By By KATHIE HEMPEL / Niles Daily Star
NILES-Two incumbents and one newcomer will seek two positions on the Niles Community Schools Board on Tuesday, May 8.
Threats of a further decrease in funding from Lansing and the need to entice School of Choice students are not the only challenges facing the district. There is also the school bond issue and the need to maintain aging buildings.
Newcomer Mike Waldron said he would not support the bond proposal as set forth. He has sat on the bond proposal committee since 2005 and now seeks one of two seats this election.
"When I was first on the proposal committee, I asked the question of where enrollment was expected to be in five years. I learned enrollment was expected to decline and I began to look at the bond issues with much more skepticism," Waldron said.
Waldron returned to Niles from Fairfax, Va. in 2005. A career military man, he was officially a Niles resident until his retirement in 1993.
On his return to Niles, he read about the school board's efforts to improve the facilities. He approached Niles Superintendent Douglas Law to be involved in the proposal committee.
Surveys of those who did vote on the last bond issue were done. One asked what happened and why the first proposal failed. The second looked to find out what Niles residents would support.
"Niles residents said they just wanted to fix the existing buildings. They did not want a new high school. The second survey went to the same pool. They were offered, as I recall, four options. However, the option of only fixing was not polled. Remarkably, the school board did not pick the most popular option," Waldron said.
Waldron said he thinks the option of fixing all the buildings would cost less than the $68 million put forth at the time of the 2006 proposal. That option required a 7 mill bond.
"My answer is to make a second try to analyze the cost for what we need to do to fix the existing buildings minus Westside before going to the people for money and before any radical changes such as adding classrooms on and closing Eastside," he said.
Incumbent Rick McKeel said it is critical that the revised bond proposal pass. He acknowledged that nobody, himself included, wants to pay more taxes.
For McKeel, it was always a personal goal to serve his community on a board where he felt he could best use his skills to make an impact. Niles Community Schools Board member Scott Tyler suggested that the school board as a perfect match.
"My kids go to school here. My wife is the Math department chairperson. I have served as 'the voice of the Vikings' for some time now. So when a spot came available, I expressed my interest," McKeel said.
He has served less than one term on the school board. He lives in Niles with wife, Sheryl, and two children: daughter Abby, 13, goes to Ring Lardner Middle School and daughter Megan, 10, is a Howard Elementary School student.
"Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Proposed state cuts to education make the financial picture the priority. We can write. We can call. In the end, we have to manage what we get," McKeel said.
He said something needs be done regarding the most immediate security issues. The traffic at Ring Lardner is certainly a concern when he picks his daughter up at school.
"The number of cars coming in both directions and students coming out from between the cars is a dangerous situation. The assistant principal does a remarkable job directing traffic, however, it does not minimize the problem," he said.
Improving the technology infrastructure is also important to McKeel. He made it clear he supports staff having the tools needed to do the job.
"I hear about the problems first-hand from my wife. When you plug in a monitor and the lights go out, that's a problem. We have to remember a building built 30 years ago went up at a time when all that was used was a chalkboard," he said.
McKeel said that Niles has made great changes downtown and now it is time to support the kids. He said that continuing to work to attract new students to the district is important.
Incumbent Dana Daniels said he, too, firmly supports the bond proposal.
"When I went to school, someone before my parents had paid to support the buildings I attended. We pay for future generations because someone did that for us," he said.
Daniels has served as president of the Board this year. He is seeking his second four-year term.
"The reason I am running now is the same as it was the first time. As a triple cancer survivor, I had said if I got through that I would like to help kids. I have coached softball and this is just another way working for the kids," he said.
He said that a friend always said he is "as common as dirt" and he trusts that is meant as a compliment. He is married to wife Barbara and the couple have one daughter Heather, 14, "who plays for the number one softball team in the state."
"With regard to the bond issue, I am one of two who have been involved in all recent bond issues from the start. The number one goal for this district is adequate facilities for the kids. Passing this bond at this time puts us on the road to fixing and upgrading the facilities we have. I believe they can be upgraded to meet the needs of the kids," he said.
The addition of students to Ballard increases attendance there from approximately 680 to about 750 students. At Howard, the attendance would roughly increase from 570 to 600 students.
"Yes, this would increase our bus runs slightly. Perhaps by three bus runs. However, because of the school closure, we will save $200,000 to $300,000 per year. This is more than enough to cover the cost of the extra bus runs," he said.
Tuesday, May 8, the community will decide.