Question 10 for School Board Candidates: Why Should Voters Choose You?

Why should voters elect you?

David Holden

David Holden is an independent person of honesty, integrity, and does not engage in hidden agendas. Additionally, I am committed to keeping Saline an elite district and provide the required resources to achieve the educational mission. If elected, my philosophy is my family will grow from three children to 5,400 children. My priorities will be to serve the needs of the “customer” which includes students, parents, and taxpayers. I ask for your support and vote on Tuesday Nov. 8.

Patti Tanner

I am not a micro-manager.I understand that our school board is a policy making body; we hire people to make decisions and run school operations. I am an innovative thinker; I am always looking to resolve issues in fresh new ways. I have been working with committees, boards and other action groups for the last 10 years and have a proven track record of collaboration with parents, teachers, administrators and Saline community members.

My efforts on behalf of SAS have always been about making alliances, not adversaries.

David Zimmer

David Zimmer is a person who is committed to serving the interests of the community. I have advocated this view with our School Administration, School Board, and district leadership for over 9 years.

I have a track record of making significant and meaningful changes to our school district for close to a decade. I was one of the early leaders who helped to develop additional revenue for our district through creating pay to participate fees for our activities, clubs and sports programs. I developed the first concepts for the establishment of our sinking fund and was one of the early supporters of generating additional revenue through advertisement and sponsorships opportunities in our athletic program.

I led the effort to retain classes that are essential for success in the 21^st century. As parents we organized ourselves and advocated for the continuation of foreign language at the middle school.

I led a decade long grass roots effort to adopt weighted grades for AP classes at our high school. This policy change ensures that our graduates have more colleges to chose from, have additional scholarship dollars available to them when entering college, and helps to reduce the stress level of our young people.

I am an independent person of honesty, integrity, and do not engage in hidden agendas.

My agenda has been the same for over nine years. It is:

1) Ensuring our curriculum prepares our children for life in the 21^st century

2) Working to ensure our teachers have the tools they need to do their job

3) Eliminating excess in our operating budget through aggressive cost management to ensure we are spending money on the academic mission of our district and

4) Striving to ensure a positive and supportive atmosphere for all of the students in our school district.

My priorities have been and will continue to be our students, our parents, and the taxpayers of our community.

David Friese

I am know to many people in the community. Through a variety of venues my community service dates to the 1980s. I have no personal agenda but wish to serve the district to the best of my ability. Board service is about collaboration and acting in the best interest of all students. Saline is a great school district, reflected by both the academic and extra-curricular success of her students in a wide array of areas. If returned to my current position, I will continue to treat all stakeholders in a fair and courteous manner.   

In these trying times the community must avoid the temptation to select winners or losers. Lansing has not treated school districts throughout Michigan in a fair and equitable manner. A few catch phrases, impractical solutions or fear mongering will not solve our current financial dilemma. Consequently, it is extremely important that as a community, we pull together to maintain what we have created.   

These are the reasons why my re-election should be strongly considered. A long record of community service, no personal agenda, an advocate for continued strong academic and extra-curricular programs meeting the needs of all students, the ability to treat people fairly, the ability to work with individuals of varied backgrounds, a commitment to maintain what we have built, and the knowledge gained from 4 plus years of service as a trustee.