Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Detroit - MI Documenters Team

Note-taking by Kiki Verdun

The school board voted to appoint the Rev. Steven Bland Jr. to the board during a special meeting.

Live reporting by Nadia Ziyad

The school board voted to appoint the Rev. Steven Bland Jr. to the board during a special meeting.

Nadia Ziyad
Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 2/20

I can’t seem to find an agenda anywhere! But the video feed is getting started on zoom, so that’s interesting!

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 3/20

So! It’s 5:00 on the dot, and my screen looks like this

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 4/20

In the meantime! I did indeed locate the agenda with the help of (my employer), here it is:

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To sum it up, this board meeting is about filling the vacancy on the board itself.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mi/detroit/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=DJSQ59679993

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 5/20

Also including this rather interesting article about one of the former candidates for this position withdrawing after some fuss about using ChatGPT to answer one of her mandatory survey questions.
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https://www.chalkbeat.org/detroit/2025/07/24/detroit-school-board-candidate-withdraws-as-questions-raised-about-chatgpt/

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 6/20

Alright! It’s 5:37 and those empty chairs are now full! They’re calling role now.

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 7/20

The meeting was called to order and the star spangled banner is playing while we get acquainted with this list of candidates.

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 8/20

The agenda is approved, public comment is closed- that pushes us all the way to #6 on the agenda, the actual selection of DPSCD’s new board member.
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The ballots are currently being filled out by each member.

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 9/20

Lots of thoughtful silence as they continue writing on their ballots! I appreciate this, because we can never be too careful about this sort of decision. Our Detroit public schools are struggling and every last bit of effort helps.

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 10/20

A motion to amend the agenda has been made, she wants to add discussion of a second read for the volunteer policy to the agenda after item 7. It has been approved.
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Unfortunately I cannot tell you what that policy is just yet, but I’ll refer to some previous meetings and get back to you.

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 11/20

Okay! I seem to have stumbled across mention of it on the agenda for Tuesday, July 8th’s meeting. Item 11.01-11.04! I also found reporting on it located on the documenter’s website here:
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detrhttps://detroit.documenters.org/assignments/dpscd-regular-board-meeting-15526/

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 12/20

While we’re waiting, the chairwoman is elaborating on what it is we’re doing here. She says all the scoring was done on Thursday during interviews- these scores were then sealed and then stowed away. Now they’re returning to tally the score and see if who the most picked candidate is,

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 13/20

They’ve been mumbling among themselves for quite some time now. I myself have dedicated this time to doing jumping jacks so I can stay awake and bring home the bacon. (Bacon in this case being; the result)

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 14/20

Update: there is no update yet.

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 15/20

They finally turned the microphone back on! The calculations are complete and the top scoring person is….

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 16/20

Reverend Dr.Steven Bland Jr.

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 17/20

He has now been appointed to the position! They’re asking him to approach the board and the camera switches to him approaching the stage.
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A councilwoman mentions the other candidates can access their rankings by contacting DPSCD’s Board office.

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 18/20

They’re swearing him in now…

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 19/20

This meeting is adjourned at 7:17pm!

Nadia Ziyad @nadiaziyad.bsky.social 20/20

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Agency Information

Detroit Public Schools Community District

Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is Michigan’s largest public education system. It is governed by a locally-elected, seven-member board. The District’s mission is to provide every student with a beneficial and rightful educational experience, preparing students to be career and college ready, and qualified to compete in the global market. The District has 106 schools and educates 50,000 children.

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