 To the Grant Community: It is important to those of us who care about our School District, and care about who is making decisions on behalf of our students, teachers and administration to pay attention to what has been actually happening with our Grant Public School Board. The contingent on the Board also known as “the four” – Ms. Rachal Gort, Ms. Sabrina Veltkamp-Blok, Mr. Richard Vance and President of the Board Ken Thorne - have engaged in what our group believes are violation of law including violations of the Open Meetings Act, defamation, and First Amendment violations. They have also instigated an investigation into matters that should have been first addressed by the agencies that monitor the programs. The Four created issues to launch an investigation into school operations -- skirting District protocol or procedure -- to achieve their intended end. Grant Community Cares has retained me as counsel to address such tactics with the District, including the Superintendent “search” by the Board and First Amendment violations by Board members in their use and manipulation of their social media accounts. We believe there are facts that the community should be aware of that should affect their votes in the recall election, as well as affect the general health of our Schools. The longer these destructive, and what we believe are illegally obtained, decisions are allowed to be made by Ms. Gort, Mr. Vance, Ms. Veltkamp-Blok and Mr. Thorne,the more damage is done to our schools. The issues at stake are important and protecting the interests of our students is urgent. The purpose of the Open Meetings’ Act (OMA) is to promote governmental accountability by facilitating public access to official decision making, and to provide a means through which the general public may better understand issues and decisions of public concern. Booth Newspapers, Inc. v University of Michigan Board of Regents, 444 Mich 211, 223 (1993). In other words, the Board of Education cannot legally make decisions behind closed doors, then merely present them for vote without discussion or input from others at the public meeting. We believe that the School Board regularly engages in violations of the OMA when it does not discuss with the full board nor consider public comment, prior to making extremely serious decisions and those which the OMA requires to be in open session. Beginning with the Child and Adolescent Health Care(CAHC) debacle last summer, the School Board made decisions to close the CAHC prior to the meeting it was voted upon, and the matter was not even on the agenda for the meeting when the vote was quickly taken. This led to the battle to keep the Health Center operating for our students, and the battle over a mural created by one of our students and approved by those with authority to do so. It proved to be a national embarrassment. This practice by Board President Thorne and others has continued for the most important of decisions affecting the District including refusing to execute school administrators contracts, the decision to oust Superintendent Zuver, the decision to launch a private investigation into school operations in the Special Education department, the decision to select Kevin Akin as the interim Superintendent, and the subsequent placement of Mr. Akin in the permanent Superintendent position. All of these decisions should have been put on the meeting agendas, been discussed thoroughly amongst all board members at the meetings in front of the public, and considered facts, policies and best practices for these important and long-lasting decisions that were made by president Thorne and those that align with him. They were not made in open session-- by design and in violation of the OMA. Our group has addressed the Superintendent search with the District. (See March 25, 2024 letter). Despite our urging of conducting a reasonable search to lead our divisive District, decisions were made behind closed doors and were announced at the following meeting without further efforts. Our letter reached all board members prior to the Board meeting where the decision was supposedly being made. Apparently, our concerns were dismissed. Our group has also addressed the inappropriate usage of social media by Board members Gort and Blok -- that not only has defamed and disparaged our members, but has violated the First Amendment of our Constitution. (See April 17, 2024 letter). We hope these concerns will be specifically addressed by those we have alleged have participated in these practices. The Board’s investigation into the Special Education program, when considering how Mr. Thorne went about seeking this investigation, was disruptive and not performed in a neutral and truth-seeking manner. A School Board is not tasked with managing school operations. However, if there was indeed an issue of wrongdoing within the special education department, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) should have been notified. NC RESA should have been immediately consulted, especially with the alleged concern about special ed funds, which this entity manages. This did not occur. Instead, the Board’s law firm was retained to perform this investigation into what Mr. Thorne and others aligned with him determined on their own to be illegal practices. Ms. Stephanie Dood, a special ed teacher, who was also tasked with several other responsibilities by the District, was publicly attacked for the “misuse of funds” after these Board members spoke up about these theories. There were irresponsible publications of inaccurate and disparaging documents by agents of certain Board members that led to irreparable damage to reputations and livelihoods. Though It was Ms. Dood’s conduct that was put into question, Ms. Dood was not interviewed or presented with any documents or factual assertions regarding this matter. Further, the practices that Ms. Dood and Superintendent Zuver followed and were called into question, had been protocol in the District for over a decade. Ms. Dood, and for that matter, Superintendent Zuver could have and would have described exactly what they did, why they did it, and how the practice has always been done by those in their same positions. For example, it was required by longstanding GPS practice that the “teacher of record” sign the attendance records even if the teacher of record was on a medical or other long-term leave, even if at the time of signing, the records were weeks or months old. This occurred after vacation or sick days, or longer-term medical leaves. But they weren’t given any opportunity to do so before the investigation was closed, a report was issued, and an article was written interpreting such report. After getting wind of the allegations from the January special board meeting, NC RESA contacted MDE. NC RESA initiated the MDE/NC RESA audit visit based on the allegations made. Neither School Administration nor those on the Board who initiated the investigation contacted these agencies to self- report on the issue, or to request their expert assistance in reviewing the potential issues. After their audit, neither agency took further action to continue to dig into the financial matters of special ed program or its practices. As the chatter in the community continued to bring up “illegal use of funds,” we checked again more recently with NC RESA and asked if they had found any financial problems with the way the GPS special education funds were used. Neither NC RESA nor the MDE found anything to look at further. The investigation instigated by the board President cost the district over $25,000. Also glossed over by those Board members who initiated the investigation into GPS special education issues, was that though he was involved as an Administrator in the Special Ed program, and was privy to documentation and inner workings of the program, program director/coordinator Kevin Akin was never questioned. His name is not mentioned in the Report, administrators interviewed as part of the investigation were not asked about Mr. Akin’s role, and it does not appear Mr. Akin was interviewed by investigators about his potential involvement with Ms. Dood’s actions or Superintendent Zuver decisions in this regard. For any investigation which intended to be comprehensive, it is concerning that this component was (likely purposely) omitted. Also concerning to us, is that administrative contracts were held over the head of school administrators for months and months while District matters were heated and an investigation was going to be undertaken. Several of them were interviewed for special ed investigation. They were told that the information they gave in the investigation would be confidential. When the investigation finished, the contracts (that should have been offered and executed in the Summer of 2023, or certainly at least by the fall)suddenly appeared and were offered without any meaningful change in the contract language from the prior contract. This investigation instigated by Mr. Thorne and supported by others in his group, was not brought in good faith. It was not initiated correctly with the agencies that oversee such matters; it was not performed in a neutral and comprehensive manner in that the two individuals targeted were not interviewed nor presented with documentation and asked questions about the allegations. Instead, we believe it was launched in retaliation against those who did not agree with their ideology and actions, it was used as justification to oust a beloved and very competent Superintendent, it was used to show the power of the President of the Board and those who align with him; and the results of the investigations and the way it was handled by the board members and their agents has disparaged and chilled employees and citizens of our School District from speaking out. Members of our community were confused and angry at how the investigation into the Special Ed program was conducted, and confused and angry about the Report (that was published on social media) and on the involvement of the MDE/NCRESA. A special meeting was scheduled (by whom and how many is not known) and took place on March 25, under the guise that the meeting was to clarify the investigation. Then-interim Superintendent Mr. Akin was chosen by (likely Mr. Thorne) as the spokesperson for the meeting. The meeting ended up reviewing the“monitoring” event initiated by NCRESA and while Mr. Akin took two prepared questions regarding the investigation, he was selective what he would and would not answer during the event. Any pointed questions about his status as Interim Superintendent or as “Director” of Special Ed was met with frustration and irritation by him rather than candid explanations. Those that attended the event did not leave with any more understanding about the matters of focus than with which they came. The above behavior by the current members of our Board should not be acceptable to you as parents, as teachers and members of the community, in our opinion. Taking part and initiating the above shenanigans is not how a School Board can best serve our students. Grant Community Cares urges voters to consider how our School Board has conducted itself and the vitriol and divisiveness it has created – and the contributions to this mess by recalled Secretary Rachal Gort and trustee Richard Vance. Please vote for candidates Mindy Conley and Lindsay Mahlich to help begin to turn our District around. We cannot wait until more damage to our District occurs. Respectfully submitted, Katherine Smith Kennedy On behalf of Grant Community Cares
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 By Tim McGrath There’s something about obituaries that’s like the punctuation mark at the end of someone’s life; it’s the final flatline of the recently passed. Yes, it says, this individual is really and truly gone. It’s something written by or about the departed highlighting the life they’ve lived, interests, who they married, kids, grandkids, siblings, parents, maybe some anecdotes of interesting or unusual things they did. And I must admit, I’ve taken to reading the obituaries to see if there’s anyone in there I know. Maybe this is some sort of rite of passage as we age. I don’t know really, but I do it regardless. It wasn’t always the case, however. As a youngster, I’d get a kick out of Mom and Grandma as they went through the obituaries, “the obits”, as they called them. Every Sunday, my grandma and bachelor uncle would come to our house after church for the big Sunday dinner. After the meal, the unveiling of the huge Sunday edition of the Grand Rapids Press would commence. Uncle and I grabbed the funnies, Dad got the front section, Mom the human-interest stuff and Parade magazine. Grandma always went right for the obits. Then the talk would start about who’d recently died, what funeral home they were at, when the funeral was. If the departed was particularly well known to either of them, the discussion about where they had or currently lived, who the neighbors were, what church they attended, who they went to school with began. There might be some talk about why the funeral home the deceased was at was or wasn’t a good choice. “We’ve heard things,” was the usual answer I’d get when I asked about it. Perhaps if there was any knowledge about untoward or scandalous behavior about the dead person or family members, that would be referenced, but quickly silenced as being unseemly. Respect for the dead and all that. There was usually some commentary about the photo of the deceased; what side of the family did they look like more, mom’s or dad’s? A couple times I heard a name I was familiar with and would wander over to look at the obit with Grandma out of some odd sense of curiosity. I remember asking why the photo of this obviously very old person showed someone who had just graduated from high school, or an old military photo. “Well, most likely, they didn’t want people thinking of them as old, sick, and wrinkly.” “But they were old, sick, and wrinkly,” I’d reply. “Timothy Jay, that’s enough!” Grandma or Mom would scold. Despite the reprimands and severe looks, I still wonder that when looking at the obits. There, smiling out at us, is a person on the cusp of adulthood, even though they were very long in the tooth. We all know most things have a lifespan. In addition to us, plants, animals, things microscopic and unseen all die. Things manmade, all gone eventually. It can be quite a sobering reality. But why dwell on those eventualities? Instead, I’d like to suggest we draw our attention to things in the here and now that should have their own obit; in other words, things that really need to go away, pass on, cross over, or any other euphemism you can think of. Let’s start with men, particularly older men. No, it’s not that we want older men to die off, but certain traits and habits that really need to go. Clothing, for example. Fellas let’s face it, any tight stretchy material we wear for shirts, is a hard no. Too many of us deal with the scourge and heartbreak of man boobs, and anything that accentuates that needs to pass away. Same with the twenty year or older coats, hats, boots, shoes, shirts, pants, shorts, socks, underwear. Yes, they still fit, are comfy, but seriously? Ditto for toupees. Thank goodness the time for them seems to have passed. But recently I saw one on an older man who seemed oblivious to the fact that it resembled a large, dead, orange cat resting on his noggin. It was shocking to see. Perhaps he thought it gave him a youngish, hipster look. I have never seen one that looks good on any man. Maybe there are those that do, but in my experience, they look fake, and slightly cheesy. The good news is that being bald isn’t seen as a thing to avoid at all costs any longer. I’ll reference my late father-in-law on this one. When asked about his baldness, he’d stroke his hairless dome and proudly announce, “I like my bald head; it’s a solar collector for a sex machine!” I concur, so let’s go with that and put an end to toupees once and for all. And then there’s the matter of combovers. Never understood the concept. My dad had one. When he’d take off his cap, and a crosswind would come up, the lengthy flap would trail out at right angles to his head. No matter how often my brother and I would make sport of it, or my mother would try and convince him to let her trim it up a bit, he stubbornly clung to the long locks crossing over from just above his left ear to the other side. Not long ago, I spotted the piece de resistance of combovers. I cautiously studied this creation from a polite distance, and noted how this man had transformed his bald head into a work of art. He had started in the back of his head just up from the hairline. He’d let the hair there grow to an enormous length. He then swept the flap of hair vertically up the back of his head, and up over the top. He had then carefully and thoughtfully swirled it around the top and front, sort of a hairy cinnamon roll. He’d even devised a clever way to create a part on the side. Very odd, but quite ingenious. But seriously men, combovers need to pass on, please. One of the things that sets humans apart from other life forms is our ability to convey ideas and meaning through language. I’ve been dabbling with Duolingo for quite a while to become somewhat proficient at speaking Spanish. I’ve got quite a bit of vocabulary learned, yet when trying to put it all together and use it in conversation, I’m somewhere between beginner and barely passable. But take a newborn child, and within about a year from birth they are already learning and using their native language. And it’s not uncommon for kids to easily learn multiple languages in just a short span of time. Quite remarkable. Yet too often, something happens along the way between toddlerhood and the adult years. We see these proficient language learners picking up bad habits. Words and phrases that are mispronounced, or used incorrectly, for instance. These are things that need to croak, take a dirt nap, pass on. I know this could be seen as this old man just being persnickety, judgy, and uppity, yet these mispronunciations reflect poorly on the speaker. Look at it as my way of just making the whole human experience better. So, here’s a very short list of the mispronunciations I often hear from perfectly lovely and normal people that need to go away, forever, never to be uttered again. “Supposebly” for supposedly, “flustrated” for frustrated, “expecially” for especially, “prostrate” when referring to a part of the male anatomy, “I seen” for I saw, “Chimbley” for chimney. You get the picture. And I’ll bet that it’s not just me. My guess is many people have their own pet peeve words that make them stop short and ask, “Did they just say that?” Then there’s the TV ad that makes me holler out every single time I hear it. It’s on often. A certain auto dealer in mid-Michigan has a series of ads extolling the virtues of their dealership and the hundreds and hundreds of new and used cars they have on the lot, not to mention all the fun, fun, fun you’ll have just showing up there. In the TV ad, the main pitchman is clumping around the dealership in cowboy gear, or on horseback, yelling at us in a high-pitched voice to come on out and check out all those new and used Chevrolets and many other brands, too. But he doesn’t say “Chevrolet”. He says, “Shev-uh-lay”. Every single time. And every single time I yell back at him in my high-pitched, annoyed voice, “It’s Chev-ro-let”, not “Shev-uh-lay’! Will you please get this right!” To make matters worse, they also advertise on radio. Same thing, only sometimes there will be a female voice yelling at us in a furiously paced monologue urging us to “Come on over, pardners, you’ll be glad you did!” Mercifully, this person pronounces “Chevrolet” correctly. Speaking of things on TV that need to die… As a kid growing up in the 50s and 60s, it was part of the TV landscape to watch countless ads for cigarettes. Anyone alive at that time could recognize the various brands and the jingles and slogans created to get them entrenched in the public’s mind. I imagine those of you alive in those enlightened days can still finish the slogans for these cigarettes: “Winston tastes good like a…; Tareyton, I’d rather…; I’d walk a mile for a….”. These ads promoted smoking as the domain of the beautiful, young, hip, robust, adventurous types bent on experiencing all the good things in life. And really, wouldn’t you like to part of the in crowd, too? Thankfully, these were outlawed in 1971. But wait, there’s more! And now there’s the onslaught of ads letting us know just how the beautiful, young, fun-loving, hip, and adventurous types spend their time. If you’ve watched network TV at all since 2019, when this became legal in Michigan, you know what I’m talking about, online gambling. Or to soften it a bit, online gaming. The ads are right out of the cigarette ads playbook from the 50s and 60s. And to make it that much faster to score the big win, we can point our cameras at the TV and get the QR code that will get us in on the action instantly. Fun, fun, fun! Yes, you too can be a big winner just like these people! But wait, don’t get too carried away! In microscopic print at the bottom of the screen is an attempt at some sort of moral obligation that cautions us to be responsible gamblers, and to call the hotline for problem gambling when we’re spending this week’s grocery money at their casino. Hmmm, makes me wonder…. And this being an election year, we are already being exposed to campaign ads on TV that are demonstrably misleading, or outright prevarications. Yikes, we’ve got how many more excruciating months of this to live through? Please, please, please to whomever is in charge, these must pass away, never to be seen or heard again. Fat chance. When it comes right down to it, everyone and most everything dies: the good, the bad, the lovely, the righteous, the profane, the ridiculous, and the serious. The obits are a marker, a point of reference that acknowledges a life lived. Still, when my time comes, I’d like to add a bit of levity to my obit. I’ll reference a favorite cartoon of mine from Peanuts, by Charles Schulz. Linus asks his big sister, Lucy, to please read to him out of a particular book. Lucy in her peevishly exasperated way, finally agrees and grabs the book. “A man was born, he lived, and he died. The end.” She tosses the book over her shoulder, and stalks off, clearly miffed. Linus replies: “What a fascinating account…it almost makes you wish you had known the fellow.” Amen.  By Ken De Laat What's the first thing someone with presidential aspirations does to test the waters before diving in? Why, write a book of course. An autobiographical account of your journey in becoming who you are intermingled with brilliant ideas and concepts for a brighter America. Since back in 1824 when Andrew Jackson commissioned a biographical account that described him in close to saint-like terms,candidates for the high office have turned to the quill, the fountain pen, the typewriter and finally the keyboard to put their thoughts (and more importantly their name) out there for public consumption. Truth be told few of these stirring offerings are written by the subjects themselves and fewer are read by buyers. But somehow it’s a necessary step in the process. Well, I guess regardless of how our upcoming rematch, sometimes referred to as a geriatric joust, goes this November, one of the first shots have been fired for 2028. Simon and Schuster announced this past week that True Gretch: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between will be published in July. Part of the release read “In this candid and inspiring book, Whitmer reveals the principles and instincts that have shaped her extraordinary career, from her early days as a lawyer and legislator and her 2018 election as governor of Michigan, to her bold and innovative actions leading her state through a series of unprecedented disasters. Her motto in politics, she writes, is to ‘get shit done.’ “ Whether you are a fan of the Guv or not, make no doubt about whether her political aspirations lie beyond 2027 when she reaches her term limit as Michigan’s Top Dog. The upcoming book might be a compelling read or it might be a snoozer but one thing is for certain. It is most definitely a sign of things to come. Perhaps in response to some pushback on their upcoming Mecosta County facility, it looks like the Gotion folks have begun bringing their case to the public with a series of Chats With Chuck, a virtual town hall meeting where citizens can bring their questions and concerns. Gotion VP Chuck Thelen fielded these during the first session on April 8. Then he showed up at the April 9th Green Township meeting and attempted to put to rest some rumors and inaccurate information during public comment Stay tuned. There is a lot of outside interest in this one. And kudos to reporter Cathie Crew and the BR Pioneer for the ongoing coverage. May 7th is the recall election for the 2 current members of the board and a pair of challengers for their seats. N3 will be sending out a series of questions for the candidates and hope to post the results soon. In a couple weeks or so the deadline for filing to run for office will arrive and we will know who all the candidates for the August Primary might be. Thus far we see there are 2 for Sheriff, a trio for Drain Commish, and a pair for State Rep. Oh and speaking of state rep stuff, last October our guy in Lansing Joseph Fox was part of the Freedom Caucus folks who filed a suit against Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and Jonathan Brater, the State’s elections director. The 11 legislators sought to challenge the constitutionality of Michigan’s voter-initiated amendments to the state constitution as the process applies to election laws impacting federal elections. Specifically, they attempted to challenge Proposal 3 of 2018 and Proposal 2 of 2022. Today, Federal Judge Jane Beckering of the Western District of Michigan granted Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s motion to dismiss citing the clear case law that demonstrates legislators do not have standing to bring a lawsuit as individual legislators. And for those who find such things important there has been a plethora of shoe sightings including one just east of Bingham on 72, a lone sole on the bridge over Penoyer Creek, and 2 sightings on the way to Grand Rapids that I pointed out to a less than enthusiastic LSC Lil just the other day. Begs the question… What does it mean?  By Ken De Laat The Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament was absolutely epic. A series of tight games that showcased a bevy of uber-talented players with strong supporting casts. The rematch of Iowa LSU was another classic and gave rise to Clark/Reese being tossed around in comparison to Johnson/Bird, two players who brought their collegiate rivalry to the NBA and revitalized interest in the league. Admittedly late to the party it was last year’s title tilt that hooked me on the women’s game. I had heard a lot about Caitlin Clark and was introduced to Angel Reese in that contest. It was everything I had always loved about the game at a pace that allowed for a good deal of strategy from the bench as well as some creativity from floor captains. Despite some standout players there were no apparent prima donnas on the court. These players were truly bonded with each other collaborating and communicating with one goal. To win. My interest in the men’s game has waned over the years, particularly in the NBA, though truthfully being a Pistons fan has been like following the Washington Generals (perpetual Harlem Globetrotter opponent). I’m anxious to begin following the WNBA more closely and will continue to watch the development of some of those gifted underclasswomen like Ju Ju Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo. And yet of all the compelling stars and stars to be on this national stage the most impressive of all was South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley the former college and WNBA legend who has built an absolute juggernaut of a team with the Gamecocks. Watching them play in this tournament one understood immediately why they were undefeated. Beyond her success on the court this is one class act. Here’s what she said at the press table after her women won the title. “I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport. She carried a heavy load for our sport. It just is not going to stop here on a collegiate tour but when she is the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, she’s going to lift that league up as well. So Caitlin Clark, if you’re out there, you are one of the GOATs of our game. We appreciate you.” Well done Coach Staley. Well done indeed. To The Editor: It’s important to start with the right premises: That most people among the voting public are not evil. That people can see the world from different perspectives. We may disagree about which matters are problems. Even when we agree that something is a problem, we may disagree about how to solve the problem. Since our founding, ours has been a nation where we are free to make complaints, express ideas, to even argue. That is the foundational importance of our First Amendment to The Constitution. In our villages, clubhouses, living rooms… we should be able to share ideas, and to differ, without presuming that the Other is a villain. One writer has coined the phrase, “Presume Best Motive” (PBM). When another says something which bothers us, we should not automatically decide that they do so because they hate us. The Newaygo County Democratic Party is made up of folks who would like to believe we can talk through differences of opinion and can explore choices which could seem fair for all. If you have not voted Democrat before, if you identify as Independent, or have never voted at all, we’d like to talk. To hear your views. To explain ours. Without accusations nor insults. Certainly we could discern some forum for the civil exchange of ideas… don’t you think? Newaygo County Democratic Party Steve Shelton |
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