Two vacancies filled within deadline

The Dearborn Board of Education, during a special meeting held Monday, appointed Nasri Mohammad Sobh to the remaining vacant seat on the seven-member board, just one week after selecting Ali Kamel Bazzi to fill another vacancy.

The board had lost two members following the resignations of Irene Watts and Hussein Berry on August 11 and 18, respectively. According to board bylaws, vacancies must be filled within 30 days, a requirement the members met within the legal time frame by appointing Bazzi and Sobh to replace Watts and Berry.

Watts resigned after moving outside the district’s boundaries, which include all of Dearborn and part of Dearborn Heights, making her ineligible to continue serving. One week later, Berry unexpectedly stepped down, saying he had intended to leave later but accelerated his decision to spare the board from conducting two separate searches.

Profile: Nasri Mohamed Sobh

Sobh, 31, is an attorney with the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation. He holds a law degree and an MBA from Wayne State University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan–Dearborn. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Henry Ford College.

He previously ran for a seat on the Dearborn School Board last November, earning 6,582 votes and placing fifth in a race with 10 candidates competing for two seats. Amer Zahr and Jamal Aljahmi won that election.

Of Lebanese descent, Sobh is the son of engineer Mohamed Sobh, who headed the Buildings and Engineering Department in Dearborn Heights under the late Mayor Dan Paletko.

Sobh’s term, like Bazzi’s, will run until November 2026, when the next elections will be held. He is expected to begin his duties at the next board meeting on October 13.

Profile: Ali Kamel Bazzi

Bazzi, 43, is the founder of Progressive Management and Archer Creative, and also serves on the advisory board of the charity Zaman International, where he organizes the group’s annual “Run Walk Picnic” fundraiser.

Bazzi partnered with the Dearborn Public Schools to expand inclusion in community events for students with special needs, advocated for the development of three inclusive city parks and campaigned for the successful 2024 Operating Millage renewal.

He graduated from the University of Michigan–Dearborn with a dual degree in management information systems and business administration and a minor in political science.

Like Sobh, Bazzi is of Lebanese heritage. He is the son of poet and writer Kamel Bazzi.

Bazzi officially began his duties by participating in the September 15 board meeting.

Arab American majority for the first time

Sobh and Bazzi were chosen from among 38 applicants. With their appointments, the seven-member board now includes five Arab Americans for the first time in its history dating back to 1944. The other members are Adel Mozip, Mary Petlichkoff, Patrick D’Ambrosio, Amer Zahr and Jamal Aljahmi.

The Dearborn Board of Education oversees Dearborn Public Schools and Henry Ford College, setting policies, budgets, union contracts, salary schedules and approving construction and infrastructure projects. It also hires and evaluates the superintendent of Dearborn Public Schools and the president of Henry Ford College.

Urgent tasks ahead

The new board faces two urgent priorities:

1. Selecting a new president of Henry Ford College after Russell Kavalhuna left in July to become president of Western Michigan University.

2. Appointing a new superintendent for Dearborn Public Schools following Dr. Glenn Maleyko’s departure in December to Lansing, where he will become superintendent of Michigan’s public schools under a three-year contract approved by the State Board of Education.

The board has already begun searching for a firm to assist in recruiting Kavalhuna’s successor to lead Henry Ford College, which enrolls approximately 11,300 students. In the coming weeks, it will also launch a search for Maleyko’s replacement to lead Dearborn Public Schools, the state’s third-largest district — with about 20,000 students across 37 schools, behind only Detroit and Utica.