New Law Extends Terms of Hartland School Board Members

All seven members of Hartland's Board of Education received either a six- or 18-month extention to their terms in office under legislation signed into law Tuesday.

Beginning Jan. 1, school board elections in all Michigan communities must be held in November of even-numbered years to coincide with local, state and federal general elections.

So, for members with terms now expiring in an even-number year the term will be extended six months and for those with terms expiring in an odd-number year the term will be extended 18 months. The extensions were necessary to match the new years because legally the terms couldn't be shortened.

Here's a breakdown for the Hartland board:

President Kevin Kaszyca

Trustee Michelle Hutchinson

Hartland Patch could not reach Kaszyca, who serves as the spokesperson for the board, for comment Friday.

Supporters of the legislation say the change will help to even further consolidate elections and save local communities money, in addition to ensuring that school board elections are held during traditional elections when voter turnout is at its highest.

The move, according to the Senate Fiscal Agency, is expected to save districts an average of $2,000 per voting precinct and based on that the district could save about $25,000 an election. But the law doesn't change when districts can ask voters for millages requests or bond proposals, which could reduce the potential savings.

Not everyone supported the change. The Michigan Education Association released a statement opposing the proposal.

“What these new laws really do is again strip school boards of local control and make school board elections more political, with school district business being lost in other issues,” the statement said.