001waiting for okay okay I'd like to call the special meeting to order can I have a roll call Mr Antoine is here Miss Bonnie here Mr Connor here Dr Dimas here Masai course here miss Rock rice here Mr Young here all right can I have a motion to approve the agenda so moved Demas and Young any questions or concerns for the audience this is a special meeting just for one topic and then um it's for a board resolution to do the MISD biannual election and then we're going to adjourn this meeting and start our regular meeting so uh with that all in favor of the agenda say aye aye opposed motion carries I need motion for resolution 39. motion support moved and supported so this is where the board has to decide who is going
002to go down and cast our ballot on June 5th and Mr Antoine is willing to do that on behalf of us and who did who's the alternator no no no oh no who's going to be the alternate do you want me to be the alternate or does someone else want to go on the fifth if Mike can't I can go uh Dr D mess will be the alternate okay so I just need a motion to approve Mr Antoine as the person to go and our alternate as motion support moved and supported all in favor I I opposed motion carries can I have a motion to adjourn the special meeting motion support moved and supported we got Dimas and I course all in favor I opposed motion carries all right I will call to order the
003regular Board of Education meeting and if we can rise for the Pledge of Allegiance cities of America and to the Republicans one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all can I have a motion to approve tonight's agenda motion by Young supported by Connor any questions or concerns on tonight's agenda information hey Dr Robinson your microphone's off I'm sorry 7c 297 Prospect RFP that should be stricken from the agenda there's no informational update based on you know the outcome since our facilities meeting it's under informational yeah there's no Standalone update in regard to that and there's no as you know there's no action on the agenda in regard to that all right any other changes to the agenda seeing none all in favor opposed motion carries turn it over to Dr Robinson for
004celebrations um so a couple celebrations from Amanda Moore to start our celebrations tonight first of all we want to congratulate and celebrate Amanda Moore on their Green School status they've achieved the highest level status which is Evergreen status and see a picture there from the banquet at the ISD with Mr Bennett and a couple of his parent reps and some of the county officials that were there so we're we're happy that they've continued to pursue that and continue to raise their status over the last couple years we also have an exciting announcement tonight and that's congratulating Sabrina Sarah her invention was chosen from a lot of fourth graders in the county from nine different Macomb County districts who participated in the isd's little inventor go green challenge so these 1254th graders as a part of
005their school experience got the opportunity to propose an invention that would help solve some issue and at this point there's a there's a banquet at the ISD for the students and representative from their districts but what's neater about this is Sabrina's invention will be brought to life by a professor and students from the Center of Creative Studies so the students that were chosen whether that's a corporation or a business within the community or or in this case the center of for Creative Studies they actually make their designs come to life and then display those so so we're excited congratulations to Sabrina I know we had several Unique Designs from our fourth graders and it's it's super cool to get this type of county level recognition based on one of our elementary students um our host
006of students this is extension Health occupation Student Association right Mr Oswald just say yes thank you um so uh we had a group of students we know that that many of our CTE Pathways and courses have a corresponding Student Association that leads to some kind of competition based on the trade that they're studying so our students compete competed at the student leadership conference in Traverse City they all did a phenomenal job you see the group and our two teachers they're on the top and then you'll see PJ Samantha and Cali I'm not going to attempt PJ's last name there that one's a tough one but they were in two of them were in EMTs like our our local Greek here will tell us okay the local list thank you PJ congratulations and thank you Dr
007Dimas Samantha and Kelly all finished uh top eight in their events and then we had a couple students uh placed second place in the state for forensic sciences and they are eligible to compete in the International Leadership Conference in Texas in June and that's Olivia Luther and Anna Ferguson that you see uh in the bottom picture there so congratulations to our HOSA students and and thank you to our teachers for supporting them getting us some state level recognition and you never know maybe International so it's a busy time of year and uh there's no more important ceremony that we do as a school district than our commencement ceremony that's coming up in in less than two weeks here but at this time of year we also like to recognize the class of the graduating class
008top ten and so this year's class of 2023 top 10 had uh the traditional top 10 breakfast and I know several of our board members were able to attend and and hear their comments on their High School journey and the special educator that they chose to recognize we also like to afford the opportunity for them to just be recognized at a board meeting um this time of year it's it's hard to Corral seniors on their way out um because they're just looking forward to being done but they're also very busy and and sports and other things at the end of the year so um the best late plans would be to have all 10 here but we have a great representative group of them and Mr Oswald if you would come to the podium and
009help introduce them I'm Mrs bionic I have some certificates for those that are here and then we'll just get a group photo of of them seniors please make sure you tell your top 10 colleagues what an awesome experience this was and they should have never missed it compared to all the amazing things that are going to happen in the last two weeks to a couple weeks from now deal all right all right thank you sir uh yeah like you said we've you know a very busy time of year for our students and as you would imagine our top 10 students are very involved in many things so we do have three with us tonight Zach guts if you could uh stand up Zoe Atkins and Tyler pressle congratulations guys probably do handshakes why don't you
010one at a time Mr Osborne and I got a little dad on them so we'll we'll share I gotta be able to read that I need glasses yeah okay he did say he needs his glasses I don't have any yet I need to buy something all right so this uh Zoe Atkins Zoe uh she is in our hhp Academy she's got a GPA of 4.041 planning to attend Michigan State University go green and uh to study medicine or engineering uh so you're in our medical pathway correct yeah um and uh so she has a very um exciting future ahead of her so congratulations to you congratulations Zoe come on up hey so thankful my dad for wearing glasses and now it's coming back to me all right so Tyler pretzel Tyler uh GPA 4.048 uh
011and for those of you you probably noticed but we have weighted grade so pretty much they get straight A's and then their AP classes uh they get A's in those as well which kind of gives them that extra boost so extraordinarily difficult uh to to have these type of grade point averages uh so Tyler uh is in our um Dem Academy Tyler is going to Grand Valley next year to study mechanical engineering uh that's going to be an incredible experience for him Tyler congratulations to you sir qualified for the state right yes yeah that's right that's right track and wrestling and wrestling yeah yeah you're all around good job and a really nice guy he really is so just just for mention Madison Clore uh couldn't be here tonight she is in our top ten
012Elena nikolowski uh is also in our top ten and now we're up to all right Zach Ott's also part of our Dem academy uh Zach GPA 4.056 attending Michigan Tech next year studying civil engineering I hope you love the outdoors a lot of good stuff to do up there all right Zach congratulations [Applause] so give us one second we'll get that picture Avery Co in our top ten Cody hunt Olivia cacco Aubry McDonald's Aubry yep and Danielle Culkin who is this year's valedictorian yes sir so congratulations Mrs McFarland will you be the Mr Oswald hold on we got the parents behind you okay now guys we have this row of handshake so if you go down the table congratulations congratulations congratulations medicine all the way well done nervous and that is our celebrations for tonight
013and we have no presentations this evening so move on to consent can I have a motion is our general fund bills our approval of our financial reports approval of the wire transfer purchasing card expenditures minutes from our regular meeting on May 1. the approval of the 2324 MISD budget and approval of the update to board policy 6008 that is your first reading second so it's moved by Young and supported by I course questions seeing none all in favor I opposed motion carries moving on to informational updates Communications I have none all right and committee reports um Finance we were all at we were together for finance and Facilities and then policy was the policy that's up here at 6008 I don't know Catherine do you want to give any other report all right anything you
014want to add Dr Robinson to committees um I think um I want us to summarize yes that would be great I mean specifically to the policy you know there was only one policy revision and we were viewed two administrative regulations which you know we just review those with the board they're not anything the board has to vote on and those you know a line and in this case as we discussed in the policy meeting 6008 is on employees um claiming mileage and we're actually updating the policy to match our practice correct so this is the first consideration of that you want to move on to superintendent's report I guess before we click off two upcoming committee meetings uh Tuesday May 30th is curriculum and Monday June 5th is finance so uh just just to include
015a note of my superintendent's report we converted our finance subcommittee meeting to a committee of the whole which all seven board members attended that was on Monday May 8th and had an extensive conversation uh in regard to the proposals we had our legal counsel on Dana Abrams and our consultant Bill Bowen from Great Northern Consulting we also spoke you know about other matters of the finance committee but spent a big chunk of time around the Prospect and then we actually followed up and created our subcommittee facility subcommittee meeting last Thursday to a committee of the whole and had the board in attendance and took public comment from the citizens group Mr Corey's group and shared the information that was discussed that the finance committee in that regard as I shared with the board we you
016know our negotiations on a contract with SDC our lead consultant you know have have not followed through and so there's no action at this time because we don't have a contract to present to the board and we have some conversation to have before we can move forward uh in that regard construction update from our facilities meeting we have a few summer project resolutions on the agenda tonight and then Mr Murray and myself updated on the elementary and Croswell Furniture resolutions and then our one-year ABM contract and extension for custodial services so I'll start with just the the summer construction project resolutions I have Mr Bollinger here and Mr tollis and Mr storm and they'd be happy to come to the podium if there's any questions in regards to those that the board has I know
017we had pretty thorough discussion at the facilities meeting any questions on those okay Mr Murray and myself are here we've got our special ed classrooms and our young five classrooms so the next phase of our elementary Furniture proposal any questions in regard to that uh and then of course the first phase of our Croswell furniture for the 300 hallway to be updated in August um for the first phase of the construction any questions on that um so I just note just because we're in the public forum that we have two phases to Elementary classroom replacement this summer are buildings that aren't under renovation are getting their Furniture so Amanda Moore Washington and and Havel will get their Furniture updates and then next summer when those buildings have construction going on in Hamilton Parsons in Indian
018Hills construction is complete the summer of 24 they will get their Furniture so a lot of logistics and trying to do that around completing construction is just not in our best interest so we've kind of split that across two summers Croswell will get some initial classroom Furniture updates uh this August for the portion of the building that will be renovated this summer and that mid-year next year when the new edition is completed and another portion of the building is done they'll get furniture we will bring that to the board for approval in the fall all and then the final chunk will be the Early Childhood special ed classroom wing and any remaining parts of the building would be approved this time next year for an August installation so there we are with that we had
019a three-year agreement that the board approved with our custodial services company with the opportunity for two one-year extensions and we bring to the board tonight just the the first of one year extensions for next year any questions in regard to anything about that okay on the agenda tonight also is at the finance committee meeting we had uh Mr Nelson presented the upgrade to the high school computer Graphics lab it's time for those computers to be upgraded so we have the resolution tonight to replace those computers out of the 2021 technology bond funds and then finally for safety um Last Summer the board approved us using a visitor management system at the middle school the ninth grade academy and the high school that original system we've used this year keeping track has has served us well
020but as we've gone through over the last couple months and audited just the reports and the information that that we can pull from that and the ability to have that system connect to our student information system power school there's just limitations in that that vendor told us they were working towards being able to coordinate but it is not coming through so we've we've worked with our our safe Ed Personnel who use this system every day and Mr Nelson and we've decided to switch vendors same cost Arrangement and we're reusing some of the equipment from the original purchase and so we just now have installed the the Raptor visit visitor management system at the Middle School our lead person from safe Ed who's who's really kind of Taken on the reports and all of that so
021they're working with it we'll get it integrated here and at the 1012 building for the start of school and then I would anticipate us having a conversation about whether the district wants to bring that down to the elementary buildings but the the biggest thing that we'll move forward on with raptor is if we can integrate this with our student management system then we'd have the ability also to to have kids sign in to school when they're late and sign out through this system and it would immediately talk to PowerSchool which would kind of reduce some some Manpower hours on auditing attendance so we we have that conversion underway with with raptor Mr Murray Mrs McFarland you want to come on up and give us our academic Services report thank you good evening just a few
022updates from the elementary level uh the first is around ckla we've wasted no time since uh it's been approved for us to adopt a new Ela curricular resource our leaders within District building principles literacy Specialists uh Jennifer and myself have undergone their leadership training that was kind of at the you know beginning May 10th I think and so found it to be productive and set the stage for us to better understand what will be happening in classrooms our PO is done which means that we we are in a spot where we've agreed on the materials that we need have given numbers for next year and are hoping to take delivery by all of our Resources by June 30th uh I'm told it comes on one big semi uh we're thankful that that it'll be delivered
023to all of our buildings individually meaning it'll make five stops but it'll be quite undertaking even to just unpack and sort everything that's there so lots of excitement around ckla uh at the end of April we had a visit from some of our friends at l l products uh those who've been on the board for a little bit know that l l has played a pivotal role in supporting our stem initiative at the elementary level and so uh really through a series of Grants and so they wanted to see how their money was being spent and so we were able to visit Amanda Moore Elementary in hevel elementary where they could see students working with make dues which are little cardboarding screws that students can use to put cardboard together to make projects and then
024there was a a demolition derby of sorts at hevel using spheros and so the sphero's actually had a cup on like a Solo Cup on top and the kids were ramming them into each other to see who could knock the cup over uh needless to say our friends from L walked away thoroughly impressed with the work that we're doing and so I felt great about that it's only really year one for us a full implementation so we're looking forward to you know the years coming forward and and some of the joy and learning that we can bring to our elementary students um our summer programming planning at the elementary level is in full swing I checked today and we have about 215 students who are signed up for summer school at the elementary level one
025of the things that we noticed last year is we we do get a high number of people who who sign up to come and then the trick and key is to keeping them wanting to come as summer hits and so we'll be working on messaging and ensuring that we communicate that Transportation can be provided along with snacks and then just kind of working on room assignments so the nuts and bolts Logistics of of planning is what we're looking at right now and then the final piece tonight is related to some of the hires that we need to make at the elementary level we have seven open positions and our second round interviews will occur this week a full day on Wednesday and a portion of Thursday we have nine candidates who we will look at
026this week and then hopefully uh pair down and invite some back to teach a classroom lesson and get the best candidates so thank you good afternoon or evening um so summer programs some updates as far as some of the upper L and middle school programs we have running we do have a girls in stem program that is a four-day program it starts June 19th these are for current girls in fifth grade we have a few spots left so if anyone's listening and is interested reach out this year we're going to offer a an advanced girls in stem that's in July I believe it's July 10th um yes July the week of July 10th it is also four days and these are current girls in seventh and eighth grade and um we are going to have
027them in um our construction class they'll go to our engineering and design class our Machining classroom and our robotics classroom so we have lots of room for girls to get a feel for our stem programs that we offer at the high school we also have middle school math mindset these are for kids that are currently in fifth and sixth grade we have room so if you are a parent of A fifth or sixth grader and you are looking for some more math it is not a fill of what they you know haven't learned it really is creating a mindset for being willing to take risks and math and and solve things in different ways it's a it's a pretty cool program we've run it for at least 10 years and the kids walk away feeling
028like I can do this is really what the intent of that program is our Middle School readers and writers is is full we have 18 kids willing to read over the summer I'm excited about that and we have some teacher Cadets so these are high school students 9th 10th and 11th grade who will be supporting some of those classrooms that Mr Murray talked about in elementary um piggybacking a little bit about the interviews and where we're at um the high school has made great progress on interviewing for their vacancies at the high school and um Wednesday we will begin round one for the third assistant principal that the board had approved earlier in an earlier meeting tomorrow I meet with our 6th through 12th grade ELA representatives to begin our curriculum work so we had
029talked about it in one of our subject area meetings and they heard about amplify C Cala and they said when are we going to go so I've got a little group of them tomorrow we're going to review some things and then we'll really hit the ground running in the fall to look at other resources that we we may want to look at and pilot this would be for the following school year adoption so 24 right oof and we've had a long-standing grading committee for grades 6 through 12. we had a meeting earlier in April and we are meeting again on Wednesday um to just revisit some of the grading standards that had been set we are learning that kids are gaming the system for lack of a better word and we just want some clarity
030for our teachers as they begin the fall and our students and parents so we will be sending something out hopefully to teachers before they leave in June about what they will look like in the father grading standards and then students and parents will get that in Bulldog days in August um and that's all I have questions for academic services so where do you find uh the enrollment for the summer programs it's invite only so you get those links from teachers or our department so if someone is interested they can reach out to their classroom teacher or they can reach out to academic services other questions all right um so we we had some conversation at the finance subcommittee meeting just about the procedures and practices in uh uh what typically happens in in our work
031towards our budget hearing in June and also reflected on kind of the information we're getting from Lansing uh in terms of now we have the executive House and Senate um school aid budget proposals you know voted out from the floor so one of the next uh events that we had talked back at the finance committee meeting about was the spring Revenue estimating conference and that took place last Friday so the reports are out for that through the state associations and I got with Vicki and kind of just wanted to give some high level things because this this kind of sets the course not only to for the legislature to finish the budget um you know for by preferably June 30th for school districts for next year but also kind of the Year Beyond they they
032look Beyond just the immediate so uh in terms of the school aid fund balance that would carry over about 2.2 billion for physical year 24. so in the reports that have come out from the conference that that pretty much covers the priorities that have come out of the three different budgets and that will set the course for them to continue negotiations and we anticipate hopefully hearing something by mid-june but but definitely by June 30th so the future years show modest growth in the school aid fund which which is encouraging news as well as things kind of change in the economic climate in the state of Michigan that that definitely should concern us but I think it's safe to say where's Vicki that we think our assumptions are on track and and hopefully we'll we'll get
033the information that we need prior to we'll have a finance committee meeting at the beginning we'll spend some time on the preliminary budget it and the final budget at our June study session and then on June 26th we'll have the budget hearing and present to the board the final budget for this year and the preliminary budget for next year when it comes to the general fund the reports that certainly has been impacted but it's impacted specifically by some of the tax cuts that have been approved since the first of the year so in terms of this coming year that kind of was predicted when the legislate legislation was passed that could have a little bit more significant impact based on how long some of these that are are temporary continue in terms of the state's
034general fund budget so that's that's our finance update any questions on that that you might have all right you know furthering our conversation to some action tonight around the elementary redistricting proposal we've we've talked a lot about the metrics and the Strategic effort and I wanted to give the opportunity for Dana Hepner our principal at Washington Elementary to address the board tonight we had a conversation prior to our last meeting about Dana coming to speak and I asked her if she wouldn't wait until tonight's meeting just because we still had a lot of information to present last time so Dana if you want to come on up to the podium um and the red light's on so the floor is yours is this in the right spot all right good evening I'm Dana Hepner and
035I'm extremely proud to be the principal at Washington Elementary I began working for Romeo Community Schools in 1997. I've had the pleasure of teaching at Amanda Moore Hamilton Parsons in my final years in the classroom were spent at Washington Elementary I then spent four years in the academic Services Department as the district's elementary math coach where I worked collaboratively with teachers across all five of our elementary buildings five years ago I was honored to be named the principal at Washington Dr Robinson and I have been discussing concerns with declining enrollment at Washington for a few years now earlier this year my colleagues Mr Bennett Mr essien and I began working with Dr Robinson and Dr Murray or Mr Murray sorry and creating an intentional plan to balance enrollment across our elementary buildings at the March
036Workshop meeting we had a discussion with the board regarding the need to shift a small population of students between our three schools in an effort to level enrollment we shared that at the rate things were going with housing with our current boundaries all three of our buildings will experience and will experience challenges to offer equal opportunities to all students in our community of elementary schools we spoke to you from a place of Desiring that each and every student have equal access to the services opportunities and educational programming that each of them not only needs but also deserves although the enrollment challenges at each School are different the intent and desire has been a collaborative effort for the good of all three of our schools the redistricting plan presented for approval tonight allows Washington Elementary to
037gain just over 50 students and welcome as many almost as many new families to our school and my staff and I are very excited about this opportunity over the past couple of months as the plan has been rolled out the focus of the reasons why this is redistricting is so important to all three of our schools has shifted to a tone that does not exemplify the essence of what makes Romeo Community Schools a true community those who know me well know that I have a saying about Washington Elementary that started 12 years ago after I completed my first year as a teacher in the building I believe that Washington Elementary is the best kept secret in the district I've never spoken publicly about my reasons for saying this but after all my staff and my
038families have endured over the past several weeks I find it important to address the board we know of the phone conversations the emails the public comments at the meetings and the social media activity that has been shared about our school with all due respect I would like to share what I have known about Washington for over a decade each day I arrive at Washington to a building of Educators who are second to none they come into school each day with a passion for teaching and a love of their students that is beyond admirable they believe that each and every child in our building belongs in our caring School community and that each of them is not only capable of but deserving of greatness regardless of the home that they come to us from they welcome
039each child into their classroom accepting them for who they are without judgment they use their Professional Knowledge and passion to meet each student where they are and focus on and succeed at moving each child forward in their educational Journey they encourage challenge advocate for love support and celebrate our students they don't get the recognition they deserve nor do they desire it is that it's not why they are teachers Washington is a school of diversity while this may threaten some we believe it is one of our greatest assets our school represents the world as it actually exists and our students learn at a young age that our differences make the world a more exciting place to explore and understand our Washington students are active and engaged Learners just as all the students in our community are
040they ask questions they seek answers they work hard they play they cooperate they laugh they cry when they are sad and they deserve the same opportunities and respect as all the students in our district our Washington parents represent a range of backgrounds and experiences they give their children all that they can and partner with us to support their child's education they kiss their children goodbye in the morning and wish them a good day and have the same expectations of our school as any parent in this District our parents communicate with their child's teachers they attend school events participate in parent-teacher conferences read and play with their children celebrate their children's growth and work to make ends meet so they can provide for their children and give them the best Washington parents are deeply committed to
041our caring School community and are an asset to Romeo Community Schools and our community as a whole what I have outlined about Washington is true at all of our elementary buildings as we are a strong and connected team of elementary schools yet somehow through this redistricting process Washington has been painted as less we've heard we're even worse there is no place in our community for anyone to be considered less than another all of our students deserve to attend a building where enrollment allows each school to be equipped to offer an opportunity to each and every child to have a school where staff remains consistent so that continuous Improvement has the best chance of success not only am I an educator I am also a parent I recognize and respect the worries that parents have around
042change for their children frankly it should be noted that children are so much more resilient than adults and we can learn so much from their young wisdom and their innocence they can teach us about taking on change with optimism and positivity rather than focusing on rumor uninformed judgment and fear our Washington staff is eager to welcome love and educate all the children that enter the doors of our caring School community in anticipation of your support tonight my staff is hopeful to be able to welcome these new students and their families our staff by their own accord has already begun their list of plans to make each of our new families feel welcome so that being new doesn't last very long our Washington Community no longer wants to be a secret we want to be sure
043everyone in our community knows that Washington is a safe and nurturing educational place we understand that as a board you are more often than not put in the position to make a decision that will be unpopular with someone as an elementary team we ask that you view this decision through the lens it has always intended to be viewed through this redistricting never has been about divide it's been based on the idea that as a school Community we must work together to stabilize our enrollment in order to provide students at all our elementary schools equal opportunities to learn grow and develop as the principal very proud principal of Washington Elementary I am committed to a smooth transition as is my staff I appreciate your time and consideration thank you [Applause] all right we're going to move
044on to public comment this public comment section is for things that we're voting on so first we have Kelly Swanson good evening Romeo board and community members I'm Kelly Swanson a proud parent of a ninth grader in this building and a fourth grader at Washington Elementary I've been teaching chemistry for over 20 years in a neighboring District I know the importance of a good education like many people I Googled Washington Elementary to see how the school was ranked in comparison to other schools when I bought my house almost 20 years ago Romeo as a whole didn't have the highest ratings but I fell in love with the house in the area and figured since I didn't have any kids at the time I could always move or do School of Choice when the time arrived
045now I move ahead almost 20 years and sending my children to Washington Elementary was one of the best decisions I've ever made you will not find a better principal or staff at any Elementary School I tell my friends at Washington Elementary as the Hidden Gem of Romeo Community Schools the class sizes are small the teachers are phenomenal the students are kind and caring and the families are supportive I love the school so much I decided to be part of the PTO and try to give back to the second family to my children it breaks my heart when I read disparaging comments about the families and staffs of Washington to judge a school based on the proficiency of one test is a shame and very narrow-minded in the end doesn't it matter how your child did
046not the school as a whole I can tell you from personal experience my daughter's thriving at the ninth grade academy she's in honors classes band cheerleading Science Olympiad and served to name a few all while maintaining A's Washington I'm actually prepared her to take on leadership roles and learn how to work with all types of students the joy of Romeo schools is that everyone is together in one Community starting in sixth grade until they graduate redistricting doesn't break friendships that were already established or tear kids away from their friends this is an opportunity to grow your friend base so many fun memories are made at school each school has their own strengths one of the biggest strengths of Washington is the family feel and lack of drama we host fun nights where kids can be
047kids and just plan the playground with their friends in conclusion I hope the board approves the redistricting so that more families will get to experience all the benefits that Washington Elementary offers I understand that change is hard and that this is an emotional issue it's emotional for me as well when I see members of my community saying ignorant and inaccurate statements about my child's School it isn't fair that some buildings are expected to have more students because of parents have heard or seen online I hope the board appreciates the staff not only at Washington Elementary but all of the elementaries and keeps the numbers Equitable every child deserves this please remember this is Romeo Community Schools and we have to do what's best for the community not just a few upset families thank you for
048your time mm-hmm next I have Emily I'll let you say your last name hello Romeo board and community members I am here today to show my support of Washington Elementary School and all its staff and students my husband and I have had children attending Washington since 2015. we have witnessed many improvements and changes in the school such as improvements to counseling and mental health support extracurricular programs as well as new teachers and a principal over the years before enrolling my now Middle School child in kindergarten I had heard some rumors about the school and was apprehensive however today I do not for a second regret our decision um it was a you know at the first few years were different than now miss Hepner came on in 2018 and she brought so many great changes
049to the school in support of the PTO and the programs that they were trying to do to bring together the community um it's just been it's been great the principal she's an outstanding leader she makes supporting all her students her number one priority um and the families as well in the community over the last eight years we have had some amazing teachers who truly have a passion for teaching and they love seeing their students succeed two of my children have had literacy struggles over the years in elementary school and their teachers have gone above and beyond to work with our family and support and help our kids to succeed and come up to the grade level where they should be at I I have seen some of the comments I have heard things and it
050breaks my heart as well I don't want any of our children to see that stuff coming from their peers or their peers families I know that um it's scary to have change I know when I heard rumors before my oldest who's in middle school now was starting kindergarten about the building or the administration or the staff there and I was like what should we do should we try to get to a different School I'm really glad I didn't I will say that every time I've been nervous about an unknown or a change it has turned out to surprise me for the positive we've had some teachers who were brand new teachers and I was like oh this could be you know a really bad year because they're new and they're going to get eaten alive
051by these students and they were some of the best teachers my kids have ever had um so I just would want to encourage other families who are scared and nervous that it is scary and I totally understand that I feel for that I do but it is good also and it's best for all of our students in the community to have equal opportunities they all come together in the middle school and I don't know if it was just luck of the draw or what but my he's in seventh grade now my seventh grader when he started sixth grade he had like one kid from Washington in all of his classes and everybody else was new and unfamiliar to him so at the very least I can say that the redistricting will allow these students to
052know more kids their age so when they go to Middle School it won't be so scary and big where you're being put into this huge group with five times the kids you're used to being with and not know nearly as many um so I will just say that I am in support of all the students in our community having equal chances in equal resources and opportunities in across all the elementary schools so I thank you and that's all thank you thank you I have Tiffany gadwin hello everyone my name is Tiffany Godwin and I'm here to speak on the redistricting and the hurtful comments that have been made interacted towards our school due to skepticism I am a paraprofessional at Washington Elementary my husband is a CFO and all three of my children have attended
053Washington my youngest two are currently still students in the building um prior to joining the amazing staff at Washington I was a dental assistant and an office coordinator at a local dentist office I'm not sure what you've heard about us or when you heard it I know old rumors die hard but I can tell you from personal experience that Washington Elementary is by far the most underrated School in our district if people gave it half a chance if they came to see what Washington was really about what we represent how incredible the staff is everyone would be fighting to come to our building when we moved to Washington which was a calculated decision to get into the Romeo District the students and staff warmly welcomed my oldest son and our family when my middle child
054was nervous to be at school for an entire day five days a week the staff opened their arms and took him in under their wing to help him get through those days and he would come home smiling and so happy telling me all the wonderful things he learned and all the new friends he made finally when my youngest came to Washington she was greeted with more warm smiles and fun stories of her brother's days there my children have always felt safe seen and cared for by the teachers and staff in fact as I previously stated I've been so moved and so inspired by the staff at Washington Elementary that I left my career to come work with them and it was the best decision I've ever made I'm so nervous sorry having the privilege to
055work with these amazing people and have an impact on the sweet diverse group of children who attend has been such a joy for me I guarantee you that every person in that building is dedicated to the well-being and education of these kids they are highly qualified professionals that care deeply about the children who attend their school and the many ways that we impact their lives there is no other group of Educators that I would place the hearts and minds of my own children into for seven hours a day the staff at Washington Elementary has my full trust my faith and my loyalty I understand redistricting can be emotional it has its challenges and I understand that can be nerve-wracking for many people I also understand that change is necessary to keep our building and our
056students numbers equals so for anyone out there who has any doubts I challenge you to give us an honest chance with no prior opinions or influences and tell me that you don't love us come see about Washington Elementary and let us wow you thank you for your time thank you [Applause] Stephen book if I didn't say your last name right it's because you you're handwriting just kidding you must not have gone to Washington that's true I'm a teacher not a doctor but I think it's equal bad handwriting all around but is it Buck yeah yes okay good Dr Robertson members of the board my name is Steven book and as an AP US Government and politics teacher in a neighboring District thank you for granting us the citizens a safe and public forum to have
057civil discourse tonight something that I have not seen modeled very well for my own students in this neighboring District if Washington Elementary is the best kept secret in this District I don't want it to be a secret any longer I'm here today to show public support for the incredible experiences that my family and I have had at Washington Elementary has a staff member at a nearby School District my wife is also a teacher we have the opportunity to send our babies through our home District however after touring Washington meeting Mrs hebner the principal and the incredible staff at Washington we canceled our meetings with our home District and we were absolutely Blown Blown Away by what we saw Washington is special its staff is special and I'd love to see this magic continue for all
058future generations of Washington residents redistricting keeps School sizes and class sizes Equitable for all grades and between all of the elementary schools and to keep the amazing staff at Washington Elementary intact and growing as opposed to shrinking or moving I would love to see whatever needs to be done done please join us in supporting this initiative and thank you for your time this evening thank you [Applause] I think that is all we had someone just turned one in um Amy is that on redistricting okay then you'll be at the next section pardon what is your name did I not call Tiffany I'm so sorry Tiffany is here because we heard from Tiffany Godwin right okay oh and I and Elena is next after Tiffany oh God I didn't hear from Jessica either okay and Jessica
059good evening board my name is Tiffany Smith and I have two kids in Romeo School District at first I did not want to move north I was never went past Hall Road my husband went to Washington and he graduated from Romeo high school and he fought for it so of course we ended up here and um I have a seventh grader in Romeo middle school and a fourth grader at Washington um three years ago I started doing the lunch monitoring at the school and I know I love being part of the staff even though for a couple hours I know I can go in there put a smile on my face uh last year I started doing the crossing guard at 27 mile which I know is a little hectic there and but I know
060I have four kids I cross and I know every morning I can protect them as my own and I know every person at the staff at Romeo treats every kid like their own and they're not even teachers they're a family sorry um my oldest authentistic and I know Mrs Hefner and every special education person at that staff help me get him through that school not even at home but challenged him to where he at the middle school and I was very blessed to have them at where I was because as a mom with special needs sometimes it's hard to get through so I I personally it's personal when I hear stuff that is negative because I know they have such a great teachers there that take there's every smile every morning and I mean I'm
061going way off my sheet here and I just I'm a proud staff member I'm a parent of PTO I think I I I think I spend more time there than I think the teachers sometimes I feel because Mrs happen to knows I'm there early in the morning and I'm doing Bagel day I love seeing every smile on the kids and I know the PTO we put on such great events for these kids because we don't want them to pay for it because we know when they come to school we just want them to smile have friends and we do a lot of outside events so they can make friends outside of school sometimes they don't get other classrooms and we do Fall Fest Spring Fling um Breakfast With Buddies I think is the next Thursday
062and I thought we were going to have only like 200 we have 300 350 to 400 people coming so we have just amazing staff and Mrs Hepner could not be a better principal she knows every kid's name I've seen her say hi to every student with their full name and I we just couldn't be blessed more than with these teachers and staff and I even when my kid goes to middle school because mixtures are last year I think I want to stay on just to even do the lunch Aid and Crossing because that's just it's almost a magical school so and I hope we welcome any students and families that come we will put a smile on our face and we welcome them just like our own and I know I will next year when
063I do see them in their lunchroom I will do that thank you thank you Elana good evening my name is Elena Phillips and I'm speaking you today under many hats actually I am a Hubble parent I'm a Washington staff member and I'm a future Washington parent both of my children have had the privilege of having hellville as their Elementary School my son Aiden spent kindergarten through fifth grade there and my first grade daughter Sadie has been there since preschool has been a wonderful school for my children and the staff has been diligent in making sure that they receive a proper education having taken care of both of my children over the years many staff members still make it a point to check in on my middle schooler both of my children made great friendships there
064before it was my children's home away from home it was the birthplace of my own teaching having student taught there back in 2005. there was a time that my in-laws names were synonymous with hevel Elementary I tell you this so that you understand that the decision to move my daughter out of heavil and into Washington next year was not done lightly my husband and I delivered it for months over whether or not we should make the switch of course some will say that it's merely out of convenience but if you have a child you know nothing is done out of convenience any decisions that you make may cause life to run a little smoother that's just a bonus first and foremost everything we do as parents is in the best interest of our children so
065let me speak to you with someone with a bit of a unique perspective I'm not only a teacher at Washington Elementary I have had the honor of knowing and teaching all of the students at Washington I'm going to repeat that since it really truly is worth saying I have the honor of teaching all of the students at Washington these kids I just can't speak highly enough of them I have only been at Washington back at Washington I should say for two years and those of you that know me here at my background here at Romeo Community Schools you know that I've had multiple teaching scenarios I'm telling you in the past two years at Washington I have been more impressed with this group of young people than I can ever remember being they have such
066a sense of community and respect for each other and I watch them interact I can see them learn from each other constantly not just in regards to their curriculum but in so much more than that they're building relationships they're including each other in their world both inside of the school setting and what's happening to outside the building as well we learn pieces of each other's lives and cultures and it's incredible and yes I said we I learned from them just as much as they learn from myself so I say to them Obrigado that's thank you in Portuguese I just learned that from one of my second graders these students are so much more than a number or a test score they're kind respectful hard-working determined young people I'm genuinely excited to have my daughter be
067counted amongst them next year and I'm counting myself as deeply best to have her involved in yet another tremendous staff yes I get to lurk along each one of them as well in a single interaction with any one of them I know how the students got to be this tight knit that exemplifies a strong sense of community I'm looking forward to Bringing new faces into our Washington family and I'm looking forward to having my own family counted amongst those families and I get it change is hard it's harder for us adults most of the time unfortunately and change can be scary I've had a bit longer to process my child's move from heavily to Washington and I get it we made that decision and other families are having that decision made for them and that's
068not easy there have been many times that I myself have been moved around the district since sometimes I made those choices but most of the time I didn't but I can honestly say with insight and complete transparency that transition can be positive and wonderful and who knows it could be one of the best experiences that we have if we can keep ourselves open to it I know that moving from hevel to Washington is an experience that I can't wait for my daughter to have and she can't wait either thank you [Applause] all right Lou and I just want to make sure Jessica left right there was a Jessica that wanted to speak okay hello Ward good evening um go ahead sorry I was just starting the timer no you're good I I'm positive don't I
069promise Miss Bonnie um I'm part of the redistricting as I said last week I'm uh I have no issues going to Washington um all Romeo's Community Schools are phenomenal schools that's why my kids go here I went here I'm a product of Amanda Moore sorry um but I just on behalf of the people or the parents that are moving over I want to apologize to miss Hefner it's I I haven't seen the comments but I'm obviously obviously they're out there I apologize on behalf of those from the kirkway community there's only 21 homes in here I know it's none of us we only have five I think five kids involved we're all good with going um I would say to all the parents give Miss Hefner a chance give the school a chance we'll get
070there it is hard after nine years at level you gain relationships but there's always new ones to be had so um I'm gonna leave it at that I won't even take all my three minutes tonight thank you thank you [Applause] all right moving on to our regular meeting action items the first one is resolution 30 which is the new teacher evaluation provider just a reminder this is approved by the Department of Education Michigan Department of Education and as a board we do have to have a one-on approved can I have a motion move by Dr temas supported you got that okay any questions all in favor I opposed motion carries Employee Services resolution 40 Personnel update that was in your board packet can I have a motion by Connor supported by Dr James questions comments
071concerns all in favor I opposed motion carries the next one is technology resolution 41 rhs computer Graphics motion support moved and supported and Mr Young questions or concerns all in favor aye aye I'm going to abstain on that one so that would be six I'm abstaining just because I have connections with REMC next is the business services resolution 42 transportation fees for 23.24 motion so by Young supported by Connor any questions all in favor I opposed motion carries next one is facilities resolution 43 which is the ABM contract extension motion moved by Young supported by Connor any questions or concerns all in favor aye opposed motion carries the next one is resolution 44 which is the summer abatement proposal edema support by Connor any questions concerns all in favor aye aye opposed motion curious next
072one is facility resolution 45 which is the operations equipment purchase approval motion support by Young's supported by Antoine any questions or concerns all in favor I opposed motion carries next one is facilities resolution 46 which is the elementary and Croswell Furniture proposal support oh we had Bryce and Connor support okay you encounter is fine I'll um any questions on this one all in favor aye opposed motion carries the next one is resolution 47 which is the summer roofing repair it's a change order to Lutz Roofing supported by rice support moved and supported by Antoine any questions all in favor I opposed motion carries next one is superintendent resolution 48 which is the elementary redistricting proposal motion moved by Young support by Demas any questions or concerns I just had a comment um it was really
073touching to hear this people who spoke today in public comment um also including our building principal of Washington just goes to show you that we're not just one building we're not just isolated different or a community and we do a lot of great things together and hearing those words tonight we're very touching so thank you to everybody that spoke we also have some students from our high school government classes I'm really happy they got to see what we can do as a community together thank you I'm into sure surround and around and I'm pretty sure I talked everybody's ear off multiple times because I wanted to truly understand the magnitude of what we're doing here um I have complete empathy for the families that want to stay at their school 100 percent we even tried
074to come up with some magic it just didn't it didn't happen it was just impossible to balance the student enrollment with Washington and Amanda Moore um I I wanna I wanna mention that anybody on social media that is talking about Washington Elementary in Romeo Community Schools in a negative way you're talking about families and teachers and students so just know that that is completely unacceptable behavior and I fully condemn that I I'm no part of that I haven't seen any of these comments but from what we've heard tonight it's been rampant and for the record shame on you if you've done that because these families at Washington deserve respect and these people that have spoke up here they they deserve everything too so there's no difference to me between Washington Indian Hills Amanda Moore we
075need to be a community if we're going to say we're a community let's act like it so thank you anyone else all in favor aye opposed motion carries Andrew one of the easiest ones which is the presentation of the rhs graduating class of 2023 can I have a motion motion moved by rice supported by Connor I don't think there's any questions I would hope there's no concerns all in favor I opposed motion carries next one is superintendent resolution 50 which is the 2324 leadership priorities group three motion moved by Young supported by Demas any questions comments all in favor I opposed motion carries the next one is the MISD biannual Board election designation there are three candidates running um so I need a motion to approve I think Mr Connor you want to choose do
076your motion I make a motion that we approve the encompasses that are running again Brian White and Mike Schultz Schulte yes and there is a female by the name of Tanya she just sent an email late today but I should have received things in the mail about the other two incumbents as well yep any questions or comments or all right can I have an all-in favor hi I opposed motion carries um before we go into closed session we're going in for collective bargaining and attorney-client privilege we are not expecting to make any decisions when we come out so I guess I would just ask the board do we want to entertain public comment right now I should have caught that earlier okay we will move up public comments I have Maddie kuchenmeister we'll do that
077after after oh I skipped can is it okay if we do public comment first and then for the good leadership okay okay thanks good to know come on up this is adults who've been awake for a very long time shuffling papers I'm also shuffling papers okay you have three minutes good evening my name is Maddie kuchmeister and I am a 2022 Romeo graduate and longtime Romeo resident last year for my senior Capstone project I researched wrote an extensive essay about developed an informational website about and delivered a thorough presentation on lgbtq inclusivity in schools as a queer person who started and finished my school career in Romeo and as someone who knows many queer people who also attended Romeo schools I know firsthand that Romeo is lacking in their lgbtq advocacy and representation I'm here
078to take I'm here today to tell you why that needs to change and how the school board and administration can help Implement that change queer students of all ages across the country are experiencing hate and discrimination due to their gender identity or sexual orientation multiple Studies have concluded that queer students that experience discrimination and lack of support from their school have lower academic performance and lower self-esteem on average lgbtq youth are are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers in preparation for the last school board meeting I conducted a poll surveying queer students about their experiences at Romeo the printouts of the results that I gave each of the board members detailed the distressing and traumatic experiences that career students in Romeo have experienced or are currently experiencing 16 out
079of 17 people that answered the survey felt that they felt or feel discriminated against while they are in school because of their sexual orientation or gender identity and many respondents detailed the emotional academic and Social Challenges as a result of their negative experiences even though there's legislation being put in place across the country that demonizes and harms lgbtq students parents and teachers there are also schools and organizations that are making strides and promoting love and inclusivity the gay lesbian and straight education Network also known as glsen has many different resources to help administrators pursue inclusivity in their schools I have today their policy recommendations that I've printed out for each of you but I'd also like to highlight a few of their bullet points assess Monitor and strengthen School climate on a regular and ongoing
080basis adopt and Implement clear consistent and comprehensive non-discrimination policies and as an extension of that ensure that existing anti-bullying policies include specific protections for lgbtq students ensure that professional development and educator resources include a focus on creating inclusive learning environments and establish a welcoming and affirming environment for lgbtq students and Alice these are not difficult steps to take the Romeo School Board is already doing wonderful things for its students as evidenced by recent and ongoing developments in curriculum and Technology I know that the school board can continue to build a positive learning environment for every student in the district thank you thank you foreign [Applause] good evening my name is Derek Leese I'm Bruce Township um I have two students in the district one in eighth grade middle school and one in fourth um I
081just wanted to have it make a general comment here over the past few board meetings more and more single-sided rhetoric has been spoken starting with this unsolicited and frankly intolerant comments of an area of religious leader in the meetings have followed a few opposing religious leaders spoke as well as numerous current and past members of the RCs community and even some from outside of the community the makeup of this audience has changed and now even includes members of the public from outside of the radius of our district seemingly here for effect only I've heard speaker after speakers stating how horrible the RCs environment is and how oppressed and excluded these students feel certain students feel but haven't heard any specific examples merely broad generalities that sound much more like talking points heard on TV if
082any of those speakers are really concerned and really interested in positive change rather than virtue signaling signaling suggest a specific change rather than simply complaining be part of the solution State what you're looking for do keep in mind though that your LGBT son daughter friend or whomever is no more or less special than mine yours like mine are not owed anything so in those salute in those Solutions make sure that you leave just as much care and love available for my child as you want from me to care for yours if your approach to this issue if you approach this issue in that manner considering inclusivity for everyone including the majority you may find that other people in the room as we've been referred to are more amenable than you might imagine thank you [Applause]
083I have Amy I'll let you say your last name a nervous oh I should have let my my fellow Greek read that right there honor Heroes amarillos is but his dad says it's ariapolis oh yes you added the accent that's why my name is Amy and ardris and um when I came to the school board meeting last month I left thinking that I needed to share some thoughts with you guys and the funny thing is is all these people from Washington kind of already said it for me um I guess my comment is more to the effect that we are a community and we say that we're a community I'm just wondering if there wouldn't be if we couldn't put together like a group of moms and dads from or guardians from each of the
084schools and kind of share what they're doing at each school because I think the biggest conflict that people have um I mean ultimately it's the parents and Guardians that create the the events and make them come together the teachers are doing their job they're doing what they're supposed to do my son has never done anything but advance so as far as I'm concerned you can't go wrong with a Romeo school I my oldest graduated from Romeo he went to Indian Hills at the time that Croswell closed and we had not this building but the building that we had the meeting in was packed to the hill with people from Croswell who did not want to be they didn't want the school to close my son's best friend is from that transfer my son was at
085Indian Hills and his best friend came from Croswell and they've been Inseparable it's not a bad thing I've done student teaching at Amanda Moore my husband went to Washington I mean you as far as I'm concerned you can't go wrong the differences to me um and the things that I hear parents talk about most are the events that we put on at the schools and it's always well at Indian Hills they do this and at Washington they do this and at Amanda Moore they have a Color Run we should try that you know and I think if we were to maybe create a group of people that are in these PTO groups and we were able to share this information maybe we wouldn't have that well that school does this and that school does this
086because we are a community and we could all learn from each other and have a very positive environment for our kids so and then with this C the ckla you're almost at three minutes with the ckla coming I just don't see how we can talk about the schools being different other than the events so I just wanted to say that and I appreciate your time thank you thank you to board discussion anybody have a comment or discussion I apologize I um I don't know if this is the appropriate time to say this but um I received an email from some parents about a tick problem at hevel in the back field and I was just wondering um just in case audience members uh knew about it or heard about it I just wanted to mention
087that they sent me pictures of the little buggers so um I don't know if we spray or what we do to prevent those we do have a storm ones are tick prevention happening wonderful okay thank you very much yep we will so we're doing it it's a go okay any other comments down there no all right thank you all for coming I guess just to we're going into closed session we're not coming out to make any decisions so with that can I have a motion to adjourn motion support oh I'm sorry it is not a motion to adjourn it is a motion to go into closed session motion support and support yes I already skipped down um with closed session I need a roll call please Mr Antoine is just miss bonix yes um Mr
088Connor Dr Dimas beside course Miss rice Mr Young yes awesome