The school board and library board elections are a week away.  Does
anyone have any idea who is running for re-election, who we should/should
not re-elect, and who is running for the first time?

54 responses total.

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.

For school board, I am voting for:

Karen Cross, an incumbent with a pulse.
Glenn Nelson, her running mate, with substantial financial experience.
Glenn Klipp, who did well at the League of Women Voters forum, and
who said during that forum that he is gay.  (He used to be married,
and has 5 kids.)

Vote for Karen and the two Glenns!

For library board (on which I serve), I am voting for:

Ruth Winter, incumbent, and current board president.  Ruth is
really excellent, and has helped us get close to final agreements
with both staff unions.

Barbara Murphy, a recently-appointed incumbent, who is also 
excellent.

Connie Greene, a newcomer, who is a liberal and says she will
be an advocate for the staff.  It would be nice to have someone
besides me advocating for the staff.    8-)

Connie Powers, another newcomer, who is running for the short
2-year term.

So - vote for Ruth, Barbara, and the two Connies!

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.

You should be able to vote in your old precinct, Jared.

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

I also cannot support the school milage and bond request.

I'll vote for the school's sinking fund, but not the HS Expansion bond 
request.  The sinking fund is, as I understand it, to be used for 
necessary repairs to the school buildings (such as replacing boilers or 
fixing leaky plumbing).

The HS Expansion plan, on the other hand, is not something that I can 
vote for.  The proposal calls for adding more classrooms (and more 
students) to both Huron and Pioneer.  I don't know about Pioneer, but 
the big problem at Huron is not that there aren't enough classrooms, but 
that the school can't handle the amount of people.  Adding classrooms is 
not going to solve the problem that the cafeteria and auditoriums aren't 
big enough for even half the students in the school, it's not going to 
solve the problem that there's not enough parking spaces even though 
parking is restricted to juniors and seniors, it's not going to solve 
the problem that the hallways are physically not wide enough to move 
enough people fast enough.  Adding more classrooms (and more people) 
fixes none of the problems, and indeed, creates more.

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.

Building onto the current schools would save some money, but it would have
to be done right.  How about wi build a new school next to Huron, but build
it with larger classrooms and wider halls.  also add more parking.  No need
to buy new land, most of the building could be used for the LARGER classes
and smaller classes regulated to the original building. The same thing could
be done at pioneer.

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.

The Huron High School site does not have the space for an additional
building.  Not without removing something, like the football field.

The Ann Arbor Public School district (as you no doubt know, Rane) is
larger than the City of Ann Arbor.  Even if the City annexed all of the
land within the District, the District should still build a new facility
outside of the current city limits.

Right now, the AAPS owns two plots, one on Maple just north of M14,
and one next to Scarlett Middle School.  A good argument can be made
for building in the southwest rather than on either of those two sites,
but we would have to buy (after finding) new land to do that.

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.

At some point the school district of  Ann Arbor runs into the school
district of surrounding communities, such as Dexter or Saline. Has
that already occurred so that there is no Ann Arbor school district
area that is less served by a high school? It seems to me the 
underserved area would be on the northeast side of Ann Arbor? (I
realize that I am ruminating over well worn considerations of the
various committees and groups that have considered this question, but
these points have not been brought out very clearly here by anyone
in the know.)

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

s/Was/Has in #12.

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.  

I'm asking where an additional high school can be placed that will lead
to a well balanced attendance region for each that also meshes in a
reasonable way with the attendance areas of adjacent school districts.
I think a ca 2400 student high school is about the maximum desirable
size (OK - I went to a 3600 student high school, but that was in the
middle of New York City). 

It also seems to me that it guarantees inefficiencies if school districts
cannot be modified as population increases. Bigger cities have always
evolved from smaller adjacent cities, and so must school districts.

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.

Rane, I don't think your question has a permanent answer.

The Public Schools of the City of Ann Arbor (or is that, "The City of
Ann Arbor Public Schools"?  I forget) serve the city and portions of
Pittsfield, Lodi, Scio, Webster, Ann Arbor, Northfield and Superior
Townships (I think that list is complete).  The district abuts the
school districts of Ypsilanti, Milan, Saline, Dexter, Whitmore Lake
and Plymouth-Canton (that list may not be complete; I've looked at a
school-district map of Washtenaw County once, maybe twice).  It emcompasses
121 square miles.

The three primary high schools are Pioneer, at the intersection of Main
and Stadium, Huron, at the intersection of Huron Parkway and Fuller, and
Community, on Division between Catherine and Kingsley.  Roberto Clemente
is in the southeast corner of the District (it is the only school building
I've not visited; I need to correct that).  Stone School, which houses
the adult education program and its child, Project Education, is at the
intersection of Packard and Stone School Road.

So Pioneer is on or very close to the geographic center of the school
district.  Huron is in the northeast quadrant.  These two are the only
ones with fixed attendance areas.  Community, Roberto Clemente and Project
Education accept students from any where in the school district.

So where is the growth happening?  In Pittsfield and Scio townships,
mostly.  Superior has deliberately chosen to severely restrict development.
Ann Arbor Townwhip doesn't seem to have a lot of land left.  The development
in Webster appears to be mostly in the Dexter school district.

Scio can be served by the location on North Maple.  Eastern Pittsfield
would be best served by the Scarlett Woods site.  Western Pittsfield would
probably be closer to the North Maple site, but the layouts of the roads
probably makes Scarlett more accessible.

Assuming that the new school would have a fixed attendance area like
Pioneer and Huron (and I think it should), the siting would determine the
(re)division of the school district among the three schools.  Of course,
that re-districting is a large part (in my belief) of the resistance to
establishing a new high school.

A good argument can be made for (and against) either of the two currently
owned sites, and also for purchasing a third site.

As for your second paragraph, "Detroit" is, in many ways, several different
cities (as is Boston, for example).  Re-arranging or re-inforcing the
boundaries isn't going to make a lot of difference to what we do with
that area.  Similarly, re-arranging the boundaries of the school districts
within Washtenaw County won't make a lot of difference.  In the long run,
folks will move around, but buildings don't.

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". 

I've not read the newspaper since the 3d of February, although I have most
of them stacked up, awaiting my attention.  Tonight, I skimmed the letters
in the two recent issues.  I know what you mean, Rane. :)

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.

s/Klipp/Kipp

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

Bizarre.

(Your response got posted to item 20.)

Sure did.  Thanks for orienting me.

Just to clear up the confusion: The City of Ann Arbor is a home-rule city
within the boundaries of Washtenaw county.  There are several other
city/village entities, like Ypsilanti, Dexter, Manchester, etc.  All the
rest of the land in the county is in one of the townships.  The townships
and cities/villages cover all the geographical area of the county.

A separate set of geographical entities within the county are called school
districts.  School districts are entirely separate from the
city/village/township divisions.  The school districts cover all the
geographical area of the county.  

Both of these sets of governments levy taxes independently of each other,
as do the Washtenaw Intermediate School district, and the Washtenaw
Community College, and the various library districts.  

So the Ann Arbor School district is a very different entity from Ann Arbor
Township, which is a very different entity from the City of Ann Arbor.  And
none of these are identitical with the postal system, which may give you an
"Ann Arbor" address even if you don't live in the city, the township, or
the school district.  

I finally watched the LWV forum this morning.  Friedman's idea of "private
support" isn't new; the Ann Arbor Education Foundation provides some support
to the schools.  Nick Roumel spoke of expanding that effort when he left the
school board a year (or so) ago.  Nelson's comments on the "reservoir" nature
of the fund equity were accurate, but overlooked that first you have to fill
the reservoir, and that it might not fill quite as quickly as you might like.
Other than that, not much that I hadn't expected.

It's 20:20 on a Monday evening.  The polls closed twenty minutes ago, and the
results are beginning to come in.  I'm siiting in the main conference room
at Balas, where the Superintendent's office is located, watching the totals
be put up for all to see.  So far, fourteen, out of some forty-three,
precincts have reported.  It's too early to say what the results will be.
Only the School votes are being displayed here, so I'll have to check
elsewhere for the library results.  

God damn reig fragin rugin frupin ....

I forgot to go vote!!!

oof.

With about half the precincts reported, it looks like the bond will fail and
the millage will pass.

I can't count the candidates' votes.

Battery's gone.  More later.

So, the final tally for school board is:

        Bamfo           2959
        Cross           5067
        Friedman        3553
        Griswold        4769
        Klipp           3100
        Nelson          3923
        Nigam           1029
        Rice            1142
        Wojack           610

        Bond            3870/6938
        Sinking Fund    7235/3529

So the three electees are Karen Cross, Kathy Griswold and Glenn Nelson.

This is the largest turnout I've seen in a long while.  I figure no one
who voted for Griswold voted for Cross, and vice versa, so it's roughly
9,800 ballots cast, versus 5,000 to 6,000 in recent years.

I just realised that I walked out without a tally for the library board,
so I've no real idea how that turned out. :(  Last I looked, Ms. Winter
was ahead.

Does this mean that they get to make Huron and Pioneer bigger?  (I'm not in
the Ann Arbor School District, so I didn't follow it closely.)

No, it means that they *don't* get to make them bigger; they are going
to have to figure out a different way to reduce the overcrowding in those
two schools.

Channel 16 is showing the results: Connie Greene, Bill Kincaid, Barbara
Murphy and Connie Powers.  Mr. Kincaid got three votes more than Ms. Winter.

I wonder if the impact of that group fighting expasion of the already 
existing highs schools made an impact.

I *completely* forgot about the vote.  Damnit.

Millages hardly ever pass when there's organized opposition.  When I saw
the first "NO SCHOOL BOND" yard sign, I knew the thing was doomed.

I strongly, strongly question the notion that nobody who voted for Cross
voted for Griswold and vice versa.  Voters in real life behave in all kinds
of unpredictable and unideological ways.  Both of them were incumbents.
To get the number of people who voted, look to the poll book total, which
is usually reported.  Or the total of Yes and No votes on either of the
two proposals.

On Michigan political geography: every square inch of land in Michigan
is either in a city or a township.  Villages are subsets of one or more
townships.

The annexation agreement also basically guaranteed that Ann Arbor will
eventually take in everything inside the freeway ring without the
townships fighting it.

The existence of the agreement made it possible for me to successfully argue
(to the county apportionment commission) that the "islands and peninsulas" 
should be included in Ann Arbor county commission districts, so that the
district boundaries could be simple instead of incredibly complicated
(annexation does NOT change the district boundaries, so if the city annexed
a piece of township in a different district, they'd have to provide
different ballots for the annexed area). 

Basically, I thought that county commission districts should be simple
enough that people could figure out what district they were in from the
little map published in the newspaper the Sunday before the election.

I couldn't make it to the polls yesterday, but then I really didn't have any
particular axe to grind anyway.  Still hadn't made up my mind on the bond
issue, for instance.

Thanks for the clarification about villages/townships.  

Yes, the "stop annexations" agreement allowed a phased annexation of
islands and certain peninsulas.  It also disallowed expansion of Ann
Arbor's boundaries, confining the City to (roughly) inside the freeway ring
of US 23, M-14, and I-94.  Most any property outside the freeway is outside
the city of Ann Arbor.  Lakeview subdivision by Weber's is one of the big
exceptions, since it was already in the city.  

- Backtalk version 1.3.30 - Copyright 1996-2006, Jan Wolter and Steve Weiss