DEARBORN — Following the departure of former School Board President Aimee Schoelles, who has taken a job in Ohio, the Dearborn Board of Education has begun the process of filling her seat.

20 residents submitted the necessary paperwork expressing their interest in becoming a Dearborn Public Schools/Henry Ford College Board Trustee. Those applying for the open position submitted a letter of interest, resume and three references by the required July 9 deadline.

The board conducted 15-minute interviews open to the public with each candidate on both Wednesday, July 15 and Thursday, July 16.

The Board will also have an opportunity to discuss the applicants during a special meeting being held on Monday, July 20, at 6 p.m. prior to the regularly scheduled Henry Ford College meeting.  

That meeting will be held in the Rosenau Board Room at the Henry Ford College Administration Building, 5101 Evergreen, in Dearborn. The board will then make a decision as to who will fill the vacancy during the Henry Ford College meeting.

Trustee Mariam Bazzi said that the application process was open to the entire community, with the only technical qualifications being that the candidate had to be a Dearborn resident age 18 or older. 

“Certainly everybody who met those qualifications was able to apply,” Bazzi told The Arab American News. “In fact, we had a lot of great applicants that did apply. We are lucky to have such a great community of qualified candidates.”

As determined by law, if the board does not find a replacement within 30 days of Schoelles’ vacancy, the Wayne County Intermediate School District (Wayne RESA) will appoint a new trustee. 

This week, the district released the names of the candidates who applied for the position. One was former School Board President Hussein Berry, who withdrew from a school board run in 2014 to run for state representative. Others included Ghinwah Karkaba, Michelle Audia and Rodger Vogler (who unsuccessfully ran for seats in 2014);  Pamela Adams; Fadwa Alawieh; Kassem Allie; Buena Barr; Mariam Khalil Baydoun; Chad Bronson; Mike Katona; Adel Mozip; Mary Olea; Jack Rankin; L. Maria Saab; Anisa Sahoubah; Jim Thorpe; Robert Vogler; Thomas Wall and Irene Watts. 

The individual who fills the vacancy will sit on the body for one year, and must run for the position during the election 2016 cycle if they decide to do so. 

The Dearborn Board of Education has undergone some major reshuffling in recent weeks. In addition to Schoelles’ departure, former Dearborn Superintendent Brian Whiston stepped down from his position last month in order to take on his new duties as state superintendent. Following an extensive candidate search, Whiston was replaced as Superintendent by Glenn Maleyko, a longtime employee of Dearborn Public Schools. 

During the Monday, July 13 meeting, the school board also decided that Trustee Roxanne McDonald would move up from vice president to president, following Schoelles’ exit. The board also decided that Trustee Mary Lane would perform the duties of both the vice president and secretary.