metro
School Standoff from page 8
Nearly two years ago, in August 2011,
the Reform rabbis decided to go public
with their challenge of "denominational
insensitivity" in a JN story, hoping the
exposure would lead to a compromise
they were not able to achieve by working
behind the scenes.
Several months after the story, at its
November 2011 meeting, the FJA board
passed a resolution "reaffirming its sup-
port of our school's mission, philosophy,
head of school and hiring practices:' It also
resolved to "support the school's efforts to
attract and respect Jewish students from
all religious and ideological backgrounds."
Still, despite ongoing efforts, no resolu-
tion to the issue has surfaced.
Adding Voices
Now Federation leaders and a dissatisfied
group of FJA parents are making their
opinions known as well.
On Oct. 15, 2012, a letter was sent to
the FJA board of trustees by longtime
Federation and community leaders Penny
Blumenstein, Larry Jackier, Jane Sherman
and Doreen Hermelin in which they urged
FJA leadership "to sit down and participate
in good faith with the entire parent body
and Federation leadership and resolve this
issue immediately:'
"We as a Jewish people cannot afford to
fight among ourselves:' the letter stated.
"There are too many in this world who are
trying to do that for us:'
Community leaders felt progress was
forthcoming and that a follow-up JN
story focusing on the issue at that time
would stymie negotiations. So a story was
delayed, but progress did not come.
Federation became involved and indi-
viduals worked "tirelessly behind the
scenes with all parties to find a solution,"
said Douglas Bloom, Federation presi-
dent. "Without a resolution, the quality of
Jewish education available in Detroit and
the cohesiveness of the community will be
adversely affected.
"We recognize there are sincere, strongly
held opinions on both sides, and all parties
are acting in what they believe are the best
interests of the students. Federation's role
is not to impose a solution, though it will
continue to help those directly involved
work toward one:'
He added that Federation does not man-
date personnel policies among its partner
agencies, all of which are independently
governed, but works in partnership on
behalf of the community's best welfare.
Federation's 2012 allocation to FJAs $6
million budget was $138,815. Community
dollars and Federation played a major
role in the launch of the Jewish Academy,
ultimately providing $750,000 in startup
support.
In the Aug. 25, 2000, JN story, it was
reported that the school received unprece-
dented financial support from Federation.
In fact, the school became a nationwide
example of what a community and its
federation can do to support day school
education.
"That was a huge amount of money for
us," said Robert Aronson, then Federation's
executive vice president and now its senior
development officer. "I doubt the school
would have gotten started without it. From
the beginning, Federation was there at the
side of the school to help.
"I remember one of my proudest
moments as a Federation exec was to talk
with Sam Frankel about making a gift to
the Jewish Education Trust that would
encompass all day schools," Aronson said.
"Sam said, 'I won't do that, but I will
give $20 million to endow the high school:
It was one of those fall-off-the-chair
moments. Sam Frankel thought very big.
His expectation and hope had nothing to
do with the politics of religion, but with a
well-attended, academically excellent high
school to attract Jews from across the reli-
gious spectrum that would be in demand
because of the excellence of its offerings
and because of its teaching of Jewish
values."
That significant financial commit-
ment changed the name from the Jewish
Academy of Metropolitan Detroit to
Frankel Jewish Academy.
"Our idea was we had a lot of yeshivahs,
but not a community high school that
welcomed all the various streams," said
former Federation president Blumenstein.
"We decided to give it a chance; we gave
them the ability to become a Federation
agency with Federation support — a
hechsher [seal of approval]. I didn't think
it would succeed. It has. The numbers
are good, the education is fine, but it has
become divisive in the community in a
way I didn't think needed to happen.
"I am disappointed," said Blumenstein,
a member of Congregation Shaarey Zedek,
a Conservative synagogue in Southfield.
"We need to find a way to resolve all these
issues. We can't afford to have a commu-
nity with such distress. We have a huge
Reform community, and we also need to
respect their beliefs:'
Suggested Solutions
During meetings and in correspondence,
various solutions have been proposed to
no avail. Suggestions focus on broadening
board representation (only one member
is Reform at this time) and dropping the
shomer Shabbat policy to open the field
of candidates to hire the
best person possible.
"You get the best per-
son you possibly can to
teach," said Rabbi Robert
Gamer of Congregation
Beth Shalom in Oak
Park. "I spent a semes-
ter at JTS [Jewish
Rabbi Robert
Theological Seminary
Gamer
in New York] studying
with a woman who is
Lebanese Christian and getting a degree in
midrash. She taught me a lot. High school
kids would learn a lot from her, and she's
not shomer Shabbat, or even Jewish. If
someone is teaching Bible in a way you
want them to teach it, it shouldn't matter.
"Each institution has the right to make
Parents React To FJA Policies With Action
Keri Guten Cohen
Story Development Editor
A
group of parents of students at
Frankel Jewish Academy in West
Bloomfield are working together
to counter some decisions, actions and poli-
cies of FJAs board and administration they
find problematic.
The group coalesced in support of local
Reform rabbis contesting a longstanding
hiring policy that requires all who teach
Judaic Studies courses or lead minyans to be
shomer Shabbat (Shabbat observant).
They reviewed the school's bylaws, find-
ing only that Judaic Studies teachers be
hired "regardless of denominational affili-
ations" and be "models of Jewish commit-
ment in their personal lives:' No mention
of being shomer Shabbat. Members of this
group — Reform and Conservative —
spoke out about the issue they viewed as
offensive to non-shomer Shabbat Jews. No
movement has been made on this issue.
(See main story)
They also have voiced concerns over the
lack of board diversity. Only one of the 21
10 June 27 • 2013
board members is from the Reform
movement, for example.
More recently, they rallied to
protest the board's handling
of its most recent election of
officers on June 5, 2012, as
well as its efforts to change
from a parent/member
elected board (membership
model) to a self-perpetuating
board (directorship model) in
which current board members select their
own replacements.
Members of the parents group claim the
board was not transparent in how it went
about collecting the necessary 51 percent of
consent forms needed to complete the pro-
cess, and about how six open seats on the
board were confirmed.
On June 12, 2013, a legal complaint was
filed on behalf of Stephany Freeman (a
former FJA member) and two FJA mem-
bers, Beth Stone and Don Apel, in Oakland
Country Circuit Court by Dennis K. Egan
of Kotz Sangster Wysocki P.C. in Detroit.
The complaint, which at press time had
not yet been served, seeks to compel FJA
"to produce all information
and documents in any way
discussing (a) the June 5
Annual Meeting and the
subsequent election of
officers; (b) the board's
appointment of board
members to open board
positions; and (c) the
October 2012 'consent' vote,
and voting process, to change
FJA from a membership organization
to a directorship organization."
FJA Board President Bill Newman says
that "sometimes criticisms are expected"
when action is taken, but that he's "extreme-
ly proud of the 21 members of the FJA
board:'
He maintains "the process we conducted
was equitable, legal and binding:'
He offers a point-by-point rebuttal to the
criticisms, including that the board spent
many hours researching governance models
and learned that 95 percent of all indepen-
dent school boards are self-perpetuating.
Local examples are Hillel, Cranbrook and
Detroit Country Day.
"It is very much best practice for indepen-
dent schools to govern themselves within
the self-perpetuating board framework,"
said Steve Freedman, Hillel Day School's
head of school. "Independent schools have
governed themselves
this way for years. Hillel
has had a self-perpetu-
ating board since 2009.
Jewish day schools are
finally moving in this
direction across the
country"
In regard to the recent
Steve
legal complaint filed,
Freedman
Newman said, "I am
saddened by the plain-
tiffs' behavior;" he also said that responding
to the complaint is a "remarkably poor use
of resources ... FJA should be spending
money on tuition assistance, not lawyers':
Very recently, FJA added a non-disparage
clause to its enrollment contract. It states:
"By enrolling our student, we understand
the importance of our being supportive of
the school's mission, core values and educa-
tion/religious philosophy. We understand