Teachers teach
Keep great educators in the classroom. A Chromebook is not a substitute for a teacher at the front of the room.
Candidate for the St. Joseph Public Schools Board
Less screen time.
Smarter spending.
Better outcomes.
I’m Brandon Sheskey — a dad of four and a 15-year St. Joseph neighbor. The basics still work: a teacher in the room, a book in a child’s hands, and a budget the public can follow.
Nov 3Election Day, 2026
2seats open · six-year terms
2You get two votes · mark both
Meet Brandon
Fifteen years here. Still asking for the receipt.
Dad of 4
15 years in St. Joseph
Budgets and analytics by trade
We made St. Joseph home 15 years ago. I run a team at McKesson whose job is to find out whether the money an organization spends actually produced the result it was spent on. I do that every day, on budgets a lot larger than ours.
I’ve been walking this district door to door since summer. Nearly everyone tells me the same thing: they trust our teachers, and they want to know where the money goes.
St. Joseph already has great teachers. They don’t need another app in front of a kindergartner. They need classrooms they can teach in, books students can hold, and spending the public can actually see.
The plan
How we get there.
The board hires and evaluates the superintendent, approves the budget and the calendar, and sets policy. It doesn’t run buildings day to day, and it doesn’t discipline individual students.
If you can’t explain it at the grocery store, it doesn’t belong on the agenda.
Pencil and paper
Reading first for our youngest learners. Phonics, books, and handwriting before extra screens.
Honest class size
A district-wide ratio is a staffing average. It is not the number of children in a given room. Families should be able to see actual class sizes by building and by grade, published every year, without having to take anyone’s word for it. That’s a report I’ll ask for in my first year.
A public receipt
When work is finished, the date, the building, and the cost belong on one page. Put books and reading help ahead of gadgets.
Voters approved a $59.9 million bond in November 2025. That money is approved. The job now is to make sure every dollar lands where it was promised, with real dates on each project and a plain-English report on what got fixed at which building.
Smarter capacity
A significant share of our students arrive through Schools of Choice, and the district should say plainly how many, building by building. I’m not against choice. I’m for knowing the number, because it drives class sizes in the early grades where attention matters most.
Leave it better
Stronger reading and math. A board that talks like neighbors, not a press release. Finish the term with the district in better shape than we found it.
The motto
“Teachers should teach our kids. Not an app. Not another screen.”
Honor the teachers. Keep extra screens out of the early grades. Show the work on the budget. That’s how St. Joseph stays St. Joseph.
Election Day
Vote Tuesday, November 3, 2026
This is a nonpartisan local race. Confirm your registration and polling place with the Berrien County Clerk or your city clerk.
01
Check you’re registered
Use Michigan’s voter file and make sure your St. Joseph / Berrien County address is current.
02
Find your polling place
The school board race is on the November 3 general ballot. Bring ID if your clerk requires it.
03
Mark two names
Two six-year seats are open and three candidates filed. Marking only one name is allowed — but you are leaving a vote on the table.
Official info: Michigan Secretary of State elections · Berrien County · St. Joseph Public Schools
Join in
Yard sign, coffee, or a hard question.
Put up a yard sign
A sign on a street people actually drive is one of the few things in a school board race that reliably moves votes. If you have a corner lot or a busy road, you are worth more than you think. I will bring it and put it up.
Text me for a yard signGot it — thank you. Brandon reads these himself and will get back to you. If it is urgent, text (269) 369-1553.