2007 GHHS graduate elected to school board
Wed, May 7, 2008 
to del.icio.us
BY BETH HEINEN BELL
bbell@grandhaventribune.com
Voters have picked some new faces to join the Grand Haven and Spring Lake boards of education this summer.
Click to enlarge
Newcomers Brandon Hall and Dennis Devlin will join incumbents David Davis and Lisa Ashcraft on the boards after being elected Tuesday. Each will begin a four-year term on July 1.
Grand Haven voters elected Hall, 18, with 1,516 votes — or 35 percent of the total. He is a 2007 graduate of Grand Haven High School and currently a student at Grand Rapids Community College.
"I'm pretty pleased, and honored to be able to support the community," Hall said Tuesday night following his win. "I think the voters indicated that Mr. Davis and I would be the best fit for the board and that really means a lot. I'm looking forward to visiting the schools, getting to know the kids and just getting started with everything."
Hall said his immediate focus will be on school finances and helping with a schedule change at the high school.
"My top priority will be guiding the district through this tough budget situation ... as well as making sure the trimester schedule is successful," he said. "I just want to keep on top of things. The board needs to always see what's going on in order for the district to be successful."
Hall will be joined on the Grand Haven board by Davis, who received 34 percent of the total, or 1,502 votes. Davis, 63, has served on the board since 2006.
Click to enlarge
"I'm greatly pleased with the support of the voters in allowing me to continue to serve on the board of education," Davis said this morning.
The incumbent plans to devote his time to many items discussed at the recent board retreat.
"I want to focus on the implementation of technology, as well as our trimester program and finding alternate finances for our schools," Davis said. "We've got to come up with alternative sources for funding."
A second incumbent, Seth Holt, 50, was not re-elected to the Grand Haven board. He received 1,277 votes Tuesday, or 30 percent of the total.
In Spring Lake, incumbent Lisa Ashcraft was re-elected with 800 votes, or 46 percent of the vote. Ashcraft, 52, is currently the Spring Lake Public Schools Board vice president and has held her seat since 1996.
Click to enlarge
"I'm glad to continue to be able to serve this community and to be able to work with our new superintendent," Ashcraft said. "I think that will be really exciting."
Ashcraft said her top priority will be to help the Spring Lake district with its leadership transition. The first day on the job for the district's new superintendent, Dennis Furton, is also July 1.
"My goal is to just get Dennis on board, make sure he feels comfortable working with our board members and that we're all on the same track with what our goals are for the district," Ashcraft said.
Newcomer Dennis Devlin, who was elected with 31 percent of the total vote, or 537 votes, will join Ashcraft on the Spring Lake board. Devlin, 64, is a history professor at Grand Valley State University.
Click to enlarge
"I'm glad voters felt I could do a good job of representing the interests of our students, staff and community, and of keeping us one of the premier districts in the state," Devlin said Tuesday upon learning the election results.
He plans to spend the next few months learning as much as he can about district operations.
"I want to first just find out what's going on, and learn more about the aquatic center," Devlin said. "By July or August, I will probably have a better idea of what needs to be addressed."
Devlin's election means incumbent Rolf Hissom was not re-elected to the Spring Lake board. Hissom received 402, or 23 percent, of Tuesday's votes.
Voters in both districts on Tuesday also approved a nonprincipal residence millage renewal of 18 mills for the schools' operating budgets. The millage is a principal source of funding for school districts, generating revenue needed to maintain programs and services.
The millage passed with 74 percent of the vote in Grand Haven and 73 percent of the vote in Spring Lake.
Both GHAPS Superintendent Keith Konarska and SLPS Interim Superintendent Mark Westerburg said they were "very pleased" that voters approved the renewal.
"(The millage) is a huge part of the schools' finances," said Westerburg. "It's great to have a supportive community — and not just with the millage, but with our kids, programs, the aquatic center. ... I think our teachers work hard, the community supports them and it's a good collaborative effort."
All numbers quoted are unofficial results from the Ottawa County Clerk's office.
