• From: Ahmed Ismail
    Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2016 6:46:17 PM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
    To: Gafa, Judy (GPPSS)
    Cc: School Board; Ismail, Ahmed (GPPSS)
    Subject: GPPSS - Timeline for Appointing Mrs. Valente's Replacement

    Mrs. Gafa,

     

    This email is In follow-up to the chain of emails I received today starting with Mrs. Pangborn’s email regarding the lack of exposure Mrs. Valente’s resignation has received.  I would recommend that we allow as much time as possible for the public to become aware of her departure and for members of the community to complete the interview application form.  We owe this to our community.

     

    As I recall, State law requires us to make the appointment within 30 days of the effective date of Mrs. Valente’s resignation.  Her June 30 resignation makes our last opportunity to make an appointment July 30th.

     

    I see no harm and much benefit in making the last day for application completion no earlier than June 30th.  This gives us as a board 30 days to interview candidates and make the appointment.  More important, it allows our local media time to get the word out, our IT Department time to make sure the links to the application form are working (see attached error message I just received when I tried to access it by way of Mrs. Fannon’s link) and Mrs. Fannon and our individual buildings time to email every possible stakeholder with the application information.  I would also recommend that the school system publish official notices of the vacancy and the required appointment deadline in each of our local papers (much like we would do for a tax issue) in every issue through the closing date of the application.  We should also send separate emails to all of our community partners with a clear explanation of the appointment process and a working link to the application form.

     

    Mrs. Valente is going to be an incredibly hard person to replace on our board.  Her insight into to process controls and special education are going to be sorely missed.  She was kind enough to give us 30 days’ notice of her departure.  State law gives us another 30 days beyond that date to make our appointment.  Let’s do the right thing and give our community every possible opportunity to become aware of the appointment and its process so that we can find the best candidate for replacing Mrs. Valente’s skillset.

     

    Thank you for your consideration.

     

    Ahmed Ismail

     

    Ahmed Ismail, Trustee

    Grosse Pointe Public School System

    313-343-9060 (The Portrait Place, 10am – 5pm)

    313-969-1541 (Cell, 6pm – 11pm)

     

    Please forgive the fine print to follow.

    Our School Board Policy No. 167.5 requires that I advise you

    what I think you already know, which is:

     

    The above email and its attachments (if any) express the personal view(s) of the Sender.  If you would like the

    official position of the Board of Education and/or the administration of the Grosse Pointe Public School System

    on an issue, please submit your inquiry to schoolboard@gpschools.org.  Thank you.