Northwest Wayne News

The Dearborn City School Board of Education welcomed Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06) to their March 13 meeting.

Superintendent Glenn Maleyko greeted her with a round of applause and thanked her for advocating for the district.

Dingell has been a longtime supporter of the community, reading to students every March for reading month, coming to school events, sports, concerts and bringing school supplies to the school, especially during the pandemic.

Maleyko gave Dingell a token of their appreciation in the form of a small plaque proclaiming the district's gratitude.

“And recently we were just meeting in our committee on the $7.1 million of EPA grant funding that I know you helped secure for electric buses in the district,” said Maleyko. “Congresswoman Dingell, we have something we want to give you to show our appreciation for you and your hard work. And I know that you believe also in our vision. Students First: Inspire, educate, celebrate, because that's what you've done and you've been a stakeholder in this community supporting everyone. You've supported me, our administration, our teachers and everyone in the district. It's just been an honor and a pleasure.”

Dingell said that she considered Dearborn home, a place where her friends live and where she loves everybody.

“I want to say that all of you are my friends. And I miss Dearborn, and I love my district and I love everybody,” said Dingell. “But Dearborn was my home forever. You all care. You may have interesting discussions sometimes, but you care about our young people. And Dingell used to say they’re 25% of our population and 100% of our future. And I thank you for your public service. I miss seeing you all, like regularly as I did, but I'm still around a lot. And I think the most wonderful, reassuring thing for me is the young people I've gotten to know because of all of you. But Glenn, the kids that I met when they were freshmen and have graduated, and I don't like to think that we're old or not, we're seasoned, but I'm now seeing them in their jobs and their success. And it's because of the work of all of you.”

The district also celebrated Thomas Wall for receiving an MSBO award for Business Person of the Year. Wall is the executive director of business operations in the district, and he was pleased to receive the award for his lifetime achievement. He thanked the operations and transportation departments, which he oversees, and thanked them for keeping their kids safe in inclement weather and keeping their building and fleet running.