School Board Elections: 5 Seats, 3 Terms
Just two prospective candidates turned up for an information session held at the Ann Arbor Public Schools Balas administration building on June 30. Both of them are current board members – Christine Stead and Andy Thomas – who were recently appointed to the board to fill vacant positions due to resignations.
Andy Thomas and Christine Stead, who both currently serve on the AAPS board of education, attended the June 30 information session for prospective candidates.
The replacement appointments received by Thomas and Stead, along with a third board member Simone Lightfoot, last only through December, 2010.
So for just over an hour, Stead and Thomas asked questions and heard campaigning advice from AAPS director of communications Liz Margolis, AAPS election liaison Teri Williams, plus fellow board members – secretary Glenn Nelson and vice president Irene Patalan.
This will be the first time the AAPS district elects its board of education trustees as part of November’s general election. The board voted this year to move their elections from May to November as a cost-saving measure. Five of the seven seats on the AAPS board will be open – two four-year terms, one two-year term, and two one-year terms.
Nelson and Patalan are the only two members of the seven-member body who do not need to be elected in November to continue to serve on the board. [Full Story]