Grandville — In a rare situation for Kent County, the Kent ISD School Board has been tasked with selecting the next member of the Grandville Public Schools Board of Education, after members of the Grandville board were unable to reach a majority vote on a candidate to fill a vacant seat.
The Kent ISD board will interview two candidates selected by Grandville BOE members and make a decision at a special meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday, March 17, at the Kent ISD Conference Center, 1633 East Beltline NE. The meeting is open to the public.
This process follows Michigan law, which states that if a vacancy on a local school board is not filled by the district within 30 days, the decision must be made by its intermediate school board.
GPS gave public notice in early February of an open seat on its board after trustee Barb Palmer resigned. After receiving 19 applications, the board met in a special meeting February 27 to interview its top six candidates to fill the seat. In discussion afterward, which sometimes turned contentious, the board became deadlocked between its top two candidates, neither of whom were able to advance past a 3-3 tie vote.
‘Board positions are supposed to be non-partisan positions but have become more political in nature in recent years with the politicization of education in general.’
— Grandville Superintendent Roger Bearup
The need to send a vote to the ISD is uncommon in Kent County, although such situations have become more frequent across Michigan in recent years, according to Brad Banasik, legal counsel for the Michigan Association of School Boards.
“(Requiring an ISD to select a constituent district’s board member) used to be more unique than it is nowadays,” said Banasik, who said he “hardly ever” saw this happen in Michigan when he joined MASB 28 years ago. “But within the last five or six years, I’d say it’s becoming quite common.”
In recent years, Banasik estimates a similar situation occurs three to five times per year across Michigan’s 56 intermediate school districts. But in Kent County, he said he “can’t recall” the Kent ISD board ever needing to step in during his time with MASB.
Banasik also noted that once a decision is sent to an ISD, that agency has full control over the process of selecting the board member for its constituent district. They can choose to interview the district’s top choices, find new candidates to interview, or something else.
“Because it’s a rare occurrence, ISDs usually don’t have a process outlined in their bylaws, and they have a lot of flexibility in the law,” he said.
In this case, the Kent ISD board will interview the two candidates who put the Grandville BOE in a stalemate, Amy Campbell and Mary Gunther. Each will take part in a 20-minute interview on March 17, and the individual chosen will serve the remainder of Palmer’s term in Grandville, which runs until the next election in November 2026.
Despite the recent stalemate, Grandville Superintendent Roger Bearup said he remains confident in the Grandville trustees’ ability to serve the district.
“The board currently has six members, so it is not uncommon to have a tie vote until there is a seventh member,” he said. “It does not concern me to reach consensus in the future, as we have on several other decisions.
“Board positions are supposed to be non-partisan positions but have become more political in nature in recent years with the politicization of education in general. Therefore, when you are looking to fill a position, it is not surprising that it often becomes political in nature. All you have to do is look at local board elections across the country to see this reality.”
As he looks toward the Kent ISD vote on Monday, the superintendent said he has trust in a good outcome.
“No one likes losing their local control, so this is unfortunate,” Bearup said. “However, as partners in education I have full faith in our Kent ISD board to interview the two finalists identified from our process and select a candidate that will be student-focused and a team player in our continued journey to support all students in reaching their full potential. I am confident that both candidates bring this to the vacant position if selected.”
Grandville board President Jason Heyboer declined to comment on the matter and directed inquiries to Bearup.
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