Phone
231-944-8110
Campaign Phone
2319448110
Occupation/Current Position
Attorney, CEO Source Bay Procurement Partners
Education
JD
race
White
I am a working mom of three TCAPS students, an attorney, a business owner, and someone who genuinely cares about kids in our community. I spent much of my legal career as a prosecutor handling difficult and often very sensitive cases. That experience taught me how to ask hard questions, listen carefully, weigh competing perspectives, separate facts from emotion, and make decisions that are not always easy. As a business owner, I manage budgets, employees, strategic planning, and the responsibility of making decisions with limited resources. I have also served on the Great Lakes Children's Museum Board and am active in our schools and community.
Most importantly, I am a TCAPS parent. My husband and I are both products of public schools, and those schools helped create opportunities that shaped our lives. I am running because I believe strongly in public education and want to give back. I do not have all the answers, but I am willing to do the work, listen to our educators, administrators and families, and make decisions with students at the center.
My first priority is academic achievement, particularly closing opportunity gaps. TCAPS' own data shows meaningful differences in math and literacy achievement for economically disadvantaged students. The Board should regularly review results, ask what is working, and make sure resources support strategies that produce measurable improvement.
Second is attracting and retaining great teachers and staff. TCAPS' greatest strength is its people, but hiring in Traverse City is difficult because of housing costs, cost of living and funding limitations. I would support creative recruitment and retention efforts and professional development.
Third is student well-being and belonging. I particularly like TCAPS' goal that every student have a trusted adult at school. The Board should set clear goals, monitor progress and responsibly allocate resources, while allowing our educators and administrators to determine how best to achieve them.
I think mental health and school safety are closely connected to whether students feel known, supported and connected. I support TCAPS’ goal that every student can identify a trusted adult at school, along with strong counseling resources, community partnerships and staff training to recognize warning signs.
For physical safety, TCAPS should continually evaluate its procedures with law enforcement and school-safety professionals. The Board’s role is to ask the right questions, ensure qualified professionals are involved, and provide appropriate resources to keep students and staff safe.
AI is not going away, and our students need to be prepared to use it responsibly. In the short term, TCAPS needs clear, age-appropriate guidelines for when AI is appropriate, along with training for teachers. Academic integrity should focus on whether students are still doing the thinking and learning. AI can be a tool, but it should not replace writing, research, reasoning or problem-solving. Long term, students should learn responsible AI use, including its limitations, bias, privacy concerns and misinformation. We should also ensure equitable access so all students are prepared for a world where AI will be part of college, careers and everyday life.
Schools should stop treating college and career/technical education as if one is the better path. Success after high school looks different for different students. It may mean a four-year university, community college, an apprenticeship, a skilled trade, military service, certification or entering the workforce.
I like that TCAPS' Strategic Plan already defines post-secondary experience broadly, including AP coursework, dual enrollment, CTE certification, work experience and career internships. Students should be exposed to these options early through strong counseling, career exploration, internships, job shadowing, apprenticeships and partnerships with local employers, NMC and the Career Tech Center.
As a business owner, I see firsthand how valuable skilled employees are. The goal should not be to push every student toward the same destination. It should be for every student to graduate with a plan, a purpose and the skills to take the next step.
Phone
231-218-8693
Facebook, X, Instagram
Sarabagerisfortcaps
Occupation/Current Position
Retired elementary teacher, currently working at Mawby and Don Orr Ski Haus
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, University of Montana; Masters of Curriculum and Teaching, Michigan State University
race
Caucasian
I am running for TCAPS school board because I feel strongly about educating all students. I understand the ins and outs of how schools operate, as I have dedicated my adult life to public education. I was an elementary teacher for 26 ½ years in TCAPS, and passionate about public education. I taught at both Cherry Knoll and Central Grade. I have my Masters in Curriculum and Teaching. We are a TCAPS family. Both my husband and I graduated from TCAPS, and our daughters graduated from TCAPS a year ago. I am currently on the school board, having been appointed in 2025 upon a vacancy.
The top priority for the district is student achievement. We have to get our students prepared to be respectful and responsible, contributing citizens. In order to do this, we are focusing heavily on language arts and math instruction with curriculum supports, interventions, and intentionality in teaching.
Secondly, we need to have our students (and families) feel connected. There is a lot of research supporting connectedness, mental health and achievement. We continue to push for more opportunities for students and families to feel part of their school, an increase in social work, LEAP costs being covered, and more resources for the Student Support Network. All of these help support mental health of our students.
Lastly, of course, is the need for increased funding. As a board, we can have conversations with legislators about funding, and advocate for an increase in funding.
TCAPS has been working hard at addressing mental health, as it is part of our current Strategic Plan. Increasing our social work support has been instrumental, along with finding ways for students to find a sense of belonging. Recently, we have put a full time social worker in each high school. We also need early intervention for our youngest learners. However, some of this is beyond the school setting. It’s a crisis not having enough skilled professionals for students to see.
As for safety, we have a full time School Resource Officer, who helps to maintain and advise on safety measures across the districts. As a district, we need to be acutely aware of safety issues, and acutely aware of safety issues, and address those head on.
We need to be part of the conversation as a whole with AI and technology use. It is not going away, so how do we prepare our students to utilize things like social media and AI responsibly and safely.
The district maintains academic integrity using AI by listening to our technology leaders. It is important to teach our students responsible technology usage as well. They need to know how to use tools, but not abuse them. As we learn more and more about the impacts of technology, we need to ensure we are embracing that guidance.
TCAPS has done a wonderful job sharing many different post secondary opportunities between the counselors, principals and teachers.
College bound students have a variety of options in place such as AP coursework dual enrollment and early college. However, it’s critical to show students a variety of options that meet different needs, and highlight options at NMC.
TCAPS sends all eighth graders and sophomores over to Career tech to explore their options there. Career tech has expanded to a variety of career choices appealing to many more students. Another way to promote career tech is to start tours or have students come in and share their experience with our middle school and high school populations. That peer to peer connection is priceless.
In both situations, we need kids to see the relevance and what they are doing in high school and how it will connect to their future lives.
Phone
231-492-5898
Campaign Phone
2314925898
Photo
https://www.instagram.com/hardyfortcaps?stkn=MWUwY3NnczRtZ3BzMg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Facebook, X, Instagram
https://www.facebook.com/scott.hardy.5815/about https://www.instagram.com/hardyfortcaps?stkn=MWUwY3
Occupation/Current Position
Coldwell Banker Schmidt Commercial Realtor
Education
BA WMU
race
White
I am now serving my third term (not consecutive) on the TCAPS School Board. I also served 8 years on a public school board in Illinois. I am a lifelong native of Traverse City and have also served in several elected or appointed positions on local community boards or organizations. I know and love public school education and the role it plays for our community.
While we are performing far better than the rest of the state in academic performance we must continue to do better. In order to do so we need to encourage and support an aggressive solution that focuses on core curricular areas and extended instructional time on task.
We also need to lobby hard for the financial resources from the state that acknowledge the unique geographic and socio economic makeup of our school district.
Public education is charged with taking on all students no matter their economic or family circumstances. We also have increasing need for mental health services and teacher support for an extremely diverse classroom population. We need to fund more counselor and mental health support professionals.
See the above response. I do support additional mental health professionals throughout K-12
We can't ignore AI and need to establish procedures to regulate its use in student instruction/work. My role on the board is to acknowledge the potential issue and have the educational professionals provide a remedy.
If we allow prevalent use of AI in the classroom then we need to provide equitable access for all students to the tool.
We have not done a good job of establishing why students should attend college so we need to have more access to academic advisors who can drill down with students regarding their future career plans. College is expensive and not always accessible but we can facilitate that access if a student has career goals that depend on it. It's a challenge for public education but we can't avoid expending resources to address it.
Phone
231-313-7301
Campaign Phone
2313137301
Occupation/Current Position
Senior Sales Director with Mary Kay Cosmetics
Education
MAT from National College of Education, BA from University of Michigan
My experience as a public and private school educator, homeschool mom, charter school board member, and business leader gives me a unique perspective to bring to the TCAPS Board. I hold a Master’s degree in Education (MAT) and taught in Chicago Public Schools for 10 years before starting a family. I later taught and directed musical theater and choir in our homeschool community and at Traverse City Christian School.
I also co-founded and served four years on the Bingham Arts Academy Board of Education, gaining firsthand experience in school governance, finance, policy development, accountability, and strategic planning. Professionally, I am an international Sales Director with Mary Kay Cosmetics, where I currently lead a team of over 100 women.
My background also includes performing internationally as a singer, actor, and dancer, and a University of Michigan degree in German Literature and Theater.
I am running because I care deeply about the quality of education in our community. I want to strengthen achievement in reading, writing, and math while empowering students to think critically. I hope to partner constructively with fellow board members, educators, and families to reignite excellence in TCAPS schools.
Academic Achievement Gaps and chronic absenteeism is also an issue which needs energy and resources. I believe a longer school year for at-risk students would be an excellent option. This extended school year, mirroring the European model, should focus on reading, field trips, and out-of-the-box educational activities to promote critical thinking skills. Our resources should be allocated heavily to create an exciting learning environment, especially for elementary students.
I believe another top priority should be hiring and keeping high-quality teachers, counselors, and support staff. Incentives such as merit pay or bonuses, offering performance incentives could strengthen and reinforce our dedicated teachers and staff. Although measuring merit is complex, I believe rewarding excellence and hard work would attract talented professionals raising the overall quality of education.
I think our school counselors should be well equipped with adequate resources for mental health issues that arise. We must give them training and support to spot early warning signs and shift our focus onto the whole child, which consists of physical, mental, and spiritual wellness. My action plan would include: partnering with families, expanding nutritional programs, implementing physical movement throughout the school day, teaching emotional regulation techniques, fostering a sense of purpose, and developing moral character.
Short term: Ensure students do not use AI as a crutch or work-around for the core curriculum. An easy fix would be to reintroduce hand written tests and essays to the classroom to ensure AI is not used to cheat. Princeton is bringing back more supervised writing, oral examination, blue books, quizzes, and demonstrations of understanding to assess what a student actually knows. Students should not use AI to assist with critical thinking.
Long term: AI curriculum should be introduced to older students to educate them as AI will become an increasingly important tool in the workforce. There is massive potential for good and children should be exposed to learning about AI in a structured environment. This will promote honesty and integrity.
Schools should promote college and career/technical education as equally valuable pathways to a successful future. For too long, career tech has been viewed as a lesser option or a fallback for students who are not college-bound. We need to change that perception and make these programs exciting, competitive, respected, and attractive to students.
We should continue providing strong preparation and opportunities for students pursuing careers that require college degrees, while significantly expanding career and technical education. Beginning around 10th grade, students should explore different skilled careers, leading to paid work-based learning and apprenticeships where they can learn directly from skilled professionals.
Through grants, local employer partnerships, paid learning opportunities, industry-recognized certifications, and dedicated job-placement support, students could graduate with valuable skills, real-world experience, professional connections, and a pathway directly into a well-paying career. College should remain a strong option, but it should not be presented as the only measure of success. Our goal should be for every student to graduate with a clear pathway and the tools to build a successful future.
Phone
269-200-6734
Occupation/Current Position
Operations Manager
Education
Bachelors Degree
race
Caucasion
My background spans leadership roles on boards, in youth sports, and in business, where I have served in various levels of management and been responsible for making challenging decisions while keeping the best interests of the organization and the people it serves in mind. I am comfortable admitting when I am wrong, learning from those experiences, and adapting when needed. I believe in respectful collaboration, being willing to voice different perspectives while supporting a group decision once it has been made. Through my experiences, I have strengthened my communication, teamwork, and mediation skills. My leadership experience began in college while serving on the Western Michigan Student Association Board. My most recent board experience came through the formation of the Youth TCC Wrestling Program. As a new organization, we had to embrace what we knew while also recognizing what we did not know and learning from others. These experiences reinforced the importance of transparency, clear communication, accountability, and advocating for what is best for all stakeholders. I am running for the school board because I want to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our children and contribute to the strength of our community.
Priority 1: Growing internal
One priority I believe the district should continue to focus on is having the right people in the right positions. Each year, we should look at how we can best utilize the talent we already have while also being open to different roles and opportunities when they may create a better fit for an individual and the district. We should continue to develop and support our faculty and staff, so they can excel and grow while making greatest possible impact on students.
Priority 2: Strengthening Student Support Systems
I believe in the positive impact that after-school programs and athletics can have on students. These programs can provide opportunities for students to build relationships, develop confidence, find a sense of belonging, and grow socially and emotionally. A wrap around approach to overall student wellbeing is a foundation for their ability to learn in and out of our classrooms and schools. It would look different across each building but expanding resources that have impact on our students can come in all forms including support during the school day and providing meaningful after-school activities, athletics, and other programs that give students positive opportunities to connect and succeed.
The district should continue looking for ways to strengthen the support systems available to students, including having and growing our access to social workers, counselors and other appropriate resources available within our school buildings. Teachers and staff are most often able to be the first to recognize when a student may need additional support, but they should not have to carry that responsibility alone. We should continue to bridge the gap between recognizing a need and connecting students and families with the services and resources available through the district and our community.
AI should be viewed as a tool, not a replacement for teachers or students. In short term, it can help staff reduce administrative work and spend more time supporting students. Long term, the district should establish clear expectations for students and staff to use as AI evolves. We should teach students to use AI responsibly without losing their own voice, critical thinking, and ability to reach conclusions independently. Academic integrity requires clear expectations for AI use and consistent oversight. AI should support learning, not replace the student's effort, creativity, or understanding. The district should continue evaluating these policies with input from teachers, administrators, families, and students to ensure safe use.
Building a culture that values all post-graduation options is important for our school district. College and career or technical education open doors for our students and help build a strong community. It’s important that every student knows there’s more than one way to achieve success, and that each path deserves support and respect.
Building new and continuing partnerships with NMC, local businesses, and career and technical programs gives students a clearer view of what’s out there. By expanding access to co-ops, hands-on experiences, and internships, we help students discover what interests them and what they might want to pursue after graduation
Throughout their time in our district, students should be able to learn about opportunities available to them. The more they are exposed to different careers, trades, and college pathways, the better prepared they will be to leave our schools and make decisions about their future. Our Board's goal should be to help every student explore multiple paths and provide the support and resources they need to shape their future.
Phone
919-523-2056
Campaign Phone
919-523-2056
Occupation/Current Position
Retired Nurse
Education
BA, MALS, MPH (University of Michigan) BSN (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), Post Master's (Duke University)
I am seeking reelection to the TCAPS Board, having served since 2022. On the Board, I have been an active participant on the Curriculum Committee.
Most of my work experience has been in healthcare - setting up 2 hospital medical libraries, working in public health as a planner and as an educator (both patient and professional education), and a nurse,
I have been involved in academic settings most of my life, and most of that has been working within public schools. I've worked with students in a variety of settings: taught undergraduates 13 years at a public university (UNC-CH), read to students in junior kindergarten, and built a "Sunday school" class for middle schoolers.
I've "done" classroom centers, been a PTO and a band booster parent. I understand worrying about child safety in a school setting. (There was a shooting incident at my daughter's middle school several years ago.). I understand concerns about mental health, which can be a challenge in these fast changing times.
The 3 areas are 1) Academics; 2) Practical application; 3) Life skill opportunities. Academics are key to a good education, as well as learning to apply knowledge, and work well with other people. In different ways each of these is intentionally addressed in each school, at all levels - K-12.
The Curriculum Committee was supportive of the Board's decision to implement a new phonics based literacy curriculum in the K-5. We are turning important attention to the math curricula across the District. I am part of a National School Board Assoc project looking to support recruitment and retention of excellent educators. My focus is on math teachers, and instruction.
I support finding apprenticeships and internships for interested students to provide meaningful opportunities to engage and demonstrate how to apply academics and skills in real life settings.
I closely follow the proficiency standardized test scores in math, literacy, science and social studies. I would encourage broad reading in areas of student interest (sports, the arts, history, science, science fiction), and support activities in robotics, music, drama, science programs, sports, debate - to name a few.
I also support play time and adequate recess in JrK-5.
I was part of a forward thinking Board that developed and passed a cell-phone policy for the District two years ago. We have supported the Superintendent in his work for school safety which is ensuring a safe environment for students and staff.
The second goal on the 2025-28 Strategic Plan (available on TCAPS website) addresses student well-being - connectedness, safety, and mental health. Measurable goals address chronic absenteeism, student involvement in co-curricular activities, and each individual student being able to identify a trusted adult at school to help with issues. I supported an increase in counselors and social workers in each school. I will continue to support these actions.
Artificial intelligence is integrated in our world & is embedded in our chip centric machines, Board may use short term policies to clearly define plagiarism; determine when AI may/may not be used; conduct testing in controlled classroom on paper; revise grading so assignments where AI is used may have less grade value; emphasis on learning to frame questions and seek primary sources. Benefits students can be read to and words quickly defined; can use calculators but must understand appropriate use of calculations. AI should be a tool to benefit all students and students learn it to question it and determine how to verify information, As such, used very judiciously this tool may have great benefit. But all info must be verified.
Ideally the majority of students will graduate with a strong academic foundation and at least one skill applicable for work & life. TCAPS encourages academic challenge & curiosity with use of dual enrollment at NMC & taking courses at Career Tech. We support career day activities in elementary & middle schools providing exposure to various job and career paths.
There are areas the TCAPS Board could explore, including focusing on application along subject mastery in some classes. Subject matter is foundational, but often may not engage interest and curiosity among the majority of students in a stand alone class. Application however often melds several subject areas together. An example is a cooking class that combines chemistry, nutrition & math. Can a class like that aid students in understanding a subject like algebra more easily? Currently algebra is the most often failed class in the US.
A student that has at least one marketable skill at graduation can help support the costs of a college education. That is a preferable option compared to extensive student loans - & may extend benefit to life in general through confidence building, independence, & practicality.
The Board may support policies that support such classes.
Phone
231-590-4653
Facebook, X, Instagram
www.facebook.com/dee4tcaps https://instagram.com/dee4tcaps
Occupation/Current Position
Learning and Development Specialist
Education
Bachelor in Science in Education, Master of Public Health
race
Caucasian
I am volunteering for the TCAPS Board of Education because I believe every student and staff member deserves the opportunity to achieve their full potential. As a former elementary teacher, current educator of adults, parent of three TCAPS students—including two graduates and one current student—and a longtime volunteer and leader within TCAPS and the community, I have experienced our district from many perspectives and feel that the combination of these experiences gives me a varied and balanced background to bring to the board table.
I would bring accountability, advocacy, thoughtful questioning, and a strong willingness to do the work required to serve on the TCAPS Board of Education.
My commitment to TCAPS spans decades through service on the Student Advisory Sex Education Board, the Safer Kids, Safer Schools Task Force, volunteering as a parent in a myriad of roles, Chair of the TC West Choir Organization and as a supervisor for the Expanding, Enhancing Emotional Health Program through the Health Department which embeds a licensed mental health professional at TC West and TC Central. These experiences have given me a deep appreciation for the strengths of our district and the opportunities ahead.
Academic and Student Support/Accountability:
The strategic plan addresses many important areas, including literacy, math, student community, safety, mental health, behavior, graduation and staffing. A challenge will be closely monitoring progress and being willing to hold ourselves accountable when the data shows that the process is not producing the outcomes we hoped.
Staffing amongst Financial Challenges:
Recruiting and retaining excellent staff is not isolated to the TCAPS district, but across the nation. This issue is compounded by the cost of living in the Traverse City region. The district must also navigate enrollment changes, funding, compensation, program costs and rising expenses while being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars and protecting resources for student learning and staff development.
I believe it only takes one safe adult for a student to feel that they matter. I would advocate for districtwide opportunities for regular check-ins with every student, not only those already identified as needing support. The Board should ensure that staff have the training and resources to recognize concerns and connect students with appropriate support.
I would also expect the Board to regularly review data, student and staff feedback and evidence-based practices to determine whether our investments are making a meaningful difference. Ultimately, our governance decisions should reflect a simple principle: every student deserves to feel seen, valued, safe and that they matter.
The Board’s short-term priority should be establishing clear policies for the safe, responsible and equitable use of AI, including student privacy, staff training and academic integrity. Long-term, TCAPS should prepare students to use AI ethically while strengthening critical thinking and digital literacy. Academic integrity should remain central: AI can support learning but should not replace a student’s own thinking, creativity, writing or problem-solving. As a Board member, my role would be to provide sound policy, resources and accountability while allowing educators to determine appropriate classroom use. The goal is to ensure AI enhances education without replacing the human relationships at the heart of education.
Schools should provide multiple pathways to success and recognize that students have different interests, strengths and goals. College preparation should remain strong, while career and technical education should receive equal respect, resources and opportunities.
I would support expanding access to career exploration, CTE programs, internships, apprenticeships, dual enrollment and partnerships with local businesses and community organizations. Students should have opportunities to gain real-world experience and understand the connections between their education and future careers.
As a Board member, I would advocate for equitable access to these opportunities and ensure that decisions are guided by student interest, workforce needs and evidence of what helps students succeed. Whether a student pursues a four-year degree, skilled trade, certification, military service or enters the workforce, our goal should be to help them graduate prepared, confident and equipped for their next step.
