Promise Zone is a great opportunity, but board seems a little lopsided.

Promise Zone is a great opportunity, but board seems a little lopsided.

Editorial By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

The Mason County Board of Commissioners recently selected the members of the newly formed Mason County Promise Zone Authority Board. The Promise Zone is a positive move in the right direction but the board’s geographical make-up seems to be drastically lopsided.

See related story here.

This Promise Zone is meant to serve all the students of Mason County to assure that an affordable post-high school education is available to them. Each and every person selected for the board likely has the best interest of students in mind but given that the vast majority of them live in the Ludington Area School District, we want to send a gentle reminder that there are three other public high schools in this county and we expect our students to be treated and represented equally.

Before I go any further, I want to explain that for those who live on the western side of the county, it may not seem to be such a big deal. But, for those of us who reside in the “out county” region, you completely understand how often this side of the county is often overlooked and misrepresented, even if that is just perception.

Several highly qualified candidates, who were not selected, reside or work in the other two school districts of the county. Twenty-two people applied for the 11 person board. Of which only two of the appointees reside or work in Mason County Central or Mason County Eastern school districts.

This list of applicants included seven applicants who live or work in the Mason County Central and Mason County Eastern school districts, including the superintendents of both MCC and MCE, along with the superintendent of Gateway to Success Academy, located in Scottville, and the president of West Shore Community College, located in Victory Township in the MCC school district — none of which were appointed.

Again, this just seems a little lopsided but will give the board the benefit of the doubt. We do, however, expect funds to be dispersed equally among all our students and the needs of all the students to be considered.

This is the list of members:

4-year terms:

Jason Kennedy, Ludington; Fabian Knizacky, Ludington; Andrea Large, Ludington.

3-year terms:

Nick Krieger, Ludington; Roger Nash, Custer; James McLean, Ludington.

2-year terms:

Ed Makowicki, Ludington; Amy Pepper, Ludington; Monica Schuyler, Ludington.

1-year terms:

Annette Quillan, Ludington; Dena Thurston, Fountain.