Update: A comment from candidate Jeffrey Harrold has been added.

by P.D. Lesko

ANN ARBOR PARENTS contact Board of Education members on a regular basis about a variety of topics both mundane and not-so-mundane. So, the newspaper sent a short email to each of the candidates running for the Board of Education:

“The Ann Arbor Independent is preparing its Voters Guide and we’d like to know whether you support or oppose the annexation of the Whitmore Lake School District.”

Eight of the candidates responded the same day. Two (incumbent Susan Baskett, and challenger Jeffrey Harrold) did not respond at all.

However, during Baskett’s recorded comments concerning her candidacy, which are being broadcast on CTN, she makes her position clear: She does not support annexation of the Whitmore Lake School District. Baskett voted against putting annexation on the ballot.

She told the public at a BOE meeting: “The annexation doesn’t offer anything to Ann Arbor schools as it is currently proposed.”

In an interview with The Ann Arbor News in Sept., Baskett said: “There doesn’t seem to be much of a benefit to Ann Arbor children and their families.”

Jeffrey Harrold, on the other hand, had not made public his position on the annexation. He responded to our request for a comment after the paper went to press. This is what he wrote: “I am against the annexation of Whitmore Lake. I do not think we are in the financial position to support them, especially as we are saying the reason we are privatizing our existing services is that we are attempting to cut cost. There are also unanswered questions regarding how debt retirement will be handled between the two districts and how existing contracts will be handled.”

Incumbent BOE trustee Christine Stead told the public at a BOE meeting: “I view the opportunity to annex in Whitmore Lake schools as an opportunity to save public education in Washtenaw County.”

She expanded on that when she responded to The A2 Indy: “While I am disappointed with the state’s lack of progress in making this more appealing for Ann Arbor in a timely way, I do believe we are in a ‘grow or die’ market in education right now.  You can see so many districts around is in a negative cycle that is nearly impossible to get out of when you have declining funds relative to costs.  I think the annexation aligns with our growth strategy and is probably the most economically efficient (from a taxpayer perspective) way for us to acquire new capacity while maintaining small learning communities.”

Trustee Stead has also written about the annexation on her blog. In an August 1, 2014 entry she argues that the annexation makes sense because traditional school districts are “under attack”:

…All traditional public schools have been under attack.  We know we need changes in Proposal A, but until we get them, we will continue to be under attack.  There are no guarantees and the current legislators have been wildly aggressive at underfunding traditional public schools, creating massive incentives for for-profit charter schools while being lax in quality requirements, and creating a huge misalignment in pension funding such that charters don’t have to participate, which puts an increased burden solely on traditional public schools. 

Jack Panitch, 54, is a tax attorney at Varnum LLP in Ann Arbor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., and a JD from the Hofstra University School of Law in New York. Panitch received his Master of Laws degree in taxation from the New York University School of Law.

Panitch has lived in Ann Arbor with his family for almost eight years. He is the chairman of the Ann Arbor PTO Council. In his public comments, he has been highly supportive of the Superintendent. He serves on Swift’s Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee and was a member of a group of Ann Arbor residents who interviewed Dr. Swift for the superintendent job.

On his campaign website, Panitch writes, “Like it or not, we, the voters of the AAPS and WLPS are now in a negotiation with the State of Michigan, and we have to get the best deal possible.  We need to reserve judgment and give our team of negotiators a reasonable amount of time to put in place the pieces to make the compelling case.  The last thing we want to do is to undercut respect for our representatives.”

He provides a nuanced argument in favor of letting the process run its course.

Like Panitch, Donna Lasinski has also served in leadership roles in the PTO Council. Lasinski, 45, has lived in Ann Arbor for more than 20 years. Lasinski has campaigned for district millages and, like Panitch, is on Dr. Swift’s Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee.

Donna Lasinski’s position is that “the first responsibility of a Trustee on the Ann Arbor School Board of Education is to the students of Ann Arbor.  The annexation of Whitmore Lake Public Schools, with the current legislation in place, offers an opportunity for our students to come out a little bit ahead financially in the short run and to expand program choice and financial opportunities in the medium to long run.”

Lasinski does recognize that there are risks. She writes, “However, there are legislative risks and population growth risks that could significantly impact the long  term benefits.  With my fiscal and community building strengths, I am a strong candidate to implement the will of the Ann Arbor community regarding annexation.”

Deirdre Piper, 40, is a certified teacher and has been a substitute teacher in AAPS for five years. She has said she’s building a business. Piper has an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of California-Berkeley and a master’s in reading education from Wayne State University.

Unlike Jack Panitch, Piper was definitive in answer to the newspaper’s question concerning whether she supports the proposed annexation. She responded via email:

“I cannot find a compelling reason to support the merger. In my opinion, the two school boards rushed to place the merger proposals on the ballot on only a wing and a prayer. Although I am a proponent of creative solutions, no one has convinced me that this is the right thing for Ann Arbor schools. There is a time to look after your own self-interest so, while this would be a boon to Whitmore Lake’s problems, I cannot get beyond the fact that it will 1) raise my taxes but 2) not guarantee that my third grader will not have 29 or more kids in his class again next year.”

Like Piper, Hunter Van Valkenburgh offered a clear-cut answer to the annexation question: “I am opposed to it,” he wrote in an email.

Van Valkenburgh, 55, is a self-employed attorney who practices family law and does probate work. He and his family have lived in the city since 1981. Van Valkenburgh graduated from U-M in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in history and a teaching certificate. He received his JD from Wayne State University in 2004.

His wife, Aina Bernier, teaches science to 7th and 8th grade students at Ann Arbor Open. In addition to stating his position on the issue clearly, Van Valkenburgh also explained what would change his mind.

“The incentives coming from the state are insufficient to make up for the additional costs of the merger, and it would result in a quarter to half mill increase to Ann Arbor taxpayers to pay off debts run up by a district that has voted down its last two enhancement millages.  Whitmore Lake taxpayers would actually see a decrease in their tax rates as their debt is spread among a larger body of taxpayers.

“Whitmore Lake teachers would get raises up to the (cut) levels of their counterparts in Ann Arbor, which is the only undeniably good aspect of the annexation.  It is good that state money would be going to improve the pay of teachers regionally.  The money for the salary increase would come from the (supposedly) ongoing $100 increase in PPA.

“The incentive grant from the state for consolidation is only $1.4M, not the $4.1M the district applied for. It pays only for the project manager and other expenses of integrating the districts. Supt. Swift had originally estimated that more like $4M was needed, so I don’t know where the additional money is supposed to come from.

Because of the last reason in particular and because the incentive boost in per pupil allowance (PPA) is barely adequate to fund the increased expenses (and might be less than adequate) and because it would raise Ann Arbor taxes, I am opposed to annexation.  If the GOP skinflints really pony up, say $200 or more in PPA, then I would change my mind.”

Don Wilkerson, 28, is a risk assurance associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. He’s lived in Ann Arbor for the past five years and is the president of the Northside Elementary School PTO. Wilkerson earned both a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in accounting from U-M’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

Wilkerson said: “What I can say at this point is that I’m not opposed to annexation.”

In the one-page statement he sent along, he added, “Instead of taking a definitive position on an issue that impacts everyone within our community, I believe it is more important to continue to spread honest information about the pros and cons to annexation for both communities. Ultimately, voters will make the decision on November 4th, and they should have the best available information in hand to make an informed voting decision.”

He went on to say that rather than focus on his stance, it was more important to make sure voters had “honest information about the pros and cons.”

Patricia Manley is a former Ann Arbor Public Schools principal. Her response was crystal clear: “I oppose the annexation because there are more negatives than positives for the students, staff and tax payers of Ann Arbor Public Schools.”

Manley, 69, has worked in multiple roles in her 41-year career with the district. She served as the principal of Thurston Elementary from 2001-2011. She received her bachelor’s degree in education from Western Michigan University and her master’s degree in guidance and counseling from Eastern Michigan University.

Roland Zullo, 53, is a labor, politics and public administration researcher at U-M. He earned a Ph.D. in labor relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He and his family have lived in Ann Arbor since August of 2000.

He answered the question succinctly: “At this juncture, of course, the decision is up to the voters. Personally, I am in favor of annexation as long as Ann Arbor isn’t penalized for helping out a struggling neighbor.  The State wants consolidation, so it should not punish districts for doing so. We have to consider the 900 or so students at Whitmore Lake. Annexation is probably far less disruptive than financial collapse and the imposition of a State Emergency Manager.”