Dearborn Schools Holding Interviews For New Board Member

DEARBORN, MI — The Dearborn School Board is moving forward filling a seat vacancy by holding public interviews in April.

Nine applicants for Dearborn Public School board will be interviewed during a special meeting on Thursday, April 4 starting at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Community Room at the Welcome Center at the Henry Ford College, 5101 Evergreen.

The six remaining Board of Education Trustees will interview the candidates. Each applicant will have 15 minutes for their interview. Candidates submitted resumes, references and other information as part of applying for the appointment.

Whoever is appointed to the position will serve until November 2020, when the results from the next school board election are certified. Trustees govern both Dearborn Public Schools and Henry Ford College.

The current vacancy was created when Trustee Fadwa Hammoud resigned after being appointed to serve as the Michigan Solicitor General. She was concerned the appointment could create a conflict of interest with her role on the Board of Education, school officials said.

The April 4 interview schedule includes:

5:30 p.m. – Amer Zahr
5:45 p.m. – Diana Bazzi
6:00 p.m. – Mohamed Nehme
6:15 p.m. – Adel Mozip
6:30 p.m. – Cynthia Parrelly
6:45 p.m. – Colette Richards

7 – 7:10 p.m. – Break

7:10 p.m. – Samra’a Luqman
7:25 p.m. – Adam Adamski
7:40 p.m. – Sarah Mazur

Two other applicants, Steve Durant and Marie Lessnau, were not available on the interview date, but the Board will still consider their applications, school officials said.

The interviews will be videotaped and available later on the District’s YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/user/dpscommdept.

The Board has 30 days from Hammoud’s resignation date of March 17 to appoint a new School Board Trustee. To serve on the school board a person must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years of age, and a resident in the district.

The Board of Education sets district policy and budget, hires and evaluates the superintendent and college president, approves union contracts and pay scales, and oversees construction and other major building issues. Trustees are not directly involved in day-to-day operations of the schools or college.