Three Ann Arbor residents announce their candidacy for November school board election
This story has been updated
Three Ann Arbor residents have officially announced their candidacies for the Nov. 8 Ann Arbor school board elections, with the final day for candidates to file for the election coming next week.
Ahmar Iqbal, Patrick Leonard and Lawrence Murphy have voiced their intentions to run for the school board spots that will be contested in November.
The cutoff date for candidates to file for the Nov. 8 elections is Aug. 16. There are two spots on the school board that will be contested in the November election, with trustees Andy Thomas and Simone Lightfoot both up for re-election.
Iqbal lists his occupation as an advisor to infrastructure-related assets and transactions and is a graduate of the University of Michigan. He has a masters degree in public policy from Harvard University and studied at the London School of Economics for one year during his time at U-M.
Iqbal said he’s running for school board in order to help Ann Arbor children have the same educational opportunities that he had as a student in the Detroit Public Schools and at Woodhaven High School.
“I really look forward to using my finance expertise and public-private collaboration track record to assist our schools to be better than ever,” he said in a statement.
Iqbal lives in Ann Arbor with his wife and two children, who attend Clague Middle School and Huron High School. He lists himself as a member of Rotary Club of Ann Arbor, American Arab Chamber of Commerce and a board member of the Pakistan Association of America and Asian Pacific Islander American Vote’s Michigan chapters.
Leonard is a 22-year-old Ann Arbor native and graduate of the University of Michigan. In addition to attending Ann Arbor schools, he has two family members who work in the district — his mother teaches at Lakewood Elementary School and his brother teaches at Burns Park Elementary School.
Leonard said he plans to address the district’s achievement gap if he’s elected. He said he was involved in a mentorship program at Mitchell Elementary School while studying at U-M and said he was “outraged at the lack of resources available to students.”
“I will focus on students who are achieving below the proficiency level in core subjects and discuss programs and resources to help these kids,” he said.
Murphy is the owner of a small automotive supplier in the area and has two children in the Ann Arbor schools.
He says he's looking forward to applying his business knowledge to the school system.
For more information about Murphy, visit his website here.
Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
mojo
Fri, Aug 12, 2011 : 2:06 p.m.
Mr. Iqbal has a "masters degree in public policy from Harvard University" - - impressive. Sounds like he has been there and done that. I like the experience. Now if the teachers and the kids can stop all the yacking and belly aching' and get down to the "work" of learning until you know what you are studying, the 'gap' will evaporate by itself.
Carole
Thu, Aug 11, 2011 : 3:53 p.m.
I agree wholeheartedly with Basic Bob -- I'm so glad that Mr. Leonard is a candidate for the school board.
Lets Get Real
Thu, Aug 11, 2011 : 2:29 p.m.
Clearly a choice here. One, Mr. Leonard - young, inexperienced, thinks he knows everything already at 22, but, as a product of the very system he wishes to improve, he seems to have demonstrated a committment already as dedicated volunteer in the AAPS system. His focus seems to be on the children and educational success. Certainly hope he looks at strategies for parental engagement (a huge factor in student success) and support of ALL children, not just those of particular ethnicity, race or geographic. Then on the other hand, the other choice, is the intellectual academic focused on the fiscal side of the educational issue wowing the electorate with his personal degrees. I'd like to know more about these public-private successes to which he refers and hear him respond to his reasons for wishing to enter the board, since his children will be leaving the system very soon. Is there another agenda? I'm not sure, I'd be hanging my hat on replicating the DPS experience in the AAPS, academically (miserable student performance scores on standardized testing) or fiscally (district run by an emergency financial manager). More research required before a decision can be made. I would hope this town has sufficient business and academic expertise to solve our own problems with responsible fiscal budgeting and spending, and good old fashioned, productive, tried and true teaching methodolgy. It's time to view education as a responsibility - of students, of parents, and of the community - not just entertainment. Creating our future, means developing young people who can think critically and solve the problems of our nation. It can be fun, but mostly it is hard work - the foundation on which OUR nation was built. Let's Get Back to Basics. Be informed and analytical about your choices and vote your conscious.
ContreMilice
Thu, Aug 11, 2011 : 7:56 p.m.
It s/b "vote your conscience."
cette
Thu, Aug 11, 2011 : 11:51 a.m.
The Burns Park/ Mitchell dichotomy is disgraceful. Them that has, gets in this world.
Grumpy
Thu, Aug 11, 2011 : 7:02 a.m.
Hmm. Is this an Onion article? So Mr. Iqbal went to UM, HU, LSE and his goal is to get AA schools to be MORE like DPS which Arne Duncan just referred to as "Ground Zero" of public education due to the 50% plus dropout rate? If Iqbal gets elected, you won't have to worry about the Burns Park / Mitchell discrepancy. Step 1 for Mr. Iqbal: Get campaign manager to rework the message.
Bogie
Thu, Aug 11, 2011 : 3:19 a.m.
Leonard sounds like a guy, who knows whats going on. On the other hand, Mr Iqbal sounds eerily like a politician in the making. Also, with Mr. Iqbals educational background- I'm scared! Evidently, Harvard doesn't have math courses in their curriculum (i.e. our President, and former Governor)
Basic Bob
Thu, Aug 11, 2011 : 2:47 a.m.
"outraged at the lack of resources available to students" Mr. Leonard, you have my vote. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the difference between Burns Park and Mitchell, but the current school board members just dance around the problem. The district is effectively redlined to maintain the exclusive nature of one school, and to isolate poverty within the other school. It seems that Ann Arbor liberals believe in helping minorities and the poor, as long as it doesn't affect them personally.
elise
Sun, Aug 14, 2011 : 8:07 p.m.
Bob- I am curious as to what you think the board can do to stop this? Most of the differences that occur from school to school are caused by parent donations to classrooms and the amount of money the school's PTO raises and puts back into the classroom. It only makes sense that the schools in the areas with wealthy families are going to get more. I don't agree with this but it is the reality of what happens. I assume the district provides both Mitchell and Burns Park with the same budget.