Hudsonville Public Schools voters, here are my thoughts on this year’s school board election.

This wasn’t coordinated with any candidate.

The issues that brought so many of us to board meetings and the polls in 2022 and 2024 still matter. This year, though, the choice comes down to one question: local or Lansing?

Do we elect board members whose attention is on the State Capitol? Or do we choose people who put Hudsonville first and focus on our kids, parents, teachers, and community?

Lansing already decides a lot of what our public schools must do. The local school board is where Hudsonville still gets a say. Nobody knows this community better than the people who live here, certainly not a legislator from the other side of the state or a Lansing bureaucrat who may never have set foot in Hudsonville. Our board should lead with what we know about ourselves.

Two seats are open, so use BOTH votes. Voting for only one leaves the second seat to chance.

My first vote goes to Tyler Burke.

Tyler is an HPS graduate who has called Hudsonville home for more than 33 years and is raising four kids in our schools. His career in commercial banking and business leadership centers on budgets, risk, and decisions that have to hold up over time. He’s used to asking hard questions and reading the numbers closely, which is exactly what a board needs when it’s trusted with taxpayer money.

His priorities include high standards, early help for struggling students, and paths after graduation that fit more than one kind of student. He wants parents treated as true partners, teachers supported so they can teach, classrooms that are safe and free of distraction, and budgets the public can actually follow.

My second vote goes to Dawn Sneden.

Dawn is an HPS graduate and a lifelong Hudsonville resident. She brings deep experience on the board, including work with the City of Hudsonville and Georgetown Township. She helped shape the district’s latest cellphone policy, which helps protect student focus during the school day. She has also raised concerns about AI, noting that what’s useful in the workplace may need to be adapted for K-12 learning. She has pledged to “continue to advocate for responsible, transparent finances.” Protecting student focus, using technology thoughtfully, and being accountable for taxpayer money are the practical priorities I want guiding our board.

Where Ken Hall’s focus has gone.

Ken’s campaign emphasizes his work in Lansing. He points to his Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) committee service and the “understanding of state level education strategies and laws” it has given him. A connection in Lansing is not the same as a voice for Hudsonville.

If his committee work carries our community’s voice, which local priorities is he taking there, and how were they chosen? Public meeting records show Ken has offered to provide fellow board members with information he considers important. What remains unclear is whether the board has any role in shaping the priorities he advocates for. Sharing information is not the same as asking for direction.

Keep it local

Staying informed about Lansing is part of the job. Putting Hudsonville first is the whole job. Statewide involvement should never risk bringing Lansing’s priorities here at the expense of our own. I want board members who take their direction from this community, not ones who open the door to Lansing’s agenda.

Vote for Tyler Burke and Dawn Sneden on or before Tuesday, November 3. Share with family, friends, and neighbors. Don’t assume they know about this race. Many don’t, and a word from you carries more weight than you might think.

Learn more:

• Vote411: onyourballot.vote411.org/race-detail.do?id=73007572

• HPS candidate statements: hudsonvillepublicschools.org/about/meet-the-candidates-for-hps-board-of-education

• Tyler Burke: burkeforschoolboard.com

• Ken Hall: hall-for-hudsonville.com

• Ken’s questionnaire: oc-67.weebly.com/ken-hall----hudsonville-sb-2026.html