There are six candidates running for three positions on the Ann Arbor School Board. It’s been a tough year for the board, and all six say they want to work to bring easier times back to the district.
Of the six candidates on the ballot, only one is an incumbent. Ernest Querijero is seeking his second term. He says some of the things he's most proud of getting accomplished in his first term include the acknowledgment that the district sits on the occupied land of several Native American tribes and his work on sustainability.
"And we're at the point now where we're running 2 or 3 years, where we're doing some of our longer-term goals that we sat there, which is, hopefully, to hold our third-party vendors somewhat to our sustainability standard."
Leslie Wilkins says she's been considering running for school board for a long time. She says she wants to make sure teachers and students and Title One schools are not left behind.
"I bring that experience of watching my kids go through those schools, working on the PTOs of those Title One schools and advocating for teachers and students that need a little extra."
Glynda Wilks is a former Ann Arbor school teacher and former copy editor at the Detroit Free Press. She says she wants to bring good governance and leadership back to Ann Arbor.
"The school board was focusing on issues, such as cease-fire resolutions that had absolutely nothing to do with our school district. They fired our superintendent probably at the worse time. I mean, the timing couldn't have been worse."
Megan Kanous is an Ann Arbor parent and PTO member. She says she can bring a different view to the school board, due to her experience and can work to bring back the trust she says is lacking with the current board.
"I just have a unique viewpoint of the challenges of meeting each individual student and providing them with the best education that we can, which is our district's mission."
Don Wilkerson is the parent of four children and a longtime advocate and leads a local CPA firm. He says he can bring his financial experience to the board.
"I also sat on the board of a nonprofit for special education advocacy here in Ann Arbor. So, I bring that perspective of understanding some of the challenges our students and families have and what it's like to kind of work through that system."
Eric Sturgis says he's the only candidate to have attended, worked and coached in the Ann Arbor School District. He says he can bring a unique perspective to the school board.
"I think that I can bring an open mind as someone who's willing to listen, but someone who also has a good knowledge of what parents, students feel are our concerns and what needs to be addressed."
One of the major issues that has been brought up by candidates, along with teachers, parents and others, is a need for better communication between board members and the community. Querijero says one problem is the overcommunication of things that parents are the least interested in.
"Not many families, some certainly, aren't going to make the commitment to sit through 5 or 6 different emails in the course of a week, because it becomes clouded about what's the most important stuff I should know, what's the most pressing issue to the district, as opposed to what are just some informational items coming to me."
Wilkins says the controversy around the new Thurston Elementary School is a prime example of the problems that can arise with a lack of communication. She says there needs to be more transparency in the district.
"We're getting ready to do this. We don't have all the answers yet, but this is what we're thinking. Even I think there's a notion of having to have all the answers and the actual plan before you tell people about it. And that's not a good idea."
Glynda Wilks says better communication among board members with each other should help reduce any misinformation and increase trust among themselves.
"When we talk about transparency, and I just believe that the board needs to have a united front, just to reassure our community that the board has it together."
Kanous says one way to improve communication would be to take a page from several city council members and distribute weekly updates to constituents.
"Just providing more opportunities, other than the public meetings, to hear opinions or concerns from our stakeholders is another route that we can take and hopefully will starting in January."
Dan Wilkerson says, when board members participated in the listen-and-learn tours a few years ago, they were extremely successful. He says he liked to bring something similar back to the district.
"You rolled that out on a rolling basis and make sure that you're engaging across that district. You know, maybe you do that first, push up front and get in front of everyone, and then you kind of refresh that mindset over the time."
Sturgis says he would get away from just hearing from teachers, staff and the public at school board meetings and instead go to them and hear from teachers and staff on their turf.
"I think it's going out and making yourself available and not saying, 'Okay, you have to come to us.' And this is a Where's Waldo where you have to find the information."
The school district elections are nonpartisan. Of the six, the top three vote getters win the election and are awarded four-year terms.
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