School Board Candidates Discuss Their Platforms

Wyandotte voters will fill three positions on the Board of Education on May 3.

Four of the five people running for a school board seat appeared at a “Meet the Candidates” night Thursday at the . The event was hosted by the Garfield and McKinley Neighbors United Neighborhood Groups.

Incumbent Dana Browning was joined by residents Kelly Kohlstrand, Stephanie Miello and David Shalda.

Incumbent Robert Kirby did not attend due to a prior commitment, according to John Darin, spokesman for the McKinley group.

Talk of the district’s budget and use of available funds dominated most of the candidates' speeches.

Browning said one of her key accomplishments during her first term is that the school board successfully balanced the budget each year she's been in office.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of school districts that can say that they have a balanced budget and a fund balance,” she said.

If re-elected, Browning said she plans to maintain that balance and do so without negatively impacting students.

“We do not want to cut our children,” she said. “Kids do come first.” 

Kohlstrand, an employee of Ford Motor Company, commended the current board, but said more should be done to prepare for the future. 

“I’m a little bit concerned that we don’t have a long-term plan and a long-term stability outlook,” he said. 

Kohlstrand said his business experience of dealing with large budgets and tough decisions has prepared him to be on the school board. 

“I thrive at developing unique and creative solutions to difficult problems,” he said. “What others may see as impossible or a setback, I view as a challenge and an opportunity.” 

Miello also is a Ford employee and said her marketing/sales position gives her experience relevant to the school board.

“I feel that I have the right credentials to make some positive changes in a collaborative way ... here in Wyandotte,” she said. 

Attracting and keeping dedicated teachers should be a top priority for the school board, Miello said.

“At the end of the day it’s a people business and the thing that makes a great education is the teachers,” she said. 

Shalda, who unsuccessfully ran for a school board seat in 2009, said defeat did not keep him from working on educational issues with residents and elected officials.

“I did not stop looking at different ways to change things and make things better,” he said. 

Shalda also said he recognizes the quality of a school system impacts an entire city.

“Whether you’re citizens that have children in this community or you’re senior citizens, it makes no difference,” he said. “We’re all in this together.”

All of the seats are for a four-year term. Incumbent Jerry Kupser is not seeking re-election.

(Click here to watch videos from the candidate forum.)