Meet the Candidates: Jack Connelly Looks to Provide Outsider's Perspective

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 , the board and the during the ramp-up to the election, bringing you the stories behind the names and the issues they think are important for Birmingham.

For the Birmingham Board of Education, three candidates are running for two open spots: challenger Jack Connelly and incumbents and . 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 four-year terms.

The Oakland County League of Women Voters will hold a at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Birmingham Public Schools for those running for the Birmingham Board of Education.

Jack Connelly

Age: 47

Family: Connelly has been married to his wife, Suzanne, for 23 years and has five children: Caroline, 22; Liam, 18; Evan, 16; Chris, 14; and Clare, 11, the last three of whom attend or .

Education: After spending several years in the military, Connelly received his undergraduate degree in urban planning from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is working on his MBA at the University of Michigan.

Occupation: Connelly is sales director with United National Foods.

Previous elected experience/experience with the schools: Connelly's wife grew up in the area and he and his family moved back to Metro Detroit and Birmingham four years ago. This is his first run for local office and he has served on the board for the .

Why are you running? "I think Birmingham is a good school district," Connelly said. "But I think it can be a great school district."

Connelly noted that now that he's reached a point in his career where he's not traveling as frequently and can dedicate even more time to his children's education, he is finally able to get involved in the Birmingham community. "I just want to help," he said.

What would you bring to the school board? Connelly noted that although he did not grow up in Birmingham, he has lived in dozens of school districts around the country and the world — giving him that outsider's perspective he said is necessary to keep Birmingham schools on track.

In addition to having a fresh perspective, Connelly said, he is eager to put to work his diplomatic skills — gained during years in the military and working in international sales — and his experience handling multimillion-dollar budgets.

What issues are important to you? For Connelly, the No. 1 issue facing public schools, including Birmingham, is keeping students safe from budget cuts.

The current board has done a great job of keeping the district afloat during difficult economic times, Connelly said, noting the district's efforts to privatize custodial and other services. Now the district needs to do more than "play the game," he said; it needs to find ways to move forward while keeping students' needs in mind.

"I'm just afraid they're not focusing on students," he said.

In addition, Connelly said he believes Birmingham Schools needs to place a greater emphasis on global standards and opportunities. This global outlook should already be part of the district's program of "21st century teaching and learning," Connelly said, but he said he wants to push the envelope even further. Birmingham needs to look beyond Michigan and look to top-notch districts across the country for inspiration, he said.

For more

Check out profiles for all three candidates running for the school board: