Forest Hills board nominates two candidates for Kent ISD election, appoints representative

The Forest Hills Public Schools Board of Education voted to submit its ballots for two candidates in the Kent Intermediate School District election and appointed a representative to attend the county ISD meeting.

Board member (Speaker 2) moved that Forest Hills submit its KISD votes for Andrea and Wendy and that Maggie serve as the district’s representative with Holly as alternate if Maggie cannot attend; Speaker 3 seconded the motions (motions introduced SEG 358–388). The board took separate voice votes on the representative/alternate and the candidate nominations. Both motions passed with aye votes and no opposition recorded (voice votes recorded SEG 396–409).

Why it matters: Kent ISD’s board elections are not held in a general public election; instead, local boards cast votes for KISD board seats at a county meeting. The Forest Hills board thus must name who will physically attend the KISD meeting (scheduled for June 5) to cast its ballots and indicate which nominees it will support.

What the board discussed: Board members reviewed statements from three candidates who filed with KISD. During the discussion Speaker 1 described candidate experience: Wendy (described in materials as having served on Grand Rapids Public Schools and as director of the Literacy Center of West Michigan), Andrea (described as the current ISD board president), and Anne Hamming (identified as serving on Thornapple Kellogg) (candidate descriptions summarized SEG 068–077). Board members debated continuity versus new perspectives; several members said Andrea’s incumbency and familiarity with ISD work weighed in her favor, while others said Wendy’s literacy expertise or Anne’s local-board experience would be valuable.

Formal outcome and next steps: The board approved two nominations (Andrea and Wendy as its preferred KISD candidates) and appointed Maggie to attend the Kent ISD meeting and cast the board’s vote, with Holly designated as the alternate if Maggie is unable to attend. The board also approved its prior meeting minutes at the start of the session.

Details the record shows: The board recorded the motions and the voice votes; no roll-call tallies with individual named votes were given in the transcript. The KISD meeting where votes will be cast is on June 5; board members said the KISD meeting is in the afternoon with an approximate time cited during discussion.