Censure rescinded for Farmington school board member Angie Smith Over the past few months, the board has been garnering a lot of negative attention with the resignation of several. (The Center Square) School was out, but residents packed the North Farmington High School parking lot Tuesday night to protest the school's 21-day equity challenge that included white privilege checklists and asked student participants to join a BLM or affiliated protest.. Incumbent Terri Ann Weems ran against challengers Donald David, Clark Doughty, Bruce Lilley, William Lubaway, Tammy Luty, Ed Richardson, Tera Shamey, Angie Smith, and James Stark for the six-year terms. In the past, she's been involved with the Oakland County School Board of Directors and is a former employee of Farmington Public. Mable has over 30 years of experience in educational consulting throughout the state. You have permission to edit this article. One action local districts can take to address diversity, equity and inclusion is to evaluate teaching materials to ensure materials represent diverse perspectives and content, represent a range of voices, and are culturally responsive. Minutes earlier, board vice president Terry Johnson, whose term expires next month, also resigned, effective Saturday. font-size: .9em; The meeting location is Maxfield Education Center, 32789 W. Ten Mile Rd., Farmington, MI 48336. } Though different factions present different reasons for Heitschs retirement, all say he left the district sooner than he wanted to because of board dysfunction. School Board | Farmington Municipal Schools All other races or nationalities make up the remaining 3.3%. Mable is a 24 year resident of Farmington Hills and a former member/president of the Timbercrest Homeowner Association. font-size: .9em; I think it could have been done in a better way. } However, I am pleased with the direction the district is moving in, especially in the last year. It is exhausting and its hurtful..

} There are no incumbents among eight candidates for three Farmington school board seats: David Barr, Becky DeWilde, Joe Fritz, Melissa Gorman, Kelsey Jezierski, Maggie Storlie, Steven. The resignation means the harassment complaint will no longer be pursued, according to the release. Terri earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Science degree in accounting from the Honors College at Ohio University. We need to give racism the death it truly deserves and stop CRT and teach our kids the right values and the right history and that we do live in the greatest country in the world, Macfarland told The Center Square in an interview. The adult behavior at the board has been horrible, and as a result, the children are suffering, Johnson said. 3. This is painful, very painful, school board President Pamela Green said. Disciplinary Actions / The Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine $(document).ready(function () { She is co-founder of Calvary Education Center and provides enrichment and STEM summer experiences for Metro-Detroit children. FARMINGTON HILLS, Michigan - Dozens of concerned parents protested their school system's adoption of the "21-Day Equity Challenge," a Critical Race Theory curriculum, at Tuesday's school board meeting, joined by members of the Oakland County Republican Party and Moms for America. The agenda can be found here at least 18 hours before the meeting. A Twitter List by candgnews Farmington school board approves plan to require masks - KHBS Since 2020, some classrooms have facilitated cultural arguments over equity and diversity and debated how history should be taught. Due to retirements and other issues, we have lost quality staff members. Describing his reasoning to the board, Johnson said the group "has just completely changed. Guide. "It's bittersweet that it has to be against two friends.". Appointees Terri Weems and James Stark won six-year seats Tuesday on the Farmington Public Schools Board of Education, as did long-time district volunteer Angie Smith. Olson: Some of the attributes that make me qualified to be a school board member include being a parent of 4 kids in the district, a taxpayer in the district, and my strong business acumen. 2022 Election Results. Evidence seems to indicate that parents seek schools of choice or charter schools or home schooling when a district ceases to provide an excellent education to all students. .widget-row.Green { The Board is responsible for curricular and financial decision made by the District. var encodedEmail = swrot13('[email protected]'); She runs a nonprofit and was formerly a financial advisor. The county seat is Pontiac. T.R. margin-bottom: 0; . Upcoming Agenda: The next regular meeting is Monday, March 13, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. The resignation comes after claims from board member Angie Smith that say the superintendent was racist toward Black students and staff, however, it's unclear what instances took place. School board members set overall district policy and manages the district superintendent, in this case Superintendent Christopher Delgado, who oversees day-to-day operations. [8], Oakland County outperformed Michigan as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2014. Two other board members also resigned. .widget-row.heading { Bjorn Olson is a father of four children in the Farmington High district who was concerned about the 21-day equity challenge. Personal conflicts, they say, also drew attention away from the schools. Chiefs promote Nagy to old job as offensive coordinator Feb. 24, 2023 07:33 PM EST. ", Smith is a self-admitted pot stirrer. Zach has worked for over a decade in a variety of public service roles at the local, county, and federal levels of government. Following the creation of the committee, candidates have an additional 10 days to register the committee with the school district filing official by filing a statement of organization. 2023 www.detroitnews.com. width: 250px; Previously, he worked as a financial analyst at Pepsi. I'm not going to treat anyone different from how I would treat a family member. Johnson and Weems have gone as far as filing complaints against each other to the district. It really does take a village. Michigan Association of School Boards Board of Directors Election, Section 8 Director for Birgit McQuiston of Lake Orion Community Schools as recommended. background-color: red; Elections are held bi-annually in November even years. We do this by helping you register for the classes that you need, advising you on subjects such as testing, college readiness, career readiness and connecting you to the . Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. .widget-value { The seven-member school board is relatively young withfour members elected or appointed in the past 6 months. Not indoctrination.. Before that, he attended Forest Elementary and Warner Middle School before being a Farmington District ambassador to the International Academy. Angie Smith (Farmington Public School District, Michigan) - Google News. "I am embarrassed and I feel so bad because I feel like I let everyone down. I can speak," she said. Ballot measures, Who represents me? Follow her on Twitter@shelby_tankk. Disclaimer: Farmington Public Schools shall not discriminate against an person based on race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability, height, weight, or marital status in any of its programs, services, activities or employment. It was very clear there was a lot of disruption on the board, she said. Theyll take questions and comments from their friends and instead of referring their friends to the proper channels, they take it upon themselves, Mukamal said. FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) Farmington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Robert Herrera has resigned from his position, allegedly following allegations of racism toward Black students and staff in the district from another board member. . Angie Smith, the Farmington Public Schools board secretary, was censured for "conduct unbecoming a board member" after the panel said she made public comments and social media posts. "Toxic is theword of choice describing the boards culture in recent years. Bargaining units. Donald Walker was appointed to the board in 2021. Smith: We should be focusing on the transition back to in person learning and the SEL initiatives for staff and students. ", She felt the district should have gotten more than one bid and more than one appraisal before selling the property. If you look at our board meetings, all they say is Ms. Smith, you are out of line, and I am not out of line. Our curriculum is deeply using critical race theory especially in social studies, but youll find it in English language arts and the other disciplines. Page not found On Thursday, Greensaid through tears thatshe was exhausted bythe drama on the board. Angie Smith (Farmington Public School District, Michigan) Smith: RETAINING OUR EXCELLENT STAFF. Parents protest Farmington High school board meeting over CRT, 21-day "It's really unfortunate that we've actually gotten to a position where we can't even disagree without being disagreeable We need some real change in this district and we need to hold people accountable," he said. Internal documents obtained by the Local 4 Defenders show that board member Angie Smith allegedly worked to create an intimidating and offensive work environment for the superintendent,. Past members: Farmington school board infighting created toxic culture Walker: I believe all parents have the right to choose and that should not be taken away. Email: It is creating an unsafe working environment for employees, creating a divide in the community and likely fueling recall efforts.. What I found is instead of being a cohesive, collaborative board, there was a lot of division and there was one common thread amongst it.. background-color: #f9f9f9; Farmington Public Schools Board Election Here's who's running for mayor, city council and school board in Dakota Three newcomers win seats on Farmington School Board. A resolution also passed to censure Smith. .widget-key { } All Board Meeting videos can be found by searching or subscribing to Farmington Central 265 on YouTube. font-size: 1.2em; He is the right man for the job.. Voters will also choose one candidate for a two-year term. What is happening now is that it is showing and they need a scapegoat," she said. ROBERT DEAN Former MI State Representative, District 75 DORIS BURKS TAYLOR According to 2019 U.S. Census data, Farmington Hills is 62.7% white, 19.9% Black and 14.1% Asian. The district declined to elaborate on Herrera's claim. Inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies should be directed to: Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, 32500 Shiawassee, Farmington, MI 48336. She also would like to see Superintendent Susan Zurvalec take "more of a cut" in salary and eliminate more staff from the central office to get more money into the classrooms. Very painful.". Particularly long answers were shortened, which is indicated with an ellipsis. $('span#sw-emailmask-4631').replaceWith('' + encodedEmail + ''); The district should not differentiate between students. Angie attended Wayne County Community College and Wayne State University with a major in Mortuary Science. Its not currently being taught in K-12 schools anywhere in Michigan or the country.. School Board - Farmington Area Public Schools The next Regular Meeting of the Board of Education will take place on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at 6:00 pm. Michigan Republican lawmakers have aimed to ban Michigan schools from teaching CRT, sparking pushback from some educators and Democrats who accuse the GOP of trying to whitewash history. I am not interested in having her do this practice, Smith wrote to Green of the suggested instructor in a March2019email. Weems said she and Smith are on good footing nowbut acknowledged the twohave faced issues in the past. Following his resignation, the school board censured Smith, and twoboard members followed Herrera's lead and resigned, as well. FARMINGTON -- Farmington School Board voted Feb. 8 to amend the district's mask advisory policy so that masks are "highly recommended" instead of mandated. } Cities | padding-left: 10px; background-color: green; var encodedEmail = swrot13('[email protected]'); Drawing upon current neuroscience about how the brain learns best, Dr. Blau specializes in creating highly engaging, interactive, experiential lessons designed to bring the curricular content to life for students so that they will connect meaningfully and deeply with what they learn. Farmington Michigan School Board Candidates Olson: Most issues are certainly on the radar of the residents, but one that seems to be overlooked, but should not be, are improvement opportunities for the FPS Special Education Program. The motion was requested by board vice president Terry Johnson. Herrera did not respond to multiple interview requests. color: white; }); Zach Rich was elected in November 2018. Fixing the boards culture is important to its effectiveness moving forward. } Andy Meisner for Oakland County Executive | Endorsements Don Wotruba,executive director of the Michigan Association of School Boards, said operating without a clear vision and culture can hold a board back. width: 43%; "It's time for me," Smith said. He'll receive a $105,000 severance. clear: both; We can urgently move forward to improve outcomes for those in need. Weems, who led all voting, has lived with her family in Farmington Hills since 2010. The board called Smiths claims unfounded, but accepted Herreras resignation to avoid being sued by him. word-wrap: break-word; Under this boards leadership we have completed our audit and are now using it as one of our guides to create a safe and culturally respectful district. "So this is painful. Farmington Public Schools will continue to serve the students and families well in our community; the District has a strong leadership team that will continue to move the District forward.. Carr: The very real challenge for the board of Farmington Public Schools is to gain the trust and confidence of parents and residents. "It was like the queen bee and the wannabes. Smith provided the following statement on his priorities for the district to the League of Women Voters Oakland Area: Our top 3 issues are, 1. She has provided professional development for teachers in adaptive/ assistive technology using data to inform teaching and learning. Hometown Life obtained this complaint through a FOIA request. Notice Of Electronic Brownfield Redevelopment Authority Meeting - November 13, 2020, Notice Of Electronic Planning Meeting - May 10, 2021, Results Of The 2017 Water Quality Changes In The Rouge River Survey, Farmington Governor Warner Mansion Receives $85,000 State Grant. Tuesday night's protest was followed by a school board meeting where concerned residents spoke out about curriculum that includes Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Carr currently chairs the Economic Development Corporation Board of Farmington Hills. }); Mable Fox was elected in 2020. WATCH: Amazon Organizer Big Mike Foster, Labor Leaders Host Rally and Canvass for Andy Levin. .infobox { Both current and former board members expressed frustration over squabbles standing in the way of work that would benefit students in a district with continued declining enrollment. Smith believes school officials have "lost touch" with the community, and as an example, cites the to the Islamic Cultural Association earlier this year. Smith, a 12-year member of the council, did not register as a candidate for the Nov. 8 election by the Tuesday deadline, according to the website of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. } FPS can attract new and returning students by focusing on the priorities Ive already mentioned above, primarily returning to a strong fundamental curriculum, free of the distractions that happen when a district has prioritized social and political issues over academic excellence. Walker: The best action begins with an equity audit to determine how your district is addressing these issues. During the past six months, the number of public and internal comments that include disparaging, false and defamatory statements has increased and is in direct violation of district policies, Herrera wrote in the complaint. Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines. Its really unfortunatethat weve actuallygotten to a positionwhere we cant even disagree without beingdisagreeable. We are trying our best to develop partnerships with experts in the area. Prior to the start of the pandemic, anxiety and depression among adolescents was growing, and now is at an all time high We also have a District Mental Health Program Coordinator who support staff in providing resources, programming, and learning opportunities for social, emotional, mental, and behavioral well-being. In a tearful statement, Green told her colleaguesmost of her two-year tenure had been spent "managing unprofessional adult behaviorsversus focusing on the important work that we have been entrusted to do as aboard of education.". If you would like to help our coverage scope grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia. "His skill set was like nothing we have ever seen in this district," Green said Monday of Herrera. var encodedEmail = swrot13('[email protected]'); According to Weems, the board did not look at "meaningful" student achievement data for almost two years. We have hired a new superintendent who is dedicated to our school district, onboarded 4 new board members, and become a highly functioning certified board. .widget-row.value-only.white { Internal documents obtained by the Local 4 Defenders show that board member Angie Smith allegedly worked to create an intimidating and offensive work environment for the superintendent, making comments and social media posts accusing Herrera of trying to rid the district of any African American staff members. width: 100%; Angie Smith has served on the school board since 2017. display: inline-block; Smith had dialed into the virtual meeting minutes after Green spoke about Herrerabut said she couldn'tparticipate due to a family emergency. Her currently works for the Detroit School of Arts. Smith: Yes, because we have hired a new superintendent who shares the same values and understands our mission and vision for the district. In addition to white privilege checklists, the challenge asked participants to join a BLM or affiliated protest to bail out arrested protesters and rioters, and included a list of microaggressions to avoid, such as calling America the land of opportunity.. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. MINUTES 3 Michael Swiecki - Wyandotte Public Schools Regina . Farmington Public Schools will continue to serve the students and families well in our community; the District has a strong leadership team that will continue to move the District forward, Herrera said. The district serves about 9,100 students right now, a number that dropped over 300 students from the 2019-2020 school year. Together they raised 4 daughters who attended Farmington Public Schools from preschool through high school graduation. Farmington superintendent resigns following alleged harassment by board More: Tolonen Family Pet Shop one of downtown Farmington's newest businesses, More: Farmington school board offers superintendent job to Walled Lake administrator, More: The Hawk in Farmington Hills prepares for June opening. The protesters lined the street in front of North Farmington High School, holding signs and waving at . Smith: Offering programming and bringing in experienced DEI consultants to help engage and educate our staff and community. Heitsch did not respond to multiple interview requests. [1][6], Farmington Public School District is located in Oakland County in southeastern Michigan. Farmington school board chaos: Superintendent, 2 board members - WDIV Contacted by. Katie Macfarland, a mother of children in the Detroit Public Schools system, said she showed up to protest because she found the 21-day challenge and CRT offensive and divisive. On Nov. 8, voters in the Farmington Public Schools district will choose three people to serve on the school board for six years. Literacy and Math proficiency rates are at an all-time low, and getting lower. Claudia has had a lifelong involvement in community service; she was a member of the Farmington Area Jaycee Women, PTA, Girl Scout Leader, Religious Education Teacher and Youth Basketball Coach. Biography Smith earned her bachelor's degree from Wayne State University. Angie Smith is an at-large representative on the Farmington Public School District school board in Michigan. These seats included three seats with six-year terms and two seats with two-year terms. $('span#sw-emailmask-4632').replaceWith('' + encodedEmail + ''); Interns wanted: Get paid to help ensure that every voter has unbiased election information. font-weight: bold; At the board meeting, Terri Weems, the Farmington Public Schools (FPS) Board of Education president, said she was proud and had no plans to stop the DEI program. The district paid Herrera a $105,000 buyout,and the district continues to pay his six-figure salary through June as his replacement is hired. ", The larger problem she sees is a disconnect between the school board and the community. Infighting wasfueled by big egos and big personalitiesandultimately pulled the board'sattention away from their primary focus: students, those critics say. [2], School board candidates in Michigan were required to file pre-election campaign finance reports with their county election offices by October 28, 2016. She is the single mother of three daughters who all attended Farmington Public Schools - graduates of 2006, 2010 and 2016. Conflicts in school board elections, 2021-2022; Partisanship in 2022 United States local elections; Trends in 2022 ballot measures; The Biden administration. margin-bottom: 1px; Those completed goals come at the expense of Academic Excellence. He'll stay on as the superintendentthrough the end of the first semester of the2020-21 school year. Masks had been required when the district's residential population was classified as high risk for covid-19. Copyright 2020 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This is just their way of telling me to shut up. He's been involved with the Judson Center, United States Marine Corps, Grace Centers of Hope, Woman At Risk and Another Way Pregnancy Center. If the district were to receive the full funding that is supposed to be provided it would free general funds for more programming and improvements. A lot of boards dont do that.. Also, we should focus on ways to encourage individuals to apply for open positions within our district (substitutes, bus drivers, and para pros for example). I am MASB board certified which means I have taken the needed classes to learn how to be an effective board member. [4], Candidates received a total of $6,710.00 and spent a total of $12,632.11 as of October 30, 2016, according to the Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds.[5]. There is an opportunity to enhance outcomes for these learners. Another area of attention that must be addressed is the recruitment and retention of qualified teachers and support staff that serve the district. The Board of Education is aware that at times members of the community and District employees would like to . It is certainly not representative of those in the program, however. Our goal is to help you prepare for graduation and to move into an interesting and meaningful career. School board chaos at Farmington Public Schools leads to superintendent's resignation. Take a sneak peek inside. }. At the start of the 2022/23 academic year there existed a shortage of teachers and bus drivers. $('span#sw-emailmask-152').replaceWith('' + encodedEmail + ''); Resumes should include past board experience, past managerial experience, and other related experience. You want to teach less reading, writing, and arithmetic so you can teach Critical Race Theory and DEI?. Our schools also reflect the richly diverse community we live in. Farmington school trustee who was censured: 'I'm in good trouble' Mattie McKinney-Hatchett Endorses Levin - Andy Levin .widget-row.Republican { var encodedEmail = swrot13('[email protected]'); Based on the State As a school board member, she said, she would first and foremost listen to parents, teachers and students. Smith also questioned if Herrera, who is Latino, was the diverse person she feels is needed to lead the district and felt he did nothing to sooth racial tensions in the district. and holds the Superintendent and staff accountable for policy implementation. Smith Says 'It's Time' for Her Farmington School Board Run width: 250px; Angie Smith, Farmington School Board Vice President, Endorses Levin. Two other board members also resigned. I do have a strong personality, that is true, so I would have told him what I didnt like either. I am happy with our direction, but this is not a time to rest because there is still plenty to do. The percentage of people below poverty level was 10.0 percent for the county, while it was 16.2 percent statewide.[7]. Budgeting 2.Privatizing/school closings 3. Dr. Herrera was appointed as superintendent in 2019. Please, 100 largest cities in America by population, Farmington Public School District elections (2016), List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2016, Farmington Public School District, Michigan, 2016 Farmington Public School District Elections, https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Angie_Smith_(Farmington_Public_School_District,_Michigan)&oldid=8513620, Pages using DynamicPageList dplreplace parser function, 2016 United States school district candidates, Conflicts in school board elections, 2021-2022, Special Congressional elections (2023-2024), 2022 Congressional Competitiveness Report, State Executive Competitiveness Report, 2022, State Legislative Competitiveness Report, 2022, Partisanship in 2022 United States local elections, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.
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