UPDATE: as of November 14th, Leslie Wilkins, Glynda Wilks, and Don Wilkerson have been elected to the three open seats and will serve four-year terms.

November 6th is our country’s General Election, with nationally known, intensely important, era-establishing positions on the table. And in Ann Arbor Public Schools, powerful positions are up for grabs as well. 

In addition to Torchio Feaster’s uncontested run for Board Chairman, there are three open seats on the School Board, with six candidates gunning for them.

Of those six, only one is an incumbent: Ernesto Querijero. The other two current Board members whose seats are open, Krystle DuPree and Jeff Gaynor, are not running.

“I do not have the time or capacity to campaign at this time,” says DuPree. “One major thing I am working on right now is trying to get my big L [full license to practice]. I graduated from the U and went into elected office without allowing myself to work on career goals or settle in as a social worker.”

Gaynor, an instrumental player in the budget crisis, shared sentiments about the amount of attention which Board work requires.

“The main reason [is] that serving two terms, a total of eight years, [is] as much as I [have] to give,” says Gaynor. “Especially as I will be 74-years-old when a third term would start.”

The candidates are largely in agreement on critical current issues. All six list both “increased financial transparency” and “increased focus on equity” as key parts of their platform. All are independent of political parties and members of the AAPS community, as current or former teachers or volunteers. However, there are also important distinctions among them.

Megan Kanous is a current member of the Haisley Elementary Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and a Girl Scout troop leader. Though she has never worked in a school, she says she would be a voice for educators, as she was “told to run by teachers.”

Kanous says that her years of volunteer work in and around school settings have given her many different perspectives. For the last 14 years, her day job has been as a board game consultant and distributor, which she says has given her a proficiency in accounting that is necessary with the Board’s current state.

Kanous is endorsed by the Ann Arbor Education Association and Better Boards, Better Schools.

Ernesto Querijero is unique among the candidates as the only incumbent. Querijero faces further scrutiny than the others — although not entirely due to his incumbency. He is known for playing a pivotal role in both the recent budget crisis, in which he was the only Board member to vote nay on the final budget reductions. He has stated that as the Board was the cause of the crisis, the teachers should not have had to bear the brunt of its effects.

Querijero is also known for the passing of the controversial Mideast Ceasefire Resolution.  “I didn’t expect peace to be so controversial,” says Querijero. “It was brought to me by students. I just put it in front of the Board.”

Querijero has two major initiatives for the coming term: the introduction of further teaching on environmental consciousness and the creation of a dedicated Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) officer for AAPS. When not attending Board meetings, he works as an English teacher in AAPS at Clague Middle School.

Querijero is endorsed by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, Anishinaabek Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party, Ann Arbor Education Association, College Democrats at the University of Michigan (UofM), Huron Valley Area Labor Association, Michigan Education Association, and Rising Voices.

Eric Stugis is a former coach for Skyline’s Varsity Women’s Tennis and has coached throughout the country. This, he says, offers him insight and experience into working with budgeting — experience which few current Board members have.

Along with his years of coaching at both high school and collegiate levels, Sturgis plans to spark more community dialogues and involvement between the school system and parents. According to his official campaign website, he would also like to “work to increase enrollment which increases $$ for the district.”

The Post was unable to establish whether or not Sturgis is endorsed by any political body.

Don Wilkerson has served as the secretary of the Ann Arbor PTO Council, the President and Vice President of A2STEAM PTO, a community representative on the AAPS Superintendent’s Blue-Ribbon Advisory Committee, a member of the Ann Arbor Citizens Millage Committee, a member of the A2STEAM Principal Selection Committee, and the director of Ann Arbor Cross Country Kids.

Wilkerson believes that his background in finance, which he has acquired through his years of experience at financial advisory firm Rehmann will be critical in the Board’s current financial situation.

Wilkerson is endorsed by the Washtenaw County Democratic Party, Focus on Education Ann Arbor, Better Boards, Better Schools, the Anishinaabek Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party, and the Laborers’ International Union of North America.

Leslie Wilkins first ran for School Board in 2022, placing 10th with 9,915 votes. Her positions are largely unchanged from then, with yet more emphasis on those previously held positions: increased financial transparency, racial equity, and communication between schools.

Wilkins states on her campaign website that as a single mother of Black children, she is the candidate with the most experience of racial equity. She also says she is well-versed in Board functions, as she has been to nearly every meeting since her failed campaign in 2022. The Skyline Post confirms that Wilkins attended every meeting during the AAPS budget crisis, Spring of 2024.

Wilkins is endorsed by the Ann Arbor Education Association and Washtenaw County Democratic Party.

Glynda Wilks is an officer and silver star member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, member of the National Association of Black Journalists, co-chair on the subcommittee for policy and oversight on the Washtenaw County 21st-Century Policing Compliance Commission, council secretary on the Foundations Preschool of Washtenaw County, former council member of the Parkridge Community Center, former member of the AAPS Superintendent’s Blue-Ribbon Advisory Committee, vice president of A2STEAM PTO, member of Clague Middle School’s Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSO), and much more.

Wilks stresses the need to build further partnerships between AAPS and local organizations and institutions, such as the University of Michigan. She also insists that it is important to keep Board functions exclusively school-centric and unrelated to international affairs. She believes that her many decades working in schools and as a journalist will be critical on a Board that is often partisan.

Wilks is endorsed by Jerry Clayton (Washtenaw County’s Sheriff), Christopher Taylor (Ann Arbor’s Mayor), Lisa Lewis (Superior Township Treasurer), State Representative Jimmie Wilson, Jr. (District 32), Travis Radini (Ann Arbor Council Member for Ward 3), Kathy Griswold (former Ann Arbor Council Member for Ward 2), Morgan Foreman (candidate for State Representative for District 33), Bryan L. Johnson (former AAPS Board President and Trustee), Rebecca Lazarus (former AAPS Board President and Trustee), Patricia Ashford Manley (former AAPS Trustee and Principal), Deb Mexicotte (former AAPS Board President and Trustee), Better Boards, Better Schools, the Washtenaw County Democratic Party, and Focus on Education Ann Arbor.

Note: The Skyline Post attempted to reach out to every candidate for comment. Not every candidate had contact information or responded. As a result, our profiles include more information about some candidates than others.