Under Senate Bills 1145 and 1147, all Michigan school districts would incorporate curriculum on the histories and contributions of communities of color within their classrooms. The “Teach MI History” legislation, introduced by Sens. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit), Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton), and Erika Geiss (D-Taylor), would also require cultural competency training for teachers and create a “cultural advisory board” within the Michigan Department of Education.
State Reps. Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton) and Jason Hoskins (D-Southfield) are expected to introduce companion bills in the House next month.
“This is not just about teaching history — we are fostering empathy, cultural awareness, and the critical thinking skills our students need to thrive in an interconnected world,” said Puri. “This curriculum is about ensuring that every student sees themselves in the story of our country and is equipped to build a more inclusive future.”
With Republicans taking control of the state House in January, Democratic lawmakers don’t have much time to pass legislation and have it signed into law before the end of the year. This legislation aims to build upon last year’s efforts, when state legislators included funding in the 2024 state budget for inclusive history curriculum pilot programs and a toolkit for MDE to assist school districts in those efforts.
Other headlines for Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024:
Seven affordable housing programs in Detroit are receiving funding from a nearly $18 million grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis — the most grant money the bank has ever invested in the state.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Detroit District and the Great Lakes Water Authority are holding a public meeting from 3-7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2 at East Lake Baptist Church, to discuss the Southeast Michigan Flood Risk Management Study. Sessions will also be held on Dec. 4 in Dearborn, Dec. 9 in Waterford, Dec. 10 in Sterling Heights and Dec. 16 in Grosse Pointe.
The Detroit Fire Department is planning to install 5,000 smoke alarms in city homes over the next year. To request information or to request fire alarm installation for your home, email communityrelations@detroitmi.gov.
The Propitious Spot is looking for vendors for its Dec. 21 holiday event, Santa’s Spot: A Warm Winter Gathering. Confirmed offerings for attendees include photos with Santa, S’mores, a hot chocolate bar and holiday music. Interested vendors can email info@kmproseries.comfor more information.
Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.
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A local nonprofit is working to transform a former school property in Corktown into a community hub that will house an early childhood education program, host artist residencies and more.
Co-founded by Paul Spiegelman and Hamsa Daher, Kintsugi Village aims to offer a “unique blend” of educational opportunities for Detroit families, from arts and culinary experiences and a community garden to events and programming promoting wellness and personal growth.
The initiative will be located in the former St. Vincent Middle School in Corktown, with plans to open the early childhood center by September 2025.
Spiegelman and Daher joined The Metro on Wednesday to discuss the project and what inspired it.
“After going through a really tough personal time about a year and a half ago, we sat around at the DIA one day and talked about maybe doing something new, and Hamsa was ready to take on a new challenge as well,” Spiegelman said. “We thought maybe there’s a way we could help in Detroit and help in a local neighborhood, bring the community together. And that’s where the inspiration started to pull all these initiatives together.”
The pair will hold a community meeting at 6 p.m. Dec. 2 at McShane’s in Corktown to discuss their plans for the community hub and share additional details about the early education program and tuition costs.
Use the media player above to hear the full conversation with Spiegelman and Daher.
More stories from The Metro on Nov. 27, 2024:
State Rep. Dylan Wegela and Downtown Detroit Partnership CEO Eric Larson joined the show to discuss GM and Bedrock’s redevelopment plan for the Renaissance Center and its $1.6 billion price tag.
Filmmaker Tom Brown was diagnosed with HIV when he was just 18 years old. His 2016 feature film “Pushing Dead” — a dark comedy about an HIV-positive struggling writer — is inspired by his own personal journey coping with the disease for decades. Brown, who recently moved to Detroit, joined The Metro to talk about a screening of the film he’s organizing for World AIDS Day at the Senate Theater this Sunday.
The way we string our sentences together with the metaphors or similes that we use to enrich a conversation can often change an individual or move a nation for better or for worse. Detroit’s poet laureate, jessica Care moore, joined the show to talk about reaching people where they are in the community or with their personal growth.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
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Michigan’s firearm deer hunting season officially opened on Friday, meaning thousands of enthusiasts from around the state and beyond are preparing to take part in the popular tradition — including our executive producer David Leins, who is in northern Michigan doing just that!
For some, hunting is more than just a hobby. It’s a way of life — a way to feed their families. Others simply hunt deer for sport. But there are many Michiganders who’ve had little to no exposure to hunting, and one local organization is working to make it more diverse.
Antonio Cosme is a co-founder of “Black to the Land Coalition,” a nonprofit working to build back the connections between people of color and the natural world. Cosme joined The Metro along with avid hunter Andrea Di Cresce, who serves as global kids program coordinator for Black to the Land.
The Coalition offers hunting safety courses and they’ll be hosting a “hunters of color” network gathering next week, Cosme said.
“We just want to create a network, create some support opportunities,” Cosme said. “We’re really interested in helping urban hunters get access to private land. That’s something that we are particularly interested in because that is gonna be your best opportunity to hunt deer.”
Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.
More headlines from The Metro on Nov. 15, 2024:
Since Michigan legalized recreational marijuana five years ago, weed edibles have been getting into smaller and smaller hands. From 2020 to 2022, the Michigan Poison and Drug Information Center recorded a 75% increase statewide in unintentional youth cannabis ingestion. Detroit City Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway joined the show to discuss an effort to keep weed advertisements out of sight from kids.
The Detroit Documenters play a crucial role in improving our access to public information. They’re at all the city’s public meetings, taking notes on what leaders and community members are saying. Public comment dominates these meetings, often stretching for an hour or two. The board could soon make changes to their public comment process that some worry could have a chilling effect on free speech. Detroit Documenters Coordinator Lynelle Herdon joined the show to discuss these potential changes.
Macomb is a swing county. That’s been true in previous elections and on Tuesday, Nov. 5, it was proven to be true as a lot of people came out to vote for President-elect Donald Trump. In Michigan, many of those voters were in Macomb County, with 20,000 more residents there voting for him this time compared to 2020. Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel joined The Metro to share his thoughts.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
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Several organizations will come together next week to celebrate more than 300 schools that have taken steps to prepare for sudden cardiac emergencies by earning a MI HEARTSafe designation.
Nearly 1,000 schools have earned the recognition since the inception of the program in 2013. This year, a record-breaking 312 schools are being recognized for their work during the 2023-2024 school year, with 158 schools receiving the award for the first time — marking the most designations in the program’s history.
The recognition is awarded by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), Michigan Department of Education (MDE), American Heart Association, Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) and Michigan Alliance for Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death of the Young (MAP-SCDY).
This year, House Bills 5527 and 5528 were passed to create comprehensive emergency response requirements for schools. That includes a written cardiac emergency response plan for the school day, afterschool activities and sports, accessible inspected automated external defibrillators or AEDs, cardiac response drills, and pre-participation screenings.
A virtual training in January will teach schools how to get MI HEARTSafe recognition. Find out more information at Migrc.org/miheartsafe.
Other headlines for Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024:
The Michigan chapter of the Arab American Civil Rights League and the INSAF Project is hosting a virtual training at 1 p.m. Nov. 8 for attorneys and law students who assist Lebanese-American families trying to leave Lebanon.
Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit is collecting donations for its Community Friends Day to support homeless animals. The organization says it needs to raise about $900 per animal for the almost 2500 dogs and cats they care for each year.
Votes are still being counted in races for Michigan’s statewide education boards. View the latest election results at wdet.org/electionresults.
A new report from the University of Michigan’s Youth Policy Lab shows rates of depression and anxiety among 8th to 12th graders in Detroit dropped below pre-pandemic levels.
Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.
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Michigan voters will decide who will serve on the next State Board of Education on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Eight candidates are vying for two open seats on the board. The winners will each serve an eight-year term.
WDET is committed to bringing you accurate, up-to-date election results for the metro Detroit area. Results from uncontested races are not included.
Be sure to bookmark this page or tune in to WDET 101.9 FM for live updates on election results. Last updated: Nov. 6 at 11:22 a.m.
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Donate today »
This election season, voters across the state will fill two seats on the leadership boards of Michigan’s three largest universities, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University.
The state constitution gives statewide elected boards general supervision over each institution’s finances, as well as over the hiring of top university positions — including its president. Each board’s eight members serve staggered eight-year terms, with candidates nominated at party conventions.
Wayne State University Board of Governors
Incumbents Mark Gaffney and Michael Busuito are running to keep seats that expire in January.
Gaffney is a Democratic nominee. He’s a retired Teamster and former president of the Michigan AFL-CIO. He teaches in Wayne State’s labor program.
He says he’s proud of the work the board has done during his tenure and wants to continue that work.
“We want to continue to raise the graduation rates,” Gaffney said. “We want to increase the diversity. We want to be more welcoming to all kinds of students, and we want to better market the wonderful news about Wayne State University.”
Gaffney points to Wayne State’s status among research universities and says he wants to make sure it’s accessible to students who face both economic and academic challenges.
He says all students should feel they have a place and a voice at the university, adding that recent student protests around the conflict in Gaza and university investments have challenged the university to strike a balance between sometimes competing viewpoints.
Suzanne Roehrig, the Working Class Party nominee, says she visited the pro-Palestinian student encampment on campus in the spring and feels the university should work harder to protect student rights.
Roehrig says she was eight months pregnant when she started at Wayne State, making it difficult to juggle the responsibilities of single parenting and school work. Roehrig studied education and library science and has worked as a teacher and librarian in Detroit and Ferndale.
She says her education came at a financial cost, and believes college should be free.
“In the wealthiest country in the world, there is more than enough money to make this a reality,” Roehrig said. “The working class produces what is needed to run our society. They have a right to a free education.”
Rasha Demshkieh, the other Democratic candidate in the race, came to the U.S. from Syria when she was 19 years old. She is an alumna of Wayne State’s pharmacy school; served on the Port Huron Area School District board for 13 years; and served for eight years on the Michigan Civil Rights Commission.
Demashkieh says she’d like to see the diversity of Wayne State’s student body and faculty reflected on the board, and wants the university be a bigger part of the cultural and economic development in Detroit.
“I wanted to be a part of being able to push in that direction where we provide different opportunities to our students,” Demashkieh said. “When you provide them with a good job that helps the economy of Michigan… we want our students to stay in the area.”
Republican businessman and Wayne State Alumnus Sunny Reddy is also on the ballot, along with Farid Ishac from the Libertarian Party, William Mohr from the U.S. Taxpayers Party, Sami Makhoul from the Green Party, and Kathleen Oakford from the Natural Law Party.
There are no incumbents running to keep their seats on the Michigan State University Board of Trustees this election cycle. Eight candidates are vying for the two spots left vacant by outgoing board members Democrat Dianne Byrum and Republican Dan Kelly, whose terms expire in January.
Rebecca Bahar Cook, a 1992 MSU graduate and parent of two Spartans, is the Democratic Party nominee. She’s worked for several political campaigns and served on the Ingham County Commission and on nonprofit and public boards. She says one of her big concerns is the cost of tuition.
“Michigan State was founded to be the university for ordinary, everyday Michiganders who want a higher education,” Bahar Cook told WDET. “I think there has to be sort of a recommitment to keeping college affordable.”
Mike Balow says he has probably been to every board meeting for the past four years. The Republican candidate jokes some people call him the “ninth trustee.”
“Michigan State’s had its own very public and particular set of challenges over the last decade,” Balow said. “I became very dissatisfied that the administration there and the board was dealing with the problems in an open, honest, transparent and forthright way.”
Balow says the university’s handling of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal and its survivors was “abhorrent.” And he also says tuition is too high.
Green Party candidate John Anthony La Pietra says the party believes college should be free.
Though not a former Spartan himself, he took a training there when he was preparing to teach English as a second language in Japan decades ago — and he says he later joined protests on campus against the war in Iraq. He wants to make the university a place he would be happy to send his own young daughters one day.
La Pietra suspects he’s pretty different from current and typical board members.
“I am someone who is independent of the big money or big influence that seems to be prevalent on University Board,” he said. “It’s almost like legacy positions in some ways.”
Democrat Thomas Stallworth III says he was politically active when he was a student at MSU and thinks it’s important to provide students space for that.
Stallworth served two terms in the state House. He says MSU helped him find his talents and led him to a successful life and career.
He says he’s concerned that recent crises have caused conflict among board members. He hopes to bring some stability to the body.
“We’re at a point in time where we really need to learn from the experiences that we’ve had,” Stallworth said. “The Nassar incident, the shooting on campus, the firing of the football coach… These are all occurrences that have resulted in significant, traumatizing experiences for students, staff and the state. We need to be focused on understanding how we can perform better.”
Julie Maday is also on the ballot for the Republican Party, along with third-party candidates Janet Sanger and John Paul Sanger of the U.S. Taxpayers Party, and Grant T Baker, representing the Libertarian Party.
The University of Michigan football stadium is shown in Ann Arbor, Mich., Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020.
University of Michigan Board of Regents
Republican candidate Carl Meyers has run for the U-M Board of Regents several times before. He says with six of the eight current members being Democrats, it’s hard for Republicans to win a space on the board.
Meyers says one of his concerns is how expensive a U-M education is, and how much debt students and families take on to fund it.
“My mission is to increase access to the university system by controlling costs, which will increase diversity,” Meyers told WDET. “If the University of Michigan is something made up of the Uber wealthy, it’s a bad thing.”
Democrat Denise Ilitch is the only incumbent running for reelection. Ilitch has held her seat since 2008, and says she has been “laser focused” on affordability. The program that makes tuition free to most families in the state was created while she served on the board.
She says her work on the board has also included advocating for an independent office to report sexual misconduct.
Ilitch says when students complained that it was hard to get mental health services on campus she advocated for the expansion of Counseling and Psychological Services.
“I have advocated for putting more resources towards that so that students can see therapists and counselors much quicker, particularly if they have an emergency or crisis on hand,” Ilitch said.
Republican Sevag Vartanian graduated from Michigan in 1991. His son graduated from the school last year. He says to lower tuition, the university will have to have different priorities.
“It’s got a huge budget, especially with the medical system,” Vartanian said. “We really need to look at what is essential to the student experience and what is not. And you have to make hard decisions, and you have to cut programs that don’t have a positive net present value return on them.”
Vartanian also says the university has too few spots for Michigan residents, relying on higher out-of-state tuitions to fund its projects. He points to the Ross School of Business expansion planned for California.
There are six candidates running for two Regent spots that expire in January.
Other candidates in the race include Democrat Shauna Ryder Diggs, Libertarian Andrew Chadderdon and Donna Oetman of the U.S. Taxpayers Party.
The general election is taking place on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. For the latest election information, visit WDET’s Voter Guide at wdet.org/voterguide.
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There will be two education-related millage proposals on the ballot next week for Detroit residents that, if passed, would have a significant impact on students.
Voters in Wayne County will decide Tuesday whether or not to renew the Wayne County Regional Enhancement Millage, which provides supplemental funding to 33 school districts and over 90 public school academies in the county. If approved, the six-year 1.9812-mill property tax — first approved in 2016 then renewed by voters in 2022 — would be extended another six years, beginning in 2028.
In addition to the Regional Enhancement Millage, Detroiters will see Proposal S — an operating millage renewal for the Detroit Public Schools Community District — on their ballots.
The millage is a property tax for businesses and non-homestead owners only, meaning voters who own or rent their homes would see no increase in their property taxes. If approved, it would help pay off the district’s debt by increasing the millage rate that supports public schools in the city.
In Detroit, that millage rate sits at 16.6 mills (or $16.60 for every $1,000 of taxable value), which is below the standard 18 mills that other districts collect. Under state law, when property values do not keep pace with inflation, the millage rate is rolled back.
Now, voters in Detroit are being asked to increase the rate back to 18 mills. If they do, it would mean roughly $10 million annually for the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) that would help the district pay off its legacy debt faster.
That debt stems from the school district’s split from Detroit Public Schools in 2016, when the Michigan Legislature created DPSCD to run the city’s public schools. At the time, the district was on the verge of bankruptcy from years of economic peril in the city. Mayoral control and emergency state management deepened the district’s financial hardships.
After that legacy debt is paid off, the district could use the funds to go toward teacher salaries, building and classroom improvements, and other operating costs, according to DPSCD Superintendent Nikolai Vitti.
I sat down with Vitti ahead of the November election to get more insight into Proposal S and the current funding challenges facing the district.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Listen:Nikolai Vitti talks Proposal S, funding challenges in Detroit school district
Nikolai Vitti, superintendent, DPSCD: I think most Detroiters feel that as the city is just starting to see an improvement economically, and, you know, with that improvement in city services and an improvement in a school district, there’s still this underlying feeling that businesses should contribute more with their improvement in the city and their profits in the city to the city’s overall improvement, accelerate that improvement, and I think Proposal S is certainly a way to do that. So in the state of Michigan, every school district is required to tax at 18 mills. That tax is mainly a business tax, but because the city economics has improved over the past couple of years, more revenue is being generated. With that revenue, there’s been a roll back on the mills from 18 mills to 16.6 mills, because essentially, you’re generating more revenue because property values have increased. On the surface, that sounds harmless, but to the district, it’s a loss of revenue of about $10 million a year. So by reestablishing the mills at 18 mills, it ensures businesses pay their fair share in the city’s overall improvement. In the district’s improvement, the district will generate $10 million more in revenue each year. That money is completely flexible and fungible, and it will mainly go to continue to increase teacher salaries and improved facilities, because general fund dollars, through this proposal in particular, is the only way you can pay teachers. You can’t use federal funds to do that.
Robin Vincent, WDET: But first, the money will be going toward the legacy debt. Correct?
NV: Correct. Detroit is still paying two sets of debt, if you will. There’s an 18 mill debt, and then there’s a 13 mill debt, which homeowners are paying based on a construction bond in the early 2000. So we’re just about done paying off the 18 mill debt. That’ll be done by March of 2025, but we still have quite a bit to pay off on the 13 mill debt, but we’re able to accelerate that payment by passing this proposal.
RV: Now something I’ve heard you talk about a lot during school board and committee meetings is the fact that Detroit public schools are not equitably funded in comparison to other districts. How inequitably funded are they?
NV: In Michigan, every school district is required to tax at 18 Mills, and so back about two decades ago, something called Proposition A was passed by the legislature, and the positive part of Prop A was it created a floor in per pupil funding, so it guaranteed that in Michigan, regardless of where your child grows up and where they attend school, that at minimum, they will be provided a certain amount of dollars for their public education. That minimum amount this year is about $9,608 and so every district taxes at 18 mills. Once they collect that tax, if they’re below $9,608 then the state makes up the difference in state aid, so that it ensures a floor that’s positive.
The negative of this formula is that if you generate more than $9,608, you keep those dollars. So districts like Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Farmington, Romulus, River Rouge, Troy, West Bloomfield, are examples of districts that generate more than $9,608. Specifically Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Southfield, if you average those three, they actually generate $3,464 more per student than Detroit does. And as we all know, those districts border Detroit. So this creates great inequity in that those districts not only have more per pupil than DPSC does, but those dollars are completely fungible flexible, so you can apply them to anything, from teacher salaries to facilities to sport programs to after school programming. And so this creates a big issue for us when we’re trying to recruit and retain mainly teachers, special ed, special education teachers specifically, but it’s also about programming for students.
RV: I’d like to shift our focus before I let you go and discuss one of the most pressing issues that’s facing Detroit students and many children nationwide. I’m sure you know what I’m about to say, it’s chronic absenteeism. Roughly 65% of Detroit public school students missed more than 10% of school days last school year. Tell me about the ways the district is trying to address this problem, and what more you think needs to happen, more broadly?
NV: It’s one of our greatest challenges, and I name it as one of our greatest challenges, because what we’re definitely seeing in DPSCD is an improvement in student achievement. When you look at state test scores, we’re improving, especially since the pandemic, at a faster rate than the state on average, even suburban school districts. And when you look at our performance versus larger urban school districts throughout the country, we’re improving more in that above grade level performance since the pandemic than those districts as well. Our challenge is chronic absenteeism. When DPSCD students miss 18 or fewer days, they’re actually three to five times more likely to be at and above grade level in reading and math and to be college ready, defined by the SAT in 11th grade. So attendance matters because it is directly impacting student achievement. So we’re improving, but we need to accelerate that improvement with even higher numbers, and I think the best way to do that is by improving attendance. As you mentioned last year, 65% of our students missed 18 or more days of school. That’s actually an improvement since the pandemic, but we’re still not at levels even where we were before the pandemic, and that’s a challenge across the nation, not only in DPSCD, but our way of working on this is one, creating more awareness about attendance. I think a lot of our families, especially those with younger children, still think it’s okay to miss, let’s say a day of school once a week, or once every two weeks. So just trying to change the level of awareness and understanding of how absenteeism affects achievement. But beyond that, the greatest challenge that we have in DPSCD is concentrated poverty, and what that means is that we have families that are working multiple jobs. They’re trying to just get through life, and life issues are getting in the way of coming to school every day. We’re prioritizing attendance every day. So DPSCD, through philanthropic funds, excited that we have already started to implement our health hubs throughout the city. We provide free medical, dental, vision, mental health support. We also have family resource centers where we’re providing canned goods through pantries, getting uniform help, help with evictions, help with immigration services. These are all ways to address the concentration of poverty issues that our families are facing that leads to high levels of absenteeism.
RV: You’d like to see fundamental change to the way Detroit schools are funded on multiple levels. Is there any other way you see to address this big disparity?
NV: One is greater flexibility with federal money and state grants. The state did — for the first time after heavy lobbying — create some flexibility with what’s called 31a money, which is given for at-risk concentrated poverty, and so we are now putting some of the flexibility into teacher salaries with our most recent agreement. So that’s a sign of progress and one step in the right direction. But more than that, we got to get to a point where we’re not talking about a floor with per pupil funding, but a ceiling. You know, what is the right ceiling? I believe the right ceiling is placing it on the wealthiest school district, which probably would be Bloomfield Hills, that $13,443 per student, and so that all districts are minimally funded at that level, which would be the new floor. That would be one way to solve this. The other way to solve this is to move to a weighted student formula, where students in concentrated poverty, English language learners, special needs students, receive more per student than the average student.
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WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
In addition to the presidential, Congressional, and state House races, voters across the state will be casting their votes for who they’d like to serve on the boards of Michigan’s three largest universities.
There are two seats up for reelection on the University of Michigan Board of Regents in November. University board members oversee financial operations at the institution, and are responsible for the hiring of the university’s president and other key responsibilities — per the state constitution. Board members serve staggered eight-year terms, and serve without compensation.
There are six candidates running to join the U-M Board of Regents, including Democrats Denise Ilitch — an incumbent who has served on the board since 2008 — and Shauna Ryder Diggs. They’ll face Republican candidates Carl Meyers and Sevag Vartanian, as well as third-party candidates Andrew Chadderdon (Libertarian Party) and Donna Oetman (U.S. Taxpayers Party).
WDET distributed surveys to university board candidates on the Michigan ballot in November to gain a deeper understanding of what’s motivating them to run. Below, you’ll find candidate bios and their answers to WDET’s questions about their platform and political priorities.
For more information about the November election, visit WDET’s election guide at wdet.org/voterguide.
Responses have been edited for clarity and length.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
In addition to the presidential, Congressional, and state House races, voters across the state will be casting their votes for who they’d like to serve on the boards of Michigan’s three largest universities.
There are two seats up for reelection on the Michigan State University Board of Trustees in November. University board members oversee financial operations at the institution, and are responsible for the hiring of the university’s president and other key responsibilities — per the state constitution. Board members serve staggered eight-year terms, and serve without compensation.
WDET distributed surveys to university board candidates on the Michigan ballot in November to gain a deeper understanding of what’s motivating them to run. Below, you’ll find candidate bios and their answers to WDET’s questions about their platform and political priorities.
For more information about the November election, visit WDET’s election guide at wdet.org/voterguide.
Responses have been edited for clarity and length.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
In addition to the presidential, Congressional, and state House races, voters across the state will be casting their votes for who they’d like to serve on the boards of Michigan’s three largest universities.
There are two seats up for reelection on the Wayne State University Board of Governors in November. University board members oversee financial operations at the institution, and are responsible for the hiring of the university’s president and other key responsibilities — per the state constitution. Board members serve staggered eight-year terms, and serve without compensation.
WDET distributed surveys to university board candidates on the Michigan ballot in November to gain a deeper understanding of what’s motivating them to run. Below, you’ll find candidate bios and their answers to WDET’s questions about their platform and political priorities.
For more information about the November election, visit WDET’s election guide at wdet.org/voterguide.
Responses have been edited for clarity and length.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes isn’t a member of the historically Black sororities and fraternities known as the “Divine Nine.”
But throughout her hotly contested reelection campaign this year, Hayes, the first Black woman to represent Connecticut in Congress, has sometimes felt like she’s a fellow soror, the term used by Black Greek organizations for sorority sisters. On their own, members have shown up to call voters, organize fundraisers, knock on doors, cheer Hayes on at campaign events and even offer pro bono legal help.
“I had people from Massachusetts come in to volunteer,” said Hayes, a Democrat who is seeking a fourth term. “I’ve had people who had previously been considering going to a battleground state like Pennsylvania and are saying, ‘No, we’re going to stay right here and help out in this race in Connecticut.’”
Downballot candidates like Hayes — particularly Black women — have benefited from a surge in support this year from volunteers who happen to be members of Black Greek organizations, many energized by Kamala Harris’ presidential run. The vice president is a longtime member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., which was founded at her alma matter, Howard University, in 1908. Harris pledged AKA as a senior at Howard in 1986.
Collectively known as the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the nine historically Black sororities and fraternities are nonpartisan and barred from endorsing candidates because of their not-for-profit status. The organizations focus on voter registration drives, civic engagement and nonelectoral initiatives and are careful not to show favor to a particular candidate. But many of the groups’ members, as individuals, have been “extremely active” in federal and state races around the country this year, said Jaime R. Harrison, chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
“I think that’s a part of the Kamala Harris effect,” Harrison said during a recent visit to Connecticut.
There were women affiliated with all the D9 sororities on a recent get-out-the-vote bus tour through New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland to support Black women on the ballot.
Along with other volunteers, they knocked on hundreds of doors, made thousands of calls and sent out hundreds of postcards, urging people to vote. The trip was organized by the Higher Heights for America PAC, a nearly 13-year-old organization that works to elect progressive Black women.
Members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. showed off their crimson and cream colors while stumping in Maryland for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks, a fellow Delta who is in a closely watched race against former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.
Volunteers who are D9 sorority members also campaigned for Democratic U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha who is running for the U.S. Senate. If both candidates were elected, it would mark the first time two Black women have served in the Senate simultaneously.
Latosha Johnson, a social worker from Hartford, recently participated in a get-out-the-vote phone banking session for Hayes along with other Black women who, like her, are members of Alpha Kappa Alpha. She said there’s a realization among many Black and brown voters that the stakes in the election are particularly high. And if Harris wins, she’ll need allies in Congress, Johnson said.
“If we don’t get her a Congress that’s going to be able to move things,” Johnson said, “that becomes hard.”
Hayes is in a rematch against former Republican George Logan, a former state senator who identifies as Afro-Latino but has not seen an outpouring of support from D9 members, according to his campaign.
Both Harris and former President Donald Trump are courting Black voters in the final days of the presidential race. Harris’ campaign has expressed concern about a lack of voting enthusiasm among Black men.
While Republicans have made some inroads with Black voters, two-thirds still identify as Democrats. About 2 in 10 identify as independents. About 1 in 10 identify as Republicans, according to a recent poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Voter registration and nonpartisan get-out-the-vote efforts by the sororities and fraternities, coupled with the mobilization of individual members, could potentially have an impact on some of these races, said Darren Davis, a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame.
“In local elections, in statewide elections, where the Black vote is more powerful and concentrated as opposed to in national elections, D9 organizations have this tremendous untapped ability to reach and to mobilize disaffected voters,” Davis said.
The D9 fraternal groups were founded on U.S. college campuses in the early 1900s when Black students faced racial prejudice and exclusion that prevented them from joining existing white sororities and fraternities. In a tradition that continues today, the organizations focused on mutual upliftment, educational and personal achievement, civic engagement and a lifelong commitment to community service.
Many of the fraternities and sororities served as training grounds for future civil rights leaders, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. member Brandon McGee is a former Democratic state representative who now leads Connecticut’s Social Equity Council on cannabis. As the father of two daughters, he is excited about helping Harris and Hayes win.
“I want my babies to see me working for a female who looks like their mother. And even beyond looking like their mother, a female,” he said. “And I want my babies to know, ‘You can do the same thing.’”
This story has been edited to correct that Alpha Phi Alpha is a fraternity not a sorority. Also, Latosha Johnson is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, not Delta Sigma Theta.
Tonight on the Detroit Evening Report, we cover a Boston-based education nonprofit’s expansion to Detroit; family-friendly Halloween activities that won’t break the bank and more.
Boston-based education nonprofit Bottom Line is expanding to Detroit, thanks to a $600,000 multi-year investment from Greenlight Fund Detroit. The organization focuses on getting kids to and through college, providing post-secondary advising to high school seniors and continuing support until students enter “economically mobilizing” first careers. Detroit is the fifth city in Bottom Line’s portfolio, with the organization planning to serve 725 local students per year beginning this summer. It already operates in Boston, New York, Chicago and Dayton, Ohio.
Free Halloween fun at the library
Halloween is upon us, and there are lots of fun free offerings for the whole family:
The Bryant Branch of Dearborn Public Libraries is hosting a Halloween tunes-themed Family Dance Party from 4-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30.
Halloween in the D
Halloween in the D’s Trunk or Treat events invite the community into local police stations, fire houses and recreation centers Thursday, Oct. 31. Visit halloweeninthed.org for a list of the 19 locations and event times.
Our Inner Circle hosting Harvest Festival
For those looking for a different vibe for their Oct. 31 celebrations, the organization Our Inner Circle and Detroit Councilmember Mary Waters are hosting a Harvest Festival in Eastern Market’s Shed 3 from 5-8 p.m.. The event will feature hay and train rides, refreshments, arcade games, crafts and entertainment. Costumes are allowed but organizers request attendees not wear scary costumes. The family-friendly event is free but requires registration. To register, call 313-728-9677.
Detroit Reparations Task Force hosting public session
Detroit’s Reparations Task Force will have a public session from 2-4 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 2, at Butzel Family Recreation Center, 7737 Kercheval Ave., Detroit. Attendees can join in person or virtually. To join online go to cityofdetroit.zoom.us/j/87510091466.
Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.
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Teachers in classrooms are dealing with an especially tough set of circumstances. Many are dealing with the after effects of the pandemic on student mental health and taking responsibility for keeping kids safe from violence.
A panel of educational professionals joined Created Equal on Wednesday to discuss the teacher shortage in Michigan, its effect on students, and some possible solutions.
Amber Arellano, the executive director of Education Trust-Midwest, explained that many Michigan K-12 schools, especially in rural, urban, and working-class districts, are reporting difficulty in filling teaching vacancies as well as teaching staff leaving and retiring early.
Madeline Mavrogordato, an associate professor of K-12 educational administration, explained that Michigan is on the extreme low end of starting teacher salaries. This results in new teachers having to pay a wage penalty to pursue a teaching career.
In addition to legislation to increase teacher salaries, the panel emphasized the importance of guaranteeing teachers’ access to appropriate resources to support the populations represented in their classrooms and offering professional development opportunities to early-career teachers.
Armen Hratchian, the executive director at Teach for America Detroit, discussed how the shortage could be mitigated by investing in school and district leadership.
“It’s not just about the educator, it’s those leaders who are creating conditions for educators to thrive,” Hratchian said.
Guests:
Madeline Mavrogordato is an associate professor of K-12 educational administration at Michigan State University.
Armen Hratchian is the executive director at Teach for America Detroit.
Amber Arellano is the executive director of the Education Trust-Midwest, a nonpartisan education research and policy nonprofit.
Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.
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WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Oftentimes, when we think of the immigrant story, we think about people coming to a new country for better opportunities and a safer place to grow a family.
It’s often a scary and intimidating process, but that’s why the Patchwork Culinary Project exists. Created by a soviet immigrant, the nonprofit restaurant and education program aims to train new Michigan residents in the culinary arts.
It’s not just kitchen training and certification that goes on at the Patchwork Culinary Project. The space doubles as a restaurant and it’s also a kitchen many people in the program will work at.
Nick Sanchez, founder and lead chef at Patchwork joined The Metro on Tuesday to share more about the project. He says the idea was born from his own personal experiences and wanting to help others find success in the U.S.
“It came from being an immigrant myself, and starting a restaurant at a young age, and you know — learning how to deal with all the impediments and hassles of opening up a restaurant,” Sanchez said. “So I just figured we have an influx of folks coming into this country, so why not try to set them up for success?”
Use the media player above to hear the full conversation with Sanchez.
More headlines from The Metro on Oct. 22, 2024:
The new Editor-in-Chief of Outlier Media, Erin Perry, joined the show to talk about her goals for the publication. Perry has worked at Outlier since 2021. She’s also a practitioner-scholar and uses her knowledge to make journalism more accessible.
It’s a pivotal time for Detroit Public Schools Community District. The results of the November election could change the makeup of the school board as over 20 candidates are vying for three open seats. If they’re elected, new board members could disrupt the current harmony on the board and make it more difficult for Superintendent Nikolai Vitti to achieve his goals. Proposal S would make a huge financial difference for the DPSCD if voters approve it. The proposal would pay off the school district’s debt and help make new investments. Robyn Vincent, co-host of The Metro, spoke with DPSCD Superintendent Nikolai Vitti about Proposal S and the school board election.
The U.S. presidential election is just a few weeks away and while our focus is usually on how the election will impact us here in the United States, our neighbors in Canada are also watching the race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris closely. So closely, in fact, that Canada’s national broadcaster, CBC Radio, teamed up with NPR’s The Middle and WDET to host a live call-in special from WDET on Sunday, featuring Jeremy Hobson — host of The Middle — and Ian Hanomansing, host of CBC’s nightly news program The National and Cross Country Checkup. Stephen Henderson spoke with Hanomansing ahead of the broadcast to discuss the relationship between Canadian and U.S. politics.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
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Eight candidates are vying for the opportunity to serve on the Michigan State Board of Education. There are two Republican incumbents, two Democrats, a libertarian, and other parties.
Although they have different focus points, most candidates say school funding is a top concern.
Democratic candidate Dr. Theodore Jones says that if elected, he would fight to increase education spending in Michigan.
“Our state’s chronic disinvestment in education since 2008, local and state level spending on education is down by $5 billion and that has had serious real-world effects,” he said. “Our position is now 41st in the nation when it comes to education. We have 72% of our 4th graders not reading at grade level.”
Jones, a former teacher and social worker, has also worked in the administrative offices of the Detroit public schools. He says studying and remedying the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on student learning and achievement is also important.
“It has had detrimental effects for our students in terms of learning delays, social challenges,” Jones said.
Adam Frederick Zemke is a Democrat from Ann Arbor who served in the state House of Representatives from 2013-2018. He says student safety is the most pressing issue.
“Ensuring that there is good statutory support from our legislative partners to prevent gun violence and also sufficient funding for real school safety aspects is going to be very important,” Zemke said.
Tom McMillin, one of the Republican incumbents, has served on the board for the last eight years. He emphasized the importance of defending parents and kids in special education. He has argued against the Department of Education’s handling of a lawsuit by its federal counterpart over special education violations.
McMillin says the board should also better protect parents’ rights to choose between public schools, charter schools or homeschooling for more personalized learning. He says that kids all learn differently and that, “the assembly line way of doing things is outdated.”
McMillin also acknowledges that being a conservative member of the board comes with its challenges.
“We’ve had concerns, and I know some people say oh you know you’re trying to ban books. We’re not. There’s certainly books that have inappropriate material. And so you know a lot of times we get tagged as wanting to be right-wing or whatever, but really we’re just looking for reasonable policies,” McMillin said.
The state board does not create education policy, but it does give recommendations to the Michigan Department of Education, legislators, and the state superintendent of schools. It also has the authority to hire or fire the superintendent.
The board has recommended a list of changes it says would increase transparency in the operations of charter schools in the states. It recently challenged budget cuts to mental health and school safety funding.
Mary Anne Hering is a candidate for the Working Class Party. She’s a long-time teacher in local community colleges. Hering says funding schools should be a top priority.
“The money is there in this society for there to be a full tidal wave of funding in all the school districts, and I’m talking about all the way up to the Upper Peninsula, the rural areas, the urban areas,” Hering said.
Scotty Boman, a libertarian, teaches physics, astronomy and mathematics at the Wayne County Community College and Macomb Community College. He also serves on Detroit’s Zoning Appeals Board and the city’s District 4 Community Advisory Council.
Boman is against what he calls coercive means of funding.
“What I’m referring to is taxation, that people are forced to pay for something that they may or may not use. I would support tax breaks on people who choose to spend money out-of-pocket to educate their children differently than through the public system,” Boman said.
Ted Gerrard and Christine Schwarz are running for the Michigan Board of Education as members of the U.S. Taxpayers Party.
Gerrard is a U.S. Navy veteran and electrical contractor. He stresses the need for strong vocational programs and for high school graduates to be prepared for the workforce.
“We should not be training just college entrants. We need skilled trade out in the field, and I need people that can show up on my job site as a high school graduate and do basic math,” Gerrard said.
Republican Nikki Snyder has been a board member since 2016. Snyder is running for reelection. Snyder and Christine Schwartz have not responded to WDET’s request for an interview.
The two winners of this race will each serve an eight-year term on the State Board of Education. The election takes place on November 5.
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WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
New polling from the Democracy Defense Project found a vast majority of voters would have confidence in election results if a dozen practices went into use.
That list included steps like securing paper ballot storage, double checking close elections with hand counts, and cleaning up voter rolls.
The problem is each of those measures is already in place.
Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum, a Democrat, said most people didn’t think about how elections are run until misinformation and conspiracy theories began to spread.
“Once the questioning of the election, the integrity of our elections has already begun, we are trying to make up for the loss of faith and we have to rebuild the trust now. The clerks didn’t do anything to lose the faith but now we have to rebuild trust,” Byrum said during a press conference Thursday.
Byrum said it’s important for candidates to watch what they say and avoid creating further distrust in election results.
In the Democracy Defense Project poll, over 75% of people said they felt initial confidence in the election process, though there were stark differences between Republicans and Democrats.
That number broke down to a little over 60% confidence from supporters of former President Donald Trump and over 90% of supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump supporters also saw concerns like people who weren’t eligible to vote casting a ballot as a higher threat than Harris supporters did.
“If you question, please, large jurisdictions are always looking for Republican precinct workers. So please contact your local city or township clerk. And it’s not a volunteer job, you actually do get paid, not well, but you do get paid,” Byrum said.
Overall, members of the Michigan team for the Democracy Defense Project say they view the poll as demonstrating a path forward and away from election denialism.
Education and outreach were listed as ways to rebuild the trust with the general public, who may not be in tune with how elections are run.
Former Republican Governor John Engler is on the board for the Democracy Defense Project. He said news outlets need to also do more to explain that U.S. elections are secure.
“And all of the media is no match for the internet. You’re being killed by social media. The conspiracy theorists on the internet dwarf whatever, and, I would say, minor, efforts have been made by traditional media,” Engler said.
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WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations – Michigan (CAIR-MI) has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, requesting an investigation into the University of Michigan’s handling of Islamophobia on campus.
CAIR-MI’s Zaynah Jadallah says the university has not adequately supported Muslim and Arab students.
“We have contacted the University of Michigan multiple times to have better treatment for the students, but the president didn’t show any progress in protecting his students,” Jadallah said.
In response, U-M’s Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs Colleen Mastony told WDET:
“The University of Michigan is steadfastly committed to ensuring our community remains a safe and supportive environment, where all students — regardless of race, religion, ethnicity or other identities — have the opportunity to learn and thrive. President Santa J. Ono has spoken out repeatedly against antisemitism and Islamophobia, and he will continue to do so, as any form of discrimination or hate is an affront to our community.”
Over the past year, students across the U.S. have raised concerns for their safety amid ongoing campus protests about the war in Gaza. The student protesters are calling for universities to separate themselves from companies advancing Israel’s military efforts in the region, as the Israeli military has killed more than 4,000 Palestinians and more than 2,000 people in Lebanon since Hamas militants killed more than 1,200 Israeli civilians on Oct. 7.
Michigan Advance reports that at least one person was arrested this week during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in U-M’s Diag, where a memorial event hosted by Jewish students commemorating the Oct. 7 attack was being held. After police arrested the individual, protesters surrounded the police officers and their patrol car, obstructing their movement, said U-M’s Deputy Chief of Police Melissa Overton. She says the individual who was arrested has since been released, and the incident will be submitted to the prosecutor’s office for review.
The Associated Press and WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.
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The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a challenge to Michigan’s constitutional ban on direct or indirect public financial support for non-public schools.
The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation represents five families who argued the 1970 ban violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause. The parents would like to be able to claim a tax break for private school tuition savings accounts.
A central element of the Mackinac Center’s case was an argument that the amendment is rooted in religious bigotry and animus toward Catholics in particular. That is despite the fact that the amendment is silent on religion.
“The time period that it was passed, 1970, it was written facially neutral, but the way that it was campaigned upon was very anti-Catholic, and so there is this stigma that has remained with and we were hopeful that the court would recognize that stigma,” said Patrick Wright, the foundation’s legal director.
Lower federal courts held the voter-approved amendment to the state Constitution does not violate religious freedom protections. The Supreme Court refused the appeal without comment.
Douglas Pratt with the Michigan Education Association said that was the right call because, otherwise, the door would be opened to indirect diversions of money from public education.
“Michigan’s Constitution is very clear on public money not going to private schools,” he said. “Voters have stood up against efforts to change that over the years. Taxpayer funds should rightly go to our public schools, where the vast majority of our students attend.”
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The Detroit Fire Department is hosting three community events this month in honor of National Fire Prevention Week.
The theme of this year’s National Fire Prevention Week — which runs Oct. 6-12 — is “Smoke Alarms: Make them work for you!”
Smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a house fire by more than 50%, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Roughly three out of five fire deaths nationwide happen in homes with either no smoke alarms or non-working smoke alarms.
While the Detroit Fire Department has installed smoke alarms for residents at no charge for years, the department is taking fire prevention a step further this year by launching a large-scale smoke alarm initiative. Detroiters attending the Fire Prevention Week events will be able to sign up to have DFD come to their home and install three to five smoke alarms, depending on size and need. The first 30 residents who sign up for installation at each event will also receive a free fire extinguisher, according to the city.
The goal is to equip between 1,000-1,600 homes in the city of Detroit with working smoke alarms.
The first event will take place from noon-3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6, at Patton Recreation Center, 2301 Woodmere, followed by events later in the week on Detroit’s west and east sides, respectively.
Detroit residents unable to attend the Fire Prevention Week events can request smoke alarm installation at their home by calling DFD’s Community Relations Division at 313-596-2900 or sending an email to communityrelations@detroitmi.gov.
Other headlines for Friday, Oct. 4, 2024:
The general election is about a month away and early in-person voting in Michigan begins this month. Visit wdet.org/voterguide for the most up-to-date voting and election information.
Detroit’s Mexican Irish Festival is coming back after years on hiatus. The free event will be held Oct. 13 at El Mercado, 2826 Bagley St.
Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
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