WHO ARE THE "CITIZENS FOR NOVI?"

If you live within the Novi Community School District (NCSD), you may have received a half sheet of propaganda in your mailbox within the past several days from a group known as “Citizens for Novi”. This is a very small group being led by a Novi parent named Daniel Dubay. Mr. Dubay has been very vocal for several months on the belief that his organization of parents feels they were badly treated by the Athletic Director(A.D.), the pom coach, and some of the administration at NCSD. He also feels strongly that some members of the current school board have not been sensitive to their demands and have acted, in his words, “inappropriately”. In this propaganda they have circulated, they also gave their organization’s recommendations on candidates for the board for whom you should and should not vote, based solely on the ONE issue that this “Citizens for Novi” group is concerned about. It should be noted that this organization has no website you can visit to learn about them. They simply offer up a gmail address, and if you email it, you will then be inundated with more propaganda promoting their single issue. Dubay and his organization apparently based their opinion on school board candidates on whether or not he felt those people would support his SINGLE issue, citing that Ann Glubzinski and Robert Peurach were “of like mind” on this issue, meaning they don’t support him, while promoting two other candidates, Paul D. Cook and Chris Harpenau, whom he must feel would be more sensitive to his cause, and then mysteriously leaving out the name of the fifth board candidate, Willy Mena, completely. Does that mean that Mr. Dubay knows that Mena is already on his side and that he assumes that Cook and Harpenau will be as well? It certainly begs the question. It is important to note that this issue Mr. Dubay and his group of “Citizens for Novi” are having with our school district and our school board has absolutely NOTHING to do with academics or student growth here in Novi. They are angry about an issue their children had with the pom coach at Novi High School and the fact that the A.D. here did not hire the coach that this group of parents was promoting. When this group of parents didn’t get the coach they wanted, they ultimately encouraged their daughters to quit the team, which nine of the senior girls then did. Dubay and his supporters then insisted that the board take action against the A.D., which they did not do. While anyone could understand any parents being upset about athletics, is this one issue really the biggest reason for anyone to choose a school board candidate? Aren’t we concerned at all about where we are going to continue to get the money to finance our district to keep our NCSD “commitment to excellence” that is our district’s mission statement? Aren’t we concerned that we help our children become lifelong learners and prepared for the demands of an ever changing future? Aren’t we hoping to get our Novi students into the best colleges and trade schools possible? What about the common core? The new special education laws? New teacher evaluation rules? It seems that these issues are the ones on which we should be choosing our district’s governing body, rather than recommending school board candidates on whether or not they will commit to firing an athletic director who didn’t give in to the demands of a very small group of parents. Please read their propaganda carefully before being influenced by them on what your choices for the best school board members should be. Please let your vote on Tuesday, Nov. 4, be the silencer to this issue so our district and our board can get back to the business that actually matters to our children’s futures.

Jody Long

Novi Parent

CyF