001This is a meeting of the Southfield Board of Education and Public for the purpose of conducting the school district's business and is not to be considered as a community meeting. There is one opportunity for public participation during the meeting and comments are limited to three minutes per individual. The board will listen to comments but may not respond during the meeting. If you wish to address the board, please submit a comment card immediately. Roll call. Ashanti Bland, Board President. Good evening. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and grandparents. Vice President, Yvette Ritabal. Good evening, Talisha Bell, Treasurer. Good evening, Jill Holloway, Trustee. Good evening, Nicole Denson, Board Trustee. Good evening, Michaela Beckert, Student Board Representative. Good evening, Eric Sprague, Student Board Representative. Good evening, Jennifer Green, Superintendent. Taking minutes this evening is Ms. Carolyn Foster.
002We are joined by the executive team and both of our full admin teams from both high schools. And with our technical assistance this afternoon, we have M1 Studios. May we all stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Board matters, I would like to start off board matters by saying a happy, happy, happy birthday to our superintendent, Dr. Jennifer Green. I will try to give her a birthday present by getting us out of here before 11 o'clock this evening. Secondly, I'd like to address a couple of things. So number one is the end of the school year. First and foremost, to all of the students who
003are watching, especially the seniors, it's not over. Just a reminder, if you decide that you want to hash out differences through physical activity like fighting or whatever else on or off campus, your senior privileges will be revoked. We love everyone. We love your mamas, your daddies, your grandmas, your aunties, and all of the things. But our policy is our policy. And while you can't be expelled because you are graduating, we can take away your privileges. So for all of you watching, just be cognizant that you only have... Is it 30 days? Not even 30 days. Please govern yourselves accordingly. We support our building leaders in whatever consequence that they deem necessary, and we also upstand Michigan combined law and our policy. So to all the parents who are concerned. And telling us that your baby
004never got in trouble and that's your baby. And please tell your baby to mind the rules. We would truly appreciate it. We do not want to see our seniors lose any privileges. But to every action, there is a reaction and a consequence. That's life. Secondly, attendance. I know it's the end of the year. I know everybody's going on Disney cruises and all the good stuff, but please bring your kids to school for the end of the year. It's very important to keep your attendance in line with policy, and your students still need that last bit of instruction. We are testing. There are a lot of make-ups. There is extra credit, and it is important. So thank you all for... Just minding that and encouraging your students to just push through. And that was it for
005my board matters. For the record, Trustee Smith-Thomas is present at 7.04 p.m. Good evening. Anyone else? Board matters? Oh, and lastly, thank you to everyone who came out to our spring enrollment fair. It was a really, really good turnout. It was a great showing. Thank you for everyone who put in all the hard work to our comms team, Mr. Jackson, Tyler, to the advanced communications staff, to our curriculum team, to the building leaders, to SEL, to people accounting, to SFE, to the PTA, to the Southville Falcons. Thank you all for showing up. I believe that last count we have 565 families come, which is amazing. That's half of what we see during August, and in August we're giving out a whole bunch of free stuff. So we truly appreciate you guys. To First Student, thank
006you for being there as well. And I think that was it for My Board Matters. For real this time. Anyone else? Hello, Nicole Denson, trustee through the board, president. I wanted to say that Imani Johnson, trustee who isn't here tonight, we both went to the Spring Institute through the Michigan Association through school board, and it was a very, very wonderful institute. We took over six or seven classes. We talked about governing through law, curriculum, and instruction. We learned about AI best practices. different type of policies and committees to help our board. So we've already talked to BP, Dr. Green, and so we're going to be introducing some of what we've learned to the board. So just want to let you know we did that in Mackinac Island. We went through a very rigorous... traveled to
007get there, but we learned a lot through our stay. We took over six or seven classes and can't wait to share with the rest of the board and you all what we learned. Thank you, Trustee Denson. Anyone else have anything? Real quick, I just want to update the board that I attend the OSCBA GRC, which is Government Relations Committee. And Dr. Green also touched on it earlier in a conversation with the board that we have state reps that will be looking at how cell phones will be used at the local level and in our schools. And I'll deliver a report to the board later on this week for them to review. But I just wanted to lift that for the board president and the trustees. And last but not least, May is Mental Health Awareness
008Month. I did forget that, but that is so important. Our district offers multiple facets of mental health outreach. At the helm of it is Ms. Paula Lightsey. She's in the room. Ms. Lightsey, where are you? Always sitting. Right there. So for anyone who has any questions or concerns, you can reach out to not just the district, but Ms. Lightsey's information is on the website. We have lots of partnerships, and hopefully as parents we're aware of what's going on with our very moody children. And sometimes it's more than just moodiness. We are talking about children that came through at the height of COVID. Many of our kids literally had two years out of school. school which caused a lot of anxiety, isolation, I could go on and on. Also check on your staff members, check on
009the strong people and that is truly it for me. A report of the student board representatives. This is their last board report. You know I think that you guys have done an amazing job. Don't look so sad. Don't cry. Oh, man, I wasn't ready for that. You guys have done an amazing job, and we are looking forward to your end-of-the-year presentations. Again, I will start with the lady and Ms. Michaela Beckford, Sr. at University K-12 Academy. Good evening. Good evening, everybody. So I'd just like to start by saying happy birthday to Dr. Green. It has been a pleasure to work with you all. And I also wanted to acknowledge that it was Teacher Appreciation Week last week. But, you know, Teacher Appreciation Week is every week, 52 weeks a year. Our teachers are our mold.
010And they build our leaders. When I first walked into this role, my mission was simple, to be a vessel. A vessel for student voices, concerns, ideas, and dreams. I wanted every student to know that someone was always in their corner, that somebody was fighting for them, listening to them, and believing in them. It has truly been an honor to serve a school with so much heart, a school filled with brilliant students and unbeatable staff, top-notch administration. and people who will go the extra mile every single day. I want to take a moment to thank a few individuals who have helped me along this journey. First, thank you to Eric, my partner in this. You've truly been the yin to my yang. Your detailed and passionate reports always set the standard and pushed me to do
011better. Thank you for your consistency and dedication. Thank you to Dean Bogans. for sending in my application. Your belief in me even before the interview is something I'll never forget. To the board members, thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt, for allowing me to complete my interview, and ultimately for allowing me a chance to represent my school. And I am beyond grateful for Miss Carolyn Foster. My number one, you have saved me more times than I can count. Your support and care has always been the rock for me this year. And also to my deans, Dean Sanford, Slate, Howard, and Bolden, thank you for guiding, encouraging me, and helping me grow through this challenge. At the start of this year, I shared my mission. And to quote, with the year kicking off
012with tons of opportunities and events for our Charger family, I've been reflecting on the lasting change I want to bring to our school, a change that will keep the impact alive well after I've graduated. My mission is to improve transportational resources, ensuring that our students and clubs can explore opportunities both in and out of state. The mission is still ongoing, but I am incredibly proud for the steps we've taken and especially proud of how far our debate team has gone this year, traveling to places like Northwestern and Harvard. These opportunities matter due to the exposure it brought, and I know this is only the beginning. At one of our recent meetings, our board president mentioned how she noticed how Eric and I felt more comfortable here, and I truly believe that that comfort stems from
013the beautiful blending of personalities on this board. You are all such unique, supportive, driven, and independent individuals, and watching you all lead and serve has inspired me every single month. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, and thank you to everyone who watches these memes and believes our students' voices have power. With that being said, here is my final report highlighting both past and current events at University K-12. So we had our SAT and PSAT testing on April 9th. April 12th, our girls volleyball team, congrats to them for being undefeated, both our 5th, 6th, and 7th, 8th grade girls volleyball teams, and congrats to them for winning their championship. This is our volleyball team. Yes. On April 22nd, we had our Earth Day participation. Ms. Carpenter and Ms. Washington brought their classes together to
014clean the school grounds for Earth Day. April 26th, 2025 was our father-daughter dance. The kindergarten through eighth grade father-daughter dance was a huge success. and so much fun. Thank you to everyone who helped sponsor this event and to our senior helpers and special thank you to our class 2025 vice president Kristen Banks for organizing everything and making sure the night ran smoothly for this special event. April 30th was the Superintendent Senior Scholars Showcase. I, along with many of my fellow seniors, proudly represented UK 12 with purpose and pride. We were beyond honored at the Superintendent Senior Scholars Showcase for our outstanding academic achievements. May 1st, we had Decision Day and STEAM Night. University K-12 Academy came alive with hands-on science, technology, engineering, arts, and math activities. Families explored innovative tools that enrich learning. Thanks to
015our talented teachers who transformed classrooms into interactive wonderlands. And special thanks to Ms. Smith, our Title I teacher and student council advisor, for coordinating this incredible event. And to our community supporters for joining us. Your enthusiasm has made this night unforgettable. And also, our seniors have truly outdone themselves this year from late night essays to early decision nerves. They pushed through every challenge with resilience and grace. We are beyond proud to celebrate the class of 2025 as they take their talents to incredible schools like Yale, NCAT, Northwestern, the University of Michigan, Michigan State, Alabama A&M, and even international institutions around the globe. Their hard work, passion, and perseverance have proven that Chargers don't just dream, they do. The future is bright and we can't wait to see all they accomplish. To celebrate their achievements, in
016the final month of our high school, our seniors enjoyed a full day of fun. This excitement did not stop there. The day was packed with activities like karaoke, hide and seek, a pop-it balloon challenge, head shoulders, knees, cups, and cargings, and so much more. It was well-deserved and a perfect break and a perfect way to make lasting memories. On May 2nd, we had our Food Truck Friday. University K-12's PTSA is kicking off a bi-weekly Food Truck Friday to bring delicious treats right to the campus. This past Friday, May 2nd, we enjoyed amazing bites from Wetzel's Pretzels and the Flavorful Egg Roll Divas. On May 5th, our AP exam... began please check College Board to see when you take your tests and then as I said earlier May 5th to May 16th was teacher appreciation week
017our amazing teachers were treated to a well-deserved catered breakfast and relaxing massages as a small token of our gratitude to add some fun student council created personalized teacher superlatives and and handmade hall passes tailored to each teacher's unique personalities. It was just one way to show how much we truly appreciate our incredible staff. May 6th, we had our National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society induction ceremony. Congrats to all of our new inductees. I cannot wait to work with you all and set you up for success for this coming year. This upcoming week, we have our Senior Week with events such as Senior Sundays, Silca Senior, the Senior Shirt Signing, Student University Basketball Games, and more. We also have our Spirit Week this week. Yesterday was Senior Citizen slash First Day of the Kindergarten.
018Today was Dress as Your Favorite Teacher, and tomorrow is Beach Day. So please stay tuned to the UK 12 Senior Instagram page for more details. Following, we have from May 20th to May 22nd, our Senior Exams. Ours on the 20th will be 6th and 7th, the 21st will be the 3rd and 5th hours, and the 22nd will be our 1st and 2nd. Also on the... 22nd is our senior clap out after the second hour exam where the whole school will be there so please be there seniors also we have our senior sunset at belle isle and prom on the 29th from 7 to 11 doors close at 8 p.m and i understand we all want to make our grand entrance but please do it before 8. june 2nd is our graduation rehearsal at the auditorium
019where we'll do book and chromebook drop off seating practice cap and gown pickup alumni shirts and yard sign distribution And, um... June the 3rd is our senior banquet. Families will gather to recognize senior accomplishments. Then June 6th will be our graduation at 2 p.m. Now I have some senior spotlights for this month. Our seniors have truly excelled this year, leading clubs, organizing events, and working jobs, and maintaining the chaos of college applications, decisions, and deadlines. This month we honor and celebrate them for everything they've done. They deserve to be seen, heard, and applauded for going above and beyond. As I prepare to... graduate, I walk away knowing that I've given this role my all and leave it with a full heart. Thank you again for the opportunity, this platform, and unforgettable experience. Now I know
020we've all been wondering where is Mikaela going to college? And she is going to, one second, North Carolina A&T. Go Aggies! And with all my gratitude for the last time, this is Michaela Beckford, and that concludes my board report. Thank you. Well done, Charger. Eric, we will now have Mr. Eric Spragans from Southville High School for the Arts and Technology. Good evening. Good evening. You know, usually you say that, you know, you can't come after me. Now I'm like, how did I come after you? But good evening, everyone. I'm going to start off with our senior class of 2025 highlights. Our Grammy night was hosted on Friday, May 9th. Our senior celebration event, Grammy night, took place this past Friday. Seniors walked the red carpet and enjoyed music, fun, and mock election awards. This event
021allowed us to reflect on our high school journey in a creative and joyful way. Additionally, our senior prom that we've all been waiting for will be Thursday, May 29th from 7pm to 11pm. The location will be at the Marinia in Farmington Hills. The cost is $110 on May 16th by money order or cashier check. All seniors here watching, please make sure you take heed of these following announcements. Our graduation rehearsal will take place Wednesday, May 28th after our last final. Cap and gown pickup will take place Tuesday, June 3rd, and also senior search and yard signs will be given at that date. Senior breakfast is tentatively planned for that same day as well. Our graduation will be Friday, June 6th at 10 a.m. at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater. Now, I just want to recognize a
022few students for student achievements. Our Women of Tomorrow Scholarship winners, Alicia Phillips won $500, Mytera Johnson won $1,000, and Shanti Shankar won $2,500 for the Women of Tomorrow Scholarship. So if we can give them a round of applause. Additionally, our CTE Student of the Year is Micah Owens. Micah Owens was recognized by Oakland Schools as Southfield A&T CTE Student of the Year. So let's give a round of applause for Micah Owens. On April 28th, students explored careers in health science and culinary arts using virtual reality equipment and world-wide scenarios. For our Detroit Equipment Ops Club, after six months of career readiness program, students who were selected attended a graduation at the Huntington Place. The program provided mentorship, networking, and exposure to Detroit business leaders and professionals from around the world. The Direct Hair Foundation Showcase.
023Art students from Ms. Bergaud's class showcase paintings inspired by fashion photographs at the Suburban Showplace. The Foundation Found by Educator Lori English Uplift Youth Entrepreneurship. And our National Honor Society students attended the Levee Federal Courthouse and observed a ceremony of a wedding, explored legal careers, and spoke with police, fire, and reentry professionals. They left with greater knowledge of our justice system and civic responsibilities. Additionally, student council is organizing a blood drive and is asking for 10 adult donors to sign up. More information can be found in the May newsletter that is released by Ms. Cagans. Also, we had our decision day on May 1st where we celebrated the wonderful seniors who have made decisions to go to college, trade school, military, or right into their career goals. And in case you missed my decision, I
024am going to Morehouse, by the way. Additionally, Teacher Appreciation Week was last week. Now that was a blast. We did a Jennifer Hudson style clap band for them as they came and got their breakfast. We did a luncheon for them and so many other things. I know they had that freshman 15 all over again. We are so glad that they were able to enjoy their Teacher Appreciation Week. Now to the fun part. Bringing back the school spirit the worst way was the project I chose to lead this year because I've always believed Southland A&T is so much more than the assumptions made from the outside. There's often a perspective of what this school is, like before ever stepping foot inside it. But once you're here, once you walk our halls, once you attend our events
025and connect with our students, you witness all the amazing things that happen every single day inside of this school. We have record numbers of students attending HBCUs, students earning thousands in scholarships, award-winning CTE and robotics programs, and a phenomenal band that continues to shine. This school has very rich history. It has talent, culture, and potential, and that's what I wanted to uplift through my project because Southfield A&T is not just a school, it's a place that I'm proud and most of us are proud to call home. As my term of student board representative comes to an end, I will be remiss not to recognize those who helped bring this vision to life. I'm grateful to the Southwood Public Schools community, Dr. Green, who I met at a homecoming game and helped me be the person
026that I am today, Ashanti Vland, who was our board president, who has done everything to make sure I'm on track with doing my stuff. To all the wonderful board members who have helped out, asked me what they can do to help me with my board project. To Ms. Pollard, if you can please stand. Don't hide. Don't hide. Who was our TV production teacher who helped me with making sure that I have had awesome video. To our school administration, Mr. Reese, Ms. Patterson, Ms. Cagans, Ms. Denham, thank you for your leadership, your support, and always being there for me and just helping making sure that our school can be the best it can be. So truly thank you to my school administration. Before I go into my student spotlight, I would now like to showcase the
027video that I've worked on through my board presentation. representatives to the board education My name is Eric Scragins and I proudly serve as the student board representative to the board of education. In this video, we will showcase you everything about the positivity and what we're doing here at Southwood A&T. Often, we see in the news and media the picture they try to frame us here at Southwood A&T, the negativity, but they never talk about all the positive things that are going on here. So as the video and what Jaycee once said, allow for me to reintroduce myself. One of the things that I felt that we needed to improve was to be visible. I think that whole relationship or connection between administration and the building and students was missing. I remember being isolated as a
028teacher in the classroom and not really having any engagement other than the students that I had. I see more of them, us now, as a family. What we still need to improve on, I told everybody at the beginning of this year, I said, okay, we've got a handle on the disciplinary issues. Now we can focus on the academics. So that is one of my main goals to finish out here is to put Southfield back where Southfield was. So that academic piece is now my focus. I honestly believe that student achievement happens when students feel as though they have someone that cares about them. I really witnessed the opportunity for young people to take leadership roles. Your class has been truly dynamic in the level of leadership they provided the student body. I know even I
029remember my first year and I had a difficult conversation with one of your peers that's on the student board right now and then they challenged me. And they said, you know, we do nothing. We sit back. And I knew at that time it was a need for a conversation on how to build an appropriate culture and understanding. I'm joined by Coach Q, who serves not only as the girls basketball coach, but as our district athletic director. Nice to have you here, Coach Q. Thank you for inviting me, Eric. How are you? I'm good. So my first question for you is, what is your vision and where do you see, you know, South Hill High School for the Arts and Technology Athletic Program in the upcoming year? That's a good question. So you know, being new
030in this environment, but not new to the district, not new to the community, my ideas are endless. But a lot has to... Take place like over time. So I think my biggest thing is just building a solid foundation, right? I keep telling my coaches I have some new coaches and the ones that's already been sticking with me that my goal is to build back better This is a phenomenal place to be. I love this community. I love this district, but we need to build it up better We got to build it back, but we got to build it back better like even in the case of our wrestling team just coming back this year, but making some noise, right? So it's several hidden gems like that within this entire district, not just within the high
031school pieces of it all. But so it's my job, it's my desire. It's actually my pleasure to brush off some things, polish some things up, shine it. But again, it's gonna 100% start with the foundation. This is also one of the things that was a part of my board project in a way to revamp and revitalize our school culture. This used to be a storage room with a bunch of files and a bunch of other things that were, you know, this room was not important. And because of that, I thought that it would be good to make a calming space for students where they would be able to feel welcome, be able to come in and be able to, you know, have some things where they can relieve some of that stress that they may
032have. And so I really want to thank Ms. Shaw and Ms. Patterson who really played an important role in making sure that we can get this bonus room and calming room in order. And thanks to Ms. Lycee for the donations she made and all of that. But Ms. Shaw actually went further and spent money from her own pocket to make this possible. All right, we are excited to have this new calming room for our students. We are working to improve the culture and climate here at A&T. And with that being said, we have this room which supports social-emotional learning. So we are so thankful for Paula Lightsey and everyone else who contributed to putting this room together. However, I would be remiss if I did not state that this idea came from my wonderful secretary,
033Ms. Shaw. So Ms. Shaw, tell us how you came about this. Well actually I came about it because Ms. Patterson opened this door and said we need to do something with that room. So one particular day we just cleaned it out and it went from there. Thank you. Good job. Thank you. Don't make me cry, guys. Thank you so much. I do want to take a moment to recognize some of the students who helped me really bring back the school spirit to Warwick. It was not easy doing this. This had to be a group effort. And so I was able to connect with a few students and really build personal bonds with these students over our time of working together on this board project. I do want to take time to recognize each and every
034one of them. And the thing that I love about this is the three people that I was able to really work with and connect with, we all are attending HBCUs in the fall. And so we know Southfield A&T is a product of success. And like I always say, we have at Southfield Public Schools positioned our scholars for success. So thank you, Southfield Public Schools, for doing that. I first want to start off by recognizing Brandon Holmes. He's a high school senior with plans to attend either Miles College or Morris Brown. While he aims to study the business side of sports, his long-term goal is to pursue a career in information technology. Brandon currently serves as our class historian on the student board and was honored as Youth of the Year by the Boys and Girls
035Clubs of Southeastern Michigan for his outstanding leadership and community impact. He is also a young entrepreneur operating and owning B11 Media, which the video we just seen was him himself. So let's give him a round of applause for that. That showcases full passion for creativity and storytelling as he transitions to college and beyond Brandon looks forward to growing as a leader Innovator and we know as the future is right so board members if you guys can please join for a real picture as I join him for his certificate And we did add a little token Let's just come up there. I'll just come up there. The next person that I would like to recognize is Jaylen McNeely. Please stand, Mr. McNeely. He served as the chairman of the event planning committee on the student board,
036a role in which he led with unmatched heart, vision, and dedication. Jaylen has overseen every detail from brainstorming ideas to the final execution of events, always ensuring each one reflects the spirit of Southland A&T. What sets Jaylen apart is his grace under pressure, his ability to bring people together, and his commitment to excellence. Because of his leadership, many of the events we enjoyed this year left lasting impressions on students and staff alike. Jaylen will also be attending Alabama A&M University, where he has a passion for leadership and creativity and will surely continue to make a difference for years to come. It is with deep pride that we recognize him today and present him with this certificate of recognition. Now for our last one, I was still wondering why she's still coming to high school and
037she has a world amount of credits needed to become a senior. But I'd like to recognize Iris Parr. She's a Southfield A&T senior with plans to attend the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where she will major in political science. Iris aspires to become a corporate lawyer and eventually run her own law firm. She currently serves as the recording secretary for the National Honor Society and vice president of the Senior Student Board where she demonstrates strong leadership and organizational skills. With that, we would like to present Chiwa for certificate and recognition for all your hard work. And the words that I did not want to say, Madam President and to everyone on this board, this concludes my board report. So on behalf of the Southfield Board of Education and the district of Southfield Public Schools,
038we would like to say thank you to you both. We have a couple of tokens of appreciation for you also. And we also have a couple of special guests that are in the audience this evening that we're going to introduce after we give you your items. So let's see here. We made sure that our scholars get a bright start. And on behalf of the district, we had them take their own professional headshots. And so to commemorate their tenure on this board, they have received something for their parents to put on the mantle. I guess this is more of a gift for them, but they also will get a copy of their headshots. And those are their official professional headshots. They also will be presented with their own class of 2025 student board rep stoles at
039the graduation. So we thank you so much. Next, we would like to ask Paris Whitman and Chidi Nanji to come to the front. These are your 2026 student board reps representing Southfield A&T and University K-12. So this is the passing of the mantle. We welcome them. We can't wait to see how they did. And I have to say that every year this gets better because of the representation that we've had. I will say that this year we had more applicants than we have in my five years here. We had roughly eight. Was it eight students? Eight students, all of which had 3.3 or higher jobs and all of the things. They had a list of debate club, national honors. They had clubs I didn't even know existed listed on their resumes. But these are the
040two applicants that really scored the highest. And so we welcome them for the 2026 year. Congratulations. And with that, I will say to the juniors, I'm sure you have studying to do, and to our seniors, considering that you have a month worth of stuff to get started, you may exit the building now if you choose, or you can stay. Congratulations. You're welcome. Good job, everyone. See you at graduation and prom and senior breakfast. Good job. So now it is Dr. Green, the birthday girl's turn to introduce her report of the superintendent. Absolutely. I won't even try to. Compete with the bright future that we have departing the building today However, I do wish to recognize those individuals that helped us in getting those scholars to where they need to be it is truly the collaboration
041and coordination of our staff that helps to aid our scholars in Reaching their greatest potential whether they are in front of them in the classroom or behind the scenes making things happen our employee of the month is no new face to any one of us around here. And to surprise this individual, who knows? Oh, the partners first? Oh, okay. I almost ruined that. The agenda says that the employee was first. Okay. The video is not in that order. Okay. So I'll go back because our partner of the month is one that is behind the scenes, making it happen, ensuring that our most vulnerable population is fed each and every day. So at this time, I would like to recognize. She's here today. There she is. come on up and be recognized, our food service employee
042from Kennedy Learning Center, Miss Linda King. Yes, play the video. Good morning, Miss King. Good morning. How are you? I'm fine. I know I'm not supposed to be behind the line without anything covering my hair, but I had to come see you today and congratulate you on being our partner of the month. I couldn't go in the kitchen. You are truly amazing and a gift to all at KLC. You were nominated by Jordan Rose for your hard work and dedication. So I won't cross your line, which is your space. Okay. But if you can come a little closer, I can give you your balloons. And if I can't give you a hug. Oh, thank you. We appreciate you. Hi, my name is Jordan Gross. I'm the general manager of food service for SFV in partnership
043with Southfield Public Schools. Today we nominated Linda Key, who is our kitchen manager here at Kennedy Learning Center. Linda was nominated for Partner of the Month simply because she goes above and beyond and does everything that we ever need her to do and is always available to us at the drop of a dime. Her students love her. Her building administration loves her. She's been a partner of Southfield for a very long time and is a valued member of our community here. Hello. I just want to say thank you to Jordan and Ms. Kim for everything. I appreciate you guys a lot. Thank you. Okay. Now to the employee of the month. This person is no new face to anyone in Southfield Public Schools or the Southfield Public Schools community and this person knows everything about
044everyone in the district. So to surprise this person took a coordinated effort from everyone in JWE. Without further ado, Mr. Ron Saleh, please come in and join us. Employee of the month. In order to surprise Ron, because Ron is everywhere in the district. He is absolutely, bar none, one of the best employees of Southfield Public Schools and one that you cannot surprise. So the fact that we pulled this off is valuable. Ron knows everything in the district. Ron, we thank you. Thank you very much. They only took me 38 years. Thank you. Oh, we thank you. Great surprise. For he's a jolly good fellow. For he's a jolly good fellow. For he's a jolly good fellow. Dancing now. technology was working. I see that here. I see it's up and working. You always come through
045for us no matter where you are throughout the district and even when you're not here you always come through. I guess I should have stayed on vacation for another day. I appreciate it. Thank you very much. Hi, I'm Carolyn Foster, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent and Board of Education, and I'd like to recognize Ron Saleh, our exceptional IT Manager, for his unwavering commitment and outstanding leadership in the Southfield Public School District. Ron consistently goes above and beyond to ensure our technology systems are secure and efficient, creating a seamless digital environment for both students and staff. His proactive, problem-solving, deep technical expertise and dedication to excellence have made a lasting impact on our district. We are truly fortunate to have Ron on our team. Okay. Well, thank you very much everyone. Dr. Green, board members, fellow
046colleagues, the audience in general. Carolyn, I'm not going to thank you because now I know the culprit that did this and I have been here a long time. But I will say that I love working here. I love my job here. Everybody can complain about things. Very easy to do to complain. But if you're positive and you love what you do, it's a pleasure to come to work. So just remember that for you guys. I've been here a long time. I've been here 38 years. So it's something that I could have gone elsewhere, but I didn't because I love my job here. I work in the background. I don't deal with the kids a lot, but I do deal with them. But I deal with the other kids, the teachers, the administrators, the ones that
047cry and complain all the time. That's the ones that I deal with. But you know what? I couldn't ask for a better job here, and it's been my privilege to work for Southfield Public Schools. Thank you very much. Trustees, as demonstrated by our students, our partners, our employees, Southfield Public Schools is an amazing place to be. But the backbone that often goes unnoticed and we are bringing to the forefront this evening is that of our parent partnerships. Tonight we'd like to acknowledge an individual who has served as the Area Council PTA President, not one term, but several terms, who is always there to push us to a higher level of excellence, both in and out of the classroom. Please join me in acknowledging the... Miss Celestine Sanders. Oh, you know, I'm usually not at a
048loss for words, but I just can't thank you enough. It has been one of the most exciting times. We love our children. and we advocate for our children. We've had the pleasure of working with parents all over this district, parents, grandparents, friends. We've got a, you have a dynamic team here at JWE. Whenever we've called, they just said, what can we do? It's been amazing. The Board of Education, you've been so supportive. We love you, we support you, and we voted for you. That shows we have trust in you and we know you're going to do what's best. Dr. Green, what can I say? We've become partners. You've taken us to a new height. You know, I think back and when I talk to people, I always say to them, I don't know of another
049district, another district that hasn't been taken over by the state because of finances, hasn't been taken over by the state for any other reason. This is the only district that I know of in this area that has moved above and beyond. Other people have gone other places to other districts, but this district is recognized by the state and nationally, and we rank. That says a lot for our staff, so I thank our administrators. I know it's hard. I thank our teachers. I know it's hard. It's not like it used to be. You have a lot going for you that you have to do. You know, I am one of those that will come in and they know I will talk or call. But thank you for listening to us. You know, you have our jewels.
050And we have to fight for our jewels. But we know you know us best. We realize that. So I've got the team here. This is the team. This is the best team in the world When I go to Michigan PTA on their board, I grab Mr. Parrish. I see you miss Parrish I see you have to be on the board, too He is on the board. I think about when I look at this more people don't realize that we've been together since My grand both of our granddaughters was in first grade and they are now in what great? Eight. Going to high school. Yes. And I look at Ms. Kinshasa Moonsmith. I don't know what to say about her. She is your next president of Southwood Area Council PTA. And she is going to do
051a dynamic job. And I just thank you for that. Now, there are three lanes. There's the fast lane. I've been in that fast lane a long time. But. And move forward. Then there's the middle lane. I'm moving over to the middle lane. That means I don't have to move fast anymore. I can come when you need me. And I'll always be on time. Then there's the slow lane. One day I'm going to that lane. But you know what? That's the lane that just moves at a whole different pace. But I want you to know the big thing about us that we all, all those lanes are moving forward. And with what's going on in our world today. everyone has to move forward for what's good for our children. So I thank you. I'm humbled by
052this. I'm humbled by them. I can't believe they kept this from me. They don't keep anything from me. But I love them dearly, and they know it. And we have a great board coming up. So thanks to all of you. Thank you to the board. Thank you, Dr. Green. Thank you, Ms. Bland. The mayor and everyone else, thank you to all your administrators here at the JWE. Thank you to all the other administrators. Every administrator in this district is second to none. You can talk to them. You can work with them. I know they got tired of me. But it didn't matter. I kept coming. I was in the fast lane. But they'll be happy I moved over. But like I said before, thank you. I'm very humbled by this. And I thank my granddaughters
053for being here with me. They've been with me for a long time. And they've gotten used to me. But they're wonderful. So thank you, thank you, thank you. A true class act in every regard. Thank you, Ms. Sanders, for all of your service. And I'm glad that you are not in the slow lane because we still need you. So we will accept the middle lane for years to come. Next, joining us at the podium will be our administration from the University K-12 Academy. Martin, I heard that. I want to make sure we give you a good birthday gift also. So good evening, everyone. So everyone is here and everyone that is watching. We first want to say thank you to the board and Dr. Green. You guys have given us the opportunity to step in
054and embark on this amazing journey with you all. Coming to Southville Public Schools has been amazing. The students here are amazing. And so we just want to start off by saying thank you for allowing us to be able to come in and do the work. So for those of you that may not know us, I am Sakina Bolden. I am the head dean of University and of course I have Dr. Howard and Ms. Slate and Mr. Sanford who are all associate deans. We are all things University, all things K-12. We don't run one area, we run them all. This year We were tasked with combining two powerhouse schools, both amazing schools, amazing staffs. We have put together Southfield's first K-12 institution. That's an amazing feat. To ensure success, we focused on enrollment, talent management, programming,
055and increasing our AP opportunities. It is what makes us different. So Mary. approach to learning in a classroom environment along with helping and something universities that help students grow. And here's Ron. I'll go back. Hi, my name is Mary and to me the difference is academic excellence and collaboration and specifically it's a unique approach to learning in a classroom environment along with technology does teach us patience. You want me to turn it back on? My name is Mary, and to me, the uni difference is academic excellence and collaboration. This is why Ron is the employee of the month. Yes, yes, thank you. You've been needed twice. Okay, so I'm going to let Mary speak one more time. Hi, my name is Mary and to me the uni difference is academic excellence and collaboration and specifically
056it's a unique approach to learning in a classroom environment along with helping your community and something university does in particular is use the uni difference to help students grow and become the change that we need. So I'm pleased to say that we have accepted 155 new students for the 25-26 school year, with 58% of those being new to the district. This means an increase in revenue and an increase in opportunity. In addition, there are now over 30 new applicants for our current window, which just started on Thursday. So Trinity is going to talk a little bit more about the uni difference. My name is Trinity. I am in the third grade. What makes the university special is that I get to participate in activities like Uni Scholars and I love Spanish class because I get
057to learn new words and numbers. We currently have zero vacancies at university with 100% retention rate for the year. Although we have five teachers retiring, we have four former retirees come back all year and help with our scholars and are interested in helping for next year as well. So this speaks to our culture and climate. Mr. Carey and Ms. Lopp. You know, when I think of the uni difference, I think it's in the power of yet. So a growth mindset is encouraged. We're building grit. We're building resilience. We're unique, not traditional. We're unparalleled in our mission. That's right. We are understanding. It's a nurturing environment. We are the uni difference. We are the you. So I'm going to let our ADs talk about our exceptional programs. I'm going to start off with Dr. Howard. Good
058evening, everyone. As we highlight the elementary portion of the university K-12, I would like to just highlight that we do have small class sizes and it's by design right now so that our students can have small group sessions. It's for their learning and we have individualized instruction. We like the fact that we can increase the rigor for our babies so that they can learn one grade level above their respective grades. We also would like to celebrate our fifth and sixth girls volleyball team on their championship for 2025. They were absolutely wonderful. And we also like to celebrate our fifth and sixth girls basketball team and our fifth and sixth boys basketball team on their championships as well. Coming soon, we have our Volkswagen Digital Fabrication Lab. We're extremely excited for that. It's a great maker
059space for hands-on learning for our babies. And they can focus on project-based learning strategies with this lab. They'll be exposed to 3D printers, robotics, microcomputers, engineering design principles. And this is all to utilize their critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, and their communication skills. So we are excited about that. In terms of our social-emotional learning, we will have a jungle themed calming room for our K-5 babies. So we're excited for things to come for elementary. And now I will introduce our middle school AD, Ms. Slate. Good evening everybody. As you know, the university is known for our rigor and our academics, but I want to paint a portrait of the scholar athlete. Because in addition to the fifth and sixth, the seventh and eighth, I have six trophies. Fifth and sixth, seventh and eighth girls and
060boys basketball and volleyball. And we're burning up the track right now. So let's do this, middle school. We can show that we can do the academics and we can have some fun. So I definitely want to celebrate our middle school students because we do have some superb athletes that will be moving on to the high school and keeping that athletic strong. And then I also want to speak about the pre-AP that we're bringing back to the eighth grade so we can make sure that the kids are. properly prepared as they move on to the high school because we are adding more AP in order to be successful there you have to have the pre-AP classes so in our space for the middle school We have an aquarium calming space and we know that our middle
061schoolers need a lot of calming sometimes. So we have this space that's going to feature live fish and we have two turtles, Craig and Deebo. So, and the lights and just a good calming space for them. So they have a place to go and be the best versions of themselves, which is what we all want. So that is my middle school spiel. Here is Dean Sanford. Good evening. Good evening. Well since 2008 when the U was born out of a hunger for a college prep specific Campus we've been doing just that and as you saw Mary early on she's wearing the Yale t-shirt and you heard earlier from Michaela She's legit going to Yale this fall pretty excited about that and she alone amassed over five million dollars in scholarships She is like a rock
062star and she's not even valedictorian or salutatorian So I'm just saying we're doing some stuff. All right. So as you know, we are very advanced placement, AP specific, very focused on that. And we are growing the program. We are an AP capstone school, which means that you can earn a specific seal on your diploma for recognizing your achievements in the AP capstone. process. We are also a seal of biliteracy school, which means you can show your fluency in, in our case, Spanish, and again, get another seal on your diploma. There's a lot going on at the U. So we have many student-initiated clubs. In fact, some clubs that apparently I didn't even know existed. So, well, that's why I mention it. Yeah, exactly. Some of those clubs include things like Crochet Club, The big one
063that came out this year was, again, this is student-initiated, the Peer Tutoring Club, which is pretty amazing. So we had a 10th grader say, I want to come and start a club to help the younger students, and she rallied students of all different ages at the high school, and they're tutoring other students. It's pretty awesome. As well as our senior class this year, they're the ones who set up the whole Daddy-Daughter Dance. and they ran the whole thing. It was pretty amazing. So, and I will end with the idea that we are part of a unified Southfield Public School athletic program. Our students... We technically don't have sports for the high school at our building, but somehow we are completely intertwined with the A&T teams. And so our students are represented on all the teams.
064In fact, we even comprise entirely some of the teams. Like I think the golf team is all us and things like that. So it's pretty awesome. And in many cases, our students from the U are even the team captains. So it's pretty good stuff. And that's just... another example of the slogan that we've been rocking since 2008 and that's nurturing tomorrow's leaders today. So this slide in particular encompasses all of the University K-12. So I'm first proud to say that our scholars have received over 13 million dollars in scholarships this year. That definitely deserves applause. Yes. But I want to point out a couple of other things here. In this slide, you may have heard already that we have received an AP. platinum award. We had gold. We received an AP platinum award, which is
065the highest award that you can get from a college board. This year, remember I talked about things that we wanted to increase, and we were deliberate this year. We were very deliberate. We set expectations even higher than they already were, and we supported the mindset. And so through some new data for 2025, we have 329 exams going on. University. That's up 141 percent from last year. Definitely, definitely some good news. That means we will be able to keep our Platinum Award, right? This slide, again, I keep talking about being deliberate, making sure we set the expectations. But this slide is not just for high school. It is for the entire K-12. I was talking to a grandfather recently, and I asked him, what do you want for your kindergarten scholar? And he said that he
066wanted her to continue to have an education of rigor, because he's like, this is my grandbaby. I know she's the smartest one in the room. But I wanted her to continuously have... an educational institution where she had rigor and we tested her ability and she could thrive. But I wanted to walk across the stage with honors and go and be something great. That truly is the magic of university. So you all know that we work hard, but we also play hard. As you can see, we definitely play hard. Couldn't fit it all in. So with that being said, we have just a few days left of our application season. We have limited seats. And thank you all. Hope you have a wonderful evening. I hope you have a wonderful birthday. Thank you. Okay, trustees, thank
067you University K-12 Academy administrators and to all of the university staff that we know are tuned in online. Next, we will talk about our staffing update as we do every month. We usually go through this presentation, but not much has changed from last month. It's the end of the school year, so I'm going to ask Ms. Foster to take that down this evening, because what's most important for you and for our community to note, you have it in your binder, but what's most important for you to note is that on tomorrow we have an all-day staffing meeting where we will be working in real time to ensure that we are pre-planning for next school year and that we are not running up against the clock. as we did last school year. That was one of
068our objectives. We do plan on meeting that objective. The other thing that I wish to state to all of our viewing audience or listening audience is that we will be sending out our reasonable assurance letters to our staff by the end of the school year to give them that assurance that their positions will be here within Southwood Public Schools well before they depart for their summer vacation. That is in the works as well. So moving to the next item on the agenda, the legislative update. Trustees, you know I've been forwarding out things at a very rapid rate. What is most important for our families to know that... tomorrow there is a bill that is being taken up regarding banning cell phones in school districts across the state of Michigan so if you hear of this
069know that it is a real bill that is going coming out of committee on tomorrow and it is very possible that all school districts k-12 school districts in the state of Michigan will have a ban on cell phones in the classroom during instructional time so I wanted to ensure our families that that was being lifted as well and last but definitely not least with the legislative update I am pleased to share that we are accepting head start applications we have been reassigned to region nine versus that of Region 5. So the reorganization with Head Start is well underway, and we are continuing to serve our families within the Southfield and contiguous surrounding communities. So that being said, I will now bring up the bussy director for the director's report. Good evening, Dr. Green, Board President,
070Board Trustees. So we're happy that we're able to reinstate enrollment for Head Start and things are moving along. So it's good. So I'm here to present my May director report. So we'll start with family engagement. We had a lot going on during the month of April. We had in April the week of the young child as well as the month of the young child. So we had families in quite a bit. So we had the Southfield Public Library. They came on April 7th after school, and parents were able to obtain library cards for their children, which was fun. We had parent-teacher conferences April 11th. One of our big highlights, and you'll see pictures of that, was we had our parents versus staff basketball game on April 12th, and that was held at Southfield High School
071A&T. They were very gracious there. The athletic director was there, so he supported us. During our game, we had a lot of parents there. It was a huge, really wonderful turnout. And the parents won this time. Staff won last year, and so they won this time. So they were quite happy. We also had a presentation in partnership with the Southland Police Department. So they presented car seat safety matters. And they actually, so there was a new bill that came out regarding car seat safety. So we wanted to share that information with our parents. And then the Southland Police Department also gave away a car seat to one of our parents. one of our families. We also did along with that in collaboration with the district the Earth Day celebration. So we purchased flowers and then
072we had some of our kids to plant some seeds as well. So it was fun. Got all of our kids and our staff involved. We continue to have family volunteers in and around our building creating bulletin boards, assisting in classrooms and hand washing at the beginning of the day, daily living skills and that contributes to our in kind. And then we continue to do the link sheets as well. So this is just a couple pictures at the Southfield Public Library at the school and that's our infamous basketball game. This was really great because we had one of our families donate DJ as well as referees as well so it was like being at the Pistons game it was a lot of fun and our parents were serious. So that's our staff on the left and
073then our parents on the right. And then that was that car seat safety with the Southfield Police Department. And our lucky winner, she has twins, so she got a car seat, new car seat. And then that was our Earth Day celebration. So on the left side was Mrs. Maxwell and her family. She purchased the flowers, and then all of our kids, including our babies up to our 4-year-olds, were able to plant the flowers. And we put the pots around the building. And then we see Dr. Kelly Walsh and I with one of our little pumpkins planting seeds. Next piece is our enrollment. So currently we have 16 in our early Head Start. We're full as usual. No vacancies. We have seven on our waiting list as of April. We have more now. With our Head
074Start enrollment, we have 81 enrolled, 15 non-enrolled, 15 vacant slots. And then for... GSRP 68.5 slots were filled and 11.5 were not. And then for April we had no drops for early head start. We had two drops for head start and then two slots for GSRP. Our average daily attendance for April was 82%. So we didn't quite make our target but we still have had the illnesses going around but we did pretty well. And then with our ERCIA team, we're processing applications for the 24. We still can process applications for this year. And then we're actually actively working on the 2025-2026 program years. We did have some of our students transition from early Head Start to Head Start as well during the month of April. And then for our Child Adult Care Food Program, CACFP,
075we served 6,648 meals. That includes breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Then children receiving support services, currently have four that are receiving services. We had one new referral and one in process. And then our goal, our target is 10 for Head Start and one for Early Head Start. And we still have some of the referrals that were submitted before in past months that are still out there. For curriculum instruction, we continue to implement the Highscope curriculum and collect core data on a daily basis. Our education manager monitors that pretty regularly. We share weekly tips for our teachers in our weekly staff updates. Our staff attended the International Highscope Conference in Ypsilanti April 23rd through 25th, which was a great experience. And then, of course, I said our Earth Day celebration. In staffing, we have one lead teacher
076vacancy and that's GSRP and then six CDA teachers. We do have subs in our classroom so that we can keep all of our classrooms open. And then for in-kind contributions through April 2025, we've collected $225,160.26. And then upcoming events, yesterday and today our students went to, so we had six classes in all, went to Legoland and parents attended that as well. So that was a fun trip, a fun educational trip for them. Our last day of school for Head Start, Head Start GSRP and GSRP is May 29th, that's Thursday. We're going to have an in-house field trip May 29th. Our Early Head Start class program continues throughout the summer through August. We'll have our transition ceremony for our students who will be transitioning to kindergarten on May 30th. And then we're starting our kindergarten boot
077camp and preschool enrichment program June 3rd, and it goes through the 27th. And that's it. Thank you. Trustees, do you have any questions for Dr. Thompson? Hearing none, thank you, Dr. Thompson. Thank you. Thank you. Happy birthday, Dr. Green. That concludes the report of the superintendent. Public participation, if you wish to address the board regarding a school-related issue that has not yet been resolved by school administration, please submit a comment card immediately. Comments are limited to three minutes per individual. As a matter of fairness, speakers with complaints against individuals are asked not to mention any persons by name. Complaints concerning employees pursuant to board policy 9130 should be brought to the attention of school principals or other administrators before coming to the Board of Education. Your cooperation is appreciated. Phillip Mason. Mr. Mason, please state
078your address for the record. 15075 Lincoln Street, Oakburg, Michigan. Honored board members, it is an honor and pleasure to be here. Happy birthday, Dr. Green. Culture family. My name is Phillip Mason. I represent a focus group, Forward Pathletics. We are a roundtable of shadow contributors. We like to endeavor in cultural enrichment for the community, Oakland County specifically. And I'm here actually because I want to share some things that many of you already know. We are in the midst of a global trade war. And as of today, May 13th, There's a trade truce. Trump, our president, commander-in-chief, most of you are aware that we are actively involved in this global trade war, and the U.S. has a nationwide, we are at the precipice of a nationwide recession. For those not keeping up with current events, China
079rejected America's tariff bullying and pushed the U.S. into the negotiating table with a firm stance. China successfully called Trump's bluff, but as a result, U.S. tariffs will be cut from 145% to 30%, which is a massive 115% cut. A White House executive order Monday slashed the de minimis tariff on China shipments, further with a 100% flat fee starting May 14th. This serves as the latest in a broad thawing of trade war tensions between the U.S. and China after the two powers paused tariffs for 90 days. What does all this mean for the U.S. economy? Now, according to Gene Sirocco, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest port in the United States, regardless of moving away from trade embargo, we will see a drop-off in cargo numbers. Sixteen cargo ships are expected
080to port in Los Angeles this week. Eleven of those, 16, have made a port call in China, but another four have been completely canceled. By the end of this month, we will be down to 20% in the number of ship calls and another 25% in the volume of cargo. Sadly, the intermodal industry suffers. There will be less jobs on docks, the truckers, and the warehouse workers. With fewer job opportunities for dock workers, we will see truckers haul fewer containers. This marks a precipitous volume drop and the immediate income impact. Now, according to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, the tariff shock hasn't hit yet. Trade deals are very tricky and can fall apart very easily. Now what does this mean for you and me? For all of us, especially schools, who depend on educational software as
081well as food for students, school lunch programs. According to the budget lab at Yale, with 30% hike in the average middle class price increase, per cost will be about $2,237 per year increase. Prior to the recent negotiations in Geneva, the most cost increase back in the mid-April was $3,443. Thank you, Mr. Mason. I'm sorry. Oh, no problem. Okay. Just to close, I just want to say that we need to be proactively involved and be forward thinking in what we do as far as preparing for a possible slowdown of resources that could affect our children and families. Thank you, Mr. Mason. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Again, happy birthday, Dr. Green, and thank you for your time. Thank you. Ms. Brantley? Yes. Okay. Will you please state your address for the record? Thank you.
082Legina Brantley, 19510 Biltmore Street, Detroit, Michigan. I stand as a policy council member of the Zebra Room for the Busy Early On Education. I'm here today to speak about the behalf of hearing how much that I've heard just sitting here today throughout this meeting, how much Southfield is supposed to progress and move forward. The regime at Busy Education is not going to be part of that. I have so many concerns about the... faculty, I have concerns about the teachers, I have concerns about the classrooms. I can go on for days, but I only have two minutes. My two minutes is regarding the fact that we have a principal who is in power and misusing her power. When I say misusing, I'm talking about gracious links of retaliation, gracious links of embarrassment, gracious links of targeting
083children, targeting families to where the people do not feel safe in coming into their school. I am a person who have stood on the board for several months of this coming this 2024 2025 year So I've seen the numbers go up and down The attendance rates on parents feeling safe in their school feeling like they can go to the regime and be able to be heard is not Happening. I also know that the incidents in which I'm going through which I've spoke with an email drew about miss bland It's atrocious. It's to the point where my son doesn't even want to go to school every day. It's atrocious to the point where other kids don't want to go to school every day. Their parents don't want them to go to school every day because they
084feel unsafe. To have a principal, to have other faculty superintendents who have principals back when they know what they're doing is wrong, is atrocious. There's video of a principal assaulting me in a classroom, and yet she's still in office. There's video of a faculty member threatening to meet me by her car, yet she's still in there teaching our children. Are we really teaching our children that from the very beginning of them going to school, that retaliation, that deception, that lying, that being untruthful, that being unlawful, not following the things that you are empowered to do is okay? That's my only question to the board today. Are we really teaching our kids at an early on institute that what is going on in this institute is okay? How do I trust in that Southfield is going
085to do anything for my son to save my son, to make sure that my son is to become successful if we are still living in this lie that we all just believe is deception? No one should cover up for nobody because that's your friend. No one should be able to cover up and tell lies or go behind and intimidate other people because that's your friend. We should hold everyone accountable. That goes from the top of the board all the way down to the lowest of the boards. Thank you. That is my time. Thank you, Ms. Brantley. Action items, consent agenda, approval of minutes for April 15th, 22nd, and 28th. Is there a motion on the floor to open and approve? I motion that we open and approve consent agenda. It's been properly moved and supported.
086Is there any discussion around the consent agenda? Hearing none. Board Secretary, whenever you're ready, please call for the vote. Trustee Belt? Yes. Trustee Bland? Yes. Trustee Denson? Yes, trustee Holloway. Yes Myself. Yes trustee. Where to fall. Yes unanimous Motion carry board secretary for the record. I would like to state that trustee Johnson is On an excused absence. He did state this at the study session. I don't think I put that down So I apologize. Thank you Report 6370 E-rate structured cabling and structured fiber cabling, 25-26, E-rate 20% from the bond. From what I recall, this is what Allison came to us and presented. She gave us a very thorough presentation regarding the network electronics E-rate for next year, and she walked us through what would... what we will be getting and what she will be
087upgrading. Is there a motion to open and approve Report 6371? I motion that we open and approve Report 6371. We can bundle 70 and 71 just for clarification. Is there a motion to approve 63, 70, and 71? As you all know, the cabling and the fibers are one piece. That's more infrastructure. And then the electronics in the district, copiers, so on and so forth, were the second piece. Is there a motion to open and approve 63, 70, and 71? I motion that we open and approve report 63. It's been properly moved and supported. Is there any discussion surrounding this? Dr. Green? Board President, for clarification, the first 170 is for the structured fiber cabling and 71 is for the network closet equipment, separate and apart, because you did approve the copiers. Yes. Is there any
088other discussion? Hearing none, Board Secretary, please call for the vote. Trustee Redawal? Yes. Myself, yes. Trustee Holloway? Trustee Denson? Yes. Trustee Bland? Yes. Trustee Belk? Yes. Unanimous. Motion carried. Report 6373, Curriculum Budget. Ms. Sommer? 72. 72. Oh, Oakland Schools Budget. I just saw Budget. 6372. Oakland Schools budget, as you all recall, this was what I lifted at the study session. We got about 200 pages worth of the budget. I did highlight a few things that I asked everybody to go through and read. We will have to approve this. My thought process is based on what's happening with this administration, I'm pretty sure they may reallocate. some things Funding might change so I'm this might come before us again. Just heads up Is there a motion to open and approve report? 63 72 It's been properly
089moved and supported Board secretary is there I'm sorry. Is there any other discussion? Board secretary, please call for the vote Trustee Belk? Yes. Trustee Bland? Yes. Trustee Dessa? Yes. Trustee Holloway? Yes. Myself, yes. Trustee Werdewald? Yes. Unanimous. Motion carried. Report 6373, Summer Caldwell Carruthers' budget for curriculum. You coming up? You don't have to. I know you kind of let us. Yeah, you had the presentation. We had a whole presentation. I just didn't want people to not know that Summer stood in front of us and was like, hey, everyone, this is. all of the things that she wants to bring for curriculum. We did have a pretty in-depth conversation and presentation on this. Just because it's curriculum, I didn't want everyone to be like, they're just approving stuff. So we did have that at the study
090session, which we are trying, by the way, to have those in-depth conversations at the study session to respect everyone's time. So is there a motion to open and approve Report 6373, Curriculum Budget? I motion that we open and approve Report 6373, Curriculum Budget. It's been properly moved and supported. Is there any further discussion? Hearing none, Board Secretary, whenever you're ready, please call for the vote. Trustee Belk? Yes. Trustee Bland? Yes. Trustee Benson? Yes. Trustee Holloway? Yes. Myself, yes. Trustee Werdewa? Yes. Unanimous. Motion carried. Thank you. Report 6375, the OCSBA bylaws, amendments, and resolution changes. These were separate and apart from the ones that we already previously approved. There were some minor changes to those. Everyone did receive those last month. This is going to be considered the second read. Is there a motion on the
091floor to open and approve? Report 6375. I motion that we open and approve report 6375, OCSBA bylaws, amendments, and resolution changes. Support. It's been properly moved and supported. Is there any other discussion? Hearing none, Board Secretary, please call for the vote. Trustee Werdewald? Yes. Myself, yes. Trustee Holloway? Yes. Trustee Denson? Yes. Trustee Bland? Yes. Trustee Volk? Yes. Unanimous. Motion carried. Report 6378, Personnel Action Report. Trustees, the Personnel Action Report is located in your binder and you receive an electronic copy in your email. I just want to say that number three will be sorely missed. Job well done. And, Board President, if I may draw your attention to number four and the recension. Oh, wonderful. Thank you. Trustees, is there a motion to open and approve Report 6378? I motion that we open and approve Report
0926378, Personnel Action Report. It's been properly moved and supported. Is there any other discussion? Hearing none, Board Secretary, whenever you're ready, please call for the vote. Trustee Belk? Yes. Trustee Bland? Yes. Trustee Danson? Yes. Trustee Holloway? Yes. Myself, yes. Trustee Werdewald? Yes. Unanimous. Motion carried. Thank you all. Information items. So I see we have multiple items for bond funds. I'm assuming you're missing someone. Ms. TJ? Where's Dan? Dan is in the lobby. No skipping board meeting. TJ, Dan, and Joe. We've got everybody. And we will keep this brief this evening. Good evening, TJ. Good evening. Dan is headed in, so I'll just. Oh, Dan and Tyler. Good evening, gentlemen. Would you like me to go first? Okay, very good. I will take 63-79. This is the preliminary approval of the playground equipment and installation for
093that of Stevenson. As you know, the work has been progressing nicely at Stevenson Elementary. There are lots for campus, so we are looking forward to getting them back home. This will allow us to continue moving forward with the design and purchase for the... equipment on the playground. We did put this out for bid. We do have four bids that have come in and we are ready to make an award recommendation to the Board of Education. See how swiftly that was done? Wonderful. Okay. All right. Next item on the agenda? 6380 is Levy Middle School roofing upgrades. Good evening, everybody. Good evening. That proposal would be for the replacement of Levy's roof in its entirety. As we're doing the new construction for the 2025-2026 school year, what we'd like to do, and that's what this bid
094pack is a part of, is replace that roof in its entirety, beginning the work in August, September of this year, and finishing up in mid-November at the latest. And, Board of Trustees, you'll see that that is $2.2 million, and that recommendation is for Shana Roofing. Sounds good. Next item, abatement services, Levy Middle School. So, for the work that we have going on this summer, we have the abatement at Levy Middle School and abatement for Thompson K-8 as well. So, it's the bestest abatement at both locations for that work to proceed. That is 81 and 82 moving on to 83 is the new construction and specialty renovations Fannie Howie associates amendment that is for additional roofing consultation from SME who is the district's current Roofing consultant and they will be providing those services to Fannie Howie
095for both University and Southfield a and team and next is 84 our geotechnical services And this is for the borings and all the information geotechnical related to those locations as well. Thank you very much. Is any of this time sensitive? Do I? All of it is time sensitive. Especially considering the roofing and the abatement services, roofing and playground equipment. Playground is now 12 weeks out. Considering what is happening, I would ask that the board consider making reports. 63-79 through 63-84 actionable this evening. You all received it in your packets on Friday. Plus, we have been speaking extensively about all of this work for the last three to four months. If it be the wish of the board, I would ask that we can make a motion to open and approve report 6379, 6380, 6381, 6382,
0966383, 6384. I motion that we open and approve report 6379, being 80, 6381, 2, 6383, and 6384. Is there any discussion surrounding any of these? Does anyone have any questions? Yes. Are there any questions or any other discussion? Hearing none, Board Secretary, whenever you're ready, please call for the vote. Trustee Denson. Trustee Bland. Yes. Trustee Holloway? Yes. Trustee Werdewa? Yes. Myself? Yes. Trustee Belk? Yes. Unanimous. Motion carried. Go order stuff. Thank you, team. Thank you. See you tomorrow. Next is Report 6385, the Avance contract. This is here for information, not for approval. The information is as follows. We have discussed and watched Avance come into this district and do some wonderful things from the state of the district to the communications to our enrollment fairs. Now we are requesting that they... advance to the role
097of the bond and becoming our communication specialist and making sure that the community understands what's happening with the bond. As you all know, um, university K 12, um, gets underway summer of 2026. What will be required of us as a board and a district is full transparency and communication. That means coordinating town halls, explaining how this money works, explaining what these satellite schools look like, getting feedback, buy-in, et cetera, from the community. And in order to do that, we need a team. And so we've spoken with Avance. We've spoken with Plant Moran. And so there is a contract that has been drawn up for them to do just that. They will still lend some services from the communication side strictly. on the district goings on, things like our enrollment fairs, state of the district, but
098that will be handled by our comms team, making sure that we have a focus on the bond because This is our money at work. So we want to make sure we hone in on making sure that everyone feels comfortable with knowing what's going on. So they have the contract. On our end, the contract has been drawn up. It's being redlined. I just wanted to give everyone an update that that contract will come to everyone at the study session right after Memorial Day. But the request has been made that... Those final markups and will not be available before Memorial Day that way we're prepared for the contract to come to us on the 27th So that is where we are With with that contract and again, thanks to the advanced team The enrollment there was great
099and shout out to A&T. I don't know if people realize but Southfield A&T did try and they successfully did it but the leadership over there decided to have a basically an informational for all eighth graders. during the spring enrollment fair since it was in their building. And so they called everyone to the media center. They had a great presentation. Next year I think it will be built in and incorporated, but I just wanted to give them a shout out because it was really good. So that is Report 6385, the advance contract. Trustee Belk, financial report, monthly bill disbursement. I know the big thing that you're probably going to talk about is... what happened with our bonds. So, take it away. I don't know. I'm not a treasurer. I'm going to let you do what you
100do. Let's talk about that money. Listen, we talked about this. Yes, let's talk about the money. We talked about it in a study session. So, I was like, did we announce it out to the public that we did? We did not. No, we didn't. That we sold our round series two of our bonds are completely sold. Am I correct, Dr. Green? The 50. The 50. The $50 million that the Board approved us to advance to sale went to market. There is still some remaining. of series two that we've not taken to market yet, but yes. But the majority of our bonds sold for series two. So that is a huge, huge, huge accomplishment that we got that sold, especially in this climate. So we wanted to make sure we announced that publicly. Also, the risk
101we still have remains changes in federal funding. Nothing we can do about that, but continue to wait on our updates that we received from Dr. Green. And also the uncertainty with our tariffs. Again, nothing we can do about that, but those are the risks that our district could have at this time. Otherwise, that's it for me for the financial report, unless you guys have anything to add. I think we'll have a more comprehensive come next month. We will, but I do have one thing to add, if I may. On Friday of this week, the state... Revenue estimating conference is scheduled to occur in Lansing Unfortunately, we are hearing that the ongoing debate between the two parties in Lansing may slow down the process of us getting an adopted budget in Lansing by the time we
102have to Make our budget presentation to you. I wanted to lift that this evening because that Means we will make a lot of assumptions Going into next school year's budget and then we will probably bring it back before you as you mentioned Oakland schools doing For amendment as soon as the state does it so it may be a prolonged process this year Understood Thank You. Dr. Greene for the good of the order. Does anyone have anything? The only thing that I have is you all saw that young lady who had on the Yale shirt I want to say that Laurie English invited When when she went to Howard to do the whole AP African American Studies thing I was super excited and I remember saying I please invite me when your kids do your presentations
103and she remembered she did extend that invitation I sat in on that class and They are amazing. I mean their presentations were college ready Quite frankly, but I sat next to the young lady who is going to Yale and she explained to me that she got off a million of those scholarship dollars on her own I asked her if she would sit down and kind of explain how she did it, and she told us yes. So my hope is before she leaves and gets going, we can just ascertain some knowledge from her because I thought that was absolutely amazing. And shout out to Mrs. English. That was a great, great day listening to those scholars. That is that one and I think somebody is reminding me of something here. Oh Last but not least. Dr.
104Green. We just want to say happy birthday from the Board of Education to you You are welcome. And I think I'm trustee where the ball has something for you as well We truly appreciate you. I also would like to say congratulations to your daughter. Dr. Sidney who graduated with medical doctor. So kudos to you. We have another woman, another black woman, who will be practicing medicine in our state very soon. So congratulations and thank you so much. Thank you, trustees. I'd also like to lift that our family overall believes in giving back to our community and you may recall last year my daughter and a team from Wayne State University came out and presented to Southfield A&T scholars on different areas of dermatology that is her specialty and they will be returning to Southwood A&T
105this Friday as well to continue working with our scholars here within Southfield Public Schools so that they can pay it forward to the next generation of medical doctors so thank you. Also, big shout out to the dance team at the U. They gave their performance. It was absolutely beautiful. So to Ms. Pope, you did an amazing job, and those dancers were absolutely lovely. Were there any other items for the good of the order? Your calendars are full. Our calendars are very full. Trustees, Ms. Foster has sent you 35,000 invitations to events over the next month. Please govern yourselves accordingly. I know we will all try to rotate and make them. Thank you for the staff for getting us those early. Last but not least, to all the students, please aspire to get to the superintendent's
106showcase next year. It was absolutely beautiful. It was really nice to see all those overachieving scholars with 3.5s and higher. That was great. Future meetings, Friday, May 23rd. Don't come to school. We won't be there. It's recess for Memorial Day, of course, Monday, May 26th. There is no school. Special board meeting is May 27th. Friday, June 6th, is graduation at the Aretha. Southfield A&T is at 10 a.m. University K-12 is at 2 p.m. And Tuesday, June 10th, we have our regular board meeting. We are adjourned at 8.56. Have a good night, everyone.