Beware LCS Voters, Its time for new blood in Lapeer Community Schools Board of Education

[William Gavette]

   Recently, Lapeer Schools voters were sent a combined campaign piece from Mike Nolan, Mike Keller, Peggy Bush, and Denise Becker urging voters to re-elect them into office. According to their flyer, these four have are responsible for everything from balancing the districts budget, to creating Capstone AP, to putting in district wide wifi. What a bunch of poppycock.

  While of late, these four have joined the newer board members in approving 3 year Superintendent Matt Wandrie's policies for correcting the problems in the Lapeer Schools District, they in fact, are most of the reason for the problems in the district in the first place. How can this be you ask? Let me expplain.

   Back in 2005, and again in 2006, Lapeer Schools paid significant money for an outside firm, (Stanfred Consulting) to come in and give future enrollment projections. At the time, LCS was introducing various bond proposals to build new buidlings, so they had to get an idea of what the district makeup was going to be in the coming years. Those earlyprojections clearly show that our district was headed in the wrong direction for building new buildings.

   In both the 2005, and 2006 projections, student counts were expected to drop drastically. Though armed with this information, and information presented to the board itself in a condensed version in October of 2006, These LCS Board members voted to put a bond of more than $56 million dollars that built 2 middle schools that in just a couple years, we will be srtuggling to fill. They knoew our numbers were going to dive and still voted to waste millions of dollars. A reasonable person would have suggested examining the information to make sure that this was going to be a wise investment for our children, but no such conserns were raised. Not one of these Board members said anything publicly about declingin enrollment.

  Some have said that perhaps the then board members did not know or that the previous administration did not pass this information on to the board members. I asked the LCS Board in 2012 just what did they know and when did they know it. To my suprise, Board member Mike Nolan stated during his board time that the entire Board had in fact, been made aware of the enrollment projections. They knew exactly what the numbers looked like but yet proceeded to push for a bond anyway.

   Under the leadership of Matt Wandie, LCS has been given a new  breath of life. The LCS Board has simply enacted his recomenations. None of the changes that have come have originated with our Board members.As a parent of 2 graduates who are currently in College, I can say with certainty that the recent changes to the district are positive ones.

  With all the good things that Mr. Wandrie has done, there will come a day when he will have to move on. I have it on good authority that there have already been job offers that he has turned down. and with a wife and 3 childrent to concider,  he must do what is best financially for his family. The day that he leaves Lapeer Schools is precisley the day that concerns me.

   Under a previous, and far less disciplined Superintendent, Becker, Keller, Nolan, and Bush have already wasted millions for the taxpayers dollars. This includes elementary buildings sold for a loss. These current Board members must not be trusted to make the prudent financial decisions for a district without Matt Wandrie as its Superintendent.

  Vote for NEW LCS Board candidates. Bradly Haggadone, Roy Helfenbein, Christine Badertscher are running for the LCS Board. ANY of these individuals would be better to sit on the board that to re-elect those who have failed us so badly in the past. While we cannot remove all of these past offenders from the Board, we can clear the slate. Our children are our future, so lets offer them the best one possible, and not make the same mistakes of the past.

WM. GAVETTE - 20 year LCS Parent and Volunteer

The following were obtained  from Lapeer Community Schools through the Freedom of Information Act.

2005 Stanfred Consultants 5 year enrollment projections

2006 Stanfred Consultants 5 year enrollment projections

Enrollment Projections given in October Board Packet from LCS