By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
HEIGHTS — Dearborn Heights District 7 Trustee Lori Fujita resigned from her position after 10 years of service.
Fujita said her future plans are to focus more on her job and family as well as continuing to volunteer her time and resources to help the D7 community which she said she has “grown to love.”
She submitted her letter of resignation to President Mandy Diroff Jan. 11.
“In my decade of board service, I have striven to serve with integrity, to study every issue thoroughly, and to always do my best for the district as a whole,” the letter read. “My number one focus has always been to act in a manner that puts the needs of our amazing students first.
“I am grateful to have had this opportunity to serve, and I offer my best wishes for success to this district and its incredible students.”
She was first elected to the board uncontested in 2009 to fill the vacant seat following the death of Gary Howard in September of that year. In 2014, she served as board president.
Fujita was re-elected to the board in November 2016 and her term was set to expire Dec. 31.
A Jan. 14 post on the district’s Facebook page said the board is saddened by Fujita’s resignation and thanked her for her many years of service and dedication to the district.
Now, the board must fill the position within 30 days, according to the Michigan School Code.
The vacancy will be posted from Jan. 23 to Feb. 5 on the district’s website. Letters of interest should be sent to Diroff at Dearborn Heights School District No. 7 Board of Education, 20629 Annapolis, Dearborn Heights, MI, 48125, by 4 p.m. Feb. 5.
A special board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 6 to interview candidates.
“Our hope is that this timeline, while taking most of the 30 days, allows interested parties plenty of time to consider applying for the vacancy,” the Facebook post read. “The board will interview every candidate and make alternative arrangements for anyone unable to be interviewed on February 6, 2020.”
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected])