New faces join Lansing area school boards

Mark Johnson, Lansing State Journal
·3 min read

LANSING – Some of mid-Michigan’s largest school districts will see new members joining their school boards.

Incumbent Caitlin Cavanagh and two newcomers won seats on the Lansing School District Board of Education, according to unofficial results with 100% of precincts reporting.

Cavanagh, an assistant professor at Michigan State University and the associate director for undergraduate education in MSU’s School of Criminal Justice, was appointed to the Board of Education in April to fill a vacancy left by Nathan Burroughs.

She was the leading vote-getter with about 22,028 votes among the three counties that voted. Rosalyn Williams and Kurt Richardson also won seats with about 14,760 votes and 12,570 votes, respectively.

“It was really special to me that Lansing voters came out in such great numbers to elect me,” said Cavanagh, who will be serving her first full term. “I’m really looking forward to making a difference for Lansing families through equitable policy making.”

Candidates were elected to six-year terms.

Anthony Strevett had 10,100 votes Wednesday morning, followed by Ryan Smith with 9,811 and Rick Wendorf at 6,121.

Grand Ledge schools

Unofficial results Wednesday morning show incumbent board member Denise Dufort was re-elected to another six-year term with more than 8,100 votes to the Grand Ledge Board of Education. Ashley Kuykendoll was also elected to a six-year term, receiving more than 8,200 votes.

Voters additionally elected incumbent board member Toni Hughes Glasscoe to a partial term that runs through 2026.

Ashley Oneil ran with Kim Laforet and Jason Devenbaugh in a joint campaign. Their names appeared on campaign signs dubbed as “Conservative Candidates for Grand Ledge School Board.” Laforet lost the partial term to Glasscoe, while Oneil and Devenbaugh received the third and fourth-most votes in the race for the two full-term seats.

Mason Public Schools

Mason Public Schools saw nine candidates run for three positions on its Board of Education. It appears that incumbent Liz Evans, Bryan Droscha and Amy Lark won with 3,734 votes, 3,650 votes and 2,640 votes, respectively,with 100% of precincts reporting.

Incumbent Matt Hall finished fourth with about 2,573 votes.

Here are the election results for several more mid-Michigan school board races.

East Lansing Public Schools

The East Lansing Public Schools Board of Education election saw 10 candidates running for four spots on the board. Unofficial results, with 100% of precincts reporting, include:

  • Terah Chambers: 6,319 votes

  • Kath Edsall: 5,667 votes

  • Tali Faris-Hylen: 5,384 votes

  • Amanda Cormier: 4,230 votes

  • Jim McEvoy: 4,146 votes

  • Lind Brown-Wren: 4,107 votes

  • Rob Sumbler: 3,071 votes

  • Mike Feldpausch: 2,876 votes

  • Steven Davis: 1,520 votes

  • Tyler Allan Smith: 1,450 votes

DeWitt Public Schools

Six candidates ran for three spots on the DeWitt Public Schools Board of Education. Unofficial results, with 100% of precincts reporting, include:

  • Angelina Barnes: 3,914 votes

  • Dwight Handspike: 3,644 votes

  • John Tramontana: 3,190 votes

  • Michelle Utrup: 3,097 votes

  • Will Thompson: 2,260 votes

  • Clay Coey: 1,306 votes

Waverly Community Schools

Four spots were open in this year’s election to the Waverly Community Schools Board of Education, with six candidates running. Unofficial results, with 100% of precincts reporting, include:

  • Debbie Lopez: 4,243

  • Mary Ann Martin: 3,788

  • Alicia Guevara-Warren: 3,719

  • Vincent Perkins: 2,860

  • Dennis Raterink: 2,676

  • Michael West: 2,666

Contact Mark Johnson at majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: New faces join Lansing area school boards