Meet the candidates of the School Board Election down below.

Megan Kanous

An AAPS parent since 2017 and active member of Forsythe’s and Haisley’s PTSOs, where she serves as Enrichment Chair and PTO Council Representative, Megan Kanous decided she wanted to run for school board after a friend suggested it.

“I spend a lot of time in schools, and I have a really good sense of what the challenges and opportunities for our students, families and teachers are,” she said.

Kanous had watched and participated in public commentary in board meetings before, but she knew that there was a lot of work behind the scenes.

“I wanted to understand the full scope of what it was,” she said. “Once I had a handle on it, I decided to put my hat in the ring.”

As Kanous remained involved, it was difficult for her to watch last year’s budget oversight and the way it was communicated to teachers and parents.

“The communication on the board within itself, and the discourse that has been happening, both in public and then privately, is not effective,” Kanous said. “The dynamic needs to change. So that’s why I’m running.”

Kanous will also focus on retaining and attracting the best teachers.

“If we have consistency for students – especially at the high school level – it becomes a community that’s going to make [students] feel safe and confident,” Kanous said. “It’s not good if students are looking forward to a certain class and it ends up being taken away.”

Advocating for a strategic plan in regards to the budget deficit is also a priority.

“We have an old [plan], but they really need to be updated every five years and not every ten,” Kanous said. “We look very different as a school than we did 10 years ago.”

Along with respective discourse, transparency, and clear communication, Kanous values making herself available to the community.

“Having open meeting times and dividing up the schools so that we can hear all the voices, especially from the students who may not be able to come to public board meetings, is important,” Kanous said.

Kanous is endorsed by the Teachers Union, Fems for Dems, and Better Boards Better Schools – an organization of past trustees.

Ernesto Querijero

Ernesto Querijero, the only incumbent running in the school board elections, believes that that puts him at an advantage.

“Experience accounts for something,” Querijero said. “I happen to be a teacher. I’ve worked in K-12, so I already had huge background knowledge about how contracts work, how teacher unions work. I’m the only active teacher running, so there’s a lot of stuff I know from my experience.”

Last year, while the school board was planning how to go about the $25 million dollar budget cut for this school year, Querijero was the only trustee to vote against the plan to cut 141 staff positions.

“And lo and behold, here we are in [the new school year], and we’ve hired back all but three teachers,” Querijero said. “To characterize it so quickly as a crisis put a lot more tension in the community than was required and than was needed. I don’t see how you can call it a crisis when just before the school year starts, you hired everybody except the three employees, and you have more than like, seven or eight jobs open.”

Querijero’s campaign is based on four main ideas: positive culture, financial reporting, equitable decision making and sustainability. He believes that his sustainability policies will be especially relevant to high school students.

“A lot of high schoolers are either voters or soon to be voters, and nationwide polls tell me that climate is what young people want to vote on,” Querijero said. “We need to make sure that the young people are engaged, and so that’s why I am such a proponent of sustainability.”

Querijero is endorsed by the Ann Arbor Education Association, Michigan Education Association, Huron Valley Area Labor Federation/AFL-CIO, College Democrats at the University of Michigan, Anishinaabek Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party, Washtenaw County Democratic Black Caucus, Rising Voices, Voter Collective for Co-Liberation, Michigan Community Endorsements, Dr. Pamela Pugh, Michigan Representative Jimmie Wilson, Jr., Yousef Rhabi, Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners (District 8), Alyshia Dyer, Democratic Nominee for Washtenaw County Sheriff, AAPS Board Trustee Rima Mohammad and AAPS Board Trustee Krystle Dupree.

Glynda Wilks

Former journalist and elementary school teacher Glynda Wilks was drawn to running for school board because of three reasons: fiscal responsibility, civility and high quality education.

“I just really want to make sure that children who come after my children still have a viable school district,” she said.

Wilks worked as a journalist for the Detroit Free Press as a copy editor, and she believes that that background will help her if she is elected to the school board.

“As a journalist, I want to ask the tough questions, to really dig deep and to really examine issues,” Wilks said.

Wilks has considered running for school board multiple times over the past 15 years. She spoke previously to the board as president of a district-wide Black parents student support group as a “concerned parent.”

“Over time, I’ve felt fairly comfortable talking to the board members,” Wilks said. “The bottom line is we all really want to see our students succeed, see our district succeed. When I had a chance to hear some of the conversations and to see some of the discourse occurring on our current board, it nudged me in the direction of running for school board. I wasn’t really liking what I was seeing with our current board.”

Another issue that Wilks wants to tackle is literacy. She felt that the pandemic negatively harmed students in this area, and wants to make changes.

“I believe that the pandemic impacted students socially and emotionally – just their mental wellness,” she said. “ I believe that’s something that needs to be addressed.”

Regarding the budget situation that the board was faced with last year, Wilks wants to prioritize regaining trust in the community.

“As school board members, our priority is our students, our teachers, our staff and our community,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m absolutely concerned about what’s happening across the world, but when it comes to our bad budget and making sure that our students and teachers are getting what they need, we need to stay laser focused on what’s happening here.”

Wilks is endorsed by the Washtenaw County Democratic Party, The Washtenaw County Democratic Party Black Caucus, LiUna Local 499, Better Boards, Better Schools, Focus on Education Ann Arbor, Felicia Brabec, Jimmie Wilson, Jr., Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton, Mayor Christopher Taylor, Kathy Griswold, Former Ann Arbor Council Member Morgan Foreman, Bryan L. Johnson, Rebecca Lazarus and Patricia Ashford Manley.

Leslie Wilkins

Longtime AAPS parent Leslie Wilkins has served the PTO at Carpenter Elementary and  Scarlett Middle School, and was the vice president of the latter for many years.

“I really liked that work, advocating for teachers and students that need something extra,” she said. “The school district is really fantastic for a lot of kids, but there are some kids that aren’t being well served by the school district, and I want to make sure that those kids and those families are being heard from.”

Wilkins wants to make sure that AAPS policies are continuing to be edited and improved upon.

“I was just at a candidate forum for the Jewish Federation of Ann Arbor, and the board president Torchio Feaster talked about our anti-bullying policy and how the language of it needs to be changed to be more inclusive for people like our Jewish students and Islamic students,” she said. “It’s not that the policy isn’t there, it’s just that it’s old and kind of outdated. We need to make sure that we’re updating it.”

One of the major values that her campaign Wilkins’ campaign is based upon is transparency.

“I think there are a lot of decisions that are made right now that the community doesn’t know why,” she said. “I know from talking to some school board trustees that there is information that they’re not getting. There’s two sides to being more transparent as a school board member – why I’m voting one way or the other for something, but also demanding transparency from the administration so that we can actually get more information and be better informed.”

She also believes strongly in a “team player attitude.”

“I want to make sure that I’m approaching the board meetings with an attitude of mutual respect for everyone who’s there,” Wilkins said. “I expect to not agree with everyone on things that we’re discussing, but I do think we can do better about being grown ups about discussing things.”

If elected, Wilkins intends to ask questions until she understands the situation completely. She also believes strongly in owning up to mistakes and getting follow up input from the community.

“When policy decisions that are made don’t go the way they want them to, a board can stand by that decision and say, ‘Now it looks like that wasn’t the right way to go,’ and try and make that right,” she said.  “I think that’s going to go a long way.”

Wilkins also says it’s important for community members to vote “yes” on the millage for the special education bond that will be on the ticket.

“We really need people to vote yes on that millage, which is a renewal, so it’s not going to cost anyone any more in taxes,” she said. “If folks think that the financial situation is bad for the schools now, if that doesn’t pass, we still have to pay for all that stuff somehow and the schools are going to be in an even worse financial crisis.”

Wilkins is endorsed by Trish Reilly, Andy LaBarre, Jason Morgan, the Ann Arbor Education Association, Huron Valley Area Labor Federation, Washtenaw County Democratic Party, the Michigan Education Association, Washtenaw County Black Caucus Democratic Party and Alyshia Dyer.

Eric Sturgis

A graduate of Ann Arbor Public Schools, Eric Sturgis went on to receive a Bachelors in History and a minor in Political Science and Masters in Sports Medicine from EMU. Along with working as a substitute teacher in this district, Sturgis has also been a tennis coach at Huron, Skyline, and various colleges.

“I hear a lot from students and teachers through coaching,” Sturgis said. “When I’m on the tennis court and I’m hearing what the students are talking about, they’re not sugar coating it. They’re telling me exactly what is happening.”

Sturgis believes that several cuts due to the budget deficit were misjudgements.

“One of the things that was cut was the foreign language program in the elementary school, and I think that was a big mistake. I also think it was a big mistake cutting some of the music teachers.”

In addition to this, Sturgis hopes to prioritize ensuring equitable treatment for students that live in underprivileged neighborhoods and attend Title I schools, and will support initiatives that reduce achievement gaps.

In terms of recovering from last year’s budget deficit, Sturgis wants to remain focused completely on recovery, rather than spending energy on other issues.

“For example, when [the board] brought up the ceasefire resolution, my concern was why they were discussing that,” Sturgis said. “Do they think that Netanyahu, over in Israel, is going to hear that our public schools are for a ceasefire? Stuff like that affects students – students have left the district because of it.”

He also values transparency and being open to the community. “I believe in being open to the community about what’s going on: If we’re 30 students short, we say, ‘Listen, we expected this amount of money, but here’s where we are now, and here’s what might happen,'” Sturgis said.

But Sturgis believes his greatest strength lies in understanding the perspective of students.

“I’m the only candidate that went to the Ann Arbor Public Schools, worked in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, and coached in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. And I think that’s really important for where we’re at now,” Sturgis said.

Sturgis is endorsed by Trustee Susan Baskett, Trustee Torchio Feaster, and other undisclosed individuals.

Don Wilkerson

A proud Native American, Don Wilkerson is also a father of four, all of whom have been, or will be enrolled in Ann Arbor Public Schools. In addition to being involved in coaching Rec and Ed sports, Science Olympiad, and DECA, Wilkerson was the Treasurer and Vice President of the PTO Council, which oversees parent teacher organizations across the district. He also sat on the board of a nonprofit for special education advocacy in Ann Arbor, along with having run several millage campaigns – campaigns focused on asking voters to increase their property taxes to fund schools – as well.

Wilkerson ran for Board of Education in 2016 and was unsuccessful, but the events of the last several years are what re-engaged Wilkerson in local politics.

“It’s some of the lack of trust that I think our community has across the district; it’s the financial deficit that we had last year,” Wilkerson said. “I think the tone at the top for our organization hasn’t really been one that’s positive and focused on students and teachers.”

Wilkerson intends to focus on financial stability and bringing students back to the district, along with improving communication between the board and the community.

“We’re the number one smartest city in the US, or whatever the case,” Wilkerson said. “But we need to use that knowledge, right? And the only way for us to do that is to have open communication and to share information with the community so we can come up with creative solutions.”

Wilkerson also believes in having a visioning process with multiple years of foresight.

“We haven’t gone through a visioning process in a number of years, and we need to think about what we want our district to look like three to five years from now,” he said. “Our community needs to trust that the board has best intentions and has the oversight and governance to really help our district go where it should be going from a financial perspective.”

To further address the budget deficit, Wilkerson also values understanding every single constraint the school district has.

“Eighty-two percent of our budget goes to teachers and teachers salary and staff salary,” he said. “I think another close to 10 percent is third party contracting, whether it’s like buses or janitorial staffing. We need to take a holistic approach and just make sure that we understand every single line item that’s on the budget and all of the assumptions that are made.”

Another priority is bringing students back and focusing on district growth, which would be addressed by bringing childcare back to all buildings, and introducing innovative programming.

“In some areas where we have the capacity, we want to attract more students by offering what we don’t currently have in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, to excite people about this district,” Wilkerson said.

Wilkerson is endorsed by the Washtenaw County Democratic Party, Anishinaabek Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party, Better Boards Better Schools, Focus on Education Ann Arbor, LiUNA Local 499 Union, Planned Parenthood of Michigan and is recognized with the “distinction” of being a 2024 Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate.

———————————————————————–

The Millage Proposal

One of the most prominent issues of this election is the $2.3 million Special Education Millage Renewal Proposal. A millage is a property tax that funds school districts – his proposal would renew an old millagee that would provide money that schools could use for staffing, along with covering unreimbursed costs of special education services across Washtenaw County, which includes 13 districts, including Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Lincoln, and Ypsilanti. 

“There’s a whole continuum of services,” said Suzanne Dickie, the head of the Special Education Department at Huron. “It also can go towards assistive technology. So some of our kids, even here at Huron, are non verbal, and they have what’s called a communication device, and it speaks for them. Money can go towards that, to get a new communication device or update the software, things of that nature.” 

By giving the district money to avoid depleting the general fund, the millage could also cover services such as occupational therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy. It also would not increase the tax rates of any Washtenaw County occupants. 

“[Tax rates] are going to be the same as they were,” Dickie said. “I think that’s important for people to know, especially when budgets right now are super tight.”