DEARBORN — On Monday night, Dearborn Public Schools welcomed three new trustees and three new administrators during its first Board of Education meeting of 2015. The new trustees, Mary Petlichkoff, Michael Meade and Mariam Bazzi, were sworn in before the meeting by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Kenny. 

Community members attended the ceremony in support of Bazzi, who is an assistant Wayne County prosecutor and the former president of the Arab American Political Action Committee. 

In an interview with The Arab American News, Bazzi called AAPAC part of her extended family.   

She also expressed her thanks to the Dearborn community as a whole for all its support throughout her campaign. She received the support of Mayor Jack O’Reilly, unions and others outside the Arab community while she was campaigning. 

“I want to thank everyone who put their trust and confidence in me,” Bazzi said.

She also said she’s very appreciative to those who attended the swearing in ceremony.

“To have them have been so supportive of me, and take time out of their day to sit there and be present for me at that moment meant so much,” Bazzi said.  

The three new trustees earned the most votes among all the candidates in last November’s school board election. The race, which had three open seats out of a seven-member body, saw Bazzi come well ahead of the competition, with 9,038 votes. Meade came in second place with 7,872 votes and Petlichkoff earned 7,756 votes. 

The board elected new officers for the coming year. Aimee Schoelles was elected board president, replacing former president Hussein Berry; Roxanne McDonald vice president; Mary Lane secretary and Bazzi treasurer. They also hold the same positions on the Henry Ford College Board. 

As treasurer, Bazzi said she wants to make sure the board is in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations; always operates within its budget and is fiscally responsible.

“What I want is to continue to maintain fiscal responsibility and be transparent,” she said. 

Bazzi is the first Arab American woman to serve on the Dearborn Board of Education. Arab Americans comprise more than 40 percent of Dearborn’s population, which, according to the 2010 census, was 98,153. At some schools in Dearborn more than half of the student body is Arab American. 

Also at the meeting, Tammy Fournier was named a special education coordinator; Fatme Turf was named the assistant principal at Woodworth Middle School and Zahra Zreik was appointed assistant principal at Lowrey Middle School. 

The Dearborn Public School District has met eight of the state’s nine best practice requirements. School districts that meet at least seven of the criteria are eligible for an extra $50 per student. That means the district could receive an extra $1.1 million for Dearborn Public Schools. The school district has a budget of more than $170 million.