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7 Board Candidates Back School Millage Request

7 Board Candidates Back School Millage Request image
Parent Issue
Day
31
Month
May
Year
1974
Copyright
Copyright Protected
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Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
OCR Text

Seven of 11 school board candidates who spoke at a candidates' night Thursday I support the school board's reI quest for an additional 1.3; I milis for operating expenses, lïhe school election will be IheldJunelO. Candidates favorin'g a "yes" I vote on the millage proposal lare Wendy Barhydt, Stanley iBielby, E. Stevens Binder, Iwilliam Cash Jr., Tanya IsI rael, Willie Simpson and PetI er Wright. Those opposed are: Astrid iBeck, George Kolasa, I Manfred Schmidt, and a 14I year old write-in candidate, Larry Mann. Elliot Chikofsky, also a canI didate, did not attend the candidates' night sponsored by the Parent Teacher OrganizaI tionCouncil. Mrs. Beek and Mann, candidates sponsored by the Ha I man Rights Party, oppose the I request for additional millage I because of the school board's I lack of regard for the wishes I of the community in past I spending, according to an earI lier HRP statement. HRP also I favors a steeply,graduated inI come tax, rather than the I property tax, as a means of I financingeducation. Schmidt said he opposes the I additional millage because the I school board has not spelled I out what the extra money will I go for. Kolasa said he will vote "no" on the millage issue beI cause rising property taxes I will force many citizens to I move because they can 't afI ford to live in Ann Arbor. The I school district must evalúate I its productivity and learn to I live within its resources, he I said. After the meeting, Binder I said he is "reluctantly in faI vor of the millage". He would I prefer to spend the additional I revenues on evaluation proI grams in reading rather than I attendance counselors as the I board is considering. Mrs. Barhydt, Mrs. Israel I and Wright all said they see a I need for the millage. Bielby I agreed, saying teachers' I wages will be increasing and if the millage isn't passed, those funds will have to come from some place else in the budget. Cash said he favors the 1.3mill proposal but would like a reasonable guarantee the school district will use some of the revenues to expand proyams in 'the area óf 4áreer development. Simpson said he supports the millage proposal but would prefer to see another form of financing public education such as a state income tax. A majority of the candidates cited discipline problems, a lack of long-range planning and a lack of cohesiveness and continuity in the curriculum as issues in the Gampaign. Two of those issues, longrange planning and inconsistent discipline, were cited by Mrs. Barhydt, 5175 W. Liberty Rd. She also said student experiences at the elementary grades are often the key to problems when students reach junior high and high school. There should be more supportive help, including volunteers, for youngsters at the elementary level, she said. Mrs. Beek, 1706 Mclntyre, who is a Human Rights Party (HRP) candidate, said there is a need for change on the school board, citing recent meetings where students were described as "quantities" and teachers referred to as "bodies." The schools need to think about the human needs of students and encourage young persons to be what they can be, not shape or mold them into what adults want them to be, Mrs. Beek said. Bielby, 1325 Ardmoor Ave., said the schools must change to meet the variety of needs of all students. He cited establishment of the alternative school for disruptive youths as a good first step. Bielby added he thinks there is a "desperate need for enrichment and remedial courses" for students. Binder, 4001 Pratt Rd., Scio Township, said the school district has a "somewhat tarnI ished image compared to nine or 10 years ago." The school district needs to evalúate programs so it can improve weak areas. The community and teachers have to be involved in long range planning and there needs to be greater emphasis on career education, he said. Cash, 3540 Windemere, said he is concerned about career development and favors exposing students to vocational opportunities and decisión making skills at the elementary school level. Other concerns cited by Cash include: decisión making by the board, counseling and Pupil Personnel Services and development of a school system to meet the needs of "the total child." Mrs. Israel, 2937 Winsted' Blvd., supports the school i trict offering a variety ofl learning and teaching styles!: to meet different needs of 1 dents and teachers. She said" she believes children must feel safe in school but calledj the alternative school for disruptive youths "a very expen-1 sive proposition." The discipline policy should be applied fairly at all schools, she added. Kolasa, 2760 Colony, focused on the importance of school board members understand-j ing budgets. He also expressed disappointment in a recent study done by the U-M Bureau of School Services because, he said, consultants excluded contributions parents or students might have made regarding learning. Mann, 1331 Olivia, said the HRP favors community control of schools, including hiring of teachers, and opposes itracking students according to I ability. Mann added he'feels it is undemocratic ndt to allow persons under age 18, the ones iprimarily affected by the ■ ■■■IMIIMIIMIII m schools, to hold office on the I Board of Education. Schmidt, 3214 I burg, said: "Accountability I starts right at home. We are I responsible for our children." I He also said he is concerned I about the poor appearance of I schools and board delays in I building new schools such as I northeast elementary which I was approved by voters in I 1971. Schmidt was also 1 cal of the board's decisión to B change Clague from a middlel school into a junior high. Simpson, 1058 Westaire I Way, said there needs to be a I change of attitude on the I school board. He charged the I district isn't using its I sources to the fullest extent. I Simpson cited the need to I strengthen the 'elementary I school program by giving I remedial work at that level I rather than three or five years I later. Simpson also said he I believes in career education. Wright, 2140 Needham Rd., I said: "There is a great deal I right with the Ann Arbor I lic schools." Acknowledging I the school district could be I better, Wright said some of I the current problems come I from rapid growth and some I from past mistakes such as I the move to decentralization. I He cited quotations from the I U-M Bureau of School I vices describing the district 's I lack of cohesiveness and I rection in some of the I academie areas such as I lish, math and social studies. About 100 persons attended I the candidates' night 1 day. A second one is ed from 7:30 to 10 p.m. ■ day at Scarlett Middle School.