Detroit school board outlines sealed‑score process for filling vacancy; members place vendor‑payment pause on tomorrow’s agenda

The Detroit Public Schools Community District Board of Education on July 7 began the public process to fill a board vacancy and agreed on several procedural rules meant to protect the integrity of candidate scoring.

At the start of the special meeting, Ivan Moore, the board’s secretary, certified that notice of the special meeting had been delivered to members on July 7, 2025, “according to its applicable statute,” and read meeting norms asking attendees to respect participation and refrain from disruptive behavior. The board said its purpose was to fill the vacancy created when Angelique Peterson left the board.

Members agreed to a process in which each board member fills out an individual score sheet for every candidate, places that sheet in a sealed envelope and turns it in at the end of Thursday’s interviews. A neutral third party — suggested examples included an outside attorney or accountant rather than board legal staff — would hold the sealed envelopes until they are opened publicly on Monday so the final tally is visible to the public.

“We respect the rights of all persons to participate in this public meeting,” Ivan Moore read aloud when laying out the norms for the proceeding. The chair proposed the sealed‑envelope approach as a way to avoid tampering and to preserve public confidence in the process.

Board members clarified how scoring will be weighted: interest statement (up to 5 points), resume (up to 5), essay responses (up to 10) and interview responses (up to 10). They debated whether the district or an outside party should create the single public tally sheet and whether submitted score sheets should include board members’ names; members noted that submitted materials are subject to FOIA.

A board member moved to add to tomorrow’s agenda a motion to suspend payments to board vendors until the board and any newly appointed member can review the board budget and contracts. Another member seconded the proposal and said it should be scheduled for tomorrow; the transcript records the motion being made and seconded but does not show a final vote on that item during this special meeting.

The board also scheduled public comment and interview logistics: public comment will come first for today’s session before candidates are interviewed; interviews were scheduled to begin at 1:15 p.m. and 1:40 p.m. board members said some applicants had withdrawn (the list had dropped “from 40 something to down to 16,” according to the transcript).

Two candidates who spoke during the session outlined experience and priorities. Curtis C. Williams, who described himself as a pastor, small‑business owner and graduate of Detroit Public Schools, said he has donated to local schools and runs mentorship and summer programs. “I am a product of Detroit Public School,” Williams said, emphasizing hands‑on community engagement and conflict‑resolution experience. He described outreach such as uniforms for kindergarten classes and programs designed to raise attendance and morale.

Another candidate, identified in the transcript as Pastor Glenn, described 21 years of community involvement and urged the board to focus on building trust with parents and pursuing creative partnerships to address anticipated funding shortfalls. “I believe that we have a wonderful school district and an opportunity to do great things on behalf of children,” Pastor Glenn said, and called for active listening, relationship‑building and cautious fiscal planning given looming questions about millages and federal funding streams.

The meeting concluded with procedural business and further scheduling: board members agreed to recess and reconvene to accommodate scheduled interviews, and later in the record a motion to adjourn was proposed. Several procedural items discussed in the session — the vendor‑payment suspension and whether a chair announcement becomes an official agenda item — were treated as agenda items to be decided on at a later meeting.

Next steps recorded in the transcript: the board will proceed with interviews on the announced schedule, board members will complete and seal their score sheets for a neutral custodian to hold, and the sealed envelopes will be opened in public at a later meeting for the final tally. The vendor‑payment suspension motion was placed on tomorrow’s agenda for consideration; no vote on that motion is recorded in the transcript of this special meeting.