DEARBORN HEIGHTS- Crestwood School Board member Ron Panetta recently put in his resignation. 

Hamid Soueidan, a 2004 graduate of the Crestwood School District was appointed by the board to replace Panetta’s vacant seat. 

Two other Arab Americans, Zeinab Hussein and Abdul Alcodray sought the position in addition to James Taylor and William Gant. The appointment of Soueidan is significant considering no Arab American has ever served on the Crestwood School Board although more than half of the student body in the district is comprised of Arab Americans.

Hamid Soueidan

Soueidan is only 26, and graduated from Thomas Cooley Law School in 2011. He received his bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University in 2008. Soueidan says his appointment has been received well by other board members who said they enjoyed watching him grow up over the years. 

One of the initiatives he hopes to pursue as a board member is making sure students in the district have knowledge of and easy access to various scholarships and other financial assistance that will support them during their college careers.  “We’re going to work together to address the concerns of the student body through dialogue,” he said. 

Hussein still plans on running in the upcoming Crestwood Board of Education election this fall for a board member position. She is seeking wide community support and hoping for greater participation in the November election.  

Dearborn Heights Community Organization (DHCO) President, Hassan Bazzi says the group supports Soueidan’s election. “Soueidan’s appointment is a testament that with hard work and community participation anything is possible,” said  Bazzi. The DHCO, Arab American Civil Rights League and the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee have been instrumental in the process of bringing forth many of the changes that have occurred on the Crestwood School Board and within the district. 

Earlier this week members of DHCO met and agreed to support the three Arab American candidates to fill the vacant seat of Panneta. Bazzi told The Arab American News that the DHCO supports all three candidates and anyone of them would be great assets to the board. 

The DHCO was recently launched this year in the wake of controversy surrounding the district. Earlier this year a student counselor at Crestwood High School filed a lawsuit against the district alleging discrimination and retaliation. 

Bazzi says the demographics of students in the district have drastically changed over the years, and it’s important to have representation on the school board reflective of that change. Much of the changes that have taken place are a result of the hard work of DHCO members, the ACRL, ADC and others who have rallied in support of the Arab American community having a voice in the school district. Soueidan says it’s important for all minorities to have a voice in the communities they live in. 

“We’re honored to have the first ever Arab American serving on the Crestwood Board of Education,” said Rashid Baydoun, executive director of the ACRL.