By By MARCIA STEFFENS and ERIN VER BERKMOES / Cassopolis Vigilant
CASSOPOLIS - On the ballot Tuesday is a proposal to elect two, four-year seats on the board of education. Candidates are incumbent William C. Loux II, 21396 Sail Bay Drive, Cassopolis, and newcomers Denise Bufkin, 315 Lakeshore Drive, Cassopolis; Karen Curtis Forest, 613 Water Street, Cassopolis; and Susan Lynn Horstmann, 62056 Carlton Drive, Cassopolis. Patricia Ann Dresser's name will be on the ballot, but she has dropped out of the race.
William Loux
Incumbent William Loux has been on the school board for 12 years. "I feel that through my experience in the golf business and owning two small businesses of my own, I offer a great background in budgeting, as well as community and employee relations," Loux said. "I have made a commitment to help."
One of Loux's goals if re-elected is to "really pull the board together and get them to function like a board."
When it comes to budget challenges Loux hopes to challenge the staff and community to come up with new ideas of how to stabilize and increase the districts enrollment.
Denise Corliss Bufkin ran for the school board last year and decided to run again because the community of Cassopolis is small, and over the past few years the enrollment has been on the decline. "I would really like to work with the board and the administration to see if there are things we can do to change these trends," Bufkin said.
Another of her goals is to develop policies to help improve the academic standing of the students, as well as MEAP scores, and to really change the reputation of the Cassopolis schools.
Susan Horstmann
Susan Horstmann has no previous governmental or political experience, but with her experience in accounting, personnel in manufacturing and real estate sales and management, would make a good addition to the board. She has a child in each building.
Horstmann added that one of her goals is to get the word out "to surrounding communities that Cassopolis is a great district, and I am looking forward to help increase enrollment."
Karen (Curtis) Forrest
Karen Forrest's goal is to establish a relationship with the community and to also increase the district's enrollment. She also hopes to foresee future budget cuts and to have the village come together to assist in the planning of the budget.