Dearborn School Board Race Features 4 Open Seats

DEARBORN, MI — The filing deadline to run for a spot of the Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education is July 21, and the district has four of its seven seats up for election.

The Nov. 3 election will include three seats for full six-year terms. Board members elected to those spots will serve from January 2021 through December 2026. The fourth seat is a two-year partial term created when Fadwa Hammoud resigned last year. The winning candidate for that position will be seated after election results are certified in November and then serve until the end of 2022.

The Dearborn School trustees oversee both Dearborn Public Schools and the Henry Ford College. They are responsible for the budget at both institutions and overseeing and evaluating the district superintendent and college president. Trustees are not involved directly in day-to-day operations in the district.

Those interested in running for school board need to file their paperwork with the Dearborn City Clerk’s Office by 4 p.m. on July 21. The required forms can be found on the district's website.

That paperwork includes a school board candidate affidavit and a nominating petition with at least 40 signatures but not more than 100. A candidate can pay $100 instead of collecting signatures.

Given the evolving situation with closures relating to the coronavirus, the district is encouraging candidates to call the clerk’s office to check when the office is open and if they need to schedule an appointment.

The deadline to withdraw from the race is July 24.

Trustees with terms that expire this year include Mary Lane, Michael Meade, Adel Mozip and Mary Petlichkoff.