18 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2024 
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or most Ann Arbor voters, 
students and families, the 
$20.4 million budget cut 
is their foremost concern when 
considering whom to vote for in the 
upcoming Nov. 5 election for the 
Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of 
Education.
Many Jewish families face an 
additional layer of issues that 
influence their voting decisions: 
mainly, concern about antisemitism 
in the school system and distrust 
of board members after a divisive 
ceasefire resolution passed in 
January.
One family disclosed that their 
child in elementary school was 
repeatedly subject to antisemitism 
from classmates, which fell on deaf 
ears when reported to the principal. 
The parent says that she pulled her 
children from the school district 

after her son “was harassed at that 
school on a daily basis,” including 
explicit references to Jew-hatred. 
“The principal was awful,” the 
parent added. 

ANN ARBOR SCHOOL 
BOARD ELECTION
Three seats on the Ann Arbor 
Public Schools Board are up 
for grabs in November, and an 
additional partial-term seat is on 
the ballot. Current Board President 
Torchio Feaster is running for 
the partial-term seat unopposed. 
The remaining three term seats 
are being sought by the following 
candidates: Megan Kanous, Ernesto 
Querijero (incumbent), Don 
Wilkerson, Leslie Wilkins, Glynda 
Wilks and Eric Sturgis. 
The election arrives just months 
after it was revealed that the district 

would need to slash $20.4 million 
from its 2024-2025 budget to 
maintain fiscal responsibility due 
to failure to adequately account 
for revenue drop due to the loss of 
over 1,000 students in the past four 
years, along with a $14 million line-
item error. 
As the school year begins, 
families are grappling with the 
stark reality of these cuts, which 
have affected a range of programs, 
including language classes slashed 
or moved to virtual instruction, the 
elimination of swimming programs, 
and significant reductions to the 
International Baccalaureate (IB) 
programs. 
Superintendent of AAPS Jazz 
Parks reported that a total of 94 
positions have been eliminated 
as the result of retirements and 
resignations and a handful of pink 

slips. Many teachers 
report that they have 
been involuntarily 
transferred to other 
schools or positions to 
make up for the shift 
in school functions. 
Class sizes have risen 
significantly at many schools.

FALLOUT FROM 
A DIVISIVE RESOLUTION 
Some Jewish families in the 
district are particularly focused 
on addressing the fallout from a 
series of events that have left them 
feeling marginalized and unheard. 
Chief among these concerns is 
the divisive “ceasefire resolution” 
passed by the board in January 2024 
after weeks of contentious public 
debate. The resolution, introduced 
by Trustee Ernesto Querijero and 

continued on page 20

Jazz Parks

For Jewish families, the Ann Arbor Public School Board 
election extends beyond budget cuts.
Concerned Ann Arbor Families 

LAURA PASEK SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

OUR COMMUNITY

Members of the Ann 
Arbor Public Schools 
board wordsmithed 
a resolution calling 
for a ceasefire in the 
Israel-Hamas war, 
Jan. 18, 2023. 

ANDREW LAPIN