Zeeland Record
The hiring of a new superintendent and the passage of the largest bond issue in Zeeland Public Schools history highlighted the top stories for the school district in 2025.
Rod Hetherton was hired June 19 to take over as ZPS superintendent, and began his duties with the district in early July. Hetherton came to Zeeland from the Genesee County community of Swartz Creek, where he had been school superintendent the past three years and an administrator for 21 years.
During his second interview with the board, Hetherton said he was attracted to Zeeland by the community and the “family-oriented district.”
“It is the only superintendent job I have looked at since I’ve been a superintendent the last three years,” Hetherton said.
The board interviewed two finalists for the job – Hetherton and Hamilton Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Brad Lusk. The board approved a three-year contract for Hetherton.
At that same June meeting, the board voted unanimously to reassign previous Superintendent Dr. Brandi-Lyn Mendham to a position titled “school administrator,” with duties to be determined by Hetherton. Mendham, who had been ZPS superintendent since July 2021 and before that was the district’s director of curriculum for seven years, had been on medical leave since October 2024.
In November, ZPS voters approved a $186.4 million bond issue, far and away the largest bond proposal in the district’s history.
The final vote count was 3,537 yes votes to 3,316 no votes. The bond issue will not raise the district’s debt service millage, which currently stands at 7.45 mills, or $7.45 per $1,000 of taxable value.
“The approval of this bond is a powerful reminder of what Zeeland values most,” Hetherton said after the election. “We’re a place where people come together, invest in relationships, and always look out for the next generation. We’re so thankful to walk alongside a community that shows up for its students.”
The new bond issue will expand and renovate Creekside Middle School, most notably adding four new classrooms to the north of the sixth-grade wing. Other spaces would be repurposed, with a total net gain of six new classrooms once construction is completed.
Elementary buildings will all get upgrades under the bond issue, with particular attention placed on the district’s older buildings – Lincoln, Roosevelt and New Groningen. The district’s transportation and maintenance facilities will be upgraded.
Other projects include improvements to DeWitt Auditorium at Zeeland East that include seating, flooring, lighting and sound; updates to Lokers Auditorium at Cityside Middle School, including seating, flooring, and lighting, as well as the addition of a new choir room; and upgrades at Zeeland Stadium, including new bleachers, a larger entry area that will allow for better flow of patrons in and out of the stadium, remodeled locker rooms and bathrooms and press box improvements.
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