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Oak Park board president announces resignation; trustees elect Paige Madison as president
Summary
President Alvin announced he will step down at the end of the Aug. 25 meeting, criticizing board divisiveness; trustees elected Paige Madison president and named Zandra Clark vice president and Tiffany Scott treasurer.
Oak Park — President Alvin announced at the Aug. 25 Oak Park Board of Education meeting that he will step down at the conclusion of the session, saying months of internal conflict have distracted the board from student achievement. "Too often, our board has shifted its focus away from student achievement and toward divisiveness," he said, and added, "Tonight will be my last meeting as a board member."
Trustees moved quickly to fill leadership roles. Trustee Zandra Clark nominated Trustee Paige Madison to serve as board president for the remainder of 2025; the motion was seconded and approved by roll call. Madison, currently vice president, will assume the presidency at the end of the meeting.
Madison then nominated Zandra Clark to serve as vice president for the remainder of 2025; that nomination passed. Trustees also approved a motion naming Trustee Tiffany Scott as treasurer for the remainder of the year. The board set these terms to run until the district's organizational meeting in January.
The meeting included debate earlier on a proposed $15,000 board-development workshop from Square 1 Strategy Group. Trustee Corcoran questioned the cost and compared it with offerings from the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB), calling the price "astronomical" and urging fiscal caution. Trustee Clark said the program was tailored to the board; other trustees said they preferred lower-cost options or more internal team-building first. The motion to accept the Square 1 proposal failed on a roll call vote.
Alvin, in his resignation remarks, credited district achievements during his tenure — citing the hiring of a new superintendent, improvements to facilities and expanded advanced placement offerings — but said repeated "gotcha games" and staff turnover had made continued service untenable. "We have lost talented leaders, two chief financial officers, and even a superintendent, who in part resigned because of the treatment they experienced from certain members of this board," he said.
The board closed the meeting after conducting additional business, and the new officers' terms will take effect immediately. The next regularly scheduled meeting is Sept. 8, 2025, at 6 p.m. in the Administration Building boardroom.
