Pennfield Schools could be reshaped by the Nov. 3 general election. Ten candidates are vying for four seats on the school board as the district navigates an unprecedented school year.
Only one member of the current board is seeking reelection: Alicia Bronson, who joined the board in March, two weeks before the statewide mandatory closure of schools due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Trustees Scott Baxter, Dotty Dilsaver and Brandon Hultink are not seeking re-election.
The current school board voted 4-3 to have students in grades K-5 return to the classroom for the fall of the 2020-21 school year under a hybrid model, with virtual instruction only for grades 6 through 12 and a virtual option for all grades.
The four members elected this cycle will have a large say in how Pennfield Schools continues to adapt and address continued challenges brought on by the pandemic, and the long-term future of a district that serves close to 2,2000 students and is outgrowing some of its facilities.
Dawn M. Bayman
Dawn Bayman is an EMS worker in Barry County, has spent 13 years as a substitute teacher in Calhoun County, and has three children; a Pennfield graduate, an eighth-grade student and a kindergartner. She has volunteered in athletics and with the Girl Scouts and was a volunteer firefighter for five years.
“My vision for the district is to get parents involved in both the planning and encouragement of our students,” Bayman said. “We should strive for making learning fun and multidimensional to activate the curiosity of our students. Every student has a learning style, our program must address every style to ensure success for all.”
Bayman said she feels that health decisions should be left up to the parents of students and argues that special education students are not being provided with “any reasonable learning choice at this time.” She prefers in-person learning but added that a choice must be given to families and that virtual or hybrid learning are “viable, reasonable, practical and respectful.”
“As a member of the medical field, I am very concerned for the educational and mental well-being of our student body,” Bayman said. “I do not agree with masking our children by requirements. Masking and attendance style decisions should be left to the parents of each child.”
Jack Branham
Jack Branham worked in public accounting for 12 years and the last 14 years in tax consulting. He started his own business in 2015. He has four daughters who attend Pennfield Schools.
Branham said he supports in-person learning and would like to see Pennfield on a path back to face-to-face instruction.
“I support safe, in-person learning,” Branham said. “Other districts are doing it so we should be able to do it.”
Branham said, in regard to being a fiscal steward for Pennfield Schools, he would “make the hard decisions for our district and direct the resources where needed” and he would like to see “necessities and promote the rationale for what and why it is needed” in a potential 2021 bond proposal.
Alicia Bronson
Alicia Bronson has two children who attend Pennfield Schools and has volunteered in the district for 10 years, serving as PTO President at Dunlap Elementary. She joined the school board in March and voted in favor of the hybrid model that calls for students in grades K-5 to attend in-person two days a week and virtual three days a week and for students in grades 6 through 12 to be virtual only. The plan gives all students a virtual option.
“I support all schools trying to do what is best, not only for the students, but for the staff as well,” Bronson said. “The Pennfield School Board has voted on the hybrid model and as of now we have no information to say that it was the wrong decision or the right decision… My hope is we can find a solution to some of the challenges we face to give the option to phase the 6 to 12 grade students into the hybrid model. I will be happier when the governor moves us all into Phase 5 where all students can attend school in person.”
Bronson is a member of the Pennfield Bond Committee. The district has explored a bond measure to address congestion and aging buildings. Two previous bond measures were narrowly turned down by voters, and the district was forced to table a potential $22 million bond until 2021 due to the pandemic.
“I feel like I can add to what is already going to be a fairly new board,” Bronson said. “I am hoping we can continue to work with the community to gain perspective on what the needs of the district are and how we go about addressing those needs.”
Stephen Herbstreith
A 1997 Pennfield High School graduate, Stephen Herbstreith has two children. The oldest attends elementary school in the district. He is a police officer with the Battle Creek Police Department, which he believes…
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