Frustration Drives Kahn to Seek School Board Post

Murray Kahn believes board members aren't paying close enough attention to what's happening with the district's ranking in a recently released statewide report.

"I think they've become complacent," said Kahn, who is running against nonprofit CEO David Sampson for a four-year term on the board. "They were asked about the ratings going down, and they blamed it on kids who are educationally challenged."

Officials have said that the failure of and high schools to meet adequate yearly progress is . Kahn said officials are telling people not to pay attention to the rankings, and "to me, that's just a lack of sincerity."

Kahn added when those rankings go down, it becomes more difficult for students to get into the best universities and colleges, and so they won't get the best jobs and won't come back to live in the community. That, he said, will affect property values.

"If the schools go down, people are not going to want to move into our neighborhoods," he said.

Kahn would like to see greater use of technology in schools, starting at a younger age. He said if students are working on laptop computers or electronic tablets, teachers could see what they're doing in "real time," offer help to those who need it or give kids who are understanding material more challenges. He said while there would be a cost to getting that kind of program, it could start with one grade level and be expanded each year.

A podiatric surgeon and division head of podiatry with Henry Ford Health System, Kahn said he has seen firsthand how a good nonprofit organization is operated. He said physicians are told that "patients are not your patients, they're your customers." If they're not treated well, they'll find another health care facility.

"It's the same thing with our citizens," he said. "If they don't like our school system, they'll move out. I want to be the liaison for the citizens. They can come to me with their concern, and I'll make sure it gets to the board."

Kahn believes the district's budget woes have a lot to do with expenses that are tied to how things have been done in the past. He believes officials have to work with unions, rather than being adversaries.

"I think teachers have had it the hardest," he said. "They've taken cuts ... and we haven't done anything for them." Improving technology, Kahn said, is one way to help teachers, by making their jobs a little easier.

Kahn said his background in running a private practice, hiring and firing people and dealing with insurance companies in a nonprofit setting has helped him see "the way it should be done. There's a right way and there's a wrong way to be an efficient district."

As he talked with other residents who were also considering a run for school board, Kahn said, all had a common reason: dissatisfaction with the current board. He said in order to connect with parents, officials need to make them feel as if they're welcome, wanted and needed.

He said he has seen board members "treat the public with disrespect" during board meetings. "My motto is, it's time to expel the board," he said.

Kahn believes he is "really running against the present incumbent board members" and said Sampson is someone "picked by the present board. If we want change, we need to have people from different backgrounds ... I think change is necessary."

He has spoken with two other candidates—Irving Ginsberg and Angie Smith—and believes they could work well together. "The three of us getting in, I think we could make a change," he said.

Ginsberg, Smith, Samuel M. Ramsey III and incumbents Karen Bolsen and Howard I. Wallach are all running for two six-year terms.

Voters will also be asked to vote for one partial term ending Dec. 31, 2015. The only candidate for that seat is George Gurrola.

Elections will be held Nov. 8.