At approximately 07:05PM, I would like to remind everyone that some of our meeting presenters may participate by Zoom. Ms. Ozinski, may we have a roll call, please? Trustee Beskett? Yes. President Feaster? Here. Trustee Mohammed? Here. Trustee Schmidt? Present. Trustee Wilkerson? Present. Trustee Wilkins? Here. And Trustee Wilks? Here. Thank you, miss Odysinski. I would now like to introduce the nonvoting member at the table, Jazz Parks, superintendent of schools. Good evening. Thank you, President Easter. Thank you. I would now, invite my colleague,
Trustee Wilkerson, if you would not mind reading the land acknowledgment statement. Absolutely. We acknowledge that the Ann Arbor Public School District occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Anishinabek, Three Fires Confederacy, the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi. The taking of this land was formalized in a process alien the native cultures by the Treaty of Detroit in eighteen o seven. The Anambra Public Schools recognizes that many other native peoples lived on this land at different times, including the Fox, Sauk, Shawnee, Kickapoo, Miami, Muscatine and Cherokee,
many of whom were forcefully removed from their homelands. Acknowledgment by itself is a small gesture and does not exist in the past or solely in a historical context. Colonialism is a current ongoing process, and we understand our responsibility in educating students about our participation. We further recognize the ongoing relationship and dependence upon and respect for all living beings of earth, sky and water. It is our responsibility to care for this land and we honor with our deepest gratitude the native people who have and will continue to steward it for generations.
Thank you, Trustee Wilkerson. Trustees, I believe that brings us down to approval of the agenda. Is there a motion to approve the agenda as present? So moved. Moved by Trustee Wilks, supported by Trustee Schmidt. Any discussion, trustees? Saying none, miss Silveski, please. Trustee Basquiat? Yes. President Feaster? Yes. Trustee Mohammed? Yes. Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Wilk? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you, miss Silveski. I believe that brings us down to public commentary. The board would like to remind remind everyone the individuals who have signed up for public commentary will have their names called and will be given an opportunity to speak.
Commenters will receive up to four minutes, and the public and the public commentary period will be limited to forty five minutes. 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 every remind everyone that public comments generally pertain to Anabra Public School District matters. Comments about any individual or individuals are expressly prohibited. Also, please understand that board members do not respond to public comments, but we will listen carefully and will follow-up as appropriate. How many staff do we have for this evening,
miss Ozescu? We have 11 signed up this evening. Each person would get four minutes. Thank you, miss Ozescu. Mhmm. And first is Emil Handelsman. Good evening. My name is Amiel Handelsman, and I'm back again to speak on behalf of parents and teachers, petitioning you for district wide first bell to last bell phone free schools using secure device storage. Last time, I described the benefits of this approach, and I also explained two reasons why we don't support classroom bans or phone storage in backpacks.
They don't work and they force teachers to police behavior constantly. Today, I'll address a different question. Why might you be reluctant to support what we're proposing? It's backed by research. It's supported nationally by 83% of teachers and 56% of parents. States and districts across the country are already doing this. And this city we love is behind the eight ball big time. Knowing all this, why might you be inclined to do something else? Let me put myself in your shoes. I have a list of six concerns. We'll see what I get through. One, my child has an IEP or five zero four plan or medical condition and needs
access to their phone during the day. Absolutely. This is a real issue for some students with big legal implications. That's why our proposal grants these rare exceptions with proper documentation. Two, my child needs their phone in case of a crisis or lockdown at school. We all want our kids to stay safe, yet school safety experts tell us that cell phones make students less safe in crisis situations. For teachers giving critical safety instructions, do you want your students staring at their phones and spreading rumors or paying attention to you? For students in hiding,
God forbid, do you really want your phone to light up or ding and alert an intruder to your location? Three, my child and I won't be able to contact each other during the day. In recent years, as a culture, we've developed habits around using phones. Need to make a schedule change? Make a text. Having a rough day at school? Send a text. Maybe make a call. Some families have grown to depend on these interactions. So for them, letting go of unlimited contact will feel like a loss. If the trade off is well worth it and for every parent upset at this,
there are many others who will stand up here and say to you thank you. With mental health, here's the trade off as one Skyline parent said to me a few days ago. We use phones to manage and support the mental health of our kids, but the phone is what's making the mental health worse. Think about it. If kids don't have phones at school to make them miserable and anxious, there will be less need to reach out to mom, dad, or anyone else. With logistical issues, students and parents can do what families have been doing for generations, and I can tell you I did it as an elementary school here in town
and beyond. Use the landline phones in the main office and the phones that are now in many classrooms. Yeah. This will require new formal school procedures and new habits, especially for parents. We'll need to give up some convenience, but given what's at stake, boy, will it be worth it? It looks like I have three more concerns to address, but let me make this personal. When I was a student here in the public schools in the nineteen seventies, one day at recess, I was playing kickball, and a kid jumped me, knocked me down, and held a knife to my throat for about thirty seconds. Now I wasn't physically hurt, but I was a frightened kid for a long time.
And I was thinking about this this morning. If that would have happened today and let's say I was in middle school, would I have wanted the support of my mom during the day for her to be able to reach me? Absolutely. And that's why parents wanna support their kids. However, would phones in schools have helped me overall? No. You know why? Because some kid would have taken a videotape of that tech and and posted it online. Someone else would have been texting and spreading rumors about why did Amiel provoke this attack. And then every time I looked at my phone and saw violence, I would be reminded of the trauma.
So if a parent gets up here and tells you, and this is the last thing, tells you their kid needs a phone for comfort during the day, please empathize with them, and please remember what I shared with you. Thank you. Thank you. Next is Dee Lamphere. Hello. My name is Dee Lamphere, and I'm here to support the petition for district wide all day phone free schools using a secure device storage, not classroom phone cubbies, backpacks, or personal lockers. I am an Ann Arbor Public School parent. I have two daughters who attend Pioneer High School. I also taught high school for thirteen years,
and so I'm speaking today as both an advocate for students and teachers. Cell phones, specifically smartphones, present the biggest barrier to engagement in high school. Both of my children have lamented that they wish they had grown up in the eighties and nineties like me, in times when teens were not constantly distracted by the virtual world. I have taken on the joyless burden of monitoring and limiting my daughter's screen time and have insisted on positive study habits like putting their phones in the charging area when they're doing homework or plugging their phones in downstairs at nighttime.
This task requires constant negotiation with my teens. Even though I take considerable steps to monitor their screen time, when I viewed my oldest daughter's screen time for the election day yesterday, it shows that she spent more than three hours on social media. I noticed that the toggle for lock at downtime was toggled off. Subterfuge? Maybe. But my child, who is an academically motivated varsity athlete taking four AP classes and who knows her parents are monitoring her screen time usage,
still managed to waste three hours of her day yesterday on social media. This stuff is that addictive. This same daughter has spent one month of each of the past three summers at a camp that does not allow cell phones. When I pick her up from this one month of detox, I find a happy, stress free, engaging child. She has spent a month in the company of other teens and counselors without being glued to the phone, and the difference is astounding. While I would love to get rid of smartphones altogether, I realize that's beyond the scope of what our school district can do.
However, phone, schools should be phone free. The science is clear. The phones distract our teens even when they are in a backpack or a cubby. Just knowing that the phone is nearby is enough to make students do worse on tests. There are a lot of scientific studies on this. Plus, as soon as the class is over, the phones are snatched out of the backpacks to see what they missed, and therefore, they're actually missing what is happening in the hallways and lunchrooms around them. Furthermore, teachers have to police the cell phone policy. My freshman described one of her beloved teachers as getting mad about students not putting
their phones in their cubbies at the start of each class. What a terrible job for our teachers to get stuck with. Not to mention the negative way to start a class period together. Teaching is very hard and very important. Cell phones distract students from learning, and policing cell phone use is distracting teachers from teaching. According to a Newsweek article published in June 2025, 25 states have already passed laws to redirect the use of cell phone during school hours. Phones are much more of a problem than the school provided devices,
like the MacBooks that my daughters have. Students can't just, like, walk around opening their MacBooks between classes. They're not gonna haul those MacBooks out at lunchtime when they're with their friends. And also, their phones have more functionality and fewer built in security features than the school provided devices. Ann Arbor Public Schools should pass a policy and fund the implementation of all day phone free schools using secure device storage, not classroom phone cubbies that teachers are having to police, not their backpacks, and not their lockers that they don't use.
Thank you. Thank you. Next is Michael Epstein. Good evening. My name is Mike Epstein. I'm a proud parent of a first grader at Dicken Elementary, and our youngest will start young fives there next year. I wanna thank the board and the school administration for the opportunity to speak for a few minutes tonight. Our family moved to Ann Arbor five years ago from Boston, and we feel so lucky to be part of this community. I'm here to support the petition for district wide all day phone free schools using severe device storage, not classroom phone cubbies, backpacks, or personal lockers. Thank you to Emil Hendelsman for organizing this much needed petition.
As of September 15, according to an article published by Good Morning America, 20 states have enacted phone free schools also prohibiting all wireless connected devices. For these lucky students, schools have become a welcome breath of fresh air. There are reports of more focus in the classroom, more face to face socializing at lunch, and less fighting and drama. In fact, when the North Adams School District in Massachusetts removed phones during the school day, discipline referrals dropped by a stunning 75%. The 2025 US News and World Report currently ranks Michigan forty fifth in the nation
for education in the k through 12 category. These same 20 states who have enacted phone free schools ranked much higher in education in the same report. In 10 rules for raising kids in a high-tech world, best selling author and psychologist, Jean Twenge, cites data showing that seventy two percent of high school teachers say that students being distracted by their phones in the classroom is a major problem. And as a result, many college professors, my own mother included, are reporting not being able to assign reading projects because they are encountering students with phone addiction that has caused shorter attention spans resulting in students graduating from high school
who can no longer read full books. If I had asked my parents when I was a student if I could bring my own personal TV and gaming device, it also allows me to access inappropriate content all day long in lieu of focusing on lesson subjects during class time. They would have thought I was crazy. Yet this is what students can do each and every time they have their phones out in school. When I hear teenagers openly state, and I quote, I can't believe we can use these devices. They should be illegal. It tells me that our own children are asking us to step in and help. Nobody has researched the detrimental effects of phones and social media better than Doctor.
Jonathan Heidett, best selling author of The Anxious Generation and renowned social psychologist. Doctor. Heidett's message is clear and simple. We need more rules, regulations, and guidelines in the digital world to keep our children safe and less in the physical world where they've never been safer and thus need more opportunities to grow and develop together in screen free environments, especially in classrooms. I've read many reports of parents expressing their understanding and agreement that we need to do something about this problem, but oftentimes falling short of supporting phone free schools because there's a pervasive fear of
not being able to communicate if the worst case scenario happens. On this most important of topics, the research is clear. School safety experts agree that students having a phone during a school shooting is actually more dangerous for at least four critical reasons. It's easy to miss important instructions during an emergency situation if students are distracted by their phones. Noise from phones may alert shooters to where people are hiding. Too many people trying to call or text at the same time from the same location can tie up bandwidth and keep authorities from communicating. And while it certainly sounds comforting that students could contact their parents and vice versa
during a shooting, parents will rush to the school creating congestion that can keep police and ambulances from getting through and ultimately saving our children's lives. I'm hopeful that parents all want the same thing for their children, a natural and safe learning environment. So I would like to end by encouraging the board and administration to research the away for the day campaign, which offers support for creating all day phone free schools using severe device storage. The campaign website links to scientific data, testimonials, and examples of policies currently in effect at schools around the country and the many
positive effects they're having on students. Thank you so much for this opportunity to speak tonight. Thank you. Next is Chavi Nana. Hi. Good evening. Thanks so much for the opportunity to speak. My name is Chavi Kimi Nana. My sons are students at Angel and Tappan, and I support a district wide policy for all day phone free, schools with secure device storage. Like many of you, I have a love hate relationship with my telephone. I love the access that it gives me to people and to information. I hate its near addictive power and ability to distract me at a moment's notice.
But I'm 48 years old. And like many of you, I had, almost two decades of analog life before computers came into my life. And my brain was mostly mature by the time, iPhones came into it. But my son's brains are still in development, and there's robust evidence that smartphones in schools both distract from learning and increase rates of anxiety and depression. I don't want that for my children. What I do want are some of the things that I've been hearing from districts that have adopted bell to bell phone free policies are reporting,
A return of classroom engagement and discussion, school time that is uninterrupted by concerns of being filmed or photographed with a smartphone and about what's being said on social media, and a learning environment that foregrounds interaction between and among students, teachers, and staff in the real world, not in a virtual one. From my own life, I've also seen the effects of what happens when you ask students to put away their computers and their phones. I am also a law professor at the University of Michigan Law School, and I teach in subjects that don't necessarily require students to have their computers and
their phones out to reference notes. I have asked them, I can't force them, but I've asked them to close their computers in the classroom because what's really important to me and what is important for their learning in my classroom is that they engage with each other and with me. And I can tell you the amount of classroom discussion and engagement among students has skyrocketed since I did this two years ago. To be clear, I'm not naive and I'm not anti technology. Middle school will still be an awkward time of social interactions even in a phone free environment from bell to bell. Our students will still have access to the Internet on their school computers,
but smartphones supercharge the negative impact of these processes in a manner that our kids' brains are not ready to handle. That is why I support a district wide policy for all day phone free schools with devices securely stored, not in classroom cubbies, lockers, or backpacks. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next is Chelsea Packard. Hi. Good evening to the members of the board. My name is Chelsea Packard, and I am a parent of two elementary school students at Angel Elementary as well as a professor in the school of music, here at Michigan.
I'm here today in strong support of a first bell to last bell phone free policy in our schools. One that includes centralized storage for all phones, watches, and communication devices throughout the day. My kids are like all of our kids. They're absolutely in love with their screens. We as parents are fighting against an ocean. Big tech companies who are desperate to keep our attention and our kids' attention so they can sell it for ad profit. We all know this. We also know that screens are terrible for our children's mental health.
Our nation's top doctor, US surgeon general, doctor Vivek Murthy, has declared the mental health crisis among young people an emergency, and that social media has emerged as an important contributor. Doctor Murthy is calling on congress to pass legislation that requires all social media to display a health warning similar to that on cigarette packaging. This is harmful to your health. He also has advice for parents. He says, quote, parents should create phone free zones around bedtime, meals, and social gatherings to safeguard kids' sleep and real life connections.
That's great. Yes. We are doing that in our home and we will continue to do that, hopefully, as our kids age. But doctor Murphy also says that society has an important role to play. He says, quote, schools should ensure that classroom learning and social time are phone free experiences. This is not just about distractions. This is about protecting our kids' ability to connect and to focus and to be present in their lives. I see the effects of screens in my college age students every day. Anxiety and loneliness, fractured attention spans,
kids who can who struggle to engage face to face. Creating a centralized, secure place for devices during the school day would send a powerful message. That school is a place for real connection, for real focus, and for real learning. I know there are parents in our district who are scared of emergencies at school and want to be able to contact their children in case the unthinkable thing happens at AAPS. But by keeping kids connected to their peers, invested in their school communities instead of their online communities, I would argue that phone free schools are one of the strongest measures we have
to prevent the unthinkable thing. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Next, Savannah Sandfield. Drake Meadow. Good evening. My name is Drake Meadow. I am the father of two juniors at Pioneer High School. In addition, I have twenty seven years of experience as an educator, during which time I have been a mentor to 15 EMU education students and been the cooperating teacher for three student teachers. I currently teach at the Early College Alliance at Eastern Michigan University,
and I am here on the basis of research and best practices and my own experience to urge you to adopt for all Ann Arbor Public Schools phone free policies involving all day phone free and secured placement of those phones. I'd like to share with you what I see in the classroom, both in my classroom and in the classrooms of colleagues when I visit and observe
them. The reality is that if we have cubbies, if we have teachers policing the students, there is a struggle. No question about it Come in Put your phones away in the caddies Oh, yes, oh Got the hoodie, there's the earbud Please put the earbud away Oh, the smartwatch It's a continual distraction, and it wastes a lot of time. I think I don't need to reiterate all of the research that's already been cited, indicating that these are addictive and deleterious to learning.
We might consider treating them much as we would treat other addictive substances as in schools. Keep our students safe from them. That's about all I have to say. Thank you very much. Once again, those four points are very important. All schools in the district, not just the elementary, the high schools too, Phone free all day and secured. Thank you. Thank you. Next is Jonathan Terhorst. Good evening. Actually, I have a visual aid I'd like to share with you,
if that's okay. Could I hand this out? Is that allowed? Sure. Sure. Fine now. Thanks for the opportunity to speak. So my name is Jonathan Terhorst. I'm a UN stats professor, hence the chart, and also a, grandparent of a kindergarten student in my other full time job. I'm here to support the petition for district wide all day phone free schools using secure device storage and not classroom cubbies, backpacks, or lockers. Like many of us, I'm concerned about the growing presence of screens and phones in our children's lives and what that means for their learning and development. I sort of have two takes on it.
As an educator, I've seen firsthand how phones affect students' abilities to focus and engage and think critically. The college students that I teach right now are among the first to have grown up with phones throughout their entire schooling. They've never not had access to a phone in the classroom. And the change is striking, I would say, compared to when I was an undergrad or even just a few years ago, students seem less engaged, less curious, much more anxious. I would say curiosity and intellectual risk taking are replaced by a narrow focus on performance and grades. Now phones aren't the only factor,
but the correlation with the emergence of phones seems very strong and to me the effects are unmistakable. And this view is widely shared by my colleagues and also supported by educational research. Now as a parent, I'm equally concerned about the impact of screens on children's social and emotional well-being. This is the data that I shared with you tonight. So research consistently links excessive screen use with higher rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. And like a good stats professor, I was curious, so I would have downloaded the data. And this data that I'm sharing with you is from eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders,
almost 200,000 of them. It's actually collected by researchers at And it's simply controlling for a few factors and looking at the correlation of various activities with happiness. So what you'll notice that's quite striking is that the ones that are in blue are all in person activities. They're all positively correlated with happiness. And all the ones that are in red are phone based activities. And They're all negatively correlated with happiness. And I analyze data for a living, and it's very rare to see such a strong signal in an observational study. So this just pops right out. It's so striking, in fact, they actually used it as a teaching example last week in my data science class.
So correlation, of course, is not causation, but these findings align with the growing body of evidence that excessive screen and in particular social media use harm mental health in ways that far exceed the effects of TV or computers that we used in past generations. This is something that's really new. So as a community, I think that we need to be intentional about how we integrate technology into our kids' lives, especially in schools. And I think that Ann Arbor has the chance to lead nationally here on this issue by adopting a district wide all day phone free school policy. And lastly, I would just say that parents around the world of young children in particular are
really just crying out for leadership on this issue, and this is your chance to act. So thank you for your time, and I urge you to support the petition. Thank you. Next is Brent Richards. Good evening. Thanks for letting me speak to you all tonight. I'm here to support the same issue everybody else has been talking about. I'm gonna be speaking with two hats on tonight. First and foremost, I'm a parent of a fourth grader here in the Antelope Public Schools, and he is the reason this is my hill to die on. But secondly, I'm also speaking on behalf of my colleagues at Pioneer. I'm a Pioneer High School teacher. I've been there for twenty four of my twenty five years of teaching, and I can promise you that I am speaking on what we believe very strongly
is is needed in our school and in our district. In the week before the twenty twenty four, twenty five school year, staff at Pioneer were optimistic we finally have a clear policy to address the ongoing and growing problem of smartphones in school. However, just two days before classes started, we were told by leadership at Central that we could not move forward with the policy. The apparent reason given was that we had not done the necessary legwork, including involving stakeholders in the conversation. That response was not accurate. Pioneer teachers, parents and administrators met twice over the 2024 to discuss this issue and multiple surveys
were distributed to families and staff both during the school year and again to start school this fall. I participated in those meetings and I can attest that we did the work that we were told we did not. As a teacher, I'm exhausted. I'm exhausted dealing with this problem every day, every hour. I've been doing this for about eight years, having my kids put the phones in the caddies. I persist because I know how much harm we are doing to our students by allowing unrestricted phone access during the school day. Our district's own website says, Keeping our students safe remains our very top priority,
even before our critical mission of teaching and learning. If that statement is to mean anything, we must act on what the science and our lived experience make crystal clear. Cell phones are undermining student well-being, safety and learning, and this is not speculation. As a parent of a fourth grader in this district, I also speak from deep personal concern. The data is alarming. According to the U. S. National Survey on Drug and Health, since 2010, rates of major depressive episodes among U. S. Teens have skyrocketed, up one hundred and forty five percent for girls and one hundred and sixty one percent for boys, along with increases in self harm and suicide attempts.
One of the primary drivers according to the research is excessive phone and social media use. But there's so much more data that exposes the harmful effects of too much device time and a lot of that's been shared with you here tonight. There's more. In my twenty five years of teaching, twenty four of them as I said here in Ann Arbor, I've witnessed these changes firsthand. Students today are more distracted, more anxious and less engaged than ever before. Our administrators confirm the vast majority of our disciplinary issues are in some way connected to phone and social media use. This includes cheating, drug deals coordinated in bathrooms,
cyber bullying and fights organized via text. But perhaps the thing that saddens me most is how access to phones deprive so many of our students of meaningful social interactions where they actually look one another in the eye and talk. Our pioneer surveys reflect the same picture. Among the 473 pioneer parents surveyed, eighty four percent said phone use in schools is a major issue and 98% of those surveyed said it's at least a minor issue. Of the 96 Pioneer teachers surveyed, only eight said phones were not a problem in their classrooms and several of those
had admitted they had simply stopped enforcing it. And yet here we are well into another school year with no district policy leaving teachers to fend for themselves and every teacher for themselves policy or approach is failing our students and impeding the efforts of teachers to keep them engaged. We need a district wide policy that's clear, consistent, firm and reasonable and we, I assure you, are eager to collaborate in this creation. Chelsea, Celine and Dexter have already taken action. At least 33 states have implemented some form of school phone restriction and entire countries like France and Brazil have national bans.
Even excuse me, sorry. This goes to show that Ann Arbor does not have to wait for yet another school year to start to implement meaningful change. We have asked repeatedly for support. Our efforts have been denied and dismissed without accurate reasoning and parents are now voicing their frustration and local media is reporting on the lack of action. Our ask is simple. Please support us in implementing meaningful change. We all stand ready to help. What are we waiting for? Thank you. Thank you. Finally, Greg Gage. I'm a neuroscientist, for the past fifteen years. I'm an educator as well through k to 12,
and I'm writing a book right now for the past, two years. It's coming, due in February for MIT Press about how the brain models attention. Attention is exactly what we're talking about today. The I'm a as a scientist, like my colleagues before me, I like to look at data. And so what I'm providing you guys tonight with is data that shows you, how bad cell phones are at distracting attention. We've given our attention away to five tech companies for free, and they've they've figured out a way to to get us to be engaged. And they do that in ways that make us unhappy. Right? So that's what these first data show you.
It affects kids more so than adults. You might be depressed when you're using a phone, but it's not in the same way because your brains are already been developed. Right? When you give these phones to kids, what during these critical periods, the studies show that this actually really affects the what we're what everyone has been observing so far. You know, the mental health issues, the number of depressive episodes, the number of suicidal rates, they all go through the roof. And they all start happening right around the time that these the social media comes out and especially when when when likes and shares and the idea that what you're gonna do is gonna be viewed by your peers.
Right? The the next thing I wanna say is, alright, alright, we're gonna discuss possibly putting in a a a bell to bell band, which I support. Actually support don't even bring the school the phones to school. But what what do other states do? 31 states plus the District Of Columbia already have, bans in place. Right? Either either at the state level or they're telling the districts to take care of it themselves. But when you interview principals of schools, so this is the RAND report that came out about a month ago, interviewing, 3,000 principals, across the nation, trying to do a good survey.
What do they find? They find that only 3% of those that responded do not have a phone policy. Only 3% of schools don't have a phone policy, but yet we don't have one. If you look at where they what the respondents say, 67% have what we're asking for, a bell to bell ban. And so it it just makes no sense that we don't have that here. We are the most educated city in the world, and yet we we haven't followed we we you look at road signs everywhere. It's like, you know, we, like, we we believe in this. We believe we follow the we follow the science. Right? We're not following the science. The science is quite clear. The last thing I wanna share is the,
the outcomes. And so the question is, like, right, you have a band, but what does it mean? And so this last page is is trying to look at peer reviewed studies or if in the lack of peer this is this is new data. Right? This is just coming out 2023, 2024. These bans started going into place. But there are there are some reports out there, including, a report that you guys had in in your September meeting, from from here at Skyline High School pilot. Every report says the same thing, That the the teachers love it. You know, the, even the students, even the 73.1%
of students in our high school pilot that was done last year agree that they are less distracted in the classrooms be with the phone vans. Right? 85% of parents of Ann Arbor support that from that same study. When you look at the outcomes of grades, they are improving significantly. If you look at the attendance, the attendance, the reason why those grades are improving is because attendance is is going up. The number of expulsions are going down. So the data is quite clear, and I think that, you know, I remember, when I was in high school,
we had a smoking section. Right? And it seems insane looking back thirty years that you allowed, you know, kids to smoke in high school. They are smoking in restaurants or smoking in airplanes. You look back at those at those at those movies, you're like, what were we thinking back then? And And I'm telling you, in about thirty years when you look back at now and we're giving these kids access to these social media device, we're gonna be looking back the same way that we look back at that. It's insane that we're doing that. So I ask you to please put this ban into place. Thank you. Thank you. That concludes public commentary. I it's up to president Feaster.
Go right ahead. Yeah. Make sure you that you state your name, please. Hi. Thank you. Sorry. I had signed up, hopefully, not taking up too much time. I'm Craig Holland. I'm the parent of a third grader, Eppa, and a sixth grader at Slauson. And I've never spoken here before, but, I'm here because, like everyone else, I'd like to support a bell to bell band with secure storage. And it matters to me so much because I see what phones are doing to my kids and and their friends. And and I would ask the board to consider how many congressional testimonies or whistleblower whistleblowers or whistleblowers or leaked documents before you understand that these tech companies,
they design their products specifically to hack our attention at best or at worst to provoke our rage and our fear because they know that's the best way to keep people engaged with their products. And as previous speaker just said, we've seen this story before. It's like smoking in the 50s. We ignored it until it became a public health crisis. And I think we'll look back on this time and really wonder why we didn't do something sooner. And I can tell you that you know where they ban phones in schools? In fancy private schools in Silicon Valley that educate the executives of the tech companies
that are selling us these products. So just think about the difference between a dinner conversation with your family, when a phone is on the table or when it's in another room. It pulls at you. It divides your attention. It makes you less focused on the people in front of you. And for kids who are still learning, that constant distraction really robs them of something precious. It's the ability to sit with hard feelings, to think deeply, to build confidence in themselves, to communicate clearly. Those are the skills that make them strong learners and healthy humans.
So, to be clear, I'm not advocating that we ban phones writ large. They are a fact of modern life, and they certainly have utility for parents to get in touch with their kids. And they also give kids agency and independence, and that's really important as well. However, our schools are a place for learning, and they have plenty of ways for kids to reach us if they need to. And if those ways are not sufficient, then that's a very different conversation about safety, not about cell phone access. And I've heard that some, some board members have suggested that Chromebooks serve the same function, so why ban phones?
Chromebooks don't connect to social media and text change, which are the places where bullying and anxiety thrive. Phones do. And when a child gets dragged into a group text pile on, which I've seen, between classes, their whole day is consumed by fixing it. So learning's gonna suffer, their friendships are gonna suffer, their mental health is gonna suffer. We've heard the stats before. I would encourage you to go on that RAND website where they did a very extensive survey of, principals and different states that have enacted bans. Two thirds of The United Of States in The U. S. Have either partial or total phone bans.
So, I think science is clear. We've heard that before. Phones really undermine our kids' well-being, frankly. I think they undermine adults' well-being as well. And we really want to foster places where kids can focus and the classroom is a great place for us to do that. They can focus where they connect, they can learn, they can grow, they can look their friends and their peers in the eye, and they can learn to have a conversation and sit with those complicated feelings that all kids have and learn how to just process without that being mediated through platforms that really are stoking the worst parts of our brains.
So thank you very much for your time. What's your name, please? I'm sorry? Where are they signing up? I think Yeah. I do see your number five. Come on. Come on, please. Maggie Zekalik. I'm I apologize. I missed you. Yep. That's okay. That's okay. Good evening. My name is Maggie Zekalik. I'm here to support the petition for district wide all day phone preschools using secure device storage, not classroom phone cubbies, backpacks, or personal lockers. I'm a parent to two daughters. One is a first grader at Dicken Elementary. The other is in preschool. My first grader loves to draw and make art,
and she has recently learned to read. I'd like to mention two of the factors that helped her reach this milestone. One, her incredible kindergarten and first grade teachers. Two, the Dogman graphic novels by Dave Pilkey. After reading all the Dogman books with my daughter numerous times, something that stands out in the later books is how the author portrays adults. They're hunched in the background, hurrying across the street with their phones two inches from their faces. Since he's not here, I'll also call out my husband as an example of how frustrating it is.
When one of my kids or I say something to him and all we see is his back with his head looking down at his phone, not listening on a group text or checking fantasy football, or any of the billion other things you can do on the Internet or phone. And, of course, I've been guilty of the same thing. But this is what teachers and students have to contend with while phones are allowed in our schools. Distraction, checking, and the constant pressure to see and respond. And our kids' brains aren't even, fully developed yet, so their willpower is even worse than ours,
which is concerning. This is just one reason why I support district wide all day phone free schools using secure device storage. For the next twelve years or so, while they're in Ann Arbor Public Schools, I hope my kids and their teachers can focus on learning, being present in the classroom, the hallways, the lunchroom, and at recess, and navigating in person social interactions, both good and bad, without the additional pressures of endless texting and check ins, photos and selfies, and social media, I hope their world is big and that it's out there,
not stuck in here. Thank you. I believe that concludes public commentary. It's gonna give it a second. Are we are we good? Oh, alright. There we go. We we appreciate hearing from our community. The board would like would like to thank everyone who spoke and shared their comments tonight. Miss Parks, are there any points of clarification? Only that. I know this topic is going to committee, for further discussion. But in the meantime, both the district administration and I know this board of education are fully support the work that our schools that we've openly talked about here at the board table,
are doing to limit self on you. So I know there will be continued discussion of, committee coming soon. Thank you, superintendent Parks. Number four is community feedback. Is there any community feedback for the trustees to read? I do have something attached for tonight. Yes. Okay, trustees. There is community feedback. And I believe that brings us down then to number five, reports of association. Miss Ozinski, do we have a representative here from AAAA? I have not seen anyone from AAA or heard from anyone from AAAA this evening. Thank you, miss Ozinski. Are there any other groups signed up to present tonight?
I have received no, requests for speaking tonight for many groups. Thank you very much. And I believe that brings us down to number seven, board committee reports. Looks like we had an equity and inclusion meeting, and I will ask the chair, trustee Mohammed, if she has a report to provide. Yeah. So we just talked about, the equal, opportunity schools, and we went through that presentation. It talked about, you know, AP classes and, you know, the access. So there will be a presentation that will come forward to the board.
Thank you, Trustee Maham. Any questions, trustees? Seeing none, the Executive Committee also met briefly, to set the agenda for this meeting. There was not much else that was discussed at that meeting unless I missed something. Trustee Wilkerson? No. No. Okay. Quick meeting. Thank you. And I believe that brings us down if there are no questions, I believe that brings us down to number eight, and that will be the superintendent update. Superintendent Perks. Thank you, president Feaster. Brief superintendent's update this evening. The Ann Arbor chapter of the NAACP p hosted their annual Freedom Fund Scholarship dinner
this past Sunday, November 2. And over 200 Ann Arbor Public School tenth through twelfth grade students were recognized as n double a c p Freedom Fund Scholars, not only for their academic achievement, but also for who they are as leaders in our schools and in their communities. Several students also gave moving speeches and performances on this year's theme, the fierce urgency of now. November marks the official month we dedicate to honor native people and celebrate the rich cultures, traditions, and stories of native American and Alaska native communities and ensure their important contributions continue
to thrive with each passing generation. We honor and celebrate individuals of Native American ancestry in our classrooms and across our schools in the AAPS as we explore and deepen our collective awareness and understanding through rich art, literature, and other cultural and learning connections. Also in November, this week actually, November, we celebrate National School Psychology Week honoring the incredible work of our school psychologists. Our school psychologists make a difference every single day, supporting students' emotional well-being, fostering positive mental health,
and helping create learning environments where every child feels safe, valued, and capable of success. They also serve as trusted partners to families, teachers, and administrators offering insight and guidance to help us meet students' needs with care and compassion. Their impact often happens quietly behind the scenes, but it is felt in the confidence, resilience, and growth of students they support. Trustees, on October 24, two of our outstanding language teachers received awards at MIWLA annual conference in Lansing.
MILA stands for Michigan World Language Association Education. Erica Paplinski Burge, Spanish teacher at Tappan, received the Barbara Ort Smith award. It is the most prestigious award for a professional in the fields of world languages and honors those who have shown a strong commitment to the profession, manifesting itself in leadership and the promotion of excellence in world language education. Danielle Capitan, German teacher at Pioneer and Huron High Schools, received the distinguished service award in recognition of her exemplary service to the Michigan World
Language Association and for her advocacy for world language education locally and at the state level. So congratulations to both to both Danielle Capitan and Erica Paplinski Burge. Congratulations to the Pioneer Girls Field Hockey team led by Pioneer teacher, coach Jane Nixon. They won the inaugural MHSA Field Hockey State Championship with a two o victory over Dexter. This is the fourth state championship in a row for Pioneer, but this year marks the first year that MHSAA sanctioned field hockey for championship play.
The best cross country runners from around Michigan competed in the twenty twenty five Michigan High School Athletic Association state finals on November 1, which was held at the Michigan International Speedway. We are very proud of our pioneers. The girls took top honors as division one champions. Sophomore, Nastasias Dudek, broke the women's course record. The pioneer boys team dethroned Romeo Community Schools, a two time defending champion, for second place in d one with junior Kamari Ramfelt winning the race and breaking
a Pioneer school record. So con congratulations to our athletes at Pioneer. Trustees and community, Angel Elementary is one of 16 high performing Michigan schools and the only one in Washtenaw County that are being recognized as blue ribbon schools by the Michigan Department of Education. A special ceremony will be held next week on November 13 to honor the Michigan Public Schools, which have been nominated as Blue Ribbon Schools for being exemplary high performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally nationally normed assessments.
This time of year marks the winter fine art season, which kicks off with Pioneer Theater Guild's production of SpongeBob the musical starting tomorrow night, November 6, and running through Sunday, the ninth. Next week, Skyline's production of Leaving Iowa takes place November 14 through the sixteenth. Then our orchestra and choir concerts will begin in December, starting with Pioneer's Winter Orchestra concert on December. Tonight we sing a joint performance by Community High School Jazz Ensemble,
Pioneer High School Jazz Band, Huron High School Jazz Orchestra, and Michigan State Jazz Orchestra will take place on December 5. Huron's Orchestra concert will be on the third and its band concert on the December 15. Sharing honors on December 16, Community High School will host its Jazz Arctic Blast concert, and Pioneer will host its winter choir winter sing performance. The season will end on December 17 with the winter choir concerts at Skyline in
Huron. And lastly, voters across the Ouachita Intermediate School District, area yesterday approved the countywide career and technical education millage. We'd like to thank the community for their support. This funding will provide a sustainable local source of support for CTE programs, helping Ann Arbor Public Schools and Washtenaw County Schools across, this county maintain and update existing programs and and technology, expand equitable access to students across all communities, provide earlier exposure to career pathways,
and strengthen connections with industry and post secondary partners to meet skilled workforce needs. Alright. Good job. Sure. I love people. And that worked hard on. We we we did. And that concludes the superintendent's report this evening. Thank you, superintendent Parks. Alright. Trusting, I believe that brings me to the consent agenda. Ms. Olzinski, will you please read the consent agenda? Approve minutes of the 10/22/2025 regular meeting as presented. Approve minutes of the 20 oh, sorry. We can't do that one. We can't do the closed session meeting minutes.
My apologies. No worries. Approve donations, from Knox Presbyterian Church. We donated backpacks, lunch boxes, water bottles, and various school supplies to Dicken Elementary School and approved to hold a closed session on 11/19/2025 at 6PM for the purpose of attorney client privilege and negotiation. Thank you, miss Zazinski. Do I have a motion for the consent agenda? I'm sorry. I didn't ask. Would anyone like to remove an item from the consent agenda? Seeing none, do I have a motion for the consent agenda? So moved.
Moved by Trustee Schmidt. Second. Supported by Trustee Wilks. Any discussion? Ms. Zelensky, please. Okay. Trustee Vasquez? Yes. President Feaster? Yes. Trustee Mohammed? Yes. Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Wilkins? Yes. And Trustee Wilks? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you, miss Zosinski. That brings us down to number 10, board action. Student discipline action. This is a motion to expel, under the category level five designation, pursuant to state law and board policy. A motion to to expel students from the Ann Arbor Public Schools for one hundred
and eighty days. Do I need a motion or Yes. Okay. So moved. Moved by Trustee Schmidt. Support. Support by Trustee Baskett. And any discussion, trustees? Trustee Baskett? This is horrible. This is really a sad situation. We have not had to go this route for many, many years, and I think it's very sad that we're at this point. But some things are out of our hands. And so this situation, I just want to remind folks, this is reserved, if you will, for the most serious of offenses.
I commend the staff for giving as much support as we are able to. We're not required to, but we chose that route. And again, I appreciate the fact that the team has done all that it could do on behalf of this situation. Thank you. Thank you, Trustee Baskett. I don't know. Trustee Wilkinson? Yes. I'd just like to add on to that. I echo those thoughts. Obviously, this is not a situation we as a district or you know, even the administration would ever want to use, but there are certain instances where these types of actions are mandatory by state guidance
and requirements. Thank you, Trustee Wilkinson. Trustee Wilks. Yeah. Again, I would like to echo what the previous trustees have said. I think it's been at least thirteen years since we've had to do this, well before many of us were actually on the Board. This is not something that I mean, this is really it's sad. And, again, sometimes some things are sort of out of our hands. And, again, I'll just sort of leave it at that. But, yeah, I'll just leave it at that. Okay. I think that's I needed a well, I received a motion.
As soon as second, we had discussion. If there's nothing additional, miss Kozinski, please. Baskett? Yes. President Feaster? Yes. Trustee Mohammed? Yes. Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Wilkins? Yes. Trustee Wilkins? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. Well, that brings us down to 10.2 limited schools of choice for twenty twenty six twenty twenty seven school year. And I will turn it over to miss Dawn Linden. Thank you. President of Easter, as miss Linden makes her way to the podium, I would just simply say that, the state of Michigan allows districts to participate in schools choice schools of choice,
and it has been our past practice in the district, for, a limited schools of choice window that miss Linden will talk us through, as well as the timeline, and the windows for, our proposed, schools of choice time frame. Thank you very much. Good evening. President Feaster, trustees, superintendent Parks. As we have done since 2012, I'm here this evening to bring you a recommendation to approve limited schools of choice for the Anarbor Public Schools. For the benefit of the public, I'd like to share some background about this particular item.
And so, tonight, I'm sharing a recommendation and seeking approval for the establishment of three schools of choice enrollment windows that will occur in the 2026, for the twenty six-twenty seven school year. Before sharing those dates, there is some important background for our community. I think the first thing is to remind everyone that enrollment in the Ann Arbor Public Schools is always guaranteed to those families who are living within the AAPS school attendance boundary. So that is a given. There is no need to apply.
You're in. You do have to enroll, however. Second, schools of choice, is a local school board decision. And school boards can choose to offer a limited or an unlimited school of choice. Here in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, as superintendent Parks shared, we offer limited schools of choice, which means that we identify the schools and the grade levels where there are open seats, and we offer only enrollment in those areas. Should the number of applicants for schools of choice exceed the space available in the Ann Arbor Public Schools,
we must conduct a lottery and then place students accordingly to lottery position with those remaining on a wait list. Schools of choice applications are available to any family residing in our contiguous counties. So those are Washtenaw, Ingham, Jackson, Lenawee, Monroe, Oakland, and Wayne Counties. So we welcome those applications, and students also bring with them their full per pupil allowance according to that district in which they are enrolling from. So that allowance may be different for each district.
It is also important to note that student acceptance on schools of choice is conditional upon a review of student discipline. Once approved and enrolled, a student is considered an AAPS student and remains with us until graduation, and we're happy they do so. The space that is available at each building is determined through a multilayer review process with building leaders under the leadership of our executive directors to ensure that we are both preserving high quality educational experiences for students and remaining within class size limits.
With approval of limited schools of choice, the Ann Arbor Public Schools is able to adjust those open seats according to the spaces available. And of course, those values that drive us are ensuring that families who reside within the Ann Arbor attendance boundary are able to have access to an in district transfer process first. So we go through at least two rounds of in district transfer, allowing families two opportunities to make determinations about schools within our boundaries that they would
like to apply to attend. After that process, after our families have had those opportunities, those spaces for schools of choice are then identified, and the schools of choice window opens. Again, I'll just say it's an important lever for us to fill existing classes. It is not for the purpose of packing schools, adding sections, adding classes. It's to fill seats. That flexibility does allow us to do a couple of things. One of the important things is we get to stabilize, particularly in elementary schools, staff remaining within a building.
So we've all seen, that students don't often come to us in nice, neat packages of 25 per grade. Sometimes in a particular year, you might have a fewer number of first graders who come in. Schools of choice allows us to fill those seats to keep our teachers in their positions. You've all seen over the years that sometimes teachers have to transfer up a grade, down a grade. This allows us to provide for more stability, so that isn't happening every single year in our buildings. It also, of course, provides us with a financial benefit without the additional costs of staffing.
So just for our information, we typically do enroll between three hundred and five hundred students through schools of choice across our 32 schools. The total of school and choice enrollment does represent about 10% of the total enrollment in the Ann Arbor public schools. So if we were to look at an average of 400 students per year, financially, the benefit to the district in filling vacant seats brings us approximately $3,600,000 So, we remain committed to remaining within that 10% range,
and we also understand that this is an important lever that the district has in order to increase opportunity for students to be part of this high quality school district while also helping us stabilize enrollment. And I'm happy to take any questions you may have. The windows are within the memo. So there are three that we are proposing, the first opening April 14 and closing May 13, the second opening June 2 and closing July 1, the third opening July 23 and closing August 6.
That final school of choice window is very critical for us because that is our last opportunity to pull back and sweep in the families who had to move over the summer and want to remain with us. And oftentimes, they don't know that's happening or don't have final plans until that last window. So most of the families we enroll are those who've moved out but wanna stay. Okay? And I I want to introduce I know our board of education doesn't often get a chance to see the hardworking folks in our enrollment department, but I'm joined this evening by miss Robin Skadinski.
Robin is our enrollment and records coordinator, and, she's the one who does all that organization and work, for all of these windows. So thank you. She's here for questions as well. Oh, good. Thank you. Trustee Wilkes. Yeah. So, miss London, first of all, thank you for that presentation. Could you repeat how much, funding, the schools of choice actually brings to the district? Yeah. So if we were to look at, I mean, the number we accept each year fluctuates, but it's between $305,100. So the average is about 400 a year. If we just use that figure,
it's about 3,600,000.0. And one other question. So the recommendation is to approve limited schools of choice for the twenty twenty six-twenty seven school year? Correct. I'm looking at the provisions. Has anything changed from the twenty twenty five, twenty twenty six school year or previous school years? No. Those are the same provisions. And the three windows that we are asking for consideration and approval are the same windows we offered last year with the adjustment of one day because of the calendar shift.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you. I have two questions. Yes. Thanks for being with us. The 10% or the 300 to 500 students, those are outside the district that are coming in? That is correct. Do we know the number of in district school of choice transfers? How many students Oh. Take advantage of that? We we do track that. For our in district. We saw that a little bit differently. So those are usually our current school of choice students will apply for an in
district transfer in our first round, which is actually opening up November 18. So we try to get all of those because now they're considered our students. So basically anyone who's changing school levels, eighth grade to ninth grade, fifth grade to sixth grade, must apply for an in district transfer because they don't have a zone school. So basically, all of our students changing school levels than anyone else who might want to for whatever reason. K. And do we have an idea how many students were taught? How many students don't go to their So any students who takes advantage of industry
transfer? Yeah. I'd have to it fluctuates. I'd have to look at that. Okay. Yeah. I know. Have that data coming for you in an enrollment report. Okay. So I know that's being prepared, but I don't think we have it readily Yeah. Tonight. Thanks. You bet. And your, statement that you sent to us with this says, we believe that offering limited schools of choice aligns with our mission to provide equitable access to high quality education. Can you just speak to that? Why why is it, an equitable? Absolutely. I'm so glad you asked. So families of means have choice.
They can use their funds to go to a private school. They can use their funds to transport their students someplace. Typically, students and families without those means are very limited in the choice they have. They are limited to the school in which they are zoned. So in district transfer and schools of choice is opening up, to families across our contiguous counties choices that other families enjoy. Thanks. Yes. Yes. I've got a couple quick questions here. Do we know the percentage of students that we lose to other districts?
We do. I don't have it in front of me. We track that as part of the enrollment report every year. So I can tell you that for last year, and then we'll be bringing the new figures to you very soon. That's the same. Okay. And then is it still consistent that all surrounding schools that talk to our district are offering in district or sorry, school of choice options as well? I believe that's accurate. Superintendent Park. Correct. Okay. Perfect. I think that's all the questions. Great questions. Thank you. Alright. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. I do have one other quick question on this.
Should this actually be a first briefing item? Oh, okay. It's usually not, two briefings. It's usually, action item. So it would if to move it to first briefing would be a shift in our practice. But you want when's the first window? Is there an urgent the November 18, I believe. So that would not work. Okay. Push it to the next When's the first window? IDT. And IDT is, is is, the eighteenth. So pardon me, not Schools of Choice. Yes. Thank you, superintendent Park. So the first School of Choice window opens April 14.
One reason we are bringing it just a little earlier than we have in the past is we are attempting to market and get the word out way ahead so that our families can plan. It is typically something we do through Ann Arbor Observer. We market in many ways. If the windows are approved, we can package that and get that word out without having to change materials and update those. It's cost effective. So it's one reason we'd like to nail this this down as quickly as we can, but I certainly understand your your question.
That's the best one? But just to clarify, I think you stated, miss Linden, and in past practices, you want to offer the families who are looking at in district transfer the time to apply starting in November. Correct. And and so it'll give you planning time as you, we, planning time to determine the seats that may be available through the schools of choice. Correct. I heard that correctly. That is correct. So there does seem to be an urgency if you wanna start on the eighteenth. So the the school board does not, have to approve in district transfer.
So we could move ahead with the November 18, start for in district transfer and just not publish the school of choice windows. It means we have to, reprint and remarket materials when those windows are approved later. We're just trying to get ahead of things this year and support our district. So I mean, I personally don't see there being any potential controversy, if you will, regarding this option. It sounds to me if we approve this tonight, as it has been past past practices. It just, again, gives more time for us to communicate to the community,
the dates that we're doing this. I was going to ask forgive me. I was going to ask the question about we're legally constrained as to when we can start, schools of choice. Right? I mean, because why don't we just start January 1? You know? I mean, I thought there was a a constraint. Once we've set the dates, we've sort of set the dates. We're constrained with once we've closed the window, when we have to communicate with families and they've received the spot or perhaps are waitlisted. Okay. Maybe I misinterpreted Yeah. Not I don't think those as far as once we decide,
we can make sense as well. You can. No. I think you nailed it. And I think the dates are they coincide with that multilayer review process to identify where the seats are. To do it any sooner than that, I don't know that we'd be as clear about where those seats are. Thank you. And Bob? Yes. One follow-up question on in district transfer. So we're starting the November 18. What does that window run through? It's a long one. That window is open through January 6. Okay. We're aligning that in district transfer window this year with private school enrollments.
So we're attempting to get into that same flow that some of those of our competition are also using, giving our families an option so they don't feel like they have to make a different choice. Thanks. So, miss Linden, if we were to were to postpone, acting on this tonight, would that put us at a disadvantage when it comes to private schools and other schools out there? It's a great question. It would not. In terms of schools of choice, those folks aren't able to apply to enroll until April.
All it does for us is it delays us marketing those and getting that information out, and we might have to have multiple layers. Well, marketing is important. And it is, and it's really expensive. Right. Absolutely. This is a policy. How how we've done it in the past? Okay. Take a motion, though. I I move that we vote this evening to approve limited schools of choice Second. Proposal. Second. Board of Trustee Wilkes. Additional discussion, Trustee Wilkes. Wilkes? I would just add, maybe we've had a precedent of, proving it this way, and I'm fine moving forward,
but I would like to see it follow our normal process. Thank you. Alright. Ready to call the roll? If there's no additional comment or discussion, then we'll do a roll call, please. Trustee Basquiat? Yes. President Feaster? Yes. Trustee Mohammed? Yes. Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Wilkins? Yes. Trustee Wilks? Yes. Motion carries. Thank you. And I believe that brings us down to number 11, items for agenda planning. Trustees, are there any additional item for agenda planning beyond what I received the last couple of meetings? Trustee Mesquette? I I just want to reiterate,
a past request to have the team, Facilities Bond, whoever, discuss with the board the current knowledge of the housing development in the area that may be affecting our enrollment. I know the team has had it ready, and it's probably needs to be updated, because things are changing, every day with approvals of what's happening around our our district. So if we could get that scheduled, appreciate that. You're referring to a particular housing development or just all of them within that? All of the developments, approved developments in the district.
Okay. In the district. Trustee Wilks? Yeah. Thank you, President Feaster. I know Trustee Mohammed made reference to the EOS, outcome or presentation report. And, I would like to get that on the agenda. I would like to ask Superintendent Parks, perhaps when we would be able to do that, or is it still in the works? Yeah. Yep. We, we have it tentatively for, the nineteenth. We'd actually talked about it in an exec committee, the past exec committee. It was tentatively the nineteenth, but it looks like we will be moving it, because we'll, be bringing forward the strategic planning conversation instead.
So we're gonna move that EOS presentation to one of the either December or January meeting dates. But we did talk about an exec committee. Okay. Thank you for that update. And then additional? Yes. Yeah, I know there and this might already be on your list, but I know there was a request to get additional information on the status of our bond funding and get an updated presentation from the team that puts those together. It says definitely on the list. Okay. Perfect. And then the other item that I'm sure we'll be putting in their budget considerations
and updates as well. So I'm sure that's on on the radar of everyone in the finance department, but looking forward to that as well. Yeah. Alright. We're planning for that, along with the audit presentation on the nineteenth. Okay. If there's nothing else, then, we're at item from the Board. Do trustees have anything they would like to share? Trustee Baskin? Thank you, President Feaster. We've heard from parents and we know that the cell to bell to bell, what the petition regarding the cell phone policy, is coming to committee. But I would be interested,
again, with my colleague's support here, to ask you or the administration to get the input of the AAAA, quad a, and AAAEA. We have not formally heard a position or their feedback on it. Of course, don't want to exclude hearing from them and, of course, engaging them because as we all know, when we all cooperate, it's easier to get things done. So colleagues, are there any objections, I guess, I would like to know? Quick follow-up. We have, we have administered a survey to our quad a for our administrators, actually, just last week. And so,
we are awaiting those final results. I think that their survey closes this week, and we will discuss AAAEA. Well, I I appreciate the survey, superintendent parks. But, again, I'd like to hear from their leadership You mean as well? Them coming to a board meeting. Either to a board meeting, an email exchange, whatever. But I don't want I guess I don't want us risking our interpretation of the survey of their members without hearing from the input of leadership. Okay. I can reach out to Claudia if that's helpful. Okay. Thank you, sir.
Wanted someone else to reach out to the AEA also? It's totally up to you and the superintendent if my colleagues don't have any objection. Okay. Okay. Anything else? Trustee Wilks? Thank you, President Feaster. I just wanted to congratulate all 200 students who were honored at the annual NAACP Freedom Fund dinner. It was just wonderful to see the students and their parents or guardians and just, the outpouring from the community to come out and support the students and, our administrators and members of our own district were there supporting.
And, it was a proud day for everyone who's connected to the Ann Arbor Public Schools. And if I could add, thank you, Trustee Wilks, for bringing that up. I go to a lot of these Freedom Fund dinners and I'm very happy to see the success. But as I was telling Trustee Wilkes, I felt a different vibe in the room, if you will, amongst our students. I mean, they were very openly supportive of one another. We had requests for students to switch tables because, again, they wanted to be more with their colleagues. I see it as a change in culture amongst our students, and I just wanna commend the superintendent and the team for that.
Because, again, it was a different vibe. It was more supportive, more enjoyable, I think, for the students, than I've seen in the past. So good work. Alright. If there's nothing additional, then, I will entertain a motion to adjourn to closed session for the purpose of attorney client privilege and negotiation. So moved. Moved by trustee Wilkerson. Second. Supported by trustee Wilks I mean, Wilkins. Excuse me. I get all these jokes. Yeah. It never ends. Any discussion? Alright. The kinda this is a roll call. Miss Otinski, roll call, please. Trustee Vasquez? Yes. President Feaster? Yes. Trustee Mohammed?
Yes. Trustee Schmidt? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Trustee Wilkerson? Yes. Motion carries. Bye.