Finkelstein and Katz elected to Oakland ISD seats
Katz served on the Berkley Board of Education from 1990 through 2011. Oakland Schools has elected two new members of its board of education, with current Treasurer Marc Katz re-elected to a six-year term and West Bloomfield School Board Treasurer Carol Finkelstein elected to her first term. The process for the intermediate school district, which is different from the way district board seats are filled, involved securing the support of 196 voters, members of school boards of the 27 county school districts. Both Finkelenstein and Katz have previously served on the board of the Oakland School Board Association and their connections to districts across the county helped them secure their seats.
Published : 6 days ago by Matthew Fahr in
Oakland Schools has filled two openings on its board of education.
Current Treasurer Marc Katz was re-elected to a six-year term and West Bloomfield School Board Treasurer Carol Finkelstein was elected to her first term during a vote on June 3.
Katz served on the Berkley Board of Education from 1990 through 2011. He was first elected to the Oakland board in 2012 and re-elected in 2018.
Finkelstein was elected to the West Bloomfield school board in 2011 and will finish her second six-year term on Dec. 31, 2024. She announced in March that she would not seek re-election.
The process for the intermediate school district is different from the way district board seats are filled.
Finkelstein and Katz and two other candidates sought the support of a group of 196 voters – members of school boards of the 27 county school districts. West Bloomfield was excluded because Finkelstein serves on that board.
The candidates sent campaign letters and had one opportunity to address the board voters at a candidate forum. Members of the Oakland County School Board Association asked all candidates the same questions and recorded their answers, which were then sent to all 196 voters.
Within the three weeks of the election, local school boards passed majority resolutions in support of candidates. The resolution is not official until a member of the local school board appears before the ISD on June 3 to vote for two candidates.
Both Finkelstein and Katz have previously served on the board of the Oakland School Board Association and visited districts throughout the county, which Finkelstein said worked in her favor.
“I had to rely on those relationships,” she said. “It’s about building relationships before you try to run for a position like this and hoping those positive relationships give you the support you need to be successful.”
She said gaining the support of board members is the one of the most difficult parts of the process.
“You have board members that were appointed a month ago and we have people who have been on boards for over 30 years and everything in between,” said Finkelstein. “So there is a whole range of people that you have to get your message across to.”
Katz said he received positive feedback after his candidate interview was distributed.
“Most people who watched the video appreciated the comments that I made,” he said.
Finkelstein thinks board experience and attending past ISD meetings helped her earn the seat and will get her off to a fast start on the board.
“I felt my 13 years of school board experience helped,” she said. “I have regularly been attending meetings as well. All of that will help me to get up to speed and understand a lot of the programming and things at the ISD.”
Katz said he did not take his re-election for granted.
“I felt comfortable, but not overconfident,” he said. “I have seen too many people run for re-election, whether it is at the state or local level, that make assumptions that they are going to win and do not go out and do the things necessary to really make sure that they do.”
Katz and Finkelstein will begin their six-year terms on July 1, 2024.