Justification For New Educational Leadership Program

Sheko: Strong leadership needed

Age: 49
Employment: Supervisor for Detroit Edison
Family: Married to Judy Sheko for 23 years, a daughter Melissa, 21, and son Joshua, 18.
Education: Graduate of Lawrence Technological University with a bachelor’s of science in engineering technology, graduate of Schoolcraft Community College with a degree in electronics technology, graduate of radar electronics in the U.S. Army, 1980-84.
Community Involvement: President of Garden City Soccer Club, 2009-10, treasurer of Garden City Soccer Club, 2004-08, soccer coach, 2002-11

With the city facing a tough time financially, Carl Sheko believes there's a need for some strong leadership. The council has not done a proper job with the city's finances nor has it done the hard work to earn the confidence of the people.

“Even the botched attempt at making up the property tax shortfall with a 12-mill increase cost the council a lot of credibility,” he said. “I would like to be part of the team that restores the public trust in the city council.”

A 21-year resident of Garden City, Sheko said he doesn't have a lot of endorsement from other politicians, unions or special groups, his interest is taxpayers and their votes is “the only endorsement I will need.”

“I want a vibrant, financially stable community that people want to live in. I think I can get us there,” he said. “I am not a politician, but a concerned citizen that wants to do the right thing.”

Observer: What do you believe makes you the best choice for this position?

My experience in my job and community has given me the tools to be the best choice for council. In my job, I supervise a civil/electrical underground design group. Each year I review and sign off many multimillion-dollar projects that are constructed in the road right of way that require community review and approval. This gives me the skills to ask the correct questions. As an ex-president and treasurer of GC Soccer club, I have learned and applied Roberts Rules for running a board/council. This gives me the knowledge to hit the ground running as a council member.

Observer: What do you see as the problems facing Garden City?

Some problems facing Garden City are the public's loss of confidence in city council, and the loss of the library, just to name a few.

Observer: How would you address those problems you have identified?

When it comes to trust, only time and solid decision making can repair its decline. I have a history of being trusted in Garden City.

Norm's Notes: New Orleans schools: A nexus of poverty, high ...

Why wasn’t the question ever raised or ever mentioned to these "America's brightest and best" that seasoned teachers spend 15 hour days staying up to 1AM grading papers, grading more papers and doing lesson plans on weekends, grading tests, projects, notebooks, and countless other things over holiday breaks? Everyone acts as if they know the life of an English teacher or a Science teacher in a high school or any age group. Good teachers work their butts off. The job demands it. The lives of the students demand it. All of you, with your lack of understanding and indecent reporting which is too often dishonest, as with dishonest politicians control work to keep our schools down, which in the long run is to the benefit of corporate capitalism. John, an eighth grader at the time, gives another student on school grounds a candy bar. He is spotted by a security guard and told he now faces suspension. Frightened, John runs, getting caught twice and slapped with handcuffs as many times, acquiring bruises along his wrists in the process. A jacket his grandmother purchased is torn during the scuffle with the much larger security personnel. In a study published (PDF) July 6, researchers for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) noted countries that hold students back an additional year or shuffle students out of schools for academic or behavioral problems are more likely to support education systems marked by inequity, low student performance and unnecessarily bloated budgets. School systems that transfer students more frequently also tend to show a stronger relationship between students' socio-economic background and performance, and a wider gap in performance between schools, even after accounting for countries' national income. This suggests that transferring students tends to be associated with socio-economic segregation in school systems, where students from advantaged backgrounds end up in better-performing schools while students from disadvantaged backgrounds end up in poorer-performing schools. However, this does not necessarily mean that if countries abolish their transfer policies, their performance will automatically improve; PISA doesn’t measure cause and effect.

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