Jeannette Brussow Voters in the DeTour Area Schools district will vote Tuesday, May 6, for two school board members and the renewal of an 18-mill levy for school operations.

DeTour Area Schools is seeking permission to levy a full 18 mills ($18 for every $1,000 of taxable value) against non-homestead properties such as businesses, second homes, and hunting properties. This provides funds for operating expenses such as salaries, books, regular education programs, food service, transportation, and utilities.

The 18 mills will contribute approximately $160,000 to operational revenues and pays for approximately two-thirds of the district's $2.7 million operating budget.

Two candidates, Jeannette Brussow and Rachel Richwine, are running unopposed for two seats on the board of education, replacing school board trustees Milton Adams and James Bailey, who are not seeking reelection.

Jeannette Brussow

Jeannette Brussow was graduated from the University of Michigan with a secondary teacher's certificate in social science and German and received elementary certification from Michigan State University.

Ms. Brussow taught in schools in Connecticut and the Lansing area before transferring to the Michigan Department of Education, Special Education Services. In this position, she was the liaison with the Intermediate School District directors in the Upper Peninsula and worked on issues pertinent to the northern region, as well as reviewing special education programs throughout the state. She also worked with many parent advisory committees, the Departments of Mental Health and Community Health, as well as the Department of Corrections.

She is a widow who enjoys spending time with her five children and seven grandchildren. Retirement has given her the opportunity to be a volunteer in other community organizations, she said, such as the DeTour Ambulance Corps and the Community Choir.

One of her priorities for the DeTour School district is to ensure that our students' education will align with the jobs and careers that they will eventually seek. She believes school board members can stay abreast of current trends in the state and national job markets, like health care, to make sure that the students have the appropriate classes to pursue careers in their chosen fields.

According to Ms. Brussow, declining school enrollment and the subsequent loss in state aid continues to be a challenge for the school board and for the community. Several projects have been initiated to bring more jobs, and families, to the area. The school board's contribution in this endeavor lies in its continuous maintenance of the quality of education in DeTour schools, she said. Excellent schools are necessary to promote increases in school enrollment, she said, and she hopes to be a partner in this effort.

Children, education, and Michigan public schools have been the focus of her life for more than 30 years, she told The St. Ignace News. Always a proponent of small rural schools, she said, she would like to contribute to the community by sharing her knowledge and love for education by being a member of the DeTour Area Schools' Board of Education.

Rachel Richwine

Rachel Richwine lives on Drummond Island and is employed at War Memorial Hospital Emergency Room as a registered nurse. She recently accepted a new job as Nursing Supervisor, which begins in May.

She is married to Ben Richwine and has two children, Alex, 6, and Parker, 2. She was graduated from Greenville High School in Greenville and moved to this area in 1999 to attend college at Lake Superior State University. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing in 2003.

Mrs. Richwine chose to run for office mainly owing to many people asking her, she said. She has a young child currently in school and another soon to start, she pointed out, and believes that having a voice in making decisions in a school her children attend is very important.

It is important for the education of the children to have a candidate on the board who is willing to be actively involved in all aspects of the school, she believes, including extracurricular activities as well as the main educational component

No photograph of Mrs. Richwine was available.