Mary Polverento

Candidate Name: Molly Polverento
Age: 47
Candidate for [Elected Position]: Trustee, Haslett Board of Education
Candidate Website: non
Candidate Contact for Public: molly5241@gmail.com; (517) 881-1234
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1. What motivated you to run for the position you are seeking election to?
I am a parent in the district and have a personal stake in our schools continuing to be
one of the best districts in the area. I also strongly believe in the importance of public
education to our communities and the critical role public schools play in the lives of many
of our students. We can not take for granted that the success of our schools will
automatically continue and need to have a Board of Education which puts aside their
personal goals and politics to serve all of our students. Our district will be challenged in
coming years with increased academic, mental, and behavioral needs of our students
and increasing competition for hiring and retaining the best education professionals. We
need individuals with governing and policy experience to serve on the Board and make
sure that we maintain the work that has been done to increase supports for all students
and continue practices that make our district one where people want to work.
2. What is your vision for the public body you want to serve on?
My vision for the Haslett Board of Trustees is that we are seven representatives of the
community who can put aside our personal goals and politics to work together, share
information, speak openly, and respectfully disagree to enact policies and make
decisions which serve all of our students and keep Haslett Public Schools a place where
educators want to be.
3. How does your vision differ from that of your opponents?
I have not yet heard from my opponents about their vision for the Haslett Board of
Education and therefore can not speak to how my vision differs from theirs.
4. 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?
The actions by the Legislature and Governor to equalize per pupil funding starting in the
2021-22 school year made a significant difference for Haslett schools. Prior to then, our
district received a lower level of funding than some of our neighboring districts. The
increase in per pupil funding has allowed us to hire additional staff and revise our
salaries for all our employees, making us more competitive employers. However, there
are not wholly controlled by districts, including retirement and insurance benefits, and it
is important that school board members work with their legislators to discuss how much
of the per pupil funding received is spent in ways over which we have minimal control.
It is important to note that disparities still exist among districts because sinking funds and
school bonds are based on local taxing ability and approval. During my first term, Haslett
successfully passed a bond initiative, which allowed us to make improvements to all of
our educational spaces. We were also able to renew both of our sinking funds, adding
technology and security as allowable expenditures for both sinking funds and providing
the District with the resources to maintain and improve our infrastructure. We are
fortunate to have a community which consistently supports our schools and provide the
district with the financial resources to maintain a safe school environment.
5. 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?
In balance, school choice has worked for our district. This policy has allowed our district
to maintain relatively consistent enrollment levels from year to year, providing budgetary
stability and allowing for long-term planning with some confidence in our student
population. It has also benefited our students, allowing them to start and stay in our
schools regardless of whether they have not yet moved to Haslett or if they move to a
different community during their time in our schools.
6. 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?
I do not support vouchers for private schools. First, with the funding public schools
receive from the state comes multiple reporting and testing requirements that are not
imposed upon private schools. Second, public schools must serve all students in their
District, regardless of academic and other need and such services can be costly for
public school districts. Private schools do not have the same admission requirements
and associated costs. Taking money from public schools through a voucher system will
weaken public schools already incurring more costs than private schools and may lead
to inequities among public school and private school students.

7. 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?
As a public school district, our options for closing any funding gap are limited as we must
maintain services for our students and have established retirement and other benefits for
our employees. If we experienced a reduction in enrollment, then we would likely have to
consider staffing and support for extracurricular activities which are paid for by this
funding source. If we anticipated a short-term reduction, we could also consider use of
our district reserves, but this would not help with longer-term gaps in funding.
8. 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.
Students need to see themselves in the curricular materials if we want them to feel

valued and supported by our schools. We need to use materials that include examples
from different cultural, ethnic, racial and religious communities across subject areas in
ways that are age and developmentally appropriate. We also need to make sure that our
school environment reflects the diversity in our larger community.
We must do what we can to make sure that schools are safe places for all students and
this is especially true for our LGBTQIA+ students. Our Board must do all it can to ensure
an environment in our schools where students are not bullied or harassed. We must
provide professional development for our staff so they know how to support our students
who are feeling unsafe and make sure we have behavioral health staff in all buildings to
support our students and staff in difficult situations.
I do not support the removal of books from our school libraries. Our district has a clearly
defined process in place for reviewing and selecting books for our libraries, along with a
clearly defined process for any parent or other community member to follow if they
object to a book. Parents also have the option to notify our schools if there are library
books they do not want their student to access. I fully support parents making decisions
about what they see as appropriate reading material for their children, but I do not think
that a single or small number of parents should be able to make decisions about what is
available for students other than their own. As a member of the Board, I will continue to
make sure our policy for review and selection of books is followed and that parents are
aware of the options available to them regarding books available to their children.
9. There has been a split on how COVID was responded to by schools, and other
government bodies. Please answer the following questions:
I voted in favor of Haslett starting the 2020-21 school year fully online. While this was a
difficult decision and one that I struggled with, I made this vote because I was concerned
about our staffing, increased transmission of COVID through our schools to our larger
community, and possibility of increased stress for students, families, and staff due to

constantly changing schedules because of COVID outbreaks if we were in person. I
supported the use of masks in our schools as a non-intrusive and relatively effective
method to reduce disease transmission. I also support vaccination, including the COVID-
19 vaccine, and vaccine requirements for public schools as long as parents who are
opposed and made aware of the risks of not vaccinating their children can request a
waiver from this requirement.
Our district has invested in multiple strategies and resources to help our students both
with their educational loss as well as mental health concerns. Educational loss
interventions have included additional time in small groups of students with a teacher
focusing on fundamental skills, particularly at earlier grade levels. We also use
standardized assessments to regularly measure progress towards educational goals,
work with parents on practice activities that can be done at home, and utilize
supplemental materials available through the curricula we have purchased to help our
students. Our mental health strategies have included hiring additional staff to increase
access to services. We have also implemented tools which help teachers and
administrators check in with students on a regular basis and identify any who are
struggling as early as possible. Our schools also engage with parents or guardians to
address mental health concerns and provide resources. I fully support all our current
initiatives and will continue to advocate for an expansion of services based on the needs
of our students.
10. 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?
During my first term, I have supported all the district efforts to improve the physical
security of our buildings, including replacing security doors, upgrades to our surveillance
system, and reconfiguring building entrances so that individuals can not enter our
buildings without being seen and their reason for being in the building determined. I have
also supported the work our Administrators have done with our local police department
to train our students and staff on what to do in emergency situations. The Meridian
Township Police have been wonderful partners in keeping our schools safe and I will
fully support this relationship going forward. Additionally, I support our districts efforts to
promote and utilize efforts like “OK to Say” which give students and parents a chance to
let the school know of concerning behavior so that either our administrators or law
enforcement can intervene appropriately.
11. Elections have become a serious concern for some voters. Please answer the following
questions:
Yes, I will accept the results of this election regardless of whether I win or lose. Our
county clerks and election workers are highly trained and are there to make sure that our
voting system works and therefore will have no reason to question the results. If there

was a recount, I would also accept those results for the same reason. I do not believe
there was widespread election fraud in 2020 or in any other election and I believe that
the 2020 election results as announced and certified at the local, state and federal levels
were correct.
12. Are you a member, or have you ever been a member or donated to any of the following
organizations:
I am not a member of nor have I been a member of any political organization.
13. Please share with readers and voters your qualifications for the position you seek.
I was elected to the Haslett Board of Education in 2016 and am completing my first term
in this office. During this first term, I have participated in training for school board
members and sought other opportunities to increase my knowledge about this role, its
responsibilities and limitations, and how to be successful as a member of a governing
board. In addition to the Board of Education, I have served on multiple community,
nonprofit, and professional association boards, often in leadership roles and have
extensive experience working with others to identify and achieve shared goals.