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Farmington Schools
Must Seek Excellence
Voters in the Farmington Public Schools
must vote out the incumbents and vote
in a new slate Nov. 8 to reverse our dis-
trict's precipitous decline.
Under the watch of FPS board
president Howard Wallach and longtime
member Karen Bolsen, our schools
have tumbled in rankings. It is shock-
ing that none of the three FPS high
schools ranked among our country's top
500, according to U.S. News and World
Report. Even more stunning, they were
not rated among the best Michigan high
schools and were outranked by West
Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills, Berkley,
Walled Lake, Troy, Northville and Utica.
There is no excuse for cheating our
students out of the first-class education
they deserve, especially considering that
the per pupil expenditure in Farmington
Schools was $15,443, according to the
Michigan Department of Education
2009-10 statistics. According to state
data, top-ranked area districts had con-
siderably lower per pupil expenditures:
Utica, $10,992; Berkley, $11,014; Walled
Lake, $12,438; Northville, $12,575; West
Bloomfield, $12,748.
As an engaged parent, I urge voters
in the FPS district to vote for Professor
Irving Ginsberg for the six-year term
and Dr. Murray Kahn for the four-year
term. Professor Ginsberg, a physicist
who headed a U.S. Department of
Energy Lab, taught at U-M, Lawrence
Tech and NASA.
Dr. Kahn is a division chief at Henry
Ford Hospital. With expertise in educa-
tion, management and administration,
they are committed to restoring excel-
lence to the FPS and open decision-
making that respects students, teachers
and taxpayers and ends the culture of
arrogance and non-transparency.

Bob Stulberq

Farmington Hills

New Leadership Needed
At Farmington Schools
As a resident of West Bloomfield whose
home is within the Farmington School
district, I take exception to Pamela D.
Buck-Christian's indefensible defense
of Howard Wallach and the FPS board's
handling of Eagle Elementary.
For a district always complaining it is
cutting important school services due
to financial hardship, it's hard to under-

stand why FPS did not advertise or put
out for bid the commercially attractive
Eagle parcel. It is irresponsible that the
district would not want to net top dol-
lar to better fund stronger educational
programming.
We voters need to sweep out the
imperious incumbents and vote in Kahn,
Smith and Ginsberg for responsive,
responsible school board governance.

Dr. Erwin Adelman

West Bloomfield

Re-Elect Incumbents
In Farmington Schools
This November, four of the seven seats
on the Farmington School Board are
up for election. Only two of the four
incumbents are running for re-election.
It is vital that we re-elect incumbents
Karen Bolsen and Howard Wallach and
retain their experience and leadership
to provide stability in this very difficult
economic and political climate.
In order to weather the economic
storms, the entire FPS community
needs to be working together. Karen
Bolsen and Howard Wallach have
embodied this collaborative approach
throughout their school board service,
including most recently, in working with
the employees to avoid outsourcing of
transportation and support services.
There are two candidates for an
open four-year term. David Sampson
has the right experience, qualifications
and vision to fill this position. He is a
licensed social worker and the CEO of
a nonprofit organization helping home-
less men in Detroit.
He has children enrolled in
Farmington Schools at the elementary,
middle and high school levels. His goal
is for all students to graduate as educat-
ed, thoughtful and contributing citizens
in a changing world.
Farmington School District is a
diverse inclusive community. The suc-
cess of our schools depends on every
student and every family being wel-
comed, valued and respected. School
Board members are not elected just to
represent their own narrow segment of
the community; they represent everyone.
Bolsen, Wallach and Sampson are the
right choice to ensure our school dis-
trict stays strong and focused on mak-
ing the best decisions for all of us.

Gillian Talwar

Farmington Hills

Detroit Jewish Community
Leads In Literacy Efforts
In the Detroit Free Press dated Oct. 2, a
special section was devoted to the intro-
duction of its community-wide literacy
campaign Reading Works. This program
comes from the realization that adult
literacy is the single biggest obstacle to
economic development in the area.
Programs like this are not new to the
Jewish community. For 15 years, the
Detroit Jewish Coalition for Literacy
has put hundreds of volunteers in
elementary schools. The Detroit Jewish
Community Relations Council has always
been at the center of these efforts, help-
ing to organize and manage the program.
As an outgrowth of this experience,
it was only natural that JCRC Executive
Director Robert Cohen suggest to
Wayne State and the Free Press that they
should sponsor an adult literacy effort.
In the Free Press, Paul Anger, editor and
publisher, gives Robert Cohen the credit
he deserves for brainstorming the idea.
We should also be proud of the JCRC
former president, Wendy Wagenheim,
who took on the important role of man-
aging consultant for the entire project.

Richard M. Nodel

Southfield

Criticism Of Obama
Is Not Deserved
I am well aware of the decrease in sup-
port by American Jews for our President
Barack Obama, which he ill deserves.
In order to be accepted as an honest
broker, the United States has to appear
as such and not be perceived as only
pro-Israel. His staunch defense of Israel
in the United Nations in face of the
pressure he endured by virtually an
entire world, should convince every-
body what a friend we have in President
Obama.

Rachel Kapen

West Bloomfield

Corrections
• "Mazel Tov! (Oct. 6, page 12) should
have stated that Congregation Shaarey
Zedek's first Sisterhood Shabbat was on
March 14, 1981, during the presidency
of Marjorie Saulson, and that Saulson
was consecrated in 1956 in the Chicago
Boulevard building. Also, it should have
stated that five members of the first adult
bat mitzvah class have served as sister-
hood president rather than two.

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