JPS Board Meeting - 06/17/25

001um to Jackson Public School Board of Education monthly meeting. We are going to open up the um meeting to have a public hearing on the 2025 2026 proposed budget. Marcus Leyon will present that information. Marcus. All right. Thank you and good evening everybody. Um so yes, I'm going to start off and give a show everybody a pretty high level summary of the proposed budget and then we'll go into a little bit more detail on um on the next item there. So we will get started. First thing that um to bring up and discuss is to let everybody know or be aware of the tax millage rates for next year that we'll be levying. As you can see, our operating mills are 18 mills which are levied on commercial property and any second or non- primary

002homes. Anybody that has a primary residence, this does not get levied on them. Um so that has not changed. We have the recreation millillage which is a pass through to the city of Jackson. As you know, they passed the millage increase last summer. I believe it was last August. So that reflects the new mills to be levied. And then the three current debt issues that we have again our total debt millage is 5.95 mills. And those are spread out just depending on the size of the payment for three each of those issues. Combine those three total of 5.95 mills. Um so gives you a total millage rate for the district of 24.6971 and you have the corresponding estimated tax revenue to be collected for each of those things. Total tax revenues between all the different

003funds come in at almost $22.5 million. However, a lot of those are earmarked for things like property tax payments and the recreation passed through to the city. A few assumptions that we used on the revenue side of our budget projection is a flat pupil count of 4,860 FTEES. And um a little bit later I'll show you there's another slide that shows why we use that um foundation allowance from the state of Michigan of $9,68 which is flat to the current year's foundation allowance. The big reason being for that is as of today we do not have a state budget. Uh we recently just received the third I think it was the house um budget. So now they're going to get together and and um reconcile all three proposals and come up with the state budget

004at some point this summer. Um so at this point in time we decided to use a $0 increase for today's purposes. Um, our MEPs or retirement rate increased slightly uh just under 3% to 44.93%. Um, and we assumed a federal revenue level of $3.4 million versus approximately 4.3 that we projected last summer and that's reflective of again we don't have a federal budget either but some assumptions that we're making just based on um rumors and talk that has happened throughout the state and the national level. The next slide just shows that foundation allowance trend for the last 10 years. Um it's a little hard to see these last three years. So 2324 uh districts were raised to that 9608 level. Last year um all three budget proposals proposed an increase of the foundation allowance. However,

005none was given. So you see that 9608 again. So just taking that conservative approach right now at this time we're going to use that same level for now. We don't want to take a guess and be on the wrong side of that guess come when we get a state budget. Our next graph just shows the same time period of student count. Um you can see that big dip in 2122. That would be after we went back to the normal counting process following COVID. Um, and then you can see we brought that back up and those last few years 4855, 4861, 4838, they're all within 20 FTEES, which is again why we're going with a flat enrollment guess at this time. Again, we won't have our final enrollment until later this fall after count periods done

006uh later in October, early November. So, that's that one. Some other expenditure assumptions. Uh the hard cap or the amount that the district is allowed to spend on medical insurance for employees increases by just under 3% for calendar year 2026. So that'll take effect January 1st. Um we are estimating other benefits such as dental, vision, life insurance to increase by about 8%. Could be less, could be more. Again, we won't have those renewals until later this summer, early fall. Um again a summary of that retirement rate that I went over a few slides ago and the federal funding assumption um that I had mentioned. So the talk that we have heard is potential elimination of titles two and three and a 25% reduction in titles one and four which comes out to about that almost

007million dollar um decrease from last year's projection of federal revenue to today. Um, and this budget also encompasses other adjustments and staff reductions, retirements, the recent buyout um that we um use to help get in a better position. So, just to summarize, and we'll go again a little bit more detail in a minute. Um, we are projecting total general fund revenues of almost $72 million and total general general fund expenditures of almost $74 million, which would see us dipping about $2 million in fund balance. Um, however, that again takes into account a flat enrollment and a $0 increase to the foundation allowance. Um, if we were to receive a foundation allowance close to what's being floated, we could be and everything else holds true, nothing else changes, we'll be real, real real, real real close

008to having that real that balanced zero budget. Um, so again, we wanted to kind of show what a potential I don't know, worst case scenario, but what things could look like if we don't some of those things don't come to fruition. Marcus, just checking my math. Um, because I know what's been proposed out of the uh house speaker was like 10,000 25 and the governor was even at like 10,000. And it's, you know, it's one thing for them to One was at 10,000, the other one was at 10,25 with some other caveats and things. $400 $400 more, which at 4861 students is about 2 million. pretty close give or take. Um so again that would be the today projected dip if those things come to fruition. Uh right now we're projecting our fund balance at

009the end of this year to be just under 16 million which would take our fund balance is a little typo should be June 30th of 26 to be just under 14 million or 17.88% of our estimated 2425 expenditures which is our board policy. So again, we have that um goal or target of a 15% fund balance, which is ideal for cash flow and operating, not having to borrow uh money. So if these things do come to fruition, we would still be in that in that pretty okay spot if we did decide not to make any more cuts, I guess. Um the next slide just shows a picture graph of that fund balance over the years. As you can see, we grew that with all the different rounds of CO funding. um as we had mentioned

010many times to use during times like these. Um and we are definitely using it. Um so hopefully we won't have to use it as fast as we're projecting. We'll just have to wait and see what happens in the later this summer, early fall. Um but again, right now we are projecting to be above that 15% board goal. That's and then we do have other funds besides the general fund. This is just um a brief overview. We have our food service um which provides food for all the kids in the district. Our school activity funds which are internal fundraising accounts um through students. The district is merely a custodian. We take in the money. We pay the bills for what the students intended through their fundraising efforts. Um debt service funds which is those debt millages

011that we collect to pay back the bond uh debt payments. And then capital project funds um which have things like our remaining 2018 bond funds, our EV bus funds and our other facility improvement fund that we had set up a couple of years ago as well are all in the capital project fund. So that is the summary. Let me switch over to this. And if you have a print out it might be a little better to read. I'll have to scroll up and down but bear with me. So, and this is the same format we've seen the last few years. Um, so I'll go through each one of these. The first sheet here shows a summary of each of the funds and it'll it'll go down um the list with the revenues at the top.

012And we'd be looking at again summarizing plus operating transfers of $80,000 gets us to that that um 71908 number I showed on the previous presentation. Um and then we've broken down all of our expenditures instructional expenditures total about 42.5 million. are non-instructional or instructional support services would be the remainder of the budget. Um so again shows that at the bottom that $2 million2,1,533 dividend fund balance if these projections come to fruition. Um and then same thing for all of the other funds and we'll go through those um in a few minutes here in more detail. This just summarizes each one of those. The next page is a graph that helps show where our money comes from. As you can see, the largest portion of that pie is that state aid. Um, the foundation allowance, all

013the categoricals. So, you can see how important that state money is to JPS and a lot of districts around the state. Our operating millage is the next biggest chunk. So, that'd be our local property taxes, um, things like that. And then everything else has a smaller piece of the pie. Um, scrolling down just breaks it down by percentage and and and most things are in line year-over-year. They're pretty consistent. The next page just goes into a little bit more detail and breaks out how we get to the the bottom number of $71.9 million. It'll show you the breakdown of taxes, transportation revenue, interest on our on our earnings in the bank, and then our our best guess at this point on things like state aid, state funded revenue or federal grants, um support from the

014ISD and other miscellaneous buckets. So again, just summarizes uh from the last few slides. Again, the $2 million dip in fund balance there at the bottom. The next two slides are going to summarize how we spend our money. So again, the biggest the biggest chunk of money is spent on instruction of students, which makes sense because that is what we are all about is teaching students. Um and then instructional support operations and all of the other ancillary departments that make up the district. Again, with the percentages um and how they trend, as you can see, instruction pretty consistent, 57.4 4 for this year, 57.6 next year. Um, and that's what you want to see. No, you know, we don't have any big changes either way that would indicate we're doing something wildly different than than

015what we've trended in the past. The next graph just shows the expenditures a little different instead of instructional versus the different departments. This will show you um you know by what we're paying out and our biggest expense again salaries and benefits. You know our our biggest commodity in the district is our labor. That's our biggest cost. Um which makes sense. That's what we are using to teach kids with. Um so again between salary benefits our labor is about you know 72.7 this year 69.1 uh proposed for next year. you know, anywhere I think we've said in that kind of 70 to 72% range is what you typically see in districts and what you want to see as the majority of the uh where the dollar should be going. Um and then same thing purchase services.

016Then materials and supplies and capital outlays, those are all make up a lot smaller chunk of the budget. Um and purchase services also has contracted uh help that we do use. Um so not everybody is on uh is paid directly through JPS. So there is labor and instructional services within those purchase service categories as well. The next slide will break down the proposed expenditures even more so by function code. So whether it's an elementary expense, elementary salaries, benefits, supplies, same thing for middle school, summer school, everything. So we really get down into the details for each department, each function of the district to show how that $74 million is spent and and so everyone can see that and you'll see where the district wound up in 2324 where we're proposing or where we believe we'll

017be at the end of this year and then what we propose to be for next year at this time. And then the next few slides will be a little bit of detail on some of our other funds. So the first one would be our food service fund. Um so this will show you we collect currently about $5 million in revenue for food service. A large chunk of that is federal federal money. Um, so again, some of those pots, those title funds, food service money, some of those could potentially be at risk depending on what happens at the federal level, you know, what happens at the district level even with, you know, things like some of the board policies that I know don't maybe coincide very neatly with what the federal government is asking at this

018time. So again, just be mindful of some of those dollars that are out there. Not necessarily the general fund, but the general fund could potentially um be on the hook to help support if those dollars go away. Um and then saving the expenditures about $5.1 million. We're projecting for next year in the food service fund where we do have a healthy fund balance and um you know, we're use a little bit of it, but that's what it's there for. um we don't want to grow that too much and the state says you have an excess fund balance and then we have to spend it down which we had done the last few years and upgrading a lot of our equipment throughout the district when we did have those excess fund balance dollars and now this

019is we're more in a maintenance um period right now of um being in the ballpark of that having a good fund balance to lean on when we need to. The next page would be that um student activity or those fundraising dollars um that that students in all the buildings across the districts have done and these include balances that have rolled over from year to year. Um so your band, your football, you know, all the different clubs throughout the district. Again, the district is just a custodial. We just collect the money and pay out the bills as they see fit. Um this has no impact to operations of the district. Um, again, we're just custodians of it. The next page will go in the same detail on our our debt millage. So, again, we're um estimating

020we'll collect just under $10 million in property taxes. Uh, you can see our scheduled interest and principal payments on our current bond issues down there at $9 million. And our ending proposed fund balance for next year at about $5.3 million, which is growing. However, the plan has been and continues to be to use that up with the passage of the new bond. Um, which is why we're able to ask for a zero dollar increase. So, the voters will be using this fund balance to spend that down to make some of those payments on the current issues to spend those down and get rid of those um and be able to keep that 5.95 millillage rate flat. And then the last one would again be the detail for the capital projects fund which has again the

021the electric bus funds in there, the facility improvements that the board passed a couple of years ago to help help bank dollars to help do uh improvements around the district as needed. Um and excess funds from the 2018 bond um projects that are winding down right now as well. And that is it for my presentations for the presentation part of each. And I see we have a community stakeholder input section next. So I will turn it over. Thank you, Marcus. At this time, we will open it up to the community for any any questions that you have regarding our proposed budget. board. Any questions from Marcus? I have a couple. Trusty Hamilton. Um, so the foundation allowance of 968, is that right? Um, do they never go below that? Is that or is there a

022potential that it could go below that? They have historically. Um I could think of one year I think it was when I first started so about 12 13 years ago where there was a reduction in foundation allowance but again I remember that remember the times that was during the great recession back in 2010 11 12 somewhere around there. I don't remember the exact date. That's the last time I remember it happening. Um and that would predate me anything before that. So, so generally they don't use it. So, we're kind of safe at that number. Generally, one other question for you. Um, and you said a little bit of this already, but just repeat it because, you know, I learned best by repetition. Um, the federal funding I see that and we don't have it, you

023don't have it up, but page two of this, you remember this this uh pie chart. um you know we have we bring a lot of money from our state and and I heard you just talking about the uh federal funds based on the policies and whatever whatever but um just help me understand the concerns that we have with the federal funding versus the state funding since how we have we get so much from the state. I know that the federal goes to some titles something help me understand the difference between the funding sources and Yep. So in the general fund uh federal funds come for all those those title funds that we talk about a lot of the board of meetings title one two three and four there's different purposes for each one title three

024for examples for to help English language learners title one's for most at risk students um you know and so on so forth um it's a mix of uh professional development materials and there's a pretty decent labor piece in there as well there's a staff piece in these title grants And so if those funds were to be uh reduced or go away, we would have to make decisions accordingly. One last question on that. Um the federal funding um are there any so I know that these are threats that have been going out are have laws been passed that you know make it where we actually are losing federal funding if you know different things until there's a federal budget. One more time. We won't know anything until there's a federal budget. So right now we're just

025listening to threats mostly. Correct. But the potential Okay. Okay. potentials there. Y thank you. Trust the actton. Can you just um go over that again? Page 11, what what does that mean? Proceeds from sale cap assets miscellaneous for $8 million. What was that? That was the sale of the electric buses and infrastructure back to Highland as part of our arrangement. Thank you. Any other questions from the board? I have one more. Um, I noticed in here, um, the food budget, I'm trying to find a page. I wrote a note for myself. It increased greatly. Um, give me a second. I got it wrote down. I got a wow next to it because I was like, "Oh, that's kind of high." Hot second. Maybe. Maybe. Nope, not page four. Is it eight? Yes, thank you. Yes,

026eight. Um, food purchases. And I was I kept rereading it over and over like maybe I'm maybe I'm looking at it wrong. Maybe is that the capital outlay? What's the 40,000 the original budget and 25 26 final budget? What's the why was that big difference? Big difference of 154,93 and what is it that I'm just reading? Is it capital or is it food purchase? I don't know. These are capital outlay or capital purchases. So, we would have purchased equipment um this year um and just planning um we're budgeting. We don't need a lot next year. So, that's all that is. Okay. I thought it was food. I was like, "What in the world?" No, food has its own line. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. They're they're together, so I just wasn't sure. But thank you. There's

027no other discussion. We will close the public hearing. All right, at this time we will enter into our regular scheduled meeting. Again, if you have not had the opportunity to grab one of the slips on the back, if you wish to address the board, please do so. fill it out and provide that to Sarah. All right, we are going to call this our regular scheduled meeting to order at 6:23 and we will go into agenda item number two. Pledge of Allegiance, please. Thank you. Sarah, would you please do a roll call for us, please? Miss Hamilton, present. Mrs. Simonetti, here. Mr. Ready? Here. Mrs. Actton. Miss Actton here. Miss Sharp here. Mr. Doby's here. Miss Miss Hunt here. Thank you. At this time, we will move to agenda item number four, approval of the agenda.

028Make a motion to approve the agenda as written. Second. We have a motion and a second. Any deliberation? Hearing none. All those in favor? I I any opposed? Motion carries. Agenda is approved. Agenda item number five, superintendence report. Thank you, Madame President, and welcome Jackson community. This is kind of my official unofficial first board meeting as superintendent. I'm very excited to see the number of folks here today and this opportunity to serve with Jackson Public Schools. I won't belver that any further, but I'm very excited. This is year 28 in education for myself and um first couple weeks as superintendent. So, it's been outstanding. I like to start a lot of my meetings off with celebrations and you see on the agenda that we had a celebration for the 2025 retirees from Jackson Public Schools

029and it was really epic. uh we had 32 employees with 792 years of experience in the classroom and I just um was grateful to be able to uh lead that program that retirement dinner. The number of teachers and families and staff members that came out, board members to support our teachers speaks volumes of the uh culture of Jackson Public Schools where we have the best of the best teachers in the business and we were able to celebrate them, talk about their story and again 792 years um specifically for Jackson Public Schools. um four had more than 35 years of service and multiple employees with over 30 years as well. And one thing I noted there, we always talk about um you can't replace the person, right? They're one of a kind. There's some real gems

030there, but the legacy that they leave behind in our students that they served as well as the other teachers that they mentored and just the impact that they had on our buildings is worth lifting up. So just one more time I wanted to celebrate the class of 2025. The graduates were phenomenal in their graduation and we wish our retirees that's administration, teaching staff, support staff all the best in retirement. So for those who are watching they will be missed and um we look forward to uh continuing to engage with them as maybe retirees that want to return and come back. They're always welcome. Our second part of the superintendent report today is a report from Miss Nancy Lewis. She's here representing the college and career access center and our annual report. All right. We've been

031around since 2008. We were originally established under the opices of the Jackson Community Foundation to administer their Jackson Legacy Scholarships. And we had a little cubby down by Sears, if you remember, it was called the College Access Center at that time. and folks started coming in and they would ask questions like,"Hey, I don't really know if I want to go to college. I just want to go straight to work or I need help with this thing called the FAFSA. Can you support me on this?" And slowly our services started to organically grow. And then in 2012, my predecessor, who was the previous superintendent of Hannover Horton Schools, and she also, I believe, was a super assistant superintendent here, Linda Bryan, she and Monica Moser at the Jackson Community Foundation and um Kevin Oxley at the

032ISTD all got together and said, "Hey, why don't we bring this structure of advising at this little center out into the 13 connected community schools at that time and support the counselors on the college advising piece? So since that time, we've been out in the school districts, including Jackson High. We're in our 12th year of service. We're going into our 13th year next year. And we have three arms. We have the center at the Jackson Crossing, which is called the college and career access center. It's focused on college and career, skilled trades, apprenticeships, military, entrepreneurship, going straight to work. We have community initiatives where we take our services out into the community as our second arm. And the third arm, which is the meat of what we do, is we provide advising out in the

03313 school districts, including Jackson High. So, how are we funded? I'm going to make a bet, even though I'm not a betting woman, that we have the best return on investment that you'll ever have. So, we provide all of our services to each of the 13 school districts with funding from each school district. Each school district has an adviser anywhere from a day and a half to full-time. So, we have three school districts who have someone more than a day and a half. Jackson High has invested in that to have a three and a half day advisor the past two years and we are going back down to a day and a half um this coming fiscal year. Uh but most of the school districts were out a day and a half and we receive

034a flat fund of $13,000 from each school district and that um funds about a quarter of our budget and then I do grant writing for the rest of the budget and these are some of our partners that provide our funding. So what do we do? You say okay that's great good history. What do you do with our babies? So we have a roadmap to success. We start in the elementary level by providing college and career exploration services. This is traditionally in the summer. We do it in conjunction with the YMCA, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center and Isaiah's Hub. And we've also been out in the housing commission where we provide STEM robotics and college and career exploration curriculum. And then this year we were also fortunate to be out at Cascades. I know somebody

035out there. And so, um, for those of you who don't know it, my husband is the principal, was the previous principal at Crack Cascades. And so, we were able to get out there and provide some great, um, exploration pieces there. And we're currently out there right now this summer, um, during their summertime. The kids to college and pathways to professional skilled trades initiative is to equalize the playing field among the skilled trades in a traditional two to four. We provide a curriculum that's taught in your eighth grade classes and then we coordinate a visit for all of your eighth graders to go out job shadowing and go to a college visit. This year your eighth graders went to Alro Steel Advanced Turning Jackson County Prosecutor's Office and Henry Ford and they also attended a tour

036and lunch at Jackson College. At the junior level, all of your juniors attend an initiative called Juniors of the Local Circuit. And the goal of that initiative is for every single junior to go on a college visit. So we send them to Albian College, Springer University, and Jackson College. And then at the senior level is the meat of what we do, which is the one-on-one college and career advising that takes place at Jackson High with your seniors. And then we also have a new initiative called alumni reconnect which is reaching out to adults from 2016 and after from all the 13 districts re-engaging them with post-secary education. So these are a few pictures of your Cascades kiddos with two of our adviserss Brian Green and George Rodriguez and they were having fun with your um

037kids doing drones and robotics. And when we're advising with your seniors we're going over consultations and workshops. We go into your classrooms. We provide workshops and we have matching one-on-one consultations and u the four college seasons or skilled trades are we help them through the application process. We get their FAFSAs done with them. We support them with scholarship applications and then pull it all together and make a decision and then we pull them through the summer the most at risk underserved students which are have five criteria that we look at and we're actually knocking on their doors, texting them, calling them, emailing them and working with them at the center and out in the community to make sure their plans don't melt down. If they don't want to go to college, we're working with them

038on what we call the five career frontiers. And those are career assessments, interview soft skills, job shattering support, resume cover letter support, and job search support. These are three yearly events we have at the center. They're fun. Come down. We try to market them. One is for college applications. The next is for scholarships, and the third is for completing the FAFSA. We offer Jackson County virtual workshops that you can tap into once a month, the third Wednesday of every month, and we cover all of those consultations. I just talked about. And now I'm going to kind of hit on a few data points really quickly because I know my time is almost up. But this is this is good data um because it gets qualitative your student voice heard. So I want you to hear

039what your students said. Every year we conduct a senior profile in the beginning of the year with all the Jackson County students and we conduct a senior exit survey at the end of the year. We use that data to help us in the beginning of the year to support them with the consultations and the planning. So we believe in match and fit. So we make sure we're doing that with the seniors on what their plans are. And at the end of the year we measure where they came and whether the plan changed and then we compare that to the hard data which is the access and attainment data. So all of this data is curated on our 13 data corner websites. So each web each high school has a website that has this all curated

040and maintained. So you can take a look at it, but our vision is that by 2030 60% of all Jackson County residents will have some type of post-secary credential. Right now we're at 34.3%. So we got a lot of work to do. We measure ourselves on a number of pieces. Percentage of students that enter in two to four, FAFSA completion rates, scholarship completion rates, Jackson Community Foundation scholarships, Sigman scholarships, and then all the career outputs that I just mentioned. We collect a lot of your student voice. We collected at the eighth grade level wanting to know what they thought of all the visits, whether they'd learned something through the curriculum. We collected at the junior level on what their feedback is for come upcoming planning. And then we collected at the senior level. So the

041qualitative data I'm just going to present to you really quickly are three questions that we asked all seniors including Jackson High seniors on their senior exit survey. We asked us them to tell us in your own words what the three biggest challenges have been in planning for life after high school. When you think about your elementary, middle or high school career, what could we of your school district done better to support you? And think about yourself four years from now and define three pieces that define your success. So this is what your student said. There were three responses that were curated. We had interns that curated all the information from University of Michigan and Michigan State. And this is what they came up with. Jackson High said a student said that the biggest challenges for

042life after high school for planning were they were unsure of what their options were for after high school. They were um make making post unsure of how to make their post-secary decisions and having financial hardships. Financial planning and there's a few quotes. I'll just read one. Planning on how to achieve my own goals while also making enough money to support myself and my sisters has been the biggest challenge. Next one. How could we have helped or the school district could have helped start college and career planning in earlier grades? More post-secary preparedness and more personal support from the school. More career centered classes was one of the quotes. And think about your four yourself four years from now. Define your success. Being employed, being educated, financial stability. One of the quotes, master's degree, a job

043I can grow in, a job I'm passionate about. And if you want to review any of the answers um to this survey, please feel free to go to our website and you can click on Jackson High and you can see all of the feedback. This is where it's all curated. This is Zier Ingram who was your adviser this year and then I'm going to hit on some big wins and then I'm going to finish. So I just want to say with all this data that we collect, FAFSA completion is really important. You can debate, we can debate all day whether people need to do it or want to do it, but the fact of the matter is it's the gateway to affordability for post-secondary institutions. So this year, Jackson High is second in the county

044with a FAFSA completion rate of 75.7%. Just a little bit lower than one other district. I never mention other districts at another district, but they're second place. And this is the beauty because our heart in this work is closing the gaps among what we call our affinity groups, first generation students, students of color and economically disadvantaged students. And next year it will be men too because men are showing a big gap in post-secary education. But Jackson High students of color have an 84.26% FAFSA completion rate this year. Yes. Oh, come on now. Yes, please. And the economically disadvantaged students are above overall students at 77% for FAFSA completion rate. Uh Yep. Yeah. And then TIP students who are students who have been Medicaid for two or more years since the age of nine. Jackson High

045has a a high percentage of students. 80% of those students completed the FAFSA. Yeah. And then first generation students, students whose parents have never gone to post-secary institution, 70% which is well above the county average right now. So excellent work. And then I really want to quickly just say also for college access, which is what we're all about. Now you may say, "Oh dang, Nancy, you calling out 54% of the students." But 44% countywide went into a post-secary education. So Jackson High and you know I'm just going to say this is special slide because this is my alma mater and I had to put this all out there. It just was just made today but um Jackson High had 54% of all students and just small amount of difference among students of color 51%. And

046then economically disadvantaged small too 50%. So what that says to us is that you are servicing students all students okay with equity and we don't see and even though you can say okay what happened to the other 50% we can keep talking about that we can have a conversation anytime you want but the fact of the matter is is when you see these gaps shrink that's success and then I just want to say um you can see the 23 and 24 so it's a trend it's a nice trend it's not just one year an anomaly So check all that out. We can talk about attainment. Attainment shrinks down among all students across the nation, across the county, across each district. We got to keep working on that, but I won't go there right now because

047I know I'm over my time. Real quick, if you remember anything from today's presentation, I want you to remember fast completion is so important. There's three co uh scholarships. Jackson Community College guarantee. Anybody that graduated 2023 or later can go to Jackson College or any community college in Michigan in which the county they live in tuitionfree. Got to do the FAFSA. Michigan achievement scholarship. It's for middle inome families. They can get up to 5,500 on their financial aid packages. Got to do the FAFSA. And lastly, if you're 25 and above and you need to get skilled up, trained up, certified associates, you can get the Michigan Reconnect scholarship. got to do the FAFSA. So, that's all I want you to remember. We thank you for the partnership. I think I went a little bit over,

048but um we won't be able to do this with all of out out all of our partners and with you. And we look forward to our 13th year together and 18th year as an organization. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mrs. Nancy Peters Lewis for that dynamic presentation. As always, we know what we can expect out of Jackson High School graduates. This aligns directly with our mission and vision of Jackson Public Schools. And it's not just the preparedness here within the walls, but it's extending out into the community wherever our Vikings ch uh choose to land next. So, um, again, having a Viking in Nancy, have a Viking in, um, Zire Ingram helps with the engagement and really making the connection and the approachability and the accessibility to our students who, um, like

049I said, are unsure or just haven't had that experience before that they have the support that they need uh, here and in our community. So, thank you. At this time, we'll move on to the final superintendent report, which is the section 98B. All of our board members have access to the information K12. Um we present it to the board of education in February. Um kind of a mid-year check-in. Let's not wait till the end of the year to find out where we're at. So all of our teachers and administrators and students um understand where they are relative to their goals on the assessments that they've taken. uh elementary is a little bit different than um a tool than middle school and a little bit different than the story that you will see at the secondary

050level. So at this time u Mrs. Baker couldn't be here with us today but I'll entertain any questions that you have for elementary and secondary trusty actton. So I looked at all the scores. Wow, they're just great. I'm really impressed. But there were a couple schools that I was just curious that um didn't meet their benchmarks um and what we're doing to address that. It was um it was Hunt for the math and Sharp Park for the math and um middle school at Parkside for reading. And I just was curious what um things were putting into effect to catch them up. Everything else looked great. I'm totally impressed. Okay, that's a great question. I can't speak specifically to the schools, but I'll answer the best I can. So, we recognize uh where all learners are,

051and we want to help our students to understand what a year's growth in a year's time look like for them. and a number of factors that I would suspect. I wonder if these students who didn't meet their year-long goal had poor attendance or maybe behaviors that um kind of create outliers sometimes because they miss so much of the day-to-day instruction. We have a number of students who are not great test takers. I don't know what the percentage of those students who have anxiety or um maybe they did or did not take the assessment. Uh and then future goal setting. So students that don't get caught up, maybe they're in a summer school or extended learning times because we have a lot of afterchool programming throughout the district um and including you know K12 and so

052that I would look for tier 2 and tier three interventions throughout the building for their teachers to uh communicate with their parents and say hey you know we didn't make a year's growth in a year's time or you're lagging behind. we're trying to promote you to the next grade and here's some additional resources. Uh we have an abundance of supplemental resources and um kind of a double dose of instruction to help try to close that gap of where they were supposed to be, including you're probably familiar with some of our efforts to recruit uh reduce chronically absent students and to reduce suspensions throughout the district. Thank you. You're welcome. I have a question for you. I have a question for you. Um, so I'm just going to pull just one of the the um grades.

053Do the you said that the board has access to this, Jeremy. Does the community have this in their packet? Are they able to see this as well or No, I don't think they have the links. Okay. Oh, and so they're only accessible by links as far as on the website or something like that. Is that what you're saying? We don't we don't have it just printed out for them on the copies of Okay. Yeah, that's correct. Okay. So, so you all won't know what I'm asking them, but Jeremy, you probably can do a good job of kind of explaining. I'm just going to kind of pull one. Um, we've done this, I think, in the school improvement meetings, and you all have done a really good job of explaining what these things are, but because

054I don't do this every single day, sometimes I forget. So, I'm just going to pull Northeast Elementary School. Can you kind of just go through this page and just briefly tell me what I'm reading and and how I can tell what's what where. Yes, that's a great question. Thank you. So, we're required to have an assessment that kind of outlines our instructional goals. So, we've chosen reading and math goals. And Northeast is a K5 program. So, all students will have a benchmark assessment and the a building will establish a goal. So, there's a middle of the year goal and there's an end of the year goal. And then the secondary portion after the goal setting is um a look on a breakdown by student demographics. So you have how are all students performing in reading

055and math? How are all how are different subgroups such as economically disadvantaged special education, English language learners, male, female, all the way, you know, through all the different demographics that we report. So we report multiple times through the year. Our students assess three times a year. At the beginning of the year, how did they come into school and then from there they are given a a year-long goal, but we do a check-in about halfway when we come back from holiday break. So January, February is our second assessment window. And then you'll you can reestablish your goal. If you've met or exceeded or if you're falling behind, then there's different interventions that will take place in that time for the remainder of the school year. And then again, we assess again at the end of the

056school year in both reading and math, sometimes in other buildings and multiple content areas like post assessment, science, etc. And so I think um the only program where the mode of instruction is not in person would be SEMB. So that's the only variance that you see in all of the reports is the mode of instruction is in person whereas SEMV is predominantly virtual and then if you want me to just stick to northeast and not secondary it's up to you. I just you know one other thing that I'd like to report out on is the high school. So our ultimate goal is not only our students proficient but that they u meet the requirements for graduation. And so we monitor as they come in as ninth graders, they come in with a blank slate. Many

057of our students are able to earn high school credit at the middle school and have done so. So they're kind of ahead of the game. Uh but we want to track our cohorts of kids to ensure that they're staying on track and then again provide those interventions of how we can help them get caught up should they fail a class or you know miss a lot of school or whatever the issues might be. And so that's how the second area of the high school specifically tells their data story about English, math, science, social studies. Are they on track moving towards graduation from 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th? Thank you, Jeremy. One last question for you. Um, this is very helpful just so you know, it reminded me of what you all had said, the uh,

058school improvement meetings rather. Um, in the beginning, and I'm just looking at Northeast just because I pulled it. Um, we have, you know, you have the middle of the year reading goal, the end of the year reading goal, middle of math, and middle, I'm sorry, and end for the, you know, uh, math as well. Um, these numbers that make sense. These are the goals that we've set for them. Where do we measure? So, I understand that we measure at this halfway mark and the end of the year. Where are those scores at that we compare them to? You know what I mean? So, we have our goals. What's what am I seeing the comparison to? Where's it at on this paper? So, does that make sense? So I think I understand the question is every

059student has an individual goal and then this reports out on what are the percentage of those students that met their goal. So it's really an individualized goal. So my goal is different than everyone else's goal. And then if I met then I count for the positive and if I didn't meet then I count for the negative. And this is the percentage of students that met their personal target score. And at the midyear it's did they meet half a year's growth? And at the end of the year it's did they meet the full year's growth target. And because some of our students are transient and might not have been there the full calendar year, they might not be included in that data if they got to school and halfway through the year. Okay, last question for

060you. I'm looking at table C, achievement or growth on benchmark assessments. I'm looking at the kindergarteners in reading. I see 52%. Is that 52% telling me that 52% of our kindergarteners met theirs at the first uh board meeting in February 2025? Is that what that means? Yes. A half year's growth for kindergarteners. 52% of the students met. Perfect. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. Any other questions at this time for 98B? This concludes the superintendent report. Thank you. Thank you, Jeremy. At this time, we will move to item number six on the agenda. Consent agenda. Please entertain a motion for that. I move to approve the consent agenda. Report. Any deliberation? Hearing none. Consent agenda has been approved. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Hearing? None. The consent agenda has been approved. Agenda item number

061seven. We will move to citizens requesting to address the board. If you have not completed one of these slips, feel free to do so and you can bring it up to the front. We have seven at this time. Um, you have five minutes to speak and we will set the timer. First one, Ashley Booth, please. As Ashley approaches the um table, we just want to remind the audience that we do not engage in a two-way dialogue. If there are um if you're presenting concerns, we myself, the board, and superintendent will follow up with you after this meeting. Hi, my name is Ashley Booth. I'm a mom of three children at Sharp Park Academy, the treasurer of Sharp Park Academy PTO and the founder of the Sharp Park Community Closet and Every Girl Deserves to Shine

062Daddy Daughter Dress Exchange. I'm here today to express my support for continuing the dress code policy that is currently in place at Sharp Park Academy. We have been a Sharp Park family since the 2019 2020 school year. During the 2022 2023 school year, our middle daughter was able to attend the daddy-daughter dance, and the cost of the one-time dress was baffling. So, I decided to start a dress exchange. After a successful dress exchange, the idea came to start a uniform exchange. After talking to Miss Regelman and Miss Leby in the office, we decided to start collecting uniforms. So, the first round of donations brought in over 600 pieces of uniform that was hand sorted, washed, and packed into packages by me and two other Sharp Park moms. This allowed for us to create 150 uniform

063packs with 3 to 5 days worth of uniforms for over half our student body in the first year. Our closet has exploded since then. We have a continuous supply of donations, both new and gently worn. We have a process. There's two to three moms that run the closet. We are able to provide uniforms throughout the year. Um, and we are also provide outerw wear. As a parent volunteer who's in the school quite often, it came as a surprise when we received a survey in March asking about uniforms. It was a short survey. I know there's an overwhelming support for uniforms at Sharp Park. A lot of parents have chosen Sharp Park specifically for the uniforms. The letter stated and about a month later after the unifor survey, a letter came home eliminating uniforms. The letter

064stated the change was made after thoughtful consideration and community feedback. The three reasons cited for eliminating uniforms were to support equity, to encourage self-expression, and to listen to student voices, and to encourage a focus on learning. Many parents have expressed concerns that they were unaware that a survey was sent. The data collected from the March survey has not been released. The elimination of uniforms has come to a surprise to parents and staff. So, how did we get to be here tonight presenting to you? We created our own survey regarding uniforms to make sure that the survey was equitable. A paper version was sent home and an online version was available. The online version was posted in our PTO Facebook group. We received 90 responses to the survey and only nine of those were opposed to

065the uniforms. Those nine did not give any explanation, but the parents who are in support of uniforms have had a lot to say. I've provided the board with a copy of our parent survey, our teacher survey, the letter that came home from the district, and the letter that we sent home. I know my time is coming to an end, and I would like to end this by stating we while we have had complete support from the administration at Sharp Park Academy, this has been 100% parent driven. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Mrs. Booth. Taylor Wilson, please. Can you push that button so that those watching can hear? Yes. When it turns red. Thank you. the person, the little body. There we go. Okay, thank you. Good evening, members of the board. My name

066is Taylor Wilson, and I'm a proud firstear Sharp Park parent of two kindergarteners. I'm here tonight to ask you to reconsider the proposal to eliminate the school's uniform policy. When my family chose Sharp Park, we did so with great intention. We were drawn not only to the school's strong academic programs, but also to its incredible diversity and the uniform policy, which we believed represented the school's commitment to equity and inclusion. Sharp Park serves families from all walks of life. In a district like ours, where the socioeconomic gap between students can be quite significant, uniforms help level the playing field. They remove one of the most visible markers of income inequality, what children wear. The simple policy helps prevent bullying, reduces peer pressure, and lets our kids focus on what really matters, learning, building friendships, and

067developing confidence in who they are and not what they wear. Uniforms also promote a sense of school identity and pride. Our students walk into school each day knowing they belong, knowing they're a part of something meaningful. And for working parents like myself and so many of us, uniforms simplify mornings and reduce the financial strain of keeping up with fashion trends just so our kids don't feel left out. I understand that not all elementary schools in our district require uniforms, and that's okay. Equity doesn't mean every school must be the same. It means each school gets what it needs to support its students. For Sharp Park, uniforms are a part of what works. The policy supports our unique population and reinforces the school culture that we chose to be a part of. One sizefits-all policies don't

068always create fairness. In fact, eliminating uniforms across the board would erase an important tool of equity where it's needed most. Letting Sharp Park keep its policy is not about making us different. It's about recognizing that different communities may need different supports to thrive. Removing the uniform policy may seem like a small change, but it would have a big impact, especially on the students who benefit most from it. I respectfully urge you to allow Sharp Park Academy to continue its uniform policy. Please listen to the voices of the families who chose this school because of what it stands for. Uniforms are not just about clothes. They're about values, equity, and creating a safe and supportive environment where all students can succeed. Thank you for your time and your commitment to our kids. Thank you, Mrs. Wilson.

069Kitty and Lataki. Hello, my name is Kitty and Lataki. I have two different um items to bring to the board tonight. First of all, as a parent um at the Sharp Park Academy, I do believe that school uniforms are a positive addition to that school. The school serves a diverse community and welcome students from a wide range of backgrounds. The current dress code plays a key role in creating a level playing field for all of those students. I understand that there's been some concerns raised about accessibility and potential financial burden of purchasing those uniforms, but I would like to remind the board that the community closet offers these uniform items at no cost to families, ensuring that every student has access to them without any barriers. I respectfully request that the dress code policy at

070Sharp Park Academy be reinstated to reflect the current dress code for the 2024 2025 school year. The second um topic I would like to bring um is this um I am deeply disappointed that a leader in our community, the vice president of our current school board has chosen to alter contracts and refuses to take responsibility for this unlawful act. As a public servant, especially one serving on a school board, the duty is to prioritize the community's well-being above all else. It's been made very clear that Mr. Dobies is more concerned with his own interest rather than those of our community. How can someone ratify a contract without facing consequences? How can someone boast about deceitful behavior and then claim innocence when confronted? The integrity of our district relies heavily on the leaders that we entrust,

071and our community deserves the very best from those leaders. Therefore, I urge the board to take all necessary actions to ensure that this does not happen again and that Mr. Dobby should no longer be allowed to serve as the vice president of our Jackson Public School Board. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Lataki. Lindsay, I would like to Well, how do you pronounce your last name? Galicki. Thank you, Lindsay. Galicki. I wish I had an easy last name like Good evening. Uh my name is Lindseay Galicki and I'm currently a parent of two students enrolled within the JPS district and I'm also here to speak in support of Sharp Park's strict dress code policy. A core idea in education related to learning is the need for data-driven instruction. That is using data to make informed decisions

072about student learning culture and outcomes. Yet the decision on eliminating uniforms appeared to be a decision made in isolation and lacking thorough assessment in data. Where is the data that supports the decision to eliminate uniforms at Shar Park? School culture is imperative as it impacts student learning organizational processes and structures. The strict dress code policy is an important school routine and we are concerned that eliminating the uniforms will negatively impact student culture. The strong culture and climate at Sharp Park helps support the data that SPA currently ascertains. According to the usnews.com, Sharp Park has the highest rating in math scores in the district with the elementary school being ranked number 69 out of approximately 2500 public elementary schools in Michigan. It is the only elementary school ranked top 100 in Jackson County. Numbers don't lie.

073Why take steps to diminish the culture when the majority of the staff, students, and families are already invested in it? The mission and vision statements at Jackson Public Schools identify the need to create a culture of academic excellence and creating a community where all students become lifelong learners. Yet, the decision to eliminate uniforms does not align with the mission and vision statements. One would hope that our central office administrators would utilize mission and vision statements as a guiding principle in their decisions. And as the data suggests, the current dress code policy at Sharp Park has created a culture of academic excellence. Why fix it if it isn't broken? To be clear, I'm not against administration, but rather I would like to add to the narrative by highlighting the need to improve instructional practices that directly

074impact student culture and outcomes. JPS has a strong history of diverse perspectives, including unique offerings to their stakeholders. With the elimination of uniforms, administration is stripping away one of these offerings to the students and families of their district and diminishing a selling point of JPS. Once more, why eliminate a unique offering when there is no cost to the district, especially when that offering adheres to the mission and vision statements of Jackson Public Schools? There has been much uncertainty in how this entire uniform decision was handled between central office, the school board, and most importantly, the students and staff at Shar Park. This decision was a failure on the responsibility that central office does uphold in maintaining their transparency, communication, and accountability. We would like to see it fixed. The data from the uniform survey that

075the district completed has not been revealed, but we were told that some students completed the two question survey and we do not know how the survey is relevant for students ages 5 to 10 years old making an adult decision. Subsequently, we are concerned that the data was not objectively disagregated. The data from our poll shows very different data that was supposedly cor collected. And finally, positive school culture, which includes students from all backgrounds, including the 10 countries and 25 languages spoken at Shar Park, can come and learn and feel safe, which we feel is a is a best practice that provides equity, thus developing academic excellence and positive student outcomes. So, thank you so much. [Applause] Thank you. At this time, Stacy Bell, please. Hello. My name is Stacy Bell and I am the parent

076of three students attending Sharp Park. I am here along with 20 other supporters to express my support for the dress code policy there. Our district mission statement says, "Jps strives to bring the community together to create a culture of academic excellence. There are many families that not only value the school culture at Shar Park, but see it as an asset to the district, particularly the dress code. Sharp park draws school of choice students from both outside districts and students across our own district. It brings the community together. Sharp Park offers a unique school culture that is attractive to families looking for equity, inclusion, and academic excellence. It is this type of unique offering that set Sharp Park and JPS um apart from other school districts in the county and will continue to draw lifelong learners

077to JPS. The reasons my family made Sharp Park our school of choice were the dress code and the school culture I witnessed when I toured the building. As the parent of a child with a physical disability, I can attest that the dress code at Sharp Park creates a sense of inclusion and belonging. When my child, who uses a wheelchair, ankle braces, and a communication device, wears the same clothes as their peers, they are visibly part of the school community. The dress code also positively shapes how other students view children with disabilities. When my child dresses like everyone else, peers are less likely to focus on differences. Instead of seeing her wheelchair first, classmates see a student in the same school colors. The dress code promotes connection and shared identity, especially for students who already feel

078isolated by visible differences. It is clear the school culture and climate at Sharp Park is working. It is successful. This is evidenced by the academic performance of that individual school community. Again, Sharp Park being a model of our district mission statement of bringing the community together to create a culture of academic excellence. The dress code policy is a contributing factor in what makes Sharp Park successful and fracturing this part of the school culture will inevitably have an impact on the students and staff overall. The board and administration are doing a disservice to our students by not emulating the school culture at Sharp Park in other buildings across the district. The dress code policy at Sharp Park comes at no cost to the school district. The community closet ensures that dress code items are available free

079of charge to any student or family who requests them. The current dress code policy at Shar Park is inclusive, flexible, and culturally sensitive. Students are not disciplined for dress code violations and the policy is thoughtfully designed to promote unity. To live our mission statement, our district should be investing in school culture and climate. And it is irresponsible to overlook what is working rather than do away with a proven model. We should be studying it. The Sharp Park dress code is not about clothing. It's about creating a focused, respectful, and welcoming culture where every student has the opportunity to thrive. Therefore, I respectfully ask the board to reinstate the dress code policy that was in place for the 2024 2025 school year at Sharp Park. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you, Dina Morgan, please. Hi, my name

080is Dina K. Morgan and I am a resident of Jackson who cares deeply about the integrity and direction of our public schools. Tonight, I'm here to formally call on Derek Dobies to resign from the Jackson Public School Boards Board, sorry. And I ask this board to take immediate steps to begin the process of his removal if he refuses to step down. Mr. Doy's behavior decisions and past political conduct have raised serious concerns among parents, students, residents, and our entire community. His presence on this board undermines trust and distracts from the real work of improving education for all children in our district. This board is entrusted with protecting our students, supporting our educators, and setting a standard for ethical leadership. Keeping someone in this position who no longer represents those values does a disservice to every

081student and family in Jackson. It's time to restore trust. It's time for accountability. and Mr. Dobies, I urge you to resign. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you, Mrs. Morgan. William Hastings, please. Uh, good evening board. Um, I'd like to begin tonight. I'd like to read aloud. I sent an email to most of the board members today and I do know that some of you guys come straight from work to hear or straight home brush your teeth to hear. You may not have had a chance to read my email, but I'm also want to read it for the benefit of everyone in attendance tonight and anyone who may be watching this meeting. And the relevance why I consider this relevant is because I'm sure you've all heard the expression that that past is prologue. And I think

082that's even doubly true that the recent past is prologue in understanding what's going on tonight um concerning Mr. Doby's status on the board. So, let me begin. Please be aware that on April 10th of this year, Derek Dobies booked himself an interview on WILX channel 10 to discuss his support for therapy dogs at JPS. That in and of itself is not noteworthy. What is noteworthy is that he lied about the JPS board. That means he lied about all of you um by claiming that the JPS board had already voted to approve a therapy dog policy and the new therapy dog policy was going to take effect in just a few days time. What's the headline of the story? This is WX channel 10. If you look it up on on your on your phones right

083now, the title of the story is from April 10th is New Jackson Schools policy allows therapy dogs. Well, that sure comes as a surprise to me. This is 100% false and 100% misleading. But it gets worse. The the TV segment, the new segment begins with a reporter stating that the new therapy dogs policy is quote coming up in a couple of weeks. End quote. A 100% false statement that that Mr. Dobies did nothing to did not try to correct in any way. Why did he choose to so casually and freely lie about board business in such a public venue? Now the new that segment ends with the host stating that quote all this is happening April 15th. That's when the new policy kicks in. And if you and watch the video as I suggest you

084do, Mr. Dobies, although he's seated just a few away in the studio, he nods in agreement to the statement which he knows to be untrue. To date, no effort has been made to correct this very misleading story. To date, the JAPS board has not voted to adopt any policy regarding therapy dogs. There is no policy. There's there's just an unfinished uh proposal that is currently sits in the policy committee. I will close by asking again, why did Derek Dobies choose to so casually and freely lie, knowingly lie, about board business and JPS policy? What does this say about his current attempts to evade or diminish his responsibility for covertly tampering with the new superintendent's contract? And I would just like to add to that um one of the talking points that was started circulating this

085uh last week or since the June 5th meeting was that well you really can't consider what occurred to be a conflict of interest because well no no money changed hands. No money changed hands. Well I did something I took the liberty of taking a look at some campaign finance records on the uh county clerk website. I urge you to do so as well. And I found that in the last two election cycles um uh that Mr. Doby's was candid in uh including the the last the 22 cycle when he was elected to school board. In those two cycles, he received $6,500. $4,000 came from a an AFL CIO pack called the COPE pack, which stands for Committee on Political Education. And he received another $2,500 from Mr. Ron Bieber who's the head of the union

086and uh so there's a smaller uh contribution from u Mrs. Bieber. So to put that this $6,500 in perspective, our three uh uh board members who were just elected in the fall of 2024, they spent collectively all three of them combined um less than $4,325 to get elected to their board seats. $6,500 for for one candidate versus $4,300 for another. So, if you're looking for, you know, money changing hands and quid proquo and the trail of breadcrumbs, it's right there if you open your eyes. As I said, this is off public records that you can be easily found online. Um, I will just and and it's very obvious that this American Fed Federation of School Administrators is is and was a Trojan horse for the Michigan AFL AFL CIO or Mr. Doby's is the number

087two person in the organization, the chief of staff. So, I would just close by quoting uh board member Cheryl Simtti. Um, I feel strongly that I have no further trust in Derek Dobies and I would question anyone who would approve of him maintaining his role as vice president. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Hastings. Nicholas Thirststeing, please. Um, good evening. My name is Nicholas Thirstston. I live here in Jackson, Michigan. Also wanted to make some comments on the school board's uh practices and policies. Um, what's happening with Derek Dobies is not a new thing. This isn't the first time he's corrupted organizations that he's been appointed to or elected to. um several years ago uh he was a city council member and mayor for the city of Jackson government and he promoted a non-discrimination ordinance that

088essentially uh was supposed to promote neutrality in its original form. It's not a new thing. was um promoted. It was uh policy that was uh very contentious for many years, but he morphed it into a sort of a progay affirmative action uh program that would see the creation of a Jackson Gay Pride Center and government resources being dedicated to prioritizing only one demographic of people at the expense of others and open discrimination against people that were straight. Um, the founder of the gay pride center would later go on to burn down her own house. And you can look this up. Is it even covered in NBC News and several other countries picked up the story that there was an anti-gay hate crime in Jackson and uh Derek Dobies promoted a cover up attempt to uh

089spare this person of criminal charges and allowed the gay pride center and supporters to run around town and other parts of the state too. in online, do fundraisers for a fake hate crime that was totally staged and absolutely none of it was real. Um, and you know, this kind of a a behavior is just right on brand for Derek Dobies. There's several other things he's done that were uh fraudulent, abusive, and allowed the public to be suckered out of their money by scammers, which you can easily prove was total fraud. Um I myself experienced some of the um fraudulent uh uh behavioral patterns from Derek Doby's all 20 24. So, uh, I would go downtown to eat restaurants that I liked, places that I never had problems with before, and then I'd be approached by

090managers of the restaurant saying that some group of people on the other side of the restaurant I didn't even know were there, said that it's okay to charge all their stuff onto my tab, that everything should be charged onto me. I had no idea any of this was happening. I never agreed to any of this stuff. They're not my friends or my family. I don't know why I would be singled out in a room full of people in such a way. The first time it happened, I was like, "Oh, that's really weird." Uh, maybe there was some type of mistake or miscommunication. Why would Derek Dobies and the mayor and other people be racking up bills for hundreds of dollars in alcohol and food and then trying to charge it to me? There has to

091be some mistake. But then it happened again and again and again and different restaurants. And um, you know, this is just like I said, this is very common. This is part of his personality. It's part of who he is. Um, the AFL CIO, I think, is one of the most corrupt organizations in the entire planet Earth in human history. And it makes a lot of sense why they'd be attracted to somebody like Derek Doby's who every opportunity he's been given in public office has abused that position, violated the public trust, and violated the people around him. Uh, the promotion of the equity policy here has his name on it. This is something that violates Michigan state law and it also violates the public trust. Uh the people that live here, we don't support this type

092of thing. We want neutral schools, K through 12, neutral colleges. Um so that way the students have something to look forward to where they won't face discrimination or be cherrypicked because their characteristics of their identity, um race or sex characteristics, things that are protected by law. Um, we want to keep opportunities fair and open for anybody that's eligible. And, um, you know, like I said, there's just there's several things I could go on all day about the things that he's done. These are local issues. Um, your school board has made international news for promoting anti-white aid campaigns. Um, Kesha Hamilton is on the news in Australia, UK, Europe, Canada, you name it, saying that all white people are evil, whiteness is evil, and that uh everybody here has to be on some mission to eradicate

093it. And recently, the Supreme Court has announced uh surprisingly two black Supreme Court justices have announced that they will no longer allow uh reverse discrimination uh cases to not be taken seriously because it is the same. Uh the law doesn't make any sort of uh distinction between if you're a majority group or a minority group, if you're facing discrimination at work, government contracting, education, higher education, K through 12. Um if you work for a for-profit company, a nonprofit company, a library, uh there's there's no distinction in the law. And I think that's the path forward for everybody here in Jackson. Thanks. Thank you, Mr. Thirststein. That concludes um all citizens requesting to address the board. At this time, we will move to agenda item number eight, which is our discussion items 24-25-77, deputy superintendent of

094curriculum and federal programs. Jeremy and Marcus will present on this agenda item. Thank you, Madam President. At this time, um I'd like to open up a discussion to reinstate a deputy superintendent program to this district. Uh this board and community are aware that there were two internal candidates that were um selected to interview for the superintendent position. Um, Julie Baker had strong interview process throughout. Uh, she has a body of work with the district and will be one of those people who retire with over 30 years of service to the district. Um, she has a tremendous skill set and been an asset in instructional leadership and a leader throughout um, our elementary programs and more. there are some kind of reconfigurations going on with a change in leadership and this is one of those positions

095I'd like to have further discussion on. Uh so multiple roles have been adjusted based on um duties and it is my recommendation that this is also a retention plan for Julie Baker who was sought out after her interview with this district by other communities for the position of superintendent. Seeing her tremendous value, um I'd like to entertain discussion from this board to consider offering her the deputy superintendent of curriculum and federal programs with Jackson Public Schools. Thank you, Mr. Patterson. Vice President Dobies. Thank you. Excuse me. Thank you, Madam President. Um I think this is a great idea. I think that um we had two incredibly qualified uh internal candidates. Um I was incredibly impressed uh for the superintendent search. I was incredibly impressed with uh Miss Baker's performance and uh particularly with her uh

096written responses and uh grasp and understanding of uh educational achievement. And I believe I um spoke to that um maybe in my motion or in the discussion around the the superintendent um uh position. Um I think I even said I'd love to see her as some sort of deputy superintendent. So, I'm glad that um this is um something that we ended up doing before and and we can bring back and um continue to keep uh and promote an integral part of our team. Trusty Hamilton, question for you. U Mr. Patterson, did I hear you say that she's retiring? I heard you say something about retire. What did I hear you say? No, the goal is is the retention and I believe that when she does retire that she would have over 30 years of service.

097So, as kind of that retention plan, but not retiring yet. Okay, good. Cuz I was like, are we giving her $15,000 to walk out the door and then we're rehiring her? So, she's not necessarily retiring at this moment. We're trying to retain her. That's correct. Okay. Thank you. Oh, I'll say a little bit more. Um, so I've had opportunity, you know, since being on the board to work with, uh, Julie and, um, especially on the school improvement committee. Um, and I've definitely been impressed with, um, her knowledge, um, her level of understanding, um, and even her commitment. Um, so I would definitely be in support of her in this position. Um, I did not support her in the role of superintendent and and I still wouldn't. Um, but I definitely think that she would be

098qualified for this position. Trust the acting, please. So, I thought she interviewed amazing and it was really diff a difficult decision, but I I really thought that she was so knowledgeable regarding curriculum and her federal programs and um she always she just knows her stuff and so I've just been really impressed by her level of expertise. So, I'm in favor of this. I think she'd be excellent an excellent choice. Any other discussion? Oh, I didn't I can't see the bag is in the way. Yes, there we go. All right, Trusty Seatic. Oh, I too am in favor of this proposal. I think that Julie has demonstrated superb knowledge and and work in our district. I think that Julie and Jeremy make a great team. I think that by eliminating the second assistant superintendent, Julie is

099taking on an enormous job and I would love nothing better than to reward her for that. Thank you, Trusty Sharp. I am also wholeheartedly in favor of this. Um, love to see Julie, Miss Baker, stick around as long as we can keep her. I support this as well. Um, again, I was thoroughly impressed with trustee with um, Julie Baker's performance during her interview process and I've had some conversation with administration regarding some of the the roles and the additional duties that she will absorb on this in in this capacity. So, I am um thrilled that this consideration has been brought before the board trustee ready. So yeah, um when when we selected Mr. Patterson as a superintendent, you know, I got not even 0.00001% she would leave this school, Jackson Phobic schools. I strongly believed

100she would stay with us to take Jackson Pobics to the next level and and and and I am excited to hear this that she would be second in charge here. So, I am 200% support of this. I'm excited. You guys make a great combination, Mr. Patterson and Julie Baker. Madame President, I think we've heard discussion from all members of the board and it's a unanimous support. Today, it's a discussion item in June. I can bring it back again in July unless there's any entertainment that this contract which begins July 1 if there's any support or a motion today or otherwise we can just bring it back in July or I wanted to have discussion and no surprises. So that's why it's on here as a discussion item today. I'll make a motion to approve the

101contract for deputy superintendent of curriculum and federal programs and offer that to Julie Baker. Support. We have a motion on the floor and in support. We have discussed it. All those in favor? We haven't discussed this motion. Do you have some further discussion, Trusty Hamilton? I do. Go ahead. Um so question for you, Jeremy. um with her taking on the this deputy superintendent role that we creating at this point, does that change um assistant roles? Is that is that is there something that's going to change in the cabinet aside from, you know, this is a new role, but are we still going to have assistance and what happens at the U cabinet, if anything? Yes. So, there is no longer going to be an assistant superintendent for secondary curriculum. Um, I'm going to assume many

102of those duties and uh either of those duties have been dispersed and Miss Baker's proposed contract. There are essential duties, bargaining, curriculum reports, uh, serves in the absence of the superintendent as chief administrative officer and other duties that may be assigned. Um there's also adjustments to the job title uh and position that we've gone through as a cabinet to redistribute uh duties to um be appropriate to their assignment. So does that mean we're eliminating assistant titles or So there are still two assistant superintendent. Okay. But um Julie Baker's title would change to being second in command as deputy superintendent. Thank you. I just wondered if the other, you know, with deputy if we were changing the others to something else, but we're keeping those assistants as well. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Any other

103discussion? All those in favor of the motion and support. Any oppose? Hearing none, the motion carries. Thank you. Agenda item 2425-78, Sharp Park Academy dress code. We've heard from the community and I think it's important that we that I read our philosophy of the board bylaws 0123. It says the board declares and thereby affirms its intent to maintain two-way communication with citizens of the district. The board shall keep them informed of the pro progress and problems of the school district and the citizen shall be urged to bring their aspirations and concerns about the district to the attention of this body. This is what has happened today. Um we as the board have received multiple emails from constituents and I felt that it was important for us to bring this um forward as a discussion item.

104I would like um the assistant Christianity to be available for questions. There is some misunderstanding about the process in which these decisions have been made and through education I think that we will have a better understanding moving forward and um looking forward to what the next steps will be. Vice President Dobies. Thank you, Madam President. Um, appreciate the discussion in the um, uh, public comment tonight uh, about the dress code at uh, Shar Park Academy. Um, full disclosure, my daughter does go there. Um uh and I know that there was a survey that was put out and I've talked to some of the parents about uh being able to get the raw data on the survey for uniforms at Sharp uh regarding the uniforms at Sharp Park. Um that was back on May 23rd. Um

105I haven't gotten an answer to that. Um, and I understand that um, the PTO has conducted a survey. Um, appreciate all of the comments here uh, tonight. I think um, I agree with all of them about um, equity that uniforms uh, work at Sharp Park. um that they have a role to play in preventing bullying, uh reducing peer pressure, creating a sense of school identity, and I've talked to some of the administrators there as well, um about uniforms and the intent of the uniforms in addressing all of those things and also uh starting to um create a culture that prepares our students uh to be able to get up and be prepared uh for school and treat school um and learning uh as their profession. Um the thing that they have to get up and

106do that day. Um this uh and I know uh the the last agenda item is uh of note, but I'll pretty confident in saying this that uh this will probably be the most unpopular thing uh that I do at least in my own household um tonight uh because my daughter's really excited about not wearing uniforms. But um I would make a motion to reinstate the dress code policy at Sharp Park uh that existed uh during this last school year uh allowing them to uh keep that policy uh going forward around uniforms. I support a motion to reinstate the dress code at Sher Park Academy has been made. A second. Any discussion? I see trustee Simonetti. So, I would like to say to all of those who presented tonight, I hear you. I appreciate your passion.

107I really do. Um, but for me, this is not a board decision. So, the board governs from way up here in the big umbrella 10,000 ft. We do not rule on individual school issues. We rule on the district dress code. So no more than do we make decisions on the high school's homecoming activities. We don't make decisions about what happens at individual schools. So if forced to vote on this, I will abstain because this is not my job to vote on individual school issues. And I would make a motion to set aside the motion to vote on this because this is not our job. Trusty Sher, I I also wanted to seek clarification since we weren't part of that decision making process to eliminate uniforms. Do we actually have authority to reinstate them? Chris, can

108you answer that question for us, please? Just the process in which this decision was made. um the survey that went out as well as the involvement with the parents and teachers. I'll first defer to Jeremy because we've had a discussion about this and I think he would like to weigh in on it. You can look to your right. I was ready and prepared. So, thank you uh for this opportunity to speak on this discussion item and first to our community particularly on this sharp part families uh teachers, students um I want to seek first to understand. So, I'm going to read some things and it might sound a little bit different than seeking first to understand, but my commitment to you all is to meet with whoever wants to show up and have an in-person

109because I do have some information regarding the survey. As secondary assistant superintendent, I wasn't really a part of the process as it kind of came along. I was somewhat aware, but not really hands-on. And so now from the seat of the superintendent's office, I have spoken with your principal on this manner and would gladly sit down with you all to share this whoever decides to come out in a next meeting. I shared something with the board of education today that was rather late. So again, I didn't expect that they had all seen board policy 5511 regarding dress and grooming. The board of education recognizes that each student's mode of dress and grooming is a manifestation of personal style and individual preference. The board will not interfere with the right of students and their parents to

110make decisions regarding their appearance except for when their choices interfere with the educational programs of the school. Uh, I heard strong arguments from our families today on the benefits and I hear that 100% of why they want to continue with the dress code. A little bit of background, as was stated in May of 25, Shar Park uh was notified that they will no longer require school uniforms. This decision aligns with the rest of the school district. Shar Park was the only school with a uniform request. um decisions were informed by district survey results sent to student, staff, and parents. So, I would again like to share that survey data with you today and moving forward. It's my understanding that there were 125 parent responses and approximately 325 students at Sharp Park Academy. uh 65% said

111that uniforms were not a deciding factor in the school choice based on 125 parent responses. Some parents noted a positive impact on the learning environment. Common concerns included uh time and laundry constraints, children resistance and conflicts, affordability and reliance on potentially used school uniforms. um kind of a one school sharp park it not districtwide uh students preferred Viking spirit clothing and this is a conversation that it's for another time but uni uniform free rewards day seen as inconsistent so they they have an incentive I don't know what the incentive is but there's days where you don't have to wear a uniform and maybe that's perceived as a benefit because the kids like it I'm not quite sure on that Um the 153 students were surveyed and yes you heard tonight that it was a brief

112two question survey I believe is um would you like to see uh uniforms continued next year and it was 74% no and the other question was does it help you focus on school or student achievement something to that effect that the students said uh they don't feel that uniforms help them to focus and the majority of um um preferred freedom and clothing as I think some of our parents shared again tonight. Uh I don't have as much staff survey but it sounds like there is more survey information that I have not seen. So I do not have that information. I heard tonight that there was approximately 90 responses to that that staff uh survey expressed belief and the uniforms do support and I heard culture many many times. Tonight I heard um equity. I heard

113a lot of indication that that supports the um high standards at Shar Park Academy. One of my questions when I met with Principal Lesby was what what is it that parents choose Shar Park Academy? Um, so I'm interested in furthering that conversation because um I don't I don't want to make any assumptions and part of my question was is this a deal breakaker because I want to understand that or is this a non-negotiable? So there's more a lot of student highlights that you heard about AC academic achievement at high levels. Something that the district is working strongly on is student voice and student leadership and taking that into consideration as the district made this decision and highquality teaching and high quality leadership at Shar Park Academy. Obviously top-notch facilities that have undergone significant improvements. We

114believe that these are some of the other reasons that parents elect Shar Park Academy in addition to uniforms and a strong supportive environment of um a diverse learning population. I am somewhat familiar with Sharp Park Academy over the years has undergone other changes. I think at one point in time they had a German acquisition program, an international balora program and at one point in time maybe those were some draws to the district as I have somewhat familiarity being an elementary school principal and middle school principal with some of those same programming that were once offered that are no longer offered. But again, um, I would gladly work with Sharp Park administration to meet with all stakeholders in person. This isn't really a two-way exchange that I would uh much rather so you can understand the

115perspective of the district and I can understand your perspective as well. Thank you, Mr. Patterson. I also want to share that at the beginning of the meeting, I did receive a copy of the teacher survey as well as the parent survey, the letter that went out, um the family letter that went out informing um the uniform and dress code committee. I am happy to provide that to the board for your review. Is there any other discussion? Yes, Trusty Hamilton. So, um, a couple of things on this, um, that I have concerns about. Um, I did get my question answered. Um I forget who uh Ashley I think Miss Booth um sent your email back with um that question the couple questions that I had in there. They were answered tonight on whether or not the

116uniforms are free or not. Um and I'm glad to hear that the packages that you all put together are free to the students. Um I think that's very helpful um in in the type of with the school uh dress code policy that you've had in the past. um the 90 uh folks who answered you all's uh survey, I would have liked to have known um the 10% I think it was about nine folks who did not respond. Yes, they wanted to keep the surveys. I would have liked to know what they what their uh reasons were. Um I just would have liked to known that. Jeremy, a quick question for you before I finish my comments. The JPS surveys that that we took um you said that there were um so many people that were

117in support of it. Do you have a percentage of the number of folks who were in support of doing away with uniforms? I'm not sure if it said well it it did ask that question directly of the students and 74% of the students did not want to see the uniforms next year. I could be wrong. So I'm going to students. Thank you. Um I I believe that this reads that 65% said uniforms were not a deciding factor. So I think it's how the question was asked to the parents wasn't directly do you want to see it go away. I think it was asked is this a deciding factor of why you chose Sharp Park. Thank you. That's helpful for my um my next comments. I appreciate that answer because I was wondering about that. Um,

118the other thing I'd like to say, um, and I think this really important for the community to, uh, understand, um, I'm huge on this next point that I'm going to share with you, and that is, um, Cheryl is correct that, um, the board, our primary role is in uh, viewing things from the 65, I'm sorry, 10,000 foot view. Um, the part that I want you to pay attention to though is that um, we are elected by you all. you all choose to put us in this seat or not. Um, part of our primary roles as board members is to listen to what you all are saying and then try to, you know, uh, based on the knowledge that we have as board members that sometimes you don't are are not privy to based on what

119you're saying. Um, all the different things we're supposed to come up with a a good solution. We can't make good decisions if we don't know all the details. Um, I personally was not informed that this was a decision that was made probably because they were thinking 10,000 foot view at the board table doesn't need to know about this. that's probably so that's a you know an excuse a good excuse for them you know um but as members of the community um after you have exhausted uh all of your um uh chain of command options you very much are within your rights to come to this board table and say hey look there is an issue that we want you to address very much okay I I never want you all to feel like you have

120no recourse um because our job is 10,000 foot view. It absolutely is. And it's also you at whatever stage you're at, especially and particularly if you have exhausted your resources. Um I'm also uh a little disappointed that um we have this motion on the table at the moment because it really doesn't give us opportunity and time to kind of have these conversations. Um we also don't have to vote yay on it. So there's that or nay on it. So there's that. But um you know having the opportunity to you know hear from you all um understand all the different uh factors that go into it is really important at the board table. So thank you all for alerting myself anyways. Um and then coming tonight to say what you all had to say um because

121it's really important again for us to make those decisions. But the the primary thing that I want you all to remember is that um you have recourse and our job as elected officials that you have put in these seats is to hear what you all are saying um and then respond to it in a way that um is conducive and and helpful to the entire district. Thank you Trusty Hamilton. that echoes the uh philosophy of the board trust uh vice president. Thank you, Madam President. Um and I appreciate the um the feedback, Superintendent Patterson, and sharing some of the uh results here and look forward to seeing that uh potentially in greater detail. Um, a couple of the things it it seems like we're um with the parent driven survey, it's getting close to uh

122the total amount, and I think you said district survey, but I'm guessing that that was like a school survey of the parents that attend uh Sharp Park Academy that was sent by the district. Um, so maybe you meant the district sent it. Um, 65% saying that it's not a deciding factor. um I view as like 35% identifying it being um a factor or you know having uh at least some level of that 65% um having it being maybe not the deciding factor but an important factor in their decision of where to um choose to send their uh kids to school. Um, having 74 I'm I'm actually surprised 74% of students saying no is not higher. Um, I you could you could survey my daughter and she would I've I've got my list of marching orders.

123She wants to be able to eat on the bus. She wants to be able to drink more than water in class. Um, so I would assume that if we surveyed on those things too, they would be similarly high. um listening to uh your interest in in meeting with some of the parents and meeting with um those at Sharp Park and some of the board's um uh conversations. I do believe that uh we have we do have a role to play in uh the decision decision-m process um at every school um and on this in particular and being able to listen to the parents um and listen to uh those at the school um and being able to provide that flexibility and that uniqueness that makes our schools really great is important. So, I do think

124that there is a role for the board to play in making a decision on this. Uh, but I'm happy to amend my motion and ask that this be placed on uh the agenda for our July meeting uh for action. I know there's no action recommended at this meeting, but I would like to be able to take that action so that we can set a finite timetable to make a decision on this uh before the next school year starts. So, I'd move to place this item as an agenda item, as an action item on the July agenda. I support that. Sorry. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Trusty Senetti. Um, I would amend that motion and I would make a motion to charge Mr. Patterson with taking this forward individually with Sharp Park

125Academy, the parents, the staff to come to a resolution together. We have an amended uh motion on the floor. Do we have a second? I'll support that amended motion. A support discussion on the amended motion to give direction to superintendent Jeremy for further discussion with the administrators at Shark Park Academy. Yes. Discussion. Um, so what I would say, um, for this motion that we have right now, um, I would have said it two motions ago on the second comment. Some of you all know Robert's rules, you get two opportunities to speak. So, I was waiting for my second opportunity to speak for that one. So, I'm going to say it now. Um, it's very important for us as board members to know our role, um, our duties, our responsibilities. Um it's really important that we

126get that information from um verified and uh lawful sources that are easily found on the dot, you know, website um versus taking information from um those who have been here for a little while um or from past practice or uh you know just to go along to get along. Um again, you know, I'm going to reiterate it because I think it's really important. Um, I'm not going to I'll be in support of this motion, just so you all know. Um, because I'm uh, you know, I I agree with the idea of you all being able to work through this uh, with Jeremy Patterson and uh, the parents and etc. But the re reiteration is that um, again, if you all still have, you know, need recourse, our job as the people that you have elected

127to put in the seat is to be that recourse for you. So, if it doesn't work out in the way that you all think it should or whatever, you know, again, our job is to hear as board members and uh address you all's concerns. Not necessarily always in your favor, you know, I mean, that's we all adults, we know that, you know, we all don't get everything we want, but um sometimes maybe in your favor, but we wouldn't know about it if you don't come and tell us. So, you do have recourse if uh this does not work out. Thank you, Trusty Hamilton. Vice President Dobies. Thank you, Madam President. I'll speak to the amendment um which I believe is consistent with my original motion of um adding this as an action item uh for

128the July meeting. Um in my motion um that is proposing to be amended, my assumption was that the superintendent would be going out and engaging in conversations with the parents and uh to the extent students um but uh the teachers and the administrators at Sharp Park uh to give this another look, an evaluation and then bring back a recommendation to the board um as an action item. So um I guess my question I'm I think we're trying to accomplish the same thing. Uh but I do think it is important for us to set some uh guidelines around the time frame in which that can happen. School is going to be here before we know it. Um we have uh you know July and August and if we are going to uh change things that notification

129to parents is important. Um the ability for them to to plan for whatever um we decide here is important. So I guess um I'm happy to support the amended motion to direct the superintendent to go and have these conversations. But my question to the superintendent would be uh can you have a recommendation back to us by our July meeting? I think that's a great question. It's summer, people have vacations. I will begin immediately in the planning um with I I would presume there's going to be more than one date. And so um in in that everybody can't make the same date, right? So I would make multiple recommendations as soon as possible and we have 30 days that I think we can I I don't even presume that we would come to a consensus on

130the first session. So I would also think there would be multiple sessions. Um I I don't want to make any guarantees because got a lot of eyes looking at me right now. But I I mean I'm I think I understand what you're saying is we need a final decision by July 22nd. And I I I'm just saying like a recommendation and some some more feedback so that so that we can make a decision because I think what we're hearing is um for your superintendent uh administration made a decision to change uh the policy at Sharp Park. Um we have listened as uh fellow board members have indicated our job is to to listen and try to uh accommodate uh the input of the public. Um we have received um a good amount here tonight. Um,

131as a parent of a student at Sharp Park, I've received a lot um, in my conversations with fellow parents um, and uh, educators there um, about that decision and about the timeliness of it and about like the survey um, and the confusion over the survey. Um, so I think us being able to uh because that that decision came uh fairly quick at the end of the year um and didn't come in front of the board and uh kind of got dropped on uh the school. I think it's incumbent on us to be able to um you know work quickly uh try to figure out um what we're what we can plan to do uh for next school year. um hopefully by July if not by August because we'll have to let folks know what the

132actual plan is. I think I could easily uh report out in the superintendent's report on the progress made regarding the dress code decision at Shar Park Academy. Again, you know, there's a lot of unknowns, but most definitely can report back out in in July. Thank you, Mr. Patterson. Trusty Simonetti. Um, Mr. Patterson, I appreciate your willingness to move forward with this with Sharp Park. I do not agree on making this an action item for July. I certainly would appreciate it in the superintendence report. I look forward to hearing from the parents again about a peaceful resolution. But if it's on as an action item, again, I would be abstaining. Thank you. Given the amended emotion, amended motion, we will give direction to Jeremy Patterson to provide an update at our July regular scheduled board meeting.

133Hearing no more discussion. All those in favor of the amended motion say I. I. Any opposed? Hearing none. The motion carries. Thank you, Mr. Patterson. At this time we will move to agenda item. Now that the motion has been amended, we will vote on the final motion. All those in favor say I. What's the final motion? We're vote on right now. The motion's now amended uh to Cheryl's wording. So, just what are we voting on right now? I just want to know. Charge Mr. Patterson to work with Sharp Park. Yes. So, just for clarification, yes, we based on Cheryl Smanetti's um motion, we have given Mr. Patterson direction to come back at our July meeting and provide an update in the superintendence report and it not be an action item. Thank you for clarity. You're

134welcome. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Hearing none. The motion carries. We will move to the action items provided within our agenda. 24-25-79, the resolution to submit the bond application. Marcus, please. Sure. So, last month at the May board meeting, the board voted to begin the bond application process for the bond issue to be placed on the ballot in November this coming fall. The district along with our bond planning partners such as bond council or financial adviserss, construction managers and architecture firm held a meeting with the department of treasury to discuss the preliminary bond application, answer any questions that the treasury department had um and make a few minor tweaks um to the application. And the next step in the process is for the board to approve um recommendations for the board to approve

135the attached resolution which is just a one pager. looks a little different than our typical resolutions, which basically says, "Yes, we definitely want you to formally submit the bond application." That'll trigger a 30-day approval window by the department, and then we'll be back in July to approve final ballot language just to give you an update on the timeline that we have discussed before. So, at this time, we would recommend submitting the final bond application to Treasury for review and state approval. Madam President, I'll uh move that we uh submit the final bond application to Treasury. Support. We have a motion and a support on the floor for the bond approval. The bond application approval. Any discussion? Um just one question Marcus on here. You said the final language would come back in July. So what

136we see in front of us on bond proposal is a draft or it is a draft and again it would be part of that review and approval process by this by the department of treasury. So if there's any tweaks or whatever that they'd like to see um that that we'll be bringing that in July if there are any of those u edits. a question for you. Um Marcus, um and you've answered this before, but remember I like repetition because that's how I learn. When when and if this goes on the ballot and if it passes, um does it will the um our property taxes rise or no? Nope. What you pay today is what you'll pay after it passes hopefully. Repeat that just a little bit louder. So this is a $0 increase. the tax

137your taxes will not change one penny. Okay. Thank you. So, I'm I'm I'm going to be a no on this. Um and I know that when it comes back in July, I got to be a no again. I'll be a no again. And the primary reason is just that um I'm conflicted. I'm a little conflicted on one. It doesn't raise our taxes. So, on that note, I want to say yes. But then on the other note, there was some uh cherry-picking, some mistrust that I keep hearing from the community that um makes me want to say no. So, I'm conflicted. And because I'm gonna because I'm conflicted, I'm gonna say no on uh this today. I always like you to know why I'm voting the way I'm voting. Madam President, I just want to clarify

138that it doesn't change the tax rate does not change anything with anybody. The value of your property goes up, right? Your taxes will go up if your value of your property goes up. Yes, that is normal. But the tax rate that we levy will not change. Trusty Hamilton, can you repeat your um the reason for your um why you're conflicted? Yep. So, one, I'm conflicted because I would say yes because our taxes the rate that we're paying according to Marcus does not rise. Um but I'm going to say no. I mean, I would say no also. So there's my confliction because I keep hearing in the community around the cherry-picking that happened on the uh uh committee that was done as well as mistrust uh that the community has for this entire process and just

139for the bonds in general. So uh because I am conflicted on those two, yes and no, I'm just going to vote no. Thank you. Any other discussion? All right. All those in favor of approving the resolution to submit the bond application. I I. Any oppose? No. No. Thank you. Sarah, did you get the vote? Thank you. Agenda item 24- 25-80, the 202425 final budget amendment. Marcus, will you please present? All right. So, we have our third and final budget amendment for the 2425 fiscal year here. Um, this is something that we discussed recently at our facility and finance committee meeting in recent weeks. Um, and as you see on the summary on the next page, we've been pretty consistent throughout the entire year. We always thought we were going to be in that using up

140to about $4 million of fund balance. As of today, we're a little better, about three $3.8 million. Um, we are still waiting for final bills to close out the year and final revenues to come in. So, that could change slightly and we'll have those final numbers when our auditors present later in the fall. Um, but at this time, we would recommend approval of the final budget amendment. I move to approve the final budget amendment for 2425. Support. We have a motion and a support. Any deliberation? Marcus, you said today we're at 3.8 million dollar deficit. Okay. Correct. Can you explain to us our our plan forward to reduce Yep. So again, and we've talked a lot this in the last few months about um you know, we had that buyout program to, you know, help

141ease the ease the pain of potential staff layoffs. We've gone through that process um made those moves and and whatever residual layoffs that we needed to. As you saw in my proposed budget for next year, that takes all that in consideration. Unfortunately, it shows that we're going to be dipping, but that's based on assumptions for things that are out of our control. um if things wind up lining up the way they historically have, we could be at that balanced budget amount, which is where our ultimate goal is to be at. Um you know, and it's done through a lot of things. For example, not replacing Mr. Patterson's position as he moved up and and just as an example of throughout the district what we what we have done going forward. This could change a little

142bit again as you know these are estimates as we still have our final last few months of utility bills and and you know payroll and things like that. Um if there's things that come in that we just you know weren't aware of or whatever those could change a little bit. Um we don't anticipate that at this time. As you've if you've seen this has been pretty consistent. Um, in in past years, my final amendment has been pretty close to what the auditors present as well. Are there any discussions around eliminating any programming to help rightsize the budget? Not to my knowledge that I can remember. Mr. Patterson might be a better resource for that specifically. Can you repeat the question, please? Are there any discussions happening uh regarding any specific programs that would be eliminated

143to help rightsite our existing budget deficit? Uh my response to that would be if it depends on the teacher that was reduced and also uh the potential sections. And so if in the um buyout process, the retirement process, if a specific certification went away that we cannot replace or elected not to replace, then yes. But um it would depend again on certification. And um some of the positions were replacing, some of the positions are not, but I would suspect there are some programming that would be impacted by the buyout program. I'm thinking of a couple specifically, but I would say yes to that. Thank you. Any other discussion? Hearing no more deliberation. All those in favor of supporting the 202425 final budget amendment say I. I. Any opposed? Hearing no opposition. The motion carries. Item

14424-25- 81. 82. Okay. 81. My apologies. All right. So, Marcus, thank you. All right. So again, every year the board is required by law to adopt a balanced budget prior to the beginning of the fiscal year. We held our public hearing earlier this evening as required and um gave the opportunity for stakeholder input. Some of the things that we discussed were the millage rates um our best estimates for anticipated revenue and expenditures for the following fiscal year. Um and at this time we would recommend the administration adopt the proposed budgets that we presented earlier. The attachments are the following are the resolutions for each of the funds, general fund, debt, capital projects, so on and so forth authorizing the board to expend those dollar amounts in each fund. Madame President, yes. I will move adoption

145of the proposed military as well as the 2526 budget resolutions as presented. Support motion and support in deliberation job. All those in favor? Any oppose? Motion carries. Agenda item 24-25-82, the equity policy. Jeremy will present on this. Thank you. I had a kind of a timeline that I'll just go back and review of this um equity policy. In May 7, 2024, an initial draft of this uh policy was brought to the policy committee for discussion and how they would proceed to the full board. On May 21st, 2024, it was presented to the full board um and to put on June agenda for action item after discussed thoroughly and made recommendations and further deliberations. And so that motion uh carried 52. In September 26, uh meeting with Superintendent Beal, uh Vice President Doby's Kelly Crumb to

146discuss the initial language in October 15. Back to policy committee meeting discussed again. Um I'm showing October 15th board meeting. So I'm not sure if there was a policy committee. That's what my notes say here. Um, it was a discussion item again uh to it looks like to um a discussion item that passed 42 to present it as an action item at the it wouldn't be the May board meeting. It I don't know why it was a discussion item there. It wouldn't have had a vote. Uh so anyhow, May 20th, 2025, board um council presented a legal opinion on the equity policy. So Brendan Beer was here last month and kind of shared some concerns about uh legislation and how that might impact the decision. And so there was uh multiple discussion around that. I

147recently forward further information to um board president Hunt on information that's being distributed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on what you do if you're experiencing um discrimination related to DEI at the workplace. And so there was also council given. We've made some edits and changes to uh our DEI titles uh director crumbs title and position and professional development that we were once um supporting and it is it is the recommendation of this administration to remove our equity policy. Uh, assistant superintendent Marcus Leon has given information about what the impact from the federal government could be should we be found not in compliance. There was also legal counsel given to if we try to certify to receive these federal funds but yet we are not in compliance with the law based on this policy then

148there could be legal ramifications as well. So for these reasons, it is my recommendation to resend the equity policy for the the equity policy. Thank you, Mr. Patterson. Any discussion? Trustee Zimtti. Well, I would like to make a motion that we resend the equity policy number 0124. Support. We have a motion and a support on the floor to resend board uh policy 0124. Any discussion? So, so we have an executive order from this administration that directs our federal government and those receiving federal funds to eliminate DEI programming. this policy that we have is not in compliance with the executive order. If if we maintain this policy, we will not be in a position to certify and we will put ourselves in a position where federal funding is at risk. And I think Marcus can probably

149speak to this. It's probably about $8 million. I was on record that I and was never for this policy anyways. Um, so I just I we we just need to resend it. Um, we cannot um we cannot we cannot lose that much money. We would lose all kinds of staff and programs. So I'm in favor of rescending this tonight. Thank you. Trusty acted. Marcus, can you give us a ballpark figure of how much money we are looking at risking if this remains in place? Yep. So, I mentioned in the budget presentation earlier, our federal general fund title dollars anywhere between three and a half and $4 million. And there's a decent amount of staff that's charged to these title grants. In addition to if there's that certification piece on the grant application, we won't even

150be able to submit the application for grant funding. So, I'm not sure what that would do for us. We would go into the school year paying staff potentially that we might have to lay off later on. Um there's a potential where it could impact our food service uh department. Um probably 95% of our food service is funded through federal dollars. It's a separate fund, so the general fund doesn't pay for food service. And if those dollars were impacted, reduced, or eliminated, that could shift that burden to the general fund to continue the food service program. And that's about another 4 to4.5 million. Do we have a timeline in which our district is required to certify? We are not. That is some of the stuff that's up in the legal air at the time being. Would

151you agree that there is just as much uncertainty today as it was the day that the administration made these demands? My personal opinion is yes. Until there is settled law or court case, then it's all uncertain. Are you also aware that the litigation is currently suspended? I don't know if I was currently aware of that just with everything else going on right now. Thank you, Marcus. But I would say our council, Mr. Beer, is here as well. If you have some of those legal questions, he might be able to help. Mr. Would you step forward, please? Thank you. Good evening. Good evening. How are you? Great. Thank you for being here. you were at our last board meeting and we had this as a discussion item and I would just like to ask you what

152is your understanding of where this currently stands in the court proceedings? I mean there is no court proceeding currently staying the executive orders that have been issued by the administration requiring the elimination of DEI programming as a condition of receipt of federal funds. Well, there's no most recent court of appeals decision that ruled on it was in the fourth circuit. It was in favor of the administration. Um, you know, we've talked about this for a long time. Um, there are executive orders, Department of Education guidance requiring the elimination of that DEI policy. There's a certification that this district frankly is already supposed to have provided um will have to provide as a condition of receiving federal funding. And the threat that the federal government has utilized is that if you make a false claim that

153you are requesting federal funds as a condition you are going to need to certify and that person that certifies if that is a false certification is subject to claims under the False Claims Act. um which frankly means whoever that is that has to do that has put themselves into a serious jeopardy if they do that with that policy currently in place. It's a lot to ask of somebody that's employed by the district because it probably is going to need to either be Marcus or Mr. Patterson that does that. I personally wouldn't be comfortable doing it if that policy was in place. Um, and and frankly, I know this is an unpopular position, but it's not just Department of Education guidance anymore. It's it's not just executive orders from President Trump anymore. I mean, recently, as

154this is where Mr. Patterson is getting this, the EEOC and the Department of Justice have put off guidance suggesting that DEI programming is a potential subject for discrimination. Um the EEOC actually put out a put out a notice as he said what to do if you experienced discrimination related to DEI at work. um you're going to start subjecting yourselves and it specifically states in the guidance that if you're required to participate in DEI related programming and training as a part of your job that that is discrimination under American Civil Rights Acts and that you can file a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission just for having been required to participate. Um, I'm not suggesting that it's good policy, but it's where it's at. And I said this many times there to have

155the policy is one thing, to do the work is another. Um, the policy to me creates a lot of potential risk for the district. Can you clarify that? It I'm sorry, Mr. Dobby. Clarify the risk. Uh, you said having the policy is one thing, but doing the work is another. Are you suggesting workaround? I'm not suggesting there's a workaround. What I'm suggesting is there's a way to be equitable with people regardless of whether or not the policy is in place. That's there's a way to be inclusive with people regardless of whether the policy is in place. Sure. And when you have a DEI related policy in in the face of executive orders stating that you're not requ that you should not have such policy department of education guidance that you should not have such policy

156EEOC related guidance that suggests that there are potential charges of discrimination that could be filed by people who don't want to frankly participate in DEI related programming as a condition of work. there. Those are issues that to me create unnecessary risk. I mean, my job as a as a lawyer is is not to run this district. It's that's your job. It's simply to provide you with counsel. Counsel that I'm not always happy to provide, but that's that's the job. And the winds on this since you adopted it in 2024 like they often do following elections have changed. And my suggestion is you sail with them. It's the policy that you have in place is not one that is going to be favorable for this district to have in place moving forward with the current position

157of not only the Department of Education, not only the executive orders issued by the president, but the guidance that's recently been issued by the Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Um, it it would be my recommendation that that the policy be rescended, as unpopular as that might be. Thank you, Mr. Bear. Any further discussion? Jesse Simonetti. Um, I was not on the board when this policy got approved, and had I been on the board at that time, I would have been a no vote. And my main reason for that is that everything that's in this policy is already someplace else in another policy. So I sat down at my computer and started going through policies. And number 1422, we have a policy for non-discrimination and equal employment. 1623 prohibits disability discrimination and

158employment. I have a list of 12 policies that I'm not going to read off all the titles, but that's where I stopped and I wasn't even halfway through the policies. So everything in here is already covered someplace else and otherwise you know we are putting our children our employees and our programs at risk and I am not in favor of a wait and see attitude. So, um, discussion on this for clarity. Um, Jeremy, I think you have this in yours. Was the was the June 2024 was that was that when the policy was, uh, uh, voted on? It feels like we kept deciding whether it was going to go back to the policy meeting or come back and forth. Did it ever get voted on? I I just don't remember. So, it wasn't June. It

159was adopted October 15, 2024. Okay. Um Okay. Yeah. All right. So, um I know that I was a no vote on it at that time. Um I just didn't know if we actually had ever there was so many things. Okay. So, um on this I'm going to also be a yes vote to um rescending this policy. Um and it uh has everything to do with the policy. You're rarely going to find that I would agree with Cheryl, but tonight I do agree with her on this point. Um and that is that when this policy was initially uh presented to the board, I said the exact same thing. Um one, the policy is written more like a memo. Two, the policy does not go uh it doesn't go beyond what we already have on the books.

160Um three, it was just to me um really a waste of the of the district's time to even look at it because again, it didn't go beyond um there was really there's no substance in it. Um so yeah, I was a no vote then. Um, I'm going to be a yes vote now. Again, like I said, to rescend it. I want the community though to be clear because, you know, most of you all know me as a woman who speaks and teaches and lives uh diversity, equity, and inclusion. Um, and you know, uh, a supporter of, you know, us not discriminating against folks. Um, I personally, uh, don't necessarily respond. Now, again, you know, different backgrounds that folks come from, we have to operate differently, obviously. Um, so with these just being threats at this

161moment, um, if this policy were of substance, um, and something that I could have supported in in the beginning, I would be a no vote to rescending it in the moment. Um, because I do um, you know, I don't agree with this idea of just running away just because threats are being made. Um, make it a law um, and then we can decide what to do at that point. But because it isn't a law, um, I would have been, had it been a substantive policy in agreement with keeping it. Again, I'm going to vote yes to remove it because like I said, um you know, it it really was a waste of our time um initially and it doesn't speak to anything more than what we already have on the books presently. Are you good

162with me? Can I step back? Yes. Thank you, Mr. Bear. Appreciate it. I don't see Oh, more discussion. Yep. I just have a comment. Um I understand uh all of the uh and appreciate all the comments and perspective uh brought by colleagues on the board here. Um, I can uh understand that there's a a difference between uh we won't discriminate and um equity um and our work to um go beyond just ensuring that we're not discriminating and making sure that every uh student has access to uh the same opportunities. And that's a little bit of a nuance um but I think it's an important nuance. Um, I do think that, um, you know, these are the values that, uh, this district has and, uh, I'm sure that are shared by the board. Uh, we have

163probably a a clearly a difference in opinions in terms of, um, how to get there, but, uh, I'm going to vote no. I do believe that there, um, are a couple of, uh, cases that are working on their way through the courts. Um, I believe that the Michigan Department of Education has taken um a particular stance and I would be interested in seeing um instead of eliminating this uh what we can do uh to change it and make it stronger and compliant considering that a lot of the um communications in the dear colleague letter and uh in uh apparently this EEOC um directive uh are about the illegal use of DEI and DEI used as discrimination which uh as we've talked about before does not happen here and does not exist here. So um those

164are the comments I'll offer tonight. Thank you. As I look at this policy, I would agree that there are some strengths and some um areas. I think at the time that this was presented to the board, we made mention my comments at that time was that this is not a robust policy. It is a policy that has the opportunity to evolve with additional um content as we move forward with further discussion. Um I think it's okay to agree to disagree regarding some of the language provided within this as it's presented to us today. I feel that it's more of a financial decision that we need to consider. on behalf of the district and with the understanding that the work is still happening. We are still a welcoming community, we are still an equitable and inclusive

165district. And while I still strongly believe in this equity policy, it is um definitely a tough decision to resend. But when we look through the lens of financial decisions and the direct impact that it will have on our students academic journey, I think it's appropriate to say that um the consideration to resend this policy would be in the best interest of our district. at this time we will conduct a roll call vote Sarah please Miss Hamilton um for clarification we're voting to resent resend the policy is that what we're voting on yes yes yes um I'm a yes on that Mrs. Simonetti. Yes. Mr. Ready? Yes. Miss Actton. Yes. Miss Sharp. Yes. Mr. Doby's Miss Hunt. Yes. All right. Motion passes. At this time, we will move to agenda item 24-25-83, removal of vice president

166as officer of the board. Madam President, yes. Um, appreciate the opportunity to make this motion. I've uh thought about it. um uh since the last board meeting and today and I'm going to make it um and offer some comments here. Um but I'd like to make a motion to uh accept my resignation as vice president and appoint super ready as uh vice president of the board. We have a motion on the floor to Can you state that one more time for me please? Uh make Suba vice president accept my uh resignation as vice president and to make uh Suba vice president of the board. We have a motion. Do we have a second? hearing none. Okay, the motion fails. I will point of clarity. Um, are you bringing this to the board table, Miss this

167issue? Because if you are, you're supposed to speak first. Did you want to give us some context around this before he speaks or No? No. The president is to speak last on this. I'm presenting the item. So, who's bringing it to the who's bringing it for action? It says Shelanda Hunt, Board of Education. I just brought it to the board. We have no context on You just want to The context that we have is just what's on the paper or That's exactly correct. Because we have context from the last special meeting and the motion that was made in public at that meeting. So, we do have some context. Yep. I realize not everybody you weren't present. Most people that are here probably weren't present. So, usually when we get these, you know, each time tonight,

168you've given us uh these action items, you've somebody has given us some context on it first before they've uh before we've had discussion on it, but it looks like we're not going to get that tonight. Just wanted to point of clarity for that. I I think with a um with a motion, then there's discussion. I would like to make a motion to remove Derek Dobbies as vice president of the board and make him ineligible for any further office for the remainder of his term. Support. We have a motion on the board on the floor for removing Derek Dobies as vice president and no longer being eligible for any officer position for the remainder of his term. We have a second. Yes. Any deliberation? Mr. Doies. Thank you, Madam President. Um, and thank you. Um, I

169appreciate the opportunity to uh be here and offer some comments and apologize for not being able to be here the last meeting. Um, I did pass out a letter which, um, I'll pass out again here or I sent it with um, forgive me. uh sent it to uh President Hunt. Um uh some of you may have seen it. Um but I composed this letter and sent it to President Hunt on uh Thursday, June 5th after speaking with her that Wednesday. She asked that I give an account of kind of the timeline of what's existed here, the reasons for my edits, and the position my position on Mr. Beer's accusations. Uh as I noted in the letter, uh I was sick in bed with the flu. Uh from Tuesday afternoon through that meeting into the following

170weekend. I did lose my voice. Uh was frustrated that I wasn't able to make it uh to the last meeting to engage in this conversation. Uh and I wanted to start off by um discussing kind of the timeline of events here because I think they're illuminating and instructive. Um, after our last May meeting, uh, Mr. Patterson took the time to draft a contract and President Hunt and I plan to meet with Mr. Patterson to review his initial proposal. On Monday, May 12th, around 8:30, I spoke with President Hunt, Mr. Patterson, to review his contract and draft contract. They walked me through some of the details of the contract verbally. I indicated that I would thoroughly review the language and send any proposed changes uh back to them and to Mr. Beer. Uh Mr. Patterson indicated

171he'd be finalizing the addendum to the contract to address his current uh contract and the transition. That Tuesday the 13th, I copied uh Mr. Patter copied Mr. Patterson's draft contract into a separate private Google document uh to work on it myself. Um, in my experience negotiating contracts, that's common to preserve um the privacy and positioning during the bargaining process, not wanting to yet directly edit Mr. Patterson's initial draft. So on the 13th at um uh on that Tuesday that evening, he also sent Mr. President sent an email noting he was working on the addendum to complement the contract and indicated he sent it to Mr. Beer. Um on the Wednesday uh the following morning I asked President Hunt to send me a copy of the addendum for review. Um also that morning on Wednesday I

172sent an initial email with a PDF of the full contract inclusive of my proposed edits to Mr. Patterson, President Han, and Mr. Beer. Um, the email read, "Here's the cleaned up version I sent back to Shelanda inclusive of my edits and the items I discussed with you and Shelanda. I made a lot of stylistic and formatting edits to the original document. I edited the term of the agreement. I added language around severability and the right of assignment among other things. And that language on Wednesday morning also included uh the American Federation of Administrators reference uh administrators ref school American Federation of School Administrators reference uh Wednesday at uh 10:50 in the morning. On Thursday uh morning, Mr. Parson text me if I had time to review the changes to his proposed contracts after his conversations

173with President Pant and Mr. Beer. The night before I indicated to him that I take another look through the contract that night. I edited uh the original document on Mr. Person's Google document borrow borrowing changes from my earlier draft that I had previously sent to Mr. Beer, Mr. Parson and Hunt. Those changes included uh the reference of AFSA. Mr. Beer had also proposed some new language in section 16 regarding the previous employment agreement that I also edited for clarity. I also made numerous edits to the addendum on Mr. Parson's original document. All of those changes were on the Google doc which allows those um that have access that are shared on that document to see who made what changes uh in the history. Um uh on Thursday um around 8:30 I communicated to President Han

174and Mr. Patter uh to confirm what Mr. Patterson told me um that President Home was going to be traveling um and that if I approved to get the contract to the board uh I indicated to uh her that I was materially changing nothing and that I was uh reformatting and changing some of the language. I also communicated about a half hour later that evening and texted Mr. Patterson and indicated that I did change some of the formatting and language and encouraged him to take a look through the contract in the addenum. And then the next morning, I received a phone call from Mr. Patterson about some final additions Mr. Beer had made to the contract regarding the language of life insurance. I went to my computer, uh, pulled it up, took a look through those

175final changes, informed Mr. Paris I was fine with the contract, and he could work with Mr. to take whatever steps necessary to get it to the board. So, they had the next 5 days to review it prior to the meeting. Having said all of that, I made some assumptions and errors that had the effect of getting us to where we are today. While I did notify individuals that I made edits and changes um that were uh tracked in the history, I didn't specifically reference those in my conversations. Um, when I uh talked to Mr. Patterson that night and I said uh I made some edits, take a look. And then when I received a phone call the next morning saying that uh Brendan was in the contract and had some additional edit additional edits um

176the next morning I assumed that he had read through it um and he had saw those edits. Um uh I made the assumption that those were seen and reviewed. They were not. I apologize for that assumption and oversight to Mr. Pattern Patterson a number of times that week and since the board meeting on the 5th. Um, I did state that I could have done a better job in communicating my exact edits around severability and uh, assignability and uh, AFSA and so forth and making sure that everyone was aware. I own that. That's on me. Spoken multiple times with President Hunt as well and apologized to her and I've also called through the board to express similar sentiments. I've apologized to each of you either in voicemail, via phone, um some in person. I've apologized and

177acknowledged that I could have done better in the drafting process, not only with respect to the language, but with other changes I made and the assumptions I made about the review. And I apologize for the situation and tension this has caused for the board. Um, I know that just in my tenure here, the board's gone through some ups and downs, errors are made, but what I enjoy about working with all of you is our ability uh to focus on the work. And I've in my conversations, I've acknowledged um my faults and expressed an interest in continuing to work with the board and President Hunt to better our district. Um, moving from the timeline, I think it's useful to understand my perspective about FAFSA. Uh, in reviewing the contract, I researched uh the Michigan Association of

178School Administrators, the American Association of School Administrators, and in doing so, I recalled the American Federation of School Administration because the name is similar to AASA. um research whether uh that was something that would potentially be worth referencing. I found that they had an associate membership uh for those individuals who would like to join and participate in the organization, receive um communications from the organization, training, other materials, but are not covered by a union contract. I believe it would be useful for a few reasons. one uh it could allow the superintendent to gain insight into labor perspectives. Associate membership provides access to that collective experience of uh and viewpoints of administrators and educ education labor leaders. Um by engaging with AFSA, they can signal a collaborative culture um uh and improve labor relations. Um I

179think it is a way to strengthen that labor management uh relationship. Um, and I think that's particularly useful given some of the conversations I had uh with our administrators and our unions here uh during our selection process. Um, and then I think that they also just offer resources, advocacy and leadership development opportunities. To me, listing the listing of organizations in the section is instructive not compulsory. Uh, that belief is also something I shared to Mr. Patterson when we first spoke about this letter. Um, and finally, I want to address uh some of the ACU accusations and assertions in Mr. Beer's letter. Uh, Mr. Beer uh didn't contact me before sending the letter. Based on the conversations, I don't think he spoke with the superintendent or uh the president. Um, and uh, given some of the

180um, accusations and tone of the letter, um, I found fit to retain my own legal counsel. Um, uh, and I have a letter from my attorney, uh, who's practiced labor law for decades. Um, I trust his judgment and I asked him to help address some of the um, accusations contained in the letter that the board received. Um, first, the contract is drafted even with the insertion of AFSA into section 9 of the contract doesn't violate any labor laws for several reasons. The superintendent is contractually excluded from the JAPSA agreement and from being a member of the JAPSA bargaining agreement. So the option of paying fees and dues to AFSA doesn't interfere with their exclusive bargaining rights. Merely paying associate member dues doesn't constitute recognition of them as an exclusive bargaining agent. And uh section 9

181only authorizes the superintendent to request the district to pay the fees and dues approved in advance by the board of education. Um I know there was also a conversation about not in the letter but violation of the ethics policy. To the best that I can understand uh that reference is about avoiding being placed in a position of a conflict of interest. I don't believe I violated our ethics policy because I don't believe a conflict of interest exists. And I'll address that too. That's policy 144.3 which is um referenced in the uh memo as the statement of issue here um that reads that the board of education members shall perform their duties in a manner free of conflict of interest. When a board member determines the possibility of a personal interest um conflict exists um they

182should disclose that uh thereafter abstain from participation in the discussion and vote therein and that a member is presumed to have a conflict if the member his or her family has a financial interest or competing financial interest in a contract. State law uh is similar. It says we're a member of the board board of a school district or uh ISD board of directors um of an academy who believes or has reason to believe that he or she has a conflict of interest with regard to a contract or other financial transaction requires approval of the board shall abstain from voting and disclose the specific uh conflict of interest. Pursuant to our policy, I did not determine that the possibility of a conflict of interest existed here. Pursuant to state law, I did not and do not

183believe or have reason to believe I have a conflict of interest. And the reason I didn't think to provide uh that disclosure offer my abstension was such um want to further explain uh why I don't think it's a conflict. both 143 144.3 and the MCL uh 380 section uh 1203 are triggered by financial transactions. Um and 144.3 is triggered by personal benefit. Um, while I don't believe section uh nine obligates the district to spend any money at all, it authorizes the superintendent to request to have fees and dues approved uh and paid if approved in advance by the board of education. um those uh there's no financial transaction and it allows the superintendent to ask for those fees and dues in any professional other professional organization. Um those expenditures and at what levels uh come

184to the board for approval. Secondly, and more explicitly, conflicts of interest in both our policy 144.3 and 38 uh MCL 380 section 1203 are triggered by financial interests. Um, I receive uh no financial interest or personal benefit by merely adding uh FAFSA to section 9. The law is pretty clear in what is not a financial interest. um uh section 1203.4 um says for the purposes of this section an individual our policy that's in question here. I'll reference that instead because they both mirror each other. The conflict of interest policy says a board member is presumed to have a conflict of interest. Uh this is part C. if his or her family member has a financial interest or competing financial interest in the contract or other financial transaction or is an employee of the school district.

185Um it further states a board member is not considered to have a financial interest in any of the following instances. A lists a number of uh contract financial transaction between the school district and uh three different examples of which uh a corporation in which the individual is a stockholder with less than 1% and less than 25 grand worth of um uh ownership in the company. Um, it also says that if you're a professional uh LLC um and the individual is an employee of the LLC but not a member, meaning like an owner of the LLC, that also is not a financial interest. Part B says a contract or other financial transaction between the school district and any of the following uh is not a uh financial interest and thus not a conflict of interest. Uh

186part B1 is a corporation in which the individual is not a director, officer or employee. So um accordingly I am not a director officer member or employee of the AFSA organization. I don't own stock or ownership in the corporation nor are they indebted to me which is another um clarification in the law. I believe that our policy and the section cited in the law to be unambiguous. I don't believe that it allows for the speculation on a series of removed hypothetical transactions to string together some theory of a financial conflict of interest. Um, and finally, I don't believe there's a direct correlation between AFSA membership, association members, associated membership, associate membership, and the Michigan AFL CIO. In any case, uh, affiliated unions pay 40 cents a member per month. That's $4.80 a year, but that's

187paid on union members under a collective bargaining agreement. They don't pay on retirees and associate members. So, I think that uh this is largely moot anyways, but um I don't believe that uh I've vi I recognize a lot of this is new information to the board. Um, I'm trying to explain it in a multitude of ways and uh share my perspective and I wish I could have done it in more detail at our last meeting. Uh, in summary, I don't believe a conflict of interest exists or any of the other accusations have been made about policy violations. and specifically to speak to this agenda item. Uh I don't believe I'm in violation of policy 144.3 and thus I don't believe that removing me from this position is warranted for that reason. Um I hope that

188my comments show a fair account of what happened from my perspective. Um, but most important is that I want to uh I hope that I fully articulated um my uh apologies and my acknowledgement that I could have done better in the drafting process that I made some assumptions um that uh proved to be bad um and that I apologize to the board and superintendent on the matter. I recognize that everybody is upset. Um there's a lot of um frustration. I recognize that I failed to meet um uh some of the members expectations um in this task and to that I apologize and indicated that I will do better. I have also indicated to the superintendent that I'd like to move forward um and continue working with everyone here. I think that I can still bring

189a lot of um to our policies in the work ahead uh with uh President Hunt and the rest of everyone here. Um, you know, I talked to uh Suba before uh tonight's meeting and uh we actually talked about uh Marilyn and uh how I think I used to be uh the treasurer and then um step back from that. Um to me uh this is um not about um uh this is about being able to uh move forward and um lower the temperature in the room on this board and um you know I'm happy to um happy to do so working with everyone here happy to answer any questions. Thank you, Mr. Dobies. Any further discussion? Trusty Simonetti. So, I think that it's important to continue the timeline from where Mr. Doby's left off. So, once

190all of this came to light, um, Mr. Mr. Dobies did not call board members, but what he did was an interview with them live where he attempted to throw Mr. Beer, Mr. Patterson, and President Hunt under the bus that it was their fault and that they were the ones. And you know, I'm sure that once that contract was signed, Derek, that you're pretty proud of the fact that you got away with it. except that you didn't. Um, it took you two weeks to call individual board members and your apology was for the position that you put the board in. Your apology was not for your actions. And you know, the thing is is that there's no gotcha in good faith bargaining. Um, but we did learn that our processes could have been improved. Um, and

191and you brought up a couple things that I wasn't going to speak on, but the contract that you altered. So, you gave some untruths tonight about whether or not Superintendent Patterson is obligated to join and whether the district has to pay dues. But what the contract said before we fixed it is that the superintendent shall be expected to attend professional educational meetings at the local, state, and national level. The district shall pay membership fees and dues for the superintendent to join the Michigan Association of School Administrators, the American Association of School Administrators, the American Federation of School Administrators. And the part that has to be approved by the board is any other professional organizations approved in advance by the board. But it very specifically says that we shall pay for the first three organizations. And

192if you go to the website for the American Federation of School Administrators, the first thing you see is a big plaque that says AFL CIO. So I'm I'm not sure how you feel so confident in your position when you know it it clearly it's it as far as the interview with M Live, it's just like the dog policy. You went there and said we have this policy and now you went there and said it's everybody else's fault and you didn't do anything wrong. I do see a conflict of interest. I do see a violation of the ethics policy. We're still at discussion. Yes. Trusty Hamilton, please. So, um, a couple concerns, um, that I had from this whole debacle, um, one of my primary concerns, and you know, I spoke to this earlier, um, is

193that as board members, it's really, really, really important for us to know our roles, know our duties, know our responsibilities, know our latitude. It's like super important that we know for ourselves from our own personal research um from talking to uh people who don't have uh personal um you know interests in swaying us one way or another so that we then are questioning things and not just going along to get along. It's really important that we do that. Um this situation is obviously um a glaring example of why um that is so important. Um had we understood that just because past practice or good practice somewhere or best practice somewhere else because again understanding what good best and etc mean to whichever groups um when you understand that then you understand that it's not always

194good best or best for everybody sometime it's just for that group and for particular reasons. So any you know we might have been they might have been somebody might have said best practice is that you know just a couple of us review this contract um and then we'll get back to you later. Had we as board members been really intentional about uh being a part of this process and voting in a way that ensured that we all were a part of this process. You'd have at least uh at least seven board members and attorney and then the superintendent as well all of their eyes on the uh contract. we that what that's what you could have had. So there could have been individuals who one, you know, um those seven different perspectives is very important

195and and valuable to the process, but then two, seven different people who at at minimum who were saying, "Okay, hold on. There's a a change that was been made. Let me ask about that." But because, you know, somebody somewhere something uh convinced uh those board members to vote in favor of having just a couple people review it. Again, now we have this tobacco. Hopefully, this is some lesson that we've learned and that we won't uh keep doing this. The other concern that I have um is that uh the few people that were on this contract, you know, and and I get it, you know, um we're not, you know, the community and different ones, you're not necessarily required to know everything that we are supposed to do as board members. So, you know, no um

196no shade on that. I want you to know that. Okay. Um but um as the board president, Miss Hunt, at minimum, now mind you, you got these uh two board members on the contract. At minimum, because they voted to put just those two on the contract, at minimum, uh she should have been looking into what was occurring, recognizing the changes that have been made on the contract. Um and then being very intentional about saying to the board members, these are the changes have been that have been made. And then also intentional about asking, what are these changes? you know, how does it impact, you know, you you get we have one opportunity basically to uh sign a contract for uh this superintendent, you know, with these basic things in here at we should really she

197should have been really combing through this as the board president and as the one who decided that she wanted to be one of the two board members who were on this uh contract. So, that's a concern for me as board president. We as board, we can't make good decisions if we don't have all the information. And if you're hoarding that information or lax laxidasical about having that information then we are put in a bad position as board members which is why we end up having a June 5th meeting emergency meeting to change everything on the contract or change that part of the contract. The second concern that I have is with Mr. Patterson as a superintendent of this district. One of his primary roles aside from the role of superintendent, but his primary role to

198the board is to again give us all the information that could potentially be beneficial to us in making decisions around policy, student academic achievement, like all the things, right? We rely on him as the uh expert um in in this space, which is why we pay him and are paying him this exorbitant amount of money so that he could then give us the information that we need so we can make decisions that are accurate. I don't know if you all know or not, we're not paid as board members. Okay, we're this is volunteer. Um, so again, Jeremy Patterson, his contract, I would expect as the board as a superintendent for him to also, you know, as one of the four people who was on this contract for him also to say, you know what, there

199was a change made. Let me find out what it was, why, etc. This is his contract at minimum. he should have been questioning it, but then also he should have been very intentional about saying what was going on so the board could again make informed decisions because that's what we should be doing. Um the next thing I'll say I'm really concerned as well with our lawyer uh Mr. Beer, you know, having taken the time that he took to figure it out. I think it was I don't know five or six days or whatever before or a week or whatever it was before he figured out that this was a concern. The timeline is really confusing. It's there's there's some questions that I have um that are you know I I doubt they'll ever get answered

200so I won't list them but um I would expect as well before that meeting occurred on in May when they first voted on this contract that he would have figured out that these changes have been made as well. Clearly he redeemed himself which is why we're having this you know we had that June 5th meeting and why we're talking about this now because he figured it out and came and said something. So that was good. Um but yeah, that that still is a concern for me that uh you know, he didn't catch this beforehand. Um but yeah, um Derek, you know, to him as far as this whole thing of removing him, um I would definitely be in favor of removing him as VP and um suggesting that he not run for any other offices

201while we are on this uh while he's on the board. and primarily because uh you know he made the changes uh he didn't disclose those changes in a way that that they understood I guess um and the significance of the changes at least based on uh the attorney the school's attorney which he's supposed to be you know looking out for JPS. So in um in uh in reference to those uh statements that the lawyer made as far as you know uh this being uh Jer Dererick's uh employer or an affiliation of it. So there is some type potential uh financial gain. Jerick had an obligation to say something you know uh and to say it loudly. He should have even especially since they didn't say anything in the meeting. there was no conversation around it

202at the board table or at some point he should have said, "Hey, look, I did make these changes and I'm going to refrain from voting." So, absolutely. Um, I agree with you, Derek. You definitely should resign. Um, and I also agree that u he definitely should not be voted in on any other positions while he's on the board. Thank you, Trusty Hamilton. Just a couple follow-up questions. Were you at the meeting when the board voted to have myself and vice president doies go into conversation with Mr. Patterson? I voted no on that. Okay. Were you at the close meeting, the close session? No, I voted no on his contract just in general. So, I voted no. Okay. All right. I just wanted to to make that um public knowledge. There is something to be said

203about actively participating in crucial conversations when you're given the opportunity. Um, I understand that we did have a special meeting and you weren't here and I believe that had you been in that special meeting, you may would you probably would have had more information over these past couple weeks um, as it relates specifically to some of your concerns. Um, at minimum, you may mention that multiple times, at minimum, President Hunt should have did XYZ. At minimum, um, Trusty Hamilton, you are one to not effectively communicate and that has been problematic. And when I say that, um, I have made phone calls to you. I have left messages. And it's important that you're in the know. I want to engage with you. I value your perspective and I want to hear from you. But when you

204don't respond to phone calls and you don't respond to messages, that does become an issue. And I just want to make that known that as we move forward, as you have passionately stated, that at minimum action should be taken. I'm asking that you make yourself available to engage in those conversations respectfully. as it relates to Mr. Doby's um the process. Before I go there, is there any other board member that would like to say anything before I make my final comments? Mr. Patterson, would you like to speak on your behalf? Yes. Thank you. So, I prepared just a few comments to the board of education and the community. As your elected superintendent, I would like to formally summarize events regarding my contract negotiations and subsequent actions taken. Over the course of the several days and

205multiple sessions, I entered into contract negotiations with president and vice president of the board of education. Each item within the contract was discussed thoroughly line by line with participation from our district legal counsel. These negotiations were conducted in good faith and concluded in the full ratification of the contract. Al although as you've learned there was an oversight. However, at the ratification it came to my attention that vice president had unilaterally added language referencing the American Federation of School Administrators without prior discussion or negotiation. This addition was not disclosed during the negotiation process and was made without transparency and consultation. In speaking with other board members, they noted that they have no familiarity with American Federation of School Administrators. So why would it draw attention or sound any alarms? And I just didn't have any discussion

206about that association myself. Upon review, it was determined that this action violated JPS policy 144.3 and MCL 380203 as a vice president failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest which he's further clarified um this evening. Um as a result, a special meeting was called to reratify the contract excluding the unauthorized AFSA language. So, out of a whole contract, there were four letters that were removed. I appreciate the swift action uh taken by our legal counsel and board members addressing this. The superintendent's contract officially begins July 1, 2015, and we're still not there yet. The vice president has acknowledged the oversight, apologized for the lapse in judgment, and confirmed that by the uh addition was not made in ill intent and also has suggested to resign his seat as vice president of the board of

207education. Um while I fully accept his apology, I must also acknowledge that trust has been impacted not only for myself but the board of education and the broader community, which again he's acknowledged again this evening. Such actions must not be repeated. Looking ahead is imperative that we uphold the principles of transparency, integrity, and open communication. Rebuilding trust requires a commitment to collaboration and accountability at all levels. I remain dedicated to serving our district with these values at the forefront. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on the behalf of this. And um I would also like to acknowledge again that um Mr. Doby's reached out to me on multiple occasions to um apologize and again thought that there would be some benefit to this professional organization and um again I accept the apology. Thank you,

208Mr. Patterson. Miss Hunt, we get to speak twice on this. Did you want us to wait till after you speak or did you want your comments to be the like the final final? Do you have additional comments, Trusty Hamilton? I do. I just I didn't know. So the good Now is a good time. Now for Okay. Um so the next thing I'll say about this um that I think is really important for the community to you know uh be aware of is um this issue is not about Kesha. Um you know to be clear um it's not about Kesha. Um the other thing is that uh as elected board members that are not paid but are very much committed to this seat. Um you know regardless to the compensation which is not there you know

209um uh some of us have lives and and and events and different things that that occur. jobs and things um that sometimes demand our attention um and sometimes we have to take care of those things. So again, this is not about Kesha. Um I reiterated, I said before and I'll reiterate, Miss Hunt did have an obligation to uh let us know these things. Um and and and she failed in that and that's problematic for me. Um same thing with Jeremy and same thing with Derek. Um the other thing is that um you know one sitting at this table it's our obligation to make informed decisions and if we're going to be kept away from different things then we should be able to have informed decisions by that information being given to us. That information being

210given to us is not only required to be given uh through a a phone call. There are emails that can be sent. There are text messages that can be sent if you have the privilege to text that person. Um and then there's this board table. This is where we're actually supposed to have the conversations at. It's a privilege if we have those conversations outside of the space. So the idea that someone is not available that I personally not am not available. This table when you all come the only name that you were hearing for four full years of the person who was responding to you was mine because I was responding to you. So it's not a lack of you know me responding. The table is right here is where we have those conversations at.

211Like I said you also can email but um it's a privilege to have uh conversations with me particularly after you've broken that trust. Um, so you won't be having that that uh personal uh uh contact with me, but you can definitely email me. You can have the conversation at the table. Um, because you've broken that trust. So again, you know, uh we know that we know that me reaching out that's never been an issue. Thank you, Trusty Semini. Trusty Actton How you do one thing is how you do all things. I did not know that Derek was on WX Mid Michigan Matters until last night. I had no idea. So I listened to that interview myself and I am on the policy committee and I had I was astounded that um he'd never he did

212not correct the newscaster and her her and it and it was Jackson school's policy allows therapy dogs and that was April 10th and um and the newscaster she ended up saying all of this is happening April 15th when the new policy kicks in. Well, it hadn't even gone before our lawyer. And um so, Chris, I I had no idea about that, but how you do one thing is how you do all things. Um so, can I make a motion right now or No, we're still on this. I'm I want to make sure we have given everyone the opportunity to have discussion. Trusty Actton, are you done with your with your comment? Yes. To that comment. Okay. Okay. Mr. Dobies, are you requesting to make further comments? Yeah. Um I'm not entirely the I'm I'm kind

213of and I don't want to dwell on it. I'm not entirely sure where the dog policy stuff is coming from and the wx. Um I'm I'm looking forward to going back and um reviewing that myself. I don't uh set the um the the um voiceovers or setup for those interviews. nor do I like approve whatever the language is that they use to introdu introduce those pieces. Um to the best of my recollection, um uh at the meeting before the April 15th meeting, um Superintendent Beiel told me that he planned to take uh the policy um and bring it uh in front of this board for consideration along therapy dogs. Um, I never said that the policy was passed or approved. Um, I'm sure that I said it was under consideration. Um, so I will take

214a look at that. Um, okay. Um, but it was something that um I'd been working on and um so I I really don't know um uh where that's coming from, but happy to take a look at it. Um but that is to the best of my recollection that um when I talked to um Superintendent Beal about that policy going to the policy committee that he said that he planned to have it back uh in front of us at like the April 15th meeting. So uh but I also like um uh have expressed this to President Hunt and President Patterson again that uh the assumptions that were made that led to this uh were squarely on uh me um and that I could have done better. I don't want uh the board to to break down

215and to um laying blame. I'm happy to um take that and uh acknowledge that I could have done better in this process. Thank you, Mr. Dobies. I would like to just kind of give my perspective as it relates to the process. So, um, first want to thank the board for your vote of confidence for, um, allowing me and, uh, Mr. Dobies to go into negotiation with Mr. Patterson. Um, I sit here today with, um, a clear conscience. Um again with the utmost confidence that the process that we conducted was one in which we maintained our integrity. We um again to echo what some of the language that Mr. Patterson said, we did go line by line. We revisited that document on multiple occasions. um the the four words that were inserted I had no knowledge

216absolutely no knowledge of that information that was added. Mr. Doby's has apologized multiple times. Uh he's has made mention today that it was an assumption that we myself and Mr. Patterson would be okay with the insertion. Uh I was my response to that is I would have appreciated uh courtesy of providing um explicitly your uh action of putting that language in there. And so as a result, I did not have that courtesy and was not given the opportunity to entertain a conversation that would further um fulfill the negotiation in good faith. Um I do accept apologies. I do feel that um when an action is committed and someone is willing to humble themselves and apologize that um I have an obligation to accept that apology. Um apologies come with a commitment to change and my

217hope is that Mr. Doies has made his public apology and the moving forward there will not be an um any any other heirs as he continued to remain at this board table uh to ensure accountability and protect the trust of our community which has been compromised. The trust I mean we have to say it the trust has been compromised to some degree. Um, when I received word of this information, it was through a letter and I again felt compelled to have a special meeting. Given the nature of the conversation, it was important that a closed session was called. Given um Mr. Patterson's contract, we did not discuss that publicly and so a special meeting was called to further discuss it. When we went in close session, um further discussion took place at which point we

218came out and that language was extracted and it was reratified and an effective date had been made. The board remains steadfast in its dedication to the students, families, and staff of the Jackson Public School. It is important that the work that we do as a body is that with integrity, transparency, and accountability. And while we did not have any foresight on this um information that was included into the contract, um I feel that we have an obligation to uphold the highest standards of governance and that apology and additional actions must be considered to ensure the credibility of our processes and the effective leadership of our district under Superintendent Patterson beginning his journey as superintendent. I would lastly like to share that um Derek, you have made the you have made that statement that you are

219willing to resign as vice president. I think that the decision today from the board should be based solely on the best interest of our district. As we consider the motion that is on the floor, I hope that we center our children, center our students, our faculty and staff, our integrity, accountability, and transparency moving forward. This is how we operate. um we operate with acknowledgement, accountability and ownership. So my um my advice to the board is that we ponder the words that have been made mentioned from everyone represented here today and make a decision that will reflect our strong position as elected officials and our obligation to lead with integrity. We have a motion on the floor. Cheryl, would at this time would you restate your motion? My motion is that Derek Dobies be removed from

220his position as vice president of the board and be ineligible for any further office for the remainder of his term. Marilyn, did you second that earlier? Okay. I would like to amend that a motion that motion to um have some discussion regarding the term. So amend the motion to remove Derek Doby's from VP with further consideration as it relates to his remaining years on the board. I second that. Second that. So I want to have some discussion about that and I bring that forth because um in essence we're saying that we don't have the autonomy to remove him. We don't have the autonomy to remove him from his role as a board member. Okay. We have the autonomy to remove him from his officer position. I want to make certain that the board is agreeing.

221Is this the understanding of the board that he no longer has the opportunity for the remaining of his 2028 term to fill an officer position? I'm not sure what you're looking for, but yes, that was included in my motion. Any further discussion? All right, we are going to do a roll call vote for the motion to remove Mr. from VP and no opportunity to hold an officer position for the remainder of his term. Miss Hamilton, yes. Mrs. Simonetti, yes. Mr. Ready? Yes. Miss Actton. Yes. Miss Sharp. Yes. Mr. Doby's. Miss Hunt. Yes. Motion passes. At this time, we will move to agenda item 12, board comments. Um, Madame President, before we do that, I would like to address a couple other issues. Um, I make a motion that Derek Dobies be censored by this board

222uh with a vote of no confidence support. I'd like to We have a motion on the floor to censor Mr. Doby's a second. Any discussion? Yes. Um, I just want some explanation on on what that what that does, what that looks like, what what's the purpose of it, trusty Simonetti. Yeah. I mean, really, it's a slap on the hand. It's a vote of no confidence. It does not take away any of his powers to be a board member or to vote. Um, it's a statement by the board to say that we disapprove of his behavior. So, I'll just say um as far as on this one, some of my discussion for this one would be um I feel like we've given him that, but uh removing him from the uh from the position of VP

223and also uh voting that he can't hold seats for as long as he's on the board at this time, which I probably should have asked as I did think to question it. Um is that even something we could do? Our legal counsel could answer that maybe at some point. Can we we keep him from uh being in another position at some point? But anyways though, um I feel like we've done that. So I don't know. I'm going listen to the rest of the board members to decide how I'm going to vote on this current one. But I do feel like we've given him a very strong uh slap on the wrist and a clear vote of no confidence by removing him as VP and also by saying that you know he cannot sit or serve

224in any that we won't be voting him into any other seats. Any other discussion? I would say um given the circumstances of this um Mr. Dobby has provided a public apology. We have removed he by way of vote him from the VP position. Cheryl, my question to you is the same thing. Um, it it feels as if at this point we are um I don't want to say that what why why more I think it's a firm statement that his actions are unacceptable. I guess the the example that comes comes to mind is and I I'll take it to our our our school. We have a student and this is just an analogy. We have a student that uh is on the basketball team and he uh drops dirty for a substance and he is

225removed from eligibility for the remainder of that school year. but that the next school year he has that opportunity to to clean slate and be given the opportunity to to play again in this situation. I just think that you know we've not only did Mr. Dolby say that he was resigning from BP, he apologized. The decision has been made amongst this board. I think um to further censure him would would not match the um the action. Trusty Ready. If I agree with you, Miss Hamilton, um Mrs. Hunt or Mrs. Hamilton? Sorry, Mrs. Hunt. My bad. my apologies. Um but uh you're right. Um we did uh I mean doing he came out and he he did apologize not just to the board members multiple times on phone calls or leaving messages or emails. I talked

226to him a couple times too. He apologized multiple times in those two calls. uh doing mistake is one thing but coming out apologizing to not only the board members but to everyone who is here and the entire community everybody's watching right now that tells you something he's ready to work together and not to do the mistakes over so I I I don't think we we need you know more to add more to this because I am here to work together with all the board members focusing on the kids, education and Jackson Public Schools together. Okay. So, I I I think I think we we did enough and we need to work together and focus on the right things moving forward. Thank you, Trusty Actton. So, I think putting um a censure censuring him is absolutely

227the right thing to do because I heard so many people, my constituents, I've never heard that many people reach out and I think it puts more teeth into it and um showing them that I heard them and I'm we're acting on it. Um so, it's really because I was voted into office and I'm doing exactly what they have asked me to do. Jesse Sonetti. Um I agree and that was going to be my comment also is that I've heard from my constituents and that's one of the reasons I made that motion um in the last since this weekend. You know, I've had at least 20 emails from people calling for this action. And again, I feel that Mr. Doby's apology was half-hearted and I believe in what he said to me. His goal moving forward

228is to work on the three policies that he wants to pass. That that's his agenda is the dog policy, the students on the board, and the equity policy. He apologize and wants life to go on as normal and let's get these three policies done. I I disagree. trusty sharp. Um, so I'll offer a comment just as far as censorship censorship, oh my goodness, goes, um, apologies, it's been a long night. Um, so part of the work I believe moving forward and part of uh what we need to do as a board is heal relationships amongst ourselves and between ourselves and the community. And I think this sends a strong message that we we are committed to doing that. Um, as much as it as much as I don't love it, um, I do think it's

229necessary to help rebuild trust and repair relationships that have been broken. Thank you, Trusty Sher. Do you know Mr. Ready is coming back? We're waiting on you, Mr. Ready. No worries. No worries. At this time, we will conduct a roll call vote based on the motion from Trusty Simonetti to censure Mr. Doby's second by Trusty Actton. Miss Hamilton. Yes. Mrs. Seini, yes. Mr. Ready, no. Miss Actton, yes. Miss Sharp, yes. Mr. Dobies, Miss Hunt, no. Motion passes. Madam President, can I make a motion? Absolutely. I'd like to make a motion that Vice President Derek Dobies tenders his resignation to the Jackson Public School Board based on violating board policy 144.3 and MCL 380 section 123. support. We have a motion on the floor for Mr. Dobies to resign. We have a second. Place Mr. Bear.

230The board doesn't have the authority to compel Mr. Doby's resignation. If he chooses to resign, he chooses to resign. If he does not, he does not. It It is not for the board to compel a resignation and make a board state to make a statement that you feel like that's appropriate. But I do not believe the board and I've I've had this conversation with Miss Hunt. It's one of the reasons why I talked to you about the agenda that led into the meeting. Board does not have the authority to take that action. And so I I I just don't think that's a proper motion for the board to actually consider. Thank you, Mr. Bear. We will I will make a motion to resend that motion. Do I have a second? Trusty Sharp has a second.

231The motion has been rescended. All those in favor? Discussion. Discussion. Thank you. Um, so I fully understand that the board cannot compel Mr. Doby's to resign. It's again a statement based on 20 plus emails and people at the microphone demanding that we make this statement. I have no belief that we can force them to resign. It's a statement that says this is what the public wants. Trusty act. So as a board we have the responsibility to maintain trust and ensure impartial governance. As a recently elected school board member, Mr. Doby's behavior contributes to distrust of us other board members striving to serve in an ethical and transparent fashion. At a time when public school board members in general are under increasing scrutiny, the unethical behavior of Mr. Dobies is a serious disservice to us fellow

232board members. Further, it's a distraction to the success of Mr. Patterson and the JPS district as a whole. Thank you. Trusty acting hearing no more. This trusty be a note on the no vote on this. I think the censorship and the other vote was enough and you know we can't force him to vote. I think we've sent a strong message to the community already. So it'll be a note on a no on this. Trusty Sharp. I would also be a no on this just because it it feels redundant to the motion that we just passed. Thank you. A motion to resend this motion. I have a second from Trusty Sharp. Discussion has taken place. All those in favor of rescending the motion to have Derek Dobies resign from the board, Jackson Public School Board of

233Education. All those in favor say I. I. I. Any oppose? One opposition. Motion passes. Um, Madame President, if I may, I have one more motion. Um, I would like to nominate Marilyn Actton as the new vice president of the board. Do we have any other nominations? Madam President, um, back to my original motion, um, I'd like to nominate Subaretti. All right, we have a nomination for Trustee Actton and a nomination for trustee ready to fill the B vice president officer position. So we'll handle these one by one. Um Sarah. Okay. All those um any further nominations before we go into discussion? Okay. So, we have the first nomination for Maryland. Any discussion regarding this motion nomination? I would like it. Okay. Any discussion regarding Mr. Ready filling the officer position for VP. All right. Well,

234we will conduct a roll call vote for each nomination. And based on the number of votes will determine who succeeds into the vice president position. First nomination was made for Marilyn acting. Marilyn, before we go into that vote, is there anything typically we um give you the opportunity to speak um as an individual um why would you your reason for fulfilling this role? because I want to get back on track. I campaigned for reading, writing, and arithmetic. I'm a great fan of JPS of my father went here, my siblings, I did, my children, and I just think we've kind of gotten offkilter with a minutia and I just want to get back to business. We've got a new superintendent. He's amazing. we're going to get um you know Julie Baker on board and I'm just

235excited about the good things that are happening here and to keep the focus where it's supposed to go and move these meetings along really well and um I'm I'm just a big fan and I just I'm all in for like Jeremy's t-shirt. I'm really all in for JPS and I love I love the work and I think that I work pretty well with Shelanda. um we don't always agree but um we've come to pretty good conclusions and um her strengths are my weaknesses and I think vice versa and so um and I think I can still carry out my duties with my buddy over there Marcus as a treasure so I just would appreciate everyone's support thank you trusty actton uh given the same opportunity Mr. ready. Would you have any words that you would

236like to share? You're putting me on the spot based on your nomination. Yep. But thanks for the nomination, Derek. Um, but I I I strongly feel like, you know, uh, I do need a lot of uh, learning here. Um, but at the same time, you know, now my mind is clear, you know, um, when it comes to my health. I think I think I'm ready to take more responsibilities. Um, just like just like every one of us here, we all care about JPS and we are strong individuals from different backgrounds. None of us are, you know, we known each other before we came here. Um, especially myself. Um, I've been traveled multiple places around the world. Um, and I've been I I I worked in multiple companies after my graduation from Michigan State. Uh, seeing

237different culture, different environments, how they work. And at the same time, um, my heart is right here in this building. because this is where I started my journey in United States of America and I'm still coaching tennis. Just like uh Miss Hamilton said, we don't get paid to be the board member. I don't get paid to coach and uh not one season. I coach girls season and the boys season because I love what I do to make a difference at JPS. Thank you, Mr. Ready. I have confidence in both nominations. However, I have uh Cheryl made the nomination for Maryland Trustee Actton. I've had the privilege of attending multiple MASB leadership conferences with Trustee Actton. um granted us the opportunity to unpack some of the uh information that we've learned and ask questions and ask

238our administrators additional questions to gain a better understanding of how we can effectively fulfill our roles as elected officials here at the board of education. And so my support would be for you, Marilyn. Thank you for your leadership, Trusty Ready. Um, thank you for your leadership as well. Your commitment to um invest your time and energy in the work that we that we have before us as elected officials to ensure the the the betterment for our student population. So at this time if there's no further discussion we will entertain trustee simi you do have additional comments. Yes. So nothing personal suba please but this is your sixth regular board meeting and I just want to be sure that you understand that the role of vice president is to take the role of president in the

239president's absence. So next month Shalan Shelanda can't be here. Can you run the meeting? I just want you to really consider all of that. That's all. Thank you. Hearing or seeing no other uh desire to discuss, we will conduct a roll call vote. We'll do one. Yep. So, the first nomination was made for trustee acting. We'll conduct a roll call for trustee acting at this time. No, we'll do a roll call. All right, go ahead. Miss Hamilton, no. Mrs. Simonetti, just to clarify, we're voting on Maryland. That's correct. We are voting on Maryland as um vice president. Mr. Ready? Miss Actton. Yes. Miss Sharp. Yes. Mr. Dobies. He did not. Miss Hunt. Yes. We have how many yeses? One, two, four yeses. Okay, Miss Hamilton, what are we doing now? A motion the nomination for

240trustee ready. We just conducted a roll call vote for trustee Actton. Now we are conducting a roll call vote for trustee ready to fill the VP officer position because the four votes didn't put her in as VP. We're doing it individually. Okay. The four votes and put her in SVP. Um, no. Mrs. Simonetti, I'm sorry. Subo. No, Mr. Ready? We got to work together at the end of the day. So, no matter what, like I said, we are all here for JPS. Miss Actton, no. Miss Sharp, no. Mr. Dobies, Miss Hunt, no. Thank you, Mr. Dovice. A motion, a nomination and a motion was made. Um, at this time, we would like to announce Marilyn Actton as our new vice president for JPS board of education. And we will now move to agenda item 12.

241Any board comments? I just wanted to reiterate the mission and vision statement and I think the Sharp Park ladies um the contingency not just the ladies of the parents even reiterated this earlier but I had already written it down because I always take copious notes anyways before I come. Our mission, we will bring our community together to create a culture of academic excellence and workforce readiness. I I love that we're a really welcoming community and our vision, we envision a community where all students become lifelong learners. So, thank you for coming out tonight and thank you for all of your comments and all of your input and please keep them coming. Um, it's very greatly appreciated. Thank you, Trusty Simonetti. Um, I'm not going to belabor any of the agenda items from tonight, but I

242would like to make note that on the next meeting, we need to fill the office of treasurer of this board. I don't think it's appropriate for one person to hold two offices. Nothing personal, Marilyn. Thank you. All right, we will move to the calendar. July 22nd is our next regular board meeting here, same place, JHS Media Center at 6 PM. I would entertain a motion to adjourn. Support or so moved. All right. Meeting adjourned.