Page 4 — Thursday, May 12, 2022 — The Hastings Banner
Have you met?
Do you remember?
Did you see?
Where do we go from here?
If voting with the pocketbook is Election
Rule No. 1, Hastings school millage voters
confirmed it last week – as did school mill-
age voters across the state.
Those election defeats mean school
leaders like Hastings Superintendent Matt
Goebel and our local school board have to
do their “Where Do We Go from Here?”
sessions all over again.
The $23.9 million bond proposal for
Hastings schools lost by a margin of 147
votes. What’s frustrating for proponents
was that a similar proposal on Aug. 3 lost
by only 84 votes. So, what was different
this time, why so many more ‘No’ votes?
What’s dangerous for the community –
no matter the vote cast – is that our prob-
lems will continue to get worse. There is
still a lot of unfinished work that needs
urgent attention, like the remaining roofs
that still need to be replaced or patched.
Building security, bathroom updates, lock-
er room renovations, window replacement
and upgrades to high-efficiency LED light-
ing and others were part of the proposal.
We cannot neglect an investment that will
cost us even more in the future.
There’s no question that rising inflation
caused gas, food and energy prices to
increase to a point not seen in nearly 40
years and made a difference to voters. The
citizens’ group that I joined to help pro-
mote the millage never figured that gas
would be more than $4 per gallon by the
time of the vote. Nor did it anticipate the
impact energy prices would have on the
economic conditions of voters.
But those constrictions only distract
from the responsibilities we have to our
community – and to the children we’ve
pledged to protect and nurture. It just hurts
so badly to see the same callous neglect for
the least among us reflected in so many
other school districts:- Greenville’s millage loss by only two
votes had school Superintendent Linda
VanHouten confounded.
“I’m speechless and disappointed,” said
VanHouten. “There’s a lot of reasons to
vote ‘no,’ but there’s only one reason to
vote ‘yes,’ and that’s the kids.” - In the East China School District,
northeast of Detroit, a sinking fund propos-
al to fix roofs, HVAC units, boiler replace-
ments and renovations to early childhood
centers along with catch-basin repairs lost
by 55 percent. - In Ionia, the failure of a proposal to
restore the district to full per-pupil funding
will necessitate serious budget cuts. - Voters in Bangor turned down a $
million bond proposal for building and site
improvements. - A $53 million bond to modernize the
high school and enhance its learning envi-
ronment for students, along with other
building maintenance issues, was nixed in
Coldwater. - And in Grant, voters turned down a $
million bond proposal for improvements to
buildings, playgrounds and athletic fields,
among other projects.
None of these proposals were glamor-
ous; they were for projects to protect
investments. Yet voters sent a strong mes-
sage, “We’re not interested in more
taxes.”
School administrators are surely think-
ing about how to move forward after these
losses. For us in Hastings, I hope adminis-
trators see our own best interests as using
whatever funds we have left to put a patch
on the roofs and hope we don’t experience
any major projects until we can regroup
and convince voters to pass a millage in the
future.
But if we ever to expect to pass a millage - which is needed more with every passing
day – we have to grapple with reducing the
number of ‘No’ voters.
Other than the general economy and its
impact on pocketbook voting, what can our
school leaders do?
I have some thoughts, but every one of
them will take time and a changed approach
to even be considered viable: - Remember that parents are customers,
too. Some of our problems date back to
2008 when the Hastings board decided to
close Pleasantview School and combine it
with Southeastern Elementary. The board
made the decision after just two public
meetings to solicit comment. Several par-
ents and teachers spoke about the lack of
communication over the closing of Pleas-
antview and the impact it would have on
the community.
I was one who reminded the board
during one comment session that “in indus-
try, it’s much easier to keep a customer
than it is to find a new one. That’s true in
business, and it’s also true when you con-
sider the potential loss of students by clos-
ing Pleasantview.”
School administrators don’t like to think
of students and families as customers. Yet,
the way schools are financed, these num-
bers are important to the overall financial
stability of the district. Maybe last week’s
voters in the Pleasantview district voted
‘No’ because of that decision made 14
years ago. - Let’s listen to, and work with, parents
who send their children to other districts
via schools of choice. How many schools-
of-choice children are there and how many
more are being home-schooled in the Hast-
ings district? Are those parents likely to
vote for more taxes for a school their kids
don’t attend? These are all new circum-
stances that public school boards across the
state must consider. - It’s time for more careful planning
when it comes to our school boards. Pres-
ently, a school board term is six years –
way too long to get most people interested
in serving on a board. Let’s return to two-
year terms with the hope that a strong
board member might be convinced to run
for a second term.
And let’s find someone to serve on the
board who represents ‘No’ voters. Diversi-
ty on any board is important. We need
someone with the guts to ask difficult
questions. - Encourage ‘Learning Tours’ for the
superintendent. Like a meet-and-greet
event, leaders like our Matt Goebel should
visit with voters on their turf in Baltimore
Township, at the libraries in Hastings and
Dowling and elsewhere, to discuss whatev-
er issues they’d like to discuss and bring
them up to speed on the needs of the dis-
trict.
This will all take some time, so there’s
no way the board should consider another
millage until some of the groundwork is
done and, hopefully, economic conditions
improve in our world. While we wait for a
favorable ‘pocketbook vote’ environment,
let’s get started on what is certain to be a
grueling homework assignment.
“Progress is impossible without change,
and those who cannot change their minds,
cannot change anything,” playwright
George Bernard Shaw said.
The answers to our progress will come
in the votes. We need to take the time to
ask voters what needs to be done to con-
vince them that our community is on the
right path. The requests are serious; they
need our attention to keep our schools in
good shape and to be able to attract stu-
dents in what has become a competitive
environment brought on by schools of
choice.
That means “Yes” and “No” voters work-
ing together. It’s something we can do.
The Hastings Banner
Devoted to the interests of Barry County since 1856
Published by... Hastings Banner, Inc.
A Division of J-Ad Graphics Inc.
1351 N. M-43 Highway • Phone: (269) 945-9554 • Fax: (269) 945-
News and press releases: [email protected] • Advertising: [email protected]Frederic Jacobs
Publisher & CEOHank Schuuring
CFO- ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT •
Classified ads accepted Monday through Friday,
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
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Greg Chandler Benjamin SimonSubscription Rates: $52 per year in Barry County
$60 per year in adjoining counties
$65 per year elsewherePOSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
P.O. Box 188
Hastings, MI 49058-
Second Class Postage Paid
at Hastings, MI 49058This drain project's
a statewide winner
The 2022 Innovation & Excellence Award
from the Michigan Association of County
Drain Commissioners went to Barry County's
own Drain Commissioner Jim Dull. The rea-
son? The Cloverdale Drain project was
judged the best drain project in the state.
Every year, the MACDC reviews and evalu-
ates dozens of drain projects across the
state. Cost effectiveness, innovation, use of
new materials or new and evolving technolo-
gies, environmental and water quality bene-
fits, and public education are considered.
This is the first time the county has received
such an honor, Dull said. Michigan
Department of Environment, Great Lakes
and Energy told Dull it was one of the most complex and challenging projects to get permitted environmentally that they've
ever seen. It was designed to install an outlet drain to improve flows from Cloverdale Lake to Long Lake, with a new lake level
control structure installed to control upstream water levels in Cloverdale, Wilkinson, Jones and Mud lakes.Top scholars honored
Banner May 17, 1962Honor top scholars – Members of the Hastings Rotary Club, at their second annual honors program, paid tribute to the
scholastic achievements made by outstanding scholars in the Hastings High School Class of 1962. The program was
held at the Rotary’s Monday noon luncheon at the Hotel Hastings, and this photo was taken following the meeting.
Pictured (seated, from left) are salutatorian Judith Bowman, valedictorian Janice Davis, Freddy Hauser, Jennette Barry,
Carolyn Skidmore, Alexandra Hoffman; (standing) Principal Don Gill, University of Michigan Vice President Roger W.
Heyns, Professor Alfred Sussman, who gave the main address, and the other scholars honored: Ronald Keithley, John
von Reis and Dean Dingman. (Photo by Leo Barth)Heidi Gartley is no stranger to living in a
small town.
“One of my favorite childhood memories
is during the summers down in Indiana, we
would go down to the creek to go swim-
ming and catch crawdads," Gartley, 25,
said. “It’s probably one of the ‘most small-
town things’ ever.”
Originally from Andrews, Ind., Gartley
split her time between her mom’s home in
Indiana and her dad’s place in Union City.
Gartley moved in with her dad in Union
City when she was 15 because she liked the
smaller class sizes at Union City High
School.
“My dad was my best friend and my big-
gest cheerleader,” she said. “He was just
there for people, but always in the simplest
and most meaningful of ways. He reached
out, listened and cared.”
Her father, Tim Gartley, was a mainte-
nance supervisor for the Marshall Excelsior
Company. He was very involved in the
community, always volunteering or helping
a neighbor. In the last years of his life, he
worked in state correctional facilities, and
donated some of his time teaching inmates
maintenance skills they could use once they
were back in society.
After her dad died in December 2020,
Gartley needed a job with benefits. She
applied for two in Hastings; one was at
Hastings Public Library and the other was a
part-time position as an assessor for the
city.
Those job interviews were what brought
her to Hastings the first time, she said. She
got a call back for the assistant city assessor
position, where she helps the city with var-
ious property-related issues such as deter-
mining property values of various areas
through the city.
“I ended up in Hastings in one of the
darkest points in my life,” she said. “But
it’s been good. I’ve loved building a little
home here.”
When she first started working for the
city, she sat at a cubicle that was tucked
away near the front desk. Although shewasn’t facing people who came in with
questions or in need of assistance, she still
could hear them.
“In that cubicle, I could hear people com-
ing in every day and having conversations,”
she said. “I knew a lot of people’s voices
months before I saw their faces.”
Gartley moved to a full-time position
with the city in July 2021, continuing her
work with the assessor and helping at city
hall’s front desk, greeting the public and
helping answer questions about city-related
issues.
“That’s when I really got to start to meet
people in the community and actually feel
like I was becoming a part of Hastings,” she
said.
Gartley went to school at Kellogg Com-
munity College studying education before
switching courses and attending Western
Michigan University, where she studied
anthropology. Although she didn’t plan on
being a city assessor, she sees herself stay-
ing in the role for quite some time.
Her dedicated coworkers at the city are a
big reason why she loves her job, she said.
“I’ve been creating a new life and family
for myself in Hastings,” she said. “Even
though I’ve been learning how to live a life
without my dad, I’ve also been learninghow to live a life integrating a lot of what
he taught into a new life and giving that to
the people and community around me.”
For her resilience in the face of grief and
her love of the community, Heidi Gartley is
this week’s Bright Light.
First job: Corn de-tasseling. That was a
fun job when I was still in high school. Basi-
cally, we all wake up early in the morning,
get on school buses and go to the cornfield
that we’re going to be de-tasseling for the
day. You could never dress for the job because
you’d get soaked from the morning dew.
Then the heat of the sun comes in the middle
of the day, but you don’t want your skin
exposed because then you’ll get corn rash.
Favorite TV show: “Gilmore Girls,”
“Twin Peaks” and “Derry Girls.”
Something most people don’t know
about me: I was a student with the Fort St.
Joseph Archaeological Project. I excavated
at the site of a 17th century fort in Niles. It
was a French fort, then it was taken over by
the British, and then it was taken over by
the Spanish. That’s why Niles is called ‘The
City of Four Flags,’ because then there was
the American flag over the fort at the end. It
was a small fort on the St. Joseph River
used for mission work, fur trading and also
a military post.
What it’s like to be a young person in
Hastings: I see it as hopeful. Being young-
er, even if I don’t see as many people my
age involved in some things, it’s cool to see
what older generations are still doing right
now. I see it as a responsibility. You look
around and see things they are doing and
think, “Oh, that’s going to fall on me or my
peers someday.”Each week, the Banner profiles a person
who makes the community shine. Do you
know someone who should be featured
because of volunteer work, fun-loving per-
sonality, for the stories he or she has to tell,
or for any other reason? Send information
to Newsroom, Hastings Banner, 1351 N.
M-43 Highway, Hastings, MI 49058; or
email [email protected].Heidi Gartley
Fred Jacobs, CEO,
J-Ad Graphics Inc.