43
City: Orion Township
Occupation: Lawyer
Degrees earned: Bachelor’s degree in business; law degree
Public offices held: None
Other activities or organizations: Member of Mother and Unborn Baby Care and North Oakland County Right to Life group; taught catechism at St. Joseph Parish
Spouse: Steve
Family: Four children, three of which attend Lake Orion schools
Why do you want to be on the school board? “There are going to be some very important decisions that are going to be made, especially with respect to the budget," said Meech. "I want to make sure that someone with the values of myself make the right choices. Children come first; let’s try to get as much money to the classroom as possible.”
What is the main issue you think the school board faces? “The most immediate and big problem is the impending budget cuts," she said. "We will have reduced funding coming from the state. ... I want to make sure we know the schools exist for the education of the children. That comes first. I want to make sure that the classroom and important learning programs are impacted to the least degree possible.”
Did you support the recent proposed school bond? No.
Why or why not? “There were just several inherent flaws in it," said Meech. "It funded operating expenses. Bond issues by law are only for capital improvements.”

John Michalik

Age: 43
City: Orion Township
Occupation: Engineer
Degrees earned: Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering
Public offices held: None
Other activities or organizations: President of two neighborhood associations, including the Rolling Meadows Neighborhood Association
Spouse: Stephanie Orth
Family: Michalik has children who attend Lake Orion schools.
Why do you want to be on the school board? “In my mind, a good school district is the most important thing for a community. It’s so important to the community, your home value," said Michalik. "Having good schools is very important. Education is the key to our society, our country. We’ve finally agreed as Americans, manufacturing jobs aren’t going to be around anymore. … We’re in a position where you need to have an education.”
What is the main issue you think the school board faces? Michalik says state funding cuts are a big issue, saying:  “My goal is to make sure the money we do get is spent wisely and children are put first. … The most important thing going on right now is how to make ends meet with the money you have.”
Did you support the recent proposed school bond? Yes.
Why or why not? “The fault with Lake Orion was the way they tried to sell the bond to the community.”

Kelly Weaver

Age: 43
City: Orion Township
Occupation: Former educator and social worker
Degrees earned: Bachelor’s degrees in social work and education
Public offices held: Appointed to the Board of Education in May of 2010
Other activities or organizations: Lake Orion Education Foundation member, president of the Lake Orion Area Optimists, Parent Teacher Association member
Spouse: Mike
Family: Weaver has two children who attend Lake Orion schools.
Why do you want to be on the school board? “My number one goal is to continue to work to ensure that our classrooms see the least impact of what will be some major financial reductions in the district," said Weaver.
What is the main issue you think the school board faces? “That will be our number one challenge – to deal with the major reductions coming down from the Governor’s proposed budget," said Weaver. "I personally want to work more on a legislative level to re-examine how schools are funded.”
Did you support the recent proposed school bond? Yes.
Why or why not? "In weighing all the different options, I felt that it was something we needed to do for the students in the district," she said. "It wasn’t the ideal thing in this economic time."

Other candidates*

Janet Wolverton, (incumbent)
Deborah Porter
Melissa Miller
Daniel Myslakowski
Steven Drakos

If you are not sure where your polling place is, please visit the Michigan Votes Voter Information Center.

*Candidates did not respond to contact from Patch.