Mayor says Wayne-Westland school board declined partnership on former Inkster school property; vows to force a vote

Inkster's mayor told the City Council on May 19 that a proposed partnership with Wayne-Westland Community Schools over property that once belonged to Inkster Public Schools stalled at the school board meeting and that the district did not take the motion from the table.

The mayor said council members attended the Wayne-Westland meeting, which began at 5 p.m., but the district did not call the item for a vote; the mayor characterized the decision as the item being allowed to "die." He said one school board member's comment that the district could sell the land and then "buy you a nice trophy case" was disrespectful to Inkster.

"We were professional," the mayor said, describing the council's conduct, and added that he will try to force a vote at the next meeting so board members must record their positions. "I want them to have to take that vote on the record," he said, framing the issue as an election-year accountability matter.

Council members said the district's failure to act leaves the matter unresolved; the mayor said he would continue to pursue efforts to have the property returned or otherwise address the dispute.

Next steps: The mayor plans to push for a motion at the next Wayne-Westland board meeting and to report progress to the council. No formal intergovernmental agreement or legal action was recorded in the transcript from the May 19 meeting.