response 1 of 54:

Jun 4 02:58 UTC 2002

Here's what I wrote to another who asked a similar question:

I've not yet seen the LWV forum, and I've only seen a little bit of campaign
literature.  Nor have I spoken much to the candidates.  So I'm probably
not as well-informed as we would like.  (NB: I taped this afternoon's
showing of the forum.)

Glenn Nelson has been on the Equity Audit Committee for several years.
This means, to me, first that he wants and works toward our schools
educating all of our students, and second that he already knows quite
a bit about what is going on in the District.  I'm always partial to
candidates who are already "up to speed" on District doings; there is
too much going on at the Board level for new people to be really effective.

Karen Cross is a known quantity, and I think she has done OK on the Board.
(She is finishing up her first term, seeking re-election.)

Katherine Griswald is also a known quantity.  In the short time she
has been on the Board, she has put some effort into getting the Board
to work as a team, trying to organise its processes.  She also opposed
some of the moves in the '98 elementary school redistricting because it
would require some students to be bussed across Washtenaw, ignoring the
ones who were already being bussed along Washtenaw from beyond Carpenter
(Glencoe Hills) to Angell, displaying either a double-standard or a lack
of knowledge about something she claimed to be expert in.  (She was a
member of the Safety Committee at the time.)

I first met Jack Rice in 1996, when John Simpson arranged a series of
meetings for citizens interested in improving the schools.  He had us
divided up into those interested in several areas: finance, achievement
and I forget what else.  Jack and I were in the achievement sub-group.
He and I met at the Library to look over annual reports, to see if we could
identify schools that were doing well, to see if there might be something
that could be duplicated in other schools.  All we could find were the
MEAP results.  I discovered that the raw numbers on which the percentages
were based were too small to be of any significance: in some instances,
only three or four African-American students were tested in a year.
He discovered that more white students were scoring low on the MEAP tests
than African-American students.  Again, the percentages hide the reality.

Scott Wojack volunteered to help me get elected last year, but I don't
know much more than that about his views on schools.  He tried to run
for city council a few years back, but was disqualified because he had
not lived in the city long enough.

All I know about Glenn Klipp is that he wants the Boy Scouts to accept
gays, and that Nick Roumel thinks he would be a good addition to the Board.
(Nick had a bit more to say about Mr. Klipp.)

I overheard a conversation with Ravi Nigam in which he said he didn't
think we need a high school.

And those are the only ones I know anything about.  I plan to vote for
Glenn Nelson and Karen Cross.  I signed Katherine Griswald's nominating
petitions, but I won't vote for her in the election.  I might vote for
Glenn Klipp, but I might also vote for Scott Wojack; I have to reconsider
what I know about both.  I think Jack Rice means well, but I also think he
is too narrowly focused; he misses that helping African-American students
succeed will automatically help all other students, by freeing up teacher
time and by providing techniques that work.

Tidbits:  I saw both Vicky Rigney and Glenn Nelson at a party for CHS
parents Sunday (June 2); her child is a Junior and his is a Freshman at
that school.  Irene Patalan said Karen Cross also has children at Community.
I should have spoken to Ms. Bamfo when I saw her at Taste of Ann Arbor
a little later.

response 3 of 54:

Jun 4 15:02 UTC 2002

grr.. silly 30 day waiting period.
moved on the 22nd, and can't vote in the june10th stuff because of it.

i understand anti-voter-fraud measures but i'm not planning on moving
anytime soon again.

response 5 of 54:

Jun 5 00:15 UTC 2002

I've voting for the two Glens and that's it.  What a shame.

I also cannot support the school milage and bond request.

response 7 of 54:

Jun 5 03:45 UTC 2002

Last I looked, the classrooms "added" would equal the portables to be
removed.  So it doesn't increase the number of students who can be in
the building (unless, of course, the portables *aren't* removed.)

I expect the sinking fund to be used a little more broadly than you
describe, though.  There is routine maintenance that needs to be done.
The schools can either do that maintenance or they can buy textbooks.
With the sinking fund, they should be able to do both.

response 9 of 54:

Jun 6 03:27 UTC 2002

Is the city of Ann Arbor going to grow by annexation? Certainly the
population surrounding Ann Arbor is growing by leaps and bounds. It
is logical to consider building a new high school in a location
to serve these outwardly growing suburbs, rather than increasing density
and traffic and commuting/busing distances. However I do not have the
demographic information required to consider this for the long term.

response 11 of 54:

Jun 6 18:30 UTC 2002

The city signed an annexation/boundary agreement about 20 years ago.  It
agreed not to annex any further land around the city.  We cannot grow
geographically because of this (court-induced) agreement that was the
settlement of a pretty nasty lawsuit.

response 13 of 54:

Jun 6 19:23 UTC 2002

(Colleen -- Interesting.  I didn't know that.  What was the lawsuit over?)

response 15 of 54:

Jun 7 03:19 UTC 2002

Rane, your question makes no sense.  Are you asking if there is property in
Michigan that is not part of a school district?  The answer to that is
"no".  All property in Michigan is in the taxing area of _some_ school
district.  

The Ann Arbor School District therefore touches some other school district
all along its boundaries.  

Are you asking if there is property within the Ann Arbor School District
that is not included in the Pioneer/Huron attendance districts?  The answer
to that is "no".  All property is included in the attendance district of an
elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. 

orinoco:  Short answer:  Township residents whose wells or septic fields
failed were petioning to be annexed to Ann Arbor so the city would have to
provide water and sewer services.  Some township property was "islands",
surrounded by the city.  The townships did not like losing the taxbase of
the property the city was annexing.  Took it to court. 

The settlement included an agreement that Ann Arbor would be allowed to
annex all the township islands (and a few of the peninsulas), but those
annexations were specifically defined in the agreement.  No other township
property could be annexed anymore.  

response 17 of 54:

Jun 7 13:07 UTC 2002

There's an easy way around a legal settlement, and that's an agreement
to change it.  Face it, if the people of the township VOTE to be
annexed, that can supercede any previous agreement otherwise.

response 19 of 54:

Jun 8 05:20 UTC 2002

Thank you for the additional light on the subject, Joe. I still don't
know how I will vote, as I appreciate the points expressed (perhaps too
singled-mindedly) by both "sides". 

response 21 of 54:

Jun 9 15:09 UTC 2002

Glenn Klipp promises in his campaign letter to "eliminate bullying and
taunting so all children feel safe and welcome at school."  Shoot, I'd vote
for anyone who could do that.  But since no school official in the history
of the world has ever been able to, I am skeptical that Mr. Klipp can pull
it off.  Which makes me wonder about all the other things he says.

response 23 of 54:

Jun 9 15:20 UTC 2002

Weird, my correction got posted but not the response.  Again:

Campaign promises are not real promises.  More, they are hints
>of what a candidate feels is important, either to get elected or
>on a more sincere level, what they'd like to see changed.
>
>Klipp is a touchy-feely kind of guy.  I think he's being
>sincere but unrealistic.
>

e