Michigan: Dearborn school board partial-term candidates Bazzi and Haidar answer questions on $1.51 billion bond
Dearborn Board of Education incumbent Ali Kamel Bazzi and challenger Nofila Haidar answered four identical questions from the Arab American News ahead of the Nov. 3 election, the paper reported on Oct. 23. The two are competing for a partial term ending in December 2028. A separate race in the district has five candidates running for three open seats with full six-year terms.
The district serves all of Dearborn and northeastern neighborhoods of Dearborn Heights. The paper said the questions covered the candidates' backgrounds, qualifications and priorities, and their positions on the $1.51 billion bond proposal on the ballot to construct and renovate school buildings across the district. The answers below are the candidates' own, as published by the paper.
Bazzi said he is a graduate of Dearborn Public Schools and the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and that he has taken coursework at Henry Ford College. He said he has advised Zaman International for more than a decade and helped raise nearly $400,000 for its programs, and that he has worked with families of people with special needs, including advocacy for the Rowan Act and Senate Bill 456. He said he has spent 15 years advising small and medium-sized businesses on digital strategy, operations and marketing, and has held an appointed seat on the Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education and the Henry Ford College Board of Trustees since September 2025. He is the parent of three children in Dearborn Public Schools, he said.
Haidar said she is a graduate of Dearborn Public Schools and holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Michigan. She works as a college and career advisor and has more than 12 years of experience as a real estate broker with Nova Realty Group. She said she founded Dearborn's first Special Education PTA unit, served on the Early Learning Coalition for Dearborn Public Schools, and has been president of the Dearborn Schools PTA Council. She also sits on the boards of the Dearborn Education Foundation and the Dearborn Goodfellows, and is the parent of two district graduates.
On priorities, Bazzi said his agenda centers on advocating for all students, including support for diverse learners and special education families; building for the future through critical thinking, practical life skills, modernized infrastructure and strict fiscal responsibility; and strengthening communication among parents, educators and district leaders. He said his board work has included selecting a new superintendent and college president and helping shape the bond proposal. Haidar said her priorities include adapting Henry Ford College programming to workforce demands while keeping it affordable, fair compensation, safety and resources for paraprofessionals and support staff, advocacy for special education, and support for teachers and families.
Asked how they would handle disagreements over curriculum, books and school safety, Bazzi said he relies on clear institutional policies and transparent review procedures involving educators, media specialists and parents, and keeps an open-door policy. Haidar said she would use transparent, collaborative frameworks, proactive communication, multilingual feedback loops and neighborhood listening sessions.
Asked to rate their support for the bond on a scale of 1 to 10, Bazzi said he supports it at a 10, citing aging buildings that need security, instructional lab, roof, electrical and air conditioning upgrades. He said the plan is tax-rate neutral and that he would insist on milestone tracking, open competitive bidding and fiscal oversight. Haidar did not give a number. She said students and teachers need safe, clean facilities, called a 1-to-10 scale an unfair measure for an issue with many complexities, and said taxpayer dollars must be spent responsibly with clear oversight.