Retired police officer Greg DeGrand has become the Director of Safety and Security in the Chelsea School District. DeGrand took on the previous director Doug Witzel’s role only two weeks ago,and now helps to secure doors and walkways around the building, ensuring that students are making good choices. Being a very active and passionate person, he partakes in many activities and has an extensive background in public safety. He enjoys interacting with all kinds of people. Many students and teachers have welcomed him into our community.
“I retired from the Canton Township Police Department. I served 24 years there. I retired a year ago and began to look for something different. I wasn’t looking to get into law enforcement again, so I was kind of looking around, enjoying retirement, doing part-time stuff. Then, I saw the job posting in November. I’m familiar with Chelsea because I grew up in Saline. My wife works there and I’ve got three boys who all still attend school, so it’s a close drive. I’ve been familiar with Chelsea my whole life, always a great school district, always had a great reputation, and I’ve heard nothing but good things in my adult life. My first two weeks here have proven nothing but that. You guys are great,” DeGrand said.
DeGrand has had many active and intensive jobs. His experience as an officer, range instructor, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and member of the Special Weapons Attack Team (SWAT) shows that he is a great addition to CHS as the new Director of Safety and Security.
“My whole career took place in Canton. I was on the SWAT team for 12 years, I was a team officer, and I was a range instructor. I was an undercover narcotics officer for three and a half years. I got promoted to sergeant in 2013, lieutenant in 2020, and Captain in 2023. I retired as a police captain in January of 2025,” DeGrand said.
Compared to his past jobs, working at CHS has been different. However, he still takes part in many things in Saline, and being with all kinds of students has given him a lot of joy.
“The job in itself is definitely a new experience. There are different aspects that I’ve experienced in talking to youth, high schoolers, and middle-schoolers. I did a lot of that throughout my law enforcement career. I enjoy having conversations about the choices that young people make. I coach wrestling, football, and baseball over in Saline,” DeGrand said.
The vice principal, principal, administrators, and a majority of students have welcomed him. Part of his job is also to patrol the hallways and make sure people are doing the right things.
“Mrs. Clor, Mrs. McKee, Mr. Morris, they’ve all been fantastic. The whole staff, every teacher I’ve come across and introduced myself to, they’ve all been very welcoming and warm. The students I’ve encountered, even the ones that I’ve had more specific conversations with [about not making good choices], were still enjoyable. Everyone’s been respectful. Everyone’s been very welcoming. You know, visiting the students at lunch has also been an enjoyable experience,” DeGrand said.
The students at CHS enjoy talking to Mr. DeGrand during lunch. They are finding him approachable and interesting. In two weeks, he already seems to be fully welcomed into the young community.
”He’s nice. Being new here, I feel like he’s comfortable. He’s very personable and talkative. You can talk to him really easily,” junior Caleb Fitch said.
The Vice Principal, Samantha McKee, is glad that he has chosen to work in Chelsea. Having spent plenty of time talking to him, she finds him knowledgeable, kind, and social.
“He is going to be a welcome addition to the Chelsea community, and he brings with him a lot of experience, a great wealth of knowledge, and he is very personable. Not only does he have safety as the forefront of what he wants to do, but he also truly wants to build relationships with the community — especially our students,” McKee said.
When DeGrand returns to Canton after working at Chelsea, he enjoys hunting and watching his kids grow up. Having teenage kids, he is kept busy with all kinds of fun activities.
“I’m an avid hunter. I like to hunt and in the fall, I am a bow hunter and a gun hunter. Then, I spend time with my family like most people do. My boys are teenagers. I got a sixth grader and two twin sophomores. So we’re right in the middle of all the fun, athletics and activities. They’re about to start driving, so right in the middle of all of that,” DeGrand said.
There are some students who are unaware of DeGrand’s arrival. There are others who have only heard of him, but they have high hopes based on what other students are telling them.
“Yes, I have heard about the new security guard. I haven’t seen him around much but from what I’ve heard, he seems like he’s an okay guy, and I think we need more security at the school,” freshman James Eddington said.
DeGrand would like to fully immerse himself in the Chelsea community and truly understand what it is like to be a student in the district. He plans on going to many gatherings.
“I’ll be attending multiple events, extracurricular-type stuff such as football games, basketball games, dances, prom, stuff like that. Kind of having just a bird’s-eye view of what’s going on here at Chelsea School District,” DeGrand said.
