3 New Candidates Face Incumbents in Highland Park School Board Race

There are three open positions on the ballot for the upcoming Highland Park Board of Education election. Five candidates are running in the elections, three of them are new candidates.

Those three prospects are Yolanda Harrison, Famika Roberts and Cassandra Walker.

There is currently only one school in the Highland Park School District. Students in kindergarten through eighth grade attend Barber Preparatory Academy, which is a charter school. High school students in the city have to travel to other areas.

Harrison’s family has lived in Highland Park since the 1960s. She said she feels her own children have not received a proper education in the city, which is why she is running for the school board to create a better learning environment for young people.

“I know with more residents coming to Highland Park and our community expanding, I want to make sure that we the people create a learning center with all the tools we need to educate our children,” Harrison told WDET.

Harrison said she is committed to increasing the resources needed to provide education to children in the district. She said her main goals as a board member include opening a library and a new high school in Highland Park. the last high school closed in 2015 due to financial problems and low attendance.

Candidate Roberts also wants a new high school. She argued that having more local schools would make it easier for children to find friends in their area. Roberts emphasized the importance of creating connections with people who live nearby, saying she has made lifelong friendships this way and wants the same for children like her granddaughter.

“We have a K-8 school here, and once our kids graduate from eighth grade, they now have to go and find a place to go to school. And maybe it’s not with peers, you know, friends that they’ve been going to school with since kindergarten,” she said of the current state of schooling for children in Highland Park.

Roberts is the founder of the non-profit organization Sisters with Helping Hands. The organization actually works in the city: planting community gardens and teaching people about healthy lifestyles. Roberts said she hopes to use her experience to improve communication between the school board and the district if she is elected.

Candidate Walker, like others, supports rebuilding Highland Park High School. Walker said both of her daughters graduated from the old high school and are now pursuing medical careers, for which she partially credits the high school. She said she wants to bring the same quality of education back to the city.

“I’m running because I want to see change and more opportunities for our kids,” Walker said. “I believe in education. “I’ve seen what education looks like and I want to provide that opportunity for our children and bring equity and accountability to our foundations and our schools.”

Walker has experience in community service as the interim leader of a welfare advocacy group called Westside Mothers. Walker said that as a school board member, she will focus on managing the district’s finances. She wants to see more spending on transportation, after-school programs and teacher hiring.

Two incumbent members of the Highland Park Board of Education, Lorne McGee and Mark Ashley Price, will also be on the ballot. They did not respond to WDET’s requests for an interview.

The general election will be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. The latest election information can be found in the WDET Voter Guide at: wdet.org/voterguide.