Trustee: Arnold Burkhart

Arnold Burkhart has been on the School Board going on eighteen years. Living in Maple River Township on Woodland Road in Brutus, he graduated from Pellston High School in 1967. As a Board member, he serves as a Trustee and has been on the Building and Grounds Committee, Athletic Committee and the Personnel Committee. His term will expire in 2009.

Besides farming, he is employed at Birchwood Farms Golf and Country Club on the maintenance crew for the last twenty years. He has been married to his wife, Kay, for thirty two years. They have six children: Heidi (1997) who teaches and coaches at Harbor Light Christian School; Heather (2000) who teaches Special Education at Ottawa Elementary School in Petoskey; Joseph (2003); Nikolas (2005) who is a junior at Hope College, studying art; Holly (2007) who is attending Alma College for Early Childhood Education; and Jacob (2009). Arnold especially enjoys playing golf and participating in other sports activities as a player and spectator. He attends Maple River Mennonite Church and is an Elder of the congregation.

Arnold ran for the School Board because he wanted to serve his community and in order to have the opportunity to get the best education for his own children as well as other children in the Pellston School district. One of the highlights of being on the school board for Arnold was his involvement with the renovation and addition to the facilities back in 1993. Probably one of the biggest challenges facing him has been helping balance the budget while offering the best education possible with the available funds. It has been interesting being involved in the whole process of providing the best
administration, curriculum and facilities possible.