Polygon, the Dancing Bear

Occasional notes on politics, history, technology, architecture,
and the life of a county clerk

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Current entries

Monday, March 31, 2008, 11:25 pm

Speaking at the Ypsilanti school board meeting

This evening, the Ypsilanti school board took up the issue of selling the long-closed Ardis school on Ellsworth Road to the Hidaya Community Center/Michigan Islamic Academy, which has offered $3.9 million for it. Earlier, sale of the property to the Salvation Army fell through.

The proposed sale had aroused some opposition, some of it frankly anti-Muslim, and flyers were distributed in the neighborhood. About 300 people were at the meeting, and some 20 spoke during public comment (each with a gently but firmly enforced 3 minute limit). Here's what I said:

Good evening. I'm Larry Kestenbaum, Washtenaw County Clerk and Register of Deeds. My office is at 200 North Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor.

I'm not a resident of the Ypsilanti school district, but you're all part of my constituency, and my office serves the entire county when it comes to vital records, elections, court records, and deeds. I'm very interested in intergroup relations in Washtenaw County.

Myself, I'm Jewish, and an active member of Temple Beth Emeth, Jewish congregation, and my wife is on the board of trustees.

The closing of a school is always painful. Generations of students share memories of their formative years in those rooms. The elementary school I attended was closed some years ago, amid bitter controversy. But that school building still exists and contributes to the community, under different ownership, as a community center.

Accordingly, I am here to support the recommendation to sell Ardis School to the Hidaya Center, which I am sure will put the building to good use and benefit the whole community.

Let me share just a couple of brief anecdotes to make my point.

First, some years ago, when I was the youngest member of the East Lansing Planning Commission, we received a site plan for the MSU Islamic Center, across the street from the MSU campus, but also adjoining a single-family residential area.

The plan was approved, and East Lansing has never had cause to regret that decision. Nearby homeowners, folks I grew up with, people I represented as county commissioner, say the Islamic Center is a very good neighbor.

Second, when Ann Arbor had to close a school, they made a decision similar to the one I hope you will make tonight. They sold the Clinton Elementary School, and it became the Jewish Community Center of Washtenaw County.

As a member of the JCC organization, I view this facility with some pride. It houses a school, day care center, and meeting rooms for community events. Just yesterday afternoon, I took my daughter Sarah, who happens to be here tonight, to her Girl Scout troop meeting there.

The Washtenaw County Jewish community is still grateful for the consideration we received to purchase and reuse Clinton School. I urge you to give the Islamic community the same consideration in its bid to purchase and reuse Ardis School.

Census estimates show that Washtenaw County is growing, even as the state's population is declining. People are coming here because of our economy, still the best in the state, and because of the things this area has to offer.

A growing and thriving community naturally becomes more diverse, including religiously diverse. Yes, we'll have more Catholics and Baptists and Lutherans. But we'll also have more Jews, and Mormons, and Buddhists, and Hindus, and Muslims. And all of these groups need to build and nurture their community institutions.

That religious development is inseparable from economic development, which means: more talent, more business, more jobs, and a better future for everyone in Washtenaw County.

Thank you.