Five candidates are seeking two seats available on the Suttons Bay Board of Education.

Left to right David Buffum, A. Brooks Darling, Chris Dejong, Kenneth Eike and Colleen Makin

Longtime trustee and former Suttons Bay teacher Lizabeth Venie is not seeking re-election. Her seat, as well as that of trustee David Buffum’s, are available in the election Tuesday.

Buffum, a 1979 Suttons Bay graduate, is seeking re-election. Buffum first attended the old stone school on St. Mary Street. He earned an associate’s degree in business administration from Northwestern Michigan College and a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Eastern Michigan University. He is also vice president of lending at Traverse Bay Area Credit Union. He serves on the board’s finance, building and grounds and curriculum committees. Buffum’s daughter, Cassandra, is a junior at Suttons Bay.

A. Brooks Darling received a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University, and a master’s degree in labor and industrial relations and a law degree from MSU as well. An attorney for 32 years, Darling is a partner with the law firm of Zimmerman, Kuhn, Darling, Boyd, Quandt and Phelps. He is on the board of directors of the Traverse Bay Area Youth Soccer organization and is also a member of the board of the Suttons Bay Sports Booster Club serving as its secretary. The candidate coached Suttons Bay middle school soccer last fall and previously coached fifth and sixth grade basketball. Darling and his wife Jane have two sons, Ben and Mason. Ben is a freshman at Kalamazoo College. Mason attends Suttons Bay School and is in eighth grade.

Chris DeJong is a paralegal and part-time assistant to several area attorneys, most regularly the Suttons Bay Law Center. She is the co-founder of the Suttons Bay Spirit club, a non-profit corporation whose purpose is to advance community relationships and support local public education. DeJong is an advocacy ambassador for the Arthritis Foundation, and chaired the inaugural Arthritis Walk in Traverse City in 2005, now an annual event.

Also seeking a seat are Kenneth (Kim) Eike and Colleen Makin. Eike earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Cornell University and master’s degree in business from the University of Michigan. He has worked at Munson Medical Center for the past 22 years as a department head in their information systems department. Prior to that he worked at Cornell University in its admission office for four years and for Arthur Andersen & Co., as a healthcare consultant for seven years. He has lived in Suttons Bay for more than 21 years and in that time has worked with the elementary school Jogathon, the school directory, and has served on the District Advisory Committee for the past two years. He has served as local youth soccer referee and has served as the public address announcer for Suttons Bay High Schools girls’ basketball games for the last two seasons. He and his wife, Betsy, have a daughter, Rebecca, in tenth grade at Suttons Bay.

Makin is a database development specialist and a member of the District Advisory Council. She has also served on the technology committee for six years. She is the mother of Suttons Bay junior Jess Hammersley and sophomore Michael Hammersley. Her husband, Peter, owns Brilliant Books of Suttons Bay.

We asked the candidates three questions. Here are their responses:

Question No. 1: Let’s say you have a crystal ball that is capable of showing your school district’s budget at the end of four years. What does that budget show, and what steps did you lead the district through to get there?

Buffum: The budget will be tight. We will succeed by being innovative with our programs and visionary with our long term spending. Our programs will be structured to make us the school of choice in Leelanau County including preschool with early intervention, online courses and courses taught in conjunction with NMC. This will keep our student counts up. We will watch our facilities budget and spend smaller amounts now and avoid larger expenses later.

Darling: The budget would be balanced at the end of the four years. Funding is a key issue not because money is the end-all to quality education, but because financial resources can give students maximum opportunities to experience a wide range of quality academic pursuits by curricular and extra-curricular. The board must appropriate revenue prudently, and I will analyze and make the tough decisions if necessary. The board must also support alternative approaches and assist…

DeJong: I predict an increased budget in four years, though realistically not significantly increased. Because funding is directly derived from enrollment, to accomplish this we must both protect and grow our student population – protect our currently enrolled student body by expanding our curriculum and programs to fill students’ needs and grow through additional enrollment by attracting school of choice participants. We must also continue to advocate in Lansing for an equal portion of public school funding.

Eike: I hope to see an increased fund balance (larger reserves), greater funding on a per-student basis and increased enrollment. I’ve been a member of Citizens for Equity for almost two years; the message of this group is gaining traction as evidenced by the so-called 2X formula (double the increase in funding for lower funded districts) in both the governor’s proposed FY09 budget and the state Senate’s proposal for school aid funding.

Makin: In Michigan both budget funding and curriculum development are determined by the state. So, unless my crystal ball shows a radical change in statewide funding, we will unfortunately still be facing an ever tightening budget. With a nationwide recession beckoning, state revenues will be reduced further, so we all need to do our part to ensure equitable funding. As a Board we need to attract and retain excellent administrators capable of meeting the challenge ahead.

Question No. 2— A recent survey of District inhabitants showed that most are happy with Suttons Bay except in the category of race relations. Are race relations a problem in the school district?

Buffum: The question on the survey referred to fairness. One explanation of perceived unfair treatment was the school supposedly giving extra help to every group except the respondent’s. Race relations are no more of a problem than in the general public. Walking the halls provides many examples of positive interracial relations.

Darling: Race relations are not a problem. In my years of interaction as a parent of students, their classmates, talking with and observing teachers, being on the Board of the Suttons Bay Sports Booster Club, and coaching athletics, I have never observed or experienced race as a factor. I believe in…

DeJong: Every district faces challenges with students of different race, religion, or socioeconomic background. We have both the advantages and challenges inherent with diversity, and the experience of working through these challenges should be perceived as an opportunity. Celebrating diversity and educating students on various cultures creates a more empathetic society.

Eike: Are race relations a problem in the school district? I honestly don’t know. But I would prefer to look at the main races of our students as an opportunity. I think an education in a multi-racial environment prepares our students for a multi-race country and world better than an environment with only one racial group.

Makin: Our school population is 22 percent Native American, 8 percent Hispanic. We must foster an understanding between all racial groups, recognize that different communities view and value education in different ways and create an environment in which every student can reach their full potential.

Question No. 3—Suttons Bay recently initiated a program to offer day care services to families with infants at the school. At what age should public schools begin offering services to young students?

Buffum: In light of the fact that getting children started on the right path early yields immense dividends for a lifetime and saves huge sums of money later one, public schools should begin offering services to pre-K students when the private sector does not offer the services needed.

Darling: I am in agreement with providing day care services to families with infants as long as revenue and facilities are available. Similar services to children post-infant to pre-kindergarten are a reasonable continuum. However, such programs must be financially self-supporting which may require at least user co-pays, so that the schools’ mandate…

DeJong: The younger the child when a school district becomes involved, the greater the academic outlook for that eventual student. The age when a school district should begin offering services is dependent upon the ability of the district and the needs of the community. Our district has both ability and need.

Eike: When the Sandbox program closed last spring and no new ownership appeared, I think the Suttons Bay Schools answered the call of our community to help out. I think the school system needs to listen to the community for answers such as for what age child services be offered.

Makin: As soon as parents are willing to entrust their children into the care of others. Michigan schools have been directly involved with early childhood education since 1965. We should be proud that we are fulfilling this essential role. Few institutions are as equipped to understand the needs of young children.