001so I'll start just go little that format I'm Charles this is Mike SP there's a little sheet there which also identifies the people who volunteer to help out Tom Hoover back there then Karen Charles and then Chris RS was in on that sheet because um I originally asked Kelsey cook to help out but Kelsey's got a village council meeting tonight so Chris is gracious enough to uh come over also his wife is in Spain right now so didn't anything else to do tonight um in the format should I go through the format um Michael Le for the Pledge of Allegiance and then when we do this the candidates we could all take a minute and a half to introduce yourself anything you want to say or less whatever you feel comfortable with and then we'll
002proceed with questions that we have the 3x5 cards so you can fill out your question there if you haven't already and then we'll go to the candidates one by one and we'll rotate that as well okay so let does that make sense everyone clear with that clear as mud right Mr SPI thank you Rob but before we get started can I ask everybody to rise I want see America all right and join me in a pledge of allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the for which stands one nation under God indivisible andice thank you very all right we'll go ahead and get started we're going to start in alphabetic order at the far end so Ann if you want to go first give us a minute and
003a half about yourself and then once you're finished pass your mic down and Brad I believe doing time I talk to everybody Brad Jacobson go ahead good evening my name is Ann aeson I'm a current board member running to finish the two-year the two-year term um of my current seat and I'm happy to be here tonight thank you Mike alri current board member on until December with the current time period and running for a fouryear seat 26 year here in Oxford raise a family here my kids are graduating from here I'm a senior currently and I saw graduated in 2023 and I couldn't be happy to be part of this panel I'm Sarah Beth Campa Journey we have been residents for 30 years we have uh homeschooled and also used the public schools uh full-time
004and part-time during the time when we were raising your children and we were very active in the community through our church and I'm glad that I get a chance to do this so thank you uh good evening Shane Gibson I am seeking a four-year seat uh with the Board of Education I have um I'm a educator myself I have a doctoral degree in education and Healthcare leadership registered nurse by trade I worked within Oakland County uh through the jail and prison system over the last 10 years uh serving Oakland County so um my wife and I reside in Oxford we have two children that attend Oxford Schools uh one at OES uh and one at the middle school so um thank you all for coming out appreciate it and look forward to the discussion good
005evening I'm Randy kriger I am a retired educator administrator teacher for over 30 years uh I also did coaching number of other things my wife also was a teacher she uh was able to horn swaggle me into building all the sets for the plays and she was a an English teacher and theater director uh I turned into being the free help uh gladly so uh I have a master's degree in teaching uh concentrating on reading remediation and and uh uh also I have a master's degree in administrative lead ship uh taught at Sagar Valley State University for the College of Education the department of English and uh a couple years ago I finally retired u i I was with public schools for 30 years 4 days after retiring Catholic school called said we got a
006four-month job it lasted 7 and A2 years I finally did not want to drive from Oxford to Saga anymore so uh now I am here uh we are uh recent residents of Oxford we have two grandchildren in the system our daughter also is a teacher she lives in Oxford with her family uh we live in Oxford now uh and glad that we moved and thank you for inviting me to The Forum this evening good evening thank you everyone for coming my name is Aon Reese and I am a proud Oxford graduate I also have three kids one that had graduated in 22 then two that are currently uh one in middle school and one in high school I am uh a doctor of Education as well as Shain and the healthcare administration I work in
007the health system and my role there is to train Physicians to work in the environment that we are in today um we had a good conversation over there about it earlier I'm currently uh serving on the board as the board president I am a write in on the ballot and I'll address that elephant in the room right now so none of the cards need to address it is the reason I'm not on the full ballot was at the time we were going to do some leadership structure changes at my work that since has ceased and they allowed me to step forward where I knew I could commit for four years previously I knew I wouldn't be able to and the board has had a lot of transition and we certainly don't need any extra transition
008so I'm here to commit for all four years as a Raiden so my name is Rich Schneider I'm applying for the two two-year position for the school board um you can see my bio I've handed them out on the tables I'm an engineer I got a master's degree but uh I had some problems the public school as far as getting into the college and I believe that background is going to help me uh make the children transition to the college a little bit easier than mine is what I'm shooting for I eventually wound up with like two years more College past getting a PhD but technically just stopped at the Masters because I wanted to keep my skills up to date with all the changes in technology I've got a lot of background with uh
009mathematics science technology computer science things of that nature even had a course in artificial intelligence before people were saying AI so that's my uh stin and I'm happy to be a part of uh the process here hi my name is Chris zitney I've been actor resident for 25 years both of my children graduated in 2011 and 2012 I was an orber coach a um fish director of the Saturday program right now currently I'm also on the DDA board as a I'm not the DDA board but I'm the promo Committee of the DDA we just finished Careo festival for the fourth year um I have a degree from advertising from MSU University go green I got to say that of course um of a booster member for 10 years I ran the concessions for five one
010of the years we actually had the highest raised amount of money we $26,000 at the homecoming game against harston CU we had four stands in the corner besides the two main stands which we still hold which was pretty cool but it took us a long time to get get through um and I was also apparently aison when we switched the high school and the middle school back in 2004 which I take pride in that we were able to do that successfully and it's still working today I appreciate all you coming out tonight it just shows that you care about this committee as much as all of us up here tonight thank you and I guess you're first then to repeat we'll we'll rotate so nobody always goes first and and one minute each okay makes
011sense okay so anel cled up um the recent State Testing academic stores have fallen once again this year how do you see the district getting students back on track in competing with other open County districts I think looking at um individual classrooms looking at what's going on with with each class in each subject that's important to listen to what's going on if teachers need more support um if the curriculum is supporting their learning then that's wonderful if there's more that's needed then I think it's important to to check in with the teachers in the staff to make sure if there's anything additional that can be done to help meet those needs so if there's um extra studying after school extra other resources that that might be need needed I think that's important to check in
012and and listen to what's going on with the test scores being where they're at today the feedback we've received from some of the teachers in the past few months is a great indication of where the teachers are in regards to those test scores they themselves the teachers in our district have brought forth ideas different study methods different programs where we will be instituting them um believe yet this year in definitely moving into next year when it comes to study guides books uh at the elementary level many of our principles the wonderful teachers that we have are instituting extra study programs uh there's also support programs which I think is a very big piece of the mental health and education for our kids so the peer-to-peer support that's happening at the elementary schools will I think
013proliferate through the rest of our district thank you my concern is bringing the parents in um what I have experienced is that what is not followed up at home um doesn't always get retained so I would encourage the school board as as a school board member I would encourage uh better communication with the parents to help them understand we're here to help them in the process us and for their child to succeed we do have to do some extra training or education for their particular student or students all right well first of all uh with a medical background one of the first things that we learn coming into uh patient care is collaboration and I think it spans across into education as well um I think we have to collaborate we have to figure out
014what do the teachers have to say and it sounds like that the board has done that they've reached out to the teachers they've gotten some feedback which is excellent I think we need to pull in parents we also need to pull in students figure out what barriers they see what are some barriers to their learning and their retention uh whether they be intentional or unintentional removing those barriers making sure they have a secure safe learning environment where they can actually retain information inform is going to be Paramount uh not only just to increase scores which is the question but also to um make sure that they have the best chance to be successful post High School having gone through a lot of testing in my career there's a lot of data that teachers have access
015to and trust me they do this all the time uh they start the year by looking at the data in every class that tests you have to look at that cohort you can't take one year and compared to last year because each cohort is different as they go through school so teachers know these students they can look at previous test scores that those cohorts have done in lower grades and then what they can do is start looking at what are some strategies that can be used as a board member we need to make sure that we have access uh to uh materials that the teachers and administrators can use to increase uh productivity of students in the classroom but also help teachers start implementing uh new POS new programs that will help students within their
016own classes feel like I'm probably going to be a repeat of a lot of what other folks have said but there's a lot of data out there that we have and learning how to utilize that data to create um work groups in collaboration amongst teachers parents and students I think is Paramount in terms of how do we move forward you know we have um in the schools now there's professional learning communities I think that we have seen uh success in those areas in which the teachers can collaborate with those and expanding them beyond their current cohorts and making them um successful I do also know that um looking at achievement versus growth we have to understand what the difference is if we have a cohort of students as to what Randy was saying growing um
017we are catching up it is no um surprise that Oxford has fallen behind and I think that we need to be okay understanding that some of our students may need a little extra time to grow and support our teachers and our families as they go through that um obviously I bring a little bit of quite a bit I should say uh mathematics science and such computers to the uh table um but one thing that's coming out lately and I don't know how much influence we would have at it as a board there's things like they're finding fluide that's put in the water which has been done all our lives right may not necessarily be the best for kids from a neurological standpoint that's some of the things that we need to look at I believe
018I'm still going to go with you know we got to look at our curriculum and say okay is all of our curriculum apps for putting the kids first as far growing with what they need to do but uh I think Robert F Kennedy is doing a lot of phenomenal work lately and pointing out some things that probably shouldn't be in our process F so I think we have to look at the curriculum to start with uh first for the parents they are just as important as the teacher give them both the support that they need to help their student whether it's kindergarten all 12th grade and then see what other districts have done that have made them successful and maybe Pig you back on what they've done but to make sure that we are as
019a student University uh organization as well as a board board we have the resources available at any time like someone mentioned earlier even mental health could be an issue if it's within or math whichever subject they may be weak in we can make sure that we're helping them in that area specifically and have additional resources available for them thank you everyone for that next question we'll start with Mike do you support Bond measures or tax increases to improve School infrastructure in the district why why not so I think the message for tonight for my own responses is I have a lot to learn being on the board since July in regards to bonds or any measures that we reach out to the Greater Community to to fund the opportunity there is to have a conversation
020we I need to understand from polling understand from the community where everybody's at not just vote on it not just do it if it's needed the community will agree if it's not then we may delay and have more conversations for strategic Alliance and what we need to do to pass those bonds or pass the funding measures needed to achieve a goal that we're trying to achieve but I think it's a community involvement and that vote would make me think twice about voting if the community is against it that's a tough question um mostly because increasing our taxes and throwing more money at the school district is not going to solve the problem of being fiscally responsible and my research has indicated we have not been that way for several years and So my answer would
021be no I would vote no one Bond because I believe we need to be held accountable for how our taxes are spent and specifically to be spent um the students and the families in our district first so I think it's important first to keep in mind that we have to have a district in order for our kids to have a place to go to school and from what I've been able to ascertain going to school board meetings it sounds like there's a lot of upgrades and updates that are absolutely essential uh within the district so from a bond or tax standpoint I mean I'm I'm a taxpayer too so I can tell you personally I would support Bond or tax if it were going to the schools to help with infrastructure or to keep our
022district solvent uh without this school district we're not going to have a place to send our kids period so I feel personally again we have to be responsible we can't just tax for the sake of of taxing we have to make sure that this money is well spent however uh again we have to keep our district solvent the thing that we have to understand is that the traditional look at how schools are funded through State funding does not cover infrastructure uh repairs or improvements and when a when a school district looks at at a bond issue it it's always done with with great sincerity it's not just done uh willing Milly so to make sure that a school district is thriving to make sure that a community is thriving we have to look at passing
023a bond issue a bond issue yes and there is a symbiotic relationship between a school and a community and I know that uh nobody likes taxes to be raised and and I'm part of this community too do I want my taxes raised no but I know that the amount of money that would be raised I blow that probably in a week hand if I'm crazy sometimes so uh this is something that we have to do that is in sincerity I'm good I'm bad oh I'm okay in short yes I I in short amid this confusion yes I would uh I would support a bond issue but only when we look at it as far as the sincerity and the level to which we need to to address the issue that makees sense so all right
024thank you so when it comes to bond issues you know they are for infrastructure or Capital needs so that means buildings school buses technology um things that aren't paid for by the state funding or categorical grants that come through the government so I think that's one important uh measure to understand and the other component of it is looking around at our facilities and I think you know um those of us who have lived in Oxford a long time understand that one Elementary used to be a high school um back a long time ago and uh recently they just put air conditioners in some of these buildings for the first time um these are essential places to um educate children if children are not comfortable and teachers are not comfortable we need to make sure that
025we're addressing that with that being said that board has instituted a finance committee and that fance committee also looks at all of our facilities so we can help prioritize that once we prioritize it then if we feel that we need to bring a bond forward issue we would definitely uh do that as a collective body I would support bringing forward Bond issues if they made sense so I've worked in the automation field uh industrial projects large projects up to $55 million um both as a project engineer construction management also alongs of lines of proposal and quoting these very large projects and people can get very loose with some of the money and everybody gets a little bit conservative and by the time that thing's gone through three or four people each one's added 15% to
026that so there would definitely be some uh things that probably would be looked at I've heard some some grumbling rumors of things that need to be looked at whether it's School a choice what have you um with the current books but that's how I would approach it um I tend to just sit down and get with the data because the spreadsheet is basically my friends sometimes this start the B you what I would do is look at proposing kinds first and foremost see what is needed the most and continue to look at it in that perspective my initial reaction would be I would vote Yes for because one of my hashtags is make actually great again I think we need to move forward and by doing that most of the time is with either a
027building fit or like Aon mentioned the air condition one of the buildings which they never had which if I was a sixth grade trying to learn in 100° temperature probably wouldn't work out that well so I would really look again like I said at the pros and cons and move forward and anything that would help our community and our schools and our students first and foremost would be most important to me [Music] uh in short I I would I would support the bond issue if it made sense obviously with the with the budget in current state I would I would want to make sure that it would make sense for the district in its current state um my daughter currently attends oelc she's a four-year-old in that in that program and looking at how they're
028bursting at the seams in that building um talking about planning for the future where they provide child care for many families in the community and they have a weight list that is extensive that they have to turn families away looking for child care I think that um that's something to consider and putting you know simple Band-Aid on that building of squeezing kids into rooms that aren't actually classrooms that's something to to consider so in that case I would consider a bond issue if it made sense fiscally thank you okay next round sarth I think you're next right no writing so this question says do any of you currently have or anticipate initiating a lawsuit against the district for any particular reason sure do any of you I'll say do you individually have or in anticipate
029initiating a lawsuit against the district for any particular reason wow that's a loaded question um personally no I would not um we do have some issues that from the unfortunate incident but um I'm of the mindset to let's try to heal and um bringing lawsuits is not um going to solve the problem and is not going to help us heal as a community um my understanding is there might be some already still um but I don't know all of the facts on those lawsuits um and so again once again I would take the legal counsel of whatever legal counil we have for um our district uh so short answer is no I would not anticipate bringing about any lawsuits against the district for any reason I have no uh reason to do so I can't
030anticipate having a reason to do so the answer is no I do not and I do not see any reason for any future action against it no no in all directions I um also no do not have any lawsuits against the district nor do I anticipate filing any lawsuits against the district however I think it's important to um tag on to the fact that lawsuits are typically a result of unresolved issues and their right of citizens so I just want to make sure that um if there are lawsuits filed against the district we we as a district will do better to communicate in the future with families so um no I don't and thank you for the out of left field question getting out of the way because I wouldn't have seen anything second my
031answer is no I do not look forward or do I anticipate fining a lawsuit against the district at any time uh and I think it is time to move forward from the other lawsuit and that again will make a great again but my specific answer is no my answer is also no I don't have any pending lawsuits against the district nor do I intend to in the future no current or anything in the future thank you all for that this one was a was a good fall based on some of your answers how will you Foster less conflict and more Unity between members of the school board and between the board and parents students and the administration and superintendent yes I will how will you Foster less conflict more Unity between members of the school
032board and between the board and parents students and the administration and superintendent ch say I thought it was me um so I think not to go back to my original point but collaboration we need to be transparent we need to be open uh with not not only just within our district with the students but with the parents with the faculty um you know kind of pulling the veil back and making sure that we can show transparency and that we're being honest and uh asking for opinions asking for subject matter experts uh like teachers what's going on in their class what do they need uh you know if there's uh anything that uh you know could use and upgrade those kinds of things I think are going to be super important uh to foster a little
033bit more cooperation down the road and I think with that I think it'll it'll Garner a lot more trust it'll start to rebuild some of those trusts that have been lost uh in the past in any conflict resolution situation uh regardless of the parties that are involved the first thing that has to be done is there has to be a clear uh set of communication goals set down because uh emotions are going to run High Whenever there is a conflict so when you can get to the root of the problem as fast as you possibly can in in a way that is uh again transparent as uh previous people have said but transparency is a big key uh you have to go by facts you have to go by uh what people's feelings are involved
034with it also uh because if you don't put the facts and the feelings together there's no way that you're going to be able to come to some kind of a resolution uh that will that will solve the problem not all parties are going to be happy all the time and that's part of conflict resolution trying to figure out where is the meeting ground between those parties that are at issue with each other so to resolve conflict you have to listen I think is the first step and listen to understand and not listen to respond um and so since I've been on the board we have instituted Cofe chats made ourselves uh extremely accessible again we haven't resolved every conflict that is out there but certainly I think we've made a lot of progress and reestablishing
035some communication Pathways for families and for teachers and for those who maybe didn't feel like they could come to the board as a solution uh in the past so those things I would continue and encourage that other board members do them as well I found them to be extremely valuable nights like this also helps because it sees what's important to people in the community and I'm sitting here writing notes so I can listen and understand what it is that the questions are that people are interested in learning from and you take that with you into your leadership role as a board to help engage and create a space for people can communicate better um I would EO transparency um but I would also add U one issue that I ran into just this this summer
036so in July we had some openings for candidates which I applied for when the board voted on that um the candidates were listed by number no name no background board voted on them we didn't even know who the people were their backgrounds were that's something that's got to change going to do something put it out there let people know they were sitting in the audience they just wanted to know who the 10 candidates were for the open positions I think the main focus is to do two things communicate and listen uh ones to listen to what they have to say whether it be the student the teacher or Administration and listen to what the parents have to say also then like I said the transparency is to make sure and to listen to what they
037have to want to change um in that regard um I would Echo the sentiment that that listening and communicating are absolutely essential um I'm a collaborative person myself I enjoy working with folks that have a different background a different lens that they might view the same situation through and understanding their where they're coming from their perspective and also reaching out to the community and encouraging the community involvement um I was really impressed with the sex education Advisory Board how many folks actually applied to be a part of that it was a amazing and wonderful response that we got from the community overwhelming that so many folks respond than wanted to be a part of it and I think that that's that's phenomenal and something that I would really encourage to continue is having that Community
038involvement and having that that voice so that the board can also be informed from not just the folks that that we hear from all the time but please reach out I love getting emails from folks that that don't normally want to email because they're either afraid or intimidated to come to a meeting conflict in my experience is largely due to miscommunication or misunderstanding I absolutely agree with you a board our board moving forward needs to be more active in the community so there's active opportunities to talk with us speak with us but even more importantly as it's already been said listen right we're not going to rebuild Trust of our board without communication with the community and I'm absolutely for that I strive to do that every day in my life both personally and professionally
039so communication's key listening is incredibly important but being out with the community members and understanding and listening to all of the issues and questions are is really really important and we would Pi that take that back to the board and Echo those discussions having five teenagers in my home at one point I have learned my husband and I have learned a lot about conflict in settling it um what I see is we have this uh mentality that once our kids are done with school we don't need to be a part of the school system and I disagree with that because as a retired so-called retired all I'm busy right now um this is my community I've lived here 30 years my children uh used the public schools um we like I said we were very
040much a part of the churches um and what I see to help with the con the less conflict is to do um what I came up with was uh community potlucks at each school and the school board show up so we get to know and the families get to know each other because the parents don't always get to see each other um and so that would help with um face to face and getting to know each other one on one all set okay gender yes how would you handle debates around pronouns General identity and exclusivity in schools should schools accommodate students who identify as transgender with pronoun preferences and bathro ab use I think the first thing that we have to understand is that every student in that school in any school is somebody's child
041and the second that we start putting up barriers and we say you can't do this you can't do that we are telling that parent and that child they're not wanted how dare we do something like that I think that there is a lot of understanding that we have to take in place place here I think that the board has to understand it and study it this is not something that we can just cast off as a situation where an individual who does not like the fact that someone may have a gender difference or a sexual orientation difference we may not like it as a personal individual but as a member of the community as a member of the United States they have a right to be here so one of the duties of the school
042and the school board is to provide a safe environment for all students and in order to do that we have to recognize that students may be coming to us and saying that they're not safe or feel safe in certain situations and how do we make them feel that way I think the debate in Oxford you know is not the same debate that's happening at the national stage but we need to recognize that there are individuals in our community that may identify differently than our neighbors and ourselves and how do we work that into the fabric with our community members to make sure that all students feel safe going to [Music] school um there's 7,000 students I believe in Oxford I'm just not going to be able to remember pronouns and things of that nature boys
043or boys girls or girls I think the sexual communication just depends on the individual we have to accept them to what they are um as a Schoolboard member and as Community they should be safe as Aaron said in each school no matter what it is and we will have have to adjust to it by that whether it's our belief or not we have to trust that child to make sure that they're safe um I currently coach students in another district and I'm very aware of of students that struggle with this very issue as well as teachers and counselors administrators that also struggle with how to support this very issue so this is something that's very important um to Echo what Aon said it's important that every student feels safe in every way and if this
044is an issue it needs to be addressed and how can we as the board support that for the student possibly for their families and definitely for the staff for what needs to be what needs to be changed in order to help them feel safe in order to to support that environment there at the school overarching the biggest message across the table here has been safe and support Oxford is unique and we as a board Community parents need to make sure that every child goes the school is safe they feel safe they have resources to be safe or get safe and if there is an Avenue that we as a board and the community need to take to help those students that are struggling then I'm all for support and understanding and listening I come from
045a different perspective um it's my job as a parent to make my child feel safe if they choose and are confused um the reality is there's only two Sexes a male and a female now if they need counseling I'm all for counseling but to in my mind model coddle for less than 1% of the population I think that's a distraction to the children that are trying to learn uh I guess to the most recent point I'll have to respectfully disagree I think uh experience changes perspective uh considerably and I feel like if uh I always take the stance of this were your child how would you feel and this is not something that Oxford as a community can just say we don't want to deal with this this isn't going to happen in our school
046and we're just going to push it off to the side it's going to be somebody else's problem uh if you will we need to look through the lens of inclusivity not exclusivity uh I don't want to Echo or or reiterate the same points but every child deserves an equitable Ed Ed education uh meaning it should be fair open and available for every single student regardless of a parent personal feelings or that child's perspective on on their Outlook uh moving forward so um again inclusive not exclusive thank you this one goes to air moving back to the finance side of things a little bit in the light of the of the expected budget shortfall what are your top three Financial priorities and with the Oxford Township taxes compris of roughly 58% of the total bill do
047you think the board can make any reductions in expenses so we've actually spent the last uh 12 months realigning some of our finances to account for the fact that the Esser funding which was Co funding uh from the federal government would be done uh September 30th 2024 which is now past um and how we realigned that as we looked at what were non uh pupil facing programs Andor if we had Administration that was maybe heavier at the top how do we kind of look through that lens and see where can we make reductions that do not affect the students in the classroom the reality is I think that 58% number and I could go way over my time talking about finances of the school and a little nerdy in that space um is the operating
048millage not the the actual total budget for the schools a lot of the other money comes from other places so there is a difference in understanding that the budget at the school of $100 million and that is um less than $6 million of it just see awareness oh top three priorities would be uh looking and making sure that we reorganize um at the top and that we're using our administrative staff effective and appropriately uh looking at other reduction you're never going to get it out of Supply anyone tells you they can squeeze a budget out of supplies is lying to you um so unfortunately we have to look at all of the things that contribute to the classroom so there could be some curriculum changes that we just saved some money on some books because
049we moved to a free social studies curriculum um and I'd have to say the other one would be looking at facilities and making sure that we're being smart with capital financing um about the question specific to a in can you provided again with the expected budget shortfall what are your top three priorities and with the tax bill for Oxford Township making up roughly 58% from schools and or governmental entities do you think there's any anywhere that we could cut expenses um obious said I haven't looked at the books being new to that um there would probably be some places we could but given the amount of inflation that's been going on uh that would be difficult so I would have to really tear into the books see what's going on three areas I would look
050at one would be Sports Athletics Arts Sciences trades don't want to cut them but if we had to make a little bit of an adjustment we can look into it two would be curriculum and three would be administrator anything we can do at the top to help down Bel we don't want to affect the students first and foremost well I would have to I agree with Aaron on that aspect she's definitely more educated on the being part of the finance committee and digging into those books regularly um but I would want to say that the top three priorities would be maintaining excellent staff but however we want to make sure that we're using those funds wisely and to continue attracting good staff so the balancing of that issue is very difficult want to make sure
051that we're able to offer you know competitive rates to what other districts are offering so that we can also attract excellent staff for our students um beyond that making sure that our facilities are safe and infrastructure is supported and making sure that any necessary changes we have the the money to do so I think I'll start with the taxes I think Aon answered that um I don't have the knowledge yet as to where we stand but I can tell you from the three aspects I would look at as a board member is necessary unnecessary spending uh I agree 100% no matter what we do it has to have the children and the teachers in mind so I think the opportunity to look at necessary unnecessary spending uh and then from that would derive additional steps
052to look through just like you would do at home or any other business is what areas can we curtail or not spend in this year and if we can learn our lesson then we can we can alter those plans but uh there's quite a bit to learn from my perspective but if you take a personal approach if you don't have the money don't spend it let's find a different way that's more effective for our teachers and our students to learn uh despite the shortfall we still have a job to do right so there's there's ways to do that my top three my top three priorities in regard to the finances is to look at how much money is being spent on uh non-district students um as well as um also I see a lot of
053construction builds um but it doesn't seem to be going to the infrastructure it seems to be going to more towards that special property over on drainer um and then I would do my best to come together and figure out a balanced budget um just like I do at home and after handling five checking accounts at one point and I balanced them all um I would be willing to dig into that a little more all right so top three priorities would be again um not to piggy back off others but buildings we need to make sure our buildings are structurally sound make sure any updates any upgrades that are necessary uh that we have the uh budget to uh handle those resources our books and materials making sure that we are getting the best bang for
054our buck making sure that we're listening to our teachers what do they think we need in the classroom what may not be needed and I think we need to let them kind of lead the way in that endeavor and then student safety the top priority of mine is to make sure that these kids feel safe every day when they walk into those schools and I think that is a nonnegotiable as far as where to get the money from you know I don't think cutting teachers jobs is the answer uh we we just talked about low test scores and things of that nature and you just keep rolling over new teachers into this district is going to be a a big problem it's only going to get worse before it ever gets better uh so I
055think that uh retention of our top teachers is a is a major priority first and foremost is is that uh teachers are held safe we cannot do any kind of cutting from any teaching staff at all because the the first person to lose there is the student so some of the things that uh I know I've been experienced in in districts that I've been in the past is obviously there's bids for materials classroom materials those are things that uh they can be very costly uh sometimes we have to put them on a longer weight list uh are there ways that we can augment current materials uh and have a situation where we don't buy them as often uh to to come back with to save some of the money uh bids for goods and services
056uh maybe real value it for goods and services is that we are having out for bids and more competitive bidding going on and are there areas where in some administrative positions could be collapsed for a period of time where uh we we take extra duties and put them into administrative hooks okay Richard Richard first here parents rights what is your stance on parents' rights to review or opt their children out of specific lessons or materials uh it's their kids they have the right to to do so you hear okay okay they have the right to do so um I would also want that uh parents should be able to review some of the books and stuff that are and what's being taught in the classes as as they see fit well that's probably something that
057should be done off being online of what the lessons have been things of that nature I think the parent on said had their student opt out of a certain lesson of the curriculum I think they need to give the reason to the teacher as to why and having explanation of um what they would do to replace that specific lesson that was being uh taken away if they were going to do that um concerning which area or subject this might be I'm not I'm not quite sure I'll read it again it says what is your stance on parents rights to review or opt out your children out of specific lessons or materials I would just encourage that parent partnership with the students's teacher just to have that open dialogue of what their concerns are what the
058actual materials are that are being covered if they would like to to sit in on it I believe they could do that with a a district chapon from the administrative staff that's an option so to just be in contact and be communicative with the students's teacher I think understanding comes from having all of the information so that may help ease the situation but I I don't see a problem with that as long as there's communication and what would be needed to possibly make up that material in another another lesson or another assignment a consultative approach seems most viable between the student uh at least Le the parents and the school administrators our teachers are important we need to understand why the request is made and I I if I mention the consultative approach to understand
059that um and the reasons behind it I think the other part of it is is it an elective versus something that's really important for our children to learn in order to be a successful student in college uh I can speak to specifically to that my son is not prepared and he's a sophomore Michigan State coming out of Oxford High School so it's a consultative approach we did not don't take don't read into that I didn't elect him out of a this classroom but it was um it's something we need to understand why they're why they're asking that is it an elective is it required and then make it the best judgment we can for the student uh as well as the teacher so there's an understanding of why I agree that it is the uh
060parents that if there is a concern they need to talk with the teacher and or the counselor administrator um because there might be a reason that they don't want their child in that course and um and could be simply the type of Personality their child has um and if it's required um yes that has to take place if it's an elective then we go with the parents on what they want for their child and pick out a different elective as simple as that so parents obviously have the final say when it comes to their child um you know I think collaboration is the word I use often I think that transparency in curriculum and a little bit of understanding uh going into a school year or a semester especially if there's going to be some
061material that others may find a little more sensitive I think a little bit of planning ahead of time go a long way a little more understanding versus feeling blindsided so um again I think giving parents a chance to give their perspective voice their concerns uh allowing the teachers the administrative staff to be able to possibly come up with a compromise um again they are the subject matter experts and they would be the ones I would go to uh for any sort of solution to that problem as a teacher and an administrator I cannot count the number of times that I've met with parents and teachers regarding a situation where a parent did not want something to be taught to their student and every single time the parent made a request the teacher came up with
062a resolution to it there were alternate assignments uh the same content was covered in a different way that was unoffensive and all parties were happy in the outcome the thing that we have to that I don't want to get into is Core Curriculum versus elective curriculum because we don't have the time in the day to do that we can do we can do a five-week study on that if you want I'm glad to to lead that at any time you want to but when it comes to individual lessons and individual parents they' have always had the right to say I don't want my student to have this particular lesson or I don't want my student had this particular class those issues have always been resolved with teachers and administrators and parents can you hear me
063okay I would I would support that notion and you know Oxford you know sends out a lot of communication about curriculum nights and I would Eng encourage parents to attend those at the beginning of each um school year that is where they learn a lot of the foundational elements of the curriculum that's being taught so then they can have an educ conversation with the teacher should they feel there's a component of that curriculum that they are uncomfortable with there are some law required lessons that are required to be delivered and all of those do get sent out to students with opt out features in their families too so just to reverberate kind of what Randy said there's always a a pathway to a solution on that and parent engagement is Paramount and I would request
064that those that ask that question engage at the beginning you know at curriculum night and start the process at the very very beginning thank you very much Mr up first will you fully support a second very thorough investigation into the shoting incident if the state of Michigan Ted away I would not plain and simple I don't think we'll need another one I think it just keep reacing the PA you can you ask that again I sure can sorry will you fully support a second very very thorough investigation into the shooting incident if the state of Michigan pays for if the state pays for it if the state pays for it I I would support that in terms of all encompassing a complete investigation of including emergency services including everything before during after it indicates the
065shooting incident incident so that's the incident itself so my answer would be all-encompassing before during after regarding that incident um and I will just add the caveat that I I firmly believe that anyone who's already been deposed under oath who's already given a foreign statement shouldn't have to go through that again I would say yes because as a board we just passed the resolution for a thorough investigation and my perspective on that is that the discussion around healing moving forward all for that I think we all are the issue that keeps arising are more questions more statements more concerns by parties that we didn't see coming would that means to stop and in my perspective the an investigation which we just approved the resolution for that should relieve all questions concerns and thoughts allowing all
066of us in this community with our children who went through this affected by this Associated to this anyone who touched it to be done and we can build and get better and healed together as a community so yes we just passed the resolution yes I would agree if the state is going to pay for it um I think a second investigation thorough and is and so before during and after everything is um transparent to the community um interesting question because if you had asked me this question two months ago I would had a very different answer um but again perspective changes you know with experience and speaking with um quite a few people who were involved that uh that particular day in the incident I can tell you they were fairly straightforward with the fact
067that another investigation would rip open a lot of Old Wounds um would cause a lot of trauma to a lot of staff and and a lot of people that were involved that day so um I'll be honest with you me personally U moving forward not moving on but moving forward as a community and continuing to heal um as a medical professional I can tell you ripping open a wound over and over the last thing you're going to get is healing so uh at this point I would say no regarding the information that's out there the people who have been deposed the court hearings those records are there and I think the people that have spoken to them have spoken the truth I again if the state were to come in and say this has to
068be done I guess we could go with what the state is saying however I think those that have done their deposition duties they should be they should not have to go through this again uh their their word is their bond it's there on record uh so that's where I would stand on this so being a member of the current board we did just pass a resolution in order to um promote uh a better process not only for ourselves but for if this unfortunate and tragic incident were to ever happen again there needs to be a better process for investigation and that is the goal out of uh a lot of the resolution as well because what we learned and what we need to grow from is something we need to continue to share with other
069schools um and with the state legislator's office I think it's a Paramount as we go around and speak um with individuals those of us who have done that both in legislation and others that are missing pieces even and and police and fire Services is a ginormous piece that is missing and it was eluded to multiple times within the Guide poost report um things like where our cell phone uh pings to in this County because we share county lines I think there is some other things to be uncovered um and as part of the current board we supported a resolution to look forward to that I do agree that some of the individuals would be R traumatized should it come back into the school and that would need to be uh more thoughtful I would say
070yes I was um actually looking into mental health issues and school shooter issues before the Oxford shooting and obviously with it happening right in our community I've got the shall we say A Renewed Vigor as far as the things that I've been looking at um I would also point out I know representative shrier from the area uh should he be successful in his uh uh reelection bid I'll definitely be working with them on some of this thank you before we move on to the next question I going take a point of personal privileg here being your county commissioner um the County Board of Commissioners did approve $500,000 to go out for an ifp for an after Action Report which is a report and investigation to the First Responders so that is something that is going
071to H going to happen and be funded by the county timeline is still open because they need to go off to the RP but I would expect it to happen in the next 16 months with that back to mik that that took three years years yeah and we can talk about this after and okay then we'll be with you then what are your views on the use of restorative justice versus traditional disciplinary methods such as suspension I'll read it again see the phical look on your face what are your views on the use of restorative justice versus traditional disciplinary methods such as suspension I trust are professionals that are in the schools I believe that if there's an instance where restorative justice is appropriate because of whatever the circumstance is I I trust their judgment
072and that's why they've been hired so I I don't I wouldn't I wouldn't impose any case by casee basis I think it's important to look look at the situation and and listen to what the recommendations are from experts that are in the schools this is a hard question because I have a lot to learn as a new board member uh and being newly aware of a lot of these type of approaches U from what I understand restorative justice versus what a typical response would be to a situation um I 100% agree with you am that our our administrators our teachers are the subject matter experts I have a lot to learn about this so I don't want to speak off the cuff but I would I would definitely lean towards administrators until I can learn
073more about the actual uh process I they would leave it at that I'm a little new to this so um I would have to learn more about the difference between the restorative justice versus disciplinary um I lean probably more towards disciplinary um but again I would also uh listen to my other board members as to how they feel and um and have a discussion on that so I think this is kind of across the board when it comes to how to handle any situation it's each child is different each child's unique each situation is different right so to just blanket statement this will work for everyone is is a huge disservice uh to our kids so what I would say is as each of us are different Learners each of us may be we may
074learn very differently discipline is also another thing that is very unique to each person and each child you may not react well to corporal punishment or you may react well to it it's each person is completely different and I think that we need to keep that in mind when we're thinking about how to handle uh situations in the schools and um again make sure that that's a collaborative effort with parents with students and with teachers to ensure we have the right method the stort of justice is a new way to look at positive reinforcement of behavior modification which is what has been done in schools for many many years because here's one of the problems we look at discipline as being a one-size fits-all the vast vast majority of discipline issues in the school can
075be handled within the school and keep the student in the school because the second you start looking at suspensions and uh removing the student from the classroom from any period of time you start to have a loss of learning on the student part and then you start looking at well why our test scor is going down we need the kids to stay in school there are ways that it can be done and uh if you want to call it restorative justice there are ways through peer mediations and also through uh counselor contacts te teacher interventions that students can stay in the classroom learn the content and we can keep on going with business and the students tend to react better in the long run yeah I would say as someone who has a student in
076the district whose student has put me in into restorative justice and a conflict we were having I would say it's working really well and you know when they tell you that how they perceive the situation and are able to articulate what exactly made them uncomfortable and or um how your perception and tone made them feel I think is important for uh rectifying situations because perception is a lot with that being said I do think there's a time and a place for both and I think our administrators and our school teachers have come up with creative ways to continue to reinforce keeping kids in the classroom but when those behaviors cannot be addressed with the stive Justice there are other interventions that they do take um I'm coming in a little bit of flat to the
077ter to the term I have heard about it but just recently I would have to look through the program and see if that's something that we should be applying in the school um that having been said my dad had full saying growing up um whenever I fell down he'd say something like come here I'll pick you up it's like well thanks Dad that's a beautiful way for uh making me do stuff on my own and figuring it out on my own perhaps that's what we've got to try and help the kids do I see like I mentioned earlier my kids were graduated 2011 2012 so this would be a new way of discipline for the kids I would have to look into it more more to educate myself but I think like we mentioned with
078the gender situation that this is a case by case situation I would look at the administrators and the teachers to decide what would be best on the case by casee scenario thank you Mike this do you favor Dei and CRT teaching in classrooms at the expense of course studies such as Reading Writing sciences and Civics want me to read that again do you favor Dei and CRT teaching in classrooms at the expense of core studies such as Reading Writing sciences and Civics I feel like this is a very tricky question and no matter how I answer this it's probably going to be wrong um let me reference a question earlier in the evening and try it that way one of the questions was test scores what is relevant to test scores what is relevant to
079our children in the schools that we put them in here in our district what do our teachers our administrators the folks that we we Empower to to lead our kids to be better humans after Oxford what do they say what is the what does the administration what does our teachers feel and I would back that before I would venture into answering specifically that question okay if I understand the question it's in regards to Dei SRT versus C CRT C CRT C okay y okay um yeah so do you favor Dei and CRT that's the first sentence okay div ver that conclusion and critical race Theory okay I would have to look more into that um if you're talking about that as part of the training or the core classes that might be a little bit
080more distracting um from the subject um and so again I would feel better if I learned a little more about it and and then again discuss it with the um members but uh core classes are essential and um we can maybe do that with electives or something um but again I'd have to learn more about those so I think instead of do you favor one over the other I think what we could look at is they're equally important we need to make sure our kids can read write do arithmetic you know those kinds of things that's obviously essential skills they need to go out into the world but our job within the schools is to prepare them to go out into this world that includes a whole lot of diversity a whole lot of different
081people that may not look like them or may not believe some of the same things as them and that sensitivity you know sometimes is lacking especially from young adults as they enter into the world so I do believe that it is important and I don't think it's well let's pick one over the other I think that there's a way again leaning on our teachers and our administrators to figure this way out is how do we include those into our core classes and make sure it's available and Equitable for everyone the other day my granddaughter came home uh we pick her up after school every day uh enjoy every second of it but she said Grandpa got homework to do and she was very excited about it she brought it out and the homework was how
082can I make my school better and it gave all these scenarios of what she can do and what was going on in this in a classroom when a student was being picked on what do I do how do I do this this is what we want from our kids what is wrong with that because when that is happening students are self-monitoring their monitoring others and it opens up the classroom to Better Learning because every student student can come in and say I feel safe there I have friends that are helping me I am learning how to help others I am learning how to help myself this is what we want from our schools so I would say this is not ever a verses um core studies will always be a core part of Education reading
083and writing are absolutely essential for any adult functioning um place an economy you know so I I don't think this is an either or I do think when you use terminology like Dr Dei and CRT you're weaponizing what we're already doing in schools which is being inclusive to the many different winners that we have you just look around Oxford we have seated virtual hybrid adjudicated all types of kids that are being serviced and creating inclusive environments and not to forget our social ad and how we move into a way of um I would say not making them feel as if they're not included in general population and exposing them in different ways so I I just want to say I don't believe this is a versus I think this is how do we look at
084what we're doing capitalize on it and grow it in within our community to better understand what these definitions actually mean uh with respect to Dei and CRT um totally against it um I'm more involved in meritocracy it's some Ward I've run across it's basically the individual and what they're capable of um as far as curriculum three of my children graduated from Oxford um but some of them came up short on some what I would consider basic life skills right I'd ask them you know what's the difference between 2 40 volts and 120 volts and you'd kind of look at me funny I'm like you know these are kind into some basic things that's just one example but um in looking through the curriculum in the handbook I noticed that uh functional life skills was an
085elective now I don't know exactly what's all involved in the functional life skills course but my thing is you know when they come out of the high school they should know how to do their own finances they should know what taxes are things of these Natures to help them in their life think we have to really look at our Reading Writing first and foremost of the core values of which our students will be successful in the future especially globally think EI and CRT can be used as electives but I would look at our teachers and our administrators to see what is the best way to incorporate both and like I mentioned well like I I know for a fact my students My Two children one boy one man one female each had a hard time
086with exams once they got to college because they always had perfect attend never took them so when they got to college it was desper afraid to take them an exam so I think we need to look at better scores for our core values first and foremost u i I think they absolutely go hand inand um our Core Curriculum is always going to be important obviously but implementing the the Dei if you will framework that you're we're already encompassing we have our International back Gloria program so how can we be so proud of such a wonderful successful program and not also encourage these attributes in our students to move forward out into the world that we're educating them to be a part of but that's why in my mind they go hand in hand so this
087is this is a no-brainer to me that we want to encourage our students to have that success out in the world and to be aware of what's out there that's perhaps different from the perspective that they might already have had and and grown up with at home so I think it's it's a wonderful thing in my mind thank you it's about 8:20 right now I fig need about 10 minutes or so we can wrap it up I hope we get all the questions that people want to answer we've had a variety but uh you never know but it's a large panel so bear with us and thank you very much for succinct answers this one there's two questions that are very similar here um I'll read them both but they're wor about books can each
088of you explain what your philosophy will be if a parent wants to discuss Banning books at any school level and a very similar question how do you feel about keeping books on all subject matter is available to all students so I'm throwing two questions at you s Beth I think you're first so I'll read them again just have a little bit more time to think about it but can each of you explain what your philosophy will be if a parent wants to discuss Banning books at any school level and hang in with this question how do you feel about keeping books on all subject matters available to all students good question um in regards to Banning books I I really uh disagree with doing that um I believe we are intelligent human beings and as
089parents um we need to guide our children um there are some books that are not appropriate because of age level um there are some information that a kindergartener even though they might know how to read should not be reading um and even as the kids grow um there are some adult subjects that should not be in elementary school um so again it comes back to the parents and helping them and honoring them as far as being the authority in your children's life including their education all right so um as far as Banning books I am um personally completely against it um I feel that banning books is a dangerous move um I feel like it can lead to implicit biases uh in our children it can lead to a lack of knowledge a lack of
090understanding um you know my job as a parent if my kid comes home and asks me a question about something maybe that we don't necessarily talk about at home or we don't believe in uh it's my job to give them a better understanding from our perspective uh so um I I think that parents teachers administrators you know the community we all can come together and help these kids understand versus keeping things from them and deciding what we think they should and should not learn this question ties back into number seven when it was asked about parents rights same thing applies here the parent has the right to tell their student no I don't want you to read that book here's where the issue comes into into play though when a book is banned and I
091will never support Banning books when a book is banned what a parent has done is they've stepped on my rights for allowing my student to want to read that book Oliver wend Holmes said it best my rights end where the other man know other man's nose begins I think that's what we have to look at here if you don't want your student to read the book you say say to the student don't read that book go to the library and say I don't want my kid to read that book I should have the right to tell my kids I have no problem with you reading that book because I think it will give you information that is pertinent to you so I've seen the way way that Oxford handles the way they get new books
092come in and it is done with extraordinary due diligence probably more than what would need to be done um because of just some of the controversy around books they go through by grade level and read them and I think our teachers and administrators care deeply about what parents in the community think and feel and our purposely selecting books um for required classroom content that is appropriate at all times I do not feel that in a library setting though that we need to be pulling books off bookshelves kids have Curiosities um and certainly as parents we need to be more engaged and I would also kind of pivot and almost I laughed myself when I hear this question because as a mom of a middle schooler and a high schooler they don't read they look at
093YouTube like and really the real issue isn't the library anymore for my wife and I our oldest uh son was adopted and in going through the adoption program we had specific training to watch out for things such as uh pedophilia and grooming unfortunately you know we had to go through that and when you go into the team section of many libraries I'm sorry there's just red flags popping up up theight so I would support possibly a core group of um local um parents that were willing to take on this task to be looking into things like that because there is some content that should not be in there for our kids to look at is borderline uh a Law Enforcement issue from what I've seeing my philosophy on Banning any book books at any level
094would be that if a parent wants to B A book they need to talk to the parent again be transparent and come up with a solution between the two of them and each other listen to each other to what would be the best way to replace that book that they want Bann I personally don't think any books since they've already been approved by the administration or the school district or the board to be in the school should be banned I absolutely support parent involvement over what their student is is reading and what they're checking out of the library parent should absolutely be involved and understand what their student is looking at and reading U beyond that I don't support an overall ban of books I think having a diverse selection of books is important for
095a school setting um I myself I felt I personally benefited from U studying a diverse selection of books I remember vividly in probably fifth or sixth grade having to do a very vast religious study on many different religions and it came to benefit me later in life in law school I had many different um different friends and classmates that had very different backgrounds so it was very valuable to me to be able to have a little bit of knowledge to glean from and understand what their background might have been like and to have a little more appreciation of their perspective thank you I think the two questions were Banning books and and having books of available Banning is a pretty slippery slope when you get to that comment right uh I think I agree I
096know I agree with the statements about our Administration our school district the research that's done to provide our children with the best education those materials are researched to the best possible uh path to do that uh but I also agree that it's the parents involvement if I didn't want my son or daughter to read or study a book I would have a conversation as to why I'd have a conversation with the administration what options are available to Pivot from that book but to ban is a pretty bold statement that could be a pretty slippery slope um there's options I think that's one of the things that uh we haven't mentioned tonight is there's always an option uh you don't always have to go right to the right to one decision or another so what options
097are available and that leads into the part of the second question books that are available for students in the library well what options are available and If the library or the administration doesn't believe they should be there they won't be there it's almost 8:30 so we have time for one more question if someone has a question of the candidates stick around later on too just to get a chance to ask them personally it's about 8:30 right now so it mes that one more question so again if you have a chance stick around ask some folks of questions please do so thank you Shan just want to go go to you first do you think the drainer road property was a good investment and do you know what money is being spent there what do you
098know what money is being spent there yeah do you think the drainer road property was a good investment and do you know what money is being spent there okay uh sorry takes me a minute to put my chicken scratch down um so the drainer road property I know I attended a couple of meetings um school board meetings where the amount of money being spent was discussed and and budgets and there was even a couple of contractors there um the exact dollar amount that's been spent on that property I'll be honest with you I don't know I know it's record that I can look up and it's something I can find out uh do I feel it's a good investment I feel the intention is good I feel the reasoning behind um going after the property
099and trying to secure a place where they could move the the um out of the school building uh Uptown and uh having a place for OA and the you know again the idea that I absolutely thought was a a great idea um however I think um it's kind of turned into a little bit of a a money pit at this point and I'm not 100% sure where that's going to end up do I know where the exact dollar amounts are no I do not however if you look at what we are getting for this investment we're able to move over the alternative school students who now have a home is a place where they can say this is where I can learn I don't have to pretend that I'm an older student and I'm on
100the third floor of the middle school because walking into a building with younger kids for alternative students if you've ever worked with them and I have they want to be understood they are human beings too and when you start putting them into a school building where they are with younger kids it it feels to them as though they are being diminished as a person uh the services that are being able to be put there uh by centralizing some of these Services I think the school is going to actually uh benefit by that in the long run so uh I think that this is something that we can't say this is what it is today what is it going to be for us in the future and I think that the opportunity is there real quick
101Sean made the allusion to The Money Pit if you remember the movie The Money Pit there was a ton of money spent in that thing and at the end they said look at this beautiful home I'll give you more than you put into it um you know from the perspective of someone who's currently sitting on the board the drainer road property was an absolute good purchase if we're looking at the economic and Housing Development that's occurring in Oxford and or being proposed for Oxford we not only provided a home to our OVA kids our bridges kids and our Loft which is our 18 to 26 year old program that was housed in the high school which going to ry's point they also didn't have a home they were just part of another high school they
102didn't get to separate from high school um we have a lot of Building Development happening in Oxford and it's going to be a conversation this next board's going to have to have if if these um developments are all approved and we're adding 15 to 2,000 more homes odds are those are going to be children coming into our district and we're going to need a place to put them and drainer Road gives us land to do some of that where we won't need to repurchase that if we have to go for a bond to do that um I haven't researched the drainer road property very much uh but what I have heard um I believe are we are we actually housing IB IB students there down the property or no International black prr that's a program
103okay okay just want to clarify that um I would have to look into it further but uh right now I'm I'm getting a feeling that the word bubble is heard in our economy right now and that's kind of concerning if we've outlay a lot of money for an expenditure or something like that I think the drain property was a very good investment as Aron mentioned if we do get 100 or 100,000 more people coming in, 1400 more homes we got the land of build who knows what will happen later on property values go up land real estate goes price will have the land already locked in like the three programs are there I used to work with the lock program and I know G dispo uh personally so I know she's appreciative of the fact
104that she has where she can go now um how is all being spent I do not know but I will look into it if I get on the board but I do think currently is a good investment for us as a school dist and as a community I think the drainer road property is a wonderful opportunity it's a it's a very good investment um to now house those three programs there at that same location is wonderful um the opportunity to be able to expand on that property is wonderful looking at the long term of our community I think that having that ability is necessary and to be able to plan for the future is a very prudent thing to consider um the the short run is that change can be uncomfortable and an adjustment but
105I think that long term that this is a very viable and very wise investment my response is it's worth it I was taught at the young age anything worth doing is is worth doing right and I don't know the financial backing financial situation of the draining Road however I've seen the faces of when our children walked on that property walked in that building and I have if you could if I had short sleeves you could see chills and you would have the same thing is that worth scrutinizing of course it is but it's also worth taking a look at our child's face when they walk into a building that they didn't have before they have a place to learn safe clean not cramped there's always ways to do things better fiscally always could we do
106something better absolutely I don't know that answer but take a look over there go over there and see the children and how they're learning I would agree that it is a wise investment okay um having gone through the check distribution for the last two school years um and having my youngest two be Guinea pits in the over program I feel that the drainer property is losing us more money than necessary um my vision would be that each school had a overlab in it so that that would be available to the other students um as a type of learning um to do everything online is disconnecting our kinetic learning and in IC learning is also being in the presence of other students and the teacher um the first year my youngest son said I would Mom
107I want to teach her in a textbook because he didn't enjoy that kind of learning but it was a good experience so he did learn how um and I do have the statistics that that program has been bleeding M okay well we've had a lot of questions and some Prett I think hard-hitting questions a degree and a lot of interesting questions socially as well as academically um one quick announcement I expect to see the board member at the October 18th home homecoming game right that's the 18th of October that's a requirement for the job um and a couple things here too I'll make sure we say thank you to Legacy Center they did this free of charge you know years ago I think 10 12 years ago we did this at The WaterStone facility and
108they charg this for it Legacy did it it's no cost thanks to Mike SPS um also you see ocv is up there there's Joe with the camera so I don't this is not live stream but it'll be on YouTube with ocv and of course the three people went through the questions to avoid redundant questions There's Tom Hoover Karen Charles and then Chris Reynolds and then Santa Claus right here who who is disguised as Brad Jacobson our timekeeper so thank you very much the best Santa Claus probably the state of Michigan by the way and then once again thank you very much to the people running for office here it's very challenging to put your hand up and run for office it's not something that everybody chooses to do so thank you all very much [Applause]
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