STRENGTH, STABILITY, EXPERIENCE
Channel 7 Action News.
STRENGTH
He is passionate, he is vocal, thoughtful and he listens. John Paul will not stand down when challenged, he will always stand up for Waterford! He looks at best practices, does his research, and implements a process. John Paul believes good leadership means standing by your values and views while being open to learning and listening to others. He believes we should always be open to debate, agree to disagree but never be disagreeable or shut opinions down. Everyone has a place at the table, regardless of political views. People that have worked with John Paul throughout his career and service in the Waterford community will agree; John Paul means what he says and says what he means! He is passionate and vocal about making Waterford a great place to live and raise a family.
John Paul speaking at a Waterford School Board Budget Hearing.
STABILITY
When John Paul was first elected to the Board of Education in 2014, Waterford School District was still striving to recover from the recession of 2010 and had only a 4 % fund balance. During his tenure on the board, John Paul has pushed fiscal responsibility. He has also pushed for equitable pay increases for teachers, bus drivers, teacher aides, food service workers, and other staff in comparison to top-level administrators. By the 2024 fiscal year, the Waterford School District has grown its fund balance to 16% (approximately 16 million dollars). During John Paul’s term on the School Board teachers and other school staff received unprecedented pay increases, all while keeping a budget surplus andraising teacher retention and student achievement.
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​John Paul has continued to push for innovations and advancements for students. It is what he campaigned on when he ran for School Board in 2014. During his time on the school board, he led the charge for the creation of the Advanced Achievement Academy and the Waterford STEM Academy. As a result, over the past few years, Waterford students have seen an abundance of college scholarships and opportunities including admissions to such schools as Harvard and Stanford. For the first time in years, Waterford has seen a stabilization of student enrollment and increases in student per-pupil funding from the state. Over his term, John Paul has gone to Lansing over a dozen times advocating for increased and equitable funding for students in Waterford. John Paul represents Waterford on the Oakland Schools Legislative Committee and has served on governing committees for the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB). John Paul has had countless communications with members of the United States Congress, Senate, and State Legislators with regard to school funding. In 2019, John Paul represented the Waterford School District in Washington D.C. at the National Association of School Boards (NASB) Conference and joined other school leaders in meeting with national leaders on Capitol Hill.
John Paul passionately advocating for Waterford kids.
EXPERIENCE
As a Court Administrator, John Paul has been the primary overseer of budgets in the several millions of dollars and written/ overseen federal, state, and local grants in excess of 12 million dollars. As a Waterford School Board Trustee John Paul has been part of the body that oversees the Waterford School Districts' annual operating budget of 100 million dollars as well as the appropriations of 100 million dollars in bond monies. As an Oakland County Health Network (OCHN) Board Member John Paul is on a twelve-member board that oversees the operations of a 300 million dollar a year budget. In his capacities, he has negotiated several employee contracts with multiple unions and supports a living wage for all employees. John Paul has overseen several court programs and employee groups as a Supervisor and Administrator at a county level.​ John Paul has a Master of Public Administration from the University of Michigan, B.A. of Political Science from Oakland University and has done Post Graduate Works through Michigan State University’s Department of Public Policy and Social Research. John Paul has continued his professional education in government and governance by attending multiple professional trainings, including works at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in Emergency Response and Management through and works through Georgetown University’s School of Public Service.Over the past decade John Paul, in addition to his job as a Public Administrator, has been an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Oakland Community College and a Field Instructor with the University of Michigan’s Rackham School of Graduate Studies.
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