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Lettters can be sent to Editor John Hendler at
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Deadline is noon on Wednesdaysto the
editor
To the Editor:
I have been grateful
for the time I have been
on the Marshall Public
Schools Board of Education
representing our community.
It is an honor that I
take seriously and therefore
it has been bittersweet to
resign from my position.
Trust is an essential part
of governance and even the
perception that the school
board is not looking out
primarily for the interests
of the school system and
community is damaging.
We let ourselves get in the
situation where many in
Albion questioned whether
the needs of Albion College
and its former president
were being put in front of
the needs of the students
and community of Albion.
There were multiple
allegations of financial ties
among the members of
Albion City Council and
the MPS Board with Albion
College that were enough in
number and timing to raise
suspicion.
Things look worse
with the lack of ability
MPS Board member explains reasons for
resignation: ‘I resigned with the hope that
someone else can try and succeed’
to dissent, particularly
by those employed by
former college president
Mathew Johnson. I raised a
concern to Mathew Johnson
about lack of space for a
playground for children at
his proposed school location
near Washington Gardner.
The e-mailed response from
him ended with a statement
that if the college could
not partner with MPS, they
would entertain a charter
school.
A letter from me to
about a dozen Albion
College faculty to assess
what their involvement
might be resulted in an
e-mail from the college
president that I should
contact him, not the faculty.
There was a provost letter
to staff stating that Albion
College had not promised
anything to MPS and there
were responses by some
faculty who would only
communicate by phone, not
in writing, or only give me
their opinion if confidential.
Later I learned that the
former college president had
called multiple faculty in themiddle of the night, berating
them for not supporting the
Washington Gardner site. It
was unsettling.
MPS reported on four
surveys about the location
of the proposed elementary
school and all four favored
the Watson Street location
including over 90% of the
Harrington staff. These
results were deemed either
“faulty” or ignored by
several members on the
school board.
Private and public
calls for recusal of
Board President Richard
Lindsey from voting on
the school location were
dismissed. The fact that we
had multiple members of the
facility needs assessment
committee who were
planning on voting no on
the bond due to concerns of
conflicts of interest on the
board and concerns of the
college involvement was
minimized.
I had people tell me
they couldn’t sleep the night
before the bond because that
was the first time in their life
that they had voted against a
school bond.
I had hope after the
bond was soundly defeated
that our school board would
take the time to self-reflect.
Instead at our December
meeting, it was mentioned
that we would look for other
funding for an elementary
school in Albion. Trustee
Matt Davis made a surprise
motion to form a partnershipprimarily with Albion
College and that a new
elementary school would
be “centrally located” aka
Washington Gardner. It
would not be at the “back
forty” at Watson Street. An
effort to remove the location
of the school from the
motion was denied. Without
any significant deliberation,
the motion passed 4-2.
Trustee Amanda
Lankard is very sincere
about community
engagement and has worked
to put a plan together to get
feedback on the school bond
failure. I don’t know how
this succeeds as at the very
same meeting that we were
talking about community
engagement we passed a
motion to force a location
of a school in Albion where
most people did not want it.
We did not listen to the prior
community feedback, nor
were we willing to wait for
the community feedback at
our community engagement
sessions.
While I try to represent
MPS as a whole, I live in
Albion and have a child
who attends Harrington
Elementary. My purpose for
running for the board was to
make sure there was a voice
supporting our students
and staff at Harrington
Elementary.
Unfortunately, I was
not able to make their voices
sufficiently heard. I also
do not know how we can
restore the trust needed to
move forward in a positive
direction. Therefore, I
resigned with the hope that
someone else can try and
succeed where I may have
failed.
Dr. Carrie Nicholson,
AlbionTo the Editor:
I would like to thank
the ad-visor&chronicle for
printing my previous school
bond letters, as well as the
other folks’ letters. Also,
thank you to the taxpayers
for taking the time to cast
your votes.
The school bond defeat
is nothing new to the Albion
voters. In October 1960, the
vote was 990 no to 792 yes
for a new high school. In
March 1961 the taxpayers
did not like what was being
forced upon them and the
vote was 1,117 no to 664 yes.
During this era in
Albion, employment was
plentiful, and the voters were
World War I, World War II,
Korea, Viet Nam and Great
Depression survivors - folks
who were taught or taught
their children that everything
has a repurpose and not to
waste or discard.
The third and final vote
in October 1962 passed by
only 101 votes-1,288 yes to
1,187 no as 225 Watson St.
became the 55-acre Albion
Wildcat High School campus
which opened for classes
Jan. 9, 1967.
Fifty-five years later
the Albion taxpayers may
be voting a second time on
a huge school bond issue
proposed by the Marshall
Public Schools.
As of this writing the
Board of Education has not
offered a sound resolution
as to why the AHS campus
can’t be restructured into an
elementary complex, which
would cost millions less
than breaking ground and
building a new structure.
I am asking the board to
please provide a cost analysis
for a conversion from high‘We understand it is sound business
to repurpose what already has a
strong foundation’school to grade school at 225
Watson St. The board has
done a commendable job on
grouping with the costs, each
item they deem necessary for
this bond proposal. Let’s not
waste those efforts.
Each item needs to be
voted on as a separate issue.
This offers the taxpayers the
opportunity to prioritize for
themselves what they think
is important for the school
district. As far as building a
new school in Albion, your
Albion College support just
rode the train out of town.
The taxpayers don’t trust
the college and really don’t
want their interference in our
voting process.
The MPS Board
of Education needs to
understand who they are
trying to intimidate. We
are the Baby Boomers who
taught waste not-want not
and every Veteran woman or
man since the Persian Gulf
and since 911.
We are not your sheep- we are the voters who
know and understand, and
we understand it is sound
business to repurpose
what already has a strong
foundation.
One last money tidbit the
board needs to review: The
November 2020 bond issue
cost Sheridan Township
about $2,000. If the board
elects to schedule a second
vote prior to the 2022 mid-
term elections, it will cost
Sheridan Township another
$2,000 in funds. If the board
can put everything in order
and combine the bond vote
with the mid-term vote, it
will cost the townships and
cities almost nothing.
R. McGill,
Albion
To the Editor:
Another crisis has
developed in our country.
As I write this letter there
are estimates of 12 million
job openings. Along our
southern border there is a
crisis involving thousands
of refugees and immigrants
waiting to be processed, so
they can enter the country.
Can one crisis be of help
solving the other crisis? We
are a nation of immigrants.
Our country represents
nationalities from every
corner of the world. Many
of the people at our southern
border have traveled great
distances, much of it on
foot. I’m a believer that
going through all these
hardships is going to make
them a pretty good hire.
They traveled from lands
that are impoverished, war-
torn, criminally dominated,
etc. They want to be a part
of our country because they
know it can offer a higher
standard of living than their
previous country. They
want what many Americans
are in quest of – a piece of
the American dream.
The current processing
of these people is being
handled at a snail’s-pace.
Our nation needed workers
last week, last month and
‘Our nation is a melting pot of many different nationalities’
last year. Once processed
the immigrants/refugees
can’t solve all of our needs
in unemployment, but they
can help. Let’s expedite
the process, screening
their health, checking their
history for criminal activity,
etc. Once allowed in, they
could travel to various
parts of the country that
need labor. Once hired,
they will help support local
economies. They will pay
rent, buy groceries, have
state and federal taxes taken
out of their paychecks.
Many will bring or have
children that will help boostenrollment in our schools.
Once a citizen they will pay
into Social Security.
Our nation is a
melting pot of many
different nationalities, each
one bringing their own
unique contribution to our
American society. Our
country needs an infusion
of committed and dedicated
labor. There are thousands
at our southern border who
want an opportunity to be
that labor. Let’s get them
processed and working.
The sooner, the better.
Doug Vanderford.
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