On Nov. 8, 2016, Michelle Bueltel won a seat on the Rochester Hills School Board for a partial term position of two years. Bueltel won the election against Elizabeth Witten by eight votes and a split of 50-49 percent. Bueltel ran for the school board position to give back to the community and maintain high quality students, thriving businesses, and home values.

“This opportunity perfectly suits my passions, experience and skills,” Bueltel said. “It is a privilege to directly impact the approximately 15,000 students to ensure that they receive the best education possible.”

Having much experience in this field, Bueltel has served in the community and school district for over fourteen years. Bueltel has chaired numerous committees, including the district wide STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) Committee, which she established.

“Through these activities I’ve heard from parents and students from all over our district and I am prepared to do my best to represent our entire district,” said Bueltel. “I have the time, skills and background needed to be a successful board member.”

Bueltel goes further into her background experience in this area.

“My undergraduate and graduate educational background in Statistics and Business Management along with my past work experience which includes financial analysis and process improvements helps me to ask the right questions,” Bueltel said. “I also want to challenge Rochester Community Schools to continue to improve in order to provide the best education for each and every student.”

Having been elected to this position on the Board of Education gives Bueltel the opportunity to contribute and develop the community and school district.

“[Being on the School Board] allows me to serve my community and help provide the direction for the School District,” Bueltel said. “It also provides an opportunity to work with our Administrators, Staff, Students and Parents to provide a great education.”

Bueltel goes further into explaining what her role on the Board of Education will entail.

“I will be a Board Member who must read a Board Packet prior to each meeting, possibly do some research on information that will be discussed and be prepared to ask questions,” Bueltel said. “Once I’ve been sworn in, I will also be assigned to various committees that meet separately during the month and study issues more in depth before they come before the Board.”

Bueltel believes the school district has many strengths along with a responsive community.

“I think we have great staff and involved parents,” said Bueltel. “We also have a supportive community as shown by the passing of our recent bond that will not only allow us to update our schools, but hopefully allow us to potentially spend more on instructional expenses that directly impact our students.”

Although the community has many strengths, there is always room for improvement.  Bueltel wants to gather more information from teachers, staff, students, and parents on what they feel the district can advance in.

“One of my areas of interest is to ensure that each student is learning and making at least one year of academic growth every year,” Bueltel said.  “I’d also like to focus on the well-being of the whole child.  I would like to encourage the district to continue to investigate additional recess time at the elementary level as well as alternative learning and coping tools at all levels.”

Bueltel feels very lucky to live in this community and be apart of the Board of Education. She further plans to help better our school district and provide for our community for the next two years.

“We want our students to be college ready, career ready and life ready, so I think it’s important to provide students with the tools needed to manage the stress and anxiety they may face throughout their lives.”