Four candidates run for
two seats in May BHS election

Board to iron out election schedule

Andrea Zarczynski
C & G Staff Writer
                 
BLOOMFIELD HILLS — There are four candidates running for two open seats in the Bloomfield Hills Schools Board of Education election on May 8. Terms for Vice President David Lubin and President Steve Weiss began in 2003 and will expire this year.

Lubin is seeking to hold onto his seat, but Weiss did not seek re-election due to the demands of other commitments. New candidates who filed nominating petitions to run in the race are Ingrid Day of Bloomfield Township and Jenny Greenwell and Don Greenwell — husband and wife — of Bloomfield Hills.

“I decided to run because I view myself as a very strong, positive voice. I really care about the education of every child in our school district,” said Day, current president of the BHS Parent Teacher Organization Council.

Day said that her main goal is to continue providing quality instruction by maintaining — if not increasing — current motivation and teamwork among faculty and staff in the district. She said that board members should foster a continuous connection with faculty members to help them improve instruction.
                 
Day has held various other volunteer positions within the district and her neighborhood’s homeowner’s association, and has experience working as a commercial lending officer at the former Manufacturers Bank at the Renaissance Center in Detroit. She and her husband, Michael, have lived in the township for 16 years and have two children who attend school at Andover.
           
Jenny Greenwell served as a substitute teacher for the district and was elected to the school board in 2004 to serve as a trustee for one year. She lost re-election the year after. She said that she and her husband, who works as a building engineer, both decided to run in the election after hearing about the board’s new $121 million bond proposal, to appear on the election ballot.

The proposal is to build two new high schools, one each at the present Andover and Lahser campuses. The decision to place the proposal on the ballot was made during a special public board meeting on Feb. 12. The new buildings are too large and too expensive, according to the Greenwells.
           
Jenny and Don Greenwell each secured at least 40 signatures to file nominating petitions by the 4 p.m. deadline on Feb. 13. The Bloomfield Township Clerk’s Office, which began running school board elections in January 2005, checked all signatures for validity, then named both individuals official candidates. The other candidates opted to pay the $100 nominating petition fee.

Lubin said that he has decided to run for re-election in order to continue his ongoing efforts, which include helping to create a strategic plan for future growth and development, analyzing requirements and projections for all facilities and building the new Johnson Nature Center classroom building.

 “I feel that we are at a pivotal point in transforming our district into a 21st century instructional environment,” he said. “In the past four years we have incorporated the International Baccalaureate curriculum; we have adapted to the needs of all students and their learning styles through our Maximizing Academic Potential process. I feel that I can bring practical, down-to-earth guidance to our district. I believe that the school district is an integral part of our community and requires and deserves exceptional governance.”

Lubin works as an architect and has also been involved in real estate development and property management.

There are seven seats on the BHS Board of Education. Every three years, two seats become available. The board is planning to move its elections to November beginning in 2008, but must still decide this year whether elections will be held every or every other November. A public hearing on the matter is planned to take place sometime in March.

Bloomfield Township Clerk Jan Roncelli said that the BHS school board did not meet the Dec. 31 deadline for all school districts to change their elections to a date other than in May.

Birmingham Schools will hold their school board election in November.

You can reach Andrea Zarczynski at azar@candgnews.com or (586) 498-1093.