Michigan
Kentwood educator one of 10 Michigan Regional Teachers of the Year
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Kentwood elementary teacher Sarah Kresnak said she’s motivated every day by an opportunity to watch her first-grade students learn to read.
In her 20th year as an educator, she teaches at Discovery Elementary School, part of the Kentwood Public Schools district.
Kresnak has spent the entirety of her education career with Kentwood Public Schools, starting as a Michigan State University intern at the district’s Challenger Elementary. She’s taught full time with the district since 2005.
She said seeing her hard work pay off has been incredibly fulfilling. For the 2025-26 school year, Kresnak was selected as one of the state of Michigan’s 10 Regional Teachers of the Year.
But the biggest reward, she said, is getting to work with her students every day.
“I’m here every day because of them,” she said. “They make it the best job.”
The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) named Kresnak as one of 10 regional honorees in late February for the year 2025-26. She was named Teacher of the Year for Region 3, which includes an area of West Michigan that encompasses 13 counties, from Mason, Lake and Osceola counties in the north to Allegan and Barry counties in southwest Michigan.
Kresnak is a Kent County educator, one of 693 teachers in the Kentwood Public Schools district serving 9,639 students as of the 2025-26 school year.
This school district has the highest graduation rate in the Grand Rapids area
The 10 teachers were selected through a competitive application process that began with student, staff and community member nominations. They are finalists to be Michigan’s Teacher of the Year.
Together, they make up the Michigan Teacher Leadership Advisory Council, working with MDE to provide education policy input and taking back information to their regions.
“The Regional Teachers of the Year are selected from among Michigan’s many outstanding educators who play such an important role in student learning,” State Superintendent Michael Rice said in a statement. “Regional Teachers of the Year also elevate the voices of teachers by sharing their experiences and valuable insight with our department and the State Board of Education.”
Kresnak said the experience that brings her the most joy is teaching her first-graders how to read.
“They come in just starting to know how to read,” she said. “I feel incredibly fortunate that I get the opportunity to see all the lightbulbs pop on at different times.”
“The coolest part is that it breeds excitement. One child will get it, and there will be this domino effect of excitement for other friends as they understand it.”
The biggest challenge throughout this process is helping reluctant students find the motivation to learn to read, she said.
“We have a lot of mottos that I use to motivate kids who might take a little longer, like ‘everyone reads at different speeds’ or ‘fast doesn’t always mean great.’”
Kresnak said finding silly things to help students, like printing off pictures of celebrities and adding speech bubbles to their faces, is a fun part of her job that also makes a difference.
One of the biggest lessons she’s learned in teaching is to look at student behavior as communication. Really getting to know students is important to understand them and their needs.
Kentwood Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Polston said the district is proud of Kresnak’s accomplishment as Region 3 Teacher of the Year.
“This honor reflects the everyday excellence she exudes in her classroom by fostering meaningful relationships with students and families and delivering rigorous learning experiences to help our students achieve at the highest levels,” he said. “Additionally, her innate belief in the potential of our kids sets her apart.
“We couldn’t be more delighted for Sarah, Discovery Elementary School, and the entire Kentwood community as we celebrate this well-deserved recognition,” Polston added.
Kresnak said working at Kentwood is a unique and valuable experience because the district has such a diverse student population, and “it’s really incredible to see all of the diversity and the value that each family brings to our school and to our classroom community.”
Regional Teachers of the Year go on to interview with a panel of statewide education stakeholders before one person is selected for the 2025-26 Michigan Teacher of the Year.
The selected teacher has a non-voting seat on the state’s Board of Education, also representing the state across the country and becoming a candidate for National Teacher of the Year.
Kresnak said her goal with this larger platform is to shine a light on district achievements and try to involve the community more in elementary programming.
Other Regional Teachers of the Year include:
- Region 1: Susan Solomon, an elementary teacher at JKL Bahweting Anishnabe Public School Academy in Sault Ste. Marie.
- Region 2: Thomas Schultz, a science teacher at Charlevoix Middle/High School in Charlevoix Public Schools.
- Region 4: Heather Wolf, a social studies teacher at Shepherd High School in Shepherd Public Schools.
- Region 5: Corey Rosser, a social studies teacher at Quest High School in North Branch Area Schools.
- Region 6: Becky Manore, a Spanish teacher at Grand Ledge High School in Grand Ledge Public Schools.
- Region 7: Lindsey Cook, an elementary teacher at Sonoma Elementary School in Harper Creek Community Schools.
- Region 8: Deidra LaPointe, an elementary teacher at Luther C. Klager Elementary School in Manchester Community Schools.
- Region 9: Stephanie Jaskolski, an English language arts teacher at Woodhaven Upper Elementary in Woodhaven-Brownstown School District.
- Region 10: Susan Kelsey-Brewton, a science teacher at Hope Academy in Detroit.
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A decade of Celebrate Michigan: See the images that won from 2015 to 2025
The Detroit News’ Celebrate Michigan photo contest is 20 years old. We’ve assembled the best of the best: Winners and runners up from 2015 to 2025.
The Detroit News
Gotion Inc. has asked a federal judge to order the Michigan township where it was supposed to call home to repay the roughly $23.7 million it owes the state in taxpayer-funded incentives.
Green Township’s actions opposing Gotion’s planned battery parts plant made it all but impossible to move forward, the company argued, leaving Gotion in default under its agreement with the state and on the hook for the $23.7 million in taxpayer-funded incentives it received for land purchases and improvements.
“Now that it is clear the project cannot move forward in the face of this continued opposition and the state of Michigan’s withdrawal of support, Gotion seeks to add these constitutional claims and request damages as a result of the township’s breach of the development agreement and violation of Gotion’s constitutional rights,” a May 29 court filing in the case said.
Last week’s filing seeks to amend an earlier lawsuit Gotion filed against Green Township over zoning changes that made its development all but impossible to proceed.
In February, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked Gotion’s lawsuit, arguing that it was moot because the state had already found the project in default and had demanded back roughly $23.7 million that had been given to the subsidiary of a Chinese company to purchase and prepare land in Green Township. In light of that ruling, Gotion is seeking to amend its lawsuit to seek additional damages.
“…the Sixth Circuit implied that given the facts of the dispute at this point, the correct form of damages for Gotion’s breach of contract claim against the township is likely monetary damages and no longer injunctive relief,” Gotion said in the May 29 filing.
The amended filing includes demands for damages arising from the “millions” Gotion paid or spent in reliance on the project moving forward, lost profits the company would have made if the manufacturing facility were built, attorney fees and an amount “not less than $23,670,873.56 for funds advanced towards land and development costs related to the project that the state of Michigan is now claiming should be repaid.”
Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office, which is seeking to recoup the $23.7 million on behalf of the Michigan Strategic Fund, said it was aware of Gotion’s May 29 filing against Green Township and is “monitoring the situation.” The office declined further comment, citing attorney-client privilege.
Gotion first sued Green Township in March 2024 after the board — all of whom had been replaced in November 2023 with members concerned about the Gotion project — rescinded two resolutions needed for the project to move forward. Gotion sued in federal court for breach of contract, and a U.S. district court judge issued a preliminary ruling in Gotion’s favor.
But the Sixth Circuit later blocked the case after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration, last fall, found Gotion to be in default of its grant agreement.
The state’s finding of default was in part due to the Green Township lawsuit. The company’s agreement with the state prohibits involvement in a suit that “would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the project or the grantee’s performance of its obligations under this agreement.”
The state also maintained Gotion’s “cessation of eligible activities” for a period of 120 days constituted an “abandonment” in violation of the grant agreement.
The Michigan Strategic Fund said it would seek to recoup the $23.7 million used to purchase and prepare land for Gotion in Green Township.
The Gotion project in Green Township was fraught with controversy shortly after its announcement. The company had planned to locate a battery parts plant in the Big Rapids area, creating up to 2,350 jobs and receiving about $175 million in taxpayer-funded incentives for the project.
Local opponents pushed back on the project because of the secretive nature with which it was negotiated, the unknown environmental effects of the project and Gotion’s parent company in China. Those concerns were amplified by Republican candidates in 2024, including both Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump.
The legal maneuverings with Gotion have already come at a cost to the township.
For the past three years, the state Treasury Department has flagged Green Township in Mecosta County because its expenditures have exceeded the amount of money authorized in its annual budget. In a corrective action plan submitted to Treasury last month, the township said its deficits were “primarily due to the legal fees.”
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
A group of residents on Holland Road in Taylor, Michigan, say they are now doing everything they can to keep their neighborhood the way it is after some of them received a letter saying the city is considering rezoning their neighborhood.
“People across the street from me could have warehouse front property instead of woods and nice residential homes,” said Matthew Streicher.
Streicher, whose family has owned property on Holland Road for more than 100 years, says that has been his concern after he received a letter from the city about a proposed rezoning from residential to light industrial directly behind his home near Wick and Holland roads.
“So that’s when I also decided to start knocking on doors around here and saying this is what is going on, we need to speak out and have a voice as to what happens in our backyards, literally,” said Streicher.
Streicher told CBS News Detroit that three of his neighbors received that letter, informing residents that there’s a possibility of a new cold storage warehouse development if this land is rezoned.
“Nothing that belongs in a neighborhood,” said Tim Adkins.
“Heartbreaking, heartbreaking, you know,” said Denise Haggadone.
Many who live on Holland Road say this possibility is even more disturbing because of how long everyone has lived on this quaint road. And these same homeowners say that an industrial facility would only bring in more traffic and take away natural green space, most likely hurting their property value as well.
“It’s nice to see the wildlife, you know, there’s so few places left,” said Adkins.
On Tuesday, CBS News Detroit spoke off-camera with City Council Chairman Charley Johnson, who also lives on Holland Road. Johnson says he understands all of his neighbors’ concerns and agrees with them.
He says the company proposing this rezoning has every right to do so, and that the planning commission will vote on it Wednesday evening.
“It’s sad, I raised my kid here, and he’s planning on having this home after I pass or retire or what have you,” Haggadone said,
The residents hope to see a big turnout at Wednesday’s planning commission meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, at Taylor City Hall.
The Sterling Heights City Council is set to consider a resolution Tuesday evening opposing tax policy bills in Lansing that one councilmember contends put every municipality “at risk.”
The Michigan House voted in May to pass several bills that would slash property taxes across the state, but skipped a vote on a bill needed to replace some of the more than $5 billion in lost tax revenue.
At its Tuesday evening meeting, Sterling Heights City Council is slated to consider the adoption of a resolution opposing Michigan House Bills 5872 through 5879 due to “their potential negative impact on local government revenue, financial planning, and administrative operations,” a city document said. Sterling Heights City Manager Mark Vanderpool said the city would lose about $5 million in annual revenue from the bills. He said there’s no “guaranteed replacement” for the lost revenue, and the city would need to cut services, he said.
“So we’re deeply concerned about that,” he said.
The House’s sweeping tax cuts can’t be implemented without the passage of a separate bill levying a loosely defined 6% sales tax on services that has yet to be revealed. Republicans who control the House did not hold a vote on the sales tax hike bill, which remains in committee.
All combined, the four property tax cuts passed by the House are estimated to result in a tax revenue loss that could progress from $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion a year, according to a series of nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency analyses.
Vanderpool, the Sterling Heights city manager, said he wants the state Legislature to work “hand in hand” with cities, townships and villages to come up with a solution for “guaranteed revenue replacement.”
“We are more than willing ― I think our reputation precedes us ― to work with our state legislators hand in hand to come up with viable solutions that … may reform property taxes without harming communities across the state,” he said.
Sterling Heights Councilwoman Barbara Ziarko said the legislation reduces the city’s revenue without a guarantee of what it will be replaced with. She said that in the future, the legislation could prevent the city from maintaining positions that it has promised residents it would maintain, including public safety roles.
“When they put the burden on our local government, they’re actually putting it on the residents of whatever community it is,” she said.
State Rep. Steve Frisbie, a Calhoun County Republican, previously said that Michigan residents need to see tax relief immediately. He noted a ballot proposal collecting signatures last year would have eliminated all property taxes in the state. That citizens’ initiative, known as AxMiTax, fizzled out and won’t be on the ballot this fall.
“They realized that our property taxes are too high and they demand that we take action now,” Frisbie said.
More on the bills
The cuts passed by the House in May would eliminate the 6-mill State Education Tax and eliminate the 0.75% real estate transfer tax assessed on the sale price of real estate.
House Republicans also signed off on eliminating the personal property tax. That bill, largely intended to benefit utility companies, is tied to separate legislation that requires utilities such as Consumers Energy and DTE Energy to pass on personal property tax savings by cutting electric and gas rates for their residential customers. It also requires utilities to freeze rates for two years.
Jennifer Varney, Sterling Heights’ finance and budget director, said the elimination of the personal property tax would result in a $4.3 million annual revenue loss for the city. She said the personal property tax refers to the taxes that businesses pay on their assets, such as their machines and vehicles.
Another tax on the chopping block is the so-called “pop-up tax,” an increase in a property tax bill that occurs when a house transfers from one owner to the next in Michigan, uncapping a constitutional limit on the property tax increase on a home’s taxable value.
Under the state Constitution, a property’s taxable value cannot increase by more than the rate of inflation or 5% each year. But when a property is sold, that cap lifts and is reset at a new, often higher taxable value, resulting in a “pop-up” in property taxes.
Varney said the “pop-up” is the only way cities “recapture” the true value of a home. Michigan also has the Headlee Amendment, a state law that requires local governments to roll back millage rates if taxable property values rise faster than the rate of inflation.
“If you take away the pop-up … and you keep the rollback of the millage, you’re basically limiting any kind of growth in taxable base for municipalities,” she said.
Staff Writer Beth LeBlanc contributed.
asnabes@detroitnews.com
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