001Say good evening. We're going to call the meeting to order. If we could please rise for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. So, we're going to move into our golden apple awards. Dr. Lans. Thank you very much, Madam President. Mr. Scaling. Yes. Thank you, Dr. Law. Uh, tonight's Golden Apple recipients are Mr. Alex Ricky Ricken and Mr. Ron Carbo Kabosski. Please come forward. Come on up. Front and center. Front and center. [Applause] These individuals were nominated by parent Christy Buitt because of the extra hard work, dedication, and heartfelt feeling that Alex and Ron put forth into creating an amazing middle school sports experience for
002the large number of student athletes they interact with. These two individuals coach boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls track and field at CHS. Anyone associated with the teams they coach can see the passion they have for middle school sports. This passion for athletics has translated to both students and families alike. Alex and Ron are both positive representations of the district in two main ways. High number of participants in the programs and their attention to detail. In her nomination letter, Christy shared, "As parents, we don't think much about how big our cross country basketball track teams were until we started to compete against other schools in the area. There is no other middle school that has a large number of student athletes that we do. This is made possible by
003the strong relationships Alex and Ron make with I'm sorry, Alex and Ron make with their student athletes. As any sports enthusiast knows, competition can bring out high emotions. Alex and Ron are always engaged with their student athletes and help them work through their emotions. Parents also appreciate the high caliber of sportsmanship displayed by the coaches, which in turn is embodied by their athletes before, during, and after the competition. Winning isn't everything, of course, but the noteworthy success of cross country and track programs in particular is certainly a product of their approach to coaching and the connections they form with their student athletes. The girls cross country program in particular has been extremely successful at the league, region, and county levels over the past three years. The boys team is also very successful. They continually finish
004in the top three and won regionals this year, too. Smart's track program for both boys and girls are highly competitive as well with the team regularly finishing in the top three or five in Oakland County track and field competition meet. Thank you Alex and Ron or better yet, thank you Ricky and Carbo. Clifford Smart Middle School is a better place because of your genuine interest and care with students on and off the course, court, and track. It's an honor to recognize you this evening. Congratulations. [Applause] like Okay, we're going We'll move on to the kindness matter awards. Dr. Lens. Thank you, Madam President. I'm happy to welcome Mr. Nyall McTar to the podium. Mctari. Good evening everyone. My name is Ntar. I'm the proud principal of Clifford Smart Middle School. I'm here this evening to
005celebrate those that are dedicated to service of others and making our community a better place. I'm honored to be here this evening recognize our kindness matters award winners. Our kindness matters award winners are those being honored tonight are individuals in our community who exhibit kindness and care towards others on a frequent basis who go out of their way to make others feel better and inspire others to show kindness. This year we have four individuals that were selected as recipients of this award. Can the following awesome individuals please come on down? Keith Elementary Principal Secretary Diane Tyrell, Keith Elementary Building Secretary, Alice Johnson, [Music] Oakley Park Elementary kindergartenner Harper Van Dler [Applause] and Commerce Elementary social worker Katie Dimmer. [Applause] First, we'll start here with Diane. So Keith Elementary Principal Marcy Augustine shared that Dian is
006truly the heart of our school, radiating kindness, empathy, and compassion all she does. Each day, she goes far beyond expectations of her role. Graciously answering phones and doors, assisting parents, supporting teachers, and comforting students with genuine warmth. Whether she's caring for a sick child, calming a student who's lost a tooth, or gently tending to a bloody nose, her nurturing presence brings a sense of calm and reassurance to everyone she encounters. Her unwavering dedication, heartfelt care for our school community reminds us all the quiet power of compassion and how one person's kindness can brighten an entire building. Thank you. [Applause] Next we have Alice. So Marcy helps share that Alice a true cornerstone of our school community, bringing both efficiency and warmth to everything she does. From meticulously managing attendance to stepping in with a smile
007during busy uh lunch hours in the cafeteria, she plays a vital role in keeping our school running smoothly. Her calm, caring nature puts students at ease. Whether she's helping them navigate the attendance process, or offering a kind word during lunchtime, she knows each child by name, notices when someone needs a little extra support, and always takes the time to make them feel seen and valued. Her thoughtful presence reminds us that's often the small everyday moments of kindness that leave the biggest impact on our school. And Keith Elementary is a better place because of her. Both Alice and Diane were nominated by Mrs. Missy Mner. Great job. Congratulations again. Next we have Harper. Now Harper was nominated for this recognition by one of her fellow kindergarten classmates, Olivia and her mom. Now, Olivia often shares stories
008at home about Harper's thoughtful, caring nature and the many things that Harper that many things that Harper does on a daily basis that makes a difference in the lives of her classmates. Harper routinely demonstrates kindness, empathy, and compassion towards others. While they're offering a comforting word, lending a helping hand, or simply being a steady friend, Harper's actions embody the powerful truth that even our youngest students can make a profound and positive impact within their school community. Harper's teacher, Mrs. Knight, enthusiastically agrees that her this nomination is welld deserved. She describes Harper as a natural leader among her peers, inspiring others through a genuine kindness, patience, and inclusivity. We celebrate Harper not only for the care she shows each day, but also for the bright example she sets for all of us. We are very proud
009to have Harper in our school community and excited to see the positive difference she'll continue to make. Wonderful job, Harper. Next we have Katie. So, Commerce Elementary Principal Ryan West shared that Katie is a remarkable school social worker whose unwavering kindness, empathy, and compassion make her a standout can candidate for the kindness matters award. She forms genuine, supportive relationships with students, staff, and families. Taking time to truly understand and connect with those she serves. Known for attentive listening, thoughtful collaboration, and tireless dedication, Miss Dmer continually seeks out new ways to meet the evolving needs of the school community. Her ability to balance compassion with honesty allows her to guide others through difficult moments with encouragement and grace. Always ready to lend a helping hand in a listening ear, Miss Demer consistently. Her consistent generosity and
010heartfelt support make her invaluable member of the commerce team. Katie was nominated by Christine Strickler. Thank you, Katie, for all you do for your school community. This is a great time. Everybody wants to take any pictures at all. Thank you, Mr. Derkin. Congratulations and thank you. [Applause] [Music] Well, congratulations to all of our wonderful award winners this evening. We're going to take a fiveminut recess to get ready for our first presentation. So in five minutes we'll start at 7:17. 17. update. Dr. Lans. Thank you, Madam President. I'm happy to turn it over to Miss Mir. Thank you, Dr. Lans. The Wald Lake School's parent advisory committee, or our pack, consists of parent representatives who have children receiving special education programs and services. Tonight we have President Corey Hensley who will present an update on the
011pack activities over the last year and their successful work in building an active and sustainable pack. Miss. Great. Thank you, Miss Mureer, and thank you for the opportunity to present this evening. I am proud to highlight all the things that PAC is working on. We have a lot of new faces around the table, so I wanted to kind of slow it down, pause, and um kind of inform everyone of what PAC does. So, Michigan law requires that intermediate school districts, Oakland schools in Oakland County, establish a parent advisory committee and have a minimum of two parents from each district represented. Oakland schools pack meets monthly and gives advice and feedback to local administrators and families on how the ISD provides special education services and programs. So, I attend those meetings monthly, come back and discuss
012with Miss Meer on what was um discussed at the pack meeting. While local school district packs are not required, they are highly recommended. And I joined PAC many years ago to learn ways that I can better advocate for my own child as well as assist families in need. Our mission as an executive board has stayed the same. Our goal is to increase awareness, current best practices in special education while working to have a larger voice, meaningful communication, and above all more inclusive practices and parental involvement. We are a small group um myself and Denise Dunn, but we are mighty. We get it done. Uh navigating special education is not easy and our hope as a pack is to educate, inform, and support parents within Wald Lake schools while advocating for inclusion. PAC worked with Miss
013Muer this year to develop parent learning opportunities with the goal to increase participation and provide specific opportunities targeted toward parents interests as defined by our mission. 45minute conference sessions were held by administrators with families before each pack meeting. These provided families a chance to get to know special services administrators, engage in meaningful dialogue, and have questions or concerns addressed immediately. Parent learning opportunities then lasted for one and a half hours where we welcomed community agencies in October. Um IEP commu and effective communication seminar in November, the my aable savings plan in January. And finally, we welcome the outdoor education center and the Wald Lake community education to speak about inclusion in March during inclusion week. Overall, I think the conference sessions and parent learning opportunities were well attended and we look forward to continuing them
014next year. Inclusion week. So, disability awareness month is recognized annually each year in March and for years, PAC hosted the disability awareness workshop in the district. This experience, the disability awareness workshop, taught fourth graders how people with a disability are affected on a daily basis by their challenges and differences. The workshop was a a success, but all things must come to an end as Denise and I wanted to do more and reach more students in the district. So, several years ago, Denise and I attended the Special Olympics of Michigan conference in Frankenmouth. We learned about Unifi Champion Schools, inclusion, as well as what great things were happening in nearby districts. And we knew it could be done in Wald Lake, too. While the knowledge we gained from the conference, with that knowledge, we came back
015excited to promote our learnings to special services administrators. With the green light, we reached out to high school admin right away and they jumped on board. Denise and I helped the high schools register as unified champion schools. Then it came inclusion week, which quickly followed unified sports, which I'll talk about on the next slide. So remember uni inclusion is defined as every person is accepted and welcomed regardless of their ability or disability. We are in year two of inclusion week and this is was year two of inclusion week and my heart is full with all the events that occurred across the district. Unified basketball hosted assemblies and games at the high school level. Schools rock their socks on March 21st to recognize World Down Syndrome Day. A blowing bubbles event was held to recognize Autism
016Awareness Day. These are just a few of the many events that occurred districtwide and I'm excited and look forward to the creative ideas each school brings next year. I am proud of the work PAC did to bring districtwide inclusion to fruition and I think I can say with confidence it's here to stay. It's been a success. But we're not done. Denise and I are um believe that every school is a unified champion school. So our new goal is to promote every school to register with Special Olympics of Michigan. We want every school to be a unified champion school where they can earn free swag, grant money that can be used to promote things like that uh promote inclusion. And these are just some of our pictures from um inclusion week. So, uh the blowing bubbles
017event at the bottom, um some billboards, uh bulletin boards that were put together, and then um our basketball and then unified sports. So unified sport unified champion schools promote social inclusion through shared sports and competition. So we learn Denise and I learned about this unified champion schools and that it promotes inclusion through shared sports and competition. These schools are where students with disabilities feel welcome and meaningfully included in all school activities, functions, and opportunities. These schools reduce bullying, develop student leaders, and create communities of caring and respect. Unified sports joins people with and without disabilities on the same team. I was inspired by it's inspired by a simple principle. Training together, playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding. Unified champion schools, unified sports, and inclusion all go in hand in hand together
018effortlessly that we knew, Denise and I knew we had figured out our next step. Denise and I couldn't be happier with how the action of attending a two-day conference in Frankenmuth has led us to where we are today. Well-developed high school unified programs, a middle school basketball clinics with the intent of starting middle school unified sports next year. And I know that with buyin from coaches, athletes, volunteers, and every sport, we are confident that unified sports can be done meaningfully and with purpose to last a long time in Wald Lake. Unified Champion Schools is still something that Denise and I push for and are happy to assist any school in registering. Currently, there are only three schools as well, three high schools and one elementary school that are registered as a unified champion school. It's
019easy to do. We're happy to help become a unified champion school. As Miss Mir and other cabinet members have highlighted in previous meetings, I'm proud of the work that's happening in unified sports. It's my goal to continue to advocate for unified sports at the middle school level and elementary level and ultimately to work to ensure that all Wald Lake schools are unified champion schools as recognized by Special Olympics of Michigan. Next, the Shining Stars. It's coming up. Um the Shining Star Award recognizes outstanding individuals who support the special needs community within Wald Lake schools. New this year, we are including a special performance from the Wald Lake Central Choir as well as hosting an agency resource fair where families can meet with different organizations throughout Oakland County that support students with special needs. So, we
020look forward to welcoming uh different agencies and invite each one of you and everyone uh out there in attendance tonight and listening to the awards ceremony on May 22nd at Wald Lake Central from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. So, to conclude, I ask that each of you sitting around this table, one, be considerate of the agenda items presented that they represent every child, including those with special needs. Two, be a voice on the board advocating for more inclusive opportunities like ensuring all schools register as unified champion schools, promoting unified sports and also inclusion week. Three, attend the shining stars ceremony on May 22nd. And last but not least, if you have not already done so, everyone, attend a unified basketball game at the high school level next year. It will bring you joy and tears. I
021thank you again for your time this evening and I am open to any questions or comments. Thank you very much, Miss Leven. Thank you Corey and Denise for all the work that you both do um in bringing all this awareness to our district. I'm curious about one thing and maybe Miss Mir this is a better question for you. How has the participation been among parents with like the the four um events that were held and the individual conferences? Are parents aware of this? Like obviously internally with our school days, the unified sports are happening, but what about the parents reaching back in for assistance? So I can share a little bit. Um when we met as an executive board and conceptualized what to do for this year it was really a thoughtful process of saying
022how much is too much and how focused should we be and so I can say that for us we had about I would say about 400% growth in attendance um each time for conferences we had 20 plus parents um and even more so than that for the workshops. Um, people came very much engaged. We had some families give word to other families. So, we had some new families that would come and say, "I came because I told that this was an important piece." And so, I think the work that both Corey and Denise do with building that community was pretty evident. Um, and by extension, parents feel supported and know that they can network with other parents and gain opportunities for learning, for workshops, for resources. And I think that speaks to the strength of
023the pack because it does create community of support, mutual support, but then also of information gathering that if you're a preschool parent through ATP, you can come and find someone who's had a similar experience or has a student that's going through processes. um and access information. So, I think that that piece is important and I think having the conferences with administrators help with that growth. Um that was that was important. I think an important decision to make and and to have so that because so many parents are like I I have no idea who the special services superintendent uh is. So, um I think that really helped having those conference sessions with administrators beforehand. That's great to hear. I know, you know, sometimes there's concerns with special services in the district. I mean, it's a
024a delicate topic. Anyway, um I'd be curious if if we ever do any data gathering about like the satisfaction with the department, you know, before this all happened, you know, before all these programs started after I want to know that it's helping. I know we feel like it's helping. It probably is helping, but it'd be great to see, you know, any data behind it that says, hey, satisfaction has gone from this to this. we can point to why and then maybe it's we focus on this or this event didn't help so maybe we need to to adjust it more. I love that there's a focus on it. I think that you know we can all learn from it in every department but I think it's it's really a great program so I applaud you all
025for what you're doing. Thank you. Any other questions? Um I just have one kind of comment questioning. Um I know we've talked about this in the past after you've done your presentation. Is there a way to make sure that all of us on the board get notified when the unified sports teams are playing um and such, you know, the unified activities and you know, diversity week because we'll get them and the game was last night or you know, we get noticed that this was happening, you know, and I know me personally would love to attend some of these events and so if I know when they're happening, I would be happy to be there. I'll make sure we have better communication with the board on that next year. Yeah. And Miss Mir and I have
026talked about that at length. I think it's hard because each school high school plans kind of plans their own um event and so that's hard to get out that information uh in advance, but it's something we discuss regularly. I truly appreciate and I appreciate everything you Mrs. Dunn are doing. You guys are doing an awesome job. So, thank you very much. Thank you. [Applause] Okay, we're going to move on to public commentary. Um, most of you have already spoken to us before, but if you have not, just a few reminders. Um, we're here for you to speak to us and for us to listen. You have three minutes. Mrs. Craftton will keep you on track. Um, she'll give you what, a 30 second reminder to wrap up. Doesn't mean stop right then. You can wrap
027up your comments um to finish. And we do ask that all communications coming to the board are um not um losing my words that there remain professional and not um aggressive towards any person or thing in the district. Okay, with that we're going to start with Mr. Gaffy. So, this probably be the shortest one you ever had. Um, I just uh would like to know, you know, and I know this not dialogue back and forth, but maybe you can present sometime. Um, my son has been in the athletics with Wall Lake Western for three years now, and there's been this promise about getting new turf fields, and we know the bonds were passed, and and we thought things were going to happen before this year, but nothing happened. And now we've heard uh it's going
028to happen next year or at the end of this year they're going to get new turf fields but only at Northern and I I don't understand what's happening here because my understanding is the bond passed the money's allocated. Why aren't they getting all three schools? Um and because it's really important especially the kids are going to be seniors next year never going to get an opportunity to play on these nice fields. We go all over play in you know just came from South Line. They just played a game down there this afternoon. beautiful fields. Everybody's got these beautiful fields. Waterford Mod and Kataring, you know, they all, of course, Kirk Gibson donated those. So, a little little bit different, but you know, it's really tough on the kids. They'd love to see it. It's not
029fair that one school gets it and the other two don't. They have to wait. Uh, I'd just like to hear an explanation from somebody. What What is actually happening? How did the finances work? Uh, why is there a delay? Why, if the money's allocated, why not just do them all at the same time? That's it. Thank you, Mr. Wise. Mike Weise, Commerce Township. During their public comments about two board meetings ago, the March meeting, somebody on the board stated their comments, started their comments with, I want to start with a quote. Silence is the face of evil. Silence in the face of evil is evil itself. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak, and not to act is to act. What are they talking about? This board member has said
030that there is silence in our district, evidently referring to the special needs programs and that staff is being crossrained to take even on even more responsibilities. This board member said we are lacking 45 pair of pros. We are lacking 45 pair of pros and this board member says nobody is talking about it. The board is talking about it. They are talking about funding. They are talking about dollars. They do it all the time. Pay the pair of pros more and they will come. Reduce the class sizes and the pair of pros will come. But how can that happen when certain politicians cut $42 million in funding for Michigan schools and is eliminating the department of education money for special needs funding for pair of pros. Eliminating Department of Education will reduce funding for Title One
031for low-income students and special education funding, money for pair pros. For those that do not know this, Title One is a federal program that provides financial assistance to schools for students from lower income families. So, this board member is worried about special needs students. H So, where does this board member stand on abolishing the Department of Education and Title One? How will we pro protect the legal rights of special needs students, students with disabilities after certain politicians eliminate the Department of Education? Will this board member get answers from the wrestling promoter and education secretary, Linda McMahon? The Department of Education and its decadesl long functions have proved many times how essential it is to the well-being of millions of students with disabilities across the nation. Closing the Department of Education will cause immense harm to
032all students and especially students with disabilities and their families who rely on federal funding for key special education services and support. Does this board member know that about half of the staffers of the Department of Education have already been laid off? On another note, this board member has repeatedly said that they've asked the board to take on tough conversations. 30 seconds, please start wrapping up. Okay. without providing specific details. What tough conversations are they referring to? They say the board does not talk about anything. What is anything? When will the board discuss it? Discuss what? They say the board does not like to take on tough topics. What tough topics? What specifically? They say that everything is for the board to worry about. Well, that may be true. And the superintendent administr and administration is
033Please wrap up. You've got five seconds. Okay. You are not being silenced if Well, I lost a train of thought here. And uh your time is up. I'm sorry. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Ron. Lip it. Thank you, Madam President. We're on Olympic Commerce Township. My wife Denise and I have three daughters, including our youngest, who is a junior at Wall Lake Northern. Yesterday, Politico, along with several other media outlets, reported that the Supreme Court was poised to rule in favor of allowing the launch of the nation's first publicly funded religious school. in this case, a charter school in Oklahoma, the the Scotas ruling, which if true would be anticipated in May, this month, and in direct violation of the constitutional separation of church and state, not to mention the ban on government established
034religion. Such a ruling would have wide implications for public funding of both public and charter schools across the country, including here in Michigan. Advocates for K through2 public schools have sounded alarm bells everywhere given the federal government's intention to shrink federal grants for public education. And now given this ruling uh the very real potential to see anti-public school politicians uh divert what little taxpayer funding remains away from traditional public schools to support religious education. We'll see in the coming days if the Supreme Court has the appetite to cross this red line. I certainly hope not. Here in Michigan, Representative Tim Kelly introduced House Joint Resolution H, uh, which would remove university operating budgets from our school aid fund. In short, the legislation would amend Michigan's Constitution to protect the dollars reserved for K- through2 classrooms
035and ensure that they cannot be redirect redirected to the funding of universities or any other uh, non-public educational body. In other words, not a piggy bank for other initiatives. And while critics of our current funding levels have uh derided Governor Whitmer for proposing an increase in our per pupil allowance, the truth is while the schools are staring at a very uncertain funding future. Federal dollars are at risk and Michigan school aid fund could be compromised by the forthcoming Supreme Court ruling. I'm hopeful that advocates for public education who sit on our school board uh will fight for our district's financial health through its strong partnership with our administration and our employee unions. The health of Wald Lake schools is more important now than perhaps ever in our history. Lastly, uh for those who don't know,
036uh many Wald Lake juniors uh today got their SAT results. Uh this can be received with wild jubilation or uh in our house annoyed mumbles and groans. Um I actually haven't talked to her yet, but um it's worth remembering that more than 80% of our four-year universities in the US have now declared themselves test optional. So when coaxing our young people back from whatever brink uh they're on, uh remind them that test scores no longer define them. uh and that a great college application can come in many forms and measurements. Thank you. Thank you. Jeff Clark. Good evening. I'm Jeff Clark and I'm uh one of the mentors on the robotics team. I've been on the team since my son started in Central High School in 1999. So, been a few years, but I would
037like if ask the board if I could uh for a little bit of a variation in the rule of aotment because I have three students from the three different high schools that would like to talk to the school board. That's okay. I was gonna say each student, you know, if they want to fill out a card with their name on it, they can have three minutes. Okay. If that's the case, and all I'm here to say is who's in charge of getting the new robotics lab put together? We have violations of OSHA and seen on the sketches and we have no one we can reach to talk to. So, we're trying to find out who's in charge. Can you tell me that? Say it's for you to talk to us. It's not for me to
038respond to you. You can write your questions down and one of us will get back to you. I did try to send an email to doctor and uh didn't get a response back. So, I'm still wondering where that's where that's at. So, I'm just trying to find out. We seem to have a lot of trouble this year and I was hoping the students could explain that to you. Say absolutely. If they want to just write their name on a card, they can have three minutes and they can each speak. Okay. So, they can feel free to, you know, grab a card and, you know, doctor, do you have my information? Mhm. Okay. I was going to say, do you want to speak some more while you're waiting for them to come back in? No. I
039think uh we've tried to do this with the uh students, but that's not allowed. Okay. Yes. Yep. I will accept their cards as soon as they give them to me. Um while we're waiting for the cards, you we'll move on to Monica House. Hi everyone. I'm Monica House. I'm a special ed teacher at Guest Elementary. I'm also the district therapy dog ambassador. So I work with the therapy dog program. And I'm excited to share that Wix is being officially um welcomed at Wixom Elementary. Um he is a purebred lab. Um things got delayed a little bit with snow days and that with staff training, but he's officially on board at school and being welcomed tomorrow. So, we're excited about that. Also, we added a puppy for Hickory Woods Elementary. Um his name is Leo. It
040was something that I don't remember the name of the committee, but it's like a student leadership team came up with names and then the whole school voted and the winning name for all the classrooms was Leo. So, that's how he got his name. Um, I'd also like to take a minute. Yesterday was National Therapy Dog Day, and I want to thank all of the therapy dog handlers. Um, they generously volunteer their time, and they are not compensated in any way for it. Um they ensure that sorry they ensure our district dogs participate in school district and community events while also managing the dogs care, visiting schedules and numerous behindthe-scene responsibilities. The success of this program is entirely dependent on their dedication and I appreciate all that they do and also being in a district that
041welcomes the therapy dog program. Thank you. Thank you you guys. If you want to just give Yep. There you go. And then you guys can come up to the podium if you want to come up together. That's fine. And just give me a second and I'll say your name so everyone knows who's speaking like right now. Yeah. One second. Yeah, I'm gonna say them right now. Say we have Mika. How do you say your last name? Glick. Mika Glick. And Fzine. How do you say your last name? Kavarana. Kavarana. Thank you. Go ahead. All right. Hi, I'm Mika Glick. I am a junior at Wildlife Northern and we are representing teams 308 and 7178 of the Wildlife Consolidated School District robotics team consisting of the three high schools in the district. We would appreciate a
042few moments of your time. We have come to talk at this board meeting today in order to address multiple changes that we went through this season due to our team's relocation this year and what the board would have been able to do potentially for us in order to alleviate issues from these events. We also have a few questions about future leadership decisions and questions about our relocation. This year, instead of working at a regular space at Wald Lake Western due to construction, we ended up working at um OSTC, Oakland School's Technical Campus of Southwest Michigan. Uh we would like to preface by saying how grateful we are for the opportunity to continue the season amidst the construction through the OSTC facility. However, we weren't allowed to stay in the facility past 8:30, which we were
043previously able to stay much later and had much more flexibility with our time at Walt Lake Western. We weren't able to enter the spaces until unless our lead mentor was present, which we weren't we were able to do in our facility. Again, we had much more free time. All of our materials were inside of a shipping container which was stored outdoors at the OSDC facility, forcing us to venture outside every single time we needed tools over the course of the winter, which the majority of our season was over. It was really cold. It wasn't great. This was a step especially difficult during the winter months, like I said, which is the m which is the majority of our season. As we included earlier, we um we are extremely grateful for OSTC accepting us and adapting
044in order to accommodate our stay. We were successfully able to compromise and work to use our space sparingly. However, we also came to face numerous challenges such as limited space and mixed materials. We were also not able to store our materials as freely as we would normally be able to. My name is Fzine Cavarana. I am a sophomore at Wallake Western. Um, so the question that we were asking is if you guys were able to give us a specified time or a date when we would be able to move back into the new Western facility. Um, we have tried to reach out to numerous higher ups, but there's still a large amount of ambiguity around the specific date that we will be moving in. Um, and it's important to note that our okra season, which
045is one of our robotic season, it it begins in September and possibly earlier if we wanted to do an offseason event. And for this reason, we would need to get our space ideally back by the beginning of June. So another question we had was how would we go about moving back in on that day. Another thing that we were wondering is who from the school district is in charge. Due to the transition, we are even dealing with a change in leadership. So we were wondering who we could talk to in order to maintain regular contact with the school district. Finally, the last point that we had was finance. We lost a few of our corporate sponsorships this year and we have been working extremely hard to find the necessary funds to succeed in our competitions.
046However, it was really disheartening to note that this year we would not have been able to attend states if we had qualified. This is really disheartening because we have been able to do this in the past, but due to um this lack of sponsorships and funding, we were we would not be able to do that this year. So, we're working insanely hard to run fundraisers, attaining more sponsorships. However, it is just not enough. So, we were wondering if there are any avenues within the board that would supply us with more funding potentially. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you, girls. Okay, we're going to move on to administrative commentary. Mr. Amco. Thank you, Dr. Lans. Um in over the course of the last few months, we've been really busy looking at um scheduling
047for next year and staffing. So I want to thank our counselors, our our students who completed uh their scheduling cards and we are looking forward to next year. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Ra. Miss as we mentioned before, this is the budget time of year, which is always not the one most wonderful time of the year like Christmas perhaps because we never seem to have quite the answers that we'd like. We have had um the governor's proposal as we have mentioned before just recently the senate has come out the house budget as you might call it right now is not really a fully developed model but we'll continue to look at that. Um basically I had the opportunity to go to the Michigan school business officials conference which certainly the budget was the topic both
048on a federal level and on the state level. Unfortunately there's not a lot of great news. Currently, there's both the proposals from the uh governor and from the Senate do have per pupil allowance increases, but retirement costs are a little bit challenging to say the least. And then obviously the uncertainty at the federal level. Uh the word on the street is we will not more than likely will not have a passed budget from the um state by June 30th, which obviously for the law requires that we present a budget to the board to be passed prior to the start of our fiscal year, which is July 1. So, we'll continue to update on information as we receive it and continue to move forward to make sure that we're complying with the law and incorporating any
049new information as we move forward. So, stay tuned. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So, we continue to plan forward and we're entering into that time where we're preing for summer learning opportunities for our students with disabilities and exceptionalities. And so parents should just know that there's more information forthcoming about those summer learning opportunities. We're excited about some of the things that we're offering with services and we look forward to having students this summer. Mr. Turkin. Thank you, Dr. Lans. I just had a couple shout outs. I've been fortunate to be able to get out into our buildings quite a bit in the last month or two. Uh first, I want to give a shout out to the classrooms that invited me to be their guest or mystery reader depending on the building uh for March's reading
050month. It was a great joy to share my f my son's favorite books and also learn some of the kids' favorite books. So to Mrs. Dorne and Mrs. Hager's first grade classes at Lon Lake, Miss Bestuba's JK kiddos at Commerce, uh the Wackies and Miss Wexin's class at Dublin, and last but certainly not least, my preschool friends and Miss Haley's class at the ECC along with sharing books. I got so many questions, as you can imagine, from from little groups like that. So it was great, and I'm already looking forward to next year. And then just earlier this week, I had the unique opportunity to serve as a substitute secretary for Miss Karen Clark, who is the principal secretary over at Oakley Park. Uh she won as part of a raffle during professional development for
051secretaries back in August. Uh so it was her lucky day, but Oakley Park short ended the stick getting me. Uh but I'm really grateful for the chance to see the district from a different uh in a different way, and I learned a lot while I was there. So a big thank you to uh Mrs. Kelly Smith and Kim Whailing, the building secretary over there for and the really the entire team for their hospitality, but most importantly their patience. Uh, as I tended to ice packs and answered phone calls and did my best with limited training. So, thank you, sir. Mr. Scaling. Thank you, Dr. LS. Uh, as we may know, today is National Principal Day. And, uh, one of the nice things I have about this position is working very closely with all of our
052principles, helping uh, lean in with them, be beside them as they lead their schools. And I can personally attest to their unwavering dedication, their tireless efforts as they work with our students and staff. So, I just want to take this opportunity uh, to thank them for all their hard work. Uh, Wald Lake Consolidated Schools is lucky to have such a strong team of principles, and I thank them uh, for all their efforts and all the hard work that they do. Thank you. Thank you, sir. I have uh three topics tonight. The first one will just be an echo of what Mr. Scaling said. Congratulations to all of our principles. We're very lucky to have the dedicated individuals that we have that take care of your your children and our students every day. So, thank you
053for all the hard work. On a note of one of our cabinet members, this will be the last meeting that I can call on Mr. Hanka because on Saturday he will be graduating as Dr. Hamka. So, congratulations on earning degree. And I don't know how public this is, so I guess I'll find out if I get pulled over on the way home tonight. Deputy Peterson has taken a new position and he is exiting out of the school resource officer position and moving into a new position within the Oakland County Sheriff's Department. It is wonderful for the sheriff's department, but truly a great loss for us. I've enjoyed working with you over my time here. you'll be very difficult to replace and know that you'll be very missed. So, thank you for your service. Thank you,
054Madam President. Thank you. We're going to move on to board commentary. We're going to start with Mrs. Fernandez. I wanted to uh in addition to the lovely intros and the invites to some of the unified sports and other activities, thank the art teachers for the personal note um and invitation to make sure that we are aware of and can attend um some of the great works of our students. Appreciate that. Um and mostly just say, you know, um graduation is upon us before we get to our next board meeting. So, for everybody that's in the home stretch of their um of their high school career, congratulations. Pour on that last bit of effort and um and I look forward to seeing you all at graduation with your parents and smiling families. Mrs. West, thank you,
055Mrs. Kaplan. Um yeah, echo Mrs. Fernandez. Looking forward to graduation. Um, and I want to thank my fellow board members for on behalf of Wally Northern's band for passing uniforms. I happen to see them all the next night at marching band registration. Um, and they were just beyond thrilled to know that they didn't have to worry about sashes that are falling off and buttons that will not button. Um, so thank you very much. Thank you, Mrs. Leven. Thank you, Mr. Kaplan. Um, just a few random thoughts here. Um, it was great to see that archery is back at the outdoor education center. I think any programs that we can do to get our kids outside and doing good, clean, healthy, fun things is is always good. So, I was very happy to see that. Um,
056wonderful to see such a young kindness matters award winner. Also a young nominee. Um, I think that Mrs. Knight must be doing something right in that classroom and Oakley Park is doing something right in that school. So that was fantastic to see. Um there's a lot of spring sports going on right now and uh the coaches, students, parents, everybody's working very hard. So good luck to all of the teams competing right now. And um finally can't talk much about it, but I was very pleased with the close session meeting that the board just came out of. Um I thought for the first time in a long time the board had a very fruitful interaction and uh it it gives me hope that things are moving in the right direction. So um thank you fellow board
057members for that. Thank you Mr. Smith. Thank you Madam President. Uh first I want to give a couple shout outs to uh Dublin Elementary. Uh the rock uh the Girl Scouts actually created uh a wonderful rock garden around the flag pole uh that they did as part of their I believe their service program. So, I want to say shout out to that. And also, if you're driving down Union Lake Road, uh the Dublin sign, the old school Dublin sign is back. Uh thank you to Principal Carbon for that, for bringing it across the finish line for us. It was a labor of love for me personally. Uh I remember I worked on repainting it back in 2018 or so. And then before the school got demolished, I made sure to drive up there really qu
058quick and cut it down. And then I uh made sure that working with that to make sure and it's just been sitting. I made sure to refurbish it and everything. So it's wonderful to be uh to have it back up. Did you steal a sign? It was Oh, officer Patterson, are you paying attention here? He stole a sign. No, Mr. Chatfield allowed me to do it. Not here anymore. Yes. Anyways, it's good to be back out there. The Dublin community is loving that it's it's bringing back some history back to the school and for graduation photos. It's going to be wonderful to have it back out there. So, thank you to the principal for bringing that across finish line. Also want to say on a personal note, the Dublin variety show happened uh back on
059the 15th. Thank you to the wonderful parent volunteers of Tyra, Nessa, Danielle, Jen, uh the student helpers, and the Wald Northern crew that really did the the music, uh helped with the lighting. It was a wonderful show. Uh the amazing students who stepped up. I think there was 83 performances with multiple kids doing multiple things from magic to dancing to you have it. It was it was amazing uh to just really show their their talents and it was a proud moment uh that my son Andrew joined in the mix as one of the seven the total of eight that were fifth graders to be the MC's for the evening. Uh so it was really a great evening. Also uh the outdoor center, the fifth grade camp. Uh, thank you to the amazing opportunity and to
060the director Carrie Martin and her team and all the fifth grade teachers at Dublin, Mr. Criml, Mrs. PC, and Mrs. Nichols. Uh, it was an awesome time reliving that moment when I went to the fifth grade camp and just to kind of see it still looks the same in some regards. Um, but also just reliving those moments with my son was uh, great. And to echo and Miss Leven to have Mr. Criml bringing back archery was awesome. My son has been a part of that program at Dublin, so it was great to see it actually at the camp as well. Uh my daughter wanted me to pass along to whoever oversees MSTEP, which I think is Miss Cohensky, she's not here. Uh add that uh she stated, my daughter Natalie, she stated that the calculator
061will be available for some questions on the computer. She wishes that was more prevalent. So I'm just she's probably listening right now. So uh also the seventh grade uh Tigers game field trip. Uh she wanted to pass along that that was awesome and that that was an opportunity to really go and I believe the Tigers won. So I think it was a good game. Uh on the agenda this evening is retirements and I just want to thank uh all the teachers for the many years of teaching in our district. Uh as we can see there's there's quite an extensive list in the agenda this evening as I believe May is kind of that that time for that. I wish you all an amazing retirement and thank you personally. I noticed a name on there of
062Mrs. Goff uh for making me love science back in the day when I was her uh one of her students back at Central. So to see her name on there was coming full circle. uh you've all made an amazing impact on our students and I want to say I appreciate you and all that you've given over the years of service and of just like is echoed I look forward to the many events coming up uh May and June graduation and it's kind of uh bittersweet in the sense that a lot of the things I'm experiencing as a fifth grade parent is a lot of lasts of elementary uh but I do get to be a chaperon for the fifth grade DIA trip and I look forward to that and the upcoming CHS choir concert I
063look forward to as well. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Craftton. Hi, everyone. Um, touching on a few points from public commentary and from board commentary. Um, this is the beginning of the final push for our seniors, um, as they get ready to graduate. um senior parents and all the fields that they're going to have and also all the teachers and the students who will have a mixture probably of elation and an absolute terrified pit in their stomach of what's going to come next. So, my offer to everyone is to embrace kindness and empathy over the next two months as your students and their friends grapple with who they're going to become as adults, how they handle the choices they make over the next couple of months, what their future looks like, and how they navigate
064new social cir circles as they move from elementary to middle, middle to high school, or those high schoolers who have friends that are graduating, but they're not yet ready to graduate. So, um, kindness and empathy is in my mind where we need to be leaning in May and June, maybe all the way into July as there's a lot of uncertainty in in the world and in the the social network that our students navigate every day. So, with that kindness and empathy call, I just want to thank every single teacher and every single parent who shows up every day for their kids. It's important. It's hard. I'm a mom of a high schooler. It's hard this time of se of year. So that the public commentary who said 80% of schools are SAT optional these days
065like shake it off folks. You're going to be great human beings if you embrace kindness and empathy and that's what I think we're here for. Thank you. See I'm just gonna say a few words. First I want to say congratulations to Dr. Hama. Um, which we didn't know until we were sitting here, so we would have embarrassed you a little bit more, but congratulations. Um, thank you to Officer Peterson. We're gonna we're going to miss you um here. Um, they're lucky to have you. We're going to be sad, but thank you for all your time and your energy here. Um, thank you to all of our amazing principles and staff that we have here in Wald Lake. you are our backbone and we appreciate every single one of you and the job you're doing we
066appreciate enthusiastically. Um on to prom into graduation. We're coming into prom season and I just want to remind everybody please be safe. I'm looking at you students. Be safe. Make good choices. Don't get into trouble. But have fun. Yeah. They're all pointing at one. So, so, so, so I'm going to look you right look right at you. Ple, please be careful, be safe, and make good choices out there. Okay, thank you. We're going to move on to our consent agenda. In our consent agenda, we have our new hires, our resignations, our retirements, and leave of absence. We have financial reports for March 2025 dispersements in the amount of 19,47,685. Um on our balance sheet purchases under 500,000. We have the frontline employee management with Danielson rubric renewal which is 36,27141 cents and the Head Start
067director's report. Miss Leven, I move that the board of education approve the consent agenda as presented. Support. Thank you. All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. 6 say we are going to move on to bid awards. Dr. Lans. Thank you, Mrs. Kaplan. Our first uh bid request for the evening is Western High School gym locker room HVAC change order to be paid out of our bond funds as of January 1st of 2025. New code requirements mandated by the state of Michigan have changed and the refrigerant requirements for all new HVAC equipment. The design approach initially contemplated that will be no longer a viable option. The project team is proposing mechanical code changes with an estimate cost of 1663,12 to be paid for out of bond funds. Just as a a point of reference, you
068may have heard over the last couple years that we were making all of our buildings at the high school level fully aironditioned. These are the last areas of our high schools that are not airond conditioned. The challenge that we're facing, as alluded to here, is that the EPA changed the requirement and so we can't use current and existing equipment and the new equipment is significantly more expensive than what was originally anticipated. At Western, it's over $300,000 more. This was not included in the 2019 or the 2024 bond as part of the scope. We've added this in additionally to help move these forward these projects forward where we can do that under the the coding of HVAC updating for both of the buildings. And I said both because Wald Lake Northern was also scheduled to have
069air conditioning added to Walt Lake Northern this summer. Unfortunately, as it's a different system and and a different style than what Wall Lake Western is, it was over a million dollars of additional costs. So that's not a million dollars budgeted. that was a zero budget that went to a million dollars. So, the bond team spoke about that and we asked to pause that for this summer because we are not convinced that the EPA won't roll back the actual regulation, which means we could use our current equipment and we could update that equipment with a much less expensive option. So, Wald Northern is still at some point in the near future going to get air conditioning. I would say that that will resolve itself in anywhere from six to eight months because if they're not going
070to change within that period of time, they're just probably not going to change at all. But in the best interest of getting the best financial situation for the district, it made sense for to accept the recommendation of the bond team to pause that project, not cancel it. So I just want to be very transparent with that. And those are the reasons why we pause the Wald Lake Northern and the reason why I'm asking to move forward with the Wald Lake Western. President Mr. I'm going to go this way, Miss Fernandez. Sorry. I move that the board of education approved the change order for the gym and locker room HVAC work at Western High School in an approximate amount of $163,12. This work will be funded from the bond funds support. Discussion. Mrs. Leven. Um, thank
071you Dr. Lans for the transparency surrounding Wildlake Northern. Um, I was concerned um that parents wouldn't necessarily know that was happening and I wanted people to be aware for the summer. I know there were concerns last summer uh that the board received with the heat in the gym and volleyball practice and kids passing out and um the weather this year seems like it might not be as hot as last year. So, that might be a positive. But, um I wanted to make sure that families had time to prepare for whatever that means for their summer knowing that that gym will not be air conditioned just yet. and hopefully uh all the cards fall into place and we can get that going here sooner rather than later. So again, thank you for the transparency. That's all
072we ask for. Any other discussion? All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carries 6. Moving down to physical moves move services. Dr. Lens, thank you very much. This is a followup from a previous request. Plant man Real Point has been able to identify a management service to help us move. This is from I'm going a little off script here. This is the movement from Gistler into our other buildings. And part of the repurposing of Gistler was to make sure that we were fiscally responsible. And we talked about that in many meetings during our our facility study. And so we are moving classroom furniture that is brand new in Gistler to empty rooms or rooms that were not updated in Banks Creek, Smart, Wald Lake Northern, Wald Lake Central. So we're not throwing away furniture that's
073a year or a year and a half old. We're actually repurposing those and that is the purpose of of this request here. physical move services for the district relocation work as it relates to the repurposing of Gistler school and the additional affected school buildings upon completion of the post bid review and analysis. The project team is recommending a total award of recommendation of $123,85. The total award recommended includes contract award to office moving alliance worldwide LLC Palmer moving services as well as district contingency for potential unforeseen tasks that may arise and require physical move support. Just as an additional point of reference, the company that plant Moran Real point is recommending is a company that they have used in the past and are currently using in other districts. Miss Leven, I move that the board
074of education approve the total award recommendation in the amount of $123,000 $123,85 for physical move services to be provided by Office Moving Alliance Worldwide LLC and Palmer Moving Services including contingency funds as presented. Discussion. Just one thing to add, Miss Leven. I know when I was looking through this, I was a little confused because I'm like, wait, we're moving out, but we're not moving in. And so just so the community is clear, we have to move out of Gistler before Gistler can be repurposed to be moved back into. So just want to make sure that was clear. Thank you. Anybody else? Okay. All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carries 6. Moving on to resolution Oakland Intermediate School District budget. Miss Dr. Lens, Mrs. Zoomer. I almost did. The Michigan School Code requires the ISD
075budget to be presented to the board of each of the constituent districts for review. In addition, each constituent board of education not later than June 1st of each year shall review the proposed ISD budget and adopt a board resolution to support or disapprove the proposed budget. I have reviewed the proposed 2526 Oakland intermediate school district budget and based on the information presented and review the materials provided support the budget. Um just as a side note, this is the budget that is was was provided to each of the board members to review with a fairly comprehensive um indication of the initiatives that are being taken on by Oakland schools on behalf of the districts as well as there is an opportunity to go and actually meet in person to discuss the budget. So again, it's a
076routine business matter. Um but the budget is presented by the Oakland schools each year annually. Mr. Smith. I move that the board of education support the proposed Oakland Intermediate School District budget as expressed in the resolution. Support. Any discussion? Mrs. Leven, guess I'm going to be the one talking tonight. Um, the last couple years I have not um supported the Oakland schools budget and although I I respect Mrs. O's position and and supporting the budget as a general um It's not a rule, but I can't think of the word right now. Um, I haven't been thrilled with how the money goes to Oakland schools, but maybe it doesn't always come back or we're supporting other districts through our budgeting and there's also some things potentially coming down the pipeline with Oakland schools that I just
077think that there's there's money flowing everywhere and it it at some point it needs to stop. Um, so I will not be supporting this budget tonight. Any other discussion? Okay. All those in favor I opposed. Motion does not pass. Three to three. Moving on to proclamation employee recognition week. Dr. Lans. Thank you, Madam President. Each year in early May, we pause to honor the educational team that serves our students in the Wald Lake Consolidated School District. Since quality education is a team effort, we honor all of our employees in all job classifications together during the same week. The week of May 5th through May 9th, 2025 has been designated the Wald Lake Schools Employee Recognition Week. I'm confident that the board will join me in in our expression of appreciation to our outstanding employees. Mr.
078Craft, would you like to read? Sure. Whereas the week of May 5th through the 9th, 2025 has been designated Wald Lake Schools Employee Recognition Week to recognize the excellent contributions of all employees throughout the district. And whereas the staff of Wald Lake Schools is an outstanding group of employees, each and every one of them essential to maintaining the quality education we offer our students. And whereas although the board of education has honored employees on an individual basis during the year, the other devoted and dedicated staff members in the district have received little formal recognition for their able and distinguished service. And whereas our para educators, food service workers, secretaries, warehouse and delivery persons, transportation, bus drivers, mechanics, maintenance persons, teachers, supervisors, and administrators are all highly valued members of the Wald Lake Schools family. Now,
079therefore, be it resolved that we, the members of the Wald Lake Schools Board of Education and the administration, hereby proclaim May 5th through the 9th, 2025 Wald Lake Schools employee recognition week and thank and congratulate all of our school district staff for their excellent contributions to the education of the students of the Wald Lake Consolidated School District. Thank you. This Kaplan, um, are do we have anything scheduled or planned for communication out to the public or acknowledgement, appreciation on social media, anything just so the public knows of like what's going on? I know that buildings do individual recognitions, but Mr. Durk, can you can you speak to the district? Uh, sure. Actually, in today's district update, M Mr. Lewis and my department has a series of different celebration items for each day of the week
080next week along with what Dr. Lans referred to with different buildings doing different things. uh dress up as your favorite teacher day, those sorts of things. We have those things outlined as just a helpful idea if people are looking for ways to support their favorite staff members. Thank you. And thank you to all of our staff. We're going to move on to Oakland County School Board Association bylaws and Resolution Amendments. Assume you want me to read this. That's you. All right. The Oakland County School Board Association, which is the OCSBA, the resolutions and bylaw committee reviews the association bylaws and resolutions annually. The OCSBA board of directors has renewed the proposed changes and recommendation and recommends approval of the directors or of the bylaws and the resolutions amended as presented. Every member district board of
081education has provided with the proposed amendments with rationale for the change. OCSBA requires that each member district board of education presents a vote on the proposed bylaws and the resol resolutions. Miss Leaven. I move that the board of education approve the amendments to the Oakland County School Board Association bylaws and resolutions as presented. Support discussion. I'm going to just say we were all provided with with the bylaws and the changes um that the proposed um for OCSBA. So, we all have had time to look in decide what we individually think. So, I just want you to know that you know we've all been provided with that information. Any other discussion? Okay, let's take a vote. All those in favor? I I opposed. Motion carries 51. Okay, we're going to move on to a waiver request.
082Dr. Lans. Thank you very much, Mr. Scaling. Thank you, Dr. Lans. The Commerce Chargers is a community-based youth football and cheer program that maintains a strong partnership with Wald Lake Central High School's football and cheer programs. The Commerce Charger program is respectfully requesting the continuation of support with the 50% reduction in rental fees consistent with the rate granted during the 2425 school year. Mr. Kaplan, Mr. Smith. Bless you. I move that the board of education approve a 50% reduction in the athletic field rental fees for the 2025 2026 school year for the Commerce Chargers football and cheer program in accordance with board policy 7002 AR- fee schedule-school facilities discussion. Just Mr. This is just uh in concurrence with the other uh we just had one on the last agenda as well. This is the standard
083practice that we're doing recommending 50%. Correct. That is a standard practice. There is one caveat and that is that it must be requested for in writing every year. So it's not an annual update. Every organization must still request that. Any other discussion? Okay. All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carries. 6 Head Start program information report. Dr. Lans. Thank you very much. In accordance with the federal Head Start performance standards, the Wald Consolidated School District Board of Education is the governing body of the district's Head Start program. To comply with all federal contract regulations and due to the Head Office of Head Start implementing a new reporting system which allows for program data to be viewed and analyzed on a regular basis, the Wald Lake Schools Head Start program is requesting the board review the
084program information report. So that's justformational. Thank you. Thank you. With that, we're going to adjourn. Before we do, I just want to say be careful out there. Be careful for prom. Um, and congratulations to all those that will be graduating. And thank you to all of our wonderful staff. And we are adjourned.