Grosse Pointe Board of Education
starts year with new alliances

A new superintendent, and a new board, took their seats Monday night (Jan. 23) at the Grosse Pointe Board of Education meeting. And if anyone doubts the landscape is a different one, following the retirement of Superintendent Suzanne Klein and the election of two new board members last November, the actions at Monday's meeting were a reminder.

The board elected new officers for the year, appointing Judy Gafa president on a split vote that revealed the divisions that marked the board's actions last year, particularly during the selection of Tom Harwood as new superintendent. Gafa got the nod over Joan Dindoffer, who had been serving as interim president, by a 4-3 vote, with Tom Jakubiec and Cindy Pangborn voting with Dindoffer.

Jakubiec questioned whether Gafa, a member since 2008, had the experience necessary for the job. But new members Lois Valente and Dan Roeske, along with Brendan Walsh, were enough to tip the balance in her favor. Gafa herself said, “The board needs fresh perspectives and new eyes.”

In the past, Jakubiec, Pangborn and Dindoffer frequently voted as a bloc with then-member John Steininger. But in their first meeting, Roeske and Valente voted with Walsh and Gafa, who along with former member Fred Minturn constituted the board's minority.

Valente was elected vice-president on the same 4-3 vote. Roeske picked up Jakubiec's vote for secretary. Walsh continues as the board's treasurer, by a unanimous vote.

The other echo of the board's past division came with the hiring of M. Jon Dean to succeed Harwood as the district's human resources director. Dean, left, who holds the same position in Birmingham Public Schools, was one of three finalists for the superintendent's job, and interviewed publicly for the post last summer. When Harwood was chosen by the former board majority with little discussion of Dean or the other finalist, the vote was greeted with boos from those in attendance.

Monday night, during Harwood’s first superintendent's report, he introduced Dean as his HR successor. Dean, who lives in the Woods, spoke briefly.

“I’m really excited to be here,” Dean said. “I can’t wait to start working with these kids.”

In other business, the board:

• Congratulated the South Student Advisory Group for collecting 13,000 non-perishable items for the Salvation Army during the holiday season.
• Approved a contract for High Excel Glass to replace the Trombly attic/stair windows.
• Approved the contract with NWEA placement examinations.

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