Overview

• The eight-member State Board approved Maleyko on a 5-3 vote, with Republicans Tom McMillin and Nikki Snyder and Democrat Mitchell Robinson in dissent.
• He was chosen after a national search that drew 33 applicants, with seven interviewed and three finalists: Maleyko, Lisa Coons, and Judy Walton.
• The board plans a September discussion on contract terms, aiming for an Oct. 4 start as Michael F. Rice departs in early October.
• The move comes as Michigan confronts low reading proficiency on the NAEP—about 24% for fourth and eighth graders—and implements new dyslexia screening and science-of-reading curriculum guidance.
• Maleyko brings three decades in Dearborn, including a decade as superintendent marked by a 95% graduation rate and six Blue Ribbon schools, drawing praise from Board President Pamela Pugh and the MEA as Snyder criticized the process and alleged bias.