After careful consideration, The Michigan Chronicle has chosen to endorse the following seven candidates for the Detroit Public School Board. All seven were chosen from the list of those who responded to our candidate questionnaire.
- Penny Bailer – Bailer’s sheer breadth of experience with issues related to DPS (she is a former school board member) and commitment to young people in Detroit is pretty hard to match. As she points out in her responses, her entire career of 41 years here in Detroit has been focused on young people – including the Girl Scouts and City Year Detroit – and her record is extremely strong.
- Ryan Mack – Mack’s demonstrated commitment to working with young people teaching them about the importance of financial literacy really caught our attention. That plus his financial background and expertise. This kind of background is obviously needed and would be a strong plus. Also, candidly speaking, it would be good to have another black male on the board (Kevin Turman is also one of our choices).
- Sonya Mays – Although there will no doubt be a loud contingent strongly opposed to Mays because of her affiliation with Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, her experience with both finance and business, as well as in the non-profit sector are strong reasons to recommend her. Plus Mays is the daughter of a DPS teacher and a graduate of DPS, which will provide some necessary cover to defend against detractors. Mays’s record clearly shows her commitment has always been for the betterment of Detroit, even if her choices weren’t in line with others who disagreed with that path. Bottom line, her depth of relevant experience makes her an obvious contender.
- Angelique Mayberry – Similar to Sonya Mays, Mayberry’s depth of experience makes her one of the strongest candidates for the job. In a way she is like Mays without the ties to Kevyn Orr and the entire controversial emergency management episode. The following quote is what really got our attention, in addition to her other credentials:
“As a community organizer and director of community relations for UAW-Ford, I have been instrumental in implementing capital and programming improvements for over 25 schools in the district. My involvements with DPSCD from this perspective, as well as in my own children’s experience with the district, have uniquely prepared me to understand many of the changes necessary to improve public education in the city of Detroit.”
- Kevin Turman Although not as heavy-duty qualified as some of the others, Turman’s experience as the pastor of Second Baptist could prove to be very helpful and provide a missing perspective from the clergy. He’s also known to be progressive and involved in the community. Not a jackleg, hellfire and damnation type of preacher, in other words. Also, Turman’s views on school safety were refreshing, not looking to rely on still more police presence but working toward other solutions dealing with the attitudes of the children and involving the parents.
- Misha Lianne Stallworth Stallworth’s years of work with youth and youth organizations across the country as well as here in Detroit will make her a valuable asset to the board and an effective advocate for the needs of students.
- Leslie Andrews Given the still financially precarious situation of DPSCD, Ms. Andrews’ extensive experience working with the United Negro College Fund as well as Rock Ventures here in Detroit gives her a unique set of credentials that could help attract much needed funding from foundations and funders that support schools.
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