BAMN slate runs for Detroit school board to reverse closures, fire Vitti

A slate of candidates linked to the activist group By Any Means Necessary is running for five seats on the Detroit Public Schools Community District board with a platform to reverse recent school closures and remove Superintendent Nikolai Vitti. The election, featuring 34 candidates for five open seats, centers on the fate of 19 district schools deemed financially unsustainable due to low enrollment.

Four schools identified for phase-out in 2022 were closed in June 2023: Ann Arbor Trail Magnet School, J.E. Clark Preparatory Academy, Catherine Blackwell Institute, and Greenfield Union Elementary-Middle School. The closures were accelerated by budgetary concerns. The four BAMN-aligned candidates running for full-term seats said they want to fire Vitti or push him to resign. They argue there is enough money to keep schools open, claiming funding is owed by the state due to debt from the emergency management era.

Context - The Small Schools List

Each year, the district generates a list of small schools where enrollment revenue is insufficient to cover program and operation costs. Nineteen schools are currently on that list. Superintendent Nikolai Vitti has stated that appearing on the list does not automatically mean a school is slated for closure. Annual reports detail district efforts to boost enrollment and explore alternative solutions. Thurgood Marshall Elementary-Middle School is scheduled to close at the end of the current school year for the same reasons.

The Candidates

Four candidates are running for the board's four full-term seats as part of the BAMN-linked, self-described 'anti-fascist' slate: Liana Mulholland, Nicole Conaway, Tabrian Joe, and Elizabeth Ann Williams. They are among 30 other candidates running for those full-term seats.

All four responding candidates believe the state owes funding and plan to pressure legislators in Lansing. The board can vote to hire or fire the superintendent, but the Detroit Financial Review Commission must approve a termination. Mulholland said the election presents a real opportunity due to the highest turnover in board membership since DPSCD was created in 2016.

Election Mechanics

The November 3 election offers five open seats: four four-year terms and one partial two-year term. It is an at-large race; the top four vote-getters win the full-term seats, and the highest vote-getter in the partial-term race wins that seat. Shawn Vaughn, an Osborn High School graduate and BAMN organizer, is running for the partial-term seat against two other candidates. Three candidates have withdrawn from the race.

Background and Stakes

BAMN has a history of opposing emergency management and school closures in Detroit, shifting focus after 2016 to challenging the superintendent’s policies. The district has about 50,000 students and around 72,000 seats. Paul Robeson Malcolm X Academy’s enrollment has sharply declined because its building is being replaced and students were moved. A 2026 small schools report said, "When the school relocates back to its new building it should return to a balanced funding model."

Nineteen candidates completed a school board questionnaire about small schools. Many respondents opposed further closures, with one arguing an expensive school that meets student needs should remain open. Others called for reviewing how schools reached this point and developing strategies to keep them open. The five individuals elected in November will influence decisions on schools with declining enrollment and high operating costs.