HASLETT - Haslett was ranked number 62 in Newsweeks top high schools in America, which was one of only 5 schools in Michigan. Electing school board members that can keep this legacy going is important.

There are seven candidates total, but only four seats available on the ballot.

The Foundation for Haslett Schools held their own meet the candidates forum. Residents and current school board members came out to see what the seven candidates running in the general election felt they could bring to the board.

Resident of Haslett Heather Smith said, “Its extremely important to make sure that the quality of education has stayed the same that it has for many years so I wanted to come out and hear what the candidates had to say so I could make an informed decision on who to vote for.”

Candidates were asked 2 questions, each randomly selected. Chris Coady was asked how she could improve the school system to get students college ready; Coady expressed how act readiness is a key component.

Chris Coady explained, “Looking at our students and how they’ve been working on ACT practice over the course of their school career and giving them specific help to bring up the areas where their scores are lower.”

Karen East was asked if she reviewed the budget for the Haslett School District and if so, what change, questions or areas would you focus on?

Karen East replied, “I have not done a detailed review of the budget that you would do as a board member, I have followed it generically the states done a lot to raise the floor so that Haslett's now the new floor, there are any districts in the area that are spending quite a bit more than we are able to spend on education and so we have to spend some time analyzing that issue.”

Steve Cook Director of Finance at Haslett Public Schools explained why this forum was important, “They get a chance to know the people that they’re possibly going to be voting for and to understand where they stand on certain positions and potentially what they may be as a board member in the future.”

Audience members had the opportunity to write down questions during the meeting, and if at the end those questions still remained they were answered by a candidate at random.

Other questions asked included, In your role as a board member what do you sense will be your biggest challenge? What is the district not doing that it should be doing? And what do you think the relationship should be between the superintendent and board members should be?