The Manchester Community Schools Board of Education consists of 7 trustees who are elected Ann Arbor residents. The school board ensures the mission and goals of the district are met through formulating policy, which is its primary function. The board appoints and guides the superintendent, reviews and approves the district operating budget, and negotiates and approves employee bargaining unit contracts. Trustees relay educational issues to their constituency to gain input and support necessary to effectively operate the district. Members serve four-year terms.
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DISTRICT
Manchester
PHONE
734-323-7585
Campaign Phone
734-323-7585
Number of years as resident
13
My education and experience give me a unique perspective that I believe would serve Manchester Community Schools well. I spent five years as a paraprofessional in MCS before becoming a certified special education teacher. I taught in the district for a year and a half before my position was no longer available and I transitioned to another district. I am now in my fourth year as a certified teacher, with experience working with students K–6 and a wide range of needs. As a former MCS employee, parent, educator, resident, and taxpayer, I understand our schools from multiple perspectives. I would bring firsthand experience, transparency, open communication, and a commitment to advocating for students, families, and staff.
If elected, my goals would be to strengthen consistency and collaboration throughout the district, improve transparency and communication, ensure staff feel supported, and work toward restoring strong special education services within the district. I want to help create clear, consistent expectations and practices across the district while keeping students at the center of every decision. I would work toward these goals by listening to students, families, and staff, asking thoughtful questions, reviewing information carefully, and working collaboratively with the board and administration. I will be transparent with our community, communicate openly, and advocate for decisions that support our students and the staff who support them.
Improving student achievement starts with understanding what students need and providing the support necessary to succeed. The district should use student data to identify areas of need, maintain consistent expectations and curriculum throughout the district, and ensure teachers have the resources they need. Strong special education services are essential so students with disabilities can access their education and make meaningful progress. Communication and collaboration among teachers, families, administrators, and support staff are key. By addressing gaps in support and giving staff the tools they need, we can create an environment where every student has the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed.
My budget priorities would focus on students while being responsible and transparent with district funds. I would prioritize classroom resources, strong special education services, staff support and retention, and programs that directly benefit student learning. I also believe the district should regularly evaluate spending to ensure resources are being used effectively. Significant purchases, including curriculum and instructional materials, should follow district policies and receive required board approval. As a taxpayer and community member, I believe the community deserves transparency and accountability in how district funds are spent.
I believe the most serious challenges facing the school board are building trust through transparency and communication, creating consistency across the district, supporting staff, and ensuring strong special education services. As a board member, I would address these by listening to students, families, and staff, asking questions, reviewing information carefully, and encouraging open communication. I would work collaboratively with the board and administration to establish clear expectations, strengthen accountability, and ensure decisions are made with students and staff in mind. I would also work toward restoring strong special education services and maintaining transparency with the community throughout the process.
DISTRICT
Manchester
WEBSITE
https://educate360.edublogs.org/
Number of years as resident
40
I hold a BA in education, MS in higher education, and PhD in Educational Leadership. I’ve worked in K-12 education, served fifteen years in higher ed helping students through difficult transitions, as Director of Academic Support Programs, and consulted in education technology. Before that, my career was in finance. That combination matters right now, because our challenges are both instructional and fiscal, and I can read a budget as carefully as I read an achievement report.
I also serve on the board of the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan and the advisory board for the My Future Fund program coordinated through the Washtenaw Intermediate School District, so I am very dialed in to current issues in education statewide.
My goals are straightforward: stabilize enrollment, stabilize leadership, and rebuild the district's financial footing so we're making choices from strength instead of scarcity.
Enrollment is the root of nearly every other pressure we face. Fewer students means fewer dollars, which, in the absence of grant funding for special programs, means harder cuts—which makes us less competitive for the next family deciding where to enroll. Breaking that cycle means being able to say clearly what Manchester offers that a larger district can't, and then delivering it consistently.
Second, leadership continuity. A turnaround doesn't survive constant turnover at the top, and a board's most important job is getting that right and then supporting it.
Achievement improves when four things work together. An aligned curriculum, so each grade builds deliberately on the last and every teacher knows what students arrived knowing. Sustained professional development, embedded in the daily work and supported by coaching, not a one-day August workshop. Evidence-based practices and honest use of our own data, so we catch students slipping early rather than a year late. And special programs like STEM, Honors/AP, CTE, title I reading or math intervention, robotics, and coding—which give students a reason to engage and are exactly what grant funding can sustain.
Alignment tells teachers what to teach. Training builds capacity to teach it well. Strong programs give students a reason to show up.
Every budget cut carries an enrollment consequence, and we can't make them as though it doesn't. Cut enough courses/programs and families leave, which shrinks revenue and forces the next round of cuts.
So my priority is a balanced budget built on more than reduction. First, pursue every outside dollar available to us. Grant funding isn't a nice-to-have for a district our size, it's how small districts protect programming.
Second, expand high school course options without adding staff, through the ISD career-tech consortium, dual enrollment, and shared or online sections. Schedule limitations are a real reason students leave us.
Third, protect classroom positions last, not first.
The most serious problem is the gap between the weight of our decisions and the information behind them. A district with a thin fund balance and falling enrollment is deciding whether it exists in five years. Those choices can't rest on instinct or one member's priority.
Three steps. Insist on data and long-term projections before we vote, not after. Push for real board development, because understanding and governing a school system is a learned skill few arrive with. And hold the line between governance and management: we set direction and hire the superintendent, we don't run the buildings.
A board in our position needs members who understand budgets, educational funding, curriculum systems, and how students learn.
DISTRICT
Manchester
WEBSITE
tobiasformanchester.com
Number of years as resident
25
Manchester is part of my past, present, and future. I grew up here, graduated from Manchester High School, returned home, and now our son is beginning his education in the district. My career has centered on education, from teaching and tutoring to developing student-success programs. Higher education taught me that college is valuable for many, but students need preparation for various paths. For five years, I have built educational products by listening to learners and educators, using evidence, solving complex problems, and working within limited budgets. As head coach, I helped grow Manchester Youth Wrestling from about 12 wrestlers to more than 65. These experiences would help me serve as a thoughtful and responsible board member.
My goal is to ensure every Manchester student graduates with the knowledge, confidence, support, and opportunities to pursue a future that fits their strengths. I also want teachers and staff to have the training, resources, time, and voice needed to help students succeed, including support for emerging technologies such as AI. I would work toward these goals by listening to students, families, and employees; using data and lived experience; setting clear priorities with the superintendent and board; adopting a responsible budget; and evaluating measurable progress. I would communicate decisions and tradeoffs honestly and adjust when evidence shows something is not working.
Students are more likely to succeed when they feel supported, involved, and connected to their school. Manchester should pair strong academics and early intervention with meaningful opportunities in arts, athletics, clubs, career and technical education, skilled trades, work-based learning, and college-level coursework. Those opportunities must be genuinely accessible, not simply available on paper. The district should use academic data, attendance, student feedback, classroom evidence, and educator observations to identify needs and evaluate progress. The board should set clear expectations and provide the resources educators need while allowing the superintendent and staff to determine how best to meet students’ needs.
My priority is to be a responsible steward of community resources while protecting the people and programs that most directly support students. In my work, I regularly make difficult choices within limited budgets and evaluate opportunity costs: funding one worthwhile idea may mean giving up another. I would ask how each major expense supports district goals, benefits students, affects other opportunities, and fits a sustainable multiyear plan. Priorities should include recruiting and retaining excellent staff, effective instruction and intervention, special education, student opportunities, appropriate reserves, and timely maintenance. Budget decisions and their tradeoffs should be clear to the community.
Manchester faces connected challenges: stable enrollment and finances, employee recruitment and retention, meeting varied student needs, and building trust during a leadership transition. The board should set measurable expectations for the superintendent, provide support, evaluate progress, and respect the boundary between governance and daily operations. I would use multiyear financial planning and examine why families choose Manchester, why some leave, and whether students can truly access available programs. I will listen before reaching conclusions, explain evidence and tradeoffs, and work constructively with people who disagree with me. Progress requires the board, employees, families, and community to work toward shared goals.
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