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Parents and residents urge Hudsonville board to endorse educators for Ottawa Area ISD seat
Summary
Residents and parents spoke during public comment urging the Hudsonville board to back two educator candidates for an Ottawa Area ISD opening. The board will send a resolution naming recommended candidates and decide who will cast Hudsonville’s vote at a June ISD meeting.
Hudsonville Public School District residents used the work-session public comment period to urge the board of education to recommend and support educator candidates for the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District (OAISD) board.
Luke Sanger said he emailed board members and told them he supports Jennifer Cymbola and Rick Durenberger for OAISD seats, citing Jennifer’s “immense amount of educational experience” and Durenberger’s background in mental health and previous OAISD service. He contrasted those candidates with Amanda Price, saying Price lacks education experience and pointing to her sponsorship of a 2013 Michigan House bill (House Bill 5111) that Sanger said relied on a single standardized test to decide promotion to fourth grade.
Another resident, identified in the record as Aaron, also urged the board to support the educator candidates and described concerns about partisan opposition to special education funding in the county, saying Hudsonville should signal support for special-education services by backing lifelong educators.
District staff told the board that John Simeon is the only person vying for a partial term on the OAISD board and that three other candidates — Jennifer Cymbola (spelled variously in the public record), Amanda Price and Rick Durenberger — are vying for the regular term. The board was told it must submit a resolution naming which person it wants to authorize to vote on Hudsonville’s behalf and which two candidates it recommends. The OAISD plans to schedule the vote after May 21, tentatively on Monday, June 2 at 5:30 p.m., though the district said the date will be confirmed on May 21.
Board members were advised that the action to send a resolution and to select a voter will be an agenda item at a follow-up meeting immediately after the work session.
Why it matters: The OAISD board seat will influence regional decisions about shared programs and services that affect Hudsonville students, including career and technical programming and special education services.
What’s next: The Hudsonville board will meet immediately after this work session to take action on which representative will cast the district’s vote at the OAISD meeting and which two candidates the board will recommend to the ISD.
