Diana Wallace sent her son to a Grand Rapids Public School, but after opting for Schools of Choice for him, she had to decide whether to suspend her campaign for GRPS board.
She posted a video to her campaign’s Facebook, asking her followers if she could suspend her campaign. At that point, Wallace thought members of the school board should either be current or former parents or teachers.
“I firsthand saw how Schools of Choice really ravaged the districts I grew up in and the state I grew up in. It’s a really hard dichotomy, because as a parent, you’re going to do whatever you can do for your kid to give them the best opportunity,” she said. “At the same time, that means you are changing opportunities for other kids when you take that.”
Some followers told her to drop out of the race. Others said she should use her frustrations to serve. Wallace is remaining in the race, one of 15 candidates for the GRPS school board.
A former preschool and Head Start teacher, Wallace has worked in the private sector since 2012 in sales, marketing and some personal businesses. Her child attended Mulick Park Elementary School for the Great Start to Readiness program, where she said he had excellent teachers, but run-down facilities.
Wallace described broken glass on the playground, broken handrails and bathrooms without toilet paper. Students had become lost several times, which she attributed to understaffing.
Wallace is a critic of the district’s theme school program, which she said functionally creates charter schools within GRPS. But she still signed her child up for one for kindergarten.
After that year was up, she and her husband signed their son up for Schools of Choice. Given the long waitlists, she didn’t expect for him to receive a spot.
“I’m using that tool almost to send a message that I don’t feel like I have a voice in this district. We’re early in our school career, and we want to have a good place to be, but it’s broken and not working. And so, all I can do is take the money out,” she said.
“Even though it might not be in time for my kid, what can I do for the next kid, right? So that’s where I’m at,” she said.
The decision to sell the Stocking Elementary School to a private developer, rather than to a local group who wanted to turn the property into a community hub, was her catalyst for joining the race.
Wallace called the Reimagine GRPS with Us! plan, which includes managing the district’s real estate holdings given declining enrollment, inadequate. If elected, she said she would want to prioritize the neighborhood school model, saying the theme model incentivises tiers in the district.
“We need to reassess the consolidation and how we’re moving schools out through a big space—Grand Rapids is a big city—can we do smaller schools? Can we do different iterations of this? Can we get rid of the theme school program, which causes these tiers of schools now?” she said.
If elected, she said she would also want to reassess the district’s health and safety standards across buildings. The food the schools are getting for free breakfast and lunch is unhealthy, and some special education classrooms lack bathrooms, a challenge for a student population who struggle to learn how to use the toilet independently.
Wallace is not accepting endorsements or fundraising. Despite describing herself as “pretty left,” she expressed frustration with board members endorsing candidates in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary race. After Donald Trump’s election in 2016, many people were encouraged to run for local offices to protest against the administration, but she said many people seem to be using the board position to propel their own careers.
“We need to do the right thing for kids, for our community, for how we’re stewarding our tax dollars, and we’re not going to do that if we are playing politics,” she said.
When Wallace filed, there were not enough candidates for the board. Although she had voted for several of the incumbent candidates running for re-election, she didn’t want them to automatically be re-elected.
“I don’t know a parent who’s not frustrated,” she said.
In Facebook posts, Wallace has criticized the use of an external search firm in the hiring process for a new superintendent. The current superintendent, Dr. Leadriane Roby, will remain at GRPS until June 27, 2027. She said the next superintendent should have classroom experience in the district and have lived in Grand Rapids for at least five years.
An earlier draft wrote Wallace’s son had attended Head Start at GRPS. It has been corrected to Great Start to Readiness. The Grand Rapids Herald regrets the error.
This is part of a running series on candidates running for local office.