Recently a Letter to the Editor entitled “OI Sets Sights on GHAPS” was published in the Grand Haven Tribune. The letter was shared on Grand Haven Area Public School (GHAPS) board candidate Cyndi Casmier’s Facebook site as well as on the political organization “Friends of GHAPS” Facebook site, whose founding members consist primarily of spouses of GHAPS employees. This letter is gaslighting you from the fact that the Grand Haven education insiders do not want anyone from outside their clique to be voted in. Please read the letter, do your own research, and make your own decision.
Letter to the Editor, 10/2/2024
OI sets sights on GHAPS
To the editor,
Last Tuesday, the Ottawa Impact members of the county board of commissioners showed us once again why we need to make sure they lose their majority on the board. The reason? Rejection of a $900,000 grant designed to “help fund education, training and response to communicable diseases and infection prevention.”
Although Ottawa Impact’s actions on the county board have garnered most of the public’s attention, it would be a mistake to think that that is their only arena. In 2022, they captured a majority on the Allendale school board and delivered the same division, chaos and incompetence to that body as they have to the county board.
This year they’ve set their sights on three other school districts, including our own Grand Haven Area Public Schools. Of the eight candidates running for three openings on the school board, only three — Kristal Boyd, Cyndi Casemier and Heather Herrygers — are true supporters of public education. The other five either support Ottawa Impact explicitly or reveal their affinity by their ideologies and views.
Grand Haven has one of the best school systems in the state. Help spare it from the divisive and exclusionary ideology and mismanagement that have plagued the Ottawa County Board for the past two years. Help prevent Ottawa Impact from gaining a foothold on the GHAPS Board. On or before Nov. 5, vote for Kristal Boyd and Cyndi Casemier for the two six-year seats and Heather Herrygers for the two-year seat.
You’ll find the school board race in the non-partisan section of your ballot. And remember, you can already vote by absentee ballot, or you can vote in-person beginning Oct. 26 at the Early Voting site located at the Grand Haven Township Offices or at your precinct on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5.
James Dana
Grand Haven
In the letter to the editor, the author said one purpose of the rejected grant was to "help fund education," and he led readers to believe the county board voted against public funding for schools. This statement was extremely misleading. The $900,000 grant referred to by the author was extensively discussed during the September 24, 2024, Ottawa County board of commissioner meeting (1:02:20-2:20:20) when the commissioners were in the process of approving the fiscal year 2025 budget.
Approximately one week before the budget was to be approved, the health department requested the commissioners approve a $900,000 State of Michigan Infection Prevention grant. According to Board Chair Joe Moss, the first line of the grant referred to a possible future COVID emergency, and was essentially a reincarnation of a prior COVID emergency grant with a new title to make it more palatable to the citizenry. Board discussion indicated the grant would provide the health department with a slush fund that could be used for anything related to a future COVID or communicable infectious disease emergency, including such uses as public education, staff training, mass public testing, and contact tracing.
The author brought up the Allendale School board and I encourage you to read more about what happened there. After the 2022 election, one conservative board member, Anna Hendricks, became a target of the Left. Today she still serves on the board, after overcoming five separate recall attempts, each more ridiculous than the previous.
The author is correct in that there are eight candidates running for three positions on the GHAPS school board. Divided into two separate sections on the ballot, the first section is for six-year terms and the second is for a partial term.
For the six-year school board terms, voters are asked to select two candidates from the following list of five:
Kristal Boyd
Joshua Spurr
Cyndi Casemier
Helen Brinkman
Tommy VanHill
The second section asks voters to select one candidate from a list of three for a partial term:
David Olthof
Heather Herrygers
Steven Skodack
The author claims that five candidates are associated with Ottawa Impact (OI) or are hiding an association with OI. In 2022, candidate Tommy VanHill signed the Ottawa Impact Contract with Ottawa because he believes in the values of pro freedom, pro America, pro Constitution, and pro parental rights. A few weeks ago, VanHill held a couple of meet-and-greets in which he was nice enough to give away backpacks to school children. Unfortunately, he was attacked by some community members for his efforts simply because he is associated with OI.
None of the other candidates have an association with OI.
David Olthof has a degree in marketing and was in the United States Air Force. He currently teaches drivers education where he spends a lot of time talking to students.
Helen Brinkman is a retired Kent County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney who works with human trafficking victims. She also defends parental rights and fought to help Grand Haven city residents keep the cross on Dewey Hill.
Joshua Spurr has five children that all attend GHAPS. He grew up in the Upper Peninsula, is a small business owner, and is involved in Haunted Haven.
Steve Skodak ran for Grand Haven city council. He is a longtime resident, father, husband, and Marine Corp veteran who loves Grand Haven.
The other three candidates mentioned by Mr. Dana − Kristal Boyd, Heather Herrygers, and Cyndi Casemier − have been endorsed by Organize Ottawa 9 and other left leaning progressive organizations.
Kristal Boyd currently sits on the GHAPS school board. She owns the Unicorn Tavern with her husband where they frequently host left-wing political events. On Monday September 16, 2024, Boyd left the school board meeting early. Coincidentally, the Unicorn Tavern was busy hosting Biden’s Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Democratic House Representative Hillary Scholten.
Cyndi Casemier is an artist who works in porcelain. She grew up in Grand Haven and is the former owner of the C2C Gallery. Before returning to Grand Haven, she served on the Vermont School Board of Education.
Heather Herrygers has three children who attend GHAPS. She works for the nonprofit organization No Labels and is involved with the Forward Party in Michigan, led by former Democratic Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang.
GHAPS has declining enrollment and test scores, twice attempted to demolish a school in the heart of the city and build a new school far out in the country, places an excessive focus on non-educational topics such as mental health and emotional wellness, continues to waste valuable teacher time on diversity, equity, and inclusion, rewards high school students with chemical-filled treats for meeting basic expectations, participated in the Momentum Center’s Anti-racism task force, and has never been held accountable for an embezzlement of over $1,000,000. When filling out your November 2024 ballot, please ask yourself if you are happy with the status quo.