Like to, I'd like to add the Thurston project moving forward. You'd like to add a nine b. Yes, sir. Thurston project forward. Second. It has been moved by trustee Baskett, supported by trustee Schmidt. Is there any discussion? That's not trustee Mohammed then trustee Wilkins. Go ahead. So I just wanted to clarify, what is it that we're gonna take action on? Moving the Thurston project forward. Okay. So are we expecting a vote? It's under board action. Okay. I just wanted to I just want to clarify. No. I appreciate that. Okay. So there's been a motion to add Thurston project moving forward and a vote.
Discussion will obviously be included, I assume. You have something to add or That was my question. Will discussion be included and we'll be able to ask questions? Yes. Okay. Yes. Any other questions, please? Okay. Seeing none, miss Ozinski, may we have a roll call on adding that to nine b, please? Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Wilkes? Yes. Trustee Faskett? Yes. Trustee Wilkins? Yes. President Feaster? Yes. Trustee Mohammed? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Trustees, may I have a motion to approve the agenda in total?
So moved. Moved. Second. Moved by trustee Schmidt, supported by trustee Baskett. Any discussion on that? No. I think that was that. That was Trustee Wilkes. Oh, I apologize. Mhmm. I'm looking down. Trustee Wilkes. Moved by Wilkes. Second by Baskett? No. Moved by Schmidt. Second by Wilkes. Apologize. Yep. No problem. Any discussion? Seeing none, miss Olsinski, may we have a roll call? Trustee Baskett? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Mohammed? Yes. President Feaster? Yes. Trustee Wilkins? Yes. And trustee Wilks?
Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. I would like to now introduce the nonvoting member at the table, miss Jazz Park, superintendent of schools. Good evening. Thank you, president Feaster. And that brings down to public commentary. The board would like to the board would like to remind everyone that individuals who have signed up for public commentary will have their name called and are given an opportunity to speak or have comments read by members of our staff. Commenters will receive up to four minutes with a total of no more than forty five minutes allowed for the public commentary period. When your name is called, please come forward and speak at the microphone.
To help manage your time, a clock will be placed on the screen in front of you. We would like to remind everyone that public comments generally pertain to Anapur Public School District matters. Comments about individuals or are expressly prohibited. Also, please understand that board members do not respond to public comments, but we will listen carefully and we will follow-up as appropriate. Miss Zelensky, how many times do we have for tonight? We have a 27 signed up for this evening. One twenty seven. In forty five minutes, that would allow twenty two seconds per comment. Okay. And are we ready?
Yes, please. First, I'll call your name. And if you hear your name, please start walking to the podium. Sarah Schreiber, then Shanaasi Rose. I'm Sarah Schreiber. I am a lifelong Ann Arborite, and I went to Ann Arborite schools from kindergarten twelfth grade. If you spent any time in Pioneer, you might recognize my last name. My great grandpa, Nicholas Shriver, was a founding principal there. I live in the Thurston District, and I oppose the current plan. There are too many huge and legitimate concerns for the current plan to be ignored, including the safety of our children. This plan is shameful for our Anaberg Public School legacy. Please stage Thurston,
and don't punish our community for speaking up by delaying the project for years. Shonasa Rose, then Vincent Chen. My name is Shanasi Rose, and I'm an Ann Arbor resident on the North Side. I raised my daughter daughters going to school here, and I am opposed to the current thirsting plan. I'm also mortified by the style of leadership that I've been watching. I watched the study session last night, and the spirit of bullying as opposed to listening is just awful. And so I hold a prayer where reason isn't working in working.
And my prayer is that any of you who are insisting that leadership is forcing the world are met with the same That is your time. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. That is your time. Vincent Chen followed by Feng Chung. I'm a Thurston parent, and I oppose the current site plan. We urge the BOE to protect the green spaces at Thurston for our children and future generations. Thurston Grounds Arena, beautiful natural haven for the community. We enjoy walking and playing in that area, and many of our neighbors do too.
Don't destroy that investment for temporary convenience. The majority of Thurston Teachers oppose the current building plan for good reason. Please respect your legitimate concerns. Fang Chung, then Carolyn Gross. Let's talk about money now since the this is the only thing that board interested. 02/2019 when board asked our support for the 1,000,000,000 bill. Quote, the district will plan on building two staging school that would serve as a place for school to move classes when they are building are being renotivate. I don't see any words that say, first name is exclude excluded.
Okay. And next, why do we have to pay the bill? Why is not the builder pay the bill $12,000,000? They they didn't do their own job. They didn't do their job. No. No. So do Just tell ask them. Ask them. Caroline Gross, then Daniel Arini. I am a Thurston parent of three. A great plan that gets everyone what they want is to sage Thurston at Old Logan, but to have the preschool and young five classes begin at New Logan. It all fits. Thurston gets rebuilt on schedule, and our kids' outdoor play and the neighborhood gem are saved. US congresswoman Debbie Dingell agrees.
Thank you all very much. Daniela Reney and Sarah Devereaux. I oppose the current Thurston site plan. I'm absolutely disgusted by how the current plan deems the learning environment and subsequently the development of our children as expendable. Let's actually inspire hope in these uncertain times. Stage Thurston. Sarah Devereaux, then Smita Malpani. If you hear your name, just come on up. Good evening. My name is Sarah Devereaux. I'm a current Thurston parent, and I oppose the plan, that we've been saddled with, for the current, new building.
I wanna share tonight that I am a school of choice parent, and I am pulling my children from AAPS because of the way that this board has behaved. And I know that that is not specific to all of you, and I am sorry that I am forced to address all of you at the same time because it's only two of you who are causing me to pull my children. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. Swita Malpani, Teresa Hall. I'm an APS parent, Clegan Huron. I'm extremely frustrated with the bond committee's work and APS's irresponsible use of our taxpayer dollars. The proposed New Thurston site will require a good deal of preparation to mitigate deficiencies
before it can be built. It will also require maintenance in the future to counteract these deficiencies. The bond committee put forward with this plan without considering whether it would be more cost effective to simply build on the old site. Teresa Hall then Nicole Scott. As parent of two Thurston students, I oppose the plan for the new school. I think the use of bond money to rush through the building of the school will cause parents to leave the district as well as was not what was promised to us when we voted, which was staging the school. All the other schools are being allowed to stage.
I think Thurston needs to be allowed to be staged and a better site plan needs to be put forward. Nicole Scott and Colin Brooks. APS environmental sustainability vision statement. In all decisions, we embody and live the deeply held value of caring for the earth and our environment. Individual team and district decisions are consistent with care for the earth. As a district decision, the BOE obligated to uphold this vision and protect Thurston Nature Center by building New Thurston away from wetlands. Colin Brooks then Esther Patrick. I'm a PhD plant biologist who lives near Thurston Elementary and both of whose children
went to Thurston for kindergarten through fifth grade. I have over thirty years of experience in geographic information systems, aerial photo interpretation, and vegetation surveys. I was reviewing the assessment and surveys page for the new Thurston, but I did not see any detailed information on the wetland surveys completed as part of the current planning procedure. Esther Patrick, then Cynthia Ransley. Hi. I'm Esther Patrick. I'm a community member and a parent of a current student. I oppose the plan. Please save our green space. Cynthia Ransley, then Deborah Wood.
I'm a Thurston neighbor and former Thurston parent, and I oppose the current site plan. It's important to make a careful and informed decision on this project to protect the natural habitat of the Thurston Nature Center for future generations. TNC is an integral part of our neighborhood. I've helped spread mulch and burn off the prairie several times and walked the beautiful trails countless times. TNC must be preserved as it is. Deborah Wood then Kelly Sager. I'm imploring you to please protect the Thurston Nature Center for future generations. I agree that a new school is needed but not using the current plan.
A revised one is needed that will be beneficial to students, teachers, and the Nature Center. Kelly Sager, then Nisha Gudal. The Thurston Grounds and Nature Center are a beautiful natural haven for the community. The kids deserve a new school that coexists in harmony with this space. As both a Thurston parent and a resident, rushing this and making so many mistakes is a bad idea that endangers the safety of kids and the nature center. Nisha Goodall, then Allison Jeter. I'm a Thurston alumna and parent, and I oppose the current site plan, which would destroy a lot of the nature center and wonderful play playground areas.
I want kids in the future to have those wonderful spaces that were important to me growing up. I always felt that Thurston had the best playgrounds and the time I spent in the nature center influenced my career choice in environmental work. The majority of Thurston Teachers oppose the current building plan for good reason. Allison Jeter then Paul Devereaux. Keep our teachers here in APS. Be more responsible with the management of the $20.19 bond dollars. Listen to and involve the people who voted for you. It is a shame that I had to shorten my comment on these very important issues out of fear that there would not be adequate time allowed by you all
to read the entirety of the individual's comment. Hope this BOE, members old and new, will do better for the students, teachers, staff, and all of the APS. Paul Devereaux then Laurette Walsh. I'm a current parent, and I oppose the building plan for New Thurston. I'm asking you, our board, to your do your due diligence and actually read the reports that Galbaine and other experts have provided to you. The issues associated with the new building site are immense, and the testing and impact analysis that have been done to date are insufficient.
Please vote to pause construction plans for new Thurston and insured decisions. Laurette Walsh then Ed Volstecki Edward Volstecki. Sorry. I am a grandparent of current Thurston of current Thurston student. I am very concerned about the construction plans for the new Thurston School. Please vote to pause the construction and ensure proper testing is done to provide a clear picture of risks and trade offs, including a thorough evaluation of staging options to keep kids off an active construction site. We need more data to make informed decisions that provide the best possible results for
our kids. Edward Volstecki then Julie Boster. I support the alternative plan for Thurston Elementary School presented by the group, let Thurston play. As an engineer, I struggled with difficult to solve flooding problems multiple times in two different Anhebor houses, including my current home next to Thurston Pond. My daughter's garden level apartment also flooded in Ann Arbor. Black mold was a huge health concern. Why would anyone knowingly build a multimillion dollar new school on the wettest part of person property? Julie Boster followed by Estelle Chiari. Julie writes, protect and preserve the Thurston Nature Center and my home from flooding.
Estelle Chiari, then Pam O'Neil. I live near Thurston Elementary, and I'm urging the Board of Education to pause before it is too late. Take the time to make a site plan for Thurston Elementary that protects Thurston Nature Center and keeps it intact for generations to come. Do not blindly follow the haste of a builder that do not know the history of the site and certainly does not have the neighborhood best interest at heart. Our city voted for this bond. Our community is paying for this bond. Pam O'Neil then Diane Dyer. As a member of the Thurston neighborhood for nineteen years and a former Thurston parent,
I strongly urge the trustees to protect and preserve the Thurston Nature Center for future generations. This cherished green space is vital is a vital educational and environmental resource for students and the community. Please do not build on the Thurston Nature Center. Please commit to safeguarding this unique habitat, ensuring this continued benefit. Diane Dyer, then Anita Goldstein. I'm a former Thurston parent and former chair of the Thurston Nature Center. I strongly oppose the current site plan and schedule for rebuilding Thurston School because doing so will destroy significant portions of the Thurston Nature Center.
It is unique because it is an urban nature center that was designated as a conservation education reserve by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in 1967. The Thurston Nature Center, Anita Goldstein, then Doreen Markle. I'm a long time Anima resident and am very unhappy about the rush to implement changes at Thurston School that seem very unpopular with the teachers, parents, and other community members. Why can't this process be slowed down before there is irrevocable harm? I know there are many alternative scenarios that have been put put forward.
Once poor decisions are made, they can't be undone. Please reconsider the correct timetable and act. Doreen Markle then Chris Tavegia. We are property owners in Thurston School neighborhood, former Thurston School parents and grandparents of children about to start APS Elementary. We strongly oppose the current site plan for the building of a new Thurston School right next to the Thurston Nature Center. Our neighborhood and the Thurston Nature Center committee have worked tirelessly over the years to conserve the Thurston Nature Center space for educational purposes that are enjoyed by students and
families. Chris Toveglia, then David Hutchinson. The bond committee failed Thurston. By not involving the Thurston community from the beginning as you promised, no one was there to fight for those green space, the nature center, and support staging when you first discussed it. Thurston students will now live with construction for four years. The nature center and green playground spaces will be permanently altered. You can stop this. Don't fail Thurston again. Spend the money to stage. David Hutchinson, then Carrie Knott. In November, mister Bing told Ann Arbor News that it might cost up to $5,000,000
to stage Thurston. Last night, three months later, he said it was $12,000,000 to $14,000,000 You might wonder about that. I don't wonder because he was trying to mislead you. He was trying to scare you into not considering staging. He also managed not to tell you any savings at all that there would be if the building weren't built on the slightest part of the place and were built without students there. Think about why he might have logged in this meeting. Thank you, sir. Gary Knopf and Andrew Zane. Carrie Naugh. Thank you to the public officials who listened to our concerns with an open mind
regardless of what your decision is tonight. I am sad and disillusioned that a wonderful thing like our new school has caused so much distress to the parents and people in the neighborhood when all of it could have been avoided. The administration process failed us by not letting the community know. Andrew Vane, then Sandra Balma. I'm a Thurston parent, neighbor resident, and I'm a voter and taxpayer. We all want a new building for Thurston, but we are adamantly opposed to the current new Thurston plan. It destroys all the positive features of the site for generations of students,
parents, teachers, and neighbors. I don't know a single person in the neighborhood who supports this current plan, and nearly all of the Thurston teachers are against it as well. Though many are scared to speak up for fear of retaliation. Sandra Balma, then Gabby Park. I'm a former Thurston parent and Thurston Nature Center neighbor and patron. I oppose the current site plan due to the lack of environmental protection afforded to the Thurston Nature Center. Please protect our green space for future generations. Stage Thurston and build a new school on the current site. Gabby Park, then Jesse Song.
As a Thurston resident and future parent, I oppose the current site plan. As a constituent, I would like to see the actual number regarding logistics for staging Thurston and redesigning the building plans instead of generalized unresearched statements. This current plan negatively impacts children with IEPs and persons with sensory needs as well as poses more probability of flooding in the neighborhood. Jesse Song then Patricia Guest. As a Thurston resident and future parent, I oppose the current site plan and ask the board to provide financial estimates for
staging Thurston. So far, I have heard only vague generalizations, but no one has researched this. This current plan of coming to school in a construction zone negatively impacts children with sensory needs and IEPs. We owe it to our kids to think again and do the right thing. Patricia Guest, then Jeffrey Carey. Hi. My name is Tricia Guest. I'm a Thurston neighbor, and I am a former Thurston parent. I'm reading this on behalf of some of my Thurston Teacher friends. Many Thurston Teachers are concerned about the location of the new construction being so close to the existing school,
and in the location of the building is in danger of flooding being so close to the pond and a piece of land formally ruled out day out for construction. We We have said from day one that we wanted our nature center preserved. That is what made please listen and, we feel we're ignored. Thank you. Jeffrey Carey, then Chris Flaherty. Chrissy Flaherty. Jeffrey. I'm writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed project as outlined in the geotechnical report. The report clearly states that the site contains problematic compressible soils that will lead to differential and global sediment over time.
Even with mitigation measures such as engineered fill and rammed aggregate piers, the risks of structural instability, costly maintenance, and long term safety concerns remain significant. Chrissy Flaherty, then Pelham Baron. I'm a current parent of students who attend Clegg and Heron. Both of my children attended Thurston prior to their current schools. Our family also lives in the Thurston neighborhood. Given the limited space and older age of the current Thurston building, I am in support of a new Thurston building being constructed. I'm very concerned though that the plan proposed by the contractor is shortsighted and not
in the best interest of the current Thurston families. Helen Baron then Catherine Vane. You have a choice tonight. Push forward with a deeply flawed plan or adjust course to reflect community input and long term impact. This proposal encroaches on the Thurston Nature Center, reduces green space, and places the only remaining play field in a terrible location, compromising both safety and student experience. Don't be fooled by sunk costs. Otherwise, you might end up with a sunk school. Catherine Bain, then Ali Hassani. I'm a Thurston neighborhood resident and current Thurston parent,
and I'm strongly opposed to the current plan for the new Thurston. The board has been presented with overwhelming evidence that the current plan is the wrong plan and is overwhelmingly opposed by the Thurston community. It is time for the board to make the right choice, rebuild trust, pause the build, and stage Thurston so we can have the right building and property that benefits students, parents, and teachers. Ali Hassani, then David Barnett. You are not our constituents. That was the exact line that we got from Gilbane at the community engagement session. When we asked about the site, you are not our constituents.
When we asked about the safety, you are not our constituents. I believe in many of you. This is a chance to do right. It's not about opinion, it's about equity. Do the right thing, protect the kids, stage their son. David Barnett. David Barnett. Thales Hsu. David Barnett writes Thurston Redevelopment to be here. Thales Hsu then Peter Andrescuitz. Hi. I'm a Thurston alumni, and I oppose the current site plans. Thurston Nature Center is a beneficial place towards elementary school students' learning. Occasionally, when I was a student,
we would go there. The Thurston Nature Center was a field trip, just a walk away, and no need for all the paperwork. Let Thurston play. Peter and and Derskowitz, then Susan Baughn. Peter and Derskowitz. Why are you harming our kids' learning environment and ignoring our teachers' voices, all to build a new Thurston on an unstable and flood prone part of the site. Why does Thurston need to have construction next to classrooms while King and Logan don't? We want a new school ASAP, but not at all costs. Choose the more equitable, less risky path and stage Thurston.
Susan Vaughn, then Mark Dobby. As a paraeducator, I appreciate what my union was able to get for us. Just wondering about Shante Langford's comment that our pay is comparable to surrounding districts with salary and benefits when the district has to hire contracted people to fill positions since these people get more through their agency and don't want to be hired by APS. Mark Dobby then Marcela Zorn. King is bursting King Elementary is bursting at the seams. Do not delay King Elementary's reconstruction for the sake of those who want to halt progress on the updates that this district and its children need.
Thurston can move to the back of the line if they want to delay replacing their own building. Marcela Zorn then Adena Scoem. I'm a concerned neighbor and former I am parent of former Thurston students. I have lived in Ann Arbor since 1978. One of the top reasons we bought our home in 1981 and stayed here was the great reputation of Thurston. I oppose the current plan for the school. This is a vibrant, engaged neighborhood, proud of the school and its embrace of learning in nature. Through the years of hundreds, if not thousands of volunteers have enriched this place. Adena Scum, then Jane Taylor.
I'm a Thurston parent, and I pose the current site plan. We all want a new Thurston built without delay, and we don't want don't have to sacrifice our kids' well-being or our irreplaceable natural spaces to do it. Many, many Thurston teachers, along with hundreds of parents and community members, have deep concerns about this ill conceived site. They have put together thoughtful strategic ideas about how to change the plan without years of delay. Jane Taylor, then Barry Johnson. I'm a Thurston neighbor, parent, and Thurston Teacher, Retired, who has lived in the neighborhood for twenty six years,
utilizing the Thurston playgrounds and the Thurston Nature Center for school programs and beyond. How do we begin to estimate the value of these experiences? The Thurston Nature Center is a gem that we cannot afford to lose. While teaching, I used the Thurston Nature Center wherever I could, as did many of my colleagues. There's deep I'm sorry. Barry Johnson, then Brett Carey. I'm Barry Johnson. I was impressed last night with the option to modernize and expand the existing first in school and proposed estimate of 30% savings in the cost.
That's a substantial difference, and there are many benefits for redeveloping the existing school, and there are many negative issues that could be avoided. Thank you. Brent Carey, then Kimberly Carey. New Thirst and Rebuild cannot be successful on the currently planned site. The ground is not suitable. The dynamics are frail. Nature will prevail. These site plans will fail. This will eventually cost millions of dollars to the city and adjacent property owners trying to remediate poor decisions. The new building site needs to be on the current school site.
Please leave the current historical nature center alone. Kimberly Carey then Kathy Anne Moylanan absolutely object to the current Thurston site plan build plans. Your own consultants recommended that they reconsider site location per the 12/17/2023 site preparation document. The current plan requires digging below the water table of the wetland for the foundation base to a depth greater 20 feet. Much of the tree and plant life in the nature area has prevented flooding to the neighborhood. Kathy Ann Moylanin, then Emily Ku. Please support Let Thurston play and its logical and financially wise plan.
I understand the reasoning behind your construction company putting the new Thurston Elementary build where it did. They were forced to make proposed plans without all the history and data necessary. Now that you and they have learned the problems associated with the site, putting a two story building so close to the pond threatened threatened wildlife and student safety. Emily Ku followed by Steven Rapundalo. I'm Emily Ku. I'm an eighth grader, and I went to play for six years. The Thurston Pond and the Nature Center is part of our school. We've been going there for so many years and even after in middle school,
me and my friends would walk there after school. How can you take something like that away? Thank you. Steven Rapunzelo, then Matthew Bertrand. Thurston site plan doesn't meet stormwater regulations, watershed management, and must be revised before construction begins. The proposed Thurston Elementary School site should the plan should not be approved and implemented until it is revised to meet city stormwater regulations that ensure proper management of the Thurston Pond and the Millers Creek watershed as a Thurston Pond neighbor and former elected official with a broad background in development plans.
Matthew Bertrand, then Siri Abarkwan. I'm concerned about the continuing over use misuse of tech technology in our elementary schools, especially in the early elementary grades. Research has shown that reading comprehension is stronger when students read physical books instead of ebooks with distracting bells and whistles. I'm particularly alarmed that some teachers are promoting so called educational websites such as Prodigy that have been advertisements. Siri Ibarkwan followed by Bill Hanna. I reside in the fine. Whoops.
Been there. Alright. Sorry about that. I reside in the Thurston Elementary neighborhood and have seen how students enjoy and learn at the Thurston Nature Center. It's a beautiful spot where children can interact with their natural environment. Please vote in support of the alternative alternative plan to not build by the pond on its notably unstable ground, to not build work while teachers struggle to teach and students struggle to learn just yards away, to not greatly increase the amount of pavement. Bill Hannah then Debbie Dingell? Gimme, gimme a billion dollars.
Gimme, gimme time to put plans in stone. Gimme, gimme your silence about concerns. Gimme, gimme complete control. Who's got the gimme gimme attitude now? Debbie Dingell then David bark Baker. This letter is regarding the proposed Thurston Elementary Nature Center. My office has received consistent outreach from constituents who are concerned with the impact that this project could have on nearby green spaces and fragile habitats, which are vital for our local ecosystems. Beyond the direct feedback provided to my office, I'm additionally aware of a community petition launched by Ann Arborites with similar anxieties.
David David Baker, then Margaret Baker. I'm kind of quiet after that one. That was a good one. We're just listening to everything that's being said. It's over and over. It's pretty clear. There's overwhelming frustration with this decision. It's not too late. You can pause. Just pause. And think this through. We we saw last year what happens when you don't think things through. It costs a lot. Let's not make another bad decision. Margaret Baker. I'm sorry. Margaret Baker. Then Leila Ramaswamy. Margaret? I couldn't hear you. I'm sorry. Margaret Baker. Okay. Yep. Okay. The Gilbane plans risks have been delineated expertly by Let Thirston Play and Thirston Nature.
Thank you for finally allowing forty minutes for the first time last night to for them to present their case. It is unassailable to pretend otherwise as disingenuous and foolish. Vote to pause and stage, usher in a positive new board era of reason over ego, early discussion over opacity, and fiscal responsibility over poor decision making for all AAPS families. It starts tonight. Leila Lila Ramaswamy then Amanda Ryan. I'm reading? Okay. As a Thurston alum and current APS student, the Thurston Nature Center has been a key factor in my development.
It provided an amazing environmental educational space as well as beautiful play area for my friends and I. These are stir students deserve the same opportunities I had. Protect and preserve the Thurston Nature Center. Amanda Ryan then Lila Ryan. As a homeowner with property that abuts the Thurston Nature Center and a former parent of Thurston students, I strongly oppose the site chosen for the new Thurston School. The new school should not be built so close to and on top of parts of the Thurston Nature Center, but rather upon the site of the current school building. I support protecting and preserving the Thurston Nature Center.
Lila Ryan then Steven Edwards. As a Thurston alumni, I oppose the current site plan that sacrifices the nature center for a new school building. Green spaces like these are invaluable for their environmental benefits and the hands on learning, exploration, and community they provide. Future generations deserve the same opportunities we had to connect with nature rather than more concrete building. The majority of Thurston teachers have valid concerns. Steven Edwards and Aaron Sprutty or Sprut? Hi. I'm Steve Edwards to add to three Thurston students. My seven year old was recently diagnosed with autism.
The therapist who diagnosed him said that we absolutely should not send him to a school adjacent to an active construction site. His other therapist has told us the same thing. If this plan goes forward, you are forcing out a stew our student because of his disability. This is not the equity and inclusion that we moved to Ann Arbor and search of. Erin Sprutty, then Nada Robinson Meyer. Hi, Anja. Good evening. My name is Erin Sprutta. I this isn't in regards to the Thurston project. I can still speak now? Anything? Okay. Yeah. Sorry. So I'm here, talking about special education,
education of children who differ socially, mentally, or physically from the average to to such extent that they require modifications of usual school practices. Special education serves children with emotional behavioral cognitive impairments or with intellectual hearing, vision, speech, or learning disabilities. Gifted children with advanced academic abilities. So I'm asking with all the windfall of money that we have for special education that we consider children on both ends of the spectrum, not just those who are being challenged, but those also Thank you very much. That can go forward. Thanks, ma'am. Naja Robinson Meyer then Zach Zaid.
I'm a Thurston neighbor, and my son goes to school at Huron High School. I oppose the current site plan. Thousands of volunteer hours have made the Thurston Grounds a beautiful nature haven for the community. Don't destroy that investment for temporary convenience. There needs to be more research done in the area and and the ways the water will impact the school, neighborhood, and children. Water is a serious issue and concern could not be taken lightly. Zach Zaid then Heather Hill. The APS has 3,300,000 square feet of land. There should be zero need to build next to protected wetlands and is counter to
the values that Ann Arbor has professed around being smart about land use and protecting the environment. I am not a NIMBY. I want this, but we can be smart about this. Heather Hild and Michael Nicks. I'm a former a parent of a former Thurston, Thurston Student and resident of the Thurston neighborhood. I oppose this current new building plan, although I have many reasons for opposing this, including the safety of the children and neighbors during construction. The deconstruction of the portion of Thurston Nature Center, a jewel of the neighborhood, the lack of communication about plans to the residents of the neighborhood, and more,
but my focus is really on the actual building site itself. Michael Nicks, then Deshaun Mata. I absolutely support building a new school for Thurston Elementary, but not like this. The current plans are unacceptable and feel like they are being thrust upon us. They ignore key community concerns, fail to prioritize what's best for our children, and threaten the character of our neighborhood. This is a a once in a generation investment, and we refuse to settle for a flawed design that infringes on a valuable resource. Deshaun Mata, then Allison Nicks.
We need to do better. We let we let the disease infecting our national political discourse permeate into our community. Without justification, we cast the dedicated public servants of the board and those working tirelessly behind the scenes as villains. Armed with a a facially worthy causes such as the preservation of the environment, we are clinging to misleading facts and substituting our own expertise without knowledge acknowledging the full picture. Allison Nicks and Elizabeth Moorhead. We absolutely support building a new school for Thurston Elementary, but not like this.
The current plans are unacceptable. They ignore key community concerns, be able to prioritize what is best for our children, and threaten the character of our neighborhood. This want is a once in a generation investment, and we refuse to settle for a flawed design that does not meet our needs. We demand better. The district must go back to the drawing board and get this right. Elizabeth Morehead then Eleanor Freeland. What else is there to even say at this point other than I'm so incredibly disappointed that credible official documents presented by a multitude of professionals are being ignored? That what you say on paper is not what you actually mean in application.
That elected officials and civil servants are seemingly purposely obtuse purposefully obtuse and petty on the Thurston build. Frankly, the new members of the board were elected for moments like this. Eleanor Freeland. Eleanor Freeland, then Tarun Gahani. I'm a former Thurston student, and I absolutely love going to school there. To this day, I even, I visit the school to hang out with my friends at the nature center. It has become such a big part of my life, and it wouldn't be fair if other kids couldn't have that because of construction. Tarun Gahani then Eric Zakhar.
Please consider staging for Thurston. This will keep our young citizens and staff members safe and in a proper learning environment for their day to day activities and will protect our natural environment as well as help avoid future flooding for nearby community residents. Eric Zakar, then Jason Bonilla. As a Thurston parent and neighbor, I've watched and paid close attention to the plans for the new school. After the presentation last night, I feel confident that the current plan to build Thurston is the correct way forward rather than risk millions of dollars and years of delay for a marginal improvement in
site plan, if any. I appreciate the board's attention to this as it impacts so many, and I appreciate the work that has been done and will need to continue to meet Kirsten and Nature Center a gem. Jason Bonilla, then Michael Oswald. When the last tree is cut down, the last fish eaten, and the last stream poisoned, you will realize that you cannot eat money, Native American proverb. Michael Oswald and Joseph Ryan. Thanks to the board and its staff for an informative study session. It is clear staging or modernization do not give students the schools residents voted for
or our students deserve. Staging splits our community and hurts other schools while modernization is even more disruptive than staging and leaves a bad core building in place. Please build new thirst for without delay. Joseph Ryan and then Luke Guest. I'm an alumna of Thurston Elementary and currently work as a civil engineer in the Ann Arbor area. I oppose the current site plan that sacrifices critical natural resources for a new school building. Growing up in and around the Thurston Nature Center provided me with the love of Ann Arbor and natural spaces that influenced my career to this day.
I'm deeply troubled that no APS environmental plan has been shared publicly. As of so much of the justification, Luke Guest, then Justin Jacques. Hello. My name is Luke Guest. I live in the neighborhood, and I'm a foreigner Thurston student. And Thurston Nature Center in Pond are a huge part of Thurston and surrounding areas community. Saving the nature center is the least you can do to protect the environment like you've been teaching us in school. Justin Jock, then Cedric Herman. Thank you so much for the very informative study session last night. I'm convinced the best plan is the current one. Staging and pausing will be costly and is unclear a significantly different site plan is
even possible as the LTP plan doesn't address storm water. Trying to modernize the current building will be even more disruptive while students are there. Any other plan will just make other parents mad, and we will have to go through this whole thing for the next three to five years. Cedric Herman, then Jamie Lawler. I'm a Thurston parent and neighbor. I oppose the current site plan. Don't destroy the current green spaces for temporary convenience. I don't want my daughter to start school on a construction site when staging is possible. Jamie Lawler, then Jonathan Gavison. I'm a Thurston parent and resident of the Thurston neighborhood,
and I strongly support the current plan to build new Thurston. Jonathan Gavison, then Chris Ernt. I get it. We all want a better school for our children. I fully support building a New Thurston school in a timely manner, but I urge the board to explore alternative plans that better support students, teachers, and our community. The current proposal risks unnecessary disruptions to learning, negatively impacts vulnerable students, and permanently reduces green space. Our teachers, families, and environmental leaders have voiced significant concerns. Please listen to them. Chris Ernt, then Bridget Reck. I'm a current Thurston parent.
Thank you, trustees, for hosting last night's study session. It was inspiring to see all the work from the capital projects team and the specialist contractors. They showed their reasoning, cleared up misinformation with hard facts, and made it abundantly clear why the plan is like it is. Why should we pay 9 to 12,000,000 more for a worse outcome? Build New Thurston now. Bridget Rek and then Kathleen Adams. It seems fiscally irresponsible to build a new school on problematic soil where we now have firms to facilitate drainage. It calls for continued costly maintenance,
especially once most of the other green spaces are sealed by concrete and asphalt too. The Thurston Nature Center was built to mitigate flooding and other problems and should stay protected. Kathleen Adams then Becky Cato. Concerning the new Thurston Elementary, please do not cite this structure within Thurston Nature Center. There are grave concerns for the interconnected ecosystems. Thurston Pond and the three nearby rain gardens significantly remediate stormwater runoff and assist in water quality. TNC is a sanctuary, home to pollinators, butterflies,
hummingbirds, birds, toads, frogs, interconnected, and is an irreplaceable gem. Becky Cato, then James Bruce Fields. We appreciate the fact based and lengthy presentation last night, which addressed many questions and concerns Please make a decision based on the facts you were presented by the experts last night, and Please make a decision based on the facts you were presented by the experts last night and not based on emotions. Thank you. James Bruce Fields and then Robin Anspach.
Please don't further delay construction of the new Thurston Building. I'm excited about the prospect of a new state of the art building for our neighborhood elementary school. I've watched the presentations and the existing plans seem well thought out. I'm skeptical that further delay will result in better trade offs. Robin Anspach and then Praveena Ramaswamy. I think we need to have a clear path forward on Thurston Elementary. I support the current plan, but I'm also okay if there's a viable staging option we can agree on now. I do not support delaying for the sake of delaying. I'm very concerned that a delay without a viable alternative will lead to years of
disagreement, a failing building, and rising inflation cost only to have us land on the same option we currently have. Whatever decision is made, it should indicate a clear path forward. Ravina Ramaswamy and then Elizabeth McBrearty. I ask that you vote to recommit the designation of the Thurston Nature Center as Anno Republic Schools did in 1967. I ask that you do not diminish the work of stewards of this land, rather commit to honoring the founders and the people who kept this legacy going and make this a historical landmark. I ask that you protect the birds, the trees, the bees,
and do not just rely on the community solely for their time and funds that you have been. Please protect and preserve the Thurston Nature Center for the sake of this future of our environment, education, and community. Elizabeth McCrearty and then Nael Naol Nathanael. I'm a Thurston Elementary parent and neighbor. I support the current plan to get our students, teachers, and staff into a new school as soon as possible. I watched the study session last night and appreciate the time, care, and expertise that has gone into developing the current plan. Our kids deserve to be in a new school as soon as possible and as
planned for with the bond. Staging would add unnecessary costs and delays. Attempting to modernize the current building would be disruptive. Neoli Nathaniel and then Amy LaHane. For the safety of our kids, the preservation of our green spaces, and the prevention of flooding in our neighborhood, please vote to stage during construction of New Thurston and build it on the existing building footprint. Amy Lahane, aunt Amy Lahane, and then Bradley Pritz. The option to modernize and expand the existing Thurston School presented at the February 25 BOE meeting must be seriously considered. It is the least disruptive and most fiscally responsible choice,
costing 30% less than rebuilding while preserving stability for students, teachers, and the neighborhood. We all want Thurston Kids to have a quality learning environment. The current plan fails to address flooding, environmental risks and community concerns. Bradley Pritz and then Sophia Guardiola. At the February 25 study session, the project team seemed well prepared with reasons to stay on the current course with a laundry list of obstacles to change. Some of these seem simply hard to understand, such as an estimated cost of $500,000 to restore a new Logan for service after temporary use for staging Thurston students,
or that the cost of transporting Thurston students to a site adjacent to Clegg, barely over 1,000 feet. Sof Sofia Guardiola, and then Susanna Keller. I'm a Thurston parent, live directly in front of Thurston. I urge the board to move direct forward with the plan for a new Thurston. After attending last night's study session, it is clear that neither staging nor modernization are fiscally responsible or appropriate options for our school. Our children and teachers cannot wait any longer for the learning environment they deserve and need. Please base this decision on the clear facts presented yesterday and move ahead.
Suzanne Keller and then Anne Cox. As we approach what is certain to be a tumultuous time in public education, Ann Arbor School Parents' intent on racial equity asked, can you commit to releasing a racial equity scorecard, including both achievement and discipline data by 05/07/2025? If not, why not? The release of this data is crucial for ensuring that the district is accountable to all families. Without a transparent picture of where inequities exist, Anne Cox and then Elizabeth Thompson. I attended the Thurston study session last night and was pleased to see that some
staging considerations have been brought to the table. Of course, this will cost more money and change schedules of building timelines, but this is worth it. The upfront cost now is worth the long term cost of a bad decision. Change course. Do you really want to be known as the school board that destroyed a nature center? Take your decisions to heart. The additional cost mentioned for stage off at nine point Elizabeth Thompson, then Libby Benton. Hello. My name is Elizabeth Thompson. I'm I'm an undergraduate at the University of Michigan and a proud APS alum. I attended Thurston from kindergarten through fifth grade and have lived in the neighborhood since
third grade. At Clegg, my friends from King bragged about their space camp experience, a privilege exclusive to them. I simply replied, I bet you don't have a pond. Thurston Pond is the heart of this community. It offers hands on learning, a winter ice rink, and a habitat for countless species. Libby Benton and then Jing Yu. Please move forward with the current plan to rebuild Thurston. I'm a parent of a Thurston Second grader and incoming young five student and live on Prairie Street directly across from the nature center and site of the new school. Yesterday's presentation by APS staff and contractors addressed my concerns about noise and stormwater management.
It also showed that the significant financial and community cost of staging outweigh any benefits. Thank you. Xing Yu and then Aaron Negu Neguib. I'm the parent of a first grader at Thurston. I like the plan for staging Thurston at New Logan called non FCA version two. Our children's education and health are the priority. I moved to this neighborhood for a quality educational experience with plenty of green space now and in the future. This is what Thurston families deserve. Erin McLeive and then Gabriel Steiner. I'm a Thurston parent, and I oppose the current site plan.
Protect our kids' health and well-being. Gabrielle Steiner, then Allison Carey. I'm a current Thurston parent and strongly support moving forward with building a new Thurston as soon as possible with the current plan. After the study session last night, it is clear that moving forward with the current plan and not staging or modernizing will give our kids and teachers the school they deserve on the timeline they deserve with minimal disruption. The current plan has been thoroughly researched and meets the needs of students and teachers while addressing the concerns of the larger community. Allison Carey and then Nikki Bonovich. The only winner here is Gilbane,
and they'll be gone in just a few years. The rest of us are in it for the long haul. The damage inflicted upon our thirst and community was avoidable. Trust and confidence in AAPS leadership has been lost and voters will remember. How and why would we trust that you will do better for the other schools than you have done for Thurston? Please rectify your past mistakes and treat us fairly. What lessons for the future of our planet and environment do you wish to teach our children? Please make the fourth thoughtful choice now to minimize risk and damage for all in the long run. Vicky Konovich and then Melissa Edwards. I'm disappointed that in today's environment,
you would continue to behave in such a dictatorial fashion and complete ignore the community you will be directly impacting. Our family has lived in the Thurston neighborhood for twenty years. We raised our children here. They attended Thurston Elementary and Clegg Middle School. They were part of classroom activities that took place in the nature center. They took part in boy scout and girl scout activities at the nature center. My oldest helped to establish the Oak Savannah. We have walked our dogs in the nature center. We took part in cleanup days. The nature center is a central part of our community. But without all that,
let's pretend for a moment no one cared about the environment or any potential impact this construction could have on the ecosystem of our nature center. The plan set up set up for the new school driveway and parking lot is a mess. You are clearly ramming through a plan that will fit your schedule. Three to five years is nothing when you realize. Melissa Edwards and then Nathaniel Steiner. This construction plan fails to prioritize the safety of our students and teachers. Learning next to an active construction site is unsafe and disruptive, especially for students with sensory sensitivities and IEPs.
Teachers shouldn't have to manage a classroom while worrying about safety hazards. Our school should be a place of learning, not a construction zone. Please pause this plan and put safety first. Next is Nathaniel Steiner, then Yvette Dimchoff. I'm a Thurston dad of current and future Thurston students. After staying to listen to the entire presentation last night, I would love to see the new school be built ASAP. The noise mitigation and reduced impacts on the TNC were explained well, and I'm encouraged by the measures that will be taken. Additionally, I think any further entertaining of modernization options to Thurston would be a slap in
the face to our community. This option would leave us with the worst of everything. Yvette Dimcheff and then Anne Rapundalo. I'm a Thurston neighbor who is concerned about the negative environmental impact of the current site plan for the new Thurston School, including possible damage to the Thurston Nature Center and adjacent wetlands on the property. I also have concerns about stormwater and flooding issues with the new plan. I support a proposal to modernize and expand the current Thurston School, which would be the environmentally responsible option and least disruptive to students, teachers, and adjacent property owners. Anne Rapunzelow and then Sarah Kempke.
During a recent conversation with a local resident, one of the board of education trustees referred to our neighborhood as entitled. I'm guessing this is a euphemism for have enough monetary resources that we can be concerned about how this plan will impact an environmentally valuable area as well as our own residences. This is a rude and short sighted comment, and it does not take into account how the housing values of our neighborhood contribute to the bond money that the school system is using to build the new schools. Sarah Kempke and then Nora Berry. As a Thurston parent and neighbor with an advanced degree in natural resources management and
aquatic science, I would like to thank the BOE and the APS capital improvements team for a very informative and lengthy study session on the Thurston project last night. The large team of experts contributing to the project comprehensively addressed a majority of the concerns expressed by the public, providing details on the steps the project has taken to address stormwater remediation, Nora Berry and then Michael Zelensky. As an alumni of the APS and a resident of Ann Arbor for over twenty years, I oppose the current site plan for Thurston. Restage Thurston. I stand with the parents, the teachers,
and the community members who are doing the work to ensure what is best for the children and the land, which is restaging Thurston. The future damage that will have to be accounted for from faults in the current plan, the destruction of a nature area in a city claiming the rainforest greenness. Michael Zelensky and then Michael Tucker. I can't believe I have to say it, but you don't work for Gilbane. Okay? They work for you. They're not your friends. They are not your constituents. That's us whose money you took to give them to do the job for us. Okay? If you take that their, sales pitch is a unbiased study,
check yourself. You lack the discernment or the backbone. You look like a bunch of basket cases. Michael Tucker, and then Mateo Alzate. The current proposal for Thurston is short sighted and disregards the wishes of the vast majority of Thurston families. The small number of families who are in favor of the plan have been misinformed. They seem to be under the impression that this is a choice between protecting the nature center or getting a school, which is not the case. The alternate plan to build New Logan First stage Thurston students there, then move both Thurston and Logan students into their new buildings takes the same number
of years. There are protected wild card species, Mateo alzate, and then Andrea Hansel. The Thurston Pond And Nature Center is a sacred place we must preserve. From the children who play there to the pollinators who make home there and help grow our food, to the deer that delight us at dawn and dusk, the Thurston Pond And Nature Area cannot be replaced. Please reconsider and do the right thing with the science and for the nature. Andrea Hansel and then Katie Richter. Thank you for the study session. Yesterday, the board had insightful questions. I want to point out that something that I was really struck by in the
omission in the Gilbane's presentation was about the geotechnical report that said the site has problematic soils. Trustee Mohabbin noticed and asked about it. The civil engineer spoke very eloquently, but he did not answer your question. He did not tell us what the fix is. He did not tell us how much it will cost, and he did not tell us what motivated him to change his recommendation. He said we should not build on this site originally. Why? You need to ask that. Thank you. Taylor Morgan, then Philip Saputowski. A massive thank you to the board,
superintendent Parks, Kevin, Stephanie, Jason, and the entire capital programs team for an incredibly informative and professional study session last night. It's clear the current plan is the correct balance of compromises that best serves the students and the larger school community. Trust your experts and build New Thurston now. Philip Saputowski and then Barbara Ladeuski. As a current Thurston parent, I want to thank the board for putting together this study session last night. The room of experts from the project provided comprehensive feedback addressing all of the logistical, technical, and safety issues brought forth by many in the community.
I stayed for the entirety of the session and was impressed by the breadth of the feedback as well as the detailed responses to all of the concerns that have been brought up. I hope the community can be forward with the knowledge. Barbara Ladowski and then Ryan Hobbs. AAPS billion dollar construction bond projects. I am a very long time AA resident, parent of two very proud APS graduates, grandparent of three current APS students in the Northeast quadrant of the district. I would like to thank the APS board, the superintendent, and her cabinet, the bond contractors, and the community members who provided such information rich and thoughtful presentations at the study
session last evening. Very impressive leadership from our superintendent. Brian Hobbs, then Jillian Morgan. As a thirst and parent of a young five student, I fully support the current plan. Staging is not viable. It would detrimentally split our school and be fiscally irresponsible. A major modernization would go against bond commitments, creating more learning disruption, and fail to give our students and teachers the school they deserve. Jillian Morgan, then Leah Rose. Thank you to the board and capital program staff for a thoughtful and informative study session for Thurston Elementary. It's clear that delaying or changing the course will only create more problems.
Staging would separate our community, disrupt other schools, and come with significant costs. Renovating the existing building would cause even more disruption and for a longer period of time. Any delay means years of uncertainty, higher costs, and fewer resources for our kids. Leah Rose, then James Freeland. I worry that the relationship between the BOE and Gilbane is stronger than their relationship with the community. It trusts teachers, students, tax pay taxpayers' logic and reason. You still have the chance to prove us wrong. Please stage Thurston at Old Logan. We gave you a plan to make it work.
James Freeland, then Christine Kooker. Deep breaths, everyone. You're gonna vote in a few minutes. Please vote no. In front of you is a solution to this problem. It represents five months of working closely with Gilbane and capital programs. It works within Gilbane's requirements. It doesn't split up our community. It saves our green spaces. It won't force kids with IEPs to deal with construction. It won't cost much, certainly not $9,000,000 whatever that sales pitch was. If you vote yes when you have clear work will turn in front of you, you've told us that our community engagement is worthless. You'll never get a bond in the house passed again. Christine Kucher,
then Emily Terrell. Dear trustees, any push to remodel, modernize the current school still does not address the issues of staging students or minimizing disruptions during school hours. Staging remains disruptive, expensive, puts a burden on neighboring schools, and goes against APS' own criteria for staging, which Thurston does not fall under. Since Thurston does not meet criteria for staging, remodeling distractions during school hours would be significantly more. Emily Terrell, then Jacob Kitsman. Sorry. I'm a little bit short. Thank you so much for your service.
And I I know there's a lot of emotions, and I'm sending you love and just hope for the truth because I am at Thurston every day. I started coming every day when my daughter was in first grade as a volunteer and eventually went through Edo Staff and started substitute teaching every day. I did get to meet you this year in fourth grade, miss Steinhardt's class. I have a lot. I know a lot, and I know you guys know a lot. A lot happens behind the scenes. And I came in to give teachers a voice initially, and then I kind of saw this whole, other world of kind of what was Thank you,
ma'am. Yes. You're welcome. I I would love to talk to each and every one of you, though. Jacob Kitzman, then Kate Curry. My name is Jacob Kissman. My wife and I are current Thurston parents and neighborhood residents. We share some of the concerns about green space impacts and the excessive driveline footprint that we've heard, but multi year delays in crowded noisy conditions are problematic, and the major modification plan is just unacceptable. We should iterate and we should improve upon this plan, not catastrophize the objective. Kate Curry, then Sarah Thompson.
What are the financial benefits to staging Thurston, and why haven't they been included? If we stage, we avoid grading the site. We avoid foundation pilings. We avoid other mitigation costs that come with building on a flood plain. We avoid sound mitigation costs like a third pane on windows. We avoid extra safety measures that come with building next to children. We also avoid the less countable costs of things like future flooding. Sarah Thompson, then Anthony Grando. Last night, two trustees did their best to make me look small and unimportant and to discredit
my relationship with and role within my community and my credibility with my neighbors. Not every Thurston family knows who I am, but I know and love their children, and I know and love their teachers. And everything I have done for the last several months has been for Thurston students and teachers. These people cannot say the same. Anthony Grando. I oppose the current plan, and and I think you need to step back. You have a jewel here. And, how do you wanna be remembered? Do you want to conserve and keep the environment going? Or do you want to build something that in one hundred years it will have
to be torn down again? Thank you. And that concludes public commentary. Thank you, Ms. Zielinski. We appreciate hearing from our community. The Board would like to thank everyone who spoke and shared their I I don't know. How many of you are there? One, two, three, four. Why don't you all come up and take your twenty two seconds? My name is Luke. I'm a junior at Huron High School and the president of our green team. The Thurston Nature Center helped me find my passion for the environment. It is vital that we protect it for the next students of the next generation to learn about nature and preserve the habitat of countless plants and animals.
Please reconsider the plan of construction of New Thurston. As a former, student of Thurston with undiagnosed ADHD, I was never able to learn very well in a classroom. However, the Thurston Nature Center gave me the opportunity for hands on learning, and gave me the experience to become a Huron Green Team board member, and it gave me and my friends a place to play outside and not just be inside. So please don't take this opportunity away from students like me. Why are the teachers' voices being silenced? Yesterday's study session showed that there is more appetite to silence teachers than to understand
them. The Thurston Teacher survey with 23 of 27 teachers responding was criticized rather than trying to understand why so many of them fear retaliation and what can be done to create healthy communication channels. Stay. It looks like that is everyone. So, again, we appreciate hearing from our community. The board would like to thank everyone who spoke and shared their comments tonight. We would like to note that all written comments are publicly available on board docs in the public commentary section of tonight's agenda. Miss Parks, are there any points of clarification?
No clarifications that haven't already been brought forward. Thank you. That brings us down to, number three, reports of associations. Miss Olzinski, do we have any reports of association? Yes. We have mister Fred Klein from the AAAA. Thank you. Welcome. Good evening, trustees. Good evening, superintendent Parks, Thurston community, and the Ann Arbor Public Schools community. My name is Fred Klein. I'm a thirty five year veteran here in Anarbor Public Schools, and I'm proudly serving as the president of the Anarbor Education Association, which is the union that represents the teaching staff of the Anarbor Public Schools. If you give me just a minute and indulge me a little walk down memory
lane. I grew up on Anaberg's West Side, and I had the privilege of attending Hazely Elementary School from 1969 to 1975. One of the most memorable aspects of my time as a student was a small enchanting Hazely Woods located on the west side of the campus. This old growth forest somehow survived the rapid development of our city and became an invaluable outdoor classroom for generations of students. In 1964, before I attended Hazely, plans were made to clear this forest.
But thanks to the heroic efforts of our principal, Louise Ritzma, I don't know if anybody here remembers Louise, who physically stopped the bulldozer that arrived to begin this work. Hazely Woods was saved. It was eventually renamed the Ritzma Nature Area in her honor, and it has continued to serve as an important educational resource. I returned to Hazely in 1990 as a teacher. And throughout my twenty three years there, I regularly took my students to utilize the nature area as part of our learning experience. I fondly remember enjoying the beauty of the changing leaves in the fall and witnessing
how the forest brought new perspectives to our students year after year. My message to the Thurston neighborhood is simple. Fight the good fight. Protect and preserve your nature area so that current and future generations of students can continue to experience the invaluable learning opportunities that it provides. On the AAAA front, I'd like to update a couple of things. As you all know, we ratified a tentative agreement in January, and, it included modest but much needed pay increases through step advancements,
a 1.5 increase on the salary schedule and a few other minor perks. I am pleased to report that our members received their first paycheck last Friday reflecting this increase along with a separate check for the retroactive portions of the TA dating back to the beginning of the school year. A heartfelt thanks goes out to HR and payroll for their hard work in making this happen. Thank you. On the state front, we are still awaiting the movement of Senate Bill 6,058 to the governor's desk for her signature. This bill is critical as it provides significant relief from the rising health care costs
that burden not only our members here in the Anhebor Public Schools, but all across the state. In response to the the delay, the, Senate Democrats have begun litigation to compel speaker Hall to move forward with this bill in accordance with the state constitution. We'll bring some great relief to our members on health care costs. Another pressing issue involves a 3% contribution that many of us have been paying towards retirement health care plans. This contribution was halted by the legislature back in October, yet the deductions have continued. We are awaiting a clear plan from the Office of Retirement Services,
ORS, and the state on how they intend to stop the deductions and refund the contributions that have been taken since October. Lastly, our AAAA bargaining team met yesterday for six hours to begin preparations for the upcoming bargaining of our full contract. So the TA we just settled was just a financial reopener. We're about to enter full contract negotiations. Our contract expires in December thirty first of this year. And we are eager to begin this process with the district and are hopeful that we can reach a fair and timely resolution. This is a critical moment for our educators and we are committed to working collaboratively
to secure a contract that reflects the needs and priorities of our members. As you may be aware, I've said it often, Anima Public Schools has fallen significantly behind its neighboring districts in terms of salary and benefits cost sharing. This gap has led to an unfortunate and ongoing exodus of talented and dedicated educators from our district as many seek better opportunities in neighboring and comparable districts. The only way to stem this loss of valuable educators is by addressing this disparity. As you,
our board develop the budget for the upcoming year, you must prioritize significant pay and benefit increases. We understand the challenges that come with budgeting, but we also know that this is an investment in the future of our district. We expect a multiyear contract that will allow us to better compensate our educators and provide them with the respect and support they deserve in order to retain and attract the best talent. As we move forward, I hope we can work together to ensure that the Anhebor Public Schools remains a great place for students and educators alike.
Let's continue to invest in the future of our schools, our educators, and most importantly, our students. Thank you. Miss Ozinski, are there any other committee reports? No. Are there committee reports tonight? Thank you. Association reports. I believe that brings to comment number four, board committee reports. Under a, we have the bond committee. Trustee Baskett, please. Thank you, president Feaster. As everyone knows, we had our last committee meeting on the February 19. Thank you for all of those who attended. Hopefully, it was helpful. It was great having everyone at the table, who wanted or who was able to attend.
As the board knows, we have, contract bids, up for second briefing this evening. Again, the we hope, that we will be, approved as we need to move forward with all of our projects. The bond committee is scheduled to meet, March 5 and, again, March 19. I don't have April dates at this time, as we have not, been able to talk, again with the, team to see what we need to do in April. So, again, that's March 5 and March 19. Thank you. I have a quick question. Yes, sir. Is that are those planned as committed the whole Yes,
ma'am. Unless we hear something different. Okay. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you, trustee Basquiat. Thank you, sir. That brings us down to b, the finance committee. And I'll turn it over to trustee Wilkerson. Thank you. The finance committee met earlier this week on February 24 at 9AM. We discussed a number of talk topics. The first item was bond issuance timeline as it relates to the Thurston project and our overarching bond that was approved in December. We were able to verify that March 10 is a deadline that the administration would
need to work toward if there were going to be any changes to the bonds that are planned to be issued. As such, the the board at the table today would have to make any decisions by about March to make a change to that. We also talked about, 3% health care reimbursement. The state has finally issued a partial payment back to the district, but did not provide any details on the reimbursement, how to allocate that or anything to that nature. So the district is currently working on that and more information will be shared once available.
We also reviewed the January financial packet, which I think will be presented to the board tonight. And then our last item for consideration was future planning. We announced that for 2025, the finance committee wants to take a more explicit focus on strategic analysis and financial planning. So through through the finance committee, we will be focusing on revenue sources, I'm thinking around enrollment, bonds, grants, anything else that we can do to increase the revenue that we currently bring into
the district. We wanna take another fresh look at expenses, further cost savings, review of cost of specialty programs. We want to do an assessment over, the competitive competitiveness of our salaries and health benefits for our teachers. And we wanna take a fresh look at our budget reporting and see if there's any additional recommendations we can make from that perspective on a go forward basis. I I do wanna report, I know there's lots of great work that's been done by the administration over the past year.
And, we really wanna continue to build upon that. And we look forward to working with and in collaboration with various stakeholders across the district. Thank you. Thank you, Trustee Wilkerson. Any questions? Good. Seeing none, we will move down to c. That is the executive committee. The executive committee met on February 24 at 4PM. We planned the agenda for yesterday's study session and for today's regular, regular board meeting. Our next meeting will be on March at at 05:30PM, and we will set the agenda for the following meeting or two at that time.
Any questions? Okay. Alright. I move that brings it down to number five, and, that is the superintendent update. Miss Parks. Thank you, President Feaster and trustees and community for the opportunity to provide the superintendent's update this evening. I'd like to share this evening several recognitions and events in the Ann Arbor Public Schools coming up in March, including National School Social Workers Week, National Reading Month, Women's History Month, and Youth Art Month. We appreciate the opportunity during the March each year to recognize and celebrate our school
social workers. School social workers are highly valued members and integral to our school's multidisciplinary support team. So So we join with students, the AAPS team, and families to celebrate our school social workers and who inspire us with hope, understanding, and respect in their work every single day. Thank you to our school social workers. March is also National Reading Month. Each year at the March, school children in classrooms across the country kick off National Reading Month by celebrating the birthday of beloved Doctor. Seuss.
Teachers design contest, family literacy events, and other activities, providing time for an uninterrupted reading in our classrooms and in our schools. With help from Read Across America, their goal is to motivate students to read every day of the year. So March, again, we're looking forward to being reading month here in the district and across the country. It's also a time for Women's History Month. Women's History Month provides us an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the contributions of countless women who have fought tire tirelessly and with great courage for equality,
justice, and opportunity in our nation. So we look forward to the celebrations that our school and our district will have for Women's History Month. We also have youth art month, which was established in 1961 and is an annual celebration of the visual arts. Every March, the Ann Arbor downtown area transforms into storefront galleries as business owners graciously provide window space to showcase the artwork of our AAPS students. So we look forward to seeing their work downtown, at the as youth art month begins in March.
AAPS joins the rotary and food gatherers each year in a two week community wide effort to fight hunger. The official kickoff for the 2025, school year begins Monday, March 3 and runs through Friday, March 14. Many of our schools, student clubs and building groups have formed teams to collect non perishable food and make financial contributions. The AAPS invites any community members who would like to participate with us to do so, at the Rotary, Rotary Club and Food Gatherers link that is on our website. The NAP IT at Night event,
which is a yearly event, NAP IT standing for National African American Parent Involvement Day. The celebration has been re rescheduled from Monday, March 10 to Monday, April 14. This year, that event will be held as a virtual celebration, and this is a countywide celebration that is, planned by the county, a county group. And so beginning at six fifth 6PM on April 14, you'll be able to, log in to a virtual link, and we will share that with the community as soon as that link becomes available.
The poster submission deadline for the NAPIDET night art contest has also been extended and moved to March 14. At that time at this time, President Pfeisser, that concludes the update for this week. Thank you, superintendent. Any questions? I do have a quick question. Just do what? Okay. Superintendent Parks, just curious, any idea why the NAPID was moved to a virtual event? Do not know. Okay. No. Alright. They didn't share any any details about why the change. Okay. Thank you. If there's no other questions, that moves us down to b,
monthly monitoring report for January 2025. Thank you, president Feaster. We have, at this time, trustees, miss, Francor, Darcy Francor, from our business office coming forward to present the January monthly monitoring report. The December report is in, board docs for your review. Miss Francor, I will turn it over to you at this time. Thank you, superintendent Parks. Good evening, everyone. For anyone that I haven't met, I'm Darcy Francor. I'm a director of finance, treasury and grants in our finance department. And, for those who do know me,
I haven't been here in a few months. Marios was here, and he kinda took over the role. But since he's back in Sunning in Cyprus, it's back to me. So, I will be happy to present the January numbers for you. And just for those who didn't haven't heard this before, I just wanna start off saying that these reports, this is all data that is pulled at the last day of the month. So you're gonna see fluctuations as we go forward. You'll see fluctuations from prior months, but this is based on one day's worth of all of our data coming in at that month end.
So, I always like to make that really clear. You will see changes going forward for a lot of different reasons that I'll explain as we go forward. First of all, this slide, the first slide Andrew is showing is our cash and investments report. And typically when I present the reports to the board because with the finance committee, I go a little bit further in-depth with some of the other funds. With limited time, I'll just really highlight on the general fund tonight. But please, if you have any questions on any of the other funds because these are all separate, please send your questions to superintendent Parks.
I'll be happy to answer them, get back with her and answer them for you. So, on cash and investments, we're starting off with this is a comparison with last January 2024. As you'll see, our cash position right now at the January was $9,700,000 greater than it was last year at the same time. A lot of that has to do with timing of tax payments. Taxable value is up this year. Not only that, we have plus you'll see as we go further, we've had such a reduction in some of our expenses in the month of January
compared to the prior year that does reflect why we have more cash in the bank. So, that's good. That's, you know, that's what we like to see. So, anyways, in like I said, we'll go through and I'll talk about some of the variances that you might see coming up in the further months. This is, the monthly expenditures for January. And just pretty basic, this is a total amount of expenditures for each one of our funds. You will see and you'll see it later again that we had $23,000,000 worth of expenses in the general fund, which as you know is our general operating fund for the district.
And as I said, you'll see that as we go further into the slides. This is the comparison summary of our funds report. What this is, is just comparing where we're at this year year to date versus last year year to date. Like I said, I'll really highlight on the general fund. As you see, we are up 4,900,000.0 in revenue as over last year. Mostly this has to do, with property tax collections and not only that, we did receive a little bit more in Act 18 money than we did in the prior year, which is special education dollars that we do get from the WISD.
So, and then I will jump down to expenditures of the general fund and this is where I told you the cash use, our cash, base is a lot better than last year because our expenditures are down in January '11 point '5 percent or sorry, 11,500,000. And this has to do with the reduction in wages and and retirement and also it has to do with purchase services, for example, like Edustaff, which is our substitute teacher, third party vendor. So we've had quite a bit of reduction in that. So that all attributes to the reduction in expenses.
Okay. Now this slide is a continuation of the one you just saw and what this will tell you is the addition or reduction to the fund balance. As you see this year so far in the general fund, we've added $34,600,000 to the fund $34,600,000 to the fund balance versus last year at the same time, it was 18.1, which, it's fantastic, but like I said, this is all day together from the last day of the month. So if you go down to the expenses or I should start with the beginning fund balance.
The beginning fund balance is where we were at the start of the year. So we're adding on when you take the addition or subtraction to the beginning fund balance which was $7,100,000 I'm looking at the year to date $24,250,000 then you go down further the ending fund balance. If our school year ended on January 31, we would have a $41,700,000 fund balance which would be fantastic, but a lot left to come. This is a different report, which is a summary of all funds, but this is comparing this year's numbers month to date, year to date to what we have budgeted.
So month to date, you'll see, in the general fund was $48,200,000,000 Like I said, that was a lot of tax revenue. Winter tax revenue, began in January, and that's when we collect the largest portion. You'll see as we go further, February, we'll have some tax collections. In March, you'll see the reduction because, they're winding up with their tax collections and payments to the district. As for expenditures, that's the $23,000,000 I talked to you about on the second slide and that's the month to date. Year to date we're at 140.8%
year to date in expenditures. The one thing I want to point out in the slide that's really important and it's the thing that we look at a lot is that January is the sixth month of our fiscal year. Fiscal year starts in July, so we're 50% through the fiscal year. And if you look, we've already collected 55.7% of the revenues that we budgeted, which is great. And the even better part is we've only expend expended 46.1. So that's, really good information that we watch a lot to see where we're at with the
school year and where we're falling in expenses. Yep. Sure. Can you talk a little bit about our current the actuals and how that impacts our expenses being a little bit lower than budgeted as it relates to the, additional salary increases that we paid out, that are currently being paid out? Well, a lot of this has to do with too is, some of the retirement rates have changed. And what we know is the time when we did the budget revision is what we knew at the time. So we are possibly preparing another budget revision before the one in June to reflect
some of those numbers. So that's why you're going to see a really big reduction in some of the expenses. And like I said too, purchased services is down quite a bit from last year. I could look into the exact number if you like because we do track that. We track people costs, which isn't just our staff, but it's also, our contracted staff. So we track that all the time as well. So does that answer your question? Yeah. I think it does. I just wanna point out that we do have certain expenses that we've planned for that we haven't that hadn't currently come out at the January Oh.
As it relates to salary increases. Of course. Yes. Thank you for bringing that up. You're right. In January, we haven't had, like, some of the agreements that were just settled on recently. You'll see those coming in February. And, actually, the last groups two groups you'll see in March. So you'll see those a little bit more in expenses at that time. Mhmm. Correct. Just for clarification, trustee Wilkerson, are you referring to the retroactive salary increases that I think Fred Klein just made reference to? Mhmm. Yes. That's correct. So those haven't hit our actuals yet.
Okay. Right. And the one and a half percent increase as well. Okay. But I can tell you though, we did budget with an increase in mind. So, you won't see it won't be a huge variance, I believe, in expense. Because we presented the first budget, we did budget for one and a half percent increase. So but not the retro. So you will see some change. Okay. Alright. Thank you. As long as we're stopped for questions right here. Sorry. So if we were if we're at 55% Mhmm. And 46.1,
would do you consider us to be on budget? Do you Yes. Do you feel Yes. I do. Come to the you talked about probably making an adjustment to the budget before the end of the fiscal year. Why would that happen if you Well if it looks like we're on budget now? A lot of times, you end up with more revenue than you think you're gonna get. We get state revenues. Last year at the end of the year we were quite surprised by June, July and August that we ended up with additional state revenues we weren't expecting. Also because of some of the things like we talked about,
the negotiations and the one and a half and the retro, those are kind of the things we want to make we wanna figure into the new amendment. Mhmm. Okay. Thank you. This is very similar to the second page of the first set of slides I showed you. With the exception of down, you'll see on the right hand corner that we do have fund balance of percent of revenue and also the fund balance percent of expense. The general fund at the January is at 3.2%
of revenue and 3.7% as a percent of expense. Well, like I said, there's so many different variables that, that for example, one thing I'd like to talk about is in May, we'll have three pay periods. So that will make a difference. So we'll see where to go. Okay. This is can you blow that up at all, Andrew? Probably not. Okay. This is expected versus actual revenues and expenditures. That's fine. That's fine. Thank you. For the month ending, I mean, they're bad. They're just not that bad. And what this is is that we make we're looking at,
where we think we need to be versus where we actually end. We're doing this by month. So you see the month to date, the expected in January and this is all general fund only. I know we lost the headings over there and it's split up into local revenue, state revenue, federal and other. So you'll see that we're down well worth $1,200,000 less than what we thought we would be at at the January. Then if you go down a little further, you're looking at expense. I know I'm sorry, you can't see the headings but we're down $1,200,000
in expenditures over where we thought we'd be at the January. The difference is only $70,000 which is pretty spot on between, I'm sorry, the expected revenue and expenditures. I should explain that. I don't have my pointer tonight. I'm sorry. Mario, I think hit it somewhere. Probably. Okay. And then on the right hand side of this is year to date. Same concept. We're looking, we're tracking all the time. And just so you know, these percentages are based on we do some, analytics based on the fund balance or the percentages are based on a five year historical
data that we went back and looked at that we're using for trend monitoring, which, so we want to after analyzing that five years of data, this is where we think we should be at this point. And this is why we utilize this because it's a really good method to track trends. And as you see all the way over to the right hand column, we are trending 2.3 less in revenue than we thought we'd be at the month of January. And then if you go all the way down to the $3,400,000
that's what we're trending less in expenses, so that's that's great. So if you see all the way down at the bottom in the middle column on the right hand, the 3.25%, that's the fund balance. Thank you. And, the 3.25 is over revenues and 3.67 is over expense based on budget. Now these graphs, are reflection of what I just showed you or what Andrew just showed you on the graph. And so we wanted to show you the data in two different ways. And this is expected versus actual revenues. The blue line is the expected.
The orange is the actual. You can see we're pretty close, and that's I think when I tallied it, it was like about a 1% difference overall. So we decided to trend this both ways and, because people actually like seeing it in two different ways, a bunch of numbers versus and I think this is easier to it's more comprehensible on the graph. And this is expenditures. So the expected expenditures were higher than what we projected them to be or what we actually ended up being I should say. So that's great. We're under where we expected to be for the month in expenditures.
In fund balance, fund balance is pretty close. We're actually higher in the fund balance than where we projected to be or expected to be in the January. And just quick for the fund balance, what's the percentage? I know it's in the tables, but what is where are we as far as the percentage? At the January, it's over 13%. Okay. I just it would it would help to have it here. Alright. Yeah. We can do that. I think we did talk about that before. Yeah. Okay. But again, to to clarify, we are projecting to head back down toward our original budget assumptions.
Yes. Yeah. Because of a lot of factors. Like I said, you have less property tax revenue coming in going forward. And also you have, more expenditures. We have three pays, like I said, May, which does make a difference. And then in June, I mean, we do pay out term pay in June. And so we never know until we get closer that who who needs to be paid and, or how many people or what that will cost. So the more, we get towards those points, the more we'll know. Okay. That's why we do a lot of trend analysis just to kinda,
you know, keep our eye on it. Any other questions? Great. Trustees, anything else? Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Franklohr. Alright. Next on the agenda, it says first briefing, but there's nothing to be brought forward in the first briefing. So we will move down to second briefing. Under a, we have, Annex A N 2195 Slauson Middle School, last timber contract. Were there any changes? No changes. Any questions, trustees? Okay. Next, we have B, Annex A N 2 1 9 3, New Dickin Elementary trade contracts part one.
Were there any changes? No changes. Any questions, trustees? Seeing none, we go down to CNXAN two one nine four, New Logan Elementary trade contracts part one. Were there any changes? There was one change here, trustees. The one change is that we've removed the HVAC bid or continued review. So we'll come back with that item when we're done with the review. So everything minus the HVAC? Correct. Any questions, trustees? Seeing none. Yes. Trust it, Wilkerson. Can we get some clarity on the reason that one was removed? There's some there's some questions about,
the the bid and who the who was awarded the bid. And so while we navigate those questions, we've pulled it from second briefing. Okay. Thank you. That'll come forward at a later time? It will. Okay. Any other questions for us, please? Seeing none, that that brings us down to the consent agenda number eight. Trustees, would anyone like anything removed from I'll read it first. Okay. Thanks. I'll read consent agenda. Approve annex ANDash2195, Slauson Middle School mass timber contract. Approve annex ANDashDash2193,
New Dickin Elementary trade contracts, part one. Approve annex ANDash2194, New Logan Elementary trade contracts as revised, approve minutes of the 01/25/2025 board retreat, approve minutes of the 02/12/2025 regular meeting, approved minutes of the 02/12/2025 closed session, and approved the minutes of the 02/25/2025 study session. Thank you, miss Otostek. Trustee, would anyone like anything removed from the consent consent agenda? Seeing none, is there a motion? So moved. Moved by Second.
Moved by Trustee Wilkerson to approve the consent agenda supported by Trustee Schmidt. Any discussion? Seeing none, miss Olsinski, please. Trustee Wilkes? Yes. Trustee Basquiat? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Mohammed? Yes. President Feaster? Yes. And Trustee Wilkins? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. That brings us down to number nine, board action. So sorry. I have a I have a That's alright. Trust Mohammed? Can we just can I propose, like, a five minute break? Sure. Sure. We'll take a break. It is 08:55.
We'll straight it back around, 09:05. Okay. Thank you. Cool. Cool. Recall to meet in the order at 09:07PM. I believe that brought us down to board action a, approve limited schools of choice for 2526 school year. I'll turn it over to superintendent Parks. Thank you, president Feaster. We have miss Lending coming forward to, talk with, trustees and walk you through the limited schools of choice, which is something that we do here in Ann Arbor Public Schools as do many districts, each year. And so miss Linden will go into some more detail there.
Thank you so much. Good evening, president Feaster. Good evening. Trustee and president Burke. It's a pleasure. This evening, I am bringing forward a recommendation and seeking approval for the establishment of three schools of choice enrollment windows this spring and summer. And before I share those dates, I think a little background information may be helpful, for the community and potentially for you. So I'll do a quick recap. First of all, I just want everyone to know that enrollment is always guaranteed for students who reside within the Anhe River Public schools attendance boundaries so this does not affect any of
the folks who live within our boundaries. They are guaranteed enrollment in their neighborhood schools. Schools of choice is a local board decision. It can be offered in either a limited or an unlimited manner. We have always done a limited schools of choice. So that means that we offer space only in buildings and at grade levels where we have seats that are open. In an unlimited situation, anyone who applies, a school district would take and it's actually kind of rare. So should the number of applicants exceed the space available then we are required by
law to conduct a lottery and students will be placed into their school of choice by lottery and then on a waitlist. Schools of choice applications are available to families residing in contiguous counties. So sometimes this is surprising. But these contiguous counties are Washtenaw, Ingham, Jackson, Lenawee, Monroe, Oakland, and Wayne. So, Plymouth Canton and other school districts being close to our borders tend to be the school districts that, utilize schools of choice most and that means that schools near those borders are popular
with, with those districts as well. When students come to us through Schools of Choice and they are approved and then enroll, they bring their full per pupil allowance to the district. But that per pupil allowance is what is assigned to that district. So they don't get the Ann Arbor per pupil allowance, they bring with them the per pupil allowance from their home district. So it varies based on district. Student acceptance is conditional, but only based on discipline. So there are no other factors that we would utilize or could utilize legally to
restrict a student from applying and and being enrolled here unless they have a history of suspension or expulsion. So we do carefully review the discipline records of students before they are approved and entered into our school district. Once they do, however, I like to say they're considered an AAPS student moving forward. So, there's no revoking of schools of choice. They are our student. We treat them as we do any other AAPS student, which means they're subject to the rights and responsibilities handbook in the same way that our students are.
Space available at each building is determined through a multilayer staffing process, and that happens through multiple rounds. Our executive directors and our human resources teams and our special education representatives look at all aspects of enrollment, and then decisions are made about spaces that remain available. And only after that process has concluded do we then say, okay, these are the spots we know are available. So I just want you to know that, what we hold on to in the values is maintaining our rigorous and exceptional educational
experience for students. So we won't hamper that in any way by packing students into a school or into a building. And we do remain, whenever possible within our class size limits. Sometimes that that gets exceeded because students who live within the boundary of that school come in in in larger clumps at a particular grade, but we don't exercise that through schools of choice. Another question that often comes up is, is transportation available? The short answer is no. We do not send buses into other districts to pick up students, nor do they send buses into hours.
But we do, when the fall period has settled and we're aware of seats that may be available on buses, we do allow families to apply. When they apply their responsibility is to get the student to the bus stop which is within the Ann Arbor boundary. So if that space is available and they can get the student to the bus stop the student may ride. So a little bit of the history, back in 2010, following some budget challenges and a loss of enrollment, which enrollment does fluctuate in the state of Michigan and in every district, that's when the AAPS began opening for limited schools of choice.
Each subsequent year since 2010 we have approved at least one schools of choice window in the district. Some of the important values that were set forth back then that we continue to follow, we're prioritizing our Anarbor public schools residents, our residents who live within the boundaries here. So that shows up in the way that we provide the in district transfer windows first. So families who reside here, they have two, windows of opportunities to apply for schools of their choice through the in district transfer option.
That whole process ends before the first school of choice window opens. That first school of choice window opens simultaneously with the final and third round of in district transfers. So those are happening at the same time. We place in districts first and then schools of choice. With schools of choice, we are allowed to prioritize siblings, but that's the only priority we're allowed to give. Otherwise, if we have to lottery, they all go into into that lottery. So, the lever that we have here,
which means we can, like the flow of a funnel, we can make that opening wider or narrower as we as we have spaces available in the district. And we've used it in that way many times over the last several years. Annually, we enroll between 305 students through schools of choice, every year. That's an average of 400. That represents, the 10% target that was set out as one of our values way back in 2010. So we maintain that 10%. The Schools of Choice mechanism with that roughly 400 students does bring in a per
pupil allowance of approximately 3,600,000. So if that mechanism were to shut down entirely, we would be losing enrollment annually and and that is what that enrollment would approximately equate to, is 3,600,000 in per pupil funding. We remain committed to staying within the 10% range. And some factors that I think are unique to Ann Arbor, which make the schools of choice window, really necessary for us, is that we have a very mobile district. I mean, we we definitely have families moving in and out pretty frequently in this in this
district. Many of our families are commuters to the University of Michigan and want their children to come with them as they commute in, to these schools. We've seen many cases where custody arrangements change, but probably one of the most significant factors that we've heard, a lot about from our teachers, is housing costs. So as those have risen, families have been forced in many cases to move out just like teachers and and employees. So when that happens, the schools of choice window is really the only way that people can have continuity to remain in our district but live outside our boundaries.
And we can share some figures of just how many families that has affected, just this past year. So it's it's quite a lot. Here's an example. For twenty four-twenty five, we enrolled a total of four ninety six students across our 32 schools, via the Schools of Choice windows. And of those four ninety six students, one hundred and 70 one students had already been attending with us and had to move. So it's a pretty high number. So we keep that in mind when we think about these these windows is we really do want to keep the students who've been with us and have that continuity
of learning for them. I think the only other thing that I would share is that this revenue area and the spots available is entirely adjustable for us and we do that pretty regularly. But the schools that are on our borders are by far the most attractive. So you'll see a higher rate of application happening for those those schools because they're closer to where the families live. So that means all the schools around the Northern the Western, lots in the Southern. So with that said we have three windows we are proposing.
These windows are similar to last year. They've been shifted by a day or two to match the calendar. The first window would open alongside the final round of IDT or in district transfer April 15 through May 14. The second window would open for schools of choice only June 3 through July 2. And then the third window we are proposing, which is just that last let's catch the families who had to move at the end of summer and allow them to stay with us, that will be July 24 through August 7. And last year,
I can give you the figures at each of those windows, how many, you know, we've enrolled at each window if you're interested in that. But that's that's pretty much the broad the broad overview of schools of choice. We'll take your questions. Thank you. Thank you so much, miss Linden. You bet. Trustee Baskett. Thank you, miss Linden. Excuse me. Regarding the per pupil, we we spoke about the students that we receive, and we get their pure pupil funding, which is often less than ours. Correct. What about the students that we lose through schools of choice as they go to other districts? Do they get our higher amount?
They do. They take the full ten six with them when they go. Thank you. And we do lose students to other districts as well. Thank you. I should have added that every district in the county is open for schools of choice. So we are not the only district by far. And then when will the schools, when will we know where we have space available? Which schools? So definitely before the window. What we need to post, up fifteen days before the window opens, which would be April 15. So before the April 1, we have to identify where those spaces lie.
Now we don't put the numbers of seats available. What we post is the school and the grade level. So if we know there's at least two spots, we'll post, and and make that an open area so we have that flexibility. If that school is someone's first choice and we actually can't offer it, then we'll go to the second choice or the third choice. Trustee Schmidt? Yes. So usually, you try to get a sense of who's coming back. Yes. Indeed. Right? It's a lot of work. You know, that's not exact science, really. So what happens if, you end up with seats open when we're about ready to start school?
Are there any late add on students to fill those slots because some families didn't come back, they moved, or whatever? Mhmm. Most definitely. We do reach out. We keep lists for each of these rounds of families who've applied. Many families are applying in multiple places so that they keep their options open. So just because they applied doesn't mean they will enroll with us. So if we notified a family and they didn't take the spot, we'll reach back out and say, would you reconsider? We still have a space available for you. If we do have to lottery and there's a wait list, we begin pulling people from the wait list.
And that's happened a couple of times, but it's kind of rare. Trustee Wilkerson. Thanks. Thanks for the presentation, miss Sure. Linden. Couple questions. The 10% target, that's total enrollment of current school of choice students and new. Correct. Correct. That's correct. Alright. And then, how do our windows align with other districts? They're pretty similar. We we offer that third window because we've learned the hard way that, there's there are roughly 25 families every year who, you know, they have busy lives.
They're moving, and they've realized that they've missed windows. And they call us after the schools of choice window has closed, and there's really nothing we can do for them at that point, other than seek a waiver from the district to release them to us. And that is a extremely rare occurrence. During COVID, there were agreements because of what was happening to families that we would release students to each other in Washtenaw County, and I'm really proud of that agreement, because all of us came together to center the needs of families.
But those days are over now. So we we are not guaranteed that any district will sign a waiver for us. In fact, the pat answer for most is no. So that third window is that last safety net and opportunity for families. Okay. Great. And then one other question. Just from a marketing standpoint, how do we distribute this information? Are we doing any advanced marketing or targeted marketing? That's a really good question. Do you wanna Yes. So we, we use our our typical communication channels. What what we do also have,
is an agreement with other districts that we won't, go and send send marketing materials into their communities. And so we learned the hard way, on that, in last year. And so we do have an agreement that we will not, send marketing materials into other districts. But we do use our our regular channels for communicating and and and PR and marketing. Okay. And is that just with other public schools? Yes. Okay. Yes. Trustee Mohammed. So I know you have the numbers for those windows. So I'm curious because we started the three windows last year.
We do. So it'd be interesting to hear those numbers first, like Absolute. I'll start with this first schools of choice window, which ran April 16 through May 10. So we had would you like the applications and then who actually enrolled? Also, I'll share that. I can put this on the slide with you as well. Those who were new to the Anarbor Public Schools, we had 308 applications and 177 accepted enrollment. Those who were current Anarbor students who had to move out, we had a hundred four apply, and we had 97 acceptance day.
So that's a really strong retention of current students. When we went to the second round, which was, May 29 through June 27, so we're deep into summer now and schools have closed, We had 160 new students apply and 69 actually enrolled, and we had 62 current AAPS students who had moved out during that window and 57 of them stayed with us. And then that final schools of choice round, which happened late July 25 through August 8,
we had 74 new students apply, 41 enrolled. And for those who were current AAPS, we had 22 families apply at at that late window and 17 of them enrolled with us. And then, no. Thank you for that because I think it does help because I know we added that last year, the extra, the third the third part. And then, I don't know if this was I think this was a question when we were talking about enrollment. But if it's possible for the board to get information about school of choice per
built, like, per building to try to figure out because we've gotten that report before, just to see, like, how is it impacting Individual buildings? Building. Yes. Sure. And we've gotten that report before, but I don't know if we had one, this recent one. I don't believe you have, but I can definitely prepare that. You got a follow-up to that or something there? Yeah. No. Just so I think you said maybe in this presentation something about once a student comes here, they're not pegged. They're you're a school of choice kid. You're part of our community.
That's right. And, I'm trying to tell me why you want that information. So it's been presented in the past, but just to see the impact question. Did you say it's been presented in the past? We've had that information in the past. I would I would have to look. I I don't No. I think we had this. I think it's just to see the impact that it's having as a board per bill, like, per building because you hear things from, you know, community comes, you know, they come up to you and say, well, you know, we're seeing all these school of choice kids. We're seeing all of these in district.
Just to get an idea of the impact even, like, where are they where are they all going. But it's not to to look at them differently because they're still our students, but to see the impact. So what but I'll talk with the team and see Yeah. See what what we might generate. So trustee Wilkins and trustee Wilkins. So I have a couple of questions. One is gonna be related to that, so you're not gonna have the answer right now. But how roughly just in general can you estimate how many school of choice students
there are at Thurston? So I actually do know the schools of choice numbers for Thurston because I anticipated that might come up. So in the 2425 school year, we had three kindergartners, five first graders, seven second graders, thirteen third graders, one fourth grader, and four fifth. So they're they're not full classroom sets, but they're there to fill in spaces. Could you give those those numbers again, please? Sure. Three at kinder, five at first, seven at second grade,
13 at third grade, one at fourth and four at fifth. And what percent, sorry President Feaster. The seven and a half. What percentage of that are of the student population? So in total, that represents 7.5% of the total pop population at Thurston from that enrollment last year. And it's an average of five per grade, but you can see that, third grade had far more open spots. So rather than collapse and lose a teacher, you can fill in and and make it more efficient.
I have a full class out. I have more questions. Of course. I know you do. Go ahead. Why well, one thing that, you and I talked about at a different time, but I'd like everyone to hear. Mhmm. So you said based on discipline. So Yes. If students, had been expelled or suspended in the past, but, can you talk about how you explained to me before that you don't just look at, oh, they got suspended and they you actually do some more review of the situation to see. Can you just speak to that a little bit?
So our core mission is, to keep kids in school. We think that's how they learn. And when you when you, exclude them from school, you're not just dealing with a discipline issue. You're telling them they don't belong. So it's a big deal to suspend a student. Not every district shares that philosophy. So some students, are suspended for what we would consider pretty frivolous things. So if it's a frivolous thing and we we investigate and we learn that's that's accurate, they were suspended for for getting their pencil five times in a month or whatever
it may have been, then we wouldn't let that stand in the way. But if it's something more serious, obviously and I think I think, miss Austin could also share more if you wanted some more details. Yeah. We even we go we take additional steps too, in the context of what miss, Linden is describing. We speak with the current school. We speak with parents, to find out details around what happened. So we do look into discipline when there are there seem to be kind of surface level behaviors that have resulted in out of school consequences.
Fantastic. Thank you. Another my last question for now. Why windows? Why not just, okay, open it up from, like, April to school starting? Yeah. It's a really good question. The windows are important because people wanna know and they wanna make decisions. And if you don't tell them, within a reasonable amount of time, you'll lose them. So they'll make a different decision because someone else has enrolled them, before you have. So Thank you. Yeah. Okay. I'm good. That's all. Trustee Wilks. Well, I just had a quick question.
I just know that what little bit I do know about schools of choice, and I'm learning a lot more tonight, that some districts say that AAPS is pushing their students from their district. And, you know, like you were saying, their per pupil funding comes to us. And I I don't know. I I would I would guess that we receive more more students are coming into our district than we're losing. Is that accurate or not? So in you'll see in the most recent enrollment report that we shared, we have an in and an out on that slide.
So in in some districts, it might even be pretty similar, who's coming in and who's going out. And a lot of times, it depends on where they live. Oddly, you can live really close to the border, and the school right on the other side is closer. So you may opt out of a APS and and go to that district because your child can walk. There are a million reasons why, you know, people choose. But I think the bottom line is if you're unhappy with your school district, you have choices Whether you go to the public school through a school of choice or you choose charter, or if you have the means,
you go private, you're going to choose a way. And so I think all of us in the county have understood that, particularly when we think about this administration and the goals they have for school vouchers for private school, that competition, you know, and that choice is only gonna get Exacerbated. More yeah. It'll it'll become exacerbated, far more complicated. We're probably gonna have to be looking at private school deadlines moving up and thinking about these windows differently if vouchers should become a thing. So Well, that was my next question. Have we considered targeting more private schools and more,
families who were opting for for private schools. Yeah. I believe that AAPS offers a lot for families. I do too. And, yeah, we should we should leverage that. Use it to to, you know, improve our increase our enrollment. I could not agree more. I will say, many adjustments have been made to the way that we, market and share information with families. You may recall in the past, for kindergarten roundup, they were happening all over and and we condensed them all and placed them in February so that every family could visit as many of those schools as they wanted,
think about where their kindergartner should go, have what they needed. We've done the same thing with curriculum night and information nights. We've staggered them so they can go see a middle school and a high school and not miss out if they have children at both levels. So we've made a lot of really strategic systemic changes in order to make the information available to families. What I think is really interesting is that each time those things happen, I think the private schools kind of back up a little bit, their deadlines to make your deposit. So we're we're always gonna be, I think,
in that place. But our discussion recently with our administrators has been we probably need to move those information events much sooner. So we'll be talking about that. Thank you. You bet. What's the truth if you have something else right now? Just that what once a student comes and they become part of our community, we can't uninvite them Correct. And say your schools of choice so you're second class or you have to go back. Correct. We don't revoke their enrollment in addition. Hours. Trustee Baskin? But to clarify, we do ask that they let us know they're coming back every year.
Absolutely. I mean, as trustees, you will get that call, God forbid, of that parent who Mhmm. Didn't let us know of their last contact information, I e, phone numbers, emails, or whatever. And you will get that very, very sad call of, you know, can you make an exception, because the school says there's no space or whatever. So, again, this is an early advice to parents. Keep your information updated, correct, and please respond by the deadlines when we say I mean, especially for schools of choice because these are parents who come to us for a
reason, you know, and we would hate to have to turn them because we didn't know what happened. They didn't respond to the con to the messages and the phone calls. I mean, I've known of principals who go to the door and find out that they they don't live there anymore. So, you know, just to be mindful. Absolutely. And I I will just, reinforce what you just said, trustee Baskett, and remind folks that we are in open enrollment right now. So if you have not updated your information in PowerSchool and you have not, said yes, I'm coming back, this is our campaign.
It's happening right now. And if you have neighbors who have what looks like school age children, ask them. Have you have you completed your enrollment? Get in there, because it does help us with more accuracy when we perform these windows. Any other questions, trustees? So just to emphasize, this is a $3,600,000 piece of our budget. That's correct. So if we don't approve it, I don't know of any other way to make up that 3.6. Maybe others do. But just to be mindful. Yeah. Again, children aren't dollars,
but they are part of our budget. This is the way we, you know, generate revenue. So Correct. Just to be mindful. Thank you. Absolutely. Thank you for that. Alright. If there are no other questions, I believe there is a suggested motion. Is there a motion at this time? So moved. Second. Motion to approve limited schools of choice for the 2526 school year moved by trustee Schmidt, and it was supported by trustee Wilkes. Any additional discussion? Seeing none, Ms. Olcinski, please. Trustee Wilkins? Yes. Trustee Wilkes?
Yes. Trustee Mohammed? Yes. President Feaster? Yes. Trustee Basquiat? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Motion carries. Yeah. Thank you, miss London. Appreciate it. Thank you, miss London. And that brings us down to letter b. Motion to move forward with the Thurston project That was, moved by Trustee Baskett. Trustee Baskett, please. Yes. Thank you, President Feaster. So, again, I move that we move forward with the Thurston project as currently designed. I appreciate the study session and I appreciate the great questions that all of the
trustees have brought forth. Although this information we have stated was stated before in various iterations, it was wonderful to see again, the subject matter experts tell it directly, whether it was more credible or whatever. It was consistent with what we said before. So, I did reach out to all of the trustees, to see if there were any additional questions or concerns. I heard from all but one. Of course, this is the time to raise any more other questions or concerns, but I think it's time for us to focus on all of our students and
move forward with the best, decision as soon as possible for the Thurston families. One thing I'll add, because there's been a lot of comments this evening about the financial component of the plan and how that could, impact our decision. For me personally, the financial component that was offered $9,000,000 12 million dollars whatever it was, that that's not a strong consideration for me personally. My primary focus is staging and whether or not it is reasonable and realistic to be able to do so. In terms of the finances, the reason why that's not a major consideration for me is because at one point,
this district considered building a staging school. That would be far more than 9 or $12,000,000 So that's not something that is impacting my decision. My decision making is only based on what's the best plan for Thurston moving forward? Should we stage? Should we separate a community? How is it going to be most beneficial for the community? I've shared that with, a number of people here, and I've done as much research as I could possibly think to do. I've read all the emails. I've had Zoom meetings with parents for,
parents against. I've went out to Thurston. I've walked the grounds. I've I've done everything I can think to do to get as good a grasp on this as possible. It is a tough situation, whatever we decide. But if we if we have to vote today, I I'm prepared to to cast a vote based on the information we have and the circumstances. If the board looks not to vote, I'm fine with that also. Should we get a second on this motion? Yeah. For start discussion? Because we've got one earlier that was moved by trustees That was that was just to add it to the agenda?
Sorry. You're correct. So it's it's moved again by trustee Baskett. Is there support again supported. Moved, supported by trustee. Thank you, trustee. I'm confused. Are we We're still in discussion. We're still in discussion about whether to move forward, or we're still in discussion about whether to add it as an item that we're voting on? It's already added. It's already voting to move forward as planned. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So so it's been moved by trustee Baskett, supported by trustee Schmidt. Mhmm. Now we're in the discussion phase where we're discussing where we are on the project and and any questions we might have.
Now is the time to raise those those questions and address them with fellow trustees. And staff. Trustee Wilkins. The timing. So, trustee Wilkerson in the finance committee report, you said that we would if we were going to change this, the bonds the next issuance of bonds that would be paying for this or not as the case may be. We have to decide on that by you said March. March tenth. March '3. Three '10. March Okay.
Tenth. So that's Before our next meeting on March 12. Before our next meeting on March 12. Okay. That's a thing. I have a couple questions for the capital projects team. Do we Yes. Or okay. I wanted to just in this public space, I I was bothered last night by the presentation that the play space was going to be increased with this current plan.
And I get the I'm in marketing, so I get that it's the actual dedicated play space is more, 10% more, I think you guys said. But the lawn, you know, the mode space, the green space, Is it fair to say that there'll be less room for a kid to go out and play soccer than there is now or than there would be with the staging situation? Good evening, trustees. Good evening. The question is, on the new site, will there be less room for a child to go play soccer?
That's correct? Yeah. There won't be less room for a child to play a soccer game with other children. There will be less lawn area. Kid could kick a soccer ball around, but the area that we have not counted as dedicated play area is a treed area. It has lawn and tree. It's not intended for the purpose of play. It can be used to run around in, but it is not it's not intended. So, you know, what we look at is are we providing generous play space? Land. And is it commensurate with what we have elsewhere in the district?
And the answer is yes to that. Okay. And there's there seems to be more of the buffer, like, the unmowed natural buffer. Mhmm. Is that is there a reason for that? Like, is that a trend? Do we not want as much grass being mowed for environmental reasons? Or what's the reasoning behind that? Yeah. We do wanna increase natural buffers and decrease lawns, and we're looking to do that. You can look here at Earhart. The parking lot is not a mowed area.
Effectively, the way we mow now is was established a long time ago when we thought of lawns differently than we do now. A well mowed area was thought to be the well kept area, but now the culture is changing and we're expecting and I'll call it rewilding of these areas. That's really probably not the right term, but areas that are going back to more robust habitats like natural buffers, that's what we're doing. So what we're what we're looking for is what is the right amount of play
space and what other areas don't need to be mowed. And that's what the plan establishes for all of our schools, not just theirs. Okay. So there's gonna be a change in Yes. The area that's being mowed, whether it's gonna be, regardless of what plan goes forward, whatever new Yes. Site Yes. Ends up. Yes. All of our projects will have less mode area. Less mode area. Have adequate play space. And more natural buffer. Yes. Okay. Alright. Can I pay back on that?
And it's also cost. I mean, mowing, that's all maintenance work. Yes. Right? So that that's a cost cutting. Yep. That's two bonus. Yeah. Next question. What are do I do I want me to get their minds? Okay. Two points, please. The I've learned so much about construction that I never know. Grammed aggregate peers that are being suggested because of the different kind of soil. Is that a plan? Is that Yes. Is that part of the plan? Yes. Was it always part of the plan?
As soon as we found that we had soils that required it. Yes. Okay. That's why we do soil test to know what what conditions we're dealing with. Sure. Yep. So how I know you're not gonna have exact numbers, but it seems like those would be really expensive. They're moderately expensive. They're considered part of the normal operation. I think you heard last night from g two. We always find I just call them punky soils. Soils that are not suitable for a foundation, and we mitigate those at all of our sites. So the strategies are different depending on the depth of the layer and the composition
of the soil. This is why we do soil tests so that we know how to design foundations. That's very common. So, yes, it does add costs, but our budgets assume that soils will need mitigation. We just don't assume all the soils are perfect everywhere. Okay. So that's built into the plan and the budget for the schools and things like that? Yes. Okay. Quick clarification on that that point. Do we have an estimate or an estimate of how much those additional plans are today to mitigate the soil that I don't I don't have a figure for you're
saying if the soils were perfect, what the cost be and compared to the mitigation measures? We can work on that. I don't have a figure. Mhmm. I was gonna say. First of all, I just wanna clarify if I heard correctly yesterday that, the rammed aggregate piers were not for the whole site. They were actually for a corner of the building. So the cost that we're talking about would not be, significant. We can find out what that price difference would be, but, I just wanna make it clear it's not for the whole site
or for the whole building. Another thing to consider, we don't know that any other location on the site has better soils. We did not test the whole site. We tested where the building location was Go. Was projected to be. So to say that the rest of the site is less expensive, that's an unknown. The other thing also to consider is that if, we were to put a two story building, which is a different weight ratio than what is currently for a single story building, that doesn't mean that, we wouldn't be right back in the same, kind of design. So
Correct. Is there is there any order of magnitude that you would guess? I mean, are we talking 500,000? I I don't have those numbers off the top of my head. I'm sorry. It's it's not it's not a million. I can tell you that. It but what the numbers are exactly, I don't have those in front of me. But it's built into the current budget. Yes. It is. And it's earthwork operations so that we can have standard foundations. So it's it's earthwork measures. Therefore, it's not it's not extremely costly. If we had enormous foundations,
that would be a different animal. So based on what you just said, is it even possible to build a two story building in the spot where the current low building is located? My guess would be no, but I don't know. It's possible, but we don't know what the soil conditions are. Okay. Alright. When the building was built, it's doubtful soil condition testing like we do today was conducted. It's operated fine, but as Stephanie said, it's designed for a certain load. We would know only after we test it, and we would test. Mhmm. Got it. My next question's about the Nixon Road
situation. So can you explain again the, working with the city, what's been done, what hasn't what's expected to be done that where that sits. I didn't get enough of that yesterday. Sure. So the conversations we've had with the city, coordinating their project on Nixon Road with our project at New Logan have traffic reports on both sides, on their side and on ours. And the design of our traffic ports is assuming King will stage at Old Logan and arrive there by bus.
So traffic engineers talk about trips. A bus is one trip with 70 children. A car might be one trip with one child. So the amount of trips that are involved with parents dropping off versus buses driving is significantly different. And the trips, it's not the only thing they look at, but the trips is one of the main things they look at. So trips for Old Logan would be very limited in the staging model because it's buses only and staff. Trips to New Logan would be parents, etcetera. So those figures have been accounted for. If we are sending parents in cars to both schools,
that is double the amount of trips and they're all passing through this Nixon Corridor roundabout. We have not provided data to the city about that, so their designs don't currently account for that. The likelihood that we have backups onto Nixon Road from Old Logan is great because we currently do. Yeah. And that will be a problem at a roundabout. So there is likely if we were to send parents in cars to both schools, there's likely a repercussion to the current traffic design and the need to revisit something.
Mhmm. We just don't know what, but it isn't likely a small, gesture to fix it. It's likely to be something more significant. But so right now, the city you're saying you hey, city. You need to accommodate this many trips. And the city is saying, okay? Or not not quite. We we share our track modeling with them, and they say we're good. Uh-huh. We have not shared with them that there's double amount of parents. We cannot guarantee that they're gonna be good with it. Okay. But we do know we have backups onto Nixon from Old Logan today Right.
And that's an issue. Okay. And what's being done with that issue? You're just bugging them about it until they fix it? The problem goes away when we move across the street with New Logan. Oh, I see. But if we're sending parents to Old Logan to stage in vehicles, not in on buses Mhmm. Then the traffic still backs up onto Nixon. Okay. So it's solved by new Logan. Alright. Thank you. You got it. If I could add Yes. Trustee. To the conversation. I I did not report out on this because I have not been able to confirm with the councilwoman. But as I understand via email,
the traffic I wanna say traffic safety commission, and miss Margolis, maybe you can clarify the title if I get it incorrect, with the city. They have heard from the residents of Ann Arbor regarding our projects. They have heard from the residents that, we've indicated we'd like a little more coordination, collaboration, whatever you wanna call it, with the city staff. They have passed at this commission a resolution basically encouraging city staff to be more cooperative, more collaborative with us on these current projects.
Again, I have not been able to confirm the intention. At first, I took it as an affront that our team wasn't being a collaborative lead. But in talking with other city council people this past Saturday, it was no. Would they really want to encourage staff because they know how important this is. This is important. They've heard the residents, and they've also heard of the need for, increased traffic mitigation, shall I say. We got a sense and and, again, Von team, I don't wanna speak for you, but got a sense that they weren't as encouraging as we had hoped.
I look forward to seeing a change in that stance based on, again, this, the report out that I got regarding this last committee. So for those of you who may either be in city school committee or, traffic safety committee, know that our presence, our voice is important. And, again, they have heard from the residents, and hopefully, things will go a little more smoother if that helps, trustee. No. Thank you for the question. Good question. Trustee Mohammed. It was just related to that. So you're saying that it wasn't planned that there would be traffic going to New
Logan and Old Logan at the same time. Is that what I'm hearing? Because isn't isn't King gonna be staged in So what what has been shared repeatedly with the city is the traffic evaluation for the current plan. Okay. All the numbers, all the calculations, everything has has been shared repeatedly and regularly with the city and coordinated with the city with the current plan. Mhmm. If we change or deviate from the current plan, then there is a series of studies and evaluations and potential changes that would occur
because they don't have that information because we have not done the studies and we have not shared that information with them. That's what Kevin is mentioning. It could be additional costs, and that is the unknown that was in the presentation. The current plan has been coordinated with the city in hand in hand with that project. With the current plan of staging King at Old Logan. All of those considerations are factored into the the current plan. So if Logan or not Logan. So it's the same amount of traffic.
Because if Old if let's say, Thurston gets staged in Old Logan at the same time that New Logan's open, it's the same amount. Because it's both gonna both both buildings are gonna be It's it's the clarification and correct me because I might not understand either. But it is the clarification you're saying in terms of trips, when you're talking about buses, you're referring to parents, dropping off their children to their home school and then being bussed to wherever we would stage them as opposed to what I think we're talking about now is where
parents might actually drive their kids to the staging school, increasing the amount of traffic and trips in addition to those who come on bus. That's correct. And I think that is the distinction between the two. Yeah. And and, parents parents who are who have students at King will bring their students to King Yeah. They would then get on a bus. There'd be 10 trips. But the likelihood that parents would drive their children to Thurston to get on a bus to go two blocks is is not very high.
They are more likely to go directly to the staging school. And in that scenario, we would have two sets of parents driving. And for that scenario, we don't have a So I think that's the distinction. Okay. Okay. Thank you. My other question is about our special needs learners. So I don't know who to ask that to or if that can be addressed. Cool. Thank you, guys. I'm sure other people are gonna have questions. Ask the question and hopefully someone will be able to answer. What I wanna know is and I know there's not a I know saying a
typical ASD student is not a good phrase, so I apologize for that. But maybe, the majority of ASD students. Is it going to be a less optimal situation for them to be in a school while there's construction going on outside? Or is it gonna be a less optimal situation for them to be moved to a different location and maybe dropped off at one school and then bus to another school and back. Yeah.
I don't think I can answer that in terms of most because kids vary, you know, kids are different each each student. But what I what I can say is we have students now with a variety of needs who are doing school where there's construction going on and has been going on during the school day. Our school teams have tools that they use, to amplify the inside of the classroom sound. All of our classrooms are equipped with it to help with drowning out background noise.
Our teams are trained and experienced when students who have sensory needs are, getting to the point where they need some additional support. And we have not had parents requesting to leave, Scarlet and Clay in other schools where we have had active construction while students are in the building, because their students can't who have sensory needs can't tolerate the construction. So I can't speak to your original question because kids are I mean, it varies from child to child.
Okay. I can just tell you what our experience is, where we have had construction going on in the schools during the day with students present. And and should they have those issues, then we would try to accommodate them if they wanted to go to a different pool. Yeah. I mean, there there are a host of reasons why families might wanna leave or or not, and that would all be worked out at the school level. As it is now, I mean, that's no different from our typical process now. Are any of those schools that you're bringing up as an example,
elementary schools? So the two schools that I was talking about were Clay and Scarlet. Yep. Mhmm. So do we have examples of elementary schools? Pardon me? Do we do we have examples of elementary schools? No. I'm just talking about Claige and Scarlet. Okay. Yeah. But what happened at a two steam? We added a wing. That's true. Students were in the building for a two steam during construction, and that was a build out and up, at a two steam while students were there. I'd like to call So that was some years ago. Go ahead.
The construction was for the wing was done over the summer. Okay. As we will do I was about to say, which is which is actually consistent with with what we've said is going to be the case at our schools now. Right. That most of the major work is going to be done over the summer. So, trustee Wilkerson's comment makes perfect sense. Did you have something to add? I'm sorry. Yes, please. I didn't know what the protocol was. Yes. Mitchell's wing was, a new second story wing constructed over an occupied first story over the course of
more than just the summer. So we were constructing the Second Floor while instruction was occurring on the First Floor below. And that's a two steam man when we built other additions adjacent to other school classrooms at the same time. It starts over the summer. We do the heaviest work over the summer, but you can't build an eight classroom wing over another wing in ten weeks. Okay. All of the projects we do have always been started in the summer and if they're significant, they extend into the school year. And they occur on sites and in schools that are occupied,
except for Skyline and, Roberta Clemente. Thank you. So just to clarify, students were present in the building when a two steam was under construction. Correct. Okay. Thank you. Did you have additional questions? For now. Thank you. You're done for now? Any other questions, trustees? Well, I wanted to revisit the, question about bonds. Actually, we sort of addressed this in the finance committee meeting. And, so my concern I know there was a question about possibly or thoughts about possibly delaying the sale of bonds. I think that's what Determines. Yeah.
And, so my concern was how would that affect our bond rating? And, Mr. Dimitrios said that it would have an impact. So, I just wanted to sort of put that out there since it was said during the finance committee meeting. And I just wanted to put out put it out there, since we are in a regular meeting just so that the public knows. And I'm just wondering if there are any thoughts on that. The fact that it would impact our rating. In a negative way? Oh, yeah. So my understanding of what was presented is it could factor rating. There's a number of factors that go into that.
And he couldn't specifically state how or if it would impact the rating. It just it was a long time ago, but I used to be a municipal bond rating analyst. So it Love to have those guys. And putting things off didn't, you know, it show it actually showed fiduciary responsibility. So it didn't it didn't affect the rating. I mean, it could I don't know if what if that's what he was referring to or not, but I don't think it necessarily Well, and I think that when you talk about maybe bonds related to maybe schools,
it might be a little different. I don't know. But, he said it could. He didn't say it would not, but he said that it could. Okay. Before before we move forward, I just wanted to, bring to trustees' attention, we did receive an email, from someone who spoke. I want you to have all the information before you vote. And the email was about the teacher engagement. So in case you wanted to look at that, that is in your email. Thank you, president Feaster. So again go ahead, trustee Moham. I'm sorry. So, I know I asked this, you know, last night, but I wanted to know if there's any specifics. So the question came up is even if we staged,
the building would still have to face north. Can you give me because I mean, I I'm a visual person and, like, why exactly does it have to be pushed north still and still impact the nature center? Because I know you were saying, like, there was things that are underneath and and I I wanna get a little bit more specifics because it's almost like if we don't like, regardless of what we decide, stage or not, the building is still gonna be in the same spot.
And I think it's important for us to know specifics of why. I I think they said the geothermal was gonna be north and the the fire lane was gonna be north, and that will move the building closer to the nature center. But if they wanna clarify any further for the South Yeah. That's what I was trying to figure out where I'm a visual person. So I Do you have your presentation from last night? Maybe that would help, trustee. I don't think that. I don't think it was in there. It was no. The drawing, though. I don't have that on. It is. It is. Okay. Which What? Do we know it's slide or page?
No. We will look at So I I will I will, yeah. Yeah. I I it was given by our the one of the professionals the exact reason. So it's a you know, if they had something to say about stormwater, We had talked about, the requirements for fire lanes. So we would have to go back to last night's presentation to to see it, but I know that our professionals addressed it. I I don't wanna misspeak and and, give, not a % accurate information. They said it better than I I could probably say it. But it's in my where it was I'm sorry.
Just to clarify. I was looking for a slide that would give you a visual of the plan. Right. Not an explanation of what he said last night. Right. The visual of the plan is in in there in the packet. But I think what the idea was is if the if we went with the let Thurston play idea, then they were saying that the it will still move closer to the nature center because that vacant space would likely be used for the geothermal, and we'd have to have the fire lane that also went towards the nature center.
So it will still move in that direction. Now how how much we'd have to they'd have to do all the the testing and measuring and all that, but it was still moving that direction some. It's what I think I understood yesterday. I think you wanna look for alternate Yes. I think you wanna look for alternate plan numbers already. '79 or '81? Eighty '1. Yeah. That's oh, I'm sorry. The yeah. Yeah. Slide 79. This plan This plan is, not quite workable because of the bus loop and the stormwater solutions that are shown
in the fire lane. To make it workable, the building would move a little further north. But the play fields are already requiring the the relocation of the butterfly garden. What would be salvaged here is we wouldn't transplant 12 oak trees to the area immediately adjacent to where they are now. That would be the reduction in impact on the Thurston Nature Center. But the play area would still be in the back? Not necessarily. We we don't recommend it be in the back. We don't think it's as good a fit as what we have in the current plan,
but it's possible. And in doing so, we would regrade the entire area. And the geothermal would be under the play fields? In all likelihood? Yeah. Yeah. K. And I got one closer to the pond. And then I got a I got a follow-up. Just a quick quick question. Because I was looking at the plan prior to, you know, because initially it was set for staging and I understand why it wasn't staged, you know, initially. But also based on the FCA number, which is 18, If I understood that, that means that there is it's it's not a priority compared to the other schools,
which is like King and Logan, unless it does not have to be staged. That's why it went forward. Correct. Okay. So really when I look at the overall timeline, it was originally slated between to be done between 2,027 and 02/1929. But because it was not staged anymore, it had to move it got to move forward. When you say originally slated, what what are you referring to? Based on what the what the, timeline, the when the board approved the bond timeline and the plan,
that's what was approved originally. But again, it didn't work out because we didn't have the building You to be able to stage it. You might be referring to the approval of the phase one portion of the bond where, that was all that was approved was phase one. In that presentation, we showed our thinking at the time on the rest of the projects, but that was all still in development. We then came back to the Board two years later for approval of the Phase two portion. So what appears in the Phase one bond for timelines beyond phase one, a snapshot in time.
And it was that portion was not approved, just the phase one portion was. Okay. So when so phase two, where is that on the web I mean, I see the whole the whole timeline. I'm just trying to understand Yep. Why again, because it was ranked that it could wait, but then, you know, because of the staging, it it moved forward. We didn't have to stage it anymore. What you all have seen in all the presentations we've done for the timeline is the phase two timeline. Okay. There was a whole other presentation for phase one where we got approval from the
board for the first six years. Yeah. And in that time, we wanted to provide context for our thinking, but we did not seek approval for that nor do we get approval for what happened beyond. So the approval was primarily the phase one. Only the phase one. And really phase two was not it was just what Correct. Was modified, but that did not require Right. Approval at that time. At the time, we were pursuing acquisitions that would have given us k eight staging schools as magnet schools. Yeah. We did not find any property that was suitable. So the staging school we heard earlier tonight,
the staging school that would have been constructed wouldn't have served as just a staging school. It would become a magnet k eight. And that was the strategy in the sectors of the district. But none of that panned out. And that was what occurred in the two years after the phase one plan was was was approved. And it is why the phase two plan is the way it is. Yeah. Because I wasn't on the board then. That's why I was trying to figure out the timeline. But based on, again, if it wasn't that they're they didn't require staging, they could've based on, like,
the f FCA score, it could could still wait. Like, it's not right? Or Well, they're ranked lower than King and Logan. Well, that's yes. Whether they can wait is a different question. It has to do with enrollment pressures, etcetera. Of course. But in the FCA, they are below King and Logan. Okay. But, yeah, I understand there's other other things that changed, like enrollment has increased there. There's a lot of other factors, but I was just trying to understand the time the time. It it's also important to note that, the plan, when we provided the additional options for staging,
none of that can incorporate letting, old Logan, sit for any period of time more than a year. So that's important to note. Go ahead. One Bring it up. Just one one clarification on the the waiting, with Thurston. We conditioning as part of the early work, commitment to all of our schools across the district to provide air conditioning and learning environments. And Thurston did not receive those air conditioning improvements because of this proposed current plan.
And so they don't have that, benefit. And so that that is just one of the considerations. So I guess for me, it it all starts and ends with staging. Do trustees have a position on the staging options that what we've discussed? These splitting up the community, the, old Logan, new Logan. I mean, that's for me where it starts and ends in terms of how we move forward. Trust me, folks. I have a thought about I'm I'm I'm against staging, particularly when it involves, splitting up a community. As a former second grade teacher at Burns Park,
I can't tell you how how much I relied on my fourth grade buddies, reading buddies, to come down and, you know, model not only their great reading skills, but also just modeling their leadership skills. And I know that there were various, you know, families with siblings, maybe a second grader and a fourth grader. The fourth graders were on the Second Floor. I I would be completely against splitting up a community. Okay. It's just so important to keep the community together. And I know, you know, some folks are saying it won't be a big deal,
but I think it is. And, again, as a as a former teacher in this district, I just know how important it is to to have all grade levels k through five together. Okay. Thank you. Other thoughts? I guess I would add on to that personally. You know, I think we go through these transitions. Our families do. We have we host preschools at combined locations and then ask our youngest and most vulnerable kids to then go back to their neighborhood schools to start kindergarten. So, personally, I you know, I I I'm not opposed to staging.
It's not an ideal situation by any means. If we can avoid it, it's, you know, it's always the best option to not implore that type of decision. But I think it's also a consideration of the long term impact to the community and school, and whether or not that short term, you know, few year impact would be worth it. Trustee Mohammed? Yeah. I know I know I've asked this before, but, just one thing that I kind of wish we had more of is, like surveying. I mean, I'm all about surveys and I know that,
you know, we received a survey, that volunteers put together for getting input from teachers. And I wish I was able to have more from, like, what parents are thinking, you know, what the students are thinking teachers because the priority is I mean, yes, there's there's the the community around, but the priority is definitely hearing out what how the teachers feel, how the students feel, and then how the parents. So I know that there was some engagement early on.
I mean, do we have any of that data as far as what was done earlier? Talk about the engagement process just to kinda clear up what, what the engagements were that occurred with the staff. So I'll have them come back up to touch on that. Yeah. That one. The question was what sorts of engagements do we have with staff? The the process for engagements for all of our schools is similar. It starts when the project starts, we meet with the principal and we define a design advisory team, which is comprised of as many grade level representatives as possible,
sometimes parents, sometimes, members of the community. Usually, eight to 12 people are involved. They're selected by the principal. The idea is that they are they wear as many hats as possible. Some might be parents and teachers, etcetera. They form the core of the design team. We meet with them eight times. Four of those meetings involve the rest of the staff as well for our typical projects. And the engagement process is it starts with ideas. The staff is asked, you know, what is what do our students need for their future?
It is eventually tied back to the facilities that are created for teaching and learning and how can they support what students and teachers need for the future. And then after a few of those, some exemplar image images are shown and eventually site plans or or building plans are developed. But it starts at the ideal level first. And we get, generally, we get consensus on what students and teachers need for the future. When we meet with staff, the same process occurs. It's a staff meeting typically that we're allowed to come into or often given forty
five minutes over ninety minutes of the staff meeting, something like that. It's a shortened version and effectively it is sharing with the staff what we've covered with the design advisory team, what our workshops have been. There is a workshop engagement that happens typically when we meet with the staff, but it's a shortened version to engage the full staff and share with them what we've discussed with the design advisory. For Thurston, we met with the staff five times, which is more than we have with the rest of the school. Can't say that everyone gets what they want. Right? We had concerns raised,
definitely. The team adjusted to those concerns. Last meeting we had, we had no concerns expressed. When was the last meeting? In December of twenty twenty four. And and so they have seen the building and the site and everything and they've given input at each process? Yes. Okay. And the cons you know, I do I I do wanna say too that the concerns, that are outlined in the materials that we received from our community here are concerns that I would expect that staff at any school where there's going to be construction
on their grounds to have. Their concerns are trying to teach with act act active construction. I I get that. The negative impact on learning. I get that. Noise during construction. So these are what I would expect that staff at all of our schools that are going to be having construction to have. And it's not I don't say that to minimize the concern, the concerns here, but to just kind of contextualize that these are understandable concerns that are being expressed. I get why they have them. And we also understand that the staff did not feel like the process was relatable and,
took into account all of the the thinking that they had. We have completely, owned that that did not resonate for them and have made the changes for future engagements based on the feedback that we've received. But I I again, I'm not minimizing the concerns that they have. These are concerns that I expect that our staffs at all of our construction, schools receiving construction will have. Missy Wilks. And I would also like to, well, I'm just wondering, has the union approached you at all, superintendent parks,
about the teachers concerns? Because I was actually expecting Fred Klein to mention something about possibly teachers concerns tonight, but he didn't mention anything at all. Yeah. So I'm just wondering how do you how the union stands on this. Here's what I'll say about that. I I really would not expect them to. I do not expect the teachers will wait into this fray. Teachers have relationships with their families and their students that they wanna preserve and maintain, and they don't wanna get between this. Right? So I would not expect our teachers or our teacher union to wait into the
fray. This is for us to figure out. So, yeah, I just I don't have any expectation that they would have done that, And I completely understand why. Yeah. Thank you. If if I can add, union leadership, if there's differing of opinions, it's a little difficult for you to come in and speak to one side or the other. So if people have, you know, concerns. I do think that, comments that were made earlier that when there are situations as professionals, that are running the building, that are managing the building in whatever the situation is, You know, if there's a day where we have something back up and you have a part
of the building, we deal with those. Because our our biggest concern is are the children under our care? Was there any discussion around the modernization approach? Trust is comfortable with that not being the trustee that's clear? To me, that is the least desirable. Okay. That is to me the most insulting of all. We talk about equity. Okay? How is that equitable to say on one side of town, you get a totally new rebuild. And on this side of town, because of what are we giving you less than?
It's also inefficient. I mean, the team has talked about, you know, the energy savings. Okay? Again, not being able to use the building as optimally as possible. So to me, that is the least desirable. Thank you. Right. Looks like there's few of Trustee Wilkins. I just wanna speak up the, I am in favor of staging if at all possible. And I want to get to a point where I feel like we've investigated absolutely every option that there is.
And I agree I don't want to split up, community. I think I hear you about your fourth graders helping your second graders and that kind of thing. However, to Don's or to trustee Wilkerson's point, I don't think preschool or young fives even would necessarily, you know, I'd feel again, none of these situations are okay, but I I wouldn't mind exploring the option of I guess it is splitting up the community in that way, to see what those options are. So But I don't
So we're we're at a point where we're talking about potentially voting. Right. So I guess the question I have is if we were to take out the preschoolers, that still doesn't get us to the right number from what we heard yesterday. Well, we've got a plan in front of us that I haven't had a chance to look at yet. But Yeah. I think it's discuss that now, or do you are you suggesting we, not vote tonight? The the sheet that led Thurston played, passed out at the start of the meeting? That was a plan? That's a new yeah. That's a new way to start that stage it. So I have a motion on the table,
mister president. Right. Could I add some context? Please. Please. Yes. So, I guess, for me personally, you know, I think the presentation was great. I commend the capital projects team for putting together the information, pursuing, some, you know, pursuing at least ideas around the primary constraints that you're bound with and working beyond. We heard a lot of information yesterday, yesterday, and personally, I feel like a lot of that information was new or at least it wasn't documented previously. So I think there was a lot to digest.
We were here extremely late after a five and a half hour meeting, and, we've received additional information today. Based on the the timing of any impact to the bonds, personally, I think we should, look at potentially voting on the Thurston project at a special meeting next week, to give us a little bit more time to perform analysis and, consider other factors. Sounds like we will have at least one trustee who who would present. I think our superintendent is also out, some of next week. So we will be doing this without a trustee and a superintendent if we wait
till next week. So I think we realistically will probably go to to that the tenth or the twelfth to a meeting on that day if we're gonna try to try to I I know there's a motion on the table. But we have to do the bonds before that. Well, I think he said the tenth was the He said the tenth was the date that they really wanted to know, the final to select the final number. So could it be the eleventh? Be some flexibility in that, but we would have to con Yeah. It was around that around that time. I don't know if that's a hard mistake.
So our our meeting is on the twelfth. Obviously, we could meet on the twelfth and then and discuss it. If we don't vote tonight, I know there's a motion on the table. We could discuss it and decide then, or we could seek a meeting on Monday, the tenth, if if people are available, or we can move forward with the vote tonight. So those are the those are the dates that I see that are most realistic in terms of trying to give trustees additional time if that's what they're what they're see. Nope. Trustee Mohammed? So I know I could I could actually, bring up a motion to table this to a different to a different day.
We have to vote on this or the trustee have left to withdraw her motion first, but, yes. For a substitute for I thought you can actually table it. Like, you can put another motion to table. I'll defer to miss Olinsky or Pearl of That's been done before. Yeah. So I would like to motion to table it to which day? Which day is it? You said the tenth. We would have to either do the tenth, Monday the tenth, or the twelfth, which is our next regular meeting date. President Feaster, I'm going to again push for a vote. Well, I'm I I have a motion. I'm motioning to table.
So and then we still have to vote for it. So what day works for the tenth or the twelfth? Ten. I'm sorry. We're talking about an additional date. So I I think maybe the twelfth. Okay. So I would motion to table the vote, until, the twelfth. So March 12. Are we sure that the bonds won't already have been issued by then or asked for or whatever that Miss Parks, I I think there was Yeah. Seemingly enough flexibility there. Yeah. The the March 10 date was not a hard and fast date.
It was a preferred based on the rating call that the bond, folks have with the venture. Yep. So I have the motion. So the motion on the table is to table this, vote until the twelfth. And I'm only doing this because, just to make sure trustees have all their questions because this is a big decision, all their questions answered. I don't know if there's a second. I'll second that. Moved by trustee Mohammed, supported by trustee Wilkins. Any additional discussion? Trustees, there will always be additional questions.
Right. And there'll be always the opportunity for someone else to slap another piece of paper on our table, call it a plan, and have questions. At some point, we have to move forward. If you're not comfortable with moving forward as I proposed, you have the right to vote no. What are we I'm not quite sure what you hope to I'm sorry. That's what I was gonna ask. Go ahead. I'll let you formulate. So so what are we hoping to have received by March 12 to impact our decision making? So just to give people time to process because we just got all we had
a long study session yesterday. There was a lot of information and, you know, so that all the trustees feel like I mean, some some are ready to vote and then some maybe not. So to give them some time to process it, look at everything rather than, you know, after twenty four hours, having to make a big decision. So if we have this on the table and let's say some trustees will vote no, but not because they don't wanna they don't agree with the plan, but maybe just they don't have all the information. I think we're putting people in a in a tough spot at that at that
point. I guess my question is, what additional information are we hoping to receive? I think we're at the point now where we know that staging the entire school is not feasible at older Logan. We would have to separate out, as this proposal suggests, the two pre k classes and the young fives. Is that something the trustees are weighing as a consideration? Because if that is not, then what are we wait waiting for? May I ask because, Leslie, you and I had a conversation Mhmm. That, and I don't wanna speak for you,
but I I thought about what you had said, about you just wanna make sure that all staging options are available have been told to us. And I I thought about that, and I thought, you know, I know that I mean, the idea when they stage, in the schools that are staged, they're thinking sectors because you're trying not to have travel time. And, you know, if you have to stage like at Angel where you've got to remove the kids so that you can do the work there. Yeah. We can try to find a school in Ypsi. I mean, there's those options. But, I mean, they have to be feasible options. You know?
So I believe the team has done a due diligence. When I think back about the different meetings that we've had, I think about the December 18 meeting where we had a ton of questions that they went through. I think about a week ago or so, we had a work session and most members were here to understand the complexity of the whole program. Mhmm. And we've had information to read. I understand that the new members you've had to this has been a moving train and you've jumped on. To me, this has been such a full amount of information.
I I mean, I'm looking forward to a new building design. I'm looking forward to it being in that location to reinvigorate the environmental education. I know in the process of planning it, I we were told that the teachers were like, you know, we're really not utilizing that space and bringing environmental education into the school right now very much. And, they were looking forward to being in that location with bringing the nature into the classroom, the windows and all that. And, from my perspective, this is a solid plan.
And it will meet the needs of our students and their families. And I'm I'm excited about it. And I I just feel like at some point, we have to show leadership and we have to vote. I I wanna get to that point where I'm confident and I have a comfort level with the decision that we're about to make because it's a really big decision. And that's, you know, if another week would help me process all of this stuff more and give me a comfort level,
then that and I know it's it's that's me. We do it is a ton of information that we've been given. You've handled all of my questions. You've been so patient with all my questions. I appreciate it. So yeah. I mean, yes. I think we've got all the information that we need. I personally don't have that comfort level yet, and that's that's why I'm supporting this. And you stated that you're willing to consider splitting up the community to make it fit. So I understand your logic for being willing to point to wait.
Yep. Is that shared with other trustees? I would be open to that. Yeah. I would I would be open to looking at it. I mean, that's the because because we looked at staging options in different places, but not like what would happen because they would be side by side. I'm assuming, you know, I didn't even someone brought it up today. Be side by side. So for example, if you have the pre k young five, let's say they're in the new Logan Building, and then Thursday and the rest of the grades would be an old old Logan. They're close by. So it's not like they're in completely,
like, as a parent who, you know, dealt with two school communities that were further apart. It was painful. So that's what I'm trying to and and this idea came up today, to be honest. So that's that's the question that would help just like clarify if it's even possible. But also like, you know, again, just just to give I mean, really, what is it? Two weeks To give two weeks or is it one week? Two weeks. No. Two weeks. Gonna have Mhmm. Like, is it it's is it better for trustees to feel comfortable with
before making because, you know, what what even if they're not comfortable, they're gonna what they're gonna vote no. Right? And that puts them in a situation where they haven't they're voting no because they don't have all the information, I guess. That's what I'm I I will I I have no problem being respectful to my colleagues. My colleagues that they need more time. I I might be willing to to support that, but I don't know really what's gonna change. It may not. I've been hearing this since December 18 or before that since September. Yeah. No. So, I saw trustee Wilson and trustee Betts.
I just I'm I really want Thurston to be in a twenty first century learning environment. Yes. I believe that's that Thurston deserves that. Yes. That the students deserve that. The students who are coming along, who are currently not even at preschool age, they deserve to have a school that that's new. Right. And, I believe that our team has done its due diligence in terms of revising the initial plans to accommodate the needs of the Thurston Nature Center and let Thurston play.
I mean, we heard their presentation last night, and I believe that our team has attempted to make a reasonable compromise. Compromise or change is never easy. And, as one concerned citizen said in her email, compromise is imperative for progress. And continuing the project on schedule is probably the best decision for our for our children. So, you know, as I look at this, I'm trying to look through the lens of what's best for our students and and student achievement. I know there's a lot. There's a lot of adults in the room and there's a lot of noise from
adults and a lot of information from adults and a lot of concern from adults. But we also have to remember and also think about what is best for our students. What is best for the for the kids? Well said. Trustee Wilson, I appreciate your comments, and I understand exactly what you're saying. Trustee Baskin? So it sounds like this new proposal Yeah. Requires splitting of school community. Yes. I've heard from three trustees that they're comfortable in splitting the school community. Yes. I wanna put on the table as well.
I am not in favor of splitting up a community. Also, we just voted on the Logan proposal that's moving forward as designed. We are committed to that. So I'm not quite sure what folks are thinking in terms of where you would put these children should the rest of of the majority of the board decide to split up the school community. Again, I'm really troubled by people who don't have children in Thurston making these proposals for Thurston. It does not seem to be fair.
So, I mean, this again, you know, if we're gonna respect the process, then you don't slap a piece of paper on the table and say this is a proposal that I want you to consider. And, again, I don't think I think we should engage the team, the professionals to review this. That costs time and money, and I think we've spent enough money on this. I recognize folks may not be comfortable. It's it's a tough decision. It is a for most trustees here, it is a new probably the first big decision you will have to make as
a trustee. But, again, we've got to keep moving forward here, and I think the community is fatigued by this. No matter what side you're on Yes. It's time to take the vote, and we'll see where we go from there. I I echo your sentiments. I think we need to resolve this as soon as possible so that the Thurston community can move forward. But I will, out of respect for my colleagues and new colleagues, I I I will I'll support giving them more time. If they need more time, I'll support that. But I think we, I'm willing to see what comes in the next in the next two weeks,
but I I think I'm not, again, like you, willing to separate the community. So, I don't know where we go from here, but out of respect, I will support it. If I may, president Feaster, then what are we doing here? If the majority of us are not in favor of splitting the school community, and, again, we've listened to the experts, the educational experts, the social emotional experts, then what what will two weeks buy us if the the plan they want to see is contingent upon that? So that you know,
I I don't understand why what's gonna be any different. I don't expect anything to change, but we have new trustees, and they're asking for time. Again, I I I reached out to every trustee to ask about questions. We heard more questions today. I respect that. Great questions. And then we have trust you know, at least one trustee who hasn't brought forth the questions. But, again, the opportunity to ask the questions have been made. So once again, why are we putting the community through this for what? So,
again, I'm not expecting a seven o support. I wanna call the question, though. I think we were voting on on Trustee Mohammed's call. Call the question. Well, let's just vote on it. Don't call it. So let's just vote on it. Let's keep moving. So, miss Ozinski, there is a motion on the table by trustee Mohammed that we table trustee Vasquez's motion that was supported by trustee Wilkins, as you would not mind, please, doing the roll call. Yes. We we don't need to vote for the caller. No. No. She's not calling. We're all through that. Let's just move the Oh, okay. Hello? Hello? Yeah.
Alright. Alright. I'm sorry. We're voting on We're voting to table. We're voting to table the previous We're just voting on tabling we're voting on trustee Mohammed's motion to table. So if you vote yes, you are in favor of tabling the motion until March 12, and we'll address it then. If I'm hearing that there's not going to be enough support for a staging option that splits the community two weeks from now. People who've already made that decision have made that decision.
Right. They're not gonna change their minds Right. Two weeks from now. Right. Then I'm not sure I want to Okay. Extend the Is that what I'm hearing? Yes. And then he's employer second. There's Yeah. I think that's what you're hearing. And I I feel the same way. I mean, I I you expressed it. I mean, I I can see where we split and I don't see that changing. And I just know how this is killing this community. And I And I wanna move on to other things.
Yeah. I'm just thinking I just want to do on achievement and all that stuff. And this and this and I I just think it's It's fair to say. Yeah. And can I just add, as secretary, I I receive a lot of emails? I read all of them. And this really is this this issue is tearing this community apart. And, it it really it hurts to see this. And I, I just feel like we're sort of kicking the can down the road. And I really just want want us to resolve this. So hearing with trustee,
Wilkins just added, let's vote on the tabling. Yes to table, no not to table, and then we can if it fails, we can be addressed. Trustee Best She can remove. I mean, if you want to remove but she hasn't said that. So let's just vote so we can move forward. Okay. Let's vote on whether to table it or not. K. Alright. We're ready to vote whether to move the previous motion to table to 03/12/2025 regular meeting. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Schmidt? No. Trustee Baskett? No. Trustee Wilkes? No. Trustee Wilkins? Yes.
President Feaster? No. Trustee Mohammed? Yes. Motion fails. Alright. The motion on the table then is still trustee Vasquez's motion that was supported by trustee Schmidt to move forward with the Thurston project. Any additional discussion? I'd like to call the question if there's No. Don't. Don't call me. Yeah. Because it's fine. Okay. It does not mean this. Miss miss Olsinski, please. What is that? Hey, doctor Wagner. It's just two votes for no reason. I know. What? You know? Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? No. Trustee Basquiat? Yes. Trustee Wilks? Yes.
Trustee Wilkins? No. President Feaster? Yes. Trustee Mohammed? No. Motion carries. That brings us down to number 10, item for agenda planning. Trustees, are there any items for agenda planning? Trustee Baskett? So, president Feaster, I was going to bring this forth to the executive committee, in a memo in an email, but the time went by too fast. Finish. No. Yes. Go ahead. Okay. I would like to return the student voice or student showcase portion of our meetings. In the past, we have had our students either present present their thoughts or their performances.
So, again, it may be too much for every meeting, but, you know, if we could work with the superintendent to see if that's an option, I'd like to bring that back. I think it would help. Student voice. Or showcase. Or showcase. I I wanna just say I love that you did that or that you're suggesting that because that was one of my favorite parts of when I was on the East Lansing school board. Yeah. And parents would come and their little kids would do, like, a song or something. You know, it was special for them. And it also highlights the great things going on in this district. I mean, we could ask some amazing things.
But then they don't have to take out a huge amount of time. No. I mean, I remember a presentation when we first got the laptops. And, I mean, second graders showing us their movies. Oh, my gosh. You know, I don't know how to do a movie on a computer, but we've got seven year olds who do that. So Yeah. Very cool. Thank you. Something from the agenda? Yes. And this is actually for the governance committee's consideration. But I would like the governance committee to review the capital projects policy and specifically consideration around planning approval before major capital projects move forward.
I'm sorry. Is that a particular policy? I think he wants us to to review whether or not we want to be involved in the capital projects planning policy. Meaning, are we voting on projects? How are we reviewing those projects moving forward? And I think that's what he's asking. You got a whole lot down there in that few minutes. That's good. For clarifying that. You know, I actually have something too. I I'm not sure how we would approach this, but I've learned a lot watching this whole process. And this is not the only, school property that has volunteer groups overseeing property that we own.
And I would like us to and and and I don't wanna tax staff wildly here, but to get a sense because that's Scarlet we had Scarlet Woods and it had water. You know, people like about safety and all that sort of stuff. To just get a sense of what are our arrangements with many of the, community groups across our district. You know, have we done anything legal to say, you know, what they're allowed to do, what they're not allowed to do? What what are these partnerships? Because people have expectations and they they're very different in this situation.
You saw the consternation it created. So I'd like us to sort of look at what our inventory is related to this. Is that enough? Does that make enough sense? You wanna look at all of our all of our areas to determine Yeah. I mean if we're gonna come back to having more issues with this. What are these groups that, are working with us? And do they feel ownership? Are they through the parent councils? I mean, what's the model? Expectations. Yeah. What are expectations? Because we shouldn't have to run into this every time because it's just Boundaries of
Yeah. Like, what what do people think? Things like that. Yeah. And I was thinking of everything from activities that they're doing. Specifically, when I heard there was ice skating and stuff, I thought, what if somebody is injured? That's our property. Are we liable? Or are people making sure to call the school and we're gonna do this? And do you have safety protocols set up for the I don't know. I just think if this is on our property, we're responsible for it. So we better make sure we're communicating with groups that are helping us make them better, I guess. Trustee, President Feaster,
one more thing. In addition to what, Trustee Schmidt was referring to, I also want us to look at the the process of how do we improve community engagement and outreach in the future when it comes to the capital, projects. Yeah. And they've been already having that done. I mean, we really need to look into that. Yeah. Our best practices. So that we, really this is a teachable moment for all of us. Or at least for me it is. And let's examine best practices. Let's determine what those best practices are. So that going forward,
you know, things are different. If I may. Sorry. Okay. No. I I I totally support that, and I think, we should also consider our individual and collective piece of that. I know when we heard earlier that, you know, folks thought they saw Gilbane more than they saw the trustees, I mean, as the bond committee, trustee Schmidt and I, you know, stepped up, and we were part of those small group conversations. I mean, they had a trustee present in here in in in that conversation to to hear what was being said.
So I think we need to look at our what is our commitment? You know, time is valuable. I get it. But, you know, what can we give to help improve that? So, thank you. I appreciate that. Anything else to add for agenda planning trustees? Nothing. I think that brings it down to number of reps. Can I just add one more thing, sir? That's Lisa. I know that there's a bond advisory committee. Does that bond advisory committee I would like to revisit the the bond advisory committee, who's on the bond advisory committee, and how do we go about selecting folks for the bond advisory committee?
Because I'm assuming that they have input in terms of projects upcoming projects. So if I may? Yes, ma'am. So I heard you, trustee, you were the one that volunteered to assist with that. But we've been consumed with Okay. No. No. No. I I just wanna clarify the time. We all have lives besides, you know, Wednesday nights. So, again, if we now that we've gotten, I hope, this process moved forward, we can concentrate on the other stuff. But I haven't forgotten. Definitely haven't forgotten. And if you will look on the website,
there is, you know, there is more information. I think I sent that to you earlier, but it's on the website regarding the bond advisory group. It is advisory. So, I've had some conversations, with people who are excited, you know, about possibly serving. But, again, we can't we could move forward because there just wasn't even time to discuss. So thank you for that reminder and, again, for the opportunity for me to tell people. I haven't forgotten. I just don't have time right now. You said you did send us some information about it? So I sent some information,
to not to everybody because, again, we weren't at the committee of the whole at that point. Oh. I know some trustees before the committees were assigned asked about what the bond committee about. But, again, you don't have to wait for me. You can go on the website of board docs and find that. It's, again, the bond advisory group. If I find the time, I will send you the link. But, again, it'll be faster if you guys look for yourselves. Or, again, miss Osinski is wonderful at, you know, helping you find stuff that you can't find. Amy, she's stuck with that. No. No. I just know that she's probably already got it up on her computer.
Right. Exactly. So, but there has work already been started. It's a matter of do we want do any tweaking before we move forward on it. So thank you. I'm sorry. So do we want any tweaking to the description of the Anything about it. Anything about it before we start finding people to be honest. Exactly. Because people will wanna know the expectations. And what I would want from this board is the expectations from before is do we want to do any changes now? This is a new board with again,
we've got a lot of work ahead of us. Yep. So thank you. Alright. Anything else for agenda planning trustees? Hearing none, down to items from the board. Do trustees have anything they would like to share? Trustee Vasquez? A couple of things. Excuse me. I understand the Skyline High School will be having their Black History celebration, this Thursday, I believe, at 6PM. And it from my past, Tomorrow? That's tomorrow. I know it's another evening. So, you know, if you can handle it, but it's a wonderful performance. Unfortunately, I've never been able to get there in the evening.
Okay. That also conflicts with, a community session on reimagining policing, which is being hosted at Bethel AME, same day tomorrow, but at 06:30. Then those are two dates. Then also for us, is in terms of our board service, the Wausau Association of School Boards is having their annual learning session, March thirteenth. I believe we all received that email, 7PM. So, oh, trustee Schmidt is presenting. So, anyway, just keep that in mind. Again, March 13, the annual learning session, Washington Association of School Boards,
seven PM. And at that particular, meeting, earlier, if you sign up, you can do the whole thing where they're bringing in, two, people that are expert at dyslexia and, doctor Lauren Katz and Joanna doctor Lauren, Joanna Pearson. They'll be talking to teachers and administrators, and and we can come if we'd like. And then they're going to segue into the meeting that's just for board members, I believe, unless some of those other people want to stay, which they probably want to go home. That just talks a little bit about policy, the new laws that were passed, how that's going to impact districts.
And, I've been asked to be just there to ask questions since I was involved in the legislation. Is it virtual or in person? It's in person and they're actually serving dinner. So if you let them know you wanted to come earlier, you could have dinner. Otherwise, we come later. I don't think it includes the dinner. What is it like? 7PM. Seven PM is the school board portion as trustee Schmidt said. Yeah. That would be dedicated to us from our perspective or, you know, again, learning if we have to do any policy changes or things to be aware of. Yeah. I think 05:00 ish,
they may start with, the presentations. They're gonna then they'll have a presentation dinner. They'll continue their presentation, and then a lot of those people go home. Those are teachers, and they've sort of done it already for the day and then we come in. But we can come earlier if people wanna learn. Yeah. And it's something that you register for? That we register? I believe so. I can send you the latest I'm gonna be a calendar appointment and I had no idea what That's for the school board part. Okay. Well, what I'll do is I'll send you, miss Cheeks, information, Angela Cheeks, and you can convey with her. They're about to I've seen one little brochure Okay.
That they've done. They're doing an updated one because the lady dropped off and different things. So it's been a little bit tricky to for them to put it together. Yeah. And and, Trustee, if you are not getting those, communications, please let the w I w, WISD know that, because, again, I think it's relatively new. And with the transition and elections, they may have missed some people. And since we got three w's, they may have figured out, you know I'm not sure if I get them. And I'm supposed to be presenting, but I don't think I got it. So Okay. Yeah. I don't think I got it. But you you are welcome. Calendar appointment.
Right? I think she got the invite. Just not what you're talking about. Calendar Is that correct? Calendar appointment. Yeah. And I didn't know what it was for. Gotcha. Well, again, that was done by them. So So we will give them that feedback, and they need to clarify, because I didn't have the latest information that trustee Schmidt had. So, just an FYI. Right. Mhmm. I think it'll be very useful though to to learn more. And, again, you get to network with other trustees across the Any other items before? Nope. I'm ready to go home. Alright. Thank you. I know. It's fine. I would have to bring this down to adjournment.
May I have a motion to adjourn the meeting by voice vote? So moved. Moved by trustee Wouk. Second. Supported by trustee Wilkam. Wilkam. Wilkam. It's here. She read the motion. And she supported it. Motion. That's okay. And Wilkam. Wilkam. Second. Wilk second. Okay. Discussion? Seeing none, all in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Sure. The meeting is adjourned at 10:58PM.