Schools

Meet the West Bloomfield School Board Candidates: Karen M. Faett

During the countdown to the Nov. 8 election, Patch will bring you profiles of candidates for the West Bloomfield school board.

The Nov. 8 election is drawing closer every day, but what do you know about those names on the ballot?

Patch will interview candidates for the West Bloomfield School District's Board of Education during the ramp-up to the election, bringing you the stories behind the names and the issues they think are important for West Bloomfield schools.

For the West Bloomfield Board of Education, six candidates are running for two open spots: incumbent Nelson Hersh and challengers Julie Beaty, Karen M. Faett, Carol Finkelstein, CharRhonda Moye and John Reed. The Board of Education oversees and sets school policy, hires and works in partnership with the district superintendent and oversees the district's budget. Board members are elected to six-year terms.

Find out what's happening in West Bloomfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Oakland County League of Women Voters will hold a at 7 p.m. Wednesday at for those running for the West Bloomfield Board of Education.

Click for previously-run profiles on Patch:

Find out what's happening in West Bloomfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Karen M. Faett

Children in district: Three stepsons — including one graduate of WBHS.

Qualifications: Juris doctor degree from Wayne State University, formerly a physician assistant, currently works as a trial lawyer — specializing in medical malpractice defense — and partner at Siemion Huckabay

Favorite class in the district: No particular class in the district, but she noted that her children continue to visit John Deierline in the vocal music department at at Abbott Middle School.

Before running for the West Bloomfield School District Board of Education, Faett became aware of what she called a "major problem" in the district at a hyperlocal level. Board meetings have become "contentious" in the midst of , she said, and as a result, students are being affected at home.

"Some of the individuals I've spoken with, who have been at these meetings and spoken there, have felt like their voices aren't being heard," Faett said.

"There's a trickle-down there, because that contentious attitude puts a stress on the board," she said. "That stress on the board becomes a stress on the administration, the teachers, the students and back to the parents."

Faett said her experience as a trial lawyer for nearly 25 years at the Southfield-based firm Siemion Huckabay gives her a unique position among candidates in that she will be able to understand those voices. "If nobody agrees about anything else in a community, they'll agree that if schools aren't attractive, they'll move away from that community," she said. "Nobody wants to see divisiveness between the school board and the community, and I'll make sure that that dialogue is open and civil."

Faett added that her professional experience also offers a sense of stability in her position and that her past personal experience of graduating one stepson from WBSD allows her an understanding of what makes the community tick. 

In conjunction with several new regulations enacted by Gov. Rick Snyder and President Barack Obama, Faett said she's worked hard to understand new laws and how to work within the confines of the system in place to procure funds for the district — while also showing an understanding that increasing revenue through community interaction would be key to overcoming a decrease in foundation contribution per student.

"I would make sure that everybody on the board understands what 'now' is, that we have a very clear understanding of these new laws and how they affect these students — and really, that's the bottom line," she said.

In addition, Faett said maintaining and expanding upon a level of excellence in areas such as the quantity of advanced placement (AP) offerings would be key to future boards in order to comply with new, higher standards.

"What's special about West Bloomfield is that there's something (in AP) for everyone," she said. "If the idea is that most kids need to be in college by 2020, I think we need to have schools where AP is available to most kids."


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