By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Most of the names on the May 2 school board election ballot should seem pretty familiar to voters.
Both Niles and Brandywine have two, four year seats up for election next week. Along with incumbents, only one new candidate is running for an open seat.
Joel Rogers of 830 Kensington Drive, Niles, is seeking a position on the board for Niles Community Schools.
A life-long resident of the Niles area, Rogers attended Galien schools and Lake Michigan College, where he earned an associates degree in manufacturing.
Rogers has worked as a machinist at Mac Engineering and Equipment Co. in Benton Township for 26 years.
He has been married to his wife Anita for 15 years and the couple has a 3-year-old daughter named Maeli they adopted from China.
The February bond election for Niles Community Schools increased his interest and involvement with the school system, Rogers added.
If elected to the school board, Rogers said he would like to see a simple, cheaper survey conducted of the voting public as opposed to hiring a marketing firm to perform the work. Niles Community Schools Superintendent Doug Law has recently said the board's next step may be to again contact Marketing Partners.
Rogers also said he would like to approach the bond issue one step at a time and ask people what they feel they can afford.
Rogers will be running against two incumbent candidates, Vice President Elaine Miller and Treasurer Scott Tyler. Both positions held by Miller and Tyler are four-year terms and are set to expire on June 30.
Miller, 1029 Carberry Road, who is the operation supervisor of commercial line accounts for Hub Insurance, agreed it will be important to address the district's buildings.
Despite the results of the bond election, Miller said the board has put a great deal of time and effort into finding a way to improve Niles schools.
Much of the work done by the Niles board has also been handled on a tight budget, Miller added.
Also petitioning for another term on the Niles board is Treasurer Scott Tyler, 814 Wesaw. The President of Tyler Automotive's GM division said maintaining the district's budget is also a top priority for him if re-elected.
Also falling into Tyler's top three were the bond issue, and, at number one on the list, student achievement. Most important, Tyler said, is developing a plan for incorporating the new state graduation requirements into the curriculum.
Tyler said the district as a whole has benefitted tremendously from the current personnel.
Voters go to the polls on Tuesday, May 2 to cast ballots for both school district's boards of education.