School Elections
Rosenberg contests appointee Wallach for one of three Farmington school board seats.
RONELLE GRIER
Special to the Jewish News
T
he selection of a new superin-
tendent for the Farmington
Public School District (FPS) to
replace the retiring Dr. C. Robert
Maxfield will be among the challenges
for trustees after the June 14 elections.
Three board seats are up.
Board incumbents Priscilla Brouillette
and Gary Sharp will be running against
challengers John Goshorn, Michael
Sullivan and Cheryl Swaim for two
four-year posts. Jewish candidates Eric
Rosenberg and Howard Wallach will
compete for a. two-year seat. Wallach
was appointed to the seat following the
retirement of trustee Cathleen Webb
earlier this year.
Three candidates, Swaim, Goshorn
and Rosenberg, have allied themselves
under the slogan "FPS New Attitude."
The debate between Rosenberg and
Wallach began last summer when a new
International Affairs course sparked con-
troversy because some of the original
Web sites and other sources in the pro-
posed curriculum were found to have
anti-American and anti-Israel content.
Some of the course materials were subse-
quently changed after being reviewed by
representatives from several committees,
including the Anti-Defamation League
and the citizen group F-PEN
(Farmington Public Education
Network).
"I had no problem with the idea of
the course," Rosenberg said. "It's impor-
tant-to learn about the world around us,
but the original list of Web sites had
anti-Semitic and anti-Christian refer-
ences that were highly unpleasant. One
of them even had a map that included
Palestine."
Wallach said, 'After the evaluation by
the Intermediate School District (ISD)
clearly established that the curriculum
was not biased, parents and students
have been very pleased with the course.
Students are asking for more of it."
On The Issues
Howard Wallach
• Farmington Hills resident, 13 years
• Married, two daughters
• Attorney practicing in Southfield
• Appointed to FPS Board in 2004 to
fill position vacated by trustee Cathleen
Webb
• Member, advisory
board, Anti-
Defamation League
(ADL), Michigan .
Region; board of gov-
ernors, Jewish
Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit;
former president, Jewish Community
Council of Metropolitan Detroit; local
board, American Jewish Committee
• Volunteer, North Farmington High
School Theater Department
• Congregation Beth Ahm
Eric Rosenberg
• Farmington Hills resident, 13 years
• Married, two stepdaughters
• Business development manager,
Midwest Region,
Globe Mortgage
America, LLC
• Member, FPS
Advisory Committee
on Citizenship, FPS
curriculum develop-
ment process, Zionist
Organization of
America
• Volunteer, Special Olympics
• Congregation Shaarey Zedek West
Bloomfield, B'nai Israel Center
JN: As a school board member, how
would you respond if you were told a
course curriculum in your district was
blatantly anti-American or anti-Israel?
Howard Wallach
"If I was told that, I would want to
investigate by looking at the curriculum
documents, the course materials as well
as ask for input from people in the com-
munity who might have more expertise
than I do.
Then I would take steps to eliminate
any elements that are deemed inappro-
priate, either from an anti-American or
anti-Israel standpoint."
Eric Rosenberg
"If the administration is seeking board
approval for a course, I would read the
curriculum outlines, the proposed text
for the course, ask the appropriate
administration or staff members for
guidance and pay careful attention to
community feedback before voting.
I oppose curriculum that is blatantly
anti-American and will not vote to
approve such curriculum. The flaws of
America should be taught along with its
strengths, however, I oppose curriculum
that is focused on blatantly anti-
American propaganda."
In these times of decreased budgets and
increased demands for teachers' atten-
tion to tests such as the MEAD, should
schools increase or decrease the multi-
cultural education in the curriculum?
Howard Wallach
"I'd look for ways to include multicul-
tural education in our existing curricu-
lum so we're spending more time on it
without spending more money. Multi-
cultural education is important because
this is a very diverse community and
society, and the more we understand
each other, the better off we all are."
Eric Rosenberg
"It is critical that our kids, not only in
the Farmington district, but in the
broader surroundings as well, be taught
about the cultures of others. At the same
time, the basic instructional functions of
a school, such as reading, writing, math-
ematics and knowledge of American
government and citizenship facts, must
be preserved as the overriding priorities."
What's the appropriate role for religion
in public schools? What's inappropri-
ate?
Howard Wallach
"Teaching our children about religion
and comparative religions is absolutely
appropriate and is something we should
try to encourage. Religious practice,
however, is a different matter. It is
entirely inappropriate within the public
school setting."
Eric Rosenberg
"Clearly, it is not appropriate for our
public schools to advocate a specific reli-
gion; it is equally inappropriate for the
schools to demean a specific religion. I
do not believe it appropriate, for exam-
ple, for the International Affairs course
to utilize a Web site as a teaching
resource that continually says, Peace be
unto his name' after referring to
Muhammad. There is nothing in the
course, to the best of my knowledge,
with similar words of love for Moses,
Abraham or any other religion's iconic
figures ... nor should there be."
•
Other Candidates
Priscilla Brouillette
• Farmington Hills resident, 24 years
• Married, two daughters
• Corporate managerial and finance
experience with AT&T, Michigan Bell
and family-owned international software
business
• Member, FPS board
since 1996 as treasurer,
4. v 4i secretary, vice presi-
dent (two terms) and
president (two terms);
FPS Parent Teacher
AssoCiation (PTA)
council representative,
steering committee,
Multi-Cultural-Multi-Racial
Community Council (MCMRCC) of
Farmington and Farmington Hills
• Merit and distinction awards from the
Michigan Association of School Boards,
MCMRCC Rainbow Recognition
Award recipient
Gary Sharp
• Farmington Hills resident, 16 years
• Married, two sons
• Attorney and managing partner, Foley
& Mansfield, Bingham Farms
• Member, FPS Board since 1998, PTA
• Volunteer, Farmington Youth
Assistance; coach, NFWB (North
Farmington-West Bloomfield) Vikings
youth football and baseball
• Nardin Park United Methodist
Church, Sunday school teacher and
committee member
Michael Sullivan
• Farmington resident, five years
• Married, three chil-
dren
• Training and devel-
opment leader-instruc-
tional system designer,
MSX International
• Member, FPS
Committee to
Promote Informed
ELECTIONS on page 20
A'NF
6/ 4
2004
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