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School board

Board of Education Member, Detroit Community School District

4 Year Term

Vote for
4
Term
4 years
Candidates
31
Election
Nov 3, 2026

What this office does: A school board member is one of the officials who set policy, approve the budget and hire the superintendent of the school district.

CandidatesCompare by issue

Taxes & budget

Public safety

Education

  • Natalie Bien-AimeNo party listed

    No documented position found.

  • Michelle BroughtonNo party listed

    No documented position found.

  • Katrina BrownNo party listed

    No documented position found.

  • Cidney CallowayNo party listed

    • Pledges to prioritize budget transparency, literacy and special education
    • Supports following the federal holiday calendar rather than adding Eid

  • Bobby ChristianNo party listed

    No documented position found.

  • Nicole ConawayNo party listed

    • Supports rescinding four school closings and replacing the superintendent
    • Proposes ending all non-mandated standardized testing
    • Opposes automatically closing any school
    • Supports keeping Eid al-Fitr as a district holiday

  • Vilma Escamilla DuranNo party listed

    No documented position found.

  • Daniel Ferguson IIINo party listed

    No documented position found.

  • Duane Larry Grigsby, Jr.No party listed

    • Pledges to prioritize student achievement, attendance and parent communication
    • Supports pairing parental attendance accountability with support
    • Opposes automatically closing schools based on per-student cost
    • Supports recognizing Eid al-Fitr on the district calendar

  • David HarrisNo party listed

    • Pledges to expand evidence-based interventions for learning loss
    • Supports parental accountability only after support is offered
    • Opposes automatic closure of small schools
    • Supports making Eid al-Fitr a permanent district holiday

  • C. Allan HubbardNo party listed

    • Pledges to prioritize academic achievement and attendance
    • Supports graduated, restorative parental accountability for absences
    • Proposes a K–8 literacy and math mastery guarantee
    • Supports adding Eid al-Fitr to the district calendar

  • Henrietta IveyNo party listed

    No documented position found.

  • Tabrian C. JoeNo party listed

    • Opposes holding parents accountable for chronic absenteeism
    • Supports vocational education for all high school students
    • Supports keeping small schools open with added resources
    • Supports recognizing Eid al-Fitr permanently on the calendar

  • Shinese JohnsonNo party listed

    • Pledges to strengthen literacy and math through early intervention
    • Supports parental attendance accountability that begins with support
    • Opposes closing schools simply for being small or costly
    • Supports expanding college, career, military and trades pathways
    • Supports considering an Eid al-Fitr holiday through a review process

  • Theodore JonesNo party listed

    • Proposes raising district enrollment to 65,000 students
    • Proposes college, skilled trades and entrepreneurship pathways for every student
    • Supports making Eid a permanent district holiday
    • Proposes renting space in under-enrolled schools to childcare operators

  • Georgia Mae LemmonsNo party listed

    • Pledges to improve achievement, attendance and enrollment
    • Proposes capping primary-grade classes at 15 students
    • Opposes closing schools
    • Supports giving students the Eid holiday off

  • LaMar D. LemmonsNo party listed

    No documented position found.

  • Clement O. LettNo party listed

    No documented position found.

  • Phil Lloyd IINo party listed

    No documented position found.

  • Darious MorrisNo party listed

    No documented position found.

  • Liana MulhollandNo party listed

    • Supports reopening the four schools closed last year
    • Supports restoring virtual education for students who want it
    • Opposes closing small schools that meet students' needs
    • Supports making Eid a permanent district holiday

  • Tyshea PopeNo party listed

    • Pledges to strengthen reading, math, career pathways and attendance
    • Supports parental accountability that begins with partnership
    • Supports career pathways starting in middle school
    • Supports a permanent Eid al-Fitr holiday if feasible

  • DaNetta L. SimpsonNo party listed

    No documented position found.

  • Tawanna SimpsonNo party listed

    No documented position found.

  • Jameel Montgomery SmithNo party listed

    • Pledges to hold the superintendent accountable for measurable results
    • Opposes punitive approaches toward parents over absences
    • Supports high-dosage tutoring to accelerate reading and math
    • Supports weighing boundary changes and mergers for small schools

  • Calesther Smith-ArnoldNo party listed

    No documented position found.

  • Terry E. WhitfieldNo party listed

    • Pledges to continue the district's literacy and achievement focus
    • Supports shared, not parent-only, accountability for attendance
    • Opposes school closures as a default response to finances
    • Supports seriously considering a permanent Eid al-Fitr holiday

  • Elizabeth A. WilliamsNo party listed

    • Supports a consolidated metropolitan-wide school district
    • Opposes standardized testing
    • Opposes punishing parents over chronic absenteeism

  • Theresa WilliamsNo party listed

    No documented position found.

  • Steve Bland, Jr.No party listed

    • Pledges to prioritize student literacy and reducing chronic absenteeism
    • Supports parental responsibility for attendance, backed by support services
    • Supports combining under-enrolled schools as an option
    • Opposes adding holidays that lengthen the school year

  • Bessie L. HarrisNo party listed

    • Pledges to prioritize special education and school accountability
    • Supports paying students to attend school
    • Opposes closing more neighborhood schools
    • Supports putting Eid on the district calendar
    • Proposes bringing back middle school home economics and wood shop

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Challengers are listed first and incumbents last; otherwise candidates appear in ballot order. The Gist does not rank, rate or endorse candidates. Only positions backed by a cited source are shown; 6 issues covered in this race.