Johnson To Seek Second Term On School Board

Henry Johnson, jtumbenr school board trustee and newly-appointed president for student services at the University, announced h i s candidaey for another term on the board in the June 12 election. He made the following statement: ■ "If we are to capitalize on the tremendous resources that are embodied in this community and use them for the benefit of our students, we must address ourselves to the concerns which I believe are germane to any system that purports to be humane and student oriented. "There is rarely a single reason for seeking re-election to public office; there is always unfinished work. Prime a m o n g these reasons that motívate me to seek reelection to the Ann Arbor School Board, however, is the fact that humaneness in education has become little more than a cliché, a standard phrase in the rhetoric of political expediency. I regret that; I regret it because I am committed to humaneness as a substantive concept and I want to continue to work to keep it from being an empty cliché. "The issue of equal educational opportunity remain unresolved and must be faced in all of its dimensions: equal' a c c e s s to educational resources, elimination of abuse through tracking, increased accountability by all staff to affected parties and a commitment to heterogeneous socio-economic school groupings. "The present board has been working toward providing s o m e innovative programs, but when confronted with racial and socio-economic issues, the board has failed to provide the viable leadership necessary to deal humanely and honestly in the best interests of all students. This failure can only be corrected if the board changes its position or the voters change the composition of the board. "Then, we must begin once more to re-order our priorities. Money is tight and the needs of our students are diverse, but we must attempt to meet these needs within the financial framework that is available. This might involve utting or reducing some programs that we have learned to take for granted. I am willing to do this, where necessary, but only after adequate consultation with all concerned parties. For many and varied reasons we are experiencing a low level of staff morale, particularly at the building staff I level. This problem must be squarely faced, for a demoralized staff can overtly or covertly contribute toward confused and demoralized students. I intend to continue to seek ways and means of bringing together our total staff in order to serve our pupils more effectively. "As we progress toward alternative educational opportunities for our students, it is incumbent upon the board of edueation to monitor and evalúate those experiences to determine w h i c h of them might be profitably transferred back to our more traditional settings. The thrust, hopefully, will be to make the regular classroom setting a more innovative one. I see this as a major priority, for without such evaluation and cross-utilization of successful I concepts derived from Pioneer II and the new Community High School, these innovative programs could I ally become 'dumping grounds' for students who are I perceived as different. "Finally, none of the above I can be fully effective unless I we are committed to 1 ing an educationally 1 gated experience which 1 fords maximum opportunity I for the awareness, 1 tion, and understanding of all I students of the individual 1 ferences in life style, 1 gies and standards that exist I amongst the people of Ann I Arbor. We live in a time ofl change, which can be as 1 concerting as it is 1 ing. It behooves us to risk 1 ing a litüe disconcerted in 1 der to meet the challenge. In I jhe final analvsis it is hettp.r ■ to face the problems related to change than to suffer the consequences of being unresponsive to the needs of today." Johnson is1 presently associate director of the Office of Equal Educational Opportunity at U-M and will assume his new post as vice president for student services on June 1. He received his bachelor degree from Morehouse College and his master of social work degree from Atlanta University. He did postgraduate studies in psychiatrie social work at the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kan., and was the former director of Group Care and Counseling at the W. J. Maxey Boys Training School. Johnson and his wife reside I at 1327 Culver. He was first I elected to the board in 1969. I