New, familiar faces seek to fill school board positions

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org

During the mid-term elections, every school district within Kent County has board positions that will be up for election.

School board positions are non-partisan with terms either being four or six years. Several of the districts in the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming have partial term seats open as well. This means that a former board member had to leave their seat before his/her term has expired.

Both Godwin Heights and Kelloggsville each have a partial term seat that has no candidates running. In those cases, the district’s school board may appoint someone to fill the seat after the election, usually after Dec. 31 when the seat has expired. School boards have 30 days to fill an open seat.

Godfrey-Lee Public Schools

The Godfrey Lee Public Schools has two candidates running unopposed for two six-year terms on its board of education. The candidates are Josephine Coleman and Lynn D. Velthouse. Both currently are on the board. Velthouse is serving as treasurer and Coleman is a trustee.

Godwin Heights Public Schools

In the Godwin Heights Public School district, there are four candidates seeking two six-year terms for the district’s board of education. Those candidates are Adam Burley, Kathy Crow DeYoung, Megan Erskine, and Lee Ann Platschorre. Burley and DeYoung were appointed to the board in 2021. Platschorre is currently serving as vice president and has been on the board since 1991.

Colleen Anderson is the only candidate seeking one of the two partial terms that end on Dec. 31, 2024. Anderson was appointed to the board to the board this year.

Grandville Public Schools

The Grandville Public Schools district area includes those living in Wyoming’s panhandle. In that district, there are five candidates seeking two six-year term seats. Those candidates are Erica Abel, Joe Steffes, Trent Joseph Taylor, Bob Wondergem, and Cameron Zbikowki.

Abel is a a teacher at Byron Center Public Schools and is a third generation Grandville graduate.

Steffes is a retired lieutenant from the Wyoming Police Department. He has had two children who graduated from Grandville Public Schools and has two children currently in the district.

Taylor is a 1989 graduate of Grandville High School and is a partner at Miller Canfield. Taylor has had one child graduate from Grandville in 2022 and has two in the high school.

Wondergem is the only incumbent running, having been on the board for 21 years. He has two children who have graduated from Grandville Public Schools.

Zbikowski is a 2004 Grandville graduate and a graduate of Grand Valley State University, He is currently studying for a his masters in public administration at GVSU and has served as a substitute teacher in Grandville Public Schools.

For more on the Grandville Public School Board candidates, click here.

Kelloggsville Public Schools

The Kelloggsville Public Schools has two candidates running unopposed for two six-year term seats and no one officially is listed for a partial term that ends in four years on Dec. 31, 2026.

The two candidates seeking the two six-year term seats are Crystal Reidzas and Gladys Townsend. Both Reidzans and Townsend are on the board serving as trustees.

Kentwood Public Schools

For the Kentwood Public Schools, there are three four-year term seats and one two-year term seat that ends on Dec. 31, 2024.

Four candidates are seeking the three four-year term seats. Those candidates are Pete Battey, Sylvia A. James, James Lewis Jr. and Kim Taboada-Arzate.

Battey is currently serving on the board as the treasurer. He is the director of resident engineering at Steelcase and has two children in Kentwood Public Schools.

Website: http://www.pete4kentwood.com

James is currently on the board serving as a trustee. She is a senior human resources manager and has two children who have graduated from Kentwood Public Schools.

Website: None

Lewis is currently on the board serving as a trustee. He is in retail management and has one child attending Kentwood Public Schools.

Website: None

Taboada-Arzate is a life-long Kentwood resident and graduate of East Kentwood High School. She is a community advocate and caregiver who is the parent of four Kentwood Public School graduates.

Website: http://Kim4KPS.com or her Facebook page.

Tanya Powell-May is running unopposed for the two-year term seat.

Wyoming Public Schools

For the Wyoming Pubic Schools, there are two seats for a six-year term and one seat to finish an existing term that ends on Dec. 31, 2026.

There are only two candidates running for the two open six-year term positions. Those candidates are Jeff Norton and Audrey L. Zapata. Norton is currently serving on the board as the secretary and Zapata is also serving on the board as a trustee.

Two candidates are running for the four-year seat ending in 2026. Those candidates are Andrew Hanselman and Lisa Manley.