This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.
Nearly two dozen people are running for three seats on the Detroit school board during a pivotal time for the school district.
The Detroit Public Schools Community District is struggling with high rates of chronic absenteeism among students, low academic achievement, enrollment declines, and issues of climate and culture within school buildings.
The 16 candidates who answered questions for Chalkbeat Detroit’s voter guide have plenty of ideas for addressing these issues and more.
There will be 22 candidates on the ballot. One of the candidates, Jason Malone, said he is not running due to an injury. Only one of the three incumbents, Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, is seeking re-election. That means there will be two new faces on the board, as members Misha Stallworth and Sonya Mays have opted not to seek re-election.
The new faces could change the makeup of the board, particularly if they are candidates who are at odds with the priorities of current board members and Superintendent Nikolai Vitti, who received a contract extension earlier this year.
Below, you’ll find candidate bios and their answers to some critical questions about the district. For information about voting, including early voting and absentee voting, go here.
Chalkbeat Detroit — along with BridgeDetroit, Detroit Documenters, Detroit Free Press, Outlier Media, and WDET — is hosting a candidate’s forum at the Eastside Community Network on October 15 at 5:30 p.m.
RSVP here to attend the DPSCD school board candidate forum.
Lori Higgins is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
