Beaty deserves vote

From Christy Forhan, West Bloomfield Township:

Julie Beaty is one of the best qualified West Bloomfield School Board candidates to come along in a long time. Please give her your vote.

I’ve gotten to know Julie while working together on school district projects over the past several years. Julie is a mom with a passion for education and West Bloomfield. She and her husband chose West Bloomfield when they moved back to the Midwest because of our excellent schools and diverse community. Their two children currently attend Abbott Middle School.

Julie is motivated to serve the schools, in part, by her own unpleasant memories of high school in Port Huron when all extra-curricular activities and electives were eliminated because funding millages failed. She wants to ensure West Bloomfield never gets to that point. Julie has years of business executive experience that helps her understand the complexities of school finance and budgeting. Julie has taught business classes at community college both here and in Chicago. In West Bloomfield, she has been an active volunteer in the PTOs and at the district-level, and has personally advocated on behalf of West Bloomfield Schools in Lansing. She is co-chair of the recent Family Fun Night, a new tradition that brings together community partners such as the library, police department, fire department, township government with the school district in a shared family event. Julie brings a wonderful breadth of experience to the position of trustee.

Julie is also an independent voice for students and property owners. Julie is unencumbered by any personal relationships with district staff. She is accountable only to the students, parents, and property owners.

There’s no pay in being on the school board. It’s a long six-year term. And the challenges are great, considering the financial limitations and outside mandates that are putting pressure on our public schools. It’s not a job most of us would want to tackle. But Julie does. And she will serve our students and community well.

I urge you to vote for Julie Beaty for West Bloomfield School Board.