All seven Dearborn school board candidates appeared at a student-run forum Monday, Oct. 26, eight days before the Nov. 3 election.

The Fordson High School Amity Club organized the event, according to a Dearborn Public Schools post on X confirming that all seven candidates attended.

Four seats are on the ballot. Three carry full six-year terms, and one is a partial term ending Dec. 31, 2028, according to the city’s sample ballot.

Who is running

Five candidates are competing for the three full-term seats: incumbents Mary Petlichkoff, Adel Mozip and Nasri Sobh, plus challengers Mallak Anani and Mohamed Ali Hammoud, according to The Arab American News.

In the partial-term race, incumbent Ali Kamel Bazzi faces challenger Nofila Haidar, The Arab American News reported separately. The district appointed Bazzi in September 2025 to replace Irene Watts, who resigned after moving outside the district.

The $1.51 billion bond

The school board race shares the ballot with a proposal authorizing up to $1.51 billion in borrowing. The district plans to build six new preschool-through-eighth-grade schools and renovate remaining schools over 20 years, according to its bond information page.

The estimated first-year bond levy is 3.14 mills. District officials say Dearborn homeowners’ combined city-and-school tax rate would remain unchanged because the district would stop collecting its 2.18-mill operating levy on those homes and a 0.96-mill city sewer levy is ending.

For Dearborn Heights homeowners in the district, the proposal represents a 0.96-mill increase. The district notes that a separate correction involving previously uncollected operating taxes complicates comparisons between annual bills.

Where candidates stand on the bond

In written responses to The Arab American News published before the forum, all five full-term candidates expressed support for the bond. Mozip said he strongly supports it, noting the plan keeps and renovates Fordson, Dearborn High and Edsel Ford high schools with no combined tax-rate increase for Dearborn homeowners. Anani rated her support a 9 out of 10. Petlichkoff and Hammoud each gave a 10.

Hammoud said school infrastructure motivated his candidacy, writing that his son’s experience in a building without adequate air conditioning showed him firsthand why upgrades are needed. Sobh rated his support a 9, calling for fiscal accountability on every bond dollar.

In the partial-term race, Bazzi rated his support a 10, citing the unchanged combined tax rate for Dearborn homeowners. Haidar declined to use the 1-to-10 scale, saying it was not a fair measure for an issue with so many complexities. She said students and teachers need safe facilities and taxpayer dollars must be spent responsibly.

What’s next

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dearborn’s early in-person voting runs through Sunday, Nov. 1, according to the city’s election information page.

Voters can choose up to three candidates for the full-term seats and one for the partial term.