Eastpointe School Board president Gruenberg loses re-election bid

The Eastpointe Community Schools Board of Education will have a different look come January.

Newcomers Darlene Whitby and Shelly Cioppa were the top two vote-getters in the election for four trustees garnering 23.8% and 22.3% of the votes respectively.

"It's very exciting and a little scary," said Cioppa.

Incumbents Edward Williams and Robert Roscoe won trustee seats, but board President Jon Gruenberg lost his bid for re-election after serving on the school board for more than 21 years.

Whitby and Cioppa both said the results of the election, specifically the two new candidates grabbing the majority of the votes, show that residents are looking for change.

"I think people are looking for some new blood and some new ideas," Whitby said.

"People sitting on the board have been there and our schools are declining; our enrollment has plummeted drastically, our test scores are so poor, and no one seems to be doing anything about it except supporting a superintendent who has been sued four times," Cioppa said.

Both new members said they would push for an expansion of programs offered by Eastpointe Community Schools as a way to retain students who live in the city, but have chosen to attend a school outside of the district because ECS does not offer a specific curriculum.

Cioppa said she would like to see Eastpointe offer "cutting edge" programs that will attract students to the district. She envisions partnering with community groups to create hands-on learning opportunities.

"Enrollment is up at our early learning center, but we have to figure out how to retain those students," Cioppa said. "The administration and the board have to work together to stop the bleed.

"We need to offer something to the parents who live in our community but are sending their children to schools outside the district because they have something to offer that we don't."

Cioppa is a lifelong Eastpointe resident whose children attended Eastpointe schools.

Whitby echoed Cioppa's statements and added that she would like to see board members take a more hands-on approach to governing.

"I think being more visible and vocal and just showing up for different functions and showing that we care will go a long way," Whitby said. "I have two grandchildren who were in Eastpointe schools up to the 7th and 9th grade and decided they wanted to go to school outside the district.

"My goal is to get them back and have them bring their friends back too,"

Both said they would like to increase transparency and work together with the administration and parents to move ECS forward.

In other school election results:

Complete results of school board races can be found here .

Katelyn Larese of MediaNews Group contributed to this report.