As part of School Board Appreciation Month, Superintendent Dr. Glenn Maleyko took time at the January 13, 2025 school board meeting to thank trustees for their service to the community and to recognize each trustee.
Over the past few years, school board members across the state and throughout the country have encountered an increased amount of attention as some school board meetings have been used as a stage for heated debate on state and national issues. This sometimes hostile attention has made the job of school board trustees more difficult. During these turbulent times, school board members have had to remain focused on their primary role and responsibilities to develop policies and make tough decisions that shape the district now and in the future. In Dearborn, board trustees are responsible for the third largest school district in Michigan with an enrollment of more than 19,000 students and more than 2,700 employees working in 37 district buildings. The district has an annual regular budget of $445 million.
In addition, Dearborn School Board trustees also serve as trustees for Henry Ford College. They are the only school board trustees in the state that also serve as trustees for a local college. This dual responsibility means trustees spend twice the amount of time dedicated to serving the community. They evaluate both the superintendent and the college president and must keep abreast of issues, laws and legislation impacting both preschool to 12th grade students and the college.
The Board of Education began calendar year 2025 with an organizational meeting to select new officers. Those appointments include Adel Mozip as president, Irene Watts as vice president, Amer Zahr as secretary and Patrick D’Ambrosio as treasurer.
Two new trustees were formally sworn in during the meeting. Trustees Jamal Aljahmi and Amer Zahr joined the board for their first meeting as board members on Monday night. Both men were elected in November to their first terms on the board and are scheduled for six-year terms, serving through 2030.
Dr. Maleyko also thanked Trustee Hussein Berry for his service as board president during 2024. Trustee Berry was presented with a ceremonial gavel in recognition of his time leading the school board. All trustees were presented with a special certificate and coasters imprinted with the district’s 80th anniversary logo.
Below is information about the Dearborn Public School Board of Education trustees returning for 2025.
Trustee Berry and Trustee D’Ambrosio both won reelection in November 2022 and are scheduled to serve through 2028. Trustee Berry has served on the board for 13 years. He initially served from 2010 to 2014 and was elected again in November 2016 and has served since then. Trustee D’Ambrosio has served since December 2020 after initially being elected to a partial-term on the board.
Board President Mozip was initially appointed to the board in April 2019. He was one of three trustees who won election to full six-year seats in 2020, and his term will expire at the end of 2026.
Trustee Mary Petlichkoff also won reelection in 2020 and is scheduled to serve until the end of 2026. She has served on the board for 14 years. She was first elected in 2006 and served from 2007 to 2010. She returned to the board after being elected again in November 2014.
Trustee Irene Watts was the third trustee elected to a full term in 2020. Her term expires in 2026. She has served four years on the Board of Education.
The Dearborn Board of Education, and the hundreds like it across the state, preserve public education, a core of the United States democracy. They ensure that decisions on school programming are made by people elected to represent the community’s values, culture and circumstances. They are citizens whose decisions affect students and build the local community.