Join Chalkbeat Detroit’s free e-newsletter to maintain up with town’s public college system and Michigan schooling coverage.
The Rev. Steven Bland Jr., the senior pastor of Liberty Temple Baptist Church and a group activist, will be a part of the Detroit college district’s board as its new member.
Bland’s appointment was accepted by the Detroit Public Faculties Neighborhood District board in a vote throughout a particular assembly Monday night time at Martin Luther King Jr. Senior Excessive Faculty.
“I’m humbled to have the privilege to serve, and I’m enthusiastic about this season for Detroit Public Faculties Neighborhood District,” Bland informed Chalkbeat after the assembly.
Bland was chosen out of 14 candidates who utilized for the place, which opened this month following Angelique Peterson-Mayberry’s resignation on July 2. He’ll end out her time period by way of the top of 2026.
Bland leads a number of community-based ministries and youth outreaches, together with Undertaking R.I.S.E., which stands for Rigorous Instruction to Complement Schooling.
Throughout his interview with the board, the pastor stated he’s labored to enhance continual absenteeism by way of church outreach. He stated he’ll proceed to concentrate on the problem in his new place.
“If we wish to educate our college students, they have to be current,” he stated. “They usually have to be not solely there bodily, however assist to guarantee that they’ve correct diet, guarantee that they’ve emotional stability, guarantee that they’ve assist.”
The candidates included district mother and father, educators, an administrator presently employed by the varsity system, a philanthropist, and an lawyer.
They had been scored on their interviews and software supplies by every board member. Board Chair Bishop Corletta J. Vaughn stated in the course of the assembly the candidates’ scores had been saved in sealed envelopes that weren’t opened till the Monday night time assembly.
Scores for all the candidates had been tallied by unbiased third celebration authorized counsel dwell on stage for greater than an hour in the course of the assembly.
As soon as the third celebration recognized Bland because the candidate with the very best rating, his title was introduced and the board voted on his appointment.
The board voted unanimously in favor of Bland’s appointment. Board member Ida Carol Simmons-Quick was not in attendance.
Bland was sworn into workplace after the vote
Candidate interviews happened in 4 public conferences final week.
Every candidate submitted a letter of intent, a resume, and responses to survey questions earlier this month. Solely the survey responses have been made accessible to the general public.
Chalkbeat requested the district for all the supplies and was informed an open information request was essential to overview them. A request was filed final week, and the district responded that it wanted an extension till Aug. 11 to offer the paperwork.
Throughout the choice course of, three candidates withdrew their purposes earlier than they had been interviewed. One individual dropped out as questions arose about using ChatGPT in software supplies attributed to her.
Bland will take Peterson-Mayberry’s seat on the board’s Tutorial Committee. Board member Monique Bryant will take the place of chair of the committee.
Hannah Dellinger covers Detroit faculties for Chalkbeat Detroit. You may attain her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.
