Trustee Carol Beth Litkouhi

08/22/2026

Thank you so much to Michael Bouchard for his thoughtful endorsement. I couldn't agree more with what he said here!

Let's level up with Halushka, Harless, Halushka! ⬆️📚🎓

Coach Lawrence Halushka for Rochester School Board
Deanna Harless 4 RCS School Board
Lisa Halushka for RCS School Board
Level Up RCS

08/21/2026

Sign distribution has started! If you want a yard sign for your yard or you have a location such as a business we can use, please let me know!

You can message me or email [email protected].

Thank you for all the support!

08/14/2026

Good questions deserve good answers and strong school boards should welcome both. This is the kind of substantive conversation our community deserves.

Time to level up. 📖🎓

I have questions...important questions about substantive topics like: student achievement, enrollment, strategic planning properly designed to improve student outcomes. I started attending board meetings in January, hoping through the open discussions occurring in an open meeting, that these questions would be answered. By July, realizing that the current board seemed more interested in controlling and limiting discourse from minority trustees, and failing to respond to public comments at future meetings, that I needed to run. I realized that my unique package of qualifications meant that while I may not have all the answers, I at least have the skills to see where substance, open discussion, and plans for improvement are lacking.

Here are my questions...and they are acute, and when I'm on the board I'll make sure they are answered, evaluated and CURED:

1. RCS is a top-ranked school district. That being the case, why have test scores been dropping an average of 7 points per year for 10 years, while at the same time graduating GPA's are rising? The Board of Education has never asked a superintendent to explain this issue. I will.
2. Teacher salaries is an often heard complaint, and the claim is that more money is needed to support teachers. I don't disagree with that. However, why have teacher salaries not kept pace with inflation for the last 10 years, while at the same time general administration expenses have grown at a rate 4x faster than instructional expenses? Maybe we don't need to ask for the taxpayers to provide more money, maybe the board needs to more carefully prioritize its expenditures.
3. 15 years ago 1 in 10 school age children in our district attended an educational option other than RCS. Today that number is 1 in 4...why are parents choosing other options?
4. What is the process for strategic planning? If these issues are real, and they are, where are they addressed in the strategic plan? How does that plan investigate root causes, develop measurable goals and supporting strategies? Does the current strategic plan even attempt to assess needs, determine root causes, establish strategies that are measurable and adjust those strategies when desired goals are not met? The strategic plan can be found here: https://www.rochester.k12.mi.us/about-us/strategic-plan.

Or, is the current board simply lost in their efforts to malign those who disagree, restrict their ability to speak, and fail to respond when real, substantive issues are in need of resolution.

Time to Level Up RCS...let re-prioritize our efforts, and remember that student outcomes, based upon solid academics and transparent budgeting are what a Board of Education is supposed to concern itself with.

See you on August 20th!

08/13/2026

Calling all Rochester dads! Lawrence has issued the challenge. Who’s ready to answer the call? 🏈

08/12/2026

Save the date! 🗓️

Join us Thursday, August 20th at CJ Mahoney's to meet three thoughtful and experienced candidates for Rochester School Board. A school board president and superintendent, a business owner and coach, and a certified financial planner and teacher. Three people who've spent their careers doing exactly the kind of work this board needs. It's going to be a real race, and we need all hands on deck.

It will be a great chance to hear directly from Lisa Halushka for RCS School Board, Deanna Harless 4 RCS School Board, and Coach Lawrence Halushka for Rochester School Board about their vision for our schools, and to connect with other folks who care about the future of RCS.

We really do need you - whether that's turning out on the 20th:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1DHqphSKZd/

Chipping in with a donation:
https://leveluprcs.com/donate/

Or signing up to volunteer:
https://leveluprcs.com/get-involved/

Every bit helps this team get their message to voters.

Let's have the conversation and level up our schools! Hope to see you on the 20th.

08/05/2026

The election is over, and the voters have spoken.

Regardless of how you voted, I suspect we agree on something more basic than the millage itself: public trust matters, and it's fragile. Many well-meaning people voted yes because they believed it was the way to support students, teachers, and schools - and I respect that motivation. Others voted no because they had questions that were never fully answered. They deserve respect, too.

Ultimately, we should look at this as a teachable moment. Typically, we might expect school millages to pass in counties like ours because we’re a community that supports its schools. But no election ever comes down to a single issue, and this result suggests there was a level of skepticism that we shouldn't ignore.

A few things that stood out to me:

1. SPENDING
This wasn't a case of the better-funded side simply outspending its opposition into a win. The committee supporting the millage reported nearly $119,000 in cash and in-kind support before Election Day versus loosely organized grassroots efforts that were dwarfed by the committee. And that doesn’t count all of the communication from school districts “informing” voters about it. Despite that gap, voters rejected the proposal. That tells me this wasn't decided by who spent the most. It was decided by whether voters were convinced the proposal had a clear purpose, a compelling need, and a plan worthy of their trust.

2. FALSE PREMISE
One of the biggest problems with this proposal was the way it was presented to the public. We were repeatedly told Oakland County schools were falling behind neighboring counties because they had enhancement millages. Yet Oakland County districts already collect more in local school funding than any other county in the state. Wayne and Macomb counties adopted enhancement millages to help keep up with us - not because Oakland was somehow behind. What's worse is that even if that was the case, I heard from some constituents that we just got too greedy. The amount we would have raised would have been about the same as Wayne and Macomb collect... combined! When you look at that number it's hard to say with a straight face that it was just about keeping up.

And zooming in from Oakland county to RCS, it's worth noting that RCS already generates more per-pupil local funding than nearly every surrounding district in Macomb and Wayne Counties, even when you note they have enhancement millages. (The only two exceptions are Warren Consolidated and Dearborn, which receive unusually high local property tax revenue because of the GM Tech Center and Ford Motor Company's headquarters located within their district boundaries). I wrote about these issues before the election because I believed voters deserved the full picture.

3. NO MEASURABLE EXPLANATION
Just as importantly, there was never a clear, measurable explanation for why this specific tax increase was needed now or exactly how success would be measured. When taxpayers are asked to approve hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes, asking for a detailed plan is simply responsible stewardship.

4. LEADERSHIP: DON’T DO THIS IN SECRET. LISTEN.
There's a lesson here about leadership, too. Good leadership invites public discussion while ideas are still being shaped - not after the major decisions have already been made. Good leadership listens first. It welcomes difficult questions. It builds trust before asking taxpayers for more.

And now, whether you are pleased or dismayed by the results, here's some good news: we are not facing a financial crisis. Michigan's recently enacted state budget provides additional operating revenue, giving districts the opportunity to continue serving students while carefully managing taxpayer dollars. Now is the time to focus on planning wisely, prioritizing spending, and demonstrating responsible stewardship.

If, someday, there is a genuine need to ask voters for additional local funding for a specific purpose, I want that request to succeed. But success depends on credibility. It also depends on transparency and trust.

Let's start building that trust today - not by asking for every dollar we can, but by showing that we are thoughtful stewards of the dollars we already have. Let's elect new school board candidates who are not content to rubber-stamp proposals placed in front of them, but who are willing to listen and act as checks and balances on behalf of their community.

I hope those are some lessons we can take from this election.

08/04/2026

It's Election Day! 🗳️

Every vote counts more than you think - especially in a low-turnout election like this one. Take a few minutes, get informed, and make your voice heard.

Vote today!