Dearborn School Board Candidate Forum Tuesday
Dearborn voters on Tuesday, Oct. 5 will have a chance to meet with candidates vying to fill a seat on the Dearborn School Board.
The forum will take place from 7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in the Board Room of the Ten Eyke Administration Building, 18700 Audette, in Dearborn. Dearborn community access television will rebroadcast the forum after the event.
The Dearborn Council of the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) and the League of Women Voters Dearborn/Dearborn Heights are teaming up to host the candidate forum in anticipation of this November’s election for Dearborn School Board. Thomas Trimble will moderate and candidates will answer questions submitted by the public.
Dearborn voters are being asked to choose between two familiar faces for the one open school board seat.
Roxanne McDonald, who ran unsuccessfully in 2009, is the only challenger to file against Dearborn school board incumbent James Schoolmaster.
McDonald is the mother of three sons, two still in Dearborn Public Schools and one serving in the military. She is a former vice president of PTSA and served four years on Nowlin PTA’ s executive board. A longtime Dearborn resident, she is a Dearborn High School graduate and earned two associate’s degrees from Henry Ford Community College.
Incumbent Schoolmaster is seeking his fourth term on the board. A practicing attorney, Schoolmaster chairs the school board’s finance committee. He has two children who are graduates of Dearborn High School and his wife, Darlene, was a long-time teacher in the district.
October 3rd, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Is there any reason to vote FOR Schoolmaster? It seems to me that he has gone along with Blackburn and Lane for years with their anti-American approach to running the schools.
October 4th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
It’s time for a change. Schoolmaster ought to hit the bricks, with his smart ass remarks, lets get somebody who has kids in the system, and not a has been, would-be yes-man.
October 6th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Perhaps this is a bit of a non sequitor, but with a name like Schoolmaster there couldn’t possibly be someone better suited for the position.
October 6th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
I went to this forum…I have to say, when Ms. McDonald was asked to state what she thought was wrong with the Dearborn Schools, she was stumped…she had nothing to say. She tried to explain that she was a ‘positive’ person and therefore only thought of positive things, but…c’mon, nothing? If she is looking to improve the schools, there must be SOMETHING specific that she thinks needs improving.
But the big puzzler came when someone asked if religion should be kept out of the public schools. Mr. Schoolmaster answered that it should be kept out of our public schools, but his example was of a Christian baptizing some youngster. I stood close enough after the taping was done to hear his answer to a man who asked if the baptizing had taken place at school, or at a school function. The answer was NO, but Mr. Schoolmaster made it seem that the school system was REQUIRED to fire the Christian, unpaid assistant wrestling coach for what he had done at a private wrestling camp. I wish someone could explain that to me. If the baptizing took place at a private, presumably summertime, wrestling camp, then it ISN’T in the school in the first place, is it? Why was that used as an example of religion in the schools? Doesn’t it seem that the Muslim principal who fired that coach is the one who brought religion into the school?
October 7th, 2010 at 11:59 am
Both of these two candidates are utterly unqualified to represent our children. Schoolmaster is a total buffoon, and McDonald has zero reasons to earn my vote. Wake up Dearborn Citizens ! All politics is local, quit the lame rhetoric about Obama and look at the creeps we have running our city. One of these two people will make decisions that effect our children’s education. All i can say is what a shame. Please Dearborn citizens get involved and demand quality representation from our elected officials.
October 7th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
I think we should vote to eliminate schoolboard positions and save some money. I don’t think we need more than three schoolboard members to make our school district decisions.
Also, limit City Council member seats too.
October 8th, 2010 at 9:25 am
As far as the existing candidates are concerned, I say which is the lesser of two evils. Schoolmaster has had his chance, and has brought nothing to the table, give someone else a chance — Bye Bye Silver Fox Schoolmaster, we drastically need u out.
October 8th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
MyTwoSenseToo: you seem to have a lot of time on your hands and have made quite a few comments over a period of time on various topics. Why don’t you run for one of the council or school board positions?
October 10th, 2010 at 10:05 am
homegrown = just because people make comments doesn’t mean that they are qualified to run for any position. But on the other hand maybe MyTwoSenseToo is qualified to run and just doesn’t want to.
October 10th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Homegrown, I agree with you.
My Two Sense Too seems to have more sense than our current council and school board.
October 11th, 2010 at 5:18 am
If you want a guaranteed rubber stamp cheerleader for Whiston, vote for McDonald.