© 2024 WEMU
Serving Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, MI
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
0000017d-4e0c-dda1-a7fd-4fde73920000

Meet The Ann Arbor School Board Candidate: Hunter Van Valkenburgh

Hunter Van Valkenburgh
hunterforschools.org

The Ann Arbor School Board will have a new look after next month's election.  Ten Candidates are running for four seats on the board.  While I will be interviewing all of the candidates, Hunter Van Valkenburgh is the focus of today's report.

Hunter Van Valkenburgh sympathizes with WhitmoreLake students that are suffering because of local and state funding decisions that strain the district's budget. But he's calling for voters that agree that annexation isn't in Ann Arbor's best interest to select school board candidates, like him, that oppose the plan.

His interest in running for the board started with the increase in standardized testing while Pat Green was Superintendent."Some students spend 12 hours a year sitting in front of a computer taking this test when they could be in the classroom learning something.  And it's also costing the district at least $70,000 which could pay for almost a couple of teachers," Van Valkenburgh says.

Van Valkenburgh also thinks the district will regret the decision to privatize custodial work.

He says his experience as an attorney and former high school teacher will be useful for the board.

Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter— Andrew Cluley is the Ann Arbor beat reporter, and anchor for 89.1 WEMU News. Contact him at734.487.3363 or email him acluley@emich.edu.    
 

Like many, I first came to this area when I started school at the University of Michigan, then fell in love with the community and haven’t left. After graduating from U of M in the mid 1990’s I interned at WDET for several years, while also working a variety of jobs in Ann Arbor. Then in 1999 I joined the WEMU news team.
Related Content