Board of Education - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

I now call this meeting of the Ann Arbor Public School Board of Education to order at 733. Ms. Ozenski, may we have a roll call, please?

Trustee Baskett?

Yes.

President Feaster?

Here.

Trustee Muhammad?

Here.

Trustee Norton?

Yes. Here.

Trustee Schmidt? Present. Trustee Wilkins?

Here.

Vice President Wilks? Present.

Wow. Thank you. I would now like to introduce the non-voting member at the table, Jazz Park Superintendent of Schools.

Good evening. Thank you, President Feaster.

Trustees, you should have received the agenda. Is there a motion to approve the agenda?

So move. Second.

Moved by Vice President Wilkes, supported by Trustee Schmidt. Any discussion, trustees? Seeing none, Ms. Sosinski, please.

Sorry, could you repeat the motion?

Motion to approve the agenda as is.

And who moved?

Vice President Wilkes. So moved. And supported by Trustee Schmidt.

Thank you. Okay. Trustee Baskett? Yes. President Feaster? Yes. Trustee Muhammad? Yes. Trustee Norton?

Yes.

Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Wilkins? Yes. Vice President Wilks? Yes. Motion carries.

Thank you, Ms. Ozenski. I believe that brings us down to a second public hearing on the proposed budget. This is the public commentary, I believe. Is that correct, Ms. Ozenski?

Yes. It is because there is no one signed up for public commentary, so we can just bring it all as one.

If you'd like to just read the little... This is the second public hearing on the fiscal year 27 proposed budget. Ms. Golczynski, how many do we have signed up?

Five signed up to date.

Thank you. I will remind speakers that our rules of public commentary apply during the hearing. Please understand that board members do not respond to public comments, but we will listen carefully and we'll follow up as appropriate. When you hear your name called, please come forward to the podium and speak into the microphone. Each speaker will be granted up to four minutes to comment.

First, we have James Watt.

Good evening. Members of the Ann Arbor Public School Board, Superintendent and staff, thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is James Watt. I'm representing the Junior Wolverines youth football and shooting teams. Between Washtenaw Blue and Washtenaw Maze, we serve more than 600 Ann Arbor kids and their families every single year. We're here tonight because of a recent decision to increase field fees to $150 per hour, and it threatens our ability to continue to provide this valuable service to the community. For over 60 years, our non-profit youth sports organizations have utilized AAPS fields and facilities, and the AAPS Policy 7250 describes the school's commitment to partner with local non-profit groups by charging fees only for additional maintenance that might be needed. For decades, this arrangement has enabled kids to train and learn on the fields around Ann Arbor schools. When our team was still called the Junior Packers, Jim Harbaugh himself learned to play football on the grass at Scarlet and played his first football games at Holloway Field. Since the 1960s, that arrangement has allowed hundreds of local children every year to participate in organized football and cheerleading, learning teamwork, discipline, and be a part of a community that supports our schools. It has also ensured that fields are cared for responsibly by a group who rely on them. We were recently informed that the cost to use those same fields will be increased to $150 per hour. That is a substantial and sudden increase that threatens the survival of the organized youth football and cheerleading in Ann Arbor. To put that number into context, at a typical practice schedule for the season, it translates to over $30,000 in added expenses for each organization over a single season. For non-profit organizations that are entirely volunteer-run and rely on community donations, this would mean either leaving Ann Arbor altogether or dissolving the teams. Either option upsets decades of tradition and hundreds of Ann Arbor families will be disrupted. We are not one of these expensive travel soccer teams or field hockey teams that cost thousands of dollars to join. And we provide scholarship opportunities for the underserved families in our communities that can't afford the $400 registration fee to join our team. And our public school board policy, 7250 and the Michigan School Code have encouraged maximum use of school facilities and stipulate that use of school facilities by nonprofit organizations shall be without charge. The policy is written to reduce barriers and improve the community... charging only additional maintenance costs to cut grass, stripe the fields, etc. We believe this new $150 per hour fee departs from the principle and undermines the district's commitment to equitable access for community youth. We are not asking for special treatment. or the district to fund football or cheer teams. We are asking the board to honor the spirit of the letter that exists in the state code and board policy and to work with the community partners for a fair solution. We respectfully request the board and administration approve the scheduling of practice facilities and stadiums at a rate covering incremental costs as indicated by your existing policy. We are hopeful to remain partners in serving our community however we can. We want to maintain healthy fields, safe practices, and a strong relationship with the district, but that requires a rate structure consistent with Board Policy 7250, and it reiterates us as a volunteer non-profit organization. In closing, please remember that these fields are more than just turf and greens and grass and lines. They are places where children learn to be a part of a team, where families build connections, make memories, and where our community comes together every Saturday for games. A decision to make those fields unaffordable for local nonprofit youth programs would be a loss for Ann Arbor. We respectfully ask the board to act to preserve access, fairness, and the opportunity for all children to participate. Thank you for your time, and we welcome the opportunity to meet with the board and staff to answer any questions as you need. Thank you.

Thank you. Kyle Leakfelt. Good evening.

My name is Kyle. I currently serve as the vice president for the Wolverine junior football and cheer maze program. I'm here tonight in support of our fellow program, the WJF blue, um, to advocate for policies that allow you sports organizations to continue serving children and families in our communities. Since being elected to this position, I've had a chance to look over several contracts, email correspondence between our organization and Huron High School. In doing so, I've noticed significant inconsistencies, not only in the fees being charged, but also in the communication and expectations placed upon our organization. Most importantly, it appears to be a lack of consistency between how maize and blue programs are treated. In 2023, our organization paid roughly $3,765 for the entire season. There were no game day manager fees, no gate fees, no light fees, no registration fees. In 2024, our costs increased roughly to $4,090, again, without light fees or additional gate requirements. Then in 2025, our costs increased dramatically. Stadium rental, custodial fees, lighting, gating percentages, or gate percentages, and supervisory costs brought the total fees to more than $7,000, not including the additional revenue sharing requirements. Most recently, on June 12th, 2026, we were informed that practice custodial fees alone would total approximately $6,850, okay? combined with game day custodial costs and management fees, and the total for this year is estimated at $98.40. $98.40. The estimate also stated that approximately $34,600 in rental fees were waived. So we went from $3,700 to $4,090 to now an estimated $34,600 waived. And this came after multiple emails back and forth just to get them to acknowledge the fact that we weren't supposed to be charged these rental fees per your guys' policies and regulations. Wolverine Junior Football, it also stated Wolverine Junior Football will be responsible for both operational and field rental costs for the 2027 season. Based on those estimates provided, the cost would approach nearly $44,000 for us to play or home games at Heron High School. For a nonprofit youth football organization funded through registrations, donations, and fundraising, those numbers are simply unsustainable. I do not expect tonight's meeting to resolve all of our concerns or questions. What I do hope to achieve is greater transparency, consistency, and communication moving forward. Both organizations are just asking for the same thing, clear expectations and equitable treatment. These programs do far more than organized football games. They provide a safe place for our children to spend their time, build friendships, learn teamwork, develop relationships with positive role models, and become better student athletes. They help keep kids engaged, active, and connected to their communities. If these costs continue to rise to levels that nonprofit organizations cannot afford, the families and children in our community will ultimately bear the consequences. Thank you for your time and listening to our concerns. I hope the board can find a path forward that supports not only a budget, but the families that you're in communities that your schools serve. Thank you.

Kate Curry.

Good evening. My name is Kate Curry. I'm a law and parent, a former financial professional, and a current math tutor. I want to start by acknowledging Mr. Britton's proposed budget presentation on June 3rd. I appreciated both the candor of the presentation and the fact that he didn't stop at describing the problem. He also outlined four strategic recommendations to begin addressing it. Tonight, the board is being asked to adopt a budget with a deficit of more than $4 million and a fund balance of just over 5%. So I think it's fair to say that action is going to be required. The question is no longer whether something needs to be done. The question is, what happens next? Mr. Britton has put several possible paths forward on the table. Some of those recommendations, particularly school and program consolidation, would have far reaching impacts on students, families, and entire school communities. These are not routine administrative decisions. They are decisions that can reshape school communities for years to come. Because of that, I think the community deserves a clearer understanding of which recommendations are being seriously considered what the timeline looks like, how decisions of this magnitude are ultimately being made. I don't think anyone expects all the answers tonight, but before decisions with impacts this significant are made, people deserve confidence that they will be approached with the level of scrutiny, deliberation, transparency, and community input that they deserve. The problem has been identified. Potential solutions have been identified. Now it's time to explain the path between the two. Thank you.

John Benson.

Hello, my name is John Benson, Ann Arbor resident and parent of three. I hope those who have heard me speak realize I aim to be a bridge using common finance language between the administration, board, public, and the people behind the contracts approved by these bodies. With that, an element of the fiscal year 26 budget review I'd like to discuss is a concept of people costs as a share of the spend, which was page 16 of the CFO's last review. I believe this comes as a response to the public feeling that AAPS people are being marginalized in budget decisions. And so part of a response from the DAX from the administration is to illustrate that people make up over 90 percent of the budget when considering all people part of both contracted services and on salary. However, I don't believe the public is as interested in a single-year pie chart of the budget by categories, but by how people or groups of people under various contracts that dictate their pay and benefits are moving financially with our total revenue over time. We can see the salary and benefits moved up about 20% from 19 to 24, while revenue grew about 22%. However, with the fund balance below 5%, we reduced salary and benefits over $20 million, or about 8%. What about the contracted services we might consider as people? Were those vendors asked to roll back to net five-year increases of just 10 to 15% in 2024 as well? The answer appears to be no. This brings me back to my belief that at least our largest 100 contracts across any categories should be reviewed for their cumulative percent increases and annual increases since 2019 and compared versus our revenue percents to understand which contracts and vendors have been either giving or taking from the general fund balance. I am not suggesting to remove any services, but to highlight those that may need not just a freeze, but actually a rollback, same as we did with salary and benefits in 24. This would make sure we have an equitable base to restart from and a method for tracking vendor and contracts individually versus revenue changes to stay on top of our general fund balance going forward. By the way, I don't believe this total people cost concept in review materials is new. I've seen it in taped meetings from several years ago. But once you bucket multiple contracts with widely varying renewal or bargaining trajectories into one, you will obscure true drivers adding or pulling from the fund balance. I also want to take a minute to say I have extensive experience in building, managing, negotiating indexes and benchmarks and contracts. In my opinion, we should also be discovering all the indexes and benchmarks used for our annual or automatic and evergreen renewals. How many are flat percent increases like one or two percent? How many reference some calculation or index like a CPI plus one? All to understand how much money is renewing and at what rate contractually. Really, no indexes should be agreed in private vendor contracts, in my opinion, just modest flat rates in line with revenue and disclosures that our fiduciary responsibility is to track AAPS revenue over time. That's our benchmark. Any partner should understand AAPS is a long-term contract, has stood through multiple major economic shocks, and will be here through many more. A steady contract from AAPS is something to count on. Many other businesses and entities cannot offer that. Thank you.

Thank you. Johnny Thompson.

Been here a few times now, try something a little different. Just wanna tell you a little bit about me and why I'm here and what I'm hoping for, my biggest desire. I am a teacher in AAPS. I work at Ann Arbor Open. I teach fifth and sixth graders all day and I love my job. I love my coworkers, my families, my kids, my building. And I want to go out in the world and say, I love my district. I really, really do. But I'm having a hard time with that right now. Before I came to AAPS, I worked in an Ann Arbor local nonprofit charter school. And I made a fraction of what AAPS can offer me. But I worked there for a really long time because like many other skilled veteran teachers, we knew that at the end of every single day, every penny that that school received was spent thoughtfully in ways that benefited students. There were no large purchases that didn't have buy-in and a reasonable assurance that they were going to improve students' lives, students' learning. Administrators didn't earn a lot more than teachers. Their healthcare was covered at the same rate as teachers. If teachers had a pay freeze, administrators took a pay freeze or even a pay cut. That pay cut might put $300 more in our pocket in a year, which doesn't change our lives at all. But knowing that our school leaders were willing to take that sacrifice to show that they valued teachers really made a monumental difference in our whole community, the way we felt, the way that we were connected, the way that we could talk to each other, and it really built trust. I was recently asked by a student, where do teachers think money is coming from? And that is a fair question without an easy answer. But here's mine. Looking at how the money is spent in the district tells us what the district values. An analogy I would give my younger friends would be that someone walks into my classroom and hands me $100 and says, give your students a great end of year party. And I look at that and look a little more and look around and say, this is less than $4 a student, it's not enough. I can't do enough with this to make it matter, so I'm just gonna put it in my pocket. Because looking around and going, I can't do enough with it, I'll just keep it. And I can tell you, kids right away get that and are outraged by it. And what do you mean? We could still do something. And you say, yeah, I get it. That's what I can only speak for myself, but what I'm looking for is that spirit of working together. I don't ever expect to make what I'm worth, but knowing that people value the work I do enough to take that step would mean the world. So cutting certain things, it might not make a difference, but it would make a dent. And more than that, it would show a commitment to prioritize educators. Hearing justifications like that central admin gets the same percentage raises that teachers get feels tone deaf because those percentage increases just widen the gap between our administration and our teachers. When teachers are underpaid and feel unappreciated, unseen, impotent, we and our students do suffer, and the leadership response matters. Right now, the message we're receiving, correct or not, and I honestly don't think that it is the correct message, but it is what we feel, is that no one's willing to take a step forward or toward rectifying the situation if it affects their own paychecks. Even knowing teachers, the ones on the ground, have taken cuts in the past, that isn't happening. I can say with confidence, I can't speak for all educators, but a lot of us in a fair contract I know would make concessions to support our TAs who aren't making enough. We would do that for others because together we are stronger. And so I just ask that leaders step up, walk the walk, put your money where your mouth is, and see that we're in this together. Thank you.

That concludes the second public hearing on the proposed budget and public commentary.

Thank you, Ms. Osinski. We appreciate hearing from our community. The board would like to thank everyone who spoke and shared their comments tonight. Ms. Parks, are there any points of clarification?

Just a couple. I mean, I want to respond to the last public comment to our teacher. We absolutely do value our teachers. I hope that goes without saying. And we continue to negotiate with our organizations who represent our employees and hope to get to resolution. and we continue to do that in good faith. As far as the football junior Wolverine organization, I will follow up with the team on their concerns. I do know that the charge or the expense is not for fields, so the field expense is waived. The operational costs are for things like custodial utilities, things like that. but in that they are in line with a portion of our policy. But again, I'll follow up with the team and have some follow up there. Then the comments about the budget I'm sure will be addressed in the clarifications in the second briefing that we have this evening about the proposed budget. And lastly, regarding the decisions on recommendations, we have said a few times that we will continue to have those discussions right here at the table in public so that our community can see the direction that we're headed in. We are committed as they are to doing this process transparently. And so the conversations that we have and the decisions that we make will all be here at the table.

Thank you, Superintendent Parks. I believe that brings us to public commentary. Ms. Osinski, how many do we have signed up for public commentary?

There's no one signed up for public commentary.

Thank you. I believe that brings us to community feedback. Trust me, I'd like to bring your attention to the community feedback for this meeting. Next, that brings us to reports of association. Ms. Osinski, do we have a representative here from AAEA?

I don't see Mr. Klein here, but Ms. Claire Arthurs is here for the EAP.

Thank you very much.

Greetings, trustees, Superintendent Parks, AAPS families, and staff. Welcome, Trustee Norton. Your position earns very little money while holding tremendous responsibility, and I bet is very hard to describe to everyone. I empathize. I know something about that, and I really thank you for stepping up. I'm Claire Arthurs. I represent AEAP, the paraeducators working as education support professionals with Ann Arbor students. Many of our unit have started summer school assignments. It's a great time to work in an alternate location, connect with new colleagues, hear how things are going at a different school. It's also the reason many of our staff have literally watched students grow up for five, eight, 12 years. We are scheduled to bargain with the district again on Thursday, June 25th. Staffing update. October last year, we were down 47 full-time TA or teaching assistant positions. We finished the year, I believe, down 43 of those positions. I don't have data past two years ago, but I plan to keep better track of turnover and attrition. I'll report this to you annually because I believe it's really important. I think it's important to see who's leaving, how long they've been here, and why as much as possible. HR does also do a really great job on exit surveys, which is great. The data I'm about to share is an aggregate of our entire unit, both full-time and part-time. The summer of 2024, our numbers went down 70 positions from 410 to 340. This was the summer after the district stopped paying TAs in self-contained classrooms and in one-on-one assignments the highest pay and reverted them to the lowest pay group, the one I'm in, the one where I currently earn $24,688 a year after eight years of service, If I work another 17 years in AAPS, I will earn an additional $1,216. My salary will be bumped to $25,904 with an additional $1,000 stipend if I stay until June. The summer of 2025, our numbers went down 76 positions from 371 to 295. This was the summer after our health insurance changed, causing members to choose between lower quality insurance or paying $3,000 or 13% of their salary, an average, because different salaries, but they're all not so great, to maintain the insurance that they have. Our unit is fortunate to have the lower cost insurance due to our salaries and our contract. There are also, I believe, 10 members of cabinet who also receive this lower insurance despite making six figures. I am not certain why they do. So far this summer, we are down 11 people since last report. This is before summer school numbers, so I expect that number will jump after our summer school has ended. We've had five retirements with, I'm a little confused on my calculation, but at least over 80 years combined. We've had six people who quit that have worked between a few months and two years. We congratulate all those who retired. All students and all staff feel this loss of all these individuals. That is a combined over 100 years of service to the district. That part I am confident on. I just didn't take good notes earlier, I apologize. We're grateful to have negotiated with the district next year's school calendar and to have them accessible to paraeducators at the beginning of the summer. This is huge. This has usually arrived to us in the past in August, and everyone is really grateful for being able to plan ahead. We've started some fruitful conversations, preliminary conversations with the Office of Special Education regarding professional development days. A big complaint of paraeducators has been often not knowing what is required for them for professional development until sometimes the week or even the night before. To be planning this two months out is a phenomenal shift in the positive, and we thank the district for this welcomed change. Also, despite me bringing it up at three board meetings and for six months during collaborative council meetings, as of six days ago, according to OSC and HR, they still do not know how much registered behavior technicians or RBTs are paid in our district. I find this odd. I continue to find this troubling. If the district is unwilling to provide this information but stringing us along for six months saying they would find out, it's really easy to see where parents are demanding greater transparency. This is sketchier than an Etch-A-Sketch. If the district is willing, but genuinely, after six months, does not have this information, they don't know how much RBTs are paid, that is equally troubling, and it's easy to understand why parents are concerned with the financial competency and communication of our district. I believe that all of OSC, HR, and finance should be privy to which organizations are used to pay for this outside labor, those subcontracted rather than hired through our unit. In case anyone's curious and they're looking for a way to find out, this is how I would try and find out. I would call each principal, ask for the names of RBTs in their building. I would then call payroll, ask how much these individuals are paid. If they work for a contract, I would ask the principal, if they sign timesheets, who that timesheet contract goes to. And then I would call finance and ask finance about this contract and have the contract follow up. I just don't think it should be this difficult. Member morale is both abysmal and euphorically bittersweet. Many still in the district are miserable. They share their short staffed. They feel undervalued and under supported. They don't have enough teaching assistant peers and they don't have as many of their AAEA unit peers of social workers, counselors, special education teachers, Jenna teachers. There's a lot of subs right now in summer school. And it's euphorically bittersweet for those who made the very difficult decision to leave their work home of Ann Arbor Public Schools and go to WISD, earn $25 an hour, or other districts and other positions. It is gut-wrenching to make the choice to leave students and coworkers you love, but the comfort provided by now being able to better support themselves and their families is a huge relief. I recently learned another member in our unit is unhoused. They continue to show up to work every single day and no one knew. That's the dedication we have for our positions. Members have had TAs, wait, sorry. Members had students tell the TAs that they hope the TAs get raped. Members have been bitten and punched. Members have had liquid thrown in their eyes.

This is all since the last report.

I wanted to share two recent member communications. This year was the most difficult of the decades I've spent in the education field. It was very difficult because I felt like I needed to be a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, nurse, and more. I'm not trained in any of these fields, so you can imagine my frustration. Sorry, I'm venting, but it's just truly been a very stressful year and for such horrible pay. Someone else shared, I needed a break from my students, but I needed a break break. I was always still with my student while on my break. I always had to deal with the disrespect that comes from this student. I've never been disrespected that much in my entire life. And I've lived a lot of places and met a lot of people. It was constant and it seemed like nothing was done. I've had enough of getting beat up. I've had enough of getting scratched. I enjoy being in the classroom. I enjoy my team, but I've had enough. I do not get paid enough to deal with this job. It's so physical, and it's mentally and physically exhausting. I've sacrificed a lot for this job, and I'm just not sure I can keep doing it. Thank you for listening to these members' stories. Thank you for your time here today and for listening to me as I speak. I hope you continue to enjoy summer. If you have not yet endorsed the ESP Bill of Rights, I know you haven't as a board, and I know that may or may not be a political decision that you choose to do. You can also support it individually if you would like to. You can just Google ESP Bill of Rights and try and support Michigan's education support professionals. Just so you know, this is now being supported by at least one of the gubernatorial candidates in Michigan. It's making a lot of traction. would be a cool thing to look into. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Really quickly before we move on, because I think it's important to clarify a couple of details. Peer professionals and district leadership do not pay the same for insurance. And as you know, trustees, because these contracts come before you, when we have contracted staff, those contracts do come before the board. They are brought typically by Ms. Lewis for contracted staff. So that's where those contracts reside in board authority and approval.

Thank you, Superintendent. I believe that brings it down to community group reports. Ms. Olszewski, do we have any groups signed up for this evening?

We do. We have the Ann Arbor Parents of Jewish Students coming forward to report.

All right. Thank you.

Hi, everyone. Good evening. Good evening. I believe I sent slides. Are they able to be

Terry, yeah, T-E-R-R-Y, Terry.

This is the same presentation that we got in board docs for diligence. Thank you. We'll be assured that most, if not all of us, have read it. Thank you. Thank you. Great.

Thank you.

Good evening, board members, superintendent, and members of our community. My name is Esther Terry, and I'm here on behalf of the Parents of Jewish Students affinity group for Ann Arbor Public. I'll be sharing some of the local events that occurred to commemorate Jewish American Heritage Month in May. Why this story? Why here and why now? A 2022-2023 Washtenaw County area Jewish community study found that 5% or one person out of every 20 people in Washtenaw County is Jewish. We are your neighbors. We see you at school drop-off, at the grocery store, at local parks and playgrounds and public events. As most people here might know, Jewish communities have experienced repeated migrations, exiles and dispersions dating back to antiquity. Long before the word multicultural existed, Jewish communities were building homes on every continent, speaking dozens of languages, and contributing to the cultures around us and carrying a shared identity that has never fit neatly into a single category. Whether the concept of the collective was understood as a tribe, a nation, an ethnicity, a culture, or a religion, or a race, the answer has always been yes, we are all of these and more. Tonight, I'm here to share how Ann Arbor Public Schools and the Ann Arbor community honored and celebrated that richness this May during Jewish American Heritage Month. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to present this recap to the board. Next slide. On May 31 our Community came together for a remarkable set of a remarkable fair at the Ann Arbor district library, it was the first annual Jewish culture and arts fair where Jewish artists crafters bakers and writers display their creativity for library patrons and the broader community. And what you'll see in the next few slides is the collaboration between parents educators school Librarians and Community partners. At King Elementary, students and families were introduced to Jewish history and culture through curated library exhibits. These displays invited curiosity and sparked conversation, bringing heritage programming directly into the spaces where our kids learn every day. The same spirit was carried through at Angel and Lawton elementary schools. Exhibits highlighted the breadth and diversity of Jewish culture, history, and contribution. These were invitations for students to see themselves and their neighbors reflected in the history of the United States. At Slauson, the work continued with age appropriate programming and exhibits that brought history to life for older students. These exhibits show us what's possible when a school community decides that representation matters. Next slide. For those who may not know, Jewish American Heritage Month was officially proclaimed in May by President George W. Bush in 2006 and has been recognized by every subsequent president. They've each continued the tradition with annual proclamations. The month provides a dedicated opportunity to recognize the contributions of Jewish Americans to the culture, history, and civic life of this country.

Next slide.

We have shaped this nation from its very founding. This slide highlights four individuals whose stories reflect the extraordinary diversity of the Jewish American experience. Simon Solomon, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, helped finance the revolutionary cause and provided important financial support to American leaders. Emma Lazarus, born in New York City in 1849, wrote the words now inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty, words that have welcomed generations of immigrants to American shores. Lavey Strauss. most of you probably pronounce it Levi, was a Jewish immigrant from Germany and he built a business that quite literally clothed the American West. And Sarah Brandon Rodriguez Moses, born in 1798, she was both Jewish and African American. A reminder that the intersections of identity in our country and our new and Jewish history in America has always included voices and experiences from across the full human spectrum. We were working as well to bring Emily Bowen Cohen, who is an enrolled citizen of the Muscogee Creek Nation, and also Jewish, that didn't quite work out for May, but we're hoping to do it in the fall.

Next slide, please.

Jewish American Heritage Month was recognized all over Michigan. Universities, community colleges, school districts, and municipalities took part. This breadth reflects something important. Jewish communities are not concentrated in one place or one kind of community. We are woven into the fabric of Michigan life. Next slide. 2% of Americans are Jewish, roughly two people out of every 200. Here in Washtenaw County, the number is more than double the national average. 5% are one in every 20. Our region has a significant and engaged community, and our schools reflect that. These are our neighbors, our colleagues, our students. Next slide. Among the earliest documented Jewish residents, next slide. were Ezekiel Solomon and Chapman Abraham who were active in Detroit by the early 1760s. They lived and traded with British settlers in Michigan decades before Michigan was a state. Their arrival was the beginning of a story that continued with successive waves of Jewish immigrants drawn to Michigan by religious freedom and the opportunity in trade and commerce.

Next slide.

This slide features four remarkable Michiganders, Hank Greenberg, a Detroit Tiger Slugger, and World War II soldier. Albert Kahn was an architect whose industrial designs contributed to modern Detroit. Maurice Sugar was an attorney, songwriter, and labor rights activist. Bill Davidson was a philanthropist and businessman who owned the Pistons and left a significant legacy of civic generosity across Michigan.

Next slide.

Max Fisher was a philanthropist and business executive whose generosity shaped Detroit and his influence extended to national and international affairs. Myra K. Wolfgang was a fierce and trailblazing union organizer who fought for the rights of working women. Arthur Miller, one of the greatest playwrights in the 20th century, spent formative years in Michigan. And LCK Sulzberger founded the Mother's Health Clinic, advancing access for health care for women in our region. Next slide. This slide shows two brothers with two careers of remarkable public service. Senator Carl Levin served in Michigan in the United States Senate, leaving a legacy of bipartisan ethics, defense accountability, and financial oversight. His brother, Congressman Sander Levin, served in both the Michigan State Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, championing health care reform and electoral transparency. Together, they represent a tradition of civic commitment deeply embedded in Jewish American values.

Next slide, please.

Jewish Americans are also present on the basketball court. Harrison Huckberg played as a forward for the Michigan Wolverines. Danny Wolf, who attended both Yale and the University of Michigan, went on to play for the Brooklyn Nets. Their stories are a reminder that Jewish heritage shows up everywhere, including on the scoreboard.

Next slide.

And then there's Ann Arbor. With its own rich and layered Jewish history and education, art, activism, and community building, The next several slides highlight some of the remarkable people who call this community home.

Next slide.

Barbara Levin Bergman served as a Washtenaw County Commissioner from 1993 to 2012 and was a founding member of the Washtenaw Community Health Organization. She believed in her own words that a well society recognizes that we live in a community and that our actions are communal. That philosophy animated a career of service that touched public health, youth services, and county governance, and she earned her master's in social work from the University of Michigan.

Next slide.

Ruth Behar is a distinguished professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan and the first Latina to win a MacArthur Genius Grant. Born in Havana, Cuba, raised in New York City, she has lived and worked in Spain and Mexico. Her writing for children and adults explores immigration identity and the search for home in a globalized world. She received a 2025 Newbery Honor Award. Her life is itself an embodiment of the theme of these slides, Jewish identity as a global, multilingual, and joyfully complex.

Next slide.

Next slide. Erin Dworkin is a MacArthur fellow, artist, educator, and the founder of the Sphinx Organization, which works to expand access to classical music for youth and Black and Latino communities. A professor at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance, he is also a filmmaker, poet, and advocate whose work sits at the intersection of art and social justice.

Next slide.

Eli Nyberger is the director of the Ann Arbor District Library, the very institution that hosted the first annual Jewish Culture and Arts Fair on May 31st. Under his leadership, the AADL has earned a five-star rating from Library Journal for 14 consecutive years. We're grateful for his partnership and for the library's role as a civic anchor for this community.

Next slide.

Suji Min Miranda is a nonprofit executive leader who is Korean and American and Jewish, a leader whose identity reflects the multicultural, multilingual reality of the Jewish world today. Her work centers personal narratives as evidence for policy and program and amplifies the voices of those underserved in mainstream society. Next slide. Dilka Joseph is a poet, editor, and educator living in Ann Arbor. She was born in Mumbai, lived in Kolkata, and is rooted in the Bene Israel Jewish tradition of India, one of the world's oldest Jewish communities. She holds an MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan, and her work has been nominated for Pushcart, Penn, Griffin, and National Book Awards. Her story is a living example of the Jewish global diaspora right here in Ann Arbor. Isaac the Kell is a Black and Jewish poet, PhD candidate, and educator based in Detroit. A Cave Canem fellow, his poetry has been published by Black Lawrence Press and Black Ocean. His work and his identity carry forward the long tradition of Jewish and African Americans who hold multiple intersecting identities and who create art that reflects that complexity with honesty and beauty.

Next slide.

There is a link on this slide to a curated list of books that were identified in every library in the Ann Arbor public school system. So if you want to continue to learn from your own school library, there are many options available. And then the next slide. This is another curated list of picture books or chapter books, historical fictions, nonfiction titles, Again, if people want to explore just the rich diversity of Jewish American life and the global diaspora Jewish life. And then the next slide should be additional resources. You know, we hope these last slide with resources, they're just a starting point. They can be used by educators, by students, by community members, families. There's a lot there. And as a community, we're usually met with surprise when people realize how complex and diverse we are on almost every topic and every theme and every heritage. So I began tonight with the idea that Jewish identity has always been multicultural, multilingual, and global and hopefully you've seen through these slides from 18th century Michigan traders to a Cuban born anthropologist, an Indian Jewish poet and a black and Jewish poet in Detroit that we're here, we're your neighbors and we do a lot of creative things and we're happy to be here. We're happy to be part of the United States and part of Michigan and of course Ann Arbor. So thank you for allowing me to present this recap. And if anybody has questions and wants to connect with the Parents of Jewish Students Affinity Group, you can reach out to us at familiesandpublicschools at jewishannarbor.org.

And thank you. Thank you again. Thank you.

Thank you very much for that presentation.

President Buster, if I may. Trustee Baskin, I'm sorry. No, I just wanted to say thank you, Ms. Terry, for the presentation. It was wonderful. It was definitely enlightening. I clicked on the link for Sarah Brandon Rodriguez-Moses because, you know, she looked like a child. And reading the link is fascinating, absolutely fascinating. I'm sorry I couldn't get through all of it, but I do encourage my colleagues to definitely click on these resources. I had the privilege of working with Barbara Levin Bergman, a proud Jewish woman, a fighter, I mean, feisty woman. And she, you know, although she served as a county commissioner, she was a strong Democratic activist to her moving out of Ann Arbor. And again, fascinating sense of humor. I'm very proud of her connection to being a cousin of the Levin's. She would always talk about the Levin cousins. So again, thank you for highlighting her. She was one of the first elected female leaders in our community. And I was really proud to be able to work with her. And again, appreciate a nod to her in your presentation. I think this deck should be shared with everybody in our community. And I hope that we can help you get that word out, if you will. Important history here that everybody should have. So thank you for enlightening us as a board.

You're welcome. It's my pleasure. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. I believe that brings us to number eight, board committee reports. I don't believe there were any committee meetings over the last two weeks, but what I would like to do at a minimum is I do want to appoint Trustee Norton to the finance committee where you can take over for Don, where Trustee Wilkinson was. I still would like Trustee Baskett to temporarily serve as the chair until I have a chance to consult our colleagues and we can make a decision on who will be the permanent chair at our next meeting and whatnot. But I do want to ask you to serve on that committee, Trustee Norton. I would be most honored to do so, President Feaster.

Thank you.

I believe that brings us down to number nine, the information section of the agenda, and the superintendent's update. And I'll turn it over to Superintendent of the School, Chaz Parks.

Thank you, President Feaster. We have just a very brief update this evening. The Freeman Environmental Youth Council was awarded a Sustaining Ann Arbor Together, or a SA2T, neighborhood grant program from the city to support their EIDL reduction campaign. The grant program promotes the fund's community-based activities in support of the city's sustainability and climate action goals. The Youth Council researched and worked with district leadership to explore how the AAPS community can reduce emissions and improve air quality by eliminating unnecessary idling on our school campuses. So next fall, look for the rollout of this district-wide effort spearheaded by the amazing young advocates of the Freeman Environmental Youth Council. We would like to close out this last meeting of this school year by congratulating the class of 2026 and acknowledging the extraordinary journey of about 1,300 graduates. They have everything it takes to move forward and make their mark in the world in profound and positive ways. They represent a unique and special generation of students and have shown us what it looks like to do unprecedented and hard things. We want to recognize our teachers, support staff, and building leaders who guided the graduates throughout their educational experience, and to thank our parents and caregivers also of the Class of 2026 for sharing these amazing young people with us and for entrusting their education to the Ann Arbor Public Schools. So we're so proud of the class of 2026. Can't wait to see what they do next. And if you are interested in seeing the graduations, you can go to A2Schools.org slash graduation, graduations with an S for links to CTN's broadcast of the full commencement ceremonies, highlight videos, stories, and photos.

Good job.

Thank you. The AAPS Summer Food Program kicks off next week with the Meet Up and Eat Up events starting at Carpenter Elementary and Tappan Middle School. Summer meals will be available also at Abbott Elementary starting on June 29th. Breakfast and lunch will be available for both students attending AAPS Summer School Programs and all students any age kindergarten through 12th grade, although food must be consumed on site at one of those three locations. And lastly, the Community Relations Specialty Certification is a prestigious professional development milestone awarded by the Michigan Association of School Boards, or MASB, and it is designed to provide school board members with advanced skills to build strong community relationships, navigate complex communication challenges, and shape public opinion effectively. We're pleased to announce that Trustee Susan Baskett has earned a Certificate of Achievement, and we would like to thank her and congratulate her for her ongoing commitment to the Board of Ed for AAPS.

Congratulations.

Thank you. And that concludes the Superintendent's Update.

Thank you, Superintendent Parks. I believe that brings us down to number 10, the Budget Second Briefing Action, and I believe Mr. Britton is going to come forward and provide that to us.

So I only have one update from first briefing. Can you pull up the slides?

Yeah.

Okay. So I only have one real update from first briefing, and I wanted to key in on this slide. These slides have been updated in the slide deck that's provided to you, so you should have this. But I just wanted to clarify and make more of a clarifying point. We had two slides in there about contracted services and Questions came up about retirement. What do we cover? What don't we cover? So what I wanted to do is simplify this. So it's a little bit more transparent, a little bit more clear for the public. What we were trying to really get to is that how much of our pay people cost and our payroll costs in our purchase services are actually attributed to people, right? So One of the things that we did was we wanted to show a direct comparison. So I've updated these slides in the slide deck, a direct comparison to what our actual costs are to what our estimated costs would be if we contracted in-house. So if you take a look at transportation, custodial grounds, And other contracted, when you look at other contracted, that's things like carpentry, HVAC, electricians, that kind of stuff are also in other contracted. When you take a look at what it would cost to do it in-house, you look at the benefit, that's including retirement and benefits, which we don't pay for. So I just want to be really clear about that. What our actual contract costs are, are in that second column. and you can see the cost difference from what it would be to be in-house this year and versus what our actual costs were for FY26. So if you take a look at the difference between in-house and our contracted services, we save about $10.9 million a year by contracting out these services versus if we had them in-house. So that's one of the updates I wanted to show here. And what it actually does, this is the next slide, please. What it actually does is the next slide that we showed, we were intending to show overall people costs. But what I think is a truer picture and a more accurate picture is if we show our actual costs that are related to people. So updating this slide, when we take a look at our wages and benefits and then combine that with purchase services of transportation, grounds, custodial, And other and combine that with edge of staff about 87% of our overall costs are in people. So when we take a look at it, I know when we look at our personnel expenditure, when I went through you at first briefing, and that says somewhere around 76%. That's because the parts that are in purchase services are not included in that personnel expenditures. It's just the way that it's categorized. But I wanted to be clear, 87% of our overall costs, when we look at FY26, were in people-related services. So these are just the only two updates I had between first briefing and second briefing. Any questions?

Thank you very much. Is there a motion to adopt the resolution for an amendment to the 2025-2026 general fund budget? So moved. Moved by Trustee Schmidt. Second. Supported by Vice President Wilkes. Is there any discussion?

Did we see the amendment or was that just...

I believe that's what he was just presented.

I'm sorry. The amendment is just the final numbers for the FY26 budget. So that's what I walked through last time. Trustee Baskin, Trustee Schmidt.

My only comments is thank you for the work. I want to remind everyone, though, the state has not passed its budget. That's right. But we are required to pass a budget on June 30th, knowing that we're waiting for final numbers from the state. And yes, we are working with what will probably be the agreed upon per pupil allowance. There were other monies that you described very thoroughly at our last session that we don't have final accounting for. So we know that although we will pass this budget, when we get the budget, and to hint our legislators, please pass a budget, It will require our staff to again get together and redo them.

That's right.

So I will encourage everybody that same fury that caused everyone to come to the rallies to turn some of that energy to our legislators to encourage them to pass the budget in a timely manner. so that we can be more accurate and, again, not spend additional time, which costs money, you know, to re-noodle them. But thank you, sir. Thank you, Trustee.

It's ironic. We have a deadline, but they do not. Yeah.

Well, they do have a deadline. Actually, the deadline is what? Isn't it like July? I thought it was July.

Well, a hard deadline because we really have to comply with ours. They don't. Trustee Schmidt.

I just want to make it clear that we passed this budget, and as Trustee Baskett said, we have to hear what the state's going to do. We're also going to be having ongoing conversations about any shifts that we need to do to streamline this district. And I think it was important, I don't have that slide number to pull up right now, but when towards the end of your presentation of the budget, when we talked about setting as a priority teacher pay and how do we do that with other adjustments that we need to do to look at number of buildings and all those things. So these things are still ongoing as to what we need to do if we want to meet these these goals that we have for our staff and for our students. And we know throughout the year budget amendments are made depending on decision making. So this is not just rubber stamping this and this is it. This is a growing, moving budget, and we'll see how things proceed in the next months. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Britton for all the work that you've put into this. So I just wanted to make sure that we're definitely planning to go through our contracts with, I guess, a fine tooth comb. And I just know that I'm concerned about the percentage renewal of these contracts and how those align with the revenue that's coming in. Are they aligned? So I'm assuming these are some of the questions that we're going to be asking it going forward.

Definitely. So and actually, I don't think he'll mind me mentioning me and Mr. Benson are going to meet soon to just kind of talk about his strategy of how he looks at contract management. which I think is interesting. But yes, we are already going through those, our contracts. We're trying to have at least, and we have been able to negotiate with several of our vendors already, especially our major contracts, some price holds and some price locks. But some of the other things that you're talking about, year over year, annual increases, those kinds of things, we'll continually have to take a look at. But right now in present moment, as we're trying to adjust to our budget right now and some of the shortfall in the budget right now, we're already working with our vendors to make sure we have some of them sticking to prices that were actually set a year ago, right? So that they won't actually incur those overall expenses. But yes, we will continue to take a look at our contracted services, especially those hundred or so major vendors that we work with.

Okay, great. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Muhammad, then back to Trustee Baskin.

First, I just want to clarify. We're talking about this year, because I know we're talking about next year.

Yeah, there are two separate things.

Okay. So it kind of overlaps a little bit, but I know that there's a lot of difference. So there's the contracted services. I appreciate the work that you're doing to try to get those rates better. But under those contracts, it seems like there's another bucket that has – Again, I don't know how many contracts are in the other, like not the main ones.

There are about 400 individual vendors. Okay.

So has there been any efforts to look at those, streamline those, trying to make sure there's no overlap? You know, can we use one vendor versus maybe there's five?

So I haven't. So as you know, I'm very new. So what I chose to focus on are those major cost vendors first, right? So the things that are going to move the needle the most. So it's that top 15 vendors that we're really trying to focus on to make sure we're getting the best cost. Those other vendors add up to basically a portion of those costs, those 400 vendors. So Yes, we will get to it. We will continue to work with them. But that's not really moving the needle as far as our cost drivers. Right. It's the it's the larger contracts where we see the million dollar shifts or the five hundred thousand dollar shifts, which we really got to focus on. So it's really part of prioritizing like what comes first, second or third. So, as you know, we have a lot of things going on budget wise right now. So really, when we come to contractor services, we're really been focused on those high cost vendors and trying to make sure we're getting the best cost we can at that level. Does that make sense?

Yeah, no, definitely. I always think about like trying to, of course, there's, I didn't realize there's 400, but looking at that, like if there's any, you know, when it's, I know it's a low priority right now, but any efficiency is a good thing.

Especially. Yes. Yes. Thank you, trustee.

If I may. This is Trustee Baskett. Thank you. I just wanted to remind my colleagues as well as our community that this team has looked through contracts continuously over the years. We as board members look at the contracts not only in the Finance Committee, but when it's brought forth to us for a vote. It is up to us to ask those final questions, but they're final questions to the team, but we have asked those questions before. We have looked at multiple year contracts to get any efficiencies. The team has welcomed nearly every question I can think of to the finance team and to those administrators who bring the contracts forth to, as you may remember, some of our very robust discussions over something like textbooks, if you will. So again, I commend Mr. Britton coming in and jumping in, if you will, full force. But again, this is a continuation of the work that the team has done over the years. And again, as board members, it's our responsibility to ask the questions before we grant the vote. Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Trustee Baskett. Is there no other questions? I believe I asked if there was a motion, and I believe it was moved by Vice President, I'm assuming by Trustee Schmidt. It was supported by Vice President Wilkes. Is there no other discussion? Ms. Ozeneski, please.

Trustee Baskett? Yes. President Feaster? Yes. Trustee Muhammad? Yes. Trustee Norton?

Yes.

Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Wilkins? Yes. Vice President Wilkes? Yes. Motion carries.

Thank you, Ms. Ozenski. I believe that brings us down to 10.2, fiscal year 27 proposed AAPS budget. And we still have Mr. Britton here. And I'll turn it over to him for any additional information.

There are no changes to the items from the first briefing for 2027.

Is there a motion to adopt the resolution to approve the 2026-2027 Ann Arbor Public Schools budget?

So moved. Second.

Moved by Vice President Wilk, supported by Trustee Schmidt. Any discussion? My only discussion is in the proposed budget, I believe... maybe in there or in discussions with you, that we need to make efficiencies and reductions and things of that nature. And I believe you listed three or four different things we need, four different things we need to do. that's not specifically the order in which we need to do it. All four of those things need to be reviewed and accomplished as soon as possible.

Yeah, I think I've mentioned in the first briefing, but I'll reiterate, those are all ands, and they are all very urgent. I just think when we were talking in terms of priority, And timing, we were talking about those things that are probably easier to do in a shorter time period to some things that may take a little bit longer. But all four have probably equal priority. And I would argue even some like the resizing and restructuring. I will say this, and I don't think I mentioned this in the first briefing. But those structural changes are actually going to do the district much more good than even the one-time land and building sales. Those replenish our reserves, and then it buys us some time to do some other things. But those other structural changes, school consolidations, programming, different programming, that's going to be sustainable savings over the course in perpetuity. So those are very important as well. So very much. And I will say one thing about the FY27 budget, if you don't mind. Please. Really quickly, is that our goal as a district is always to bring at the very least a balanced budget, right? And that's to, in our case, we would like to bring a budget forward that actually has expenditures that are under revenue so that we're adding to our fund balance. With the rising cost, and I talked about this in the first briefing, that is just impossible to do right now. With healthcare costs and some of the other commitments we have, that is just impossible to do. And we're not the only district going through that right now. But I do want to reemphasize to the public, the goal is a balanced budget where you have both expenditures and revenues equaling out. Or like I said, really more desirable for us is revenues a little over expenditures. So understand there is still a lot of work to do to get to that point to right size. But yes, all of those recommendations are equally important and equally urgent.

Thank you. I don't want the public thinking that we're going to go through one and then go to two and then go to three. We may start at four and then go to one and then go to three. And so I just wanted to be clear. Yes. Okay. Yeah, they're all very urgent. Thank you. Trustee Norton.

Thank you, President Feaster. I'm Mr. Britton, pardon me, we've had a chance to talk, and thank you for bringing me up to speed on the details of the budget. One of the things that I wanted to ask you, and in part because I wanted to sort of spread the word public, is that the Speaker of the Michigan State House of Representatives, Matt Hall, has opined that he is willing to wait until January to negotiate a final state budget, both for the general fund budget and for the school aid fund, where our funding comes from. And he is hoping to be negotiating with friendly folks in the Senate and the governor's office. If the House actually goes forward with that kind of plan or pushes things until after the election, How do you deal with that level of uncertainty, and what do we need to do to prepare for it if it does happen?

So it's very difficult, and I think last year the budget came in in November. October. Yeah, October, November, which was difficult enough. That means we start the school year off without knowing if we really have funding for the things that we're actually doing. So we're basically creating bills that we don't know if we have the revenue to pay for before we get them. It makes things... extremely difficult also it makes it almost impossible to do anything new right where we're kind of locked in some of the ramifications or unintended consequences is that we're only locked into doing the basic things that we can do to run the school district right and to start school there's no new initiatives there's no new things hiring is very difficult because you don't know if you're making a commitment to funds that you actually have. So the longer that we go, and if it's January now, that means it's even more difficult for us to really plan, not just for that current school year, but also like what our contracts look like and being able to negotiate those as well. There's no degree that I can put to how incredibly difficult it is to not have a budget at the beginning of the year. Like Trustee Vasquez already said, It's difficult enough having to plan for a budget in a month or two before you think the budget is going to come out. When you now extend that out to six months, seven months, that means you're halfway through the year where you don't even know. So you're halfway through expenses where you don't even know if you really have the revenue. We're relying on our cash reserves in order to make sure that that continues to happen, which we always have to do. And we And when we get into those, and that maybe is something else I should mention too, when we get into those circumstances, we have to monitor cash on a regular basis. We have to make sure that we have the cash that we need to still sustain our operations and payroll. So that means like weekly, monthly monitoring of our cash flow too. By cash, you mean general fund dollars? Yeah, I mean general fund dollars. I mean the things that we have to use to pay payroll. Which is why we need to have more than a 5% fund balance? That's exactly right. Because when we don't have state funding, that's when we have to rely on that fund balance.

Or we take out loans.

Yeah. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. Open trustee.

All right.

All right. If there's nothing else, it's been moved by Vice President Wilkes, supported by Trustee Schmidt. If there's no more additional discussion, Ms. Osinski, please. Trustee Baskett? Yes. President Feaster? Yes.

Trustee Muhammad? Yes. Trustee Norton?

Yes.

Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Wilkins? Yes. Vice President Wilkes?

Yes.

Motion carries.

Thank you, trustees.

Thank you, sir. Thank you. Nice work. I believe that brings it down to the number 11 second briefing. I believe we're at AN2266, the E-rate network equipment purchases. Any changes?

No changes to this item that Dr. Kelstrom brought forward last time for first briefing.

Okay. Any questions? No questions? That brings it down to... Actually, I did have a quick question. Vice President Wilkes?

So let me see. So I'm just a little curious about the Sentinel bid. So over time, would this particular company, I know software would be involved. So would there be any costs over time to the general fund, for example, for maintenance at all? I don't know if someone from the team. No, we anticipate that the cost for this will be from the capital program fund. Even for maintenance? Yes.

Yes. Okay. Yep. And it should be actually listed in the recommendation that it includes maintenance. Great. All right. Thank you.

That brings us down to number 11.2, AN 2274, AP Biology Testbook Adoption Recommendation. Any changes?

No changes, although there was a question about some of the other texts that were looked at, and that information was sent to trustees a little bit earlier. This was the item that Ms. Linden and Ms. Deller brought forward, but no changes other than that additional information that was requested.

Okay. Brings us down to 11.3, graduation policy 50-50 update. Any changes?

No changes.

Questions?

I do have a question. And again, it's more of future work, if you will. So I just wanted to clarify what we're saying here. in the graduation requirement variance, and I like how you all put this in here, that the student will earn a minimum of 18 hours for the class of 2027, and 18.5, that's a minimum. So as we discussed in the previous meeting, and I apologize, it was so late, so I know we didn't get the full whammy of all your work. And trustees, please take a look at the slides, it was well done. We are talking about, again, that student, we have 22.5 credit hours is what we expect as a district, but there will be circumstances, or are circumstances, where, again, getting the student across the line, or across the stage, I guess, would be a benefit if we have this option to waive the 4.5. Every student will meet the state requirements of 18.5 in 2028. I guess what I just want to emphasize, again, I raised the question about should we be modifying our requirements overall for everybody? And you guys gave me answers, which I don't necessarily agree with, but I do accept, especially given the late hour. But I guess I want the assurance that every student, every family will understand that this is an option. Because again, as I understand from our last conversation, it's always been an option with exceptions coming from, I guess the request coming from either the school in some fashion up to administration for approval. And I just want to make sure that everyone knows that.

And that's one of the reasons why we like to codify this because previously it was based on who knew, right? The counselors who knew. at Pathways or even at Grad Alliance or even at some of our high schools, we want to make sure everyone knows about this, right? And we don't want to lessen our standards, right, from the 22 or the 22.5 starting in the next school year. We just want to make sure that we have an opportunity for those students who have the 18, meet the requirements, the state requirements. And for whatever reason, like we discussed at the last board meeting, can't finish by taking those electives that they have an opportunity to graduate.

And I guess I will pass this on to, I guess, the next set of committees to, again, look at this because what folks may not understand is that when we look at graduation comparisons, and we often do that, not every district has the same set of standards that we do. So that's not apples to apples, if you will. And it's important to us. We have worked very hard to get to the 91%. And of course, we want 100% eventually. but and I guess I should say we need to consider a whole lot of things and as we look at the budget I raised the question and I'll raise it again do we have an opportunity here regarding budget wise again weighing the values that we have held in this district but again what are options in the future so thank you for the good work and I appreciate the policy presentation thank you so Trustee Schmidt and Trustee Muhammad

So if I'm a student and I'm a senior and I'm starting senior year and I've decided second semester I would like to start working and I don't have those electives done, am I gonna be able to do this? Or do I have to have a case that is much more complicated than that to be able to take advantage of this change?

I think that the student, you as a student, you would talk with your counselor and talk about what your goals are. The counselor would submit the recommendation. And so once it's submitted for approval, we would obviously look at it. And if the student is ready to graduate with the 18.5 credits minus the electives, then that's something that we would approve.

But there's still some subjectivity in this equation. It's still a case-by-case basis. That makes me nervous. I'm not comfortable with that, personally. I don't like that. I don't think it's... I think every student should have this option. And I don't think it should be my case didn't look difficult enough. And I understand I don't want to lower a bar, but I also want to have the option that if I want to take every elective like crazy and do that, I can do that too. But I can do either. And it's not some person is going to make that decision because I've met the state requirement. Yeah, that's just my second book.

I think the reason for the decision is because overall in our district, right, it's 22 or 22.5 credits. It's not automatic at 18.5. There has to be a process of approval. Not to say we wouldn't approve anyone who's recommended for that, right, but because we haven't made this available for everyone 18.5 when you're out, We're still saying, right, you need the 22.5. If a counselor come to us and say this student has met 18.5, the 18.5 requirement, and we'd like to consider this student for graduation, then we would obviously do it.

Isn't that what Trustee Baskett was suggesting last week, that we reduce it to 18.5 for everybody?

Yeah.

Is that something that you all would be against or you need to go back to the committee or your group and?

Yeah, we would have to go all the way back to the drawing board because it would create some bifurcation of standards and expectations at this juncture. So we would have to review that.

Do you have a question on this subject or something different?

No.

Okay.

Yeah, I think that's – I know when we were talking about this in committee, there's no clear – so removing the subjectiveness of this, it needs to be objective. So there has to be – that's why I asked, like, are there some set criteria during the committee? Because once you get – and I know that right now there are modified curriculums already in place. But again, I'm sure that there are students that would have benefited from it and – Because there's no clear criteria. So I don't I would feel I would prefer to have some criteria around this that removes the subjectivity of it.

Anybody else on this subject? All right. Thank you, Dr. Hayward.

So I guess I'm also wondering, I guess by having criteria, would that eliminate the possibilities of this actually being abused? I mean, I guess the counselors would have to, they would have the last say so. So it's not like every student would be able to take advantage of this just because I just want to take 18.5 credits and I just don't want to do 22.5. So students would actually have to demonstrate that there really is a need to... And I hear your question.

Yeah, criteria almost kind of takes us further away from it being accessible to more students. It creates a very specific set of reasons why you may or may not, right? And what we're saying is that we wanted to remove that. And so... I mean, if it is the will of the board, we can certainly take it back and review it for criteria. But I believe that that would make it more restrictive as opposed to less restrictive, which was our aim.

And our counselors meet with the seniors each year to go over their plan for the year. And so if a counselor was to come to Don or I and say this student has met the graduation criteria with the 18.5 credits. They often provide rationales, whether they are referring to grad alliance, et cetera, and we approve.

Okay. Trustee Baskett, Trustee Mohamed. I think this does warrant further discussion, but we need something in place now. And that's what I hear the team saying. You want to be able to put this in so that it is understandable by all. I do think it warrants a further discussion regarding, again, changing our graduation requirements for everybody. But again, I respect the work that you've done and I totally understand the reasoning. But yeah, right now, I mean, whether you do criteria or not, you still have a subjectivity there. And not every student has a good relationship with their counselor. I mean, I had a wonderful relationship. I would never have made it without Mr. Bradley. But not everybody does. And we understand the challenges of the student to counselor ratio and all of the complications there. So again, I think it warrants more conversation to somehow take out this subjectivity at any level. But at this point, I do support, you know, the proposed changes to the policy.

And the question is, are we going to get rid of the good, looking for the great? And this is a good policy. You just are asking for something a little bit better. You've already gone. I see Trustee Norton. Let's do Trustee Norton and then go to Trustee Baskin. And Trustee Muhammad. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you for sticking with all this. I did want to ask because when this was presented to us last time when I was still trying to figure out which end was up, a lot of the argument which I thought was extremely valid was the some students whose lives were upended in some way that it interfered with their ability to get enough credits were being prevented from graduating simply because there was a hard wall or they didn't know or their counselors didn't know about the possibility of a variance. So I completely support this idea, but I did come away with the impression that part of the purpose of this was to make sure that it was applied evenly. Not just that everyone would know about it, but that there would be standards involved that would make sure that the decision yes or no by some way I noticed that the paragraph above directs the superintendent to ensure the procedures are established This new part on the requirement variance Doesn't refer to creating any sort of standards and I'm wondering if that's something that will be coming in the future and if that won't come becoming before the board I

Yeah, so what you might be referring to are the regulations part of the, which complement the policy. So the regulations part are the operational pieces. The policy, which we can think about how to incorporate some of the feedback that you all have into some of those regulations. This policy part, it wouldn't be in there. But the regulations typically don't come before the board. The regulations are the operational part.

Okay. Yeah, I can completely understand that. What do you foresee might be the kinds of criteria that you would want to include in such regulations? In other words, where is this headed once it's

We hadn't mapped out criteria, so we would have to have that discussion. I don't have anything at top of mind right now because we haven't been thinking about criteria because we wanted to keep it open for any student who may have the need without having a specific set of criteria saying you have to fit this particular profile in order to be eligible. So we hadn't thought about any criteria in that way. So I don't have anything top of mind to say. So we would have to have that entire discussion and we'd have to bring in our our administrative teams and counselors also in that discussion.

So if the criteria was any senior with 18.5 credits would be referred to Dr. Hayward for review, that might be something that's neutral. And then they can consider everybody who's eligible, not just who the counselors choose to recommend. Maybe that's the way to do it.

Potentially, but we could be sending 1,300 students to Dr. Haley. That would be a lot of work for you. I mean, there's that part, too.

I mean, I don't think so. We have some very high-achieving students who would love to take as many credits, and we've got a lot who do, whether through for whatever reason. So I don't think it's going to be that big of a demand as we think. Just my thought.

I see you, Trustee Schmidt. Bless our Trustee Muhammad.

So, no, I mean, this is a great step in the right direction. I think what I, again, I want to, while you're developing the procedures, trying to remove as much subjectivity of it, because I think as Trustee Vasquez said, not everyone has like a great relationship or maybe a close relationship or meet with their counselors regularly. So you may, and I don't want to quote you, you didn't say that directly, but In some ways, that's how I feel too. So trying to remove the steps for the student to get there, like are there proactive ways? So like if they were identified as, I don't know, I'm just saying, that's what I meant by criteria. It's not like restrictions, but like sophomore year, if you identify that they're not on track, do you... Does the counselor get an alert and say, let's meet? Or something like more proactiveness.

I think the criteria, and I'm going to use that kind of loosely because we haven't kind of gone through that process, it would be, do you need this to graduate? Is the alternative you don't graduate, right? If the alternative is you don't graduate... That's the criteria. That's the only that's the only data point that we need. Right. And so I agree with you, like who's not on track to graduate starting early on. It would be the only criteria I would offer up, you know, for for a regulation. Can you graduate? If the answer is no, you you you qualify.

um otherwise um i think anything else leads us towards a more restrictive policy than a less restrictive one yeah and that's what i think is getting at is like something but but again not all the students are aware not all the families are aware so is there a plan communication plan something like when we identify students that are struggling to read yeah Can we do that in this case? And it will alert the counselor to reach out to that.

This will become a part of that communication plan that we do with students when they are at risk of not graduating.

Yes. And counselors do go over audits for seniors and rising seniors. So they know which students are not on track. to graduate that are on their caseload. And so if they're a rising senior and they're not on track to graduate based on the credits that they need, but they have or will reach the 18.5 credits at the end of the school year, then obviously we will wanna graduate them, right? So again, the criteria would be, you know,

Can you graduate? Are you on track to graduate or not? And again, I just...

I saw Trustee Schmidt first, and then Vice President Wilkes.

I have no problem supporting where you're going with this right now. I think that it begs for a bigger conversation. Because I think even as a child who is in ninth grade, tenth grade, starts to see that they would like to do, and I don't know what they call it now, co-op or whatever, but they want to do some other things. And I... I think we have to allow this kind of, these choices, and it doesn't mean that you're bringing down the top, because those students have other goals. They want to go to a high-level college, so they want to have this, this, and this on their resume. I just think, you know, we're not dropping below the state regulations. There's still excellent classes they're taking, but I'll support this now. I just think that conversation needs to continue.

a larger conversation. Fair point.

I will tell you statewide, there's a whole conversation happening now about looking at high schools, I'm sure you've heard this, about how they can offer these kinds of outside of school activities. They used to call it co-ops. I don't know what they call it now.

Independent studies?

Something like that. I don't know if they'd get credit for that, so maybe that's not an issue. I hear you. But I appreciate the work and the discussion.

Thank you. Yes. Vice President Wilkes.

Yeah. I just want to piggyback on what Trustee Schmidt just said. I believe that there should be a larger conversation, but I also want to emphasize that the 18.5 is at the state level. It's not like we're going below what's required. And as a matter of fact, we have gone above and beyond in our district to 22.5. And I'm sure like Trustee Baskett was saying, I'm sure there are a lot of students who probably exceed the 22.5. So again, I would support this. Again, it's at the state level. And again, we're going to have those students who are going to be high achievers regardless. But we want to make sure that more of our students are graduating.

Thank you. Trustee Norton. Sorry, just one quick question. I know that things like graduation requirements are part of how all districts are evaluated under the rules set up by the Every Student Succeeds Act. I'm just wondering, because I don't remember, is excusing some students from the Michigan merit exam, does that impact anything in terms of how their graduations are reported? Does it complicate us counting them as legitimate graduates of the district or not? I don't remember.

I'm not quite sure. I understand your question relative to the Michigan merit. But if they meet the required courses, then they're able to graduate. But I don't know if that's answering your question.

I guess I just don't remember if... the Michigan Merit Exam is considered a state requirement or if there's some participation level that's required or whatever.

It's your second bullet of the presentation or the proposed policy. We've been talking about the 18 credits, but I think the trustee is talking about the excused from the Merit, Michigan Merit Exam requirement.

Oh, I'm sorry. Okay.

Do we still do the Michigan merit? I thought the SAT is what they do.

It's the SAT. It's not the Michigan merit.

So should we delete this?

I know. Parents can opt out of that. I mean, can't a child opt out? It doesn't stop them from graduating, does it?

I'll have to check with Ms. Linden on that. It won't stop them from graduating. I don't know. I believe they can opt out, but I'll have to check with Ms. Linden.

So there are parts of it that they must take unless they are excused under a certain set of established kind of criteria. That criteria is established by MDE, not the district. So barring meeting those requirements or eligibility requirements to be exempted, there are certain components of the state MME that students do have to take to maintain eligibility.

And I just wanted to ensure that we weren't, on the one hand, making it easier, legitimately easier for students to graduate, but then on the other hand, undermining that accomplishment because of something required by the state.

Yeah, and we still have the option to issue a variance if we needed to.

So is this bullet still relevant? Yep, it is. Okay.

Trustee Schmidt at the end?

I don't think there's ever been, it's like Florida has a test and I think you have to have a certain score in order to get out with a diploma. I've never known Michigan has any. That is correct. So you can take it, you can bomb it too and it doesn't. All right.

Nothing else. Let's move down to 11.4, 2026, 2027 AAPS high school course catalog. Any changes?

No changes.

Questions? Let's move down to 11.5 and 2282 Graduation Alliance Contract Recommendation. Any changes?

No changes to the Grad Alliance Contract either.

Trustee Wilkins?

There were a couple questions that were answered between first briefing and second briefing that we asked the team. So I just wanted to... point those out publicly. So there was a question about how this is billed. And the answer is it's billed per student. So it's not billed per credit hour or anything like that. And then because this is one of those evergreen contracts that we were talking about, we asked what the increase is based on. And the answer was that it's based on the state's per pupil allowance. So if that goes up or down, then the price of this would go up or down.

Is that the correct way to understand it? That is correct. The percentage, so GA's percentage remains the same, and it's changed based on the per-pupil funding. Thank you.

All right. Is there nothing else? I believe that brings us down to 11.6, AN2283, Athletic Training Services Recommendation for Huron and Skyline High Schools. Any changes?

Those recommendations have no changes.

I'm sorry, Trustee Wilkins?

I had two questions last time that they were going to look into for me. First was why we needed cyber insurance for athletic trainers.

So from the information I gathered, it's about student information. So it safeguards the personal data, FERPA, and it ensures compliance and adherence to the regulations around FERPA and HIPAA. Okay. So just in case there are any data breaches, you have the cyber insurance for data breaches. All right.

And then were you able to look at the amounts of previous years and how this is? Yes.

So it looks like, and I can, I'll share this so that you can share with the trustees, but it looks like in the earlier 22, 23, it was around 24,000 and then it started increasingly going up. So around 24, 25 school year, it was in the 60,000 and then 25, 70,000. Upwards of $70,000.

Went from $24,000?

It was $24,000 for each the year 2022 and the year 2023. And then for 2024, it was $60,000 in the $60,000 range. Why is it more than twice as much? How did it get to that point? So that's a great question.

Is that $20,000 per trainer?

Yeah, I'm looking at, based on the information that I received from finance, it's per trainer.

Yeah, I don't know the answer to that particular question in terms of why such a significant increase that particular year, a few years back, I'm not sure.

And it looks like the increase was for both MedSport and Trinity. So it looks like both went out. Okay. Not that I'm aware of.

All right. Those are the questions that will bring us to 11.7 AN 2284 Special Education Contracted Services 2026-2027 Recommendation.

No changes? Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry, I had a headache.

Oh, excuse me. If there's no questions, we'll go down to 11.8 AN 2285 Reckoned PK Contracted Services To 5, science enrichment program contract recommendation. Any changes?

Changes.

Any questions? Say no questions. 11.9, AN2280, custodial service contract extension recommendation. Any changes?

No changes there either.

Questions? Say none. Bring it down to 11.10, AN2281, capital program management services contract extension recommendation. Any changes?

No changes.

Trustee Wilkins?

I just have a comment. So I'm sure it comes as no surprise that there are a lot of community members who are not happy with Gilbane's service. From inadequate communications at the early stages of Thurston and Logan's planning to the unsatisfactory resolution of stages at the new elementary schools. More current complaints about unnecessary deforestation at new school sites and complaints that Gilbane isn't listening to school leadership. In spite of that, I see that not extending this contract would cost the district significantly in funds and time and further delay these much needed projects that our students so deserve. I'll be supporting this extension, but I want to go on record to say I'm not supporting it without reservations, and I hope Gilbane continues to strive to do better.

So specific to the contract. So what just because I don't know if it's really.

Let's see.

So what is the breakdown of the services covered within this contract? And is there anything that we need to know outside of the contract that are additional costs to us? What is the breakdown of the scope of the services that are included in this contract and then any additional costs we need to incur?

Thank you for the question. So, the Gilbane service is an owner's representative service. So, they offer a portfolio of services effectively that are covered in their contract. The oversight of all of our design planning and construction services so every architect that we hire every engineer that we hire every construction manager that we hire all of our consultants the scheduling the. bill paying, the background checks, they are managing the entire capital program for us in lockstep. And so providing all of the oversight of our professional and construction services.

And are there any, like for each of these projects that Galbane is managing, what are some costs that we need to be I don't know what I'm trying to remember what this word was. Any additional costs that we would need to pay for outside of this contract, additional costs that we could be paying for outside of just this contract.

Yeah, no, I appreciate that. The proposed contract is a not to exceed amount. So there's limits. And the way that we would control the contract would be to simply say, we're cutting back, we're reducing the force because it's a staffing and fees applied to staffing contract. So they're providing us Effectively, manpower to support all of the services that we provide and we pay a fee on the manpower, the actual labor. Whereas other services that we see are percentage-based or specific lump sum rates, in this case, we pay for their actual labor plus a fee.

So I told you last time we were here, I was going to treat this like first briefing because it was 1 a.m. and I was not in the best place to try to take this information in. So I'm not against this contract necessarily, but I have a lot of questions because I didn't take it in after 1 a.m. So can you walk it through me again as to what we're approving here?

and if i may add on to that president feaster if the team will also reiterate the discussions you had regarding cost containments and again talk about the discussion that you had that you know regularly, you know, there may be more costs, but again, knowing the situation that we're in, in our partnership with Galvan, there were some, I don't want to say concessions, but you understand where I'm going with cost containments and being mindful.

And I don't mean to be difficult to do this, but this is a large contract, you know, 4.5 million, and I just want to make sure I'm in a mind frame to take it down.

Yes. I appreciate that for sure. So, you know, as I mentioned, they provide the oversight of the full suite of capital program services that we offer. They are effectively, as an owner's rep, they are our staff, the folks who get the job done. And so, you know, just in an attempt to kind of quantify the volume of service providers that they are supporting, they conducted in 2025 nearly 1,200 background checks. So these are all the people that are out on our sites doing work. In addition to those people, there are hundreds of desktop consultants and providers that are also providing service for the district just on those four sites. Major construction projects that we have underway new construction projects plus sloss in middle school major renovation project this money helps cover all those background checks and all that stuff you just mentioned so yep so they're helping from the initial design and planning of a project. to putting all of the packages together for procurement, helping us navigate that process, selecting all of the vendors, making sure we're meeting all of our regulatory requirements in that process. And then once we get to the implementation stage, They are walking us through that entire implementation stage, overseeing, managing the weekly touch points, the sometimes almost daily touch points with each one of our vendors that are responsible for getting the work done, and then following up on all of our site visits and job safety and all of our quality assurance pieces on the backside. They're helping us develop Then at the end of the project, when we're closing out projects, when we're getting all of our as-built drawings, they're building a virtual plan room so the district has that institutional knowledge moving forward. And they're packaging up all of the storytelling as well of you know all of these projects from start to finish they're managing the website for the district and in putting together that whole communications piece when we have to go out to all of our schools or to the community for engagements to talk about our projects they're managing all of the coordination of that piece and managing the vendors that then are helping assist implementation of that work. And so one of the things that I mentioned earlier was When you look at a benchmark for these types of services, as I mentioned, we're paying their actual labor plus a 10% fee on their labor. If we were to go out to, again, in a competitive bid price, the benchmark for these types of services would be 3% to 5% of the total project cost. And so, you know, when we originally estimated Gilbane's, you know, first annual cost, it was using that 3% mark to estimate what the fees would be, but it was actually just the labor that they, that, you know, each one of the folks that we paid directly plus a fee. And so what we asked them to do was to take a, really hard look we've already made a reduction in force when we came to the board and we said you know these inflationary impacts are real and we have to rethink how we're moving forward here we reduced force with Gilbane when we were when we pushed pause on those projects but we for these next two years to get through the completion of our current projects underway We asked them to sharpen their pencils. Bernie did a really great job working with with Gilbane and Gilbane leadership. And that three to five percent benchmark were were at one to two for these next two years moving forward.

And Ms. Caron is always here. So that's included in this contract as well?

Yes. All right. Okay. To give us some bonus time here with our meetings.

Okay. All right. I'm sure I'll have more questions, but...

But they also waived the annual escalation then, which is typically applied to contracts. So they're holding steady for two years.

And you imagine that will get us through the current construction process projects or we're going to need to do an additional extension to get through at least what we have going now?

the intention is to get through our major projects and get to a place here in the not too distant future, then we're able to release an RFP and, you know, hopefully they apply and can be competitive and, you know, we'll see how that process plays out.

So this contract is for like the management side of things, but then there's also the possibility that they could actually build something else for us. Is that what you're saying?

Sure, and again, they wouldn't actually build anything for us. They would just provide the oversight, the owner's representation for us. We would still hire architects and construction managers, but they're looking at helping us in sort of the next phases, develop the RFPs for new construction management services and new contracts that can help us control costs even further moving forward.

Microphone please Recognize that they are our owners wrap. Okay, it's technically what you see By yourself, right, okay, I think I'm a question so if anyone's gone through a renovation at your house and

for example, and I did this and it was a major headache and I wish I had an owner's rep. I mean, I remember trying to coordinate, okay, the demolition of this wall with making sure they don't trample on my flowers. So somebody has got to remove the flowers and then you've got to make sure that you've got all the scheduling. then when it comes to the paint I could care less of this eggshell or a crew but somebody had to make that decision I mean and then you had to wrap and make sure the permits it is a nightmare to just do 1,200 feet you know I can't imagine the hours but their expertise is needed and and I know some school districts will poo poo that, but truly as Mr. Bernie, I can't remember your last name. Thank you, said, this is the team we have ongoing every single day throughout the year. And then we add these building projects, if you will, So again, I personally appreciate the concessions that the Gilbane Company has done, as we've talked before already, to start a new relationship all over again. Oh my God, I don't want to do that. But really, they take away the headache. And again, if you've ever done this to yourself at home, Think about this multiplied millions of times. It's a lot. It's just a freaking nightmare. It's a lot. So thank you guys for being there.

Trustee Muhammad and Trustee Schmidt.

So I was going to ask, so I know some of it's outlined here, but what are the specific projects? I know this is kind of carrying us over for the projects that we're moving forward. What are specifically included in that? I know there's the four elementary schools, but what other things will they include? Well, just for the year that they're going to be helping us.

Yeah, so no, that's a great question. And it's all the projects that we've brought before. Yeah, so it'd be envelope improvements, solar improvements, parking lot investments, site improvements, all of the... All of the facility condition assessment and critical need projects that we've brought before you right now we have. I think 30 like last year we had 33 the year before we had 26 the year before that we had 50. And this year I think we're in the 23. the 24 projects, they manage just over 70% of all of those, which actually gives us another important sort of data point is that by Gilbane project managers managing our smaller projects, we save on construction manager fees, because we are only paying actual hours. And if we hired a construction manager directly, we would be paying for their hours, plus their fee on their hours, plus a percentage fee on the total project cost. In the case of Gilbane, we are only paying for the labor plus the percentage of fee applied to their labor, not a percentage on the total project cost.

Those are the smaller projects, not the bigger, not the four elements. And that's in addition to those four. Oh, that's in addition to. So we'll save, with having them as project managers, it'll help offset those costs.

Yes. So, for example, in... In fiscal year 23, Gilbane managed just over $30 million in projects for us, like $30 million in actual costs. If we applied a CM fee to those project costs, that would be $450,000 to $750,000 additional that we would have paid. But because we're using them as, again, sort of

our staff effectively to get this stuff done we aren't paying that additional fee and i know for the record that our cfo mr britain is shaking his head yes so i guess in the effort he's saying in the affirmative this is that's accurate okay all right uh trustee norton uh thank you mr president um

I appreciate all the work that you've put in, and as the new guy, I need to walk carefully on this because I wasn't involved in any of the background. However, I was on the team at the Ann Arbor Citizens Millage Committee who convinced the voters of the Ann Arbor District to pass this millage that allowed the bond to be sold and the construction program to begin. lot of us who are on the village committee at the time have been kind of worried that some of the things that we said would happen in terms of community engagement and consultation didn't. Of course, COVID came in the middle of that, so there's some explanation for that. I just wanted to explain that I wanted to echo Trustee Wilkins' concerns. I don't want to throw a wrench into anything, but in the long term, I hope that the district will think about, since it's It's just the two of you guys. Maybe we need to, in the surplus of our budget, build up a little bit our ability to oversee the process and to maintain control of community engagement rather than handing that off to essentially the construction manager

Yeah, I would just add that we, as a result of feedback we've received through some of the projects, we have changed some of the way we have gone about engaging, and we have done that in partnership with Gilbane, who have been very receptive to those changes, I will say, in the process to engage on the front end and during the the process for our projects. So I have found them to be receptive to the feedback that we've received and I hear and understand that some of the outcomes were not desirable to some folks, but what I can say is they have been receptive to everything that we have asked, even to the point where we didn't have to ask, they started proactively and took some initiative.

um to make some of these adjustments that you and other trustees have spoken of trustee schmidt and then i have one question well i i saw firsthand what gilbane led from you know the first meeting we did at thurston and the response that the unexpected response from the community i think it was very much an unexpected response because of some prior work that seemed to be going beautifully um i saw big changes in how the different engagement things happened at other schools i mean you have to be commended for that because there was an intentional approach to how can we improve and i i know a lot of us were at some of those schools and i thought it was very interactive very engaging and you know, we learn, we change, we accommodate, you know, what needs to be done. So I just wanted to acknowledge that. I think this role in a school district I mean, you can take on more staff, but then we're paying retirement, we're all doing all that. I remember when I served on East Lansing and we did the high school, and that's a small district, but we didn't have somebody in that position. And I remember the superintendent going into those meetings and his blood pressure would shoot for the roof, he'd come out all red faced. I mean, it just was like he had other things to do. And it's good to have people in the business that know how to represent us when we're dealing with construction managers and all those entities. So I've been satisfied in watching this group change and improve through the time that I've had contact with them. Thank you.

My last question. If this wasn't voted on tonight, would that have an impact if it was voted on at our next meeting? Would that have any impact, negative or positive?

Personally, I would be pretty concerned just because, like I said, this is our staff effectively and their contract expires in September. And the further we push out, the closer we get to potentially being without a partner. Gotcha.

But logistically, you need to have something in place before September, right? Workflow can be unaffected. Right. Okay. And I only ask because I told you. I'm treating it like my first briefing. Okay. All right. Any other questions? All right. Thank you so much for all that information. Greatly appreciate it. Thank you. All right. I believe that brings us down to 1111 AN 2278, engineered wood fiber contract recommendations.

There have been no changes to that item.

Trustee Wilkins?

One of the questions that was asked in between times was how long this was out to bid. And we asked this about the E-rate thing, too. E-rate said that it's required to be out to bid for 30 days. And the answer for the wood chips was it was out to bid for two weeks. Do they not have the same requirement of the 30 days?

No, E-rate is something specific. Oh, okay.

All right. Thank you.

There's nothing else. That brings us down to the consent agenda. We are now at the consent agenda. Ms. Osinski, will you please read the consent agenda?

A-2266, E-Rate Network Equipment Purchase. A-2274, AP Biology Textbook Adoption Recommendation. Adopt the Graduation Policy 5050 Updates. 2026-27, AAPS High School Course Catalog Approval. AN-2282 Graduation Alliance Contract Recommendation. AN-2283 Athletic Training Services Recommendation for Huron and Skyline High School. AN-2284 Special Education Contracted Services 2026-27 Recommendation. AN-2285, ReconEd PK-5 Science Enrichment Program Contract Recommendation. AN-2280, Custodial Services Contract Extension Recommendation. AN-2281, Capital Program Management Services Contract Extension Recommendation. AN-2278, Engineered Wood Fiber Contract Recommendation. Approve minutes of the June 3rd, 2026 special meeting. Approve minutes of the June 3rd, 2026 regular meeting. Approve minutes of the June 3rd, 2026 closed sessions as corrected. Approved donations from the Huron class of 1985. We received a donation of $1,000 for Don't You Forget About Me plant beds at Huron High School. And from Larry and Jan Shock, we received branding and community space updates at Huron High School. And we have approved a closed session, or closed sessions, I guess, at 6 p.m. on July 29th and August 12th, 2026, for the purpose of attorney-client privilege and negotiations.

Can we just have that say at our next meeting? Because that next meeting may be before July 28th.

I have to, we would have to. Where's Dave? He's here.

We're going to need to have a closed session at our next meeting, and that next meeting will quite possibly be added before the July date.

We could start it and then vote in a closed session.

We could try to avoid that. That's what I'm asking.

I think before, didn't we vote in a closed session without a meeting before? Can we just do that?

But it was because we had the other meeting. So in a perfect world, that's not what we wanted.

But do we have an idea of when the meeting would be in July and we can just vote one in?

I mean, obviously, I think it will be a Wednesday after the 4th of July. But since that's not yet scheduled, can we just say at our next regular meeting, have a closed session? And then at our August meeting, have a closed session.

I think we need a date. Can we just throw a date in here?

That's what I'm saying. Can we figure out a date for whatever extra July meeting and then just vote for a 6 p.m. closed session already? July 15th.

I was trying to avoid a date, so that's my first question. Could we do it without a date? I don't think we can. Then I guess that date would be July 15th, most likely.

Does that work? Does that work for everyone?

What'd you say?

We need to figure out this date anyway. Yeah, so July 15th, does that work?

That works for me, 15th. Yes, it's okay with me.

Add a closed session at 6 p.m. on July 15th, July 29th, and August 12th for the purpose of attorney-client privilege and negotiations.

Yes, please. Thank you, Ms. Osinski. All right. Would anyone like to remove an item from the consent agenda? Trustee Wilkins.

I want to remove the athletic trainer.

That is... 11.6. And 2283.

Can I have the item number?

You want to remove 11.6? 12.6. 12.6.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Yes.

Yes. And what else? That's all. Okay. And that was it? I want to remove 12.10. Okay. Okay. Anything else? All right. Then that takes me back to... Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda with those two items removed?

I do have a question. So when would we revisit the items that have been removed at our next meeting?

We address those after... Then we'll move those individually. All right. Moved by Vice President White. Second. Supported by Trustee Schmidt. Any discussion?

Yeah, so...

Those are addressed after we vote on the consent items. Any other questions? Ms. Osinski, please.

Trustee Baskett? Yes. President Feaster? Yes. Trustee Muhammad? Yes. Trustee Norton?

Yes.

Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Wilkins? Yes.

Trustee Wilks? Yes. Motion carries. All right, now let's address 12.6 AN2283, Athletic Training Service Recommendation for Huron and Skyline High School. I guess is there a motion to approve that first? So moved. Moved by Trustee Baskett, supported by Trustee Schmidt. Then, any discussion, please?

I'm uncomfortable with how from one year to the next it ends up being more than twice as much. I think we need to look into that before we throw more money at them. This is general fund money, so even if it's not piles of general fund money, it's $70,000. So if that's one of those contracts that we can... go back to them and say, you know, hey.

That's what Mr. Benson was saying. Exactly. Trustee Muhammad and Vice President Wilkes.

So would it, instead of motioning to approve it, would it be helpful for us if people want more information about this item and the other to... Postpone make it a first table it for a vote for the next rather than us voting for it No emotion.

Yeah, so the person well, I'm at the motion on the table would have to withdraw their motion You have to have an amendment.

What do you consider an amendment?

No Okay, I think this is a timely matter. We have to have trainers. I understand the question

I mean, the hard thing is like the last meeting. I mean, we had a jam-packed meeting. So some of us didn't get...

Dr. Hay, the summer session, I do believe we need to make sure because we will have to pause athletics. We cannot have them without these trainers. So the summer athletic season begins.

The summer athletic season in terms of practices and trainings have already began. So we would have to pause those without trainers.

I just thought it was 26-27 school year. I was assuming it started in the fall.

So I have to look at the current contract to see when that expires. But I also like to say Trinity Health Services Pioneer and their fees went up to really the same amount, right, per school.

Which makes me wonder if it's staffing. Exactly. The staffing related.

They are, it's, I believe they're $70,000. Just for Pioneer. For the one? Yeah, just for the one school. We don't have to bring that before the board because it's under $100,000. Because Skyline and Huron are together with MedSport, that's why we bring it. So it looks like in looking at both of the organizations, their fees jump significantly after the 23rd school year.

So it looks like we should still have trainers because it says this starts August 10th, 2026 through June 12th, 2027. So I think we should be fine if we did punt it out a month or so. Does anyone have anything different?

I just wanted to ask, looking at the introduction to the contract, it specifies a certain number of hours, and I'm wondering if that's part of the – The earlier year was closer to COVID. Did that contract include a lower number of hours per week where the trainers would be working? That could explain some of the... It would go towards answering the question why the price changed so much for that first year.

It could have been the case. I was not the executive director of high school at that time, but I can certainly check. We're actually checking with them to see why the increase in fees. So I'll have I should have some answers to clarify this.

So I saw Vice President Wilkes, then Schmidt, then come back that way.

Okay. Well, I just wanted to emphasize that we're required to have trainers, correct? Yes. Under the Michigan High School Athletic Association, we have to have a trainer or trainers. So if we don't approve this, what are the options? I mean, I would just like to

We will still have trainers. This contract says the term runs August 10th, 2026 through June 12th, 2027. So as long as we approve something before August 10th, we should still have trainers.

So we've got some time.

That's again, I'm sorry.

Assuming we approve at our next meeting, which is maybe July 17th. But if there's a chance that we don't approve this, staff has got to go out and figure out what are other options or talk with this company. If it's a numbers issue, then would they modify the numbers? I don't think they will, to be honest with you. So we just have to be mindful of that. And again, if I were staff and we're not sure if we're going to have an affirmative vote on July 17th, you all got to figure out who we're going to get for trainers because the teams will, you know, when you talk about an uproar, the teams are ready to go.

Otherwise, we would just not have.

We pause for a second. Trustee Schmidt, Trustee Muhammad.

Maybe we just can take this up at our next meeting, and we'll have much more information, and we can just go from there. So whoever made the motion, maybe you could withdraw the motion.

Or you could accept an amendment.

Oh, you can withdraw the second, too. Whoever seconded can withdraw.

You still need a withdrawal from those who made the amendment.

I think you can amend this motion to table. Well... It really does have to be a withdrawal because you're not really amending that.

But I think the second withdrawal, if the second withdraws, then...

They're saying if the person who seconded the motion withdraws support, then there's no more motion.

So if someone supported it and willing to withdraw it so that we can...

So Wilkes moved and Schmidt seconded. I will withdraw my second with the intent that we look at this at our next meeting.

So the motion would be to table this item.

So she withdrew her second. Now, Trustee Muhammad, do you have a motion?

Yes, I have a motion to table it to second briefing and a vote at the next meeting, next scheduled meeting.

Thank you. Is there support? Support. Support by Trustee Wilkins. Any discussion on that? Seeing none. Ms. Oginski, please. I'm sorry.

Just a question. What are you...

What are you asking the team to do to make you comfortable to vote affirmatively in the next meeting?

They want to understand why the price went from $24,000 to $70,000. And what if they say, that's the cost, folks? Well, then we'll understand that. But they want an answer, I think.

I agree we need trainers. My kids have personally benefited from these trainers in a number of ways. But I think we need to look into those numbers and see, make sure we know what we're paying for. And I appreciate that.

I just want to remind the trustees this is a not-to-exceed amount. So, again, it could be, you know, the vendor. Well, I'll leave it up to the vendors to clarify. Thank you.

The other discussion. All right, it was moved by Trustee Muhammad, supported by Trustee Wilkins. Ms. Sotensky, please.

By Trustee Wilkins?

Yes.

Okay, I'm sorry.

Muhammad and Wilkins. Gotcha.

Trustee Baskett?

No.

President Feaster?

Yes.

Trustee Muhammad? Yes. Trustee Norton?

Yes.

Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Wilkins? Yes.

Trustee Wilks?

Yes. Motion carries.

That brings us down to AN 2281 Capital Program Management Service Contract Extension Recommendations.

I wanted a motion to postpone this to the next meeting.

Thank you. I'll support that that's moved by trustee Muhammad Supported us, but torsion Feaster.

Is there something specific you want to know? I'm right the discussion why I just I mean I just want to make sure that the team and I have Collecting whatever I know why I want to know why?

Okay, as you walk

I'm doing it because I want to make sure that everyone feels this is a big ticket item. I mean, it's a $4 million-plus contract, so I want to make sure everyone feels comfortable before we take a major vote like this.

And that's my reasoning. Like I said previously, I believe we should have two briefings for everything. And I voted against extending our meeting to 1.30 at the last meeting because I wasn't in a place to take it in at that point. And I'm looking at this as first briefing. So now I want some time to take in what I was just given and to vote on it at the next meeting if that's the will of the board.

So you don't need additional information? I will reach out to Mr. Rice.

If I have any additional questions, I just want to have the time to have a first and second briefing. Anything additional?

Well, yeah, I guess. So you gave your reasons, sir, and I appreciate that. Are there other reasons or questions that the board wants from the team?

That weren't answered tonight. Forever.

All right.

Thank you. Any other discussion? Ms. Osinski, please.

Trustee Baskett? No. President Feaster?

Yes.

Trustee Muhammad? Yes. Trustee Norton?

Yes.

Trustee Schmidt? No. Trustee Wilkins? Yes. Trustee Wilks? Yes. Motion carries.

Thank you. I believe that brings us down to board action, 13.1, reauthorize sunsetting policy series 2000 administration, 3000 finance, 4000 human resources to June 30th, 2027. Is there a motion to reauthorize those?

So moved.

Moved by Trustee Nesbitt, supported by Trustee Schmidt. Any discussion? Seeing none, Ms. Sosinski, please. I have... Sorry, it was moved by Trustee Baskett, supported by Trustee Schmidt.

No.

Thank you. You have a question? Sorry, Trustee Wilkins.

Yeah. Can we explain what exactly this is?

These policy series are expiring June 30th. And they are in process of being updated now. Some of them have yet to go through governance and come to the full board just because of the packed agendas we've had. So in order to make sure that they get the due review that they need, we typically will reauthorize for another year. We won't go out a whole other year. But these are large series, human resources, finance, and administration. So we need to reauthorize them as they stand just so that we can do that and bring it to the board.

I have more time to revise and take through committee, take through the two briefings, and get updated.

Has this been done before? Yes, it's regular.

It's done regularly.

Mm-hmm.

So in governance, we'll have to look at it, review it, make any changes, and then bring it to you all for your review. For two briefings, right? Yes, for two briefings.

So was this done last year? Were they going to expire and we sunset them for another year?

That's a good question.

And then we're doing it another year.

Yeah, we did, I think it was, was it the human resources?

It was the 2000s. Or administration. We have a new superintendent. The 3000s, we have a new CFO.

So there are reasons. And then the 4000s came due.

So now we've got three huge series. And the next one will be the 5000s, which are the student. And that's going to be next year. So it's all backing up now.

got to get it done but in the meantime you have to have them be official while you're working right you can't just let them sunset and not have those policies so you need to have those in place while you work but it sounds as if we have a governance committee you guys have a lot of work to do let us know if we can help in any way that we can thank you yeah we've been working hard let me tell you

Yeah, we will.

Yes, yes. So, all right.

Thank you.

Any other discussion? Seeing none, Ms. Olszewski, please.

Trustee Baskett?

Yes. President Feaster? Yes.

Trustee Muhammad? Yes. Trustee Norton?

Yes.

Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Wilkins? Yes. Trustee Wilks? Yes. Motion carries.

All right, thank you. That brings us to 13.2 MHSAA. Annual membership renewal for the 2026-2027 school year. Is there a motion to approve the annual MHSAA 2026-2027 membership renewal resolution?

So moved.

Second. Moved by VP Wilkes, supported by Trustee Schmidt. Any discussion? Seeing none, Ms. Olszewski, please.

Trustee Baskett? Yes. President Feaster? Yes. Trustee Muhammad? Yes. Trustee Norton?

Yes.

Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Wilkins? Yes. Vice President Wilkes?

Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. That brings us to number 14, items for agenda planning. Do trustees have anything they'd like to add that I don't already have for agenda planning? Seeing none, moves us to number 15, items from the board. Do trustees have anything they would like to share?

Trustee Norton? Thank you, President Feaster. I just wanted to share, I've already sent some materials to our colleagues, but I wanted to share in public the growing concern among many public education advocates in the state of Michigan and elsewhere about the new tax credit scholarships that were recently approved last summer in the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act. and the impact that they will have not just on public schools, but in increasing segregation by economic and disability status, if not race and ethnicity. There are a number of organizations working on this. The Michigan Education Justice Coalition is one of them who is pushing for people to become aware of that and to ask Governor Whitmer to opt the state out from this proposal. And I wanted everyone to be aware of that. I don't have a web address as memorized, but I think it's something that people should be aware of, and I hope that we can, as a board, perhaps discuss it sometime before it becomes a moot point. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Trustee Schmidt?

If I can tag on that, just for clarifying anybody watching this meeting. As I understand it, this is states can opt in, and I believe Ohio is doing this, where people can, instead of paying taxes that go to schools, they can make that donation to a school. Is that correct? Is that what this is?

um i'm not sure where they get a tax forgiveness by making a contribution to a school it's not a country in in the case that i'm talking speaking of it's a a amendment to the internal revenue code that is allowing individual taxpayers to make contributions to identified scholarship granting organizations that will be set up in many states and be able to take a dollar-for-dollar reduction in their actual tax due up to $1,700 per taxpayer. We're still awaiting even draft final regulations from the IRS and Treasury So there's still a lot of things that are unclear. That these donations, the tax credits are for donations to scholarship granting organizations, and the scholarship granting organizations, which cannot be regulated beyond the, or almost certainly can't be regulated beyond the requirements and statute, will then decide which students get the scholarships and for what they would get them. The money is not given directly to schools, the money is given to students. for identified purposes. Now, many other states also have similar state programs, and they look different, and that may be some of what you're thinking of. I know that the number do. But this is a federal program, and it, I believe, comes into effect on January 1st. And at that point, states will have to decide whether to opt in or opt out.

Sounds like a voucher program to me.

It is quite similar in some ways.

We already took that down in, what, 2000 here in the state? Well, it's something else.

There's an additional Trustee Schmidt?

Yes. So next Wednesday evening from 6.30 to 8 p.m. at the Traverwood Library, myself and President Feaster and Trustee Baskett will make ourselves available to the community to have a conversation about all things school boards. So if you want to join us. It's sort of open mic, and we'll try to take questions. So that's 630 to 8, Traverwood Library, next Wednesday, June 24th. And I know we can, as board members, this is a thing where we want to get out and talk to people. It's very frustrating for me when we have public comment, and I know our protocol is not to respond, because we're here to listen. but many times there's information said during public comment that is incorrect, and it would be nice to sit down with some of us that have followed these issues to try to give you factual information to clarify things, and we hope it's helpful. So hope to see you there. Thank you.

Trustee Baskett?

We still have the new Mitchell walkthrough tomorrow.

Okay. So if you could put it on your calendar, this is an exciting. Oh, I'm sorry. Did not realize that. Okay. So let Ms. Osinski know that you plan to attend and it'd be exciting to see everyone there. Thank you.

All right. Trustee Wilkins?

I had the pleasure of attending the open house for the Ann Arbor Student Building Industry Program at the amazing house the students have built on the west side of town just off Seabroad. I was able to get a tour from two Huron students. One was named Malik and the other one I didn't catch his name. But shout out to the Huron guys. And I loved hearing the pride in their voices as they talked to me about everything from roofing materials to luxury tile work. Oh. The house is almost finished, the whole thing having been built in a single school year, and it's the largest home this program has done. And it's going to list for just under a million dollars.

Next time, invite me.

Where is it located?

Just off Zip Road.

I'll get you the address. I have a question for you.

So did any of the students talk about how this impacted them? Like, oh, I'm going into engineering, or I'm going into carpentry. Did you get any of that from them? I got...

They hadn't made those... They didn't say those kinds of, like, this made me decide my future vocation.

Okay.

But it was more like this let them know what all these future vocations could be.

Oh, okay. All the options.

Yeah, all the options that they just... And how... One student in particular talked about the creativity involved, you know, these roofing materials and how it's not just like putting nails in a roof. Like, it's a creative process that, you know, some people can really get into that kind of thing and work with design and. things like that. So, yeah, it was a very impressive program. And just the breadth of knowledge that these kids have afterwards is really great.

Follow-up question, though. Superintendent Parks, when that house is sold, does the money just roll back into the program?

Yes, it does.

That's how we keep it rolling.

Well, this is a separate program. I mean, you know, this is a 501c3 program. And they have their own board of wonderful people. If you ever get the opportunity to attend their banquet, and I'm sorry I missed it this year, you will hear their coach, as they call their instructor, has incredible stories about each one of these students. I mean, talk about getting to know the students. But yeah, this has been going on, what, 25 years? Sorry? It's longer than that. Oh my gosh, more than 50. I apologize. I'm getting old. But getting to your question, Trustee Schmidt, these are students who come sometimes just to figure out what y'all doing over there to becoming engineers, architects, everything else you want to say. But even those students who don't go into the construction field, and I know this personally, these are skills they take with them. so they learn how to put in their own you know toilet or whatever repairs um again i have a very good friend who's done all the repairs on his parents home and the parents thank ann arbor public schools every project because they know that we have saved them millions of dollars

Yes.

I guess we need to have a study session. We do. And find out if we can start having students build houses on our property.

We have liability issues. We've talked about that. But it's a beautiful program.

A million dollar house. That's all right. Absolutely. All right. Anything else, trustees? All right, if there's nothing else, I'll entertain a motion to adjourn by voice vote. Is there a motion? So moved. Moved by Trustee Baskett. Is there support? Second. Support by Trustee Wilkes. Any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor to adjourn say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed say nay. We are adjourned at 10.11 p.m. My clock said 10.11.

Now it's at 10.08.

But when I banged it, it said 10.07. Yeah.

Record.