Oxford Schools Board of Education: 5/26/26

001Good evening everyone. Welcome to our May 26 board of education meeting. In lie of the pledge this evening, we have the very talented Violet Punier from OA who is going to bless us with her rendition of the national anthem. Oh, say can you see by the dawn early light what so proudly We held at the twilight last gleaming who brought stripes and bright stars through the per were so gallently streaming and the rocking The bombs bursting in gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star spangled yet? For the land of the free and the home of the brave. Just a lovely voice. Thank you so much. We appreciate that. Moving into our items. James, would you mind taking attendance? >> Here. Mcdana >> here. >> Whitney >>

002here. Summer's here. Gibson >> here. Uh Aldridge >> here. Ashton >> here. >> Campy >> here. >> Thank you. Any changes for the board agenda? I have none. All righty. Scheduled public comment. We had one, but I believe she cannot make it. Correct. All right. Moving on to item four, our consent agenda. We've got our bills payable. HR updates and minutes. Anybody would like to make that motion. Thanks. Move to approve the consent agenda as presented. >> Support. Thank you. Any discussion? All those in favor. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. All right. We'll take events. It's Ryan Reed. Okay. Good evening board members, colleagues, families, and honored guests. Tonight, we have the distinct privilege of honoring the retirement of a number of members of our dedicated team. Our district holds a unique and profound role

003in this community. Through our early childhood programs, K12 schools, and adult transition services, we have the privilege of supporting individuals and families from birth to age 26. As we look at our vision for the future, we talk a lot about empowering learners, building community, and inspiring futures. But the truth is those aren't just future goals. They are the living legacy of the individuals we are honoring tonight. The retirees with us this evening represent decades of collective dedication. Throughout their careers, they've had the they have been the foundation of our strategic mission. These individuals have been hard at work creating safe, supportive, and connected schools where every student feels a true sense of belonging. They've been hard at work preparing our learners to be knowledgeable, creative, critical thinkers, ready to step confidently into the world. They've

004been hard at work serving as the backbone of our empowered and engaged team, leading by example and mentoring those who follow. No matter what role these individuals played, their impact is permanently woven into the fabric of our community. To our retirees, while we will deeply miss your daily presence, your expertise, and your heart, we are incredibly excited for this next chapter of your lives. You have given so much, and you have earned every bit of relaxation, adventure, and joy that lies ahead. So, on behalf of the board of education and our entire community, thank you for a lifetime of dedicated service. So, it will be my honor to call you up individually to receive your certificate and flowers. At this time, I'd like to invite Dr. Milligan and the board forward as well. team, do

005not hold the applause. Let's have a loud round of applause for each and every one of our retirees. Retirees, if you wouldn't mind, when you receive your certificate and your flowers, if you could stay standing so we can gather a picture at the end. Okay. Up first, Mr. Todd Barlas. Okay, Mrs. Janine Dere, Mrs. Leanne Huller, Mrs. Kim Jeffrey, >> Mrs. Melissa Peruski, >> Mr. Neil Persie, >> Mrs. and routs. Jackie Savage. Mrs. Janet Sha, Mrs. Jane Vickery, Mr. Dennis Weeden. >> Thank you. This is Amy Wright. >> Just need to double check. Did Steve Rook sneak in anywhere here? Congratulations. >> Congratulations to our retirees. Thank you again for all THESE just Shuffle and I are short in the rest of Congratulations. You ready to go? We're leaving, right? Thank you again to all

006of our retirees and the meaningful contributions that you've made the district throughout all of these years. They are truly appreciated and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We hope that you have enjoyed your time. If there are any left in here that want to speak out with that into our superintendent report with Dr. Milligan. >> All right. Good evening everyone and again celebrating our retirees. Most of us in this room are very jealous. So um enjoy your retirement. We appreciate everything you've done the district. One moment. We're searching for a dongle. >> Is this it? >> Hey, that's what I need another job. Okay. All right. Well, thanks everybody. And I also want to thank uh Ryan Reid and her team for uh putting this together. It's no small task to put all

007the slides up there. I can tell we had some very interesting pictures that were generated. Um so that was really fun. But uh looks like the ones that we got on the presentation looked really good. So well done. Appreciate that. All right. As usual, we will start with grounding maybe. Technical errors. >> All right. Well, let me I go ahead. Um I always begin by grounding us in our strategic plan with our vision empowering learners, building community, and inspiring futures. Our mission providing a supportive, safe, opportunity-rich educational experience that fosters belonging, builds self-empowerment, and prepares learners to contribute to a connected community. Our core values are empowerment, belonging, innovation, and integrity. All right, tonight I have a handful of updates. As always, it's a joy to lift up school and department highlights. And then we

008have Oxford Virtual Academy with their fabulous presentation. All right. So, an update with the Keystone Learning Center. Uh, so we have construction that is continuing to move forward. It is on schedule, which is very exciting because we have a very short timeline. Several important milestones have recently been completed or are currently underway. So for example, underground electrical work is ongoing across the site. The crews have now begun work on the building footings, marking an important step in the foundation phase of construction. In addition, the underground plumbing installation has been completed as well as the demolition of the existing garage structure. and these are helping prepare the site for the next stages of development. At the same time, work on the water main tap is currently in progress to support future building operations. And we absolutely

009appreciate the continued support of the community and our board as we move this project forward and continue and we'll continue to provide regular updates as construction progresses. So, the opening will be in August and before we know it, we'll be there. So very exciting. All right. A huge celebration to Pam Beiel and the entire special ed department as well as the parent advisory committee who put on the cares awards. Uh the awards are beautiful collaboration between this group of people to recognize those who go above and beyond for students with disabilities. This year, our community poured in 125 nominations and over 200 people came together for an unforgettable ceremony. It was a wonderful celebration of inclusion, community, and the amazing individuals who support our learners with diverse needs. Sorry. All right, an exciting update. We

010are pleased to share that the Oxford Community Schools has been awarded the Oakland School Safety's Communications Grant in the full requested amount of $53,69. This competitive grant funding will fully support several important district safety communication upgrades with no impact on the district's general fund. I'd like to thank finance director Courtney Macowski for her leadership and coordination in securing this funding opportunity as well as Oakland schools for their continued partnership and investment in school safety across the county. >> I'm going to try it. >> I did it. >> Yay. That's exciting. All right. As a reminder, we are having a coffee and connect with the board of education and the superintendent. This takes place tomorrow at the Oxford Library from 5 to 6:00. Those will give us an informal opportunity to relax and have conversation. Um

011receive feedback. We are always interested in feedback. What's important to the community um and help us stay aligned to those uh important aspects. Tomorrow at the library 5 to 6 and I think we have coffee and cookies, right? Yes. my favorite part. All right, our legacy walk. Um, we are continuing the success of our legacy walk, recently celebrated its second year as an Oxford tradition. The event gives graduating seniors the opportunity to return to their former elementary schools in caps and gowns, where they are welcomed by current students and staff. The Legacy Walk serves as a meaningful reminder of the relationships and support that help students succeed throughout their educational journey. It is inspiring for both graduating seniors reflecting on their experiences and younger students beginning to envision their own futures. We appreciate the staff

012across all buildings who helped make this year's event such a memorable experience for our students. The class of 2026 was celebrated over the past two weeks as graduates from Oxford High School, Bridges, OA, and OSET cross the stage surrounded by proud families, staff, and community members. Ceremonies were filled with joy and excitement for the future. Student speakers shared meaningful reflections on perseverance, friendship, and growth, capturing the spirit of a class that has demonstrated tremendous strength and character throughout their journey at Oxford. Congratulations to the class of 2026. We are incredibly proud of their accomplishment and excited for all that lies ahead. There we go. All right, our first school up for highlights is Clear Lake. I absolutely adore that picture in the middle. That smile is amazing. Um, so this is our first graders. They

013wrapped up their social studies learning of economic principles, goods and services with their market day projects. Students designed and planned what product they would sell, how much it would cost, and wrote anformational commercial to promote their items. Students then use money they had earned throughout the previous weeks in class to shop at each other's stands. That sounds like a blast. All right. At DA, they wanted to highlight their legacy walk um through their halls. The students and teachers clapped for them while they made their way to the library to look at old yearbook photos. So, you can imagine what those look like. and they had a chance to chat with past teachers and grab cookies. In the middle there, they had preschooler schoolers from OELC stop in during May to visit DK and kinder classes

014to see where they may go to school next year. Students get to check out classrooms, have lunch in our cafeteria, and play on the playground. and our first grade students recently had the opportunity to experience the mobile planetarium, bringing an interactive and engaging space science experience directly to our schools. The program gave students a hands-on opportunity that sparked curiosity, excitement, and exploration while supporting classroom learning in a memorable way. Our MS student leaders recently visited Kameri Park for an exciting career exploration event. Students connected with industry professionals to learn about career pathways in sales, social media, and broadcasting, gaining great advice on what it takes to succeed in the field. After a great day of learning, they celebrated by cheering on the Tigers. Our talented Oxford Middle School music students recently traded the classroom for

015the historic shores of Meno Island. This incredible trip blended highle artistry with Michigan history. Students had the unique privilege of working directly with collegiate professors to polish their spring concert repertoire, pushing their musical skills to the next level. When they went rehearsing, they were exploring the island, diving into state and national history, and experiencing one of Michigan's most iconic treasures. Way to represent MS musicians. Oxford Hybrid had their state presentation. Our second graders presented facts about their favorite state that they've learned about. They also brought in food and drink items as special to their selected state. Wonder what Ohio would have been. Students enjoyed the samples while they listened to their classmates present. Oxford Bridges High School students continue to build community through meaningful service projects and shared experiences. This week, students supported Oxford Open-Handed

016through Loft by helping with laundry and making caramel corn while also participating in activities such as fishing, kickball, and other team building experiences that encourage connection and belonging. In addition, Oxford Bridgen High School seniors recently celebrated their final day together with a colorful sendoff that marked the end of their high school journey in a fun and memorable way. We invite the board to attend the Bridges Gallery Walk on June 2nd at 12:30 p.m. in the OEIC cafeteria. And I'll make sure Justin sends that invite out. Thanks, Justin. Of course. And finally, before we jump into our OVA presentation, this past Friday, five Oxford School Automotive students competed in the MITES, which is Michigan Industrial and Technology Education Society, State Automotive Skills Contest, where students were evaluated in multiple areas of automotive knowledge and technical skill.

017Oxford students had an outstanding showing with Brianna Brinkowitz placing second in the state, Logan Schaefer third, Michael Schwarz fifth, and Roger Schmidt eighth. Having four students placed in the top 10 statewide is an incredible accomplishment and a reflection of the hard work of our students and staff at the OS automotive program. We congratulate these students on their impressive achievement and for representing Oxford so well at the state level. And now I'd like to invite Janet Shell, Dan Miller, Carl Willoughby, and Karen Brown up to the stage. That's Oh, we're waiting for that. There it is. Good evening. We're so happy to be here tonight to present Oxford Virtual Academy. I'd like to first introduce my colleagues, Karen Brown, assistant principal for elementary, or Willoughby, middle school assistant principal, and Dan Miller, high school principal. And

018um they really stepped up this year. It's been quite a year of change and we had to do a lot of pivoting. Our new favorite word. So, we pivoted. Well, did we not? Um, so we're presenting a comprehensive review of the 202526 school year for the Oxer Virtual Academy, highlighting enrollment, growth, strategic goals, climate data, academic achievements, and our points of pride. All right. So um we want to ground the data and in the core values and foundational goals of both. Before we dive into the numbers, it's vital to anchor ourselves in why we do this work. Our vision remains simple yet powerful. Empowering learners, building community, and inspiring futures. Our mission drives our daily operations, ensuring we provide a safe, supportive, and opportunity-rich environment where every student feels a sense of belonging. Um, for

019our agenda overview, um, actually I'm going to back up. Our agenda overview. Today's road mapap will take us through who we serve, our strategic goals, an honest look at our climate survey data, both our highest and lowest marks, local and state assessment data, and finally our points of pride. So, um, OVA is a massive I say massive and very complex dynamic DK through 12 plus ecosystem. we like to think of ourselves as of the fall 2025 we probably serve um over 8,000 students and that is including our um tuition students and our seated students we serve over 900 students in the district along with um the data that you see there to understand our model it helps to look at the breakdown we have 1289 full-time students and this includes 52 students in the OST

020program We have 1,659 part-time students. Um, we have 242, let me recheck the numbers, consortium students, which are our students that we service in another public school across the state through a cooperative agreement. And we have a very large footprint of 4,83 Share Tech students. So, um, those are our partner schools out in um, our private schools. Our momentum is strong. We brought in over 840 new students for the fall of 2025 and added another 250 midyear uh for the second semester. So I'd like to talk about the community impact. We are deeply rooted in local e economics. We have 648 enrollments in community vendor courses and nearly I think 300ish we figured um of those students are actively engaged with Oxford based businesses keeping our partnerships local and impactful. Um, so I think what

021the point we want to make tonight is that so much of h of how OLA operates and the classes that we offer um are deeply tied to the community and our students actually are experiencing um real world applications out in the field. So um very proud of them, proud of our community for partnering. Um next I'm going to turn it over to Mr. bar to um talk a bit about the final survey data. >> We're going to actually we're going to look in the following slide at our 2526 goals. And for goal number one, expand quality interactions. We did this by increasing student engagement and mental well-being by providing more opportunities for live face-to-face interaction between students, their teachers, and their classmates. This was a set as a growth goal for all instructional staff at

022OBA as part of their yearly evaluation. And now Karen Brown. Our second schoolwide goal is to improve our datadriven supports which aligns with strategic plan goal number two. We have adopted a standardized protocol to drive datainformed instruction and interventions to strengthen our MTSS framework. And the last goal we identified was cultivate a growth mindset culture. This aligns with strategic plan goal three empowered and engaged team. Um at OLA this is prioritizing professional development that is both relevant and staff driven. Uh we call these focus groups that staff are all a part of. More on that on the points of pride. This was also coupled with dedicated time to integrate these new strategies into practice. Okay. On the next two slides we're going to go over our climate survey data. Um you're going to see the

0232324 results and the 2425 results. On this first slide, we have the highest ranking indicators that we identified in our stakeholders over time. One thing to point out at the top of the slide is our N value, the number that participated in the survey. Uh in 2425, we had 13 students, 50 parents, and 52 staff. Um so right away when we got these numbers, we recognized a need to increase these a little bit for a more statistically significant data. Um but just something to point out before we start here. U these are our highest ranking indicators. So the higher percent the better. The first thing we identified as a strength was bullying is not tolerated. In 2425 on the far right, this was uh recognized as agree or strongly agree in 100% of students. Um

024this is up from 78% in 2324. So some of the actions we believe led to this was our strong partners uh our partnership with our hybrid sites and other partners and continuing support at locations and virtually across all of them. Also, we have some sitebased meetings this year on positive behavior and anti-bullying. And we implement clear bullying protocols and procedures. And anytime there is a bullying incident, we try and educate families on the nuances between bullying, peer-to-peer conflict, and interpersonal conflict. Uh the second highest rating indicator was there is a teacher, counselor, or other staff member to whom a student can go for help with a school problem. This scored high in all groups in both 23 24 and 2425. You can see in 2425 100% of staff, 92% of students and 88% of parents.

025Some mitigating actions that we believe led to this and would like to continue. Uh one of the strengths at OA is the ability of our staff to connect with families both virtually and in person. They also provide a variety of ways for families to reach out on all of their communication, whether it's a phone call, a text, a personalized email, or their general messages in their newsletters. And the last high ranking indicator, teachers set high expectation for all students. This was again ranked high in all groups. And we did see an increase from 2324 to 2425 in parents and students up 4% in parents and uh what is that 7% in students. Some of the mitigating actions we believe that led to this was uh our our m maintenance of a high curriculum rigor with

026the ability for staff to also customize to provide students multiple ways to display their learning and multiple ways for staff to assess their learning. also has a culture of timely feedback. So students and families receive feedback early and often that is personalized and offers them ways to improve. All right. And this next slide is our lowest ranking indicators over time. Again, the lower the percent is the better. So what you're seeing percentage- wise is the percent that disagree or strongly disagree. And again, 23 24 25. So the first one we identified is discipline is enforced fairly. This uh was identified in parents as scoring high as disagree um and it was up from 23 24 to 24 25 to 22%. So we recognized this statistic pretty early on in the year and we leveraged our

027opportunity as new leaders uh to really norm this year. We tried to collaborate anytime we were making a disciplinary decision and not make any decisions in isolation. Uh like I mentioned on the previous slide, we also had proactive measures at sites on positive behavior in anti-bullying that also you know brought more visibility to the code of conduct which we always reference when we have disciplined conversations with families. And the second lowest rating indicator was teachers and administrators respond to emails, phone calls, and other forms of contact within 24 hours. This was also up from 23 24 25 in students and parents responses. Um, so you can see on the far right, 42% of students and 22% of parents uh disagreed with the statement. Um, so again, we did recognize this early on and we set

028clear communication expectations with staff and protocols for response. Sometimes the responses, hey, I got your message. I'm going to try and get you uh pointed in the right direction for support. Um, it's also a little bit challenging having students work asynchronously and staff working on a on a schedule. So, we did try and give guidance for communication around days off and breaks, encouraging auto replies, any extended times off, so students and families knew they might experience a delayed response. This year, we also had a PD opportunity on Outlook tips, which is hopefully going to make a more timely communication possible. And lastly, internally, we have an intention to kind of decrease the amount of internal communion communication to bring the student and parent communication into the spotlight a little bit more. Right. And next, we're

029going to do our assessment data starting at the elementary level. So, moving into our academic data, our local elementary benchmarks are Delta Math and FP. This data shows board progress and vertical growth across the board. In Delta Math, looking at the fall to winter 2025 shift, the percentage of students meeting benchmarks grew across every single grade level. This was led by a 47% increase in both kindergarten and third grade, both climbing from 17% to 64% um an increase of 44 47 um% meeting the benchmark. Our literacy metrics also showed progress. Notably, first grade demonstrated a 47% jump, climbing from 22 to 69% proficiency vice. And now our state assessment data. This first slide is elementary ELA. In fourth grade ELA, our cohort matched the statewide averages perfectly at 47% proficiency. However, our third and fifth

030grade proficiencies dipped compared to our previous baselines and slightly below state marks. Uh strengthening our core reading instruction is a focus moving forward. And now we're looking at state assessment data. Our step formath. Um this data right here is one of the reasons that that drove our adoption of the standardized MTSS data protocol outlined in our yearly goals. While fourth grade math held relatively steady, the specific declines in our third and fifth grade proficiency percentages are definitely an area of concern. Now we will review our local assessment data taken from STAR screeners for both reading and math. Most of our students across all grade levels performed at or above benchmark in most testing seasons. For ELA, the data shows that grades six, seven, and eight had decrease in students reaching the at or above benchmark

031from fall to spring. Recognizing this need for intervention, we have shifted staff to address to address these needs in both on-site with virtual support. We have noticed a similar trend in math and Dan will now speak to this. Okay. Now you see our math uh star screener data uh from the fall and the spring for 6th through 11th grade. Um, one thing you might notice, uh, you know, similar to ELA, there is a slight increase in several grades from fall to spring in the percent of students like onwatch, intervention, and urgent intervention. Um, so we kind of believe that one theory might be um a little bit of testing fatigue. We do our screener in early May with our students so that it doesn't be too close to final exams. Um, and that is right

032after our April state assessment window. So after they finish all of their state testing, they come back and do their star screener. Um so that that is why you might see in some grades like that levels increased. Also, one thing to point out that these levels are slightly uh more elevated than the ELA numbers for intervention, urgent intervention, and on watch. So one thing we did this year was we hired a full-time secondary math interventionist that works with those groups of students both in person and virtually. Again, these are these are breakdowns that we look at every year to continue to adjust resources and support our students. And now we have our state uh MSEP and PSAT data. At the middle school level, we see clear evidence of our model's competitive strength alongside a localized

033math gap. In middle school ELA, our sixth grade ELA outperformed the state average, growing to 40% proficiency. Crucially, our eighth grade PSAT literacy performance is a massive point of pride at 77% proficiency, significantly outpacing the state average of 65%. Middle school math in our sixth graders made a positive gains climbing 29 to 29% proficiency. However, seventh and eighth grade scores experience declines. We are currently auditing our middle school math curriculum to ensure the digital curriculum matches the exact rigor of the state standards, eliminating this transitional performance debt. And rounding out our state assessment data, we have our SAT scores for juniors for the past two years. So in blue is evidence-based reading and writing or ELA and in yellow is math. So you can see really in both subjects there was a slight increase from

0342324 to 2425. Also, if you look at ELA, we score consistently above the state uh met or exceeded benchmark. If you take a look at math, however, we are below the state benchmark. Uh again, this was also data we used to rationalize the need for a secondary math interventionist. Um but we didn't really stop there. We really wanted to dig into this data and disagregate it a little bit um to see why this this gap was so so um large. So the table on the right if you take a look at we broke down that SAT math data for time spent at OLA. Okay. So in the green column those are our continuously enrolled students. So students that are with us for four or more years. And if you look at their met or exceeds

035benchmark it is 22%. 22.2%. Which is a little bit closer to that statewide benchmark. Um, so those are the students that went through all of our high school math sequence and some of our middle school sequence. In the yellow column are transitional students, 1.75 to four years. Um, these are students who joined sometime during their high school career with us and um they their success rate better exceeds was 15.4%. So you can see that's a little bit more in line with our most recent average. And the last row, the new arrivals. These are students that are with us for less than one year. So joined in August, the year they tested. And those students scored at 9.1% metric seats. Um, so what this data might suggest is that we really need to keep a close

036eye on students that are new to OVA and perhaps provide some of those math interventions for them earlier than we would normally. Also in the fine print there, um, just for everyone's reference, nearly to kind of gauge this, there's nearly 42% of 11th graders who were with OVA for 21 months or less. Um, so that's 42% of our students that are mostly red and a little bit into that yellow column. Okay, we're going to finish with our points of pride. Starting with Veterans Day, students and staff at OA recognize Veterans Day each year. This past November, students from our Legacy Hybrid location showcased their beautiful choir skills while our amazing loft students helped create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. This year's keynote speakers included Lieutenant Colonel Shane Shelders of United States Air Force and Corporal

037Elijah Thomas Marines. We look forward to partnering partnering with more hybrid locations next November to expand our Veterans Day celebrations and further honor our veterans flag and country. >> If you Sorry, sorry, one more. Yeah. So if you look at the third picture on this slide, it is a picture of our fall fest that we had at orc in October. I mean we could have picked so many pictures. We had to narrow it down to a few favorites. What we love about this is we take pride in sharing the OIC building with bridges and loft. And this was a moment that we could share to build community with all of the students and families and staff in that building. and even having central office open up their doors for the kids to walk around the

038building. So, we really um take pride in building that community. Um the second and fourth pictures here um we recently had one of our community vendor elective courses um have their art show at Evergreens. So, we're able to bridge our community vendors with the businesses in our community, which really we take pride in that being our cornerstone of what we offer at Opa. Um so going back to those community vendor electives which is a cornerstone of what we um what we've done um students are able to earn academic credit while actively um living the subjects they study. Whether they are analyzing the physics of a strike at a bowling um alley or practicing nutrition in a professional kitchen. they are transforming uh you know more of a a more screen time into an active realworld

039experience and ultimately these sites serve as vital connection points where our virtual students can build social bonds and a deep sense of local belonging. It perfectly reflects our mission empowering learners, building a connected community and inspiring futures. Pathways for college and career readiness. This is a microcosm of all the offerings that we provide. As we provide a unique and flexible opportunity to explore cap pathways for college and career readiness, many of our students use their flexible learning schedules to pursue futures in performing arts, athletics, and non-traditional career pathways. Here is a snippet into the lives of some of our students. Violet Proier, who performed for the national anthem with us this evening, is a member of the Detroit Opera Youth Chorus. She also sings with our Oakland homeschool music group, OMI, and at many solo

040and group competitions. Most recently, Violet received a perfect score on her solo competition at the Michigan School Vocal Music Association and was chosen as an allstate soloist. In sports, at our hockeymies, students and their individualmies optimize school and ice time to pursue hockey careers. Many of our students are pursuing dreams of playing in the OHL, NHL, or other professional leagues. Recently, the Little Caesars 2010 team won the Four Nations Cup in the Czech Republic. And there they are on the right. OEIC campus collaboration. We are proudly celebrating our second year at the collaborative Oxford Education and Innovative Campus. A shared facility housing OVA, Bridges, Loft, and our district offices. This integrated site allows our various programs to efficiently share learning, community, and administrative spaces while maximizing resources. To further unify our efforts, we now have

041a shared instructional coach whose support reaches across all three campuses, ensuring consistent instructional leadership throughout our alternative education landscape. And our last point of pride is our focus group and staff celebration of learning. That was the culminating activity. So, as mentioned in one of our goals in the beginning, um, BOVA staff participated in a staff-driven and collaborative focus group. Each member was in a focus group of their choosing. We had formative assessment for Michigan educators, universal design for learning, building thinking classrooms, and restorative practices. This was organized by the OVA and OEIC instructional coach, Caitlyn Martin. Um, so the first semester staff really dove into learning with some type of anchored text or collaborative discussion. The second semester they spent time implementing their learn practice into action. And on the far right, those two pictures,

042the whole staff got together and shared out their learning, their action, and celebrated their success. So tonight, this presentation is special for me and only last as I retire. And as I approach retirement and look back on the 15 years of work and investment our team has made to create a school without walls, I am reminded of how exceptional my team is. Back in 2011, we asked a simple question. What does school look like when we remove the walls? what is possible while maintaining connection. Tonight we know it is yes. It is the creative talent in our team and the good humans who teach and support our students. Our models have always been look for the yes and be relentless for students. Our points of pride highlight the community vendor program. It isn't just a

043feature of our school. It is the heart of it. It's why we can honestly say we built something student centered. It's not a buzzword, but is a lived experience. Our students don't just have options, they have ownership over how and where they learn. Our community businesses have embraced our students, providing expert guidance, connection, and rich academic experiences. We didn't just offer experiential learning, we scaled it. Across the region, our students are out in the world practicing real crafts, building relationships, learning alongside people who take genuine pride in what they do, not as an exception, but as the standard. One of our students said it better than I ever could, and I'm going to quote him. The community vendor program changed how I see school. It's not just work on a screen. It's a craft I

044get to practice in person with people who care about their work. Tonight's takeaway. This program isn't just a model. It's proof that virtual education can be deeply human, richly connected, and profoundly personal. Thank you to the board for your continued support. Many, many years ago, we came and we presented OA and all the courses over 500 times three. Um, it was a lot and and the board supported us every step of the way. It's proof that virtual education can be, like I said, deeply human. So, thank you. We know this resonates with you. Three of board members have had participated in our program, the sitting board, and we call it our lighthouse. So, thank you very much. And if you have questions, stick around for that. >> U Thank you for the presentation. I have

045a quick question regarding slide number five, your climate survey data. Um, and please forgive me because I took statistics in college, but I was terrible at it. So, um, if I ask a really dumb question, I apologize. Did you guys at one point in your presentation say there were 8,000 or so students within OA as a whole? >> Yes. And if I'm reading this correct, 13 students were the respondents to do the 100% for the bullying question. So out of 8,000, we only got 13 responses. H >> half of that during our share time school, but yes. Yeah. >> Oh, okay. But I guess my question is, is that is this survey sent to all 8,000 regardless of So how many could respond? 3,000 >> 3,000ish. >> Okay. Yeah. >> All right. So, I mean,

046a lot less than eight. >> Yeah. >> Um >> Yeah. >> So, the plan moving forward, how are we going to try to get more participation instead of just 13? >> Yeah, thank you for that question. And I think I forgot to mention it on this slide, so I apologize. I I said we recognize the need to increase, but I didn't talk about how we did. So, one of the things we did was we tried to communicate to every OLA student regardless of main partnership that we want your voices heard. Um, so we sent that out in very specific communications. Also, in the survey that when they're referencing teachers and staff and administrators that it is OVA teachers and staff and administrators, um, we made the survey more v visible in person with QR codes

047and uh, had everyone make sure they promoted it in their newsletters. happy to report we did have increases in all of the stakeholder groups. >> I'll just too there there's often um in our world I think some of the biggest complaints I get is overcommunication fatigue because you're a parent let's say you have three students and you have six teachers and a mentor and a counselor and you get communications every week from all of them because that's the world we live in. It's a lot and sometimes people just so it's like repetitive and Gary um helped us Gary get with QR code and just really um monitoring and reminding so sometimes even just a text message to check your email to look for that specific message. >> Right. No, I I definitely recognize the challenge.

048It's got to be difficult, but I I appreciate the the data and the hard work that's gone into it. So, thank you. service. >> Hi, I was just wondering um in regards to the community vendors, do our seated students get to take those classes too? They just have to sign up through OA correct. Well, they can sign up um they work through their So, yes, let's answer that that it's law. They have like we have to make it accessible okay and available practically okay >> to all of our seated and they get information through their counselors and then we have a system that's set up really well through our operations team that they can then register and if a student happen to need a ride we can provide a ride but most students parents drive

049or they're older and they can drive themselves but we have options >> that's cool I wish they would have had it when our boys were in it >> but um but I want to Thank you for your service. The being part of it with you back in the day when we were getting started, it was so it just helped us homeschoolers so much and I really appreciate your work. >> Thank you. Um I think we all recognize that my biggest motto was just because you homeschool doesn't mean you're not a part of the school community. So we just partner together. Yeah. Yeah. Um I just want to thank you again. Um I find it fitting that um that we have this presentation h we have this presentation on uh on the on the night of

050of the uh the retirement celebration as well. And so I just appreciated you and uh that's fun. Um yeah, I just appreciate you and the work you've put into it and it's really uh showing your legacy. Um and uh and yeah, so congratulations. Yeah. >> Thank you. >> And thank you though. >> You're welcome. on behalf of our team. I just um you are you you you're all why we do this when we have a team of people a board sitting here and everybody's choosing to educate the child their child the way they want to and it might look different even in one family right so you're very welcome it's been a honor of a lifetime and a privilege to do this work I'm going to cry But uh going back to this theory, uh

051I wanted to thank you for looking at the state assessment data and you saw a need and you really dug in to figure out what you can do to improve this. And uh I just I really appreciate the lengths you went to. Even looking at how long the students have been there to really get a better understanding and um you know not just report the data but but understand and put in plans for improvement. And I know that this program is you have it's you have so many more issues than a seated program and you're you're dealing with different dynamics and the nuance of of families really. And so to to hone in and target that and do everything that you can for improvement is is just very appreciated. So I wanted to thank you

052for explicitly going out of your way to do that. Um, as far as the the building community that you touched on a few times, again, the challenges of a program like this to build community and you have so gracefully done that and the community vendors are such a a fabric of this program and allow students at such a young age to really integrate and understand the community. We've all had experience in in different ones. You know, as Lisa puts on the the student entrepreneurs over at Parks and Wreck for the farmers market and just everything that our community vendors do to support this is so appreciated and of course that wouldn't have happened without dedicated team and putting this into place. Um, and Janet, just you know how much I adore you and thank you

053for everything that you have done. Your legacy of this program is is something that will be remembered for so long. You have put so much of your heart into it and it really has shown and there are so many of us in the community that have benefited from that. So, from the bottom of my heart as well. >> You're welcome. >> And have a lovely relaxing retirement. I trust me I will. >> All right. Governance update who will be that. Thank you. Um we haven't been able to meet recently due to um my my counterpart schedule conflict. So we are looking forward to meeting again soon so that we can um our committee time. Um but I did want to throw this out to the whole group for something to be aware of and to

054also spread the word in your circles. Um, I want to briefly highlight some upcoming opportunities from NASB that might be of interest to some community members considering schoolboard service. So, I'm sure you've gotten the the emails that MASB, which is the Michigan Association of School Boards, is hosting a series of virtual get on board town hall events designed to help local residents better understand what it means to serve on a school board. These sessions will cover the roles and responsibilities of board members, the time commitment involved, and the overall election and campaign process for prospective candidates. As our community is aware, we currently have four board seats that will appear on the the ballot this November, and at least one of our current board members has announced they will not be seeking re-elections. So this

055makes it especially important that interested residents have access to accurate information and resources about public service and board governance. The NDP sessions are free and intended to encourage informed community-minded participation and local school leadership. Anyone interested can find information and the registration details on the MASP website under the get on board town hall series. So, I just wanted to encourage everyone to spread the word and and information is very valuable and helpful. >> Oh, sure. >> I'd like to second that because I attended one of those early on before I ran for the board. It was very informative plus all those I mean the the initial stuff. if you're interested, it's definitely a good eye into seeing it, especially for anybody that just a refresher, right, that that's currently on the board or or you

056know, other stuff that wants to learn and stuff. And I'm not going to make any surprises about I'm not running for re-election. So, I definitely encourage people if they have questions or want to know things um about what it's like sitting on the board or being here, they're more than welcome to reach out to me personally. I'll be happy to share with what I can. Um it's a great opportunity to actually you know make changes in the district to be forefront with it and um it's a lot of work. We all know that a lot of different committees and things like that but yeah be happy to share what I've learned over my four years of being here and highly recommend going to those classes as well. >> Any questions for Thank you for that.

057Uh for policy uh we had a couple of things. You'll notice we have one policy for first reading and this one essentially just bridges the gap that the initial language had provided where between 1,000 and the current state bid approval level which John is 31,000 and change I believe is what that is. But between that level, yeah, thanks. Um, the policy didn't explicitly cover it. So, we are just closing that gap to say that the board would authorize up to that 31,000. And we did have, you'll notice it's a 0.01, which means it is different from TR's, you know, base policy. So, we have run it through them as well and confirmed that they're good with this. So, yep. It might be more of a John question. Does that change regularly that top dollar amount?

058Yeah. Does it per like fiscal year of what the government or is it just some years it could be lower and >> fiscal year it's going to go up. >> Okay. All right. That's why we don't cap it. >> Yeah. I think it was 31,000 to 31ish. >> Yeah. It's about it's in the 315 range to 315 small each year. Yep. Okay. So, we will bring that to the next meeting for approval. And you will notice in the board packet, we've received an email on behalf of the permanent memorial committee, which is entirely separate from the board. And they uh many of their members had actually participated in our policy committee meetings up until now and provided input. And so they've been very involved in our process at this point. And so they had just

059reached out to have reassurance that this policy is not going to affect anything currently in the works, which we have confirmed in writing. But I also wanted to verbally again confirm and we will plan to put this specifically in the policy and writing that the permanent memorial committee will not be affected by anything that we approve as far as the new memorial policy that we are working on. Now to the new memorial policy. We have, as you remember, had a few sessions with various key community members, stakeholders, staff, input that we had sought out that we thought would be very helpful in the collaboration process of of getting this memorial policy put together. At our last meeting, we tackled a draft, a very rough draft, and made really good progress with it. Our plan moving

060forward is going to be a little bit different than the other policies that we've brought to you. We we'd like to do this in more of a a three reading format essentially. So our hope is our next meeting is the fifth, fourth, somewhere around there. Um, and we will fine-tune it to the the best of our ability based on all the feedback that we've received and conversations and we will bring it to the board and the community at the same time at the first June meeting. At that time, we will take the feedback, reconvene, see if there's any tooling or adjustments that that are needed, and bring it back officially at the second June meeting for what would be first reading approval, end of July. That's the timeline that we're aiming for. Obviously, we're flexible

061if if we hear some feedback that say, "Okay, we really need to rethink this or or that." We're we're flexible on it. But we do also want to try to get this set so that for the upcoming school year that there is is proper guidance moving forward as has been requested by multiple stakeholders. So did I miss anything within that Shane? >> Um just want to make sure Tanya didn't you also get feedback from students as well? So I just want to make sure that we mention that they were feedback. Thank you for that addition. Okay. So, any questions for policy? Okay. Well, we hope to bring you that at the next meeting. All right. Moving in to item C. We have some field trip approvals if anybody would like to make that motion. Sarah

062>> move to approve the lock OS skills USA and clearly fifth grade field trip support Shane. Thank you. Any discussion? >> All those in favor. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. All right. Item D. We have the Oakland Schools ISD Board of Education member selection. Um, fortunately or unfortunately, there was only one candidate. So, we don't have much of a decision to make here. So, there there are two parts to this though. We do need to have somebody actually represent and cast our ballot on June 1st, Monday. leave the time for 5 to 7 somewhere in that time frame. Thank you. I'm I'm getting there. So before we make a a motion, would anybody like to volunteer to go and be the representative to cast the ballot? Also, alternatively, since there is only one,

063if we didn't cast a ballot, as long as one of the 28 districts did, that would solidify the choice. So, if nobody is available, that is that is also an option. Unfortunately, I can't report, but >> okay. >> Otherwise, I don't want to get too far into the session, but we didn't get anything from this individual, right? Is that do we Okay, just apologize. I'll be quiet and look at that. I was just expecting for it to be posted in the board with all the other things that were in there like the PDF that we've had with other candidates. Thank you. Um well, seeing no further input, I assume everybody uh has prior commitments on that date. So, I can go ahead and step in and provide the nomination, >> the April 22nd email that

064that candidate sent for. >> Okay. Uh, with that, I'll just move into a motion. I move to approve the Oakland Schools election resolution designating Gary Hoff as candidate for Oakland Schools ISD Board of Education and Amanda Mcdana as representative for Oxford Community Schools. Support Shane. Thank you. Any discussion? All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. All right. Moving on to item E, our budget resolution. From our last meeting, we had all of the materials for the budget. So, if anybody would like to make that motion, >> move to approve the approval or disapproval of Right. >> One approval of the open schools budget resolution is presented. >> There you go. Support Shane. Thank you. Any discussion? I was just wondering because this is the one that that Shane, you're the designate for that

065committee. Was there an April the ISD does their their designate meeting? Was there was there any information from that April meeting? >> Honestly, the meeting that I attended, they were really highlighting the programs that they have for like I had talked to John about. I was completely unaware of the money that they had set aside for the um um the almost like the underlink for John to learn how to do the job. I can't the name is escaping >> residency program. >> Thank you. >> residency. Thank you. Good Lord. So um they had just spoke about how anybody who was outside of Oakland County was actually paying tuition for that program to be involved in it. So, it was wasn't a cost to the budget and they um they were saying how much of an

066impact that was having locally because most of those people were already applying for jobs within Oakland County and open schools. So, it was turning out to be extremely beneficial uh from that standpoint. So, that was one of the biggest takeaways from it. Okay, moving on. Unless there are others. Okay, for the OCSBA, they are proposing a Did we I'm so sorry. I wrote it down and then we didn't actually vote. >> All right. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Thank you for that. Motion carries. Now on to the OCSBA bylaws. They do have a proposed addition. We do not need to make a decision this evening, but we will at our next meeting. I believe there was just the one, correct? And you are our governors, right? It was just the one bylaw relating

067to funding tied to attorney client privilege. Correct. That's yeah, that's all the proposing and did you since you're on that committee, I just am curious, did that sound like a majority of the Oakland schools members were in favor of that or we don't really have a gauge yet? Um it did sound like the majority were in favor of not tying any funding to any sort of stipulations like that. So that was pretty overwhelming from the room I sat in that it seemed to deter a lot of districts from accepting the 31A money for example. So if this was going to become a trend in any other area that was very concerning because a lot of them or forewent that that funding and so now they're doing without it for this year and their students are

068without it. A terrible choice to make that to feel caught one way or the other and to be without it then then their students aren't getting services others others are but their students aren't are just not able to. >> Okay. Well, thanks for the update on that. So, we will vote on that at our next meeting. And moving into item G, our FOYA appeals. Justin was so kind as to give us an overview by email on both of these. So, you should all have received that and understand what the the appeals were for. um had a large cost due to the nature of Hoya and the documents that were produced. We have since been in contact as you've seen with the individual who requested and suggested uh narrowing the scope of this particular FOIA to

069gain the same information but without the large cost of of pulling thousands of emails. And so you you've all seen the progression of that. And as far as the other one, uh, this one had to do with the fact that records simply did not exist that they had requested. So with that brief synopsis, unless there are further questions, if anybody is comfortable moving with a motion, >> I just have a question. >> Yeah. >> Um, I see the fee for the 2623, but was there a fee for the 26 the second one? There's not a fee because what's being denied is information requested because it does not exist. Okay. So, had the information existed, there would have been a fee to to produce it. Okay. >> But it just simply doesn't exist. So, there would

070be a fee attached. >> So, I'm understanding that the 3500 has already been spent that was a deposit. >> That's the that was the deposit due. The total foy was around 7,000 with a deposit of 3500. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Mhm. >> Uh well, I will go ahead and move to uphold the fee regarding FOYA number 26-23. Is there support >> you and discussion? >> Oh, sorry. Just want to make sure that it's been thoroughly explained to the person requesting the FOYA that kind of narrowing that down will produce a lot more easily. Correct. And there already is another FOYA that has been submitted >> with the well reduced cost um I 200. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. Significant. >> Yeah. Okay. >> Yeah. 7,000 to 200. >> Perfect. Yeah. And then that

071like you said for the other one, if the information doesn't exist, it doesn't exist. I mean, we can't create it. We can only produce what's there. So, >> correct. >> Any further discussion on 2x6? All right. The motion on the table is to uphold the fee. All those in there was Yep. We have a support. James supported. All those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Motion carries. Move into I move to uphold the denial of FOYA number 26-26. Support. Right. Whitney. Thank you. Discussion on this one. How's that? >> All those in favor? >> Any opposed? Motion carries. All righty. Moving into item number eight, we have our middle school science curriculum here. Okay, good evening everyone. Um, as I've mentioned in the last couple of Monday uh memos, we are we by

072we I mean Chrissy Merrill, our amazing science coach, is here to present um an update on the science middle school science review pilot and recommendation um process. And then um after that we have Bridg's course catalog and I'm sorry Bridg's class and district course catalog. So I'm going to be Chrissy Sienna and I'm going to give it to her because she this is her area of expertise and a process that she has been very deeply involved in. Chrissy. >> Hi good evening. Um like Anita said I'm the science coach and I was kind of the main person organizing and running this pilot for our middle school science teachers. If you have deja vu a little bit, it's because one year ago, I stood up here at the retiree school board meeting and huffed and puffed

073as a very pregnant lady with the elementary science curriculum and that's been going awesome. It's been a great ad adoption of curriculum. Um, and I'm really excited, equally excited about the middle school one that we're bringing to you tonight. So, um, what my presentation uh, overviews is why we chose the pilot, what that process was, what that process looked like. Um like Anita said, I'm going to bring forward a recommendation and then um tenative next steps um heading approval. Our current curriculum at the middle school level is called IQ Quest. It stands for investigation questioning within the world of science and technology, something to that degree. We've had it for about 8 to 10 years. Um it was one of the first curriculums that came out with the adoption of the next generation science standards.

074um those were adopted a little over 10 years ago and they flipped science education on their head in a very good way. Um you know we're teaching content but we're also emphasizing skills and science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts. Um but it really rewrote how we teach science and there weren't a lot of curriculums that could do that. IQest was one of the first ones to come out. Um and it really did help at the time help our uh teachers transition into kind of that new era of science teaching. With that being said, now that we've had it a while there, it's definitely not meeting all of our needs. When I surveyed the middle school teachers, um they talked about how, you know, now that they're into it, it had some repetitiveness to it.

075Um the hands-on engagement was spotty and inconsistent depending on grade level and unit. Um and that there was a lack of adequate practice in reading and writing. They really wanted three-dimensional uh aligned assessments. And let me explain what that means. Um, in in the NGSS standards, we talk about 3D assessment. The three dimensions are content, science, engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts. So, we're trying to move away from those assessments where you regurgitated information and we want kids to demonstrate their skills in the context of content. Um, but those are very challenging assessments to produce. Um, so a curriculum that could start us somewhere would be nice. Um, and our current curriculum did not have that. Um, and in addition, the teaching materials like we're all in an online platform. Sometimes there were updates, but then

076they weren't informed of the updates and and it was just it was a little confusing and disorganized from year to year um on the curriculum company's part. Um, and that left our teachers sometimes scrambling. So um when we came together for the first time this would have been um February of last year we sat down before we even looked at any curriculums and we said you know what what are our ideal criteria if we could pick a perfect curriculum what would it have and this um the six middle school science teachers came up with these ones. Um they really wanted consistent hands-on engagement where our kids were doing science all the time. Um they wanted it to be user friendly for teachers. Um they wanted again integration of like an engineering component. They wanted the

0773D assessments provided. Um they wanted a literacy component and supported implementation. And we piloted two curriculums and none of them are perfect but but one came very close to those things. So after we identified those criteria, we developed a rubric to assess um some of the possible pilot curriculums in the context of those six criteria. Um so we developed this rubric. We looked at all five we looked at five curriculums. One was our current curriculum and we scored it against that rubric. We created as a group. Um and then we did four other curriculums. We chose the two curriculums that had the highest scores for that rubric. um those are called issues in science and then myar we piloted one in the first semester and then the other in the second semester. What that process

078looked like um is we taught one to two units of each um pilot depending on the length of the units. Um we kind of had a very firm start and stop date with the semester. So we taught what we could in the in the semester time frame. um they were provided training either in person or virtually for each curriculum. Um they gave feedback continuously. There was like a very small snapshot uh form to fill out by lesson every time they finished a lesson. And then there was also an endunit reflection which kind of zoomed out and collected um more comprehensive data um where the weekly snapshots were more of like the day-to-day data. Um, we did respons. We were I was responsive as a coach. We did check-ins. Um, they reached out or I reached

079out to the grade 12 people if there were areas that they needed support in. Um, and then at the end of the year, we came together and had a very very structured and lengthy discussion about um the pros and cons to each one and came to a consensus on what their recommendation was moving forward. So, the first one we piloted was issues in science and it's by a company called Labids. Um, the like I said, there wasn't a perfect one, but uh this one had pros of being like the engagement was every single day the kids really liked all the hands-on experience. It was very user friendly for teachers. What I mean when I say that is um like the teachers could sit down with the materials and after a good hour sitting in the

080lessons, they knew where it was going. the lot like the online component and the printed materials and the student materials and the teacher materials all kind of wo together pretty seamlessly and they were able to have a really positive experience right out of the gate which was a pretty challenging thing to do when you're trying a new curriculum. Um the cons is that they did lack some 3D assessments and I'll be up more specifically. Um they did have 3D assessments that were kind of project based learning but they didn't have 3D assessments and more of our traditional like test taking sumatives. Um so they were there in in entirety no but they were present to some degree. Um and there were some intermittent pacing issues but that that kind of comes with the territory of

081just trying something new. Um, moving to MyAR, this was the second semester we piloted. Um, the pros is that Myar is developed from Michigan Tech and so all the story lines and all the units were based in Michigan. Um, I think it's very relatable and engaging to the kids. Um, because it the context of it all was something they were super familiar with. um they had great reading assessments, but the cons were the the platform, the materials were really hard to access in in a way that was efficient and and not time consuming. My teachers spent a lot a lot of time online trying to figure out where the worksheets were, printing them off, pulling them together, and then being like, "Oh, wait. This one's missing." It was there was a lot of growing pains

082trying to do this one. Um, and to some degree those would go away, but also to other degrees they wouldn't um, there are also less opportunities for hands-on experience. And like I said, that was the number one criteria they wanted is they wanted our kids engaged in hands-on things all the time. And this one was spotty depending on the unit and depending on um, the the grade level where the lab aids, it was present all the time, everywhere. Um, I didn't include a lot of the data, but this is, I think, the most telling piece. At the end, in that end of the unit survey, I asked them the question, how would you feel about the adoption of this program? Um, if you can't read the small text, blue means, I would support it and

083be excited for it. And on the left, you can see that many five out of our six teachers at the middle school of teach science said, "I would love this program. I would support it. I'd be excited for it." And the one who chose option two was I would support it without big feelings, but I would support it. Um, when we moved to MyAR, it was a much more mixed bag of feedback. You can see about half the teachers were like, yeah, like I support it without big feelings. We could make it work. Um, yellow was I would support it with hesitation. And green was just an outright, I I wouldn't support this. Um, and and like I said, the people with hesitation and concerns or people who wouldn't support the adoption um were really

084concerned about the the hands-on engagement piece of it and um the user the ability to access and and find what they need to find to put together a lesson um that meets their standards as teachers. So moving forward um like I said there was no perfect fit but our teachers have uh come to a consensus that they would like to adopt issues in science which was that first semester pilot um that's our recommendation moving forward as we adopt it into next year. There would definitely be some um they've already been trained by their prof by Lav's professional learning people. Um so all of our support would come internally um giving them some extra time to prepare a unit they haven't taught. We need to build a process that they can um part of the adoption

085would be purchasing kits, but some of those kits have the consumables. So, we'd have to build a process where they can get their consumables filled each year when they write on the materials. Um we need to develop and and write this new one into our current OCS curriculum documents and then um build our 3D style assessments. That's going to be a challenge, right? But it's choose your heart. None of these were perfect, but the heart that they chose was to build their own assessments. um I took middle high school teachers to a secondary science assessment series at Oakland schools. We got a lot of tools and a lot of information and I think we're feeling like that's a more um reasonable ask to do now after that training. We have some some places to start

086and always work to do. So um I think that's it. What questions do you have for me? Okay, >> thank you for that. >> Thank you. >> Appreciate it. And um we will be voting on our next meeting. So we'll reach out if any other questions come up. But >> Thank you, Chrissy. All right, moving into item B. We had the creative writing course from last meeting and there are further questions for Nina while she's here. If anybody would like to make that motion, thank you. Move to approve adding the Bridges Creative Writing course to the course catalog. Support my call. Thank you. Any discussion? >> All those in favor? >> Any opposed? Motion carries. Excellent. >> And you want to move right into the next? >> Yep. Move to approve the 2026 to 2027

087district course catalog as presented. support. Thank you. Discussion. All those in favor? >> I oppose. Thank you. All right. Item number nine. We have John coming up. Yep. >> Good evening. Uh tonight the first item out for us is the U update on the U May consensus revenue estimating conference update. um reading over the material that was uh disseminated to MSBL members associated with a review of the the conference piece. The quote of the day and I quote Jason Elson from MSBO and I quote him. He says uh there's never been more to sort through or more through a thorough mixing of the budgets accounted for by the state's two major funds. That's the general fund, school a fund. So he said in a nice way that they're really really mixing and matching and losing

088boundaries between the state general fund and the school a fund. Um they've been doing that for a while and they continue to do it. And so right out of the gate I was a little worried to read the rest of what was in hisformational piece. Um but accordingly based on the feedback the key economic indications associated with which was communicated at that conference there's a lot of economics overview that goes along with the different revenue setting pieces. So in summary, the sales tax and use tax in that was good. Those are big feeders into both the school a fund and the general fund of the state. Sales tax got a boost related from all things. Kind of ironic the as a result of the current Ron war pushing up gas prices this state. We we

089use sales tax as opposed to excise tax on our gas. So the price goes up the the amount of money going to the school a fund as the general fund goes up. Uh so both the school a fund and the general fund at the state level both had positive revenue increases from the January measurement to the May measurement. But overall there's plenty of reason for caution particularly in the general fund. It has a starting baseline deficit of $1 million negative as compared to this baseline for the school a fund which is a positive $2 billion starting point. So when that happens, things like large costs associated with higher ed go from the general fund to the school age fund. And based on the three proposals from both the governor's budget proposal, the house proposal, the

090Senate proposal, it looks like they'll be moving general fund into the school a fund again. So that's going to mute or blunt any positive momentum in the school a fund. So, in our forecast that we went over to the board a few months back, we used an assumption of $250 per foundation allowance increase for this coming year. So, at this point, we're sticking with that. There's some other changes that they're looking at, too. That will make itself more clear as the actual budgeting process finalized. And hopefully the the state gets it the budget approved ideally sometime in June this year as opposed to it was September last year, maybe even later. But there's um as far as an update, I'd be happy to answer any questions on that. >> So I I do want to

091add in today's Monday memo, there was some of that information from um the behind the scenes from so that might give you some additional context. Any questions? >> We move into Yeah. >> bidding stuff. >> Um the flooring bit award is first reading. Um the main focus project of this material acquisition is for doing some work at the floor at the high school uh media center. The pricing on it is based upon the source cooperative contract price. The product itself is a kind of tile known as luxury vinyl plank. It's uh it's a tile, but it looks like when it's down, it looks like a wood plank under there. These are longer versus squares. So, we're we're looking to purchase that to take care of that project. Then have what we refer to as an

092attic stock. it's excess to keep in on property in the district for replacement of a similar kind of products being going to be used later this summer associated with uh some work over at um a couple of the other buildings and it's it'll be used to supplement any future repairs and things like that. So we built a little extra in terms of what the amount in that bid request for again that was first reading. Um, also the next one up, you want me to just move right into them as they as they come on the agenda? >> Yeah, unless there's any questions on that one. >> Yeah, that's a good point. Any questions? >> So, the next one up is the Keystone Munning Sensor Sensory Boot award. It is a firstish meeting and we are

093looking for approval tonight for it. Um so it is um was in the packet last board meeting and again is the product related to the is the request for for approval for the sensory room equipment associated with the the new center program on our oic property. The pricing is based on e special needs cooperative contract pricing. Um the process complies with board policy 3301 purchasing and procurement in state law. The funding is provided through Oakland schools. It's a separate budget that Oakland schools is actually paying for this product and giving it to us. There's some stipulations. We have to use it for I think a couple of three years or three to five years. >> Three years. And then once that that's then it's ours. There's no no strings attached to that product. Any questions

094on that one? >> Uh since the last meeting, the phrase has not changed. Correct. >> Correct. is based on their pre-coded short price. Perfect. Okay. Want to make sure that I didn't increase any price. >> Anyone else? >> Yeah. Go ahead. >> Move to approve the Keystone Learning Center sensory bid as presented. >> Support your discussion. I'd just like to reason growing up with a cousin who's autistic having love. My brother-in-law was autistic before autism was defined. So I see close personal how difficult it is for a family to have this disability in their lives. It was the time because but keep me honest, John. We we upfront the cost. We submit it to open schools. We get the money right back. So it's not a it's >> so gives us money from property taxes

095as well. So it's just shifting where >> so the money either goes to us or it goes somewhere else and this is part of the capital project the the center based work. So I understand what you're saying the community is speaking out you know and and there's a lot of confusion around the nonomestead and stuff but but this this doesn't come from that budget. This is something totally different. But again, I would rather um upgrade our ASD money that we already have is what I feel we should have done instead of you know and so again >> so I'm hearing you're you're completely against the ASD centerbased program all of them together. >> I'm sorry. >> You you're against the ASD centerbased program all together >> at this time? Yeah. Not not not forever. Just

096at this time there was 10. >> I do appreciate um your explaining to us your rationale. I I absolutely appreciate that and I will just echo that there is indeed a lot of misinformation out in the community. It's it's pretty evident from social media where you see some comments saying you know uh the district could afford to tear down this and regain again this is fully reinforced from Oakland ISD. this is not our district's dollars going towards it and just to and I'm happy to have continued conversation with you because I appreciate it and I appreciate hearing perspective and uh but I just I did want to make sure that at any opportunity that we can to correct that misinformation in the public um whether whether it's still disagreed upon or not that's irrelevant but

097the information that that we have it is imperative that we as board members provide factual information. So, just wanted to interject that there. Any further discussion? All right, we have a motion on the table. All those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? Thank you. >> Uh John, would you like to speak to the roof repair? >> I would love to. Um it's the first reading and we're looking for approval as well because it's a roofing project. That's a repair project on roofing, it falls into a bit of a gray zone. If it was a clearcut construction project, there's one set of rules specified under the school code. And if it's materials acquisition, there's a different set of rules. This is um a gray area. So, we approach it as as a bid roofing project

098in terms of being a construction project, but we're asking for a uh approval in the first reading because there is an emergency aspect of nature to it because it's addressing existing roof leaves. So that's why it's we are expecting we're requesting that it's approved tonight as well if everybody's comfortable with that. So that that said we um we are requesting an award for the uh Oxford Community Schools. The title of the bid project was 2026 roofing program bid. The scope of the projects were based on prior roofing analysis done by a vendor for the district a couple of years ago and updated within the context of the RFP. So the scope and the RP itself that did go out represents or reflects district standards and specifications. We received four bids for the single contract project.

099The two lowest bid proposals were analyzed and considered for award. Both are good forms with good reputations. And the difference between the pricing of the two was less than $5,000 which was um significant from the point of view of how we concluded as to which firm to go with. So with regard to who we end up supporting to go with and are asking for the recommendation on, we are supporting Royal Roofing and we're recommending Royal Roofing to to be awarded this bid. It's based on the lowest responsible bidder approach. The other contractor was the one that was actually a little less than $5,000 in total pricing. So it's basically the difference between 216 and 211,000 and change. The rationale for going with what's known as the lowest responsible bidder is we based it on the

100emergency nature of meaning we want as quick and rapid response and work done for this project coverage as possible. Our experience with the vendor that we did choose and their existing knowledge of the district's roofing issues. To be transparent, the organization that we're recommending here, Royal Roofing, also did the roofing analysis that was the basis for the starting point for the scope of the RFP that was done, let's say, two and a half years ago. It was done a little bit before before I came on board. So, it happened to be sometime in their late 23 in the fall, but I can pull the date if there's an interest. But for those reasons, we went with the known commodity that we think that they can get hit get the ground running quickest and that kind

101of thing. and we've been satisfied with when we've used them for smaller issues in the past. So based on that, the process does comply with board policy 3301 purchasing and procurement and state procurement law funding provided by the provided by the capital project fund. Um, we therefore recommend that the board of education authorize the administration to finalize and execute a contract in the amount of 216,434 and allocate contingency and allowances in the amount of 56,78 for a total recommendation of 275,142. Now admittedly the the contingency allowance piece of 56,000 it's a material number but because the nature of when you turn or old roof what you think is there sometimes there's that's there so your contingency piece usually gets bigger. So we are going we are trying to be a conservative in the approach to

102get authorization that if we find something bigger in some of these than anticipated we can still plow ahead and get them fixed. will have the authority to spend up to them. So that is a request for approval tonight too if there's any questions or you'll start if there are any questions for John. >> I noticed that this this is labeled uh roof leak repair work. Can you speak to, you know, for those listening at home that what what this is different than what we've discussed as our building needs when we were um going through the November um syncing fund proposal that what we we're looking to do some roof replacement work, but this looks like roof leak repair work. So, what what are we So, we're we're downsizing to now repairing instead of being able

103to replace. >> Correct. Okay. and the the nature of the sinking fund was a a larger source of funding. So the scope would be was bigger and more permanent in nature based on this project. It's an immediate need and our immediate goal is to identify and repair the leak. We don't we know that we have some major roofing challenges in the district and those are costly and we're working forward to planning how to move forward and deal with them as we go down the road. But for the immediate need, it's a smaller scope to your point that what was on the actual published syncing fund 10-year plan. >> So, it's focused on the most highest probability known issues in the district. >> Are you able to specify which buildings this will affect? >> Um, it's

104it's identified in the actual RFP. I didn't bring the full set with it. There's actually a huge schematic that goes through the rewall portal. So, the proposers saw saw everything in terms of what we got. roofing is literally like 800 pages. >> Yeah, I see. It says, "Yeah, the OCS 2026 roofing program." I was hoping it could be like added curriculum or like a vote class that some of the kids could help participate in, but no. >> No, that would be best case. >> All right. All right. We try. >> John, I may have missed it. Um, and I apologize if I did. Which um buildings are specifically going to be repaired with this money? >> There's going to be roof work likely on all the buildings out. Obviously, off top of my head, I

105didn't bring the full document any specific roofing pieces, but just from my recollection of the analysis of the roof work that was that was done. the aftergraded roofs. There was uh the middle school was the middle school's probably going to have the least amount of work, maybe some select spots because their roof in general wasn't nearly as bad as a couple of the other buildings. The high school's got some work coming because it's got some it's got some choice spots that need to be dealt with there. Um if you want, I can dig back in and get some specific in terms of which which particular buildings be will be tagged right out of the gate. >> Yeah. I mean, I it's just for transparency issues, you know, make sure people out there know exactly what

106this money will uh go toward fixing. So, >> it is a it's a it's a it's a leak patching program for like a better description, it's 200 the underlying contract is about 216,000 to replace a roof on this building is easily pushing a million dollars to replace it. Well, we're just looking to get things to they're stabilized until we get to some point in the future to actually start looking at big scale works. >> Okay. And last question, sorry. Um the $5,000 difference uh from the cheapest bid that we got and then you said, >> well, there was the two the two best the two lowest bids. We got four. So, the two lowest bids have a scale difference of a little under 5,000. >> Okay. So, the reason that we would or that you're

107recommending we go with the one that's about $5,000 more is because of the they've done work for us in the past. >> And I don't want this to reflect poorly on the the other organization. They've got great reputation. It's more of a nature of the beast in terms of >> it's our belief that this organiz the Royal Roofing organization since they're familiar with us, they're going to know exactly the get the get-go much quicker to mobilize, get out. And that's that's kind of some comfort points with from our point of view because we have worked with them and we've seen what they can do. So I don't want it to come across as anything negative to the other. >> Right. No, of course. And I didn't take it that way. I'm just I guess what

108I'm asking is would you anticipate or is the possibility of anticipating there being more than $5,000 >> in a delay or other things maybe from a different company? or is it just the familiarity that you're going for? >> Really the familiarity and their experience with >> Okay. >> So, Don, just real quick, would you um when we were presenting goal four, we had gone through all the roofs and we had provided like a scale a grade. Yeah. >> Would you say if if the board looked at that document when we looked at goal four, >> we're hitting those with the lowest grade? Would you say that's accurate? >> Yeah, the the group would be all low the lowest grade groups. I don't want to say it's all the lowest grades because there's a $216,000 contract

109and there's more than that in terms of needs for all the lowest grades. So, it's a big piece of them, but again, it's it's um patchwork in terms of a spot work. So, if you've got a roof full of bunch of patches on it, then you have a roof, you just have a bunch of patches. Not to say that we have that many roofs, but the point being we need major scale roof work and that's a conversation for down the road, but but this is to immediate need addressing those issues. >> Would it be helpful if we send it to you the document again back out just so you have an idea? >> Sure. >> I mean, out of that we I can I can pull out and break out the specific building the building

110spots identified in this particular plan and have it for the board. >> Yeah. And just act like so right now we're being completely reactive at this this is what this is. We're we're we're not able to be proactive on maintenance or a major roof. We're we're pretty much finding a leak and plugging in at this point. So, that's kind of where we're we're at. It's still to the tune of right now $275. So, >> y fair way to describe it. >> Any further questions? Make that motion. Mike, thank you. >> Move to approve the root pair bid as presented. >> Support. Thank you. And discussion. >> All right. I just I mean obviously this is something that needs to be done. We can't have leaky roof. We're going to have, you know, we're going to

111have mold, we're going to have all kinds of issues if we continue to have leaky roofs. So, um, to your point, it is extremely reactionary, but this is the world we're living in. You know, there's nothing we can do about that right this second. So, um, I for one don't want my kids, you know, with getting rained on while they're trying to learn math. So, I think this is a no-brainer at this point. Further questions, comments? Okay. All those in favor. >> Any opposed? All right. Motion carries. Thank you. John, would you like to move into E? >> Yes. It's a second reading the maintenance truck bid that we spoke to last meeting in terms of buying the used truck. It's recommended the board of education authorize the administration to execute a purchase agreement with

112Allison Outdoors LLC for $45,000. This project's being funded with this with the revenue generated by the auction sale and other existing surplus assets. >> Okay. Any questions for John on this one? >> All right. I'll move to approve the truck bid as presented. >> Support Shane. Thank you. Any discussion? All those in favor? >> Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. Same. And to item F. >> This is also second reading for the door indicator lock bid award. Um we're requesting an award for door indicator locking equipment with for what we refer to as our phase one standard classroom project. So just in just in um in review of what that really means for phase one, it's it's basic standard classrooms defined throughout the district as opposed to like a gym as a different door requirements.

113So those aren't included. These would just be your classic classrooms. So that said, the uh the funding is presented by the general fund general fund. Um, it's recommended the board of education authorize the administration to execute the contracts as presented in the amount of $200,535 and allocate contingency allowance in the amount of $5,000 for a total recommendation of $25,535. We're identifying a funding source as uh the general fund there. It may be general fund. It may end up as capital projects fund. We're waiting on some information related to 318A funding. We are planning to use that but there could be a possibility where we shift the cost of the capital project. So one of those two sources will pay for it. >> Any questions on that? >> Yeah, that was going to be my question

114was 31A. So okay, >> do we have any idea when we're going to have any sort of a answer on that? Well, yeah, there's current litigation and so the district's position that we are going to use it on already identifiable expenses at this point because if worst case scenario, the state clause that money back and we have up until next year to spend. So that's that's the game plan at this point. I could probably better terms than that. But at this point in order to make sure that we are not in a worse off financial system, you know, situation that we are going to use it for what we know can be used for and then identify further instances such as safety, security. I know there's been multiple cabinet members that have identified areas that

115it it could potentially be used at for the future. Uh, but we're kind of waiting on this litigation to finalize. >> You did a great job. >> Thanks. >> All right. Would anybody like to make that motion? Thank you. >> Move to approve the door indicator locks bid as presented. >> Support and thank you. Discussion. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. And finally, item G. >> So item G, next up is the custodial contract that's before you tonight. Um, kind of as a kind of to set the stage, so to speak, in terms of the thinking behind what the approach to the custodial contract uh bidder selection process. That being our goal, our goal was to identify a partner that provides high quality, reliable service and not just the lowest

116bidder. So, keeping that in mind as as I read through some of the overview of the process of the information that's identified in your board packet. Um so I think it's 150 plus pages of information included in the information is the actual you know the the cover doc cover memo the vendor uh response to the RFP draft generic contract with that organization and the contract we just literally a starting point so that's I think it was about six or seven pages is their generic version that gets moved on to uh the district's legal council they take that they take the the bid RFP. They take the bidder's response to the RFP. All of that's incorporated to create the contract. And then the language of the top of the controlling piece of the contract starts generally

117with the generic document from the vendor. By the time it's done with our legal council, it looks something very much different. Um, so that's not actually included in here because it's not done yet in terms of how that base will go depending upon tonight's outcome. I did want to have a generic contract in there so I can speak to it. would say an idea down the road this this all three pieces we put together makes for a very large document roughly 150 some pages similar to what what's before you um just also background it's been over 10 years since we've done on done any kind of a pricing or RFP context for our custodial services in the district that's not to say that we for the bulk of our time haven't enjoyed a good relationship

118with our current provider um but it's time to look at pricing it's time to look program delivery and that's kind of the mindset thing we went into this with. So from that perspective uh in the board book again I mentioned is the large document all the pieces makes for very exciting reading. So technical on a technical step-by-step process on April 13th, we issued a formal request for proposal and it was sent out to multiple vendors that provide this oil services to K12 and higher ed services. We did receive five qualified responses back which we were thrilled to see and they were all good vendors that were providing it. There was a range of the vendors. Uh during this process when that was going on we established what we're refer to as the a review committee

119and we sat down as a group reviewed the different proposals and from the first review pieces we concluded that we wanted to move forward with two of them to further invite an interview. One of the uh things that can't be said in paperwork when you've got information on this kind of stuff and included in your document is the actual um bid response tabulation sheet from the day of opening the bid. So those numbers on there are basically starting points. So when you go into all the bids from the different vendors, they all have their different approaches as to how they get to whatever their numbers are. For example, the the recommended vendor bidder that we're recommending tonight included in their pricing cost for employee health care in a way that some of the others didn't.

120They also included a cost for equipment that the district, you know, that's associated with the delivering the program. Um, how the other vendors, they all did it their own way. One was segregated out saying there's this amount tied. So what you're really doing is going through and looking at how they actually each responded to what you were asking in your RFP proposal document and then trying to make apples to apples out of the apples to oranges. So after going through that process, we set up interviews with we believe to be the the two best qualified with respect to what we're looking for vendors. We met and interviewed with them. There's a series of questions that we do have documented. It's kind of summarized also in the in the cover memo of the election piece. Uh

121from that point on we went on to well let me let me clarify the vendor piece the interview piece itself we were looking at compliance to the RFP scope expanding on what they said relative to what we think it really should mean or you know trying to understand their way what they wrote and what it means in that regard. their K12 experience, their operational capacity. Operational capacity um and forward thinking of how they want to deliver programming were probably two of the bigger innovative key pieces. Operational capacity meaning how they're structured, how they make how will they make sure that we will always have the staffing we should have. For example, I I call it bench strength. So the different vendors when they lay out a proposal, they come in, they look at, you know,

122the they get ramps of the buildings and some of them tour and that kind of stuff. So they they develop their proposal based on that information, there's some questions going back and forth during the process. So they finalize their proposals. So when when they go in there, they all have a different way of how to handle things like vacancies from staff. And when they make up proposals that says it's going to take 35 full-time staff to do all of our buildings in such and such a way, we drilled down on well inevitably people are sick, people change jobs. What happens when you need to bring in this up? What's your suppl? So, and they all do things a little different. um the vendor that we're recommending I think and I and I would I would

123think the the committee would for lack of better word vehemently agree their approach to it in terms of they're proposing a level of staffing I want to say off the top of my head it was 35 I'm probably wrong but just for sake of describing it to you they're proposing 35 staffing they hire two more train them to this district's needs so they got an automatic set of people ready to come in and on days they'll put them in to keep them working to keep so we're always at staff. So then there's also another set of um county in Oakland County, they keep another set staff of corporate um corporate personnel that are moved out to the districts in need of additional if they're supporting these. So if your if your first wave is not

124enough, let's say there's a flu going around. First wave is not enough, they got the secondary pool and then they also had at the corporate level a different set of of support in terms of potential to making sure that our staffing is always good. Now admittedly, if we got the flu going through the district and two half the districts out sick with the regular folks and um they bring in, you know, 15 or 17 additional folks, they they're not going to know the districts well. So I I would expect qualities maybe a little slide, but not a lot because they're supposed to be trained in how our understanding of how we want things done. So that was an eye catcher for us. Uh the secondary piece another piece that was jumped out was their forward

125thinking on how to do things. So the recommended venue a couple of the two that we did interview both had different versions of this and using robotics systems to um do the cleaning and maintenance in the different buildings and it's not it's done in conjunction with personnel. So the the personnel the human being aspect of it is considered they handle the high touch areas and the robotics would cover the high volume. If you picture the flooring at the middle school how it's all this and then this would be will be robots cleaning lots of that. The custodial staff is dealing with the in room stuff the harder areas to work and places that are more key to keep an eye on in terms of constant cleaning and upkeep. So from a forward thinking point of

126view that that caught our eye the other secondary firm the second one we also view had their version of that. So their boats were kind of push on that but um the preference for the one that we did recommend the vend that we did recommend versus the second one their bench strength was probably better the way there was at least our interpretation of it was. So we did do when we went through the point of concluding who we wanted to recommend to the board to come on as our new custodial crew for our new custodial vendor. We went through the overall process again of you know reviewing the proposal process the interview selection criteria piece. We again went through reference checks. We added on to it as state reference checks and feedbacks from districts that

127already that are in the area that already used the two different groups getting feedback from them and their you know pros and cons. Uh the different ref and checks piece was targeted on two on things like transition how did they handle it things that were that would mean something to us above and beyond whether you like them or not or would you hire them again but what did your transition look like? So we had something in our heads compared to what the different two firms would approach this district at. I do want to emphasize again it wasn't all about the lowest cost. The cost was important. So, the two biders we selected to further interview and our incumbent uh vendor, the difference between those three bid proposals was about $100,000 after you adjust the original

128or the opening bid proposal, you make the apples and oranges adjustment, they call them. So, they were all on the same band. So the the good news there is relative to our current budgeting structure is there should be no impact either positive or negative to our current budget structure. The um from a natural dollar commitment point relative to what's in the budget now. So there's no big swing one way or another. What we're looking for again is quality sur forward thinking reliable quality service things of that nature. And as a group we concluded that it's really um it's really really doesn't come down to the personnel that's being employed. It's more about the management layers and systems how they employ those people and how they train and do stuff like that. So that's why we're

129not thinking about this change in terms of is it going to save us any money. We want to bring in a firm that's going to up the game in terms of the approach to the custodial services provided on a continuous quality improvement basis. And we think this recommended one does just that. So the actual recommended candidates proposal for their annual base cost for the the starting cap was $1,999,978 which always baffles me. Why doesn't somebody just round that up to 2 million? Um so and that that is slightly higher than the secondary candidate that we interviewed. But again we chose based on a multitude of criteria not just the dollar piece. So the bottom line when we concluded in terms of who we wanted to go with the committee concluded that the added value and

130staffing programming and management support justifies our recommendation in terms of who we want to bring on board. So the custodial services this is what we call the committee the custodial service evaluation committee um recommendation based on the process detailed in the attached memo is the DME group. So the draft and then include again I mentioned that the draft is generic contracts including that paperwork as a starting point. So DM Burger does have several districts in Oakland County, hence their ability to create a solid bench that's easily accessible for their customers in the area. They are headquarted in Flint. So it's not a you're not going across the country either. The other competitor, the other one we interviewed, they're a good company, but they're national. So that's more of it's a whole different kind of thinking

131in terms of regional approach to um from the management side of it. So all that said, it's the re it is recommended the board of education authorize the administration to finalize and execute a contract with the DNB group as the custodial service provider for Oxford Community Schools. The opening contract would be similar to what's done typically done and was done here um 10 years ago. the opening contract, typically a three-year contract, then a series of one or two annual extensions, and if it wants to go beyond that, then people sit there want both parties down negotiating in terms of good good and bad pieces to move beyond the five-year commitment. So, if things aren't going well, there's also outlang, but if things go well, there's a joint commitment to sit down and move forward. So,

132at this time, I'm sure you got questions. Hope Courtney can answer them all. No, I'm I'm So, if I can't answer them, she's my uh memory backup. >> Okay. So, this is DM B in the new group. It's not the current >> current the current provider is AB. >> Okay. >> So, the proposal is to switch and go with the DM B group. >> Okay. And it's just a three-year contract. It's a starting three-year contract with built in a couple of built-in series of extension. >> That's pretty standard for changeover. >> Um, were we okay with the current um custodial service? >> Um, >> or were there? >> We we we had issues. Um, I do believe our issues really centered more around on management structure and upper management and the way they approached the

133items. Um I'm always of the mindset nine out of 10en times it's not the actual person that's working whatever the role is. It's usually >> the manager. >> Yeah. If you do something different you get a completely different performance of somebody. >> Okay. >> And they will be they will be one of the reasons we're asking for also an approval in the same meeting is that the information is out. We've been getting a lot of quiet feedbacks from some of the existing custodial staff. they're worried about things and so it's more of once something is certain we can move forward because I I do know if you approve DM Burough there's a royal they're already planning a tenative open house uh for those current people who are interested in talking to the new vendor if

134they want to change and things like that. >> Okay, thank you. >> Yeah, I was going to say I appreciate the transition map out uh in this in this handout. I was looking at it the other day and kind of it gives you a timeline of their their transition. They they understand that that is obviously they need to come in, they need to take over the buildings, they need to take over that and integrate into schools. And uh I just looking at it to your point. Um it looks like I mean they'll be they'll be even running like ads in the local paper obviously and setting up interviews and such like that. It sounds like I don't know specifically said open house here, but I mean that's >> Yeah, we've already talked to them about

135that. >> Yeah, that's >> so we're we're we're in communication with them from a perspective of they're well aware that everything hinges upon there's nothing that they've earned yet upon an important decision, but they've been proactive in terms of well, we'd like to think something through. So if things go their way, fortunately course appreciate it, but they they'll be able to hit the ground running in that piece, too. Yes, I appreciate that, >> Chief. >> Yeah. Um, you said the words out clause. Um, my question is, I understand after 3 years, we don't have to reup with them. >> Is there any language in the contract that if we're not satisfied within that first three years that we have the ability to terminate a contract? >> Yeah, there'll be there'll be language that's typically there's

136language that's um with cause and without cause. So with a without cause, it's usually more of a that we just want to have a divorce, so there's a six-month window or some time frame of separation. With cause is usually much more quicker because there's something really not going well. That will be included. That's one of those things as we as we build the contract. So the custodial contract world is not new to K12 school legal council. So they're going to make you feel like they've created this thing crafted specially for you. But really, we all know pulling a a generic box off the shelf and then crafting it the way we want to tweak things. So, there's an art to that, too. So, I got to give them credit. But those kinds of things are

137found in that contract. >> Okay. Thank you. >> I hope I didn't school legal people. >> That was well timed. You got me out of that one. So, as I understand it, the wages and benefits are a bit higher with this company for the employees than our current. >> The starting wage is is slightly higher. >> The starting wage is targeted what the market is going here. So, that may or may not be depending upon when something gets hired here. Um, typically when a district is either changing a vendor or going from from union to to to private, there's understandings of it's after the fact um that they'll be willing to look at if it's a seasoned employee that's been here a long day, do you know do great, they typically will make adjustments, but

138the generic contracting is competitively priced to everybody around us. That's key because Troy used to Troy schools used to cause a lot of problems for this region. They they would change something and all of us would have to react to it. So DM Bur figured out kind of a way to kind of cushion that bumper. So there's there's the base wage that's competitively um established from a strategic point of view. There's incentives involved. They get there's incentives that are built on that you get every week weekly pay in terms of an incentive for like an attendance assignment that's built in. Most most of them are typically you'll see if you're here 6 months or a year you get your $500 piece but and $500 is not anything to sneeze at when you're thinking about it.

139is 364 days away versus I get attentive that every three weeks it it actually does help incentifying when it's all added up the pay itself is is pretty good in terms of comparatively speaking. >> Yeah. Yeah. It seems like their retention strategies are pretty above the cut. So >> yeah, we would we would work with them too from the perspective of in my mind I've always thought of these things as I'd rather have a a lower FTE count. So if they come in and say you need 35, I would rather figure out how to do it with 33 and pay everybody more. But that's they are a vendor so I can't tell them to do that. But there are ways to, you know, lead them to the take the horse and take it to the

140water and let them and they've been around the block so they can get they figure that stuff out. >> Yeah. Yeah. And this was a a concern because we do have excellent custodial staff currently that our students really love and adore and there are definitely some in the district that we do not want to lose. And so I totally understand to >> that's when they >> there there will be an emphasis on retaining those excellent custodial staff members with this new group. >> Right. from a from a perspective um they're the actual hiring employer but we have an influence on them in that route in a strong manner. So and they're and they're you know that's just smart business for them too. So that's why they want to do the open houses or they want

141to communicate this how you get in contact with us with us and how we get through how they get through to to talk to somebody because typically when when there's you know vendor change order a a bulk of the existing staff ends up with the new people. Now over time that changes because everybody they do they do recruit from each other and that kind of stuff. So that does change over time but you know they're they're well aware. Right. And I just want to say I really like the idea of the the part automation and and part human component where you can really have the people focus on you know your hightouch areas your your places where germs and things like that tend to spread more and rely on automation for the the easier task.

142So I think that would be really beneficial for our classroom. So thank you for including that. All right. Any other further questions or comments for John? All right. Motion Mike Whitney. Thank you. >> Move to approve the custodial contract as presented. >> Support Sarah. Thank you. Discussion. All those in favor? >> I. Any opposed? >> Motion carries. Thank you very much, John. >> Thank you. I will notify them. They'll be thrilled. >> Great. You're good to bug me. We'll be thrilled. >> Thank you. >> All right. Item 10, unscheduled public comment. We have Thank you. Anna Summers members of the of education and Dr. My name is Summers and I'm here tonight as a parent advocating for my two sons and students with disabilities in Oxford Community Schools. I want to begin by saying that

143this is not easy for me. I am not here because I wanted a conflict with the district. I am here because after repeated attempts to work collaboratively and internally with administration and staff, we continue to experience serious failures in the district's implementation of section 504 protections in students. Both of my sons have documented disabilities, including ADHD, anxiety, executive functioning deficits, and learning challenges that impact reading, writing, concentration, processing, and access to the curriculum. These are not temporary struggles or isolated concerns. They are recognized disabilities that substantially impact their ability to access education without accommodations and support. The district's own evaluations, outside cycle educational reports, and 504 plans all acknowledge these needs. Yet, despite this, our family has repeatedly experienced procedural failures, delays, a lack of communication, inconsistent implementation of accommodations, and unilateral decisions that directly

144impact our children's ability to succeed in school. For one of my sons, the district conducted a 504 eligibility determination before completing the agreed upon evaluation process and without proper parent participation. We later learned that the eligibility paperwork had been completed outside of the meeting itself. After concerns were raised, the executive director of special populations acknowledged that mistake had occurred in the process. For my other son, our family attended his annual 504 review meeting in December of 2025. We participated in good faith, believing that the district would finalize and implement the agreed upon accommodations in a timely manner. Instead, the updated plan was not finalized until February of 2026. Nearly two months later, then in March of 2026, the district completed a redetermination process without even holding a formal meeting with parents or student. We were

145not invited to participate in a meaningful discussion. Instead, paperwork was simply sent afterward for signatures. This directly contradicts the district's own section 504 protocols of practice, which emphasize team decisionmaking, parent participation, procedural safeguards, and meaningful collaboration. Most concerning, however, was the district's unilateral decision April 15th of 2026 to remove access to Grammarly from student devices. One of our sons has used it for six years and the other's 504 plan expressly lists Grammarly as an accommodation. It has been an essential support for their documented writing deficits. This is not a convenience tool for them. It is an accommodation that helps them organize thoughts, revise written work, reduce errors, and access classroom expectations in a way comparable to their non-disabled peers. Yet, the district blocked Grammarly on all student computers without notifying parents, convening 504 or IEP

146meetings, or offering any other alternative support such as co-writer or read and write. Imagine being a student with a documented writing disability walking into school one morning and discovering that one of the primary supports you rely on to complete assignments and communicate effectively has simply disappeared. That is what happened to our sons. My husband and I have also attempted to address these concerns directly with district leadership, including a meeting with the assistant superintendent of teaching and learning in the fall of 2025, where after reviewing the information, she commented and I quote, "I cannot defend sloppy work and there is no excuse for it." Unfortunately, rather than feeling heard or supported, we were shown significant disrespect during that meeting and nothing changed regarding training processes or policies surrounding 504 protocols. Even more concerning, following that meeting,

147the district removed the Oxford Community School section 504 protocols of practice from the district website. Those protocols contain important information for families regarding procedural safeguards, evaluations, eligibility, parent rights, and accommodations. Removing those documents has resulted in less transparency, less guidance, and less support for parents who either have children with 504 plans or are attempting to understand how to request evaluations and services for their students. At a time when families are asking for clarity and accountability, the district's response was to remove access to information. As a parent, my frustration is not simply about one application or one delayed document. Our frustration is with a much larger pattern. A pattern of the district's failure to follow its own policies. A pattern of procedural safeguards existing on paper but not consistently being honored in practice. A pattern where

148families are expected to advocate advocate consistently just to ensure basic accommodations as outlined in the section 504 of the rehabilitation act title two of the American Disabilities Act. And perhaps most concerning is a pattern where students with disabilities are left carrying the burden when systems fail. Section 504 is not optional. FAPE is not optional. Procedural safeguards are not optional. These laws exist because students with disabilities deserve equal access to education, not just in theory, but in actual daily practice. Our family has tried repeatedly to resolve these concerns collaboratively and privately. We have attended meetings, provided documentation, communicated, and worked with staff in good faith. But at some point, it becomes necessary to speak publicly when systems and staff continue to fail students. I am asking the superintendent tonight to take a serious look at the

149SE district's section 504 practices, procedures, and their implementation. I am asking you to ensure that accommodations are implemented consistently, that parents are included meaningfully in decisions, that staff are properly trained in section 504 compliance, that students are not losing support without notice or replacement, that district policies are followed consistently, and that parents have transparent access to information regarding their rights and their children's protections. Most importantly, I am asking you to remember that behind every 504 plan is a child. A child who deserves dignity, support, access, and the opportunity to succeed. As of today, my stones have been denied FAPE 41 calendar days and 29 business days. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Anna. Item 12, administrative clarification. Oh, I skipped item 11. I'm sorry. scheduled activities, the last day of school. Don't forget that

150that is coming up so very quickly. Uh and then we have a special meeting pertaining to finance and our next regular rescheduled on the 16th. No, any administrative clarification that begin? No. Thank you. Uh final board comments for the evening. Shane, I don't want to put you on the spot, but I thought you were gonna maybe say something about a training that you had taken. You don't have to, but >> No. Yeah. Sorry. I was >> I I knew you were small brain. I had to finish writing before I could say anything. Um, earlier this month, I went to the MASB spring conference and uh took a trip out to Lancing uh for the two-day event uh in an effort to get my finance certification uh by taking the finance courses out there. Um it

151was eye opening to say the least. I'm still trying to get some of this organized and and figured out. There's for those that don't know there is so much in school finance that I mean John I don't know how you do it. It's impressive. Um but I've learned a lot as far as the uh you know capital fund projects, what can come out of general fund, what can't you know the legalities surrounding it. So uh it was really really beneficial. I'm I'm super excited to move forward and I felt as a treasurer that that was something I should do uh to make sure I'm as educated uh in finance as I could be. >> Um I did uh opt to drive uh both because I did not want the district to incur the cost of

152a hotel or uh anything like that. So, I I made the uh purposeful decision to drive out there. Uh and I personally, no offense to anybody else, but I have not submitted for mileage or gas or anything like that. I feel like my furthered education on this topic. It's my responsibility uh to take care of. So, I appreciated the opportunity. Justin was instrumental in helping me get that scheduled and I appreciated that. and we were even able to get a couple of those classes paid for by the MSB. So that was really uh that was I was happy with that. So just wanted to make mention uh that uh I was able to go and John I will have many many many questions for you moving forward. So thank you. >> Thanks for the update

153on your anyone else this evening. >> I just have a couple things. Oh, as Tanya mentioned in her Monday memo, we attended the behind the scenes in Lancing uh through MASB last week. So, I just want to recognize the incredible work happening every day across Oxford Community Schools regarding our student safety and support. Last week we had the opportunity to meet and discuss with our state representative Josh Triber and we discussed many topics including you know our district and the importance of school safety regardless of politics. Uh maintaining strong relationships with our state leaders is important to advocating for our students and our district. And during that conversation rep Representative Shriber stated in his own words that Oxford Community Schools is not just the safest district in the state. the safest district in the country.

154Those were his words. So, I wanted to echo that and really lift that up tonight. Um, given our community's experiences, those words carry significant meaning and weight and that safety is not just something we take for granted. It is work that is never finished as everyone here has experienced. So, um, I especially want to recognize Dr. Alison Lleman along with our administrators, counselors, our first responders, our teachers, our support staff, and our more than 800 Oxford Community Schools employees who work every day to help our students feel safe, supported, and ready to learn. And I just wanted to to make a note that families have choices about where to send their students. And so many continue choosing Oxford because they trust our people, our systems, and the care that has been built here through this

155work. So, thank you to everyone across this district who continues making safety, well-being of our students a priority every single day, and it's just one of the many pieces that they do every single day. So, thank you very much. Um, also I wanted to congratulate the Aenddale School District on their overwhelming passage of both their operating millage renewal and their building and syncing fund proposal earlier this month. I don't know if you noticed in the um Oakland Press. They had a great article explaining the overwhelming passage for that that was earlier the first Tuesday of May this month. um their community made a clear and powerful statement about the value they place on public education and the importance of investing in their students, staff, and schools for the long term. The Aenddale community approved a

15620-year renewal of their operating millillage as well as a one mill building and sinking proposal to support the maintenance and improvement of their facilities. So, I just wanted to lift that up. That's really exciting for them. It's our one of our neighboring communities as we are working on passing our own millillage coming up in August. So yeah, if there's any questions about that, but the Oakland Press has fantastic review of that information. So congratulations to them and their students and community. Thanks. >> Sorry, real quick. I I was remissed not to mention um the uh taking part in the graduation ceremonies that uh you had uh talked about during your update uh was amazing watching these students uh from all the different uh schools within this district and uh the cares uh ceremony was fantastic.

157It was I couldn't believe how many people were there. They had to bring out extra tables uh because we couldn't seat them all. was impressive to say the least. And um I guess give a heads up and a warning, Miss Murphy. I'll be here tomorrow for a field day. So looking forward to it. >> Great. >> Okay. Yeah. I just want to echo that. The graduations this year were extra special and thank you to everyone that was involved in the the planning organization. It was not an easy undertaking and there has been months and months and hours and hours of planning that have gone into every one of those. So, you all know who you are and we appreciate all of your your hard work and dedication to make every one of those amazing and

158special for all of our graduates this year. So, thank you all for that. Now, moving we do have two close session issues this evening. So if we could get a motion. Thanks Michael. Move to meet in close session pursuant to the open meeting act section 81B to consider the dismissal of suspension or disciplining of a student and the public body is part of the school district intermediate school district or institution of higher education that the student is attending and if the student or the student's parent or guardian request a closed hearing >> support chain thank you any discussion James if you would roll call Hey, roll call vote need yes or no. When I call your name, please. Aldridge, >> yes. Cam Jordy, >> yes. >> Whitney, >> yes. >> Gibson, >> yes. >> Summers,

159yes. Hson, >> yes. >> McDonald, >> yes. >> Is 907. Moving into our first close session in it is 9:49. We are back in session and we have a motion. >> Thank you, James. >> Move to hold the recommended discipline >> support and thank you. Any discussion? All those in favor? I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries. All right. Now we have another motion for our second close session. >> Thanks, Mike. Move it to meet in close session pursuant to the open meetings act section 81E to consult with its attorney regarding trial or settlement strategy in connection with specific pending litigation but only if an open meeting would be would have a detrimental financial effect on the litigating or settlement position of the public body specifically the pending case Oxford community schools versus MASB SAG >>

160support Shane thank you any discussion James, if you would do a roll call. >> Roll call. Yes or no, please. Herson, >> yes. >> Aldred, >> yes. >> Journey, >> yes. >> Whitney, >> yes. >> Gibson, >> yes. >> Summers, yes. Diamond, >> yes. >> It is 9:50. We are going into session. It is 10:24. We are back from close session. If there are any further comments from the board, we will also adjourn at 10:24 p.m. Thank you.