Szczepaniak Appointed to Statewide Edu Advocacy Group

On July 13th, the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) Board of Directors voted to appoint Eric-John Szczepaniak of the Kenowa Hills Public Schools Board of Education to the MASB Governmental Relations Committee. "This committee monitors state and federal legislative and executive actions and school finance pertaining to public education and school districts" (https://www.masb.org/committees.aspx). This committee is made up of 19 members from school districts across the state and typically meets 7-8 times per year at the MASB headquarters in Lansing, MI. According to the MASB bylaws, this is a one year appointment that can be renewed twice for a total of three years.

Szczepaniak, 20, has been on the Kenowa Hills school board since January 1st of 2017 after winning a six-year term on November 8th, 2016. Since then, he has been active in his state association completing more than 100 hours of professional development for board service.

"I look forward to working with educational and community leaders from across the state for the betterment of all of our children. With all legislative seats and the governorship up for election this year, we must stay vigilant to changes coming from the State and work to inform the newest members of our state government about the importance of a renewed investment in our public schools."

Earlier this year, Szczepaniak was elected by his fellow school board members in the Kent ISD to serve on the Kent Intermediate Association of School Boards (KIASB) Board of Directors. The KIASB seeks to "advance the discussion of common problems and solutions, and to foster a greater civic and school consciousness among the citizens of the school districts, as well as to advocate for educational issues with local, state and national governmental units" (http://www.kentisd.org/school-board/kent-intermediate-association-of-school-boards/​).