GRANT, Mich. — Rachal Gort and Richard Vance are facing recall elections on May 7 as two challengers are attempting to fill their seats on the Grant Public Schools Board of Education.
The recall effort stems from a school board vote to terminate a contract with Family Health Care, the operator of the Children and Adolescent Health Center in Grant Middle School.
The vote to end the contract happened with a surprise motion not listed on the agenda at a board meeting in June of 2023.
Board members Sabrina Veltkamp-Blok, Ken Thorne, Rachal Gort and Richard Vance all voted in favor of ending the contract.
The vote to end the contract came on the heels of a mural painted by a Grant High School student inside the middle school’s health center in October of 2022.
Children and Adolescent Health Center mural controversy
The mural became a source of outrage for some parents and community members. Some parents voiced their opposition to the mural at a board meeting, claiming that it is discriminatory against Christian beliefs, and contains images of witchcraft, Satan and LGBTQ themes.
Artist Evelyn Gonzales refuted the claims, explaining that the imagery in question was taken from video games and Hispanic culture.
"That's not what I'm a part of... That's not what I'm trying to put out there," said Gonzales. "I put my art up there to make people feel welcome."
Still, the board meeting saw many parents upset with the content of the mural.
"I feel like she did a really good job finding excuses to defend the things she put on," says Katelyn Thompson. "None of us are that stupid."
One parent spoke on the transgender flag in the mural, implying it is a sickness.
"When adults pretend things that are like real life, it's a mental illness," says Danielle Beight. "We need counselors, we need medication that's going to help bipolar disorder, fix their brains."
With another saying it is discriminatory against Christian beliefs.
"We and our administration should embrace that and get all of this hate material out of our schools, because it is hate material," says Nate Thompson.
Not everyone was opposed to the mural, however.
"I am a conservative, right-wing, gun-loving American," says Tracy Hargreaves. "But I've never seen more bigoted people in my life."
The board meeting ended with no decision by the board on what to do with the mural. Following the meeting, false rumors circulated on social media with claims that the board had voted to paint over the mural during a closed-door session.
Final decision on the Children and Adolescent Health Center mural
Just a few days later, Grant Public Schools announced that the mural would stay, but with some adjustments. Gonzales agreed to revert the mural back to the original design (pictured below), which excluded some of the imagery that was found to be controversial by some.
The school district released a statement addressing the changes, saying in part:
"After careful consideration and discussion with our students, staff, Board, and community members, it has been agreed upon that the mural will remain with some adjustments. At the student artist’s request, the mural will be returned to its original form as originally submitted and approved by the Administration.
At Grant Public Schools, we are committed to promoting civility, respect, understanding and inclusion. We do not condone, and we will not tolerate discrimination, harassment or bullying whether in word, deed or on social media."
More concerns from parents and students
Despite the resolution on the mural, new concerns with the Child and Adolescent Health Center were broached following the passage of Proposal 3 in November of 2022.
Dr. Sarah Weers, Medical Director for the Child and Adolescent Health Center, spoke during a board meeting in November, explaining that Proposal 3 doesn't affect the health center's operations.
"Furthermore, Proposal 3 does not impact any of our services," said Dr. Weers. "No health center on school property can prescribe, dispense or distribute family planning drugs or devices, this includes any type of birth control such as condoms, hormonal contraceptives, IUDs, etc."
Also at the meeting, community members spoke out once again on the controversial mural in the health center.
Some students who spoke during public comment of the meeting said they would prefer the school district to be neutral when it comes to displays of personal beliefs.
"I don't want to have contradictions with students and have all of this division in our school entirely, and this mural has done nothing but create division between me and my fellow students," said a Grant High School student.
Gonzales also spoke during the board meeting, defending the message of her mural.
"I do think it has a good message," said Gonzales. "I like it, I liked making it."
Vote to end the contract with Family Health Care
Over seven months later, Family Health Care announced that their contract with Grant Public Schools would not be renewed once it expires in October 2023.
Family Health Care provided healthcare to students through the Children Adolescent Health Center in Grant Middle School for over 13 years.
Family Health Care said that they will continue to provide care until the contract expires.
"We are disappointed with the Board’s decision to end the contract within 90 days and how this will impact students and families in the Grant community. Family Health Care has been providing school-based health care in Grant since 2010," reads a statement from Family Health Care. "Last school year, we served 658 unduplicated patients, providing primary pediatric medical care and behavioral health care. We will continue to provide services at the Grant Child and Adolescent Health Center until the contract officially expires."
The vote to end the contract was a surprise to Family Health Care and Grant Public Schools staff.
"At our Board meeting Monday night there was a surprise motion made and passed by four GPS Board members to terminate the contract of the Child and Adolescent Health Center housed in one of our buildings. Unfortunately, it will negatively impact hundreds of children and families in our community," Grant Public Schools Superintendent Brett Zuver said in a statement.
Grant Public Schools Board of Education President Neil Geers resigned after the vote.
A second vote to end the contract with Family Health Care
After community members raised concerns about a possible violation of the Open Meetings Act stemming from the vote to end Family Health Care's contract with the district, a special school board session was scheduled.
A little over a week after the first vote, the Grand Public Schools Board of Education reconvened for a second vote on the healthcare provider's contract with the school district. The vote passed once again.
During the meeting, the school board cited reasons related to costs and security as the reason behind their decision. Board member Rob Schuitema, who was the only board member to vote against the resolution, refuted the claims.
"I guess we would we would save the roughly $5,000, but I'm wondering where we would make up for the difference in the health and well-being of our students."
Members of the school board who voted in favor of the resolution declined to comment.
Some members of the audience were in favor of the resolution.
"Yes, there's lots of positive things that come with having this health care for these children. But it is also broken, and that needs to be fixed or adjusted," said one community member speaking for who she describes as "the silent".
But the majority of those attending called for the board to rethink their decision.
Makayla Willett and her son were also attending the meeting, as her son, Miles, recently had surgery to remove a brain tumor after receiving care at the health center.
"And without this place, you know, I don't know that he'd be here today," said Willet who visited the health center after her son was misdiagnosed twice at other facilities.
Grant Public Schools fills vacant education board seat
The following month, the school district announced that they were seeking applications to fill a vacant seat on the education board following the president's resignation.
An unprecedented number of people applied for the vacant seat in response to the board's decision to close the district's health care center at the middle school.
Later that month, Stephanie Deible was selected from 63 candidates to fill the seat.
Board members scored candidates based on their responses. All but one member voted for Deible.
"She's strong, passionate, has a ton of institutional knowledge, you know, not only from being here as a student but family working here, and then beyond," said board member Rob Schuitema. "She has demonstrated character and leadership as evidenced by her answers, also her very impressive resume. That's amazing."
Deible also said her experience as a wheelchair user will bring a different perspective to the school board, something she said is crucial to "meet students where they're at no matter what their needs are."
Grant School Board recall efforts
In August of 2023, recall petitions against the four Grant School Board members who voted in favor of terminating the school district's partnership with Family Health Care were approved by the election commission.
The recall effort was spearheaded by the Grant School Board Recall Initiative, taking aim at Rachal Gort, Richard Vance, Sabrina Veltkamp-Blok and Ken Thorne.
The recall initiative shared why they were seeking to recall the board members in a statement on their website:
"In June of 2023, Rachal Gort, Ken Thorne, Richard Vance, and Sabrina Veltkamp-Blok voted to issue a 90-day termination letter to the Child and Adolescent Health Center (CAHC) housed in the Grant Middle School. The CAHC contract was not on the agenda, the superintendent and other board members did not know it would be a discussion item, CAHC had no knowledge of issues with the contract, and they did not ask for input from the community. They may have renegotiated the contract with the CAHC because they faced backlash from the community, but it cost our district nearly $30,000 in legal fees alone. The four continue to demonstrate their poor judgment; what will they blindside us with next?"
The initiative said they needed 1,100 signatures on each recall to have it put on the ballot for the May 7, 2024 election.
The Grant School Board Recall Initiative was able to get Gort and Vance on the ballot for recalls, but could not get Thorne and Veltkmap-Blok on the ballot. The group blames an error in filing signatures for Thorne and "circumstances out of our control" for Veltkmap-Blok.
Family Health Care's contract with Grant Public Schools renewed
During a board meeting in September of 2023, the Grant Public Schools Board of Education announced that an agreement had been reached with Family Health Care.
The agreement created a new three-year contract with Family Health Care but included a condition that the controversial mural painted a year prior must be removed.
Family Health Care issued a statement, saying: "The new contract does not change the way services are provided. The language follows all program requirements set forth by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services."
Family Health Care expressed disappointment over the mural having to be removed, adding:
"Diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the forefront of everything we do at Family Health Care. As required by law, we are accepting of all students regardless of age, race, color, national origin, disability, religion, or sex, including sexual orientation or gender identity."
Grant Public Schools Superintendent resigns
In January of 2024, Grant Public Schools Superintendent Brett Zuver resigned in a closed session of a special board meeting.
It’s not known why Zuver resigned from the position.
During discussions of Zuver’s resignation, board trustee Rob Schuitema spoke, saying he believed that Zuver was forced into resignation and that he was a good superintendent who dealt with a lot of stress.
Several people in the audience clapped in agreement when he made that statement.
Some people even stood up during the meeting expressing that they did not agree with Zuver’s resignations and supported him.
Others expressed that they supported the move and saw the change as a step forward for the district.
Recall election set for May 7
Despite the district's decision to create a new contract with Family Health Care, the organizers of the Grant School Board Recall Initiative continued to move forward with their recall efforts.
Rachal Gort and Richard Vance are now facing recall elections on Tuesday, May 7, 2024.
Their challengers, backed by the Grant School Board Recall Initiative, are Mindy Conley and Lindsay Mahlich.
On the ballot in May, Gort will go up against Conley and Vance faces Mahlich.
The Grant School Board Recall Initiative notes that they are still pursuing a recall of Sabrina Veltkamp-Blok for the November election and that Ken Thorne will be up for election in November as well.
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