Ringgold, leader of ‘Mask Up M.P.S.’ group, kicks off campaign for school board
MIDLAND, Mich. — Jennifer Ringgold, who is running for a seat on the Midland Public Schools Board of Education in 2022, formally launched her campaign Saturday, March 5.
Speaking to a room filled with enthusiastic supporters at the Tax Cafe on the Ashman Circle, Ms. Ringgold called for bipartisan unity, in the wake of a series of contentious board meetings.
“The current atmosphere of divisiveness and bullying at public meetings is hurting kids, it’s hurting staff, and it’s hurting our community,” Ms. Ringgold said to supporters. “We have to figure out a way to come together and stop the destructive tearing down of one another, and begin building together.”
Ms. Ringgold is an admin of the Facebook group “Mask Up MPS” and has previously spoken to the board at public comment in favor of a universal mask mandate.
At the January 10 board meeting, she joined other parents in expressing frustration over the district’s lax policy on masking, which strongly recommends that students and staff wear masks indoors. At that time, there was a surge in close contacts and cases among students and staff, amid the rise of the Omicron variant.
Since then, a decline in cases had started to show according to data throughout the end of January. Cases within the district started to trend downward after a brief pause in in-person learning, which was put in place from Jan. 24 to 26 due to a COVID test shortage. Midland County has seen a decline in daily COVID cases throughout the month of February.
Ms. Ringgold’s campaign requested that everyone attending the launch event wear a mask, and she reached out to people from different sides of the political spectrum in her speech.
“There are many things we can agree on. We all want our school district administration and our school board to be accountable to the community they serve. We want our board and our central administrators to be accessible. We want to know that our concerns are heard and taken seriously, and we want a thriving community where all belong. These are the values that I represent,” Ms. Ringgold said.
A self-proclaimed active volunteer of Midland Public Schools, Ms. Ringgold has worked as director of educational ministries at the United Church of Christ in Midland since 2012.
“Being employed at the church where I was baptized – a church that has been on the forefront of social justice in our community for 62 years – and helping to educate people of all ages in new ways to love boldly is my dream job,” Ms. Ringgold said.
Two other Midland community members have also previously announced their run for school board – Jimmy Sheets and Will Zablocki. Unlike Ringgold, both are from the “Rise Up Midland” Facebook group, which has protested mask mandates.
Incumbent board members Patrick Frazee, Jon Lauderbach and Phillip Rausch have terms which expire on Dec. 31, 2022. Lauderbach has told the City Paper that he will seek re-election.
Mr. Lauderbach is a donor to the City Paper. Please read our Editorial Independence policy to see how our sponsors and donors never influence our journalism.
Michael Piwowarski covers education, including higher ed and Midland Public Schools, for the City Paper.