January is School Board Appreciation Month

Ordinary citizens doing extraordinary work: that’s how to describe our local board of education! These seven individuals are our friends and neighbors who are creating a future for every child in our community. They spend countless hours preparing to make decisions, participating in meetings and attending school activities and events. They advocate on the local, state and national levels for our children. They are held accountable for the decisions they make, and do all of this as volunteers.

Our local board of education is responsible for setting a vision for our local education program, and partners with staff and other members of the community to provide the facilities and infrastructure to achieve that vision. They research, study and then discuss issues so that they can make informed decisions on countless complex challenges.

Too often we forget about the personal sacrifices school board members make. The job of a school board member is tough, the hours long and the thanks few and far between. The month of January marks the annual observance of School Board Recognition Month and gives us the chance to say thank you!

This is a time to shine a light on how local boards prepare today’s students for success. In January, join with others throughout our district and state to salute the men and women who provide leadership for our public schools.

We applaud them for their dedication to leading our schools so that today’s students can become tomorrow’s leaders. The men and women serving North Ottawa County and their years of service are:

David Pounds--12 years                     Justin Abell—2 years

Angie Ruble—7 years                        Brigitte Nelson—2 years

Dr. Bruce Labes—6 years                  Sandra Tibetts—2 years

Kendall Kirk—2 months