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Muslim School Uproar

Some neighbors object to sale of Farmington public school to Islamic group.

Continued from page 1

As recently as May 3, Cheryl Cannon, the
school district's executive director for
operational affairs, reported to the board
that demolition would begin in July.
But on May 24, a memo from Cannon
to the board disclosed publicly for the
first time that the district had received an
unsolicited bid for Eagle from the ICA in
January and had been engaged in negotia-
tions ever since. Based on an appraisal of
the property, which prompted the ICA to
raise its offer, Cannon recommended the
district sell the ICA the property
"We find that kind of stuff very upset-
ting," said Eugene Greenstein, who lives in
Olde Franklin subdivision in Farmington
Hills, just southeast of Eagle. A member
of a 183-member household homeowners
association, which organized residents
to request a delay in proceeding with the
sale, Greenstein said the association made
"a big stink" about Hillel Day School of
Metropolitan Detroit when it sought to
build in their neighborhood and has "spent
thousands of dollars" on similar issues.
"We care about what goes on around
here, and we don't like being surprised by
people who shouldn't be surprising us," he
said about the school board, challenging
the board's focus on opposition to the deal
as anti-Muslim.
"Given the procedural issues, we feel
it was an under-the-table deal:' said
Greenstein, concerned about the lack of
public information, including no notice
that the property was for sale and no
defined process for a sale that he says vio-
lates board policy.
These concerns and others were includ-
ed in a flier from CARE (Concerned Area
Residents 4 Eagle), an ad-hoc group that
distributed fliers in both Farmington Hills
and West Bloomfield raising procedural
concerns and urging community mem-
bers to attend the board meeting.
Additionally, on June 13, a letter was
faxed to the board from attorney Robert
Davis, partner at Mt. Clemens-based
Davis, Listman, Brennan PLLC, detailing
concerns and requesting that a decision
on the sale be delayed until a public meet-
ing could be held. The letter stated that
Davis had been "retained to represent the
interests of a growing number of con-
cerned residents/taxpayers."
Board President Howard Wallach began
the school board discussion last week
by asking attorney Joseph Fazio of the
Detroit-based Miller Canfield law firm,
which represented the district in negotia-

8 June 23 2011

Above: Inside the packed Farmington
Public Schools board meeting before the
sale of Eagle Elementary to the Islamic
Cultural Association came up on the
agenda.

Left: Howard Wallach, center, FPS board
president, makes a point.

UI

tions with the ICA, to review the history of
the deal and the process used. In response
to questions from Wallach, Fazio said
there was no legal obligation to sell the
property, inform others an offer had been
made or conduct a community or eco-
nomic impact study.
"The district complied with all of its
internal policies and obligations under
Michigan law," he told the board, to the
audible dissatisfaction of many in the
audience.

Wallach then invited 21/2-minute com-
ments from the 83 people who had sub-
mitted public comment cards, hearing
from those who remained and reading the
comments of those who had left.

Muslim-Jewish Divide
Many of the Muslims shared their desire
to develop a center for their community
and contribute to the diversity and well-
being of the area. Some Muslims and
non-Muslims decried anti-Muslim senti-

ment they said underscored some of the
opposition.
Most opposition speakers challenged
the process the school district used to
sell the property, with others expressing
concerns and fears about the ICA and the
Muslim community.
In addition to concerns about the pro-
cess, some critics raised concern about the
ICA's sponsorship of an Aug. 18, 2010, talk
in Franklin by Norman Finkelstein, a Jew
who is a strong critic of Israel and Jewish

