Amanda Cormier

Candidate Name: Amanda Cormier
Age: 34
Candidate for [Elected Position]: East Lansing School Board
Candidate Website:
Candidate Contact for Public:
Are you registered with any party? If so, please share your party affiliation:
Please share all your social media accounts @amandaeschcormier on Facebook and instagram
- These are not specifically for running for office so if that is what you’re looking for, I don’t have
them.
Please include a high quality photo of the candidate.
What motivated you to run for the position you are seeking election to?
I am a former educator and have watched over the last few years as school boards have
become more about political party and identity politics than the education of the students and
community they serve. I wanted to offer a voice that keeps the interests of students at heart of
their decision making.
What is your vision for the public body you want to serve on?
A fair and hardworking group of people that will work to serve the needs of the students it
serves. With focus on mental health, safety, inclusion, and making up for the academic losses of
the last few years.
How does your vision differ from that of your opponents?
I don’t know.
Funding for schools has been a consistent concern for nearly three decades. Proposal 1,
passed in the 90s was supposed to level the playing field in funding assuring that districts with
distressed property values would receive comparable per pupil funding. That has not been the
case. If elected, how will you address the under funding of schools? Honest answer is that I’m
not sure how much control a school board has over the amount of money coming from the state
or through taxes. I would want to make sure we were using all available assets, like community
partners and applying for grants that could help with different programs.
Has school choice, which allows students and parents to apply for and attend a different school
district than the one they live in, been a success? Why or why not?
Yes, I think so. School of Choice allows parents to have some say over the education they want
their children to have. It allows opportunities

Proposals in Michigan have long sought to use public dollars to pay for private school tuition
and costs. Do you support vouchers for private schools? Why or why not? No. Vouchers take
money away from the public school system, which is already suffering.
If vouchers are approved, public schools may see a decline in enrollment. How would you close
the funding gap by a reduction in per pupil funding? I think this depends upon how many
students the district would lose. It could mean less classes in a school or combining certain
offerings. I would also look into different grants that could help support programs within the
schools.
Educators have been under scrutiny over LGBT youth support, LGBT history, the American
history of communities of color and more. In addition, school libraries are pulling books off of
shelves in public school libraries and public libraries.
Please share your perspective as you pertains to providing safe schools and education for
LGBT youth.
LGBT youth have just as much of a right to a safe and equitable education as anyone else.
Anything that contributes to a hostile or inequitable environment for LGBT youth should be dealt
with immediately.
Please share your perspective about integrating the history of communities of color into
curriculums in the public schools.
All students should be learning the honest history of communities of culture and what they’ve
contributed to American and world history. This should be normal practice, not just during
certain months devoted to the history of marginalized groups. I do not support any attempts to
whitewash history.
Do you support the removal of books some find objectionable from public school shelves and
public libraries? Why or why not?
No, I do not support book bans. In a public school no singular group of people should get to
decide what the entire district of students is allowed to have access to. As a parent you can tell
your child to not read something if it doesn’t align with your values but you do not have the right
to take books away from other students who might see themselves in those pages.
If you support such removals, at what point does the purge of objectionable books stop? When
it is the Quran? When it is the Torah? The Nag Hamadi? The Bible? What policies will you put in
place to monitor and assess removal of books?
If you do not support the removal of objectionable books, what policies will you support to stop
the removal of books from public school libraries?
I would want to do more research on what policies like this already exist but I think the need to
remove a book would be rare. If there was a push to remove books from a school library, I think
it should have to be approved by the school’s administration, as well as the school board,

unanimously. Only then should a book be removed.
There has been a split on how COVID was responded to by schools, and other government
bodies. Please answer the following questions:
Did you support the shut down of schools during the COVID-19 crisis? Why or why not? Yes, I
think it was the right thing to do until we had a handle on what was happening and until we
learned how to best mitigate risk for our student’s health.
There has been a marked loss of educational gain as a result of the shut down. How will you
address this problem? I support creating adapted curriculum, additional resources for teachers,

hiring after school tutors, and purchasing apps that students can use at home that focuses on
skills they’re behind on.
Did you support face masks? Why or why not?
I do believe face masks work to mitigate risk of COVID 19. I think the need for them in the
classroom everyday depends on the level of spread in the community.
Do you support the COVID-19 vaccine? Why or why not?
Yes. Because it has proven effective in lessening the severe effects of COVID19
Do you support vaccination for all students in public schools? Why or why not?
Yes, unless there is a medical reason for that individual child to not.
There has been a growing mental health crisis among our youth. It was present before the
pandemic, but experts warn it has gotten worse since the pandemic. If elected, how will you
address the mental health needs of our students? I would like to see the schools hire more
mental health professionals to support the needs of students. I’ve worked in schools that had
many therapists and counselors and those without any and the climate of the schools where a
student knows they have someone they can depend on and talk through their concerns were
significantly more peaceful, with less outburst and less violence.
There have been a number of school shootings, with deeply tragic consequences for students,
teachers and administrators alike – as well as communities. If elected, what will you do to
address the school violence crisis, including school shootings?
I think this is similar to my previous answer. I truly think we need to offer more mental health
supports to our students. I support more mental health professionals in schools for students to
go to when they’re struggling and someone who can teach them more appropriate ways to deal
with hard emotions.
I also would want to provide to community with more educational resources on how they can
support the students of the district.
Elections have become a serious concern for some voters. Please answer the following
questions:
If you lose your election, will you accept the results? Why or why not? Yes because I believe in
the validity of American elections.
If your election is close and you chose to pay for a recount, will you accept the result of a
recount? Why or why not? Yes.
Much has been made about the 2020 election. Do you believe Donald Trump won the election?
Why or why not? No, I don’t believe he won. There have been multiple recounts to prove this
fact.
Do you believe there was widespread election fraud? Why or why not? No.
Do you believe leaders in Washington are involved in a secret pedophilia ring? Why or why not?
No.
Do you believe the Jan. 6 Capitol incident was appropriate in light of the election? Why or why
not? No.
Are you a member, or have you ever been a member or donated to any of the following
organizations:
I have donated money to democratic candidates for office
Socialist party
Rock the Vote

The Democratic Party
Any Democratic Candidate for Office
The Republican Party
Any Republican Candidate for Office
The American Taxpayers Party
Any American Taxpayer Party Candidate for Office
The Heritage Foundation
People for the American Way
III Percenters
Proud Boys
Please share with readers and voters your qualifications for the position you seek.
I am a former special education educator, arts administrator, and mom. I am deeply passionate
about the education of all students. I am one of the Nassar survivors and am passionate about
the student safety and mental health. Before moving back to Michigan, I worked with the
Tennessee legislature to change the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse.