SunAndNews_101224

http://www.sunandnews.com Saturday, October 12, 2024 5

... are a Democrat, a progressive, or an unhappy Republican.
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... want schools to teach without fearmongering.
... love Jesus but accept the separaon of church and state.
... are devoted to American ideals and rule of law.
... or wonder, “Who are all these down-ballot candidates?”

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Always in our hearts.

Love, Mom & Dad, Chris, Royce,

Bob, Terri, Sherry & Todd

Brenda Colburn

Greg Chandler

Staff Writer

This week, the Sun and News begins a

series of election previews where we ask

candidates their stand on various issues.

Four candidates are running for two

available six-year seats on the Caledo-

nia Community Schools Board of Edu-

cation. On the ballot are one incumbent,

longtime board President Marcy White,

and three first-time candidates – Shawn

Collins, Jessica Kohn, and Earlina Velt-

ing. Incumbent board member Jason

Saidoo did not seek re-election.

The four candidates responded to an

identical questionnaire sent out by the

Sun and News this week.

The Sun and News will have a pre-

view of the Thornapple Kellogg Schools

Board of Education election in its Oct.

19 edition and the Middleville Village

Council in its Oct. 26 edition.

Name: Shawn Collins

Occupation: Physical Therapist and

Athletic Trainer

1. Why are you running for school
board? What are your priorities?
As simple as it sounds, I’m running
for the school board simply to serve
and give back to the school district and
community. My wife and I have three
kids that have graduated from Caledonia
Schools, and we have two kids that are
still in the school district. We have met
a lot of great teachers and staff members
throughout the four school buildings our
kids have spent time in. They deserve to
have a school board made up of people
who provide a stable and supportive
presence for the district and who are not
in it for themselves. My priorities are
honesty, transparency, accountability,
responsibility, humility, and efficiency.
We need to have a culture in which
teachers and support staff are valued,
respected, and not micromanaged. We
need a culture in which staff members
support and value each other. We need
to have an environment in which our
kids have the right amount of quality
teachers, counselors, and other support
staff in appropriately sized classrooms.
We also need to create an environment
in which our kids can be challenged and
truly prepared for life after graduation.
This cannot happen when we soften
standards and lower expectations for
them.
2. What skills and experiences
do you bring to the table that have

prepared you to serve as a board

member?

I am part-owner of a locally owned

and independent physical therapy pri-

vate practice. I am currently one of 13

owners, and although we’re not set up

as a board, it’s very similar. I’m one

member of a group that is responsible

for decision-making, vision/direction,

problem-solving, fiscal responsibility,

and culture, to name a few, that not only

affects our company as a whole, but

also our co-workers, patients, referral

sources, and the communities we serve.

We all have our personal stories and

somewhat different backgrounds, and

we have different views on a lot of top-

ics. We have different political views

and opinions. But we do our best to

put those aside, to work together to do

what’s right, and to make the best deci-

sions that will benefit everyone.

My wife is a former teacher who

has worked in both inner city and rural

schools. She’s also a former Caledo-

nia Schools employee. So, I have the

perspectives and experiences of these

roles as well.

I am approachable, a good listener,

and believe in servant leadership. I

have no intention of using this position

as a political stepping-stone or to make

a name for myself.

3. What do you see as the role of
the board in providing a safe school
environment? What changes would
you propose, if any, to improve the
safety of the school environment?
The board is in an oversight role of
many aspects of the school district,
and safety is definitely one of them.
The board has approved the hiring of
safety and resource officers. There
are firewalls on the school computers
to prevent the access and sharing of
harmful material. There seems to be
proper measures in place for entering
and exiting the building, who’s able to
check kids in and out, etc. The board’s
job is not to run the school district but
should be making sure that everyone
involved in some aspect of school safety
is doing their job properly and consis-
tently as well as make sure they are held
accountable if they are not.
Challenges come in the forms of
cell phone usage, artificial intelligence
abuses, and social media. I support
the current cell phone policy that the
schools have implemented this year.
There also needs to be update policies on

Four candidates vying for two spots on Caledonia school board

any type of abuse through social media

and artificial intelligence if there hasn’t

been already.

4. What role do you feel parents
have in relation to the board? What
can be done, as a board, to address
concerns parents may have about a
particular issue?
The board itself is made up of parents
who have either had kids go through our
school district or who currently have
kids in the district, so there’s one direct
connection. Parents, of course, are an
important demographic in the makeup
of a school district who deserve to have
their concerns expressed and heard by
the board and other members of the
school district. There are already meth-
ods set up for parents to communicate
directly to the school board members
via email or during the public comment
section of monthly board meetings.
The board is both the link between the
public and the school district and the
last step when dealing with concerns
and complaints. Parents should be ad-
dressing their concerns with teachers
first and then administration. If things

still haven’t been addressed properly,

then they should come to the board.

Unfortunately, the board cannot control

public gossip and rumors in the com-

munity that influence and cause some

parental concerns. The board could

perhaps look into other ways of dis-

seminating information to the public to

help cut down on this to some degree.

5. The schools have implemented
policies and programs supporting

See CALEDONIA on 7