Election Law Alters Rotation in Grosse Pointe, Causes Concern

The bill Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law this week changing the election process for local school boards will extend the terms of four Board of Education members and it will alter the rotation schedule currently in place for those seats.

As it has been set up, the seven member board is staggered so that at a maximum, two seats are open in any given election. 

Brendan Walsh's seat is the only unpaired seat for election purposes, meaning when he runs for election it's the only seat up for election. 

Senate Bill 427 outlines the election process that is intended to streamline it and save money. It calls for local school board elections to be performed in November on even-numbered years. 

The idea behind the change is to save money by holding the elections at the same time there are general elections on the state and/or federal levels rather than at other times of the year when an election otherwise would not be taking place.

The bill effectively changes the staggering Grosse Pointe currently uses, so that three seats will be up for election in 2014 and four seats will be up for election in 2016.

The change is concerning for a variety of reasons to local officials, some of whom said the bill is yet another step by Snyder to remove local control. Rep. Tim Bledsoe echoed their thoughts in his weekly Capitol Update newsletter to constituents.

Grosse Pointe Board of Education Trustee Judy Gafa said Friday if half the board were to change in one election, it could have a negative impact on the function. 

"It takes a good year to get up to speed on the board, the district's finances and policies," Gafa said, noting it would eliminate the consistency that currently eases the transitions for newly elected board members. 

Outgoing Board President John Steininger agreed. He said having a core of board members in place when newly elected members are taking office helps to keep up the momentum. 

"With three or four at a time, it's a volatile situation," Steininger said.

In addition to changing the election rotation for Grosse Pointe, the new law extends the terms of four board members. The extensions are on boards throughout the state to get all of them on the same election schedule and in some cases, the extension is up to 18 months long. 

In Grosse Pointe, the extensions are one year each for Joan Dindoffer and Tom Jakubiec as well as . Roeske and Valente will take office in January after winning the seats in the November election. 

The extension, to Steininger, seems like it could be problematic, he said. There is a great deal of work involved with being on the school board and for the governor to simply extend the terms could be a hardship upon those actually serving. 

There is always the option to resign, however, Gafa said, explaining then the board appoints a new member to serve until November of that year when the seat is opened for election by the general public.

Roeske said he is happy to serve a five year term instead of a four year term because it only increases the chances that he'll be able to see the effects of his decisions actually being implemented in the district while he's still holding a seat.

Valente also said she is happy to serve her term, whether it's four or five years. She does believe the topic will surface early next year when the new board begins meeting. The board will need to make some decisions about whether the four year terms should remain or whether a six-year term would be better to ensure only two seats are open at any given time. 

Her fear with six year terms is that it would be too long and be a deterrant to good candidates seeking the seats, which are essentially voluntary public service. She believes having half the board turnover in one election could be disruptive to the flow of work but believes the barrier to good candidates is more of a concern.

Regardless of their ultimate decision, many said they believe this law is one more step by Snyder to remove local control.

"I know it saves money and I know we are trying to save money everywhere, but it's the state again interjecting itself into local politics," Gafa said. 

Steininger shared similar thoughts.

"I don't think it's a good idea. I don't understand his methodology," he said. "It's hard for me to understand whey screw something up that works."

Meanwhile, Roeske said his concern with the new format is that the local school board elections could be overshadowed by bigger races. 

"I just don't want the school board to get lost in the election."