Incumbent Andy Fanta, former Trustee Linda Horne win Ypsilanti School Board race
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Incumbent Trustee Andy Fanta and former Trustee Linda Horne won seats on the Ypsilanti Public School Board. They beat out Eric Temple.
Unofficial results have Fanta winning 35.17 percent of the tally with 1,097 votes. Horne received 1,038 ballots, or 33.28 percent of the vote.
Temple received 782 votes, or 25.07 percent of the total. A write-in candidate won 6.48 percent of the vote.
Horne previously served on the Ypsilanti School Board from 2006 to 2010 before narrowly losing her re-election bid. She said she decided to run again a year later because she felt there is still unfinished business.
"I think there is still is a lot of work to be done in the Ypsilanti Public School District and I wanted to be a part of Ypsilanti Schools moving forward and doing a lot of good things," she said.
Horne added that her prior experience likely gave her an advantage in the election.
"I think a lot of voters had an opportunity to get to know me from 2006 to 2010 and I think they know I can be an asset to the district," she said.
Horne said the failing high school is one of the district’s most pressing issues and said the board must closely monitor the school improvement plan it implemented this year.
YPS’s biggest challenges are financial. The district is still working its way through a state-mandated deficit elimination plan as it tries to eliminate a $4 million budget shortfall.
The district has closed several buildings, unions have made significant concessions and transportation responsibilities were handed over the Washtenaw Intermediate School District.
Horne said she would like to see the district work more closely with the unions, staff, students and community to help develop ideas for resolving budget problems. She also said the board needs to immediately move forward in consolidating services with Willow Run.
Fanta was the lone incumbent among the candidates. He campaigned on his ability to play an oversight role on the board and has often stood opposite the majority of the board on issues like changes to transportation and school closings.
Fanta said the district needs to repurpose the shuttered schools, and he listed protecting the rights of the district’s unions as one of his priorities as the YPS continues to pare down its deficit and rethink the way it delivers an education.
“I take seriously my role of providing a sense of vision and oversight,” he previously said.
He also said there is little school districts can do about their financial situation until the system is fixed at the state level, but he highlighted the programming at New Tech High School as one which can attract students.
Temple was appointed to the Ypsilanti School Board in 2007 and said his work as an administrator with the Ypsilanti Housing Commission prevented him from campaigning as much as he would have liked in recent months.
Comments
Tom Perkins
Wed, Nov 9, 2011 : 8:45 p.m.
The story has been updated to clarify that Linda Horne would like to consolidate services with Willow Run, not consolidate the two districts entirely.
jscd91
Wed, Nov 9, 2011 : 3:30 p.m.
sc8, are u referring to Fanta or Horne? I agree with Let the truth be told. Fanta's been on the board forever. What has he done to show such good leadership? Running the district into the ground with a multi-million dollar deficit? Where is his so-called oversight? You can't blame it all on the current administration & board. The past is what led us here & if I remember correctly Fanta was a part of bringing past administration on board. And whatever happened to Fanta's grandioso plan to sue the state?
Christine Moellering
Wed, Nov 9, 2011 : 3:24 p.m.
They could have at least listed the name of the write in candidate who was Karyn Goven.
sc8
Wed, Nov 9, 2011 : 1:51 p.m.
Well, at least YPS was able to get one good leader.
Cameron Getto
Wed, Nov 9, 2011 : 1:02 p.m.
Try that again. Meredith Schindler's comment was supposed to be mine. She apparently was still logged on with this computer. I thought the Braves name was lousy, and every single civil rights body that addressed the issue from the federal government to the State of Michigan told us to get rid of it. I'm glad they got rid of it, and I'm very glad Andy won! Congrats Andy!
treetowncartel
Wed, Nov 9, 2011 : 2:07 p.m.
So, you think people from out of the district should sit on comittees?
Meredith Schindler
Wed, Nov 9, 2011 : 1:02 p.m.
Meredith Schindler's comment was supposed to be mine. She apparently was still logged on with this computer. I thought the Braves name was lousy, and every single civil rights body that addressed the issue from the federal government to the State of Michigan told us to get rid of it. I'm glad they got rid of it, and I'm very glad Andy won! Congrats Andy!
Meredith Schindler
Wed, Nov 9, 2011 : 12:58 p.m.
The Braves was a lousy name. Glad they got rid of it. Very, very glad Fanta was re-elected!
Let the truth be told
Wed, Nov 9, 2011 : 12:43 p.m.
As I stated in a previous post in another article, Fanta is highlighting New Tech High School yet he was the only trustee to vote NO on it when it came to the board a few years back. I guess he should thank the six board members who voted to support that high school since their votes allowed for him to use that as campaign material. He also stated there is little districts can do about their financial situation until the state fixes things. What a way to make your constituents feel confident and where's the creativity in that statement? I would've thought being on the board for over a dozen years might give him better perspective. But I guess when your legacy as a board member has been part of what has caused the situation YPS is in, what can a parent expect. Looks like another four years of a lot of talk and little action.
treetowncartel
Wed, Nov 9, 2011 : 5:03 a.m.
Bummer, Fanta was around when the "Braves" fiasco went down. The board let people from outside the district sit on that comittee that decided the fate of the mascot, what a joke it was.