Matthew Wilk Appointed to Northville School Board

Attorney Matthew Wilk was appointed to Northville's school board in a special meeting Monday night.

Wilk will replace , whose last meeting will be Tuesday. She resigned last month because her family is relocating to Germany.

Wilk, who said he is the parent of twin 5-year-olds in the district, was one of six candidates interviewed for the seat Monday. Initially but Joseph Daniel was not present for the interviews.

The board asked the candidates – who also included Michael Barrett, Roland Hwang, William Bryan, Thomas Gudritz, Maria Warmuth – a series of questions ranging from how the candidates would try to attract teacher to the district to what they think are the biggest challenges facing the district.

They were then assigned points. There was a tie between Wilk and Barrett, who told the board he'd seek election in November. Then, the board members stated which of the two they wanted to appoint. Wilk received the most votes.

The six candidates were interviewed in two groups. They were allowed to make opening and closing statements. The board asked them five questions and then deliberated for a short period of time.

Wilk, who works for Huntington Bank, told the board he is familiar with the challenges educators face because his parents were teachers. He also told the board that he can bring his knowledge of finances to the table, especially with regard to the district's financial challenges with rising retirements and health care costs.

He also praised the district.

"Northville has such an engaged populous, parents that really care," he said. "That's not true everywhere."

School board president Dottie Garrity said she is pleased with the board's decision.

"I thought we had a very deep pool of candidates to choose from," she said. "I feel great about the process and decision."

What's next?

Wilk will need to be sworn in and his first meeting will be on July 9.

After the meeting, Wilk said he plans to run in November. His appointment to the board is temporary. It is one of three open seats in November.

At the meeting tonight, Bartschat will be honored for her service to the board.

In this process and the last appointment process, to , there were nine and seven applicants, respectively. was appointed to that seat.

The high number is unusual for the board, Garrity said. The last contested election was four years ago. In the last election Bartschat and Scott Craig ran unopposed.