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 19