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Photo submitted by John Golovich

Meet the candidates column  
The Huron Hub 
Posted Oct. 8, 2020

Editor’s note: As the 2020 election draws near, the residents in Huron Township would like to hear more about each candidate that is running for office or reelection.

Recently, every person running on the Huron Township ballot was invited to use The Huron Hub as a platform to get their voice heard. All letters in this column are submitted by the candidates themselves and are not edited by Huron Hub staff. Letters are posted in the order they are received, and candidates have until Oct. 12 to submit their letters. Letters will not be accepted from the candidates after Oct. 12. 

Readers can access all candidate letters on a special section of HuronHub.com HERE. 

The following letter was submitted by John Golovich:

Who is John Golovich? I am 44 years old and work as a Sr. Security Architect for Cisco Systems. I spent my childhood in Wyandotte, MI graduating from Wyandotte Roosevelt High School in 1994. I am married to Janeen (Lechnyr) and have 3 children. Robert Oaks (Huron HS Class of 2019), Alyssa Oaks (Huron HS Class of 2020), and Amaya Golovich (Future Class of 2025).

Growing up in Wyandotte, I had the opportunity to attend Private School (Creative Montessori), Catholic School (Wyandotte Catholic Consolidated Schools), and Public School (Wyandotte Roosevelt High School). My children have also had the opportunity to experience Charter School (Summit Academy), Virtual School (Connections Academy), and Public School (Renton Jr. High/Huron High School). The learning techniques and how they can be applied to the different learning styles has provided me insight into the educational system and shaped my vision of what is an ideal educational situation.

At Cisco Systems. I am brought into contentious environments to resolve issues with mission critical infrastructure. Much of my work over the past nine months during the initial Covid outbreak in China and subsequent outbreak in our country allowed many industries to quickly adopt the work from home model that they are still using and allow our children the opportunity to have a better virtual school experience if that was the choice they made.

My family lives our life with a dedication to service in mind. Service to God, family, and community. We are volunteers with the Boy Scouts of America in different capacities over the years and are proud that we have raised two Eagle Scouts. I am currently the Chairman of the Huron Township LDFA board, and previously have served as the Chairman of the Brownstown Historical/Beautification Committee and President of our Home Owners Association.

This School Board election is different than most. Three Board Members have retired and a group of people are vying to replace them and continue the work that is already in progress.

·The obvious item on everyone’s mind is the response to the COVID pandemic. The district is doing a wonderful job with communicating and providing families the opportunity to make the best choice for their families. However there is still a concern about the additional expenses teachers will have to incur out of pocket to react to the modified environment and added responsibilities especially if these changes become long term changes in the way education is provided. There is a need for continued monitoring of local health conditions and giving families the ability to change their enrollment decisions every trimester in response to their comfort level as the situation continues to evolve. Education is becoming more fluid. The district needs to adapt to a more fluid model.

·Monitoring of the spending of the recently passed bond proposal to make sure the district continues to do what is in the best interest of the residents is something that is always brought up. You can already see the progress in regards to security and safety. A key component of the bond proposal was around capacity planning. Continued analysis of population trends to better plan for building student capacity will need to be done on a reoccurring basis.

·Are we supplying our students with quality educators? A partnership between the district and staff is key to retaining quality employees. This isn’t specific to the educational sector, this is true for all verticals. Providing comfortable, well-funded, and supportive facilities is our own best advertising. Huron is a unique community. I am a firm believer that our best teachers are former students who left for their education and returned to give back to their community. We need to build on that, keeping in touch with our students after graduation is key.

·An item that should have been top of mind is the mental health of our students. There has been more attention placed on it after the mandated Safer at Home order where students were forced into virtual education but this will need to continue after we return to normal. A review of the responsibilities of the counseling department and an analysis of the deficiencies will assist in determining if any modifications or training are needed. Without additional data, we can’t make a determination on any changes (if any) that would need to be made.

·Tying into mental health are the needs of the students who require assistance. As I originally wrote, my daughter graduated last year. She has a learning deficiency. Before we moved to the district, her deficiency wasn’t taken seriously. We moved to the district and under the former superintendent, we again had to fight for her to get the accommodations we felt would be appropriate. We stood our ground and with the support of the then Principal Mr. Rowe, we were able to complete the process. Mr. Rowe becoming superintendent was a big win for students who have special needs. Knowing that the now Superintendent is so helpful in the process, this can be extended throughout the entire district with the School Boards support.

·Of course School funding is always an issue. However we are severely limited in what can be done. Other than tax levies, the local School Board has its hands tied. We must continue to work with our State Legislature to work through these issues and come up with a funding model that is fair to the tax payers and benefits the students.

What can I provide this school board? Besides my experiences in education, employment, and service, I will do what is in the best interest of the students and taxpayers. But most of all, I will encourage accountability. I hope I was able to convince you to select my name on the ballot.