Meet the Candidate: Guido Touts Experience, Accomplishments on Dearborn School Board

Joseph Guido has served 16 years on the Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education, and in that time, he can’t remember a more trying time for public schools than now.

“I started when my kids were young, and now they’re out of school,” said Guido. “Things are very different that they were back then.”

Guido, who is seeking a fifth term on the board, said his top three priorities if re-elected are to raise student achievement, continue to address the district’s financial condition, and create more opportunities for the school district and to capitalize on their symbiotic relationship.

Because the board steers policy for both the K-12 district and the Henry Ford Community College, it would be natural to have more opportunities for joint programs for students, said Guido.

“We already have opportunities for students (to attend classes at the college)," he said. "But I think we're in a unique position, and that we should create more opportunities for students to be better prepared for the future."

Additionally, Guido said the district must continue to deal effectively with the sometimes unpredictable fallout regarding state funding.

“We’ve taken some steps that I think were productive, and we must continue to steer the district’s finances,” he said. Guido added that board members and administrators must also stay engaged in events in Lansing and with legislators to make sure the district’s position against further cuts is understood.

The most important task ahead for the district is raising the level of student achievement, Guido said. The district recently introduced new literacy programs to meet that end, and Guido said he would like to see those programs expanded and additional ones added.

“We have to make sure that we send every child out of our schools prepared,” he said.

Guido said he believes the board procedures during meeting–that of reaching a consensus at the committee stage to minimize debate during the meeting–has made this board more productive.

Guido is a lifelong resident of Dearborn and the owner of a successful architectural firm. He has served on a handful of additional boards, including the City of Dearborn Municipal Building Authority and the Camp Dearborn Task Force, but focuses most of his energy on the schools and educational issues, he said. Guido previously worked with the Dearborn Education Foundation.

He counts the recently-inked deals between the district’s two largest unions–the and the –among his best achievements because the unions are entering into fixed-cost, union-run health care plans that shield the district from health care increases for four-year term of the contract. The agreement represented a first for any Michigan school district.

“I think the contract was something that brought real change to the district, and it’s going to save us money,” he said.

Guido said that very rough waters are likely ahead for the district, and that experience on the board is desirable.

“There’s always a learning curve; I think it took me a few years to learn the ins and outs of being a board member," he said. "I do understand the desire for new ideas, but it’s going to be important to have people on the board that have worked on all of the issues.”