(Dr. Iris Taylor, Sonya Mays, and Misha Stallworth)
The Tuesday, Nov. 3 General Election is quickly approaching, which means Detroit voters will be tasked with choosing candidates for several local and other races. One of the most important local races centers on electing three school board members to serve and create policies for Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) for the next four years.
With a crowded field of 15 candidates vying for three incumbent board members’ seats, the race, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic era of uncertainties, will be immeasurably vital for the District’s direction well into the future. The three winners will join four other board members already seated.
Making a strong bid to reclaim their seats this November are incumbents Dr. Iris Taylor, Sonya Mays, and Misha Stallworth. The three board members have united to run as a slate. Taylor, Mays, and Stallworth feel that their contributions to the board since winning their respective seats in 2016 have been excellent.
“For people who have been watching the school board over the past four years, they have seen tremendous change, progress, and reform,” said Sonya Mays, who serves as the board’s treasurer and oversees the finance committee. “The slate of Taylor, Stallworth, and Mays has significantly been responsible for the trajectory, along with the other four board members.”
Mays points to the board’s accomplishments that have been significantly powered by the three incumbents.
Mays cites three consecutive years of a balanced budget, three years of clean audits, and stronger partnerships with the business community, resulting in District students receiving new laptops and tablets.
Academically, Mays said that pre-pandemic, the entire District performed above the state average on the M-STEP achievement test, created to assess how well students are mastering state standards. In addition, chronic absenteeism rates are down by eight percentage points over the last two years. And music and performing arts programs, as of 2019, have been restored for students K thru 8th grades.
Mays believes that Taylor, Stallworth, and herself, as a slate, represent three individuals whose professional relationships have paid enormous dividends for the District’s advancement.
Misha Stallworth agrees.
“Over the last four years of working together, we’ve come to really respect each other’s work and perspective for advancing the District,” said Stallworth, who chairs the board’s policy committee. “We present a balanced and holistic approach and have created a nice climate to make some really important contributions to DPSCD.”
Dr. Iris Taylor, school board president, adds.
“When you look at overall what we’ve accomplished, it starts back with the work that we did to get a superintendent,” said Taylor. “As a team, despite all the pressures, we were clear what the attributes were for the individual that we wanted. We knew we needed a superintendent, who had a heart for kids, experience in reform and transformation work, and experience in not just making plans, but implementing plans with good results. Dr. Nikolai Vitti is that person.”
As the District grapples with COVID-19 and the impact, it will have on students, teachers, and staff, the slate of Taylor, Mays, and Stallworth realizes that as things evolve, strong and steady leadership at the board is needed. Board President Taylor fills the bill.
“I was in healthcare for 40-plus years,” said Taylor. “I was president of Detroit Receiving Hospital, and for a while, president of Harper-Hutzel. As we have been struggling with reopening schools and what that process looks like, I have offered opportunities to formulate various activities and processes that I know is supportive of a positive and safe environment for our entire District.”
All three women agree that now is not the time to change board membership with proven leadership qualities. The three believe they bring much to the table on behalf of creating policies and maintaining a stronger District: Taylor (organization and process management, consensus building, and a long-term health executive and trained nurse), Mays (a financial and fiscal responsibilities steward, real estate and facility management and improvement), and Stallworth (a skilled policymaker, trained social worker, and proven community organizer).
“Some of our best collective achievements have been for the academic progress of our students,” said Stallworth. “While there’s still a long way to go, as of 2019, we outpaced the state average in growth, which is amazing based on what we had to go through in a period of reform.”
Shortly after the three board members were seated in January of 2017, they, along with other members, were faced with a directive to close 58 schools in the District.
“We were able to negotiate with the Michigan Department of Education, a partnership that put a structure improvement process in place for the 58 schools,” said Taylor. “And today, our improvements in those areas have met all of the targets that were established. It’s clear that we are on a positive trajectory. We now have an infrastructure to support the reform work.”
“I feel that our progress over the past four years holds up under any scrutiny,” said Stallworth. “Our track record is one that is trusted to always make good decisions for students. We are three people who are future-focused and grounded in the needs of the present, which is critical as we make progress in such uncertain times.”
Mays said the thinking of the three incumbents, which she calls a strong team, believe the work has just begun, and there’s much more to do and accomplish in the District comprised of approximately 53,406 students.
“This is a difficult time to make leadership changes because of this pandemic we’re in, which has created all sorts of challenges,” Mays said. “So the three of us believe that we have done a really strong service for the District and the city, but the job is not done. We believe we should have another four years to finish what we started.
What we started is working!”
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