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Trustees

How to contact the Board of Education

You can contact the Board of Education by email at: board@kalamazoopublicschools.net

  • All emails sent to the Board email will be answered by the secretary or forwarded to the appropriate KPS staff member to be addressed.
  • Emails sent to individual Board trustees will be responded to at the trustee’s discretion.
  • Any correspondence must be submitted by midnight on Tuesday the week of a regular board meeting to be included in the meeting’s correspondence log. Anything submitted after Tuesday will be included in the following meeting’s log.

Phone calls may be directed to the superintendent's office during business hours at: (269) 337-0123.

TiAnna Harrison, President

Board Member since:  2014
Term expires: Dec. 31, 2026

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Email President Harrison
Phone: (269) 910-6272

TiAnna Harrison was appointed to the Board of Education in 2014. She was then elected to a six-year term in 2020. She previously served as Vice President before being elected to the presidency in January 2023. Ms. Harrison was re-elected to serve as president on Jan. 11, 2024. Harrison is a life-long resident of Kalamazoo and a proud graduate of Kalamazoo Public Schools.

Carol McGlinn, Vice President

Board Member since: Feb. 2024
Term expires:  Dec. 31, 2024

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Email Vice President McGlinn

Carol McGlinn was unanimously selected to fill a board trustee vacancy in a special board meeting on Feb. 9, 2024. She previously served on the KPS Board of Education from July 2008 to December 2018. McGlinn is the retired as executive director of SLD Read, an organization that has partnered with KPS on various literacy initiatives. She also served as a tutor and director of development for the organization. 

Karla Murphy, Treasurer

Board Member since: 2023
Term expires:  Dec. 31, 2028

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Email Treasurer Murphy
Phone: (989) 577-0000

Murphy works for DTE Energy. She moved to Kalamazoo with her husband and three children.  Her children are graduates of Loy Norrix High School. They are involved in choir and drama, and one is enrolled in both Career & Technical Education and Early/Middle College. Her focus is the children of this school district. That may look like updating policy or voting to upgrade facilities, but it will always be for the benefit of the children. 

Jennie Hill, Secretary

Board Member since: 2011
Term expires: Dec. 31, 2028

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Email Secretary Hill

Hill is a member of the League of Women Voters Kalamazoo and serve as chair of the Young Voter Education Program. She has also served as an election worker at Kalamazoo City Hall since 2017. She is a strong advocate for all students and believes every student should have every opportunity to succeed. Hill works as a registered nurse at the Kalamazoo College Student Health Center. She is married to Dr. Bob Hill, and has three children, who are all KPS graduates and Kalamazoo Promise recipients: Marleigh (University of Michigan), Wyatt (Western Michigan University), and Lindsey (Michigan State University). 

Takisha Johnson, Trustee

Board Member since: 2023
Term expires: Dec. 31, 2024

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Email Trustee Johnson

 

Johnson is the founder of the Young Kings and Queens, a Kalamazoo nonprofit dedicated to providing young people between the ages of 13 and 19 with life skills to become successful and to expand their cultural opportunities. She is also a former educator and is a community volunteer with experience in fundraising and program development. Johnson holds degrees in psychology, sociology and accounting and has experience as a business owner.

Juanita Yvonne Payton, Trustee

Board Member since:  July 2024
Term expires: Dec. 31, 2024

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Email Trustee Payton

Payton, a former KPS teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent of elementary schools, is involved in numerous community organizations, including the Family Health Center, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo Links, and the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Payton has volunteered with Lincoln International Studies School, Edison Academy, and a tutoring group at Allen Chapel AME Church.

Patti Sholler-Barber, Trustee

Board Member since: 2006
Term expires: December 31, 2026

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Email Trustee Sholler-Barber
Phone: (269) 873-2110

Sholler-Barber has a B.A. from Michigan State University andtaught secondary education for 34 years. She believes in strong inclusive public education and has dedicated both her personal and professional life to that end. Kids count. All kids count. Serving as a past KPS Board President and current trustee is a huge and humbling responsibility, an owed service to the community, and, most motivating, a champion of families, students and staff of KPS. More importantly, it means I am on the team that continually works to attain the KPS goal of “Every student, every opportunity, every time.” That work is never done… “miles to go before we sleep.”