Board of Education
Brian Krajewski
Brian Krajewski was elected to the Board of Education in 2011. His term expires in December 2024. Brian is the director of administrative operations at Blue Cross Blue Shield. He holds a bachelor of science plastics engineering technology Degree from Ferris State University. Brian is a tireless volunteer in our community: Pink Arrow board member; Gilda’s Club Charter board member. Brian and his wife, Julie, have a son, Derek (LAS class of 2014), who is studying industrial and labor relations at Cornell University, and a daughter, Danielle (LAS class of 2015), who is studying plastics engineering technology at Ferris State University. The Krajewski family have lived in Lowell for more than 18 years.
President
Laurie Kuna
Laurie Kuna was elected to the Board in November 2012. Her term expires in December 2024.
An Alma, Michigan native, she came to Lowell in 1979 to teach English at Lowell High School and coach the volleyball team. She has lived in Lowell all but the two years she was at MSU earning a master’s degree.
In addition to educating nearly 6,000 students and coaching around 450 more, she has been a member of LowellArts! for 44 years and a member of the Friends of the Englehardt Library for nearly eight years. She retired from LAS in 2010.
Kuna was encouraged to join the Board of Education by her friend and then-board member Maureen Fleet.
“I chose to run because I love knowledge acquisition and believe spreading that knowledge, especially to our children, is one of the most important things any society can do,” she said. “I also loved teaching because I learned so much while I was doing it.”
When she retired in 2010, her intention was to stay on as a substitute, but “it was extremely difficult for retired teachers to substitute unless they were in ‘critical needs’ areas. Personally, I think English language arts qualifies as a critical need, but the Legislature in Lansing didn’t agree.”
Other community involvement: Kuna has been a shuttle driver for Pink Arrow football games, “which is an absolute blast,” she said. “It gives me the chance to talk to all sorts of people, no matter if they’re from Lowell or not… And as a breast cancer survivor, I see the opportunity as a chance to exhibit an ‘attitude of gratitude.’” She also volunteered at and scheduled musical acts for the Fallasburg Fall Festival and acted as an announcer there for a couple of years. She organized the demolition of the LowellArts! space prior to its remodel, and currently is on the organization’s Board as well as its theater committee. She’s acted in, directed and promoted productions there, among other activities.
Kuna’s interests include travel, photography, reading, cheering for MSU, and writing. She has had four paranormal romance novels published.
Vice President
Tom Kaywood
Tom was appointed to the Board of Education in November 2011. His term expires in December 2024. He and his wife, Lisa, have lived in the Lowell school district for more than 15 years and have two children who are graduates of Lowell High School.
Tom is an architect who has spent much of his career designing public education facilities across the state. He was introduced to the community through a client, “loved what I saw, moved my family here and have lived here happily ever since.”
“A decade or so before I moved to Lowell, the district was a client,” he recalled. “I developed a great respect for the superintendent and was able to work well with the district in making improvements to our facilities.”
Fast-forward to a time when he no longer worked for LAS, a Board position became available and he was asked to interview. Volunteering to serve on any school board can be a real time commitment, and isn’t always easy. Tom explained that giving his free time in this way felt like a natural fit.
“My skill set and familiarity with education facility planning fit well with the other members of our Board. It has turned out that my role on the Board has been more fulfilling than I had ever anticipated, both personally and professionally.”
He’s also been a sports coach and a volunteer firefighter.
Treasurer
Pat Nugent
For Pat, public service is a good fit both personally and professionally.
A life-long Lowell-area resident and graduate of Lowell High School — he was valedictorian— Pat was first elected to the Board of Education in 1998. He has served as its secretary since 1999. He also serves as the Board’s representative on the Lowell Education Foundation.
Pat earned a bachelor’s degree in history education from Michigan State University, and a master’s of education degree in secondary education from Grand Valley State University.
As the senior school board member he has now served under four superintendents. A math and history teacher at West Catholic High since 1993, Nugent called the board “a natural place where I can put my skills to use in the community.”
“There is something to someone in the room having a store of knowledge and context that they can bring to the table. I can provide that,” he said. “I have a desire to serve my community and as long as the community wants me.”
Serving in public office goes back at least a couple generations for Pat. Both his grandfather and grandmother were involved in Grattan Township business, and an uncle was a township trustee. Another grandfather was a school board member in Orleans.
He also serves as secretary of the Grattan Township Historical Society, and maintains cemetery functions and records. He spends his free time — mostly in summers — researching and documenting township history.
Nugent said the biggest challenge to board members is lack of local control, especially when it comes to finances and academics.
“There’s great benefit of working with other districts in terms of curriculum and assessment. But sometimes we’re not always sure that the state knows what’s best for Lowell Area Schools.”
Secretary
Jennifer Dougherty
Jennifer Dougherty is a fifth-generation resident of the Greater Lowell area. The farm where she grew up has been owned by her family since 1885. She and her family members have served the community in various ways, including on the Bowne Township/Alto Fire Department, Lowell and Bowne Township boards, church boards, as school volunteers and 4H leaders.
A 1992 graduate of Lowell High School where she was senior class president and co-valedictorian, Dougherty earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Michigan State University and has worked as a civil engineer doing bridge design for 26 years. In 2009, she started her own engineering firm in Alto working for bridge owners, bridge contractors and other design consultants. Her husband, Phil, is a full-time turkey farmer, and she works with him part-time on the farm.
They have four children: two in college, one at Lowell High School, and one entering Lowell Middle School.
“I am a Red Arrow for life,” she said. “I am proud of our school and our community. I feel that I was well prepared for college and life beyond, and I know that my children will be as well. I want to do my part to continue providing a quality education that prepares all of our students for life after high school.”
Dougherty has served on the Bowne Township/Alto Downtown Development Authority for 14 years, and has been DDA treasurer for nine years. She started the Alto Community Blood Drive in 2012 and has coordinated six blood drives annually for blood donors in the Alto/Lowell area. She has been a 4H group leader, volunteered at Alto Elementary, served as a parent representative for high school girls lacrosse, and served on miscellaneous local committees in Alto and Lowell. She and her husband have delivered for Meals on Wheels Western Michigan for two years, and she has been a board member of Conquering CHD – Michigan since 2012, an organization that provides support to families dealing with congenital heart defects.
Dougherty enjoys watching her childrens’ sporting events and concerts, morning walks, audiobooks and spending time with her family.
Trustee
Jessica Curtis
Jessica Curtis was first appointed to the Board in November 2020, and was re-appointed in January 2023 to fill a departing trustee’s seat until 2024.
A Lowell native and member of the Lowell High School Class of 1999, she earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Central Michigan University intending to teach in the district in which she had such a positive experience. At the time, however, teaching openings in the district were rare, and Curtis instead opted for a career in sales and marketing. She currently is a sales representative for Biotics Research. Her husband’s business, Mike Curtis Farm Bureau Insurance Agency, is downtown and his family’s other business, Curtis Cleaners, has been in Lowell nearly 70 years.
Since graduating college, Curtis’s goal had been to get involved with the district. While her husband coached football at the high school, she joined the Lowell Education Foundation, where she has served as secretary since 2012. She also is a parent rep for the Lowell Athletic Boosters and has been involved with several district parent focus groups. She and her husband, she said, “have always been grateful for the opportunities given to us, and want our children to see the value in giving to others.”
They are both actively involved with the Jason Kinzler Family First Foundation, which gives support and financial assistance to families with minor children who have experienced the unexpected loss of a parent, as well as Beyond26, a non-profit organization that helps find employment and volunteer positions for adults with disabilities.
As a parent of three children who attend Lowell Area Schools — Ella, Macy and Kellen— Curtis said a seat on the Board of Education “is a great opportunity to continue to serve the Lowell community and contribute positively to our school district. I wanted to be a part of preserving the educational opportunities for all students and continue our tradition of excellence within our district. I have always felt proud to be a part of the district, and I want future generations to feel the same way after graduating from Lowell Schools.
In her free time, Curtis enjoys “pretty much anything that has to do with being outdoors,” she said, along with traveling to new places with friends and family.
She knows first-hand that serving on the school board is a big commitment. “But the past few years have taught me how we, as a district, being faced with challenging times, have shown through diligence, hard work, adaptability and support in not only facing what sometimes seemed insurmountable, but in endeavoring to continue the very best educational process for all of our students.
“This is what being a Red Arrow represents to me.”
Trustee
Jared Blough
Jared Blough is a lifetime Lowell-Alto resident and district parent. The family name is well-known in the area: a relative, Gary Blough, was a longtime LAS Board member who chose not to run in November to retain his seat. “I just felt it was my duty to carry the torch,” said Blough of running for the Board of Education. Other relatives own and operate Heidi’s Farm Stand in Lowell Township and saw mills in Clarksville.
He and his wife of 25 years have four children, three of whom are LHS graduates and the youngest a student there. His sons were members of the LHS varsity wrestling team for eight of nine state titles, and his eldest daughter was on the school’s first volleyball team to compete in a state championship.
A regional mechanical maintenance supervisor for Crestwood Midstream Partners, he has volunteered for his children’s sports activities and his church.
“I love to hunt and fish,” he said. “This town allows me to enjoy the great outdoors, watch my kids compete at the highest levels and with their Red Arrow experiences and education, shift into their new roles seamlessly.”