this meeting is a meeting of the Board of Education and public for the purpose of conducting the school district's business and is not to be considered a public community meeting this meeting is an imperson meeting held at a70 caxs here in Benton Harbor in addition a live stream of this meeting is available at
the following link question may be submitted beforehand to natalie. singer at bhas.org or presented in person during the public comment sections as indicated in the agenda board members may be contacted through the emails listed below requests for special assistance including for persons with
disabilities may be sent to natalie. singer bhas.org I call this meeting to order officially at 6:11 p.m. we will Begin by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance i al to the plag of the United States of
America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation God indivisible with liy and Justice secretary triplet can you do me the honor of calling the role please yes uh president Robinson presid vice
president Bowens president secretary triplet president treasur Bradley truste rocket Martin truste Doyle present truste Gavin present Madame President a quorum has been established
all right thank you next up we have approval of the agenda um currently on the agenda we do have a closed session as the first item of business I have received clarification that the parent nor student will be present correct okay
so I um would actually recommend being that we do have members of the public here we could move the Clos session under board business and the student reinstatement directly prior to Old business so that the public does not have to um wait for us to come out of
the Clos session however it can also be brief so we can keep it as it stands but just ensure that we work through it quickly what is the board's pleasure or desire at this point they're not they're not planning to attend I do not anti will be there
long so we can keep it as it stands and and proceed through it quickly okay so ask is there a motion to approve the agenda Madame President I make a motion to approve the agenda as is is there a second or support support the motion has been made by vice
president Bowes and supported by trustee Rock Martin any questions comments or concerns hearing none secretary triplet can you please call the vote president Robinson yes vice president bow yes secretary triplet
yes truste rocket Martin yes truste Gavin yes trustee Doyle yes motion carried all right next up on the agenda is the review of the Board of Education Norms the Board of Education norms for Benton Harbor area schools we will treat
each other with respect we will listen to learn we will refrain from side conversations we will use our time wisely starting and ending our meetings on time we will ch ideas not people we will ask questions when in doubt and there will be no surprises at the board table we will practice the seven Norms
of collaboration those are pausing paraphrasing posing questions putting ideas on the table providing data paying attention to self and others and presuming positive intentions next up on the agenda we have public comment on agenda items is there anyone present
that would like to make a public comment on an agenda item tonight all right hearing none will proceed um as a reminder this is our work session so in our next regular board meeting we will have approval of meeting minutes work session
2425 um please ensure that you've reviewed those if there's any corrections or amendments needed let us know beforehand so we can ensure that they are accurate when we get ready to take vote as a reminder our protocol as of 913 2022 all comments will be limited
to two minutes per truste per topic as dated our first item of business underboard business is a closed session the Board of Education will hold a closed session to consider a student disciplinary matter pursuant to the request of the parent under policy 0167
point2 B MCL 15 268 section 8B at this particular time I would ask is there a motion to end Open Session and enter close session as noted Open Session can you bring your mic a little closer make a motion to end Open Session and go
into close session is there a second or support so move the motion has been made by trusty rockat Martin and supported by trusty Doyle any questions comments or concern uh Madame President um to Mrs singer Miss singer could you
please make sure that that is added the Clos session there's no place for me to put that on there please make sure and record that for me thank you all right again the motion has been made by trusty ra Martin and supported by trusty Doyle if there's no more questions or concerns
secretary tripy can you do me the honor of calling the role president Robinson yes vice president Born yes secretary tripet yes trustee Gavin yes truste rocket Martin yes truste Doyle yes
motion Carri all right just to the board there are minutes from the reinstatement um that the committee did that should be at your table you do want to bring those with you into the Clos session um so at this particular time it's a two-sided document at this particular time as
voted we will end Open Session and enter close session as of 6:17 p.m. we'll be back shortly um to the public it shouldn't take us too long I uh I I'm do getting this in for our
training Co is going around and I don't get C you know what I'm g go in I gotta get this e Mr a concerns hearing none secretary president Robinson yes vice president
Bowens yes secretary triplet yes Treasurer Bradley yes trusty ret Martin yes trusty Doyle yes trusty Gavin yes motion carries all right up next we have um regarding the student reinstatement
staff report B1 which I'll present subject student reinstatement dated for today reason for board consideration policy requires that the School Board review any student request for reinstatement policy reference 5610 strategic plan goal reference learning environment Benton Harbor area schools
will develop maintain and Implement with Fidelity a multi-tier system of support that enhances the culture and learning environment facts and Analysis following the incident and February of 2024 Says student JG was expelled from bent Harbor area schools after $150 days the policy
allows app parents or legal guardian to petition the school board for reinstatement a petition of reinstatement was received from say students parents on January 13 2025 to being reinstated at B Harbor area schools following the 150 days per board policy there was a reinstatement
committee whose recommendation is as follows recommended action that the Bon Harbor Area Schools Board of Education votes to improve the conditional reinstatement of say student to the Ben Harbor area schools effec of March 3rd 2025 with the conditions of student will enroll in Cape for the remainder of the
2024 2025 school year student will make academic progress at Cape student will be able to return to B Harbor High School after the 2024 2025 school year including summer school after a review by B haror High School principal and the director of Cape to confirm the student
has completed the a for mentioned student and parents will meet with principal Morant prior to their return at Ben Harbor High School to sign a behavior contract and discuss the required District counseling approve for presentation to the Board of Education by Dr Kelvin Budz at this time I'll ask
is there um as a reminded we're taking a vote on this tonight for our requirements is there a motion to approve staff report B1 I'll make a motion to approve staff report B1 is there a second or support support the motion has been made
by Treasurer Bradley and supported by vice president Bowens any questions comments and concerns Madam president I do have a question um after seeing the the report the staff report is there any
requirement uh according to this uh student being re admitted to Cape is there any behavioral contract that should be signed prior to her coming back to Cape and if so would that
student uh meet with uh director Roseberg because once you become a a student at k then there are some privileges that are available to you um so the committee did not require any any Behavior contract to
be signed at Cape given that majority of that is virtual um but we did require the behavior contract to come back into Benton Harbor High School which is what the student was um requesting requesting to do so do you think that that's something that we could take into consideration being that this is before
us and um if that student want to participate at in things that students that that are available to student at cap should we make sure that we secure and take care of ourselves and cover ourselves in this matter so I would diver to um Dr bus or um director cups
is there a standard requirement or contract that Cape students sign prior to the academic year is that a standard expectation or when they return to the school there is an expect there's a contract that is
signed that typically tailored by the school so it could be a contract it could be excuse me a behavior contract or it could be an academic contract so we could we could tailor that to the to the specific needs of the we try to tailor that to the specific needs of the student I think what what we're asking
specifically is what secretary triplet is asking is should there be a contract for her return to Cape which is not a part of I don't believe so what we are recommending is what has been presented to the student and parent which they've agreed on to my understanding yes but he's asking what he's trying to
determine is is there an expectation contract uh for return to cap I'm asking if it's standard because he wants to know whether we should make an amendment to this for returning from or going to going into cap the ex just the
expectation that they perform it it said in the um in the resol in in here under the conditions that student would make academic progress at Cape so we can that's it's typically written in their letters what they expectation
is all right if there's no other if there's no F yes there is also a contract at Cape for every single student whether they're placed there for discipline reasons or not that's related to their engagement the expectations the um supports that
would be provided they have an orientation meeting with all students that enroll at Cape no matter why they enroll at Cape thank you that's what I was looking for all right if there's no other question um rock Martin were you attempting to make a statement or a comment okay if there's no other
questions um secretary triplet can you please call the vote for staff report B1 president Robinson yes vice president bow yes secretary triplet yes Treasurer Bradley yes trustee rocket Martin yes
trustee Goyle yes truste Gavin yes motion carries Madam president all right awesome so we do wish this suit the best um and we look forward to great things within B Harbor area schools welcome back um next up for the policy and discipline committee we have the
selection and appointment of the committee chair um so each committee is going to select and appoint their chair this evening um if there is a standard consensus amongst your committee um then there's no vote required it's it's kind
of understood who's going to accept the recommendation but if there are more than one person that's interested in being the chair then the um actual committee persons will have to take a vote um and as a reminder this is per
policy 0155 the last little notation says each board committee shall be convened by a chairperson who shall report for the committee and shall be chosen by the committee from among its members all right so as it relates to the policy and discipline
committee if my memory uh serves me correctly I know it's myself Treasurer Bradley and trusty Doyle so I am wondering if either of the three of us are interested in serving as
chair of that committee if not I'll take it I'm comfortable with that all right I hear Cricket at the tour that's um I figured that might work best I know that um treasure Bradley travels quite a bit and um I really enjoyed the
last one we did so I will take on being the chair of policy and discipline committee if there's no objections from the remaining members of my committee no objections all right um so next we have the driver's education course
resolution that was actually um a recommendation from truste Gavin that was not um who was part of the previous policy committee and so she did ask that we um include this under policy so I um
am going to allow truste Gavin um to present her resolution we this vote I can't I did ask for Miss singer to reference the minutes I'm not sure if you got a chance to do that I don't remember if we were just supposed to have the discussion tonight or if we
were expected to take a formal vote tonight on this was it discussion only and then the vote is for March I thought we discussed Pres okay so then uh truste Gavin if you could proceed with presenting your resolution and what you're suggesting um and then we'll kind
of review staff report be yes the vote would be for tonight okay so okay so we'll allow truste Gavin to present it and then what I would
anticipate from my board is that they probably would to marinate over it a little bit more but we can see where we are once it's presented so trusty Gavin you have the floor hey president Robinson um I am super excited uh I've
been saying 20 years it might be a little less than that but it's been a very long time coming uh since we had the driver's education program I'm super excited that the board voted unanimously to bring that program back
for our children children and so we are presenting a resolution to uh make the course free for the students um I will read the resolution can you uh speak up um you
can hear me can you hear me now maybe it's my mic I'm they're they're working on turning it up right now okay kind all right Mr Mr thank you so much yeah thank you
appreciate you appreciate you apprciate okay is this better yeah okay thank you so much so Ben Harbor area schools Baron County Michigan a work session meeting is that what we're
calling our work session meeting of the Board of Education of the district was held in Ben Harbor High School library within boundaries of the district on the 25th day of February 25th the meeting was called to order by Des Robinson president president I
believe we I'll skip over the names we all know our names I'll get into the resolution whereas on January 29th 2024 the state of Michigan Secretary of State Joselyn Benson called for improved access to driver's education for high
school students across the state and support for public schools looking to provide drivers training whereas on January 29th 2024 the Michigan Education Association president Shandra M matery I
hope I'm saying her name correctly call for improved access to driver education for high school students across the state and support for public schools looking to provide drivers training whereas the Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education is committed to
reversing the effects of drivers education privatization in an attempt to dismantle the ex existing racial barriers that persist license holders and limited access to license holding based on household income whereas on
January 29th 2024 the state of Michigan Secretary of State Joselyn Benson announced efforts to secure two voluntary Grant programs need based grant and voluntary Grant programs to remove barriers to drivers education
whereas on January 29th 2024 the Michigan Association president announced efforts to secure two volunteer Grant programs need-based Grant and volunteer grant program to remove barriers to driver's education on February 11 2025
the Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education signed in agreement with the Department of Education certified company to perform drivers training for high school age students in the district beginning in March of 2025 through April of 2026 the board Board of
Education agreed to secure a State Certified company and work to secure inhouse instructors who will perform drivers training for high school age students beyond the current contract whereas Benton harbar school's board of education is committed to investing in
safety and responsible behavior helping students learn skills knowledge and the attitude needed for safe driving and whereas on November 29th 2023 B Harbor area school celebrate ated $12 million in school debt forgiveness for their
districts and $114 million in debt forgiveness for school districts across the state of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the bill in response to the Ben Harbor area school's Board of Education trustees students parents District partners and Community leaders
demonstrating a United commitment to invest in relevant curriculum that promotes Student Success in public education and Beyond the new law stipulates that districts identify solutions to increase student
enrollment attendance and achievement whereas the Ben Harbor Area Schools Board of Education is committed to utilizing the driver's education course to incentivize student enrollment recruitment retention community service and achievement whereas the Ben Harbor
Area Schools Board of Education is committed to limiting Financial burdens to students and families and uring zero added cost or added hardships to the students to participate in the provided driver's education public school program
whereas bhub Area Schools Board of Education is committed to securing grants education funding and resources related to dri's education program that will financially equip the district to provide the driver's education course as a public education offering to attract
retain and enhance the quality of life for Ben Harbor area school students and families now therefore be it resolved that Ben Harbor area school's Board of Education in agreement with the Secretary of State and Michigan Education Association strongly urges
that high school age students have improved access to District provided State Certified drivers education be therefore resolved that Ben hararia school's Board of Education Advocates to dismantle racial barriers and discrimination that may hinder students
from receiving a free and education thank you um trusty Gavin so I did um she there's a lot of context and data and things of that nature in here I did ask that she highlight specifically so you all know what the resolution
would be agreeing to um so those are the highlighted sections um as reflected on your resolution and then um staff report B2 um if you wanted to kind of read through do that and then we can have the
discussion at the table did you want to present that as well trusty Gavin yes um I am there's a part that says at no cost to eligible students that means elig students
eligible to attend Benton Harbor area schools so I would like to submit it with the amendment that we're clear that it means in B2 or the resolution in the in the report in the okay okay go ahead
okay would I read the whole thing or just recommended action um you can start a f and well you can you can read through the whole thing really quickly Okie doie reason for board consideration the subject is free driver's
education February 25th 2025 the district seeks to provide eligible Ben Harbor area school students the opportunity for free drivers education facts and Analysis on February
11th 2025 the Ben Harbor Area Schools Board of Education approved an agreement with the Michigan Department of Education certified company to perform drivers training for high school age students in the district beginning in March of 2025 through April of 2026 the
B Harbor Area Schools Board of Education would like to ensure that there is zero added costs or added hardships to the students to participate in the provided driver education public school program the policy reference is 63 6320
purchasing and the funding sour is S3 the Strategic plan reference is the learning environment V hararia schools will develop maintain and Implement with Fidelity multi-tier system of support that enhances the culture and learning environment and the recommended action
is that the Board of Education votes to approve the districts provides the driver's education course at no eligible Benton Harbor at no cost at no cost to eligible Benton Harbor area students okay so I'll open the floor up
for for conversation um on your electronic copy Dr bus did highlight the section that says at no cost to eligible students because i' like to make sure that you all know exactly what it is that you're voting on um and it's clear so I'll open the floor up for
conversation unless you all want to go ahead and and make a motion to approve it as it stands is that something we're ready to do tonight or would we like to kind of go into the conversation Adam president you have the floor I I I I think that this is the work session and
I think that we should continue in that manner that we're here to discuss and uh those things are being presented to the committee of the whole um I I you know personally myself when I looked at the
proposal uh from that was presented to us was I would encourage the Board of Education to go back through and look at that proposal so that we'll be clear I do have a concern with us recruiting staff within our district to uh leave this work when we can't we can't find
teachers so that's a very and and and the the um the proposal specifically states that they do have um staff that with this company that can come in and begin the work immedi mediately I also
noticed as I was reading the uh contract that was presented uh who would provide the vehicle and I saw that they had scratched out uh what how many vehicles this uh company would provide if this
company would be able to provide any vehicles at all because there are special um vehicles for our students to have for the students to be driving on one side and the actual teacher having the same footing breaking and apparatus
on the on the on the opposite side of that particular vehicle as the students are driving so I think there's some points of clarification but I do want it to be known for me and when I look at this with the sr3 funding I you know um
I don't think that our student should be should pay a dime not one penny and I've looked at all of the things that we've done with $40 million of ether fund and and many of those things to me have
affected our students indirectly but this is an opportunity to get grassroot I don't agree with the concept that we need to teach our parents or teach our children how to be responsible um and and by do and the way that we do that is
that we make them pay we get millions and millions of dollars based on the fact that our student are uh categorized under these um um um adjectives of under privileged and
underserved those are things that they call so they get millions of dollars on as a result of that and so I think that it would be Reckless for us to even consider charging a parent one penny I am for driver's education for our students when I went to Ben Harbor
High School I took driver's education um I did not pay a dime I students are going to prom every year they cannot afford to do the driver's education training some of our students are around here driving without license
police are coming all around they they find out exactly when our prom night is and they they they stack up and they set up and they they they they trap and so I would like for this board to take into
consideration uh that we look at that and that we do not and that we all unanimously say that support this Initiative for the driver's education for Benton haror area school students only
free of cost thank you thank you secretary triplet um at this time I'll ask if there if we could because I know some for the sake of time I know we have quite a bit to do today um the reason that it was placed on the agenda for vote is because I'm pretty sure that was
the conversation we had last time when approved the driver's education course we deferred the payment piece of it whether we would do it completely or at no cost to the student until this upcoming work session meeting the resolution is something that trusty
Gavin drafted to kind of accommodate the um staff report however I understand if the board is communicating that it's not yet ready to take the vote but at this time I'll try to ask if there is an alternative Viewpoint um
secretary triplet has voiced that he would like to pay fully vice president Bowen you have the floor yes um I support giving our kids drivers education can you pull your mic a little bit closer I support y you good I support
giving our kids driver education um my question is and I understand um my colleagues say let's do it at no cost they can't hear you oh it's it's the the blowers okay so my
colleagues are saying give it at no cost correct so the okay can you hear me now yes okay so my colleague said my colleagues are saying um it should be free at no cost so my
question is with this program it would be a semester or the whole year and we would follow up to make sure we conclude them from reading the book to knowing the stop signs
to all of that so say for example we pay for a kid and it's time for them to take that road test and they flunk who responsibility is that to make sure they we get their
test am I making sense or am I losing you guys on that no we he we following you met so I iar I I support it I just think that is there a solid
plan and yes so are we going to continue to pay for it at no cost or do we say okay the first time you take it it's free the second time you have to pay for
it I don't think we have have any plans now if that's not the case where they don't lead you up to the course and highway driving and everything you can drive good on the highway but when it's backing up into them cones and stuff it's a little different and so I I think I believe
majority there's no one at the table if I'm if unless I'm mistaken of course we're we're getting the program there's no one at the table that feels as though that the parent and student should have to front the whole cost I think the conversation that we're having is whether or not the student appear should have to pay a portion correct okay well
not even a portion because like I said I support it being covered but when do we draw the line okay secretary triplet um umce president when we did take driver's education we took the course and they
gave they they prepared us for everything but it was our responsibility when it was time for the licensing it was our responsibility to pay for that so the parents our parents had to pay for us to take the test for the license so are we not paying for the license yes they would have you know my
thought so I would we're going to pause for a second because I want to make sure you all allow me to give you the the floor so we don't get too conversational go ahead secretary and I realized I gave you a second comment ER but I'll go ahead and let you yeah I just wanted he brought up a statement where the once we
took driver's education in Ben haror high school they gave us the authorization to say that we were ready to take the test the the actual taking of the test was the responsibility of paying for by the parent so I'm not sure if that's $70 or they go to
actually I don't know exactly how much it cost but they the school did not pay for that the school provided the education the training and everything but it was our parents and our responsibility to go to the uh
DMV and and do the step to get our license if that helped Gavin um thank you president Robinson what I would um encourage us to consider is that we before the
privatization of schools before they took out the program driver's education was of course as a part of a public school offering so there was a strategic consideration to start making Ames pay
for something that used to be paid for with their tax dollars just like if a student fails algebra we don't make them pay to take algebra again we encourage them to take the course again so you may be on a waiting list you may have to get
behind all of these other students who want to take the course but we're here to educate right our main job is I believe is to educate and so you know there's a lot of people and a lot of supporters who would love for us to go
ahead and move forward and provide the course um and it's not really free it's really just paid for by our tax dollars we've already paid for it and I I think many of us are in agreement with that already
um yeah what I would say is that this course can be a part of the students education development plan and they can work with counselors to help them develop smart goals to towards their getting their driver's license so I'll
just say that you know um I know that Dr bus asked if we could make a decision on this as quickly as possible so that he could go ahead and take care of the details needed to get the course going I know we've been waiting since
2023 and um and so we've already supported the program now it's just a matter of him being clear on the payment structure so that they can go ahead and put the class together um so that we can
provide it for our students and so I would like to make a motion um that we support staff report B2 uh in support of the driver's education course resolution I second now
motion's on the floor now okay so a motion has been made um to approve staff report B2 by trusty Gavin supported by trusty Doyle I'll open up for a question comment concern trusty ra Martin yes
madame president I am in favor of of dri Ed extremely however I am also in favor of guidelines being put in place so that um everything is very clear to both parties to us and to the parents as to
you know how this works I I am also in favor of us doing the educational part but like Mr triplet said I think that taking the actual test should be a responsibility of the parent um and that's their contribution that's their
contribution so I am in favor of this this plan with the the guidelines also added to it okay any additional comments from the board as a reminder there's a motion on the floor to um recommend the
action that the Board of Education votes to approve the district provides driver the driver's education course at no cost continued so is there any alternative comments before we proceed with actually taking a vote tonight do you have anything as the
treasurer you might want to weigh in sir it's going to be your your job to in committee to look look at this money um I I'm I'm for I'm all for it um I'm just you know taking a look over the resolution it was just a few things but nothing major that I had um the
misgivings about but other than that I'm all for it let's go all right if there's no objections from the table director Rock Carter do you have any insight on this as the Director of Finance I know
that we specifically are utilizing a grant but do you have thoughts as the Director I do um this first year we were thankful enough to have the S Grant to cover this program but my concerns are
sustainability and if we do the program entirely free this year for the students which is wonderful that's a great thing but next year if we we will not have the same funding so therefore we may have to
seek donations or we may have to be creative with funding this program in the future and I just don't want for parents to feel like those students last year didn't
have to pay why do we have to pay this year and I'm hoping that you know funding is in place and we can fully fund the program again and no one has to pay but that's a a bit of a question mark at this point in
time in this program that's my only concern okay now a follow-up question that I have is this and this would be for Dr buts and director CBS is this technically considered a CTE course driver's education or where does it fit in
curriculum so we looked at the standards of for some Automotive courses um a couple of others and really the automotive courses are more so there's one strand that is related to Collision Repair there's another strand
that's related to um more like a mechanic career pathway um there's also a diesel career pathway um but not anything that would lend itself to operating and the safety um there is the
opportunity to have it as an elective in more of a life skills sort of a thread and maybe even pair it with personal finance to have a full semester that would um Encompass more of the preparation for adulting um you could
also um include preparation for the FASA in that um you know some of those things to prepare myself for what comes next okay and then the second question that I have for you you all is what what at what age or grade level are students
able to enroll is this for seniors or Juniors and seniors can participate this first go round 16 year olds okay license age yeah LIC okay it's align basam presen with the state departments and guidelines for
students being able to get license okay um one one last thing um director Brock Carter did make a great point um that's noted here in the resolution that Gavin provided whereas the Ben Harbor area school's board of education is committed to securing
grants education funding and resources related to driver's education programming that would financially equip the district to provide the driver's education course as a public education offering to attain to attract retain and enhance the quality of life for Ben Harbor area school students and families
so I just want to make sure that you all do hear director roock Carter's thoughts if we do make move forward with the motion on the table to approve this then we are committing to do our due diligence as well to support the district um in in locating the funding
sources to ensure that this program does have longevity and so if each of us are committed to do are committed to do that work and supporting the administration in doing that work rather and um you all are willing to and ready to proceed with the vote then we can go ahead and take the vote but I just want to make sure
that everyone is fully aware of what um um we're good for this first year but we may have to do some some labor to make sure that it does have longevity and we're able to continue the program one last question and then we'll proceed with the vote so what I saw was
um with us if we hired the the the teachers and what you have you according to that contract have you that we talking about $888,000 mind you that we don't have large Junior classes or senior classes
of student that's number one the criteria would need to be put in place for students to even be able to take the course and so it's like at this particular juncture a very small senior class a very small junior class um I
think again like you said we should be able to maintain it but if if if what what was budgeted already was $888,000 to be able to sustain this I think that we could we should be able to sustain this we should have monies and fundings
available for us to sustain this every junior is not going to take driver's education everybody might not qualify so you have you know I took it in the 10th grade so you start becoming eligible you turned 16 10th grade going into your 11th grade year so you got to look at
the number of students that we have and what this because we might not even use the whole $888,000 because you might not have we we don't have a large number of seniors and juniors who would qualify for this anyhow $888,000 is a a small piece in an
over $25 million budget so I I I wouldn't be concerned with that right now myself personally okay and to to speak to that so one of the things that I asked Dr bus after the meeting is is as a reminder this is errund so we do have a window of
time that we do have to pull down the money and so in the event that the students we do not spend the full 88,000 what is the alternative spending options to ensure that that money um is not returned one of the suggestions that he had or the things that he mentioned he was considering was investing in a
district vehicle that could be utilized for the driver's education course and so that would potentially cut down the funding um of the future programming correct using our own vehicle which would be covered by Fleet insurance would also be a way to contribute to
decrease cost in the future trusty Gavin I'm not sure if you're trying to get another comment in just real brief go ahead and then I'll go to vice president B and then we have to move forward with the vote because we still we are our committee meeting other committees have to meet trusty trusty Gavin yeah I just
want to point to the resolution that our students um fought hard to get debt forgiveness that we normally would be paying $600,000 extra a year uh to the state
and that was awarded and they fought for their education and what better way to show them that and show the community and the surrounding communities that we're investing those dollars back into their education so that they can get
jobs help their family out there's so many different things that they can do um with this investment uh in them so that that's that right there alone is $600,000 a year not to mention uh the students and families that would come that this would
attract um you know just five or six coming back covers the cost of the entire class not that we want to look at students in terms of dollars but the money is there um and then we also have um several million in the bank as well
so what we're talking about is utilizing our dollars to educate our children um I've seen us invest money in contractors and vendors and things of that nature this is a direct investment that they would be able to use for the rest of
their lives and a skill that they will use many of them will use every day of their lives almost so I think it's a great investment um vice president Bowes just out of curiosity how many students that we have
that are on an IEP I the reason I'm asking because I do know or let me rephrase that receiv receiving special education services the reason I'm asking is because I do know there's outside
agencies that pay for those students and that could possibly Michigan Rehabilitation Services okay so you guys are aware of that has that been considered in The Proposal with the cost that we're getting Dr beron would you like to come
up to the mic and speak to that yeah hey um so yeah if a student with an IEP does work through mrss Michigan Rehab Services they could get driver's education paid for through that
route um I don't think we've considered how many people that would be or uh how many kids that would be I don't the reason I'm asking thank you the reason I'm asking is because I am a beneficiary of that Services however I
don't think we have a clear cost analyst I know we got an invoice for this um I don't know I it's I support it but I don't know how to say the words that I'm trying to say I think we I I think
we're following you you're communicating more clear clearly didn't realize we got you okay okay what you're saying is a student with an IEP has alternative funding options that we might be able to consider however with us not having the exact numbers we don't know how much of a potential cost of resource that would
be yes and how we could make sure this program is because when you read this resolution it's a loaded resolution and it's locking Us in um beyond the current contract however we don't want to start
a program and we have to stop it because we're budget cuts or you know our decrease in students and everything yes this could bring kids back however let's be realistic and making sure yes our
kids need driver's ed I can testify a driver's ed um and making sure you have your license um but let's make sure we are doing what's right for our students but also doing what's right for the district
my question to Dr bucks is because I wasn't prepared to vote for this today is this needed today I will be meeting with them next week but we can defer the uh vote to um the regular session if you go if you all
need more time I I can still meet with them and and we can start planning preparation because you all have approved their services so what we need to start doing now is making sure we get our instructors together the behind the scenes work so the vote on whether to
pay or not is is is is flexible so we already got we already voted to approve driver's ed the only thing that we're pending is if there's a percentage that the student and parent will have to pay that's the only thing I do believe it we it's a way
that we could get half of our well not half but majority well it's a way that our students can get in however if our junior year are sophomores how do we make sure this program is there for them still how do we make sure that incoming freshman
class this is there for them and how do we keep the longevity as treasur I'm sorry the Director of Finance Miss Brock Carter stated um there's one there's one thing that I think is important to note because I'm not sure if we're going to take this vote now or if it's if it's
going to be table I know that there was a tidbit of information that Miss Carter provided to me when I walked into the meeting that you're going to provide in the finance portion but I think it's critical that the board is aware at this point prior to potentially taking a vote
in the difference of expected aid from the state versus what we get regularly so if you could just give us that quick TI tidbit because I I don't want I would feel um I feel uncomfortable allowing the board to take a vote without that information that you provided to
me well when we get there we'll know we'll have more detail but we are expecting a tremendous cut in our funding for next year quite so and and that's something that we were pre-aged um I think from
the state in previous meetings that there are going to be budget changes on behalf of the Michigan Department of Education not just specifically for B Harbor area schools for all public education so um when we get there we'll get the sum of it so at this point we have a motion on the
floor um I'm not sure if I can proceed with the vote I haven't heard anybody asking to table so one last comment is 7:27 yeah I just want to move forward with the vote I think we have the money we have additional
$600,000 a year um we have the money to provide this service Educational Service to who our kids I don't think that there is even a question as to whether it's a
valuable service is needed is wanted we already voted for $440,000 uh and put aside $80,000 and the money's there so and Dr
bus what I'm hearing from Dr bus is that he would have preferred we voted tonight so that when he goes into the meeting he's clear on he's clear on where we stand as a board as opposed to
holding holding him up in that way and I know he will accommodate but if we're all in favor and support that the course be paid for um makes sense for us to go ahead and move forward if if we could go ahead
and and U make the vote and if some happens um we are able to you know make a new vote if something changes with our dollars but as it sits we have more than enough money millions in the bank 600,000 in
excess and I I believe that our kids deserve to see that we are investing in them okay so we're going to move forward with the vote I I can't I'm sorry we I've allowed everybody about three or four comments it's not personal or anything I didn't know if Ra was trying
to get me okay so I thought Ra was trying to get my attention okay so um if there's no further objection secretary triplet can you please call the vote and just to remind everyone if I could get back to the staff
report we have our resolution the whereas I want to make sure I read it the Ben haror a Schools Board of Education is committed to limiting Financial burdens to students and families ensuring zero added costs or added hardships to the student to participate in the by the drivers education public school program and then in the second highlighted portion
committed to securing grants education funding and resources related to drivers education programming Etc and then recommended action that the B Harbor area schools vote to approve the district provides drivers education course at no cost essentially so secretary triple King please call the
vote president Robinson yes vice president Bowen can you come back to me please secretary triplet yes treasurer Bry no truste rocket Martin yes
trustee Dole yes trusty Gavin yes vice president Bowens don't feel pressure either way you vote with your conviction that's perfectly fine I'm sting motion carry all
right okay so I am going to proceed I'm going to remind the board protocol as of 9:13 2022 all comments will be limited to two minutes for trustee per topic we have to get through it's 7:30 um we are technically now at the curriculum and student Support Services
committee the first item of business is to select and appoint a committee chair um as a reminder and just for the public I'm not texting or anything I'm in my phone to get my committee notes because this is our first time actually working in our committees curriculum and student
Support Services committee is Trusty Gavin myself and trusty raet Martin so the first item of business for us to select appoint a committee chair I recommend uh truste Gavin as the chair of curriculum uh I recommend truste Gavin
also okay do you have any objections to that trust G I humbly and excitedly accept the responsibility all right so at this particular time um because this is a meeting of the curriculum and student Support Services
committee the floor will be pass to chair Gavin um each chair will chair their individual portions of the meeting which I'm very excited about because that means I get to sit back and call points of order and all types of things um in the meeting but uh chair Gavin you
have the floor to proceed with the curriculum committee meeting um portion of the work session thank you so much president Robinson in the interest of time I I'm going to move through this agenda as
expeditiously as possible I'm going to share um some updates and I would I want to start um I've shared the not notes that um trusty rocket Martin and president Robinson and
I um talked about and before I get into the notes rapid fire I wanted to give um president Robinson or trusty rocket Martin an opportunity to share any highlights they wanted to before I just
move forward you can move forward okay you're good too okay so there are a lot of notes here but I just want everyone to know that we were in alignment and agreement with pretty much all of the
ideas that came up in that meeting we talked about um highlighting the needs to prioritize English and math especially in schools that have met benchmarks supporting K through 8 and ensuring extensive support for cap um
and their math programs the importance of setting High academic goals um higher than the state's 1% growth requirements so it's okay for us to have that 1% with the state but we want to look for other
ways to increase um our growth because we believe that our students can do it and we want to use more than just the standardized tests because we know that our children are brilliant and there are other ways to measure their Brilliance as well and to tell our story um we all
were in alignment with the importance of integrating mental Health aspects in the curriculum um utilization of inperson time for hybrid learning I will what I'll do is I'll connect the notes uh to the agenda so folks can read it um we
also talked about the driver's education class possibly being a part of automotive and looking into seeing what that what possibilities arise there I see that director cups you already looked into the life skills piece which is very exciting I'm very interested in seeing what happens there we talked
about the different types of uh learning styles that students have and how amazing it would be if all of the students knew what their learning style is for example if you're a vision if you're a visual learner you know what it
takes for you to learn in the classroom even if the teacher's talking you might have to draw or take notes or get pictures together so we talked about making sure that all students and teachers and their parents know what their learning style is by a certain
grade level and um I shared that with director CBS and she has some really great um insights around how we could do that um I'm going to fast forward uh we talked about the need to collaborate um and incorporate uh curriculum and
instruction in our name so that we are collaborating with the HR department because the HR committee because we have to have instructor if we don't have the instructor then that has an impact on student learning and the whole culture and climate um so those were most of the
ideas that came out um of our committee and things that we want to prioritize I'm really excited of course about all of the above and definitely the uh mental health and social emotional learning portion um so I'm really
excited about this committee um not just the board trustees that um that were working that are working together but also uh working with um director CS um work with Dr buz that day it was just a
really it was a really good meeting for me and I'm looking forward to seeing um what's possible in that meeting so I'll turn it over now to director cups um who has some items on her agenda that she
would like to get through um and then if you can kind of make it as brief but also impactful as possible considering the time that we do have a training that we have to take at the end of the meeting and then director cups as you
get ready to present the fir the first item on our agenda is driver's education which of course the resolution passed um I didn't get a chance to note that I'm committed as a trustee as well as the board president if the board um supports
in showing up in spaces where we have to advocate for the state funding of driver education being that it's already on Secretary of State Benson's radar um I know that trusty Gavin also participates in advocacy and so I'm committed to showing up at the capital or or writing
letters or whatever it is that I can use my voice um she tapped me on the shoulder at the recent convention so I think if I can get a tap on the shoulder and hello I can maybe get a little time in her office to discuss this further so I want to uh make a commitment to do that on my end as well and then I'll
pass it over to you director coach oh direct uh Dr bernick special education yeah so I just wanted to make everybody aware um twice a year we get like a report card from the state they're called strand reports and so in this
last one we just got one in February it should have came out a month earlier but we just got in February and there's four major areas here child finded which was at 98 uh 99% we didn't meet the goal but we don't have a corrective action plan
we've just been directed to work with the ISD our early childhood transition secondary transition are 100% And we met the goal and then timely IEP is 94% but that can be um deceiving and um no actions required
there so is the goal 100% the goal is always 100% okay because I was confused I'm like we scor very high but the expectation is 100% okay understood thank you thank you I me you can pass the floor
to that umich is next was there a staff report uh that we need to vote on director CB or is this just bring our bring to our attention for the next meeting we're technically on director Nichols for her update as a part of your
agenda got you okay okay good evening um so we wanted to talk again about peer mediation um great things fair play Middle School um had scheduled their first peer mediation um they were able to resolve it though so they didn't have to
actually have it um so that's great news and the high school still have the six U Pam mediations um and that's awesome as well I did include um because I know that is something that was asked the different intervention
options um I do have that linked um here as well so there's um a lot of possible interventions and responses um to different um alternatives to um
discipline um one of them could be checkin check out restorative practice um circles again we talked about um pure mediation um we also have where there's sometimes in classroom separation so there's a whole list of items and these
are also um in our student handbook and student code of conduct that is um online thank you for sharing that uh director ni um director Nichols I'm very interested in just a FYI I'm very
interested in um each of the Departments that relate to uh curriculum especially P mediation student Support Services knowing what their goal is for peer mediation you know is it to you know have X amount of
students trained is it to you know bring the awareness up so that every student understands different negotiation and conflict resolution skills I believe that if they have a goal and you're able to report on how they're um progressing
through that goal I think it'll give us some exciting news as well thank you um and next director cups we do have uh our student representative here and he is a member
of peer mediation would you allow him to give a sound bite about his experience always thank you predation is like a good program for kids speak up a little bit priation is good for for the kids um
like we do help a lot of kids like stop the fight stop the violence and stuff so I think it is a good program thank you just quick question how often do you all get an opportunity to meet we switch premat like every week so
depend on the week that's that's like who choose to do the mediation okay thank you I wanted to give a quick um snippet from our NWA performance um share some positive news uh there is a link in our
agenda um in the spirit Spirit of upcoming March Madness and the strong history of basketball here at Benton Harbor uh I gave it a little basketball theme um it is really exciting to see in our kindergarten through fifth grade uh
the first slide there they are on fire uh the white represents the students that did not uh make Improvement but they're working hard but if you notice the Orange is the number of students that increase
their NWA score from fall to winter every single grade level K to 5 is over 50% that's incredible the second slide is a comparison of last year in white uh kindergarten through fifth grade the NWA
scores to Winter um the number of students that increase their score so nearly every single grade shows a strong Improvement in their NWA scores from fall to winter this year as compared to
last year so that is also awesome awesome director CS what would you attribute to the growth what did you do differently that attributes to the growth or your team this school year the
elementary schools have worked very hard to implement reading Mastery Transformations it is a uh curricular program that is designed specifically for um schools that have a high number
of students that need U more of a tier 2 intervention so that core program is more similar to a higher level direct instruction we're all going to tackle This Together work super hard and
feedback from um many teachers is uh very positive they are seeing so many more kids reading kids that are more willing to read out loud kids that are answering questions more often than before um it has been a lot of hard work and the teachers have had many
frustrations but they are seeing successes and I think that's really important that the hard work that the teachers have put in and the hard work the kids have put in is is showing and that's really exciting there is some predictability as far as there's a a a
study that demonstrates a correlation between NWA scores and mstep performance I do have some numbers um I compared last year's mstep performance to their winter NWA scores um just sort of as our
own internal check um and then I I do have a a little bit of a a prediction for how well we will do um based on the winter NWA scores and um it's positive I don't want to share any numbers though
but I they're working hard and that's we just need to keep supporting the hard work awesome thank you some quick CTE updates from director Wilson our general engineering course was approved for full CTE status from
the state we have some work-based learning opportunities that are happening with corwell Health Partnership uh culinary 2 students will collaborate with chef cam dietician Camille and office staff to explore different Pathways within culinary we have computer networking students
building their own computers the in the coming weeks those are fully funded by our CTE funds um actually that's not true I apologize the it's a a matched funding so we're paying for half and the students are
paying for the other half um they do get to pick some of those components they build the computer and then they get to take the computer home with them uh there is discussion with LMC to provide an elementary stem and bhhs CTE students
access to the Fab Lab um the entire CTE department is working to compile video showcasing the students talents and highlighting the opport unities available within our CTE courses not only to um prepare and excite our uh
Benton Harbor students for those programs but also to help other schools to see what incredible programming we have here at Benton Harbor that they are going to want to be part of you did you say that we are getting a
general engineering program and our students are going to be involved in a network computer networking program where they're building computers and able to keep the computers that they build yes so this school year we we have a robotics course that is part of that
engineering um pick and also the first level of the engineering class and we were able to um with the hard work of director Wilson and our teacher Miss Mason to get the um State approval for
that so it is a full CTE course um since we had students enrolled this year and it appr was approved for CTE status then next year we'll be able to have the second level of that um engineering course um the kids are also In the Heat
of robotic season so they are building their robot uh seeing the fruits of their labor and our computer networking class um we added an elective to that that's still
earning um the credits towards the completer status that is a game design class that's getting a lot of kids really excited and into this um but in addition that opportunity to build your own computer and keep it is pretty
awesome thank you so much can I get a time check for our committee I just want to make sure we are it's currently 7:49 we've we've gone through pretty quickly with our portion though okay thank you I just how much time do we have left so that I don't know how fast we need to go
if we if you can try to get through maybe about 10 minutes 10 minutes so 10 minutes director cach okay thank you uh we have some field trips that are listed here but the one of note is the uh 325 overnight field trip for the
robotics competition at Fair state that is included as a um board report uh we do have time um because that's on the 25th to wait for the vote on that until the
um Regular board session on the 11th um we have later in the meeting there'll be information about our um senior class and a graduation status update but there
are interventions that are listed there and the work um that is being done with um our guidance counselors uh cape has has put together the parent survey um when I made the
agenda it was in progress but it is completed and we will deploy that out to get feedback from parents uh next week meals are being provided breakfast to and lunch and there are graduation progress meetings being held with the
students parents Cape staff and the high school counselors uh the seniors have already been completed and the juniors are in progress I believe some have been scheduled um and they are working on those connections with them uh our next
full day District provided professional development can I jump in really quickly um I don't know if this is a question more so for Dr bus did you have a particular administrator planning to present to us in March at our meeting I know we've kind of had an administrator talk about their building yes we are I
haven't I haven't chosen the one yet but yes we are can we have Kate we can okay all right you may proceed um the professional development that is happening in March um will be active shooter training for all staff and the
21st cented seminar that we've talked about in previous meetings we've also had some meetings with our district calendar committee uh we've done a study of several area District calendars uh we've had three two meetings and one
more that's scheduled this week we have two options to propose to the Education Association some highlights include increasing our total instructional days to 179 this school year we have 175 and then the additional five district
provided professional development days um that meets our requirement of the minimum requirements of 180 days and 1,098 hours um we would have 184 days and 1167 hours um I just
think that that's important to note that we are prioritizing the instructional time with the students as well as the professional development for all of our staff and I did that in less than 10 minutes thank you thank you and I'm
sorry Gavin I jumped in and asked my question before you gave me the floor so I have to remember to U mind my place in these sections no worries um I if we have I don't know how we're doing um opening the floor for the board's
questions or if we should just move forward due to the time are there any questions with what's been presented thus far if not she can proceed with reading just reading giving us a heads up of the staff report that we're going to be voting on in the upcoming meeting
good deal yes we can go on to the staff report the reason for board approval the board shall approve field trips and other District sponsored trips that are planned to keep students out of the
district overnight or longer or out of the state facts and Analysis the Benton Harbor High School CTE program is requesting permission to take 12 high school students and two chaperon to Fair State University for a robotics competition on March 25th 2025 this will
be an overnight trip requiring students chaperon and the bus driver to stay overnight during this event students will engage in Hands-On robotics challenges collaborate with teams from other schools and apply their technical skills in a competitive setting this experience will allow students to deepen
their understanding of engineering problem solving and teamwork while exploring potential career Pathways in stem and Robotics the objective of this trip is to provide students with real world exposure to Robotics and engineering careers allowing them to
develop technical competencies build professional connections and explore post-secondary opportunities the source of funds for this trip will come from the CTE building purchased purchased Services fund policy reference policy 2340 field and other District sponsored
trips strategic plan reference learning environment Benton Harbor area schools will develop maintain and Implement with Fidelity a tiered a multi tied system of support that enhances the culture and learning environment recommended action that the Benton Harbor area school's
Board of Education votes to approve the field trip to Fair State University for the CTE students as presented okay so go ahead if they have to make a if they have to make arrangements for sleeping
and all those kinds of things can we just vote on this now you putting a motion on the floor um I would so I I was I'm sorry may I may I have the Flor to speak president Robinson it's hard huh it's okay
um where they're going to feris is this overnight okay so we don't we normally have some type of paperwork attached with these staff reports I didn't include it because the votee wasn't until next time but I can send
that really quickly if you'd like um if we could have it at the work session portion of it that way it'll give the board an opportunity and I know we're adjusting and doing things differently but the board will need to see that information I think and I and I'm all with you trust uh trusty ret
Martin and wanting to take a vote but I don't feel comfortable as president having you all take a vote without the corresp corresponding documents that are supposed to be submitted with this staff report I'd also like to uh reiterate that I think it was last year we talked
about field trips that happen every year and kind of having some type of consent for those field trips that that we already do every year have that information in if there's really nothing changed uh from those
steel trips that we normally do uh I'm thinking that in the future we may need to create some type of process for approval um secretary chiple I would like to say to the Board of Education I know as we go through the purpose of
this is the work session and so everything that's presented here is for us to just go through look at and to give us more time I don't want I think that it it it defeats the purpose for a committee of the whole Workshop that
every time we see something that we say you want to vote on it the the purpose of the committee of the whole is to also encourage and support our uh Central Administration staff to make sure that they have everything that we need prior to making the vote so that at the
meeting where we're actually voting we're in and out because we received all of the necessary information so if that's going to be the case then there's no need for us to have committee meetings of everything that we see we just start voting on it because there's
still some things that you know um I'm I'm going to support but there are some things that there's there's still some questions that I have and so with our time being Limited in some spaces and thank you to our president for giving us
an opportunity to speak Additionally you know I I I voted just just a vote before um with uh to support our driver's education and things moving forward with it but I have several questions about
the contract that was presented to us at the last meeting some very serious concerns so we can still do that work but this the purpose of the work session and Committee of the whole is to have this stuff presented to us so that we can go in and make informed decisions at
our next meeting and not have any question uh point taken thank you so much secretary triplet um trusty rocket Martin are you withholding your request for motion I know I'm planning field trips uh if we
can give them reasonable assurance that we are going to approve this so that they could go ahead and make their Arrangements that they need to make uh you know and I have to wait till the last minute if they have to wait till the last minute because they'll be going like what two weeks after we vote so
they need to have let Fair State know they need to have things in place so that they can um make the necessary arrangements that they need to make so I bu as long as we can be ass sure that we are going to say yes to than you go
thank you so much um trusty rocket Martin I think that in the future if there are any documents that would help us to make a decision it'd be great to have it because we definitely never want to hold up the planners uh of the field
trip thank you so much for everyone and I'm going to turn it over to our Madame President I think our curriculum and instruction and student support committee we did it so all right very
exciting I would just like to close by saying I agree and I fully support the the um field trips but we have an accountability from this table to ensure that we know that there's appropriate number of chaperons who those chaperons are some of the additional details that we don't have and it's not that I doubt
that Administration is going to do them accordingly but when we take the vote we take the accountability for it um and another thing um is that staff does have the opportunity unless it's a last minute um option that has jumped on our tables they have the opportunity to
prevent it presented to us a month earlier so I I don't want to make it seem as I'm trying to um belabor or um delay it I just want to make sure that we do things the way that our policy indicates that we have to we're going to proceed um I want to check the post of
the board do we need a quick recess or we want to keep moving okay so next we have our facility and finance operations committee um the first item of business for that committee is to select or appoint a committee chair as a reminder
uh the members of that committee are treasur Bradley trustee rockat Martin and secretary triplet um so at this time I'll ask is there is are there individuals that are interested in serving as the chair of the facilities
and finance committee out of the three Madam president you have the floor um with a combinations of the the uh finance and facility committee the treasurer of the board of education is usually the person that cheer finance and so for
myself having been the past facilities of director chairman at this time after much thought and and and prayer what have you I am not interested in serving
um as chairman of any committee um under this Administration I don't want to um I want to be able to eliminate excuses um as to why people cannot move forward and do the work because there's
work to be done I have no problem myself just serving as a member of the board of education so at this time I would like to nominate uh our Treasurer um to head to serve as chairman of this committee for finance and facilities and I'll
serve um in my capacity as a member of the committee all right trusty rockat Martin were you interested in you agree with that okay Treasurer Bradley do you accept I I support I well I I accept and
I thank you for the um voed confidence all right so it is official Treasurer Bradley is now the chair of the fa ities and finance operations committee and so you have the floor um treasur Bradley to chair your portion of
the committee I am going to step out just for a quick second however the mic is in your hands um and you all can proceed with your agenda as needed all right good evening everyone um we haven't had a formal meetings I know we
did some emailing um back and forth but I am going to let um right here it's looking like director Dash year up up next unless uh Finance you want to go first y can okay we're going to follow the
agenda then so I'm going to um turn the floor over to uh our facilities director and he's going to um update us on what we have going on thank you Treasurer Bradley up first is verata um just as a reminder verata
is the security system the company that has the security system that we are purchasing for the district um right now we're currently receiving and staging at each location all of the equipment tomorrow the work will begin at
MLK um the next stage of that is to have a meeting and try to come up with some sort of a completion time uh the next thing would be the lawn care RFP um
just to be prudent in the district um and just make sure that we're on top of things it's always wise to look at different uh vendors for all of our services um so right now we're currently in the process of creating an RFP for the lawn care and snow removal um and we
should have something for you um by April the next up would be the Jim roof RFP um we have had issues with our roofs for quite a while um it's it's a well-known thing uh right now we are in the process of editing and submitting or in the
editing and submission phase um funding sources will be Esser and the safety Grant the gym floor were currently in talks well we're getting ready to have
talks with the insurance company letting them know our full intention of replacing the gym floor not just cutting out a piece of it and replacing that we are going to push for the entire thing they're they're aware of it but we're going to be talking about that pretty
soon uh the gym wall pads here at the high school uh Athletics has bought new pads the maintenance department have replaced them and we took the old pads from the high school and we installed them over at the middle school there's a link on there that you can click to see
the pictures of it um High School Plumbing this was actually the reason we had to have our gym floor fixed um so last Monday uh company was in uh working on our fire safety system during that time we
decided we were going to do some work ourselves as a maintenance department so we all came in and we started looking through things and we found another deteriorated 1-in water line connected to a a toilet in a boy's bathroom so in
the time frame that they had it off we tore everything out replaced that line put it back in then when we went to reinstall the toilet it it didn't want to it the flange holding it to the floor
was deteriorated so we cemented around it to make new anchor points and the next step is to install the toilet to its original location and work tickets in the last two weeks we closed 59 work tickets and we still
have 22 open there's a chart in there if um that shows ticket closures and also a graph that I noticed in the software uh the there's a graph that shows the ticket
closures throughout the year since last March uh I started this position in August and I made a few minor changes in the graph you can see there is a rapid increase of closure since that time as things as things now have a little more are a little more efficient
uh it's a it'll get better but it's a good start that is all I have all right thank you director Dash um I'm gonna open the floor up the questions um vice president Bowen thank you Mr but I got a s questions so please
forgive me on ver on our security camera system um do we still have a camer system at the high school correct yes we do does it have any data on the individuals that broke into the school a few weeks ago yes yes it does that data
is being collected compiled and sent off to the police station okay on the lawn care RFP have we and I mentioned it last time have we did a cost analyst on how much it we would save if we just bought two four to F-150s put a snow pile on it
buy four Lawn Care things would we save money doing that we are currently looking into that uh that is something that came up that is something that we are looking into uh and we don't have the exact answer to give you yet but we
will have an answer to give you before any choices are being made for anything so thank you my next question on the work orders do you know how many electronic boards that are not up in
classrooms electronic boards um polium boards oh the promethium boards how many are not up or how many do we have sitting out in the garage we don't have any sitting out in the garage we had five at one time
sitting in the hallway back there they were waiting for stands and those were slated to go to CTE those sat back there for a an extended period of time but they are now on stands and out where they're supposed to be so every CTE classroom and I guess this is for you every CTE
classroom has those so if I walked in a classroom I would see that there there were five purchased for CTE so there were five so those five are in a classroom as we speak right now that's correct yes okay I just want to know because I when
I ask a question I already know the answer to it so I'm gonna ask again are all of them in the classrooms from what was reported to me the five that were that were ordered are in the classrooms okay thank you thank you thank you now let's let's rephrase that real quick
let's take a step back no that's okay I mean thank you so much I got you guys answered it that's it okay thank you all right all right uh trusty ret Martin I was just gonna ask um uh director bus
Das about how many people are in your department how many what is your maintenance crew the number of your maintenance crew currently it's four five including myself okay so we have all just five folks doing all of this
yeah okay what's that oh sorry uh any more qu I know um vice president had before you before you any more questions I have a question go ahead trusty Gavin uh director Dash what is your process
for um students who may notice that there is a need for a help desk ticket is there any way for students to submit tickets like the bathroom or some things that they're
seeing currently I do not think that there is one for that students can do uh they could tell the secretary of the of the building that they're in but that is the only way that I'm aware of at this current [Music]
time thank you I'm wondering if they're aware because you know sometimes our student sometimes students can be so used to a thing being broken and just look past it that they feel like that's just the way it is and they don't
realize that their voice um can make a difference and so I think it would be helpful if there was something um something in writing or some visual graphic or something that let them know that if they saw something that they
that needs to be corrected fixed that they can talk to somebody or who they should talk to or how they should talk to that is a very good idea and we're gonna work on that like we should we should move forward with that so we're going to thank
you vice president Bo you have any addition no I'm gonna pause okay um our student board member it look like you had a question you had a comment or question you good okay um and then uh director Dash um I do like that idea
that you uh brought up truste Gavin about the student process I think that if that's something we could work on um maybe a graphic or something or just if um the principes and secretaries could just kind of make that a part of the morning announcements you know letting students know hey if it's broke exactly don't don't walk past it just let us
know so yeah I think that and then um I think the other thing I wanted to bring up is um I've always brought it up before um my previous term is you know kind of getting some more exterior lighting around here um I don't know that's what y going to work on in the
future just kind of so we can have um lighting here when we come out of the uh board meetings here at the entrance it's kind of dark right there oh yes I've noticed that myself yeah so if we can get some you know I know dealing with the um 100 year old building sometimes
it's kind of hard to mount stuff but if we can get some lighting out here U be awesome and then we we'll touch bases because found my to-do list okay okay and then the the gy the gym roof I I've had to deal with that you know we have
that discussion before so it's always an ongoing process and U could you do you do you have the details of what that gem work uh for that roof what they have to do um you have any details on that yet or no what we're looking for is to have a complete tear off and
reinstallation that's that's what we're looking for because we we've been patching it for a very long time and uh it it it's has been unsuccessful so instead of just spending money on patches let's let's replace it get the
warranty move forward be happy okay awesome so I will um make sure that kind of stays at the top of the list um whenever oh go ahead um once we once we get the roof fixed will
we have heat in the gym then right now yeah there's one heater that works in there one it's on the far side uh the back right side happens to be right where the leak is the other one is currently not
working but the answer to that is yes after we get the roof fixed then we our next step is to work on the heat in that room thank thank you director Dash and um like I said we'll be probably touching Bas more often to uh kind of
update the agenda and stuff and I'll um let you know process um I will now turn it over to director Brock Carter for I was I was actually hoping may I please excuse myself for the remainder of the meeting I have a I have a long drive in the morning I have to wake up really
early early for go right ahead go right ahead thank you so thank you all right director Brock Carter if we can just note for the minutes that uh director DH had to step out and then myself and secretary trip are back
ready good evening everyone first I'd like to go over our financial summary and our monthly Financial reports for January 2025 just an overview on our revenue and expenses our revenues are at 52% our
expenses are at 53% and we are at 58% of the school year so we are below um in our spending our revenues are down but we have been able to keep our
spending low as well so we have not exceed it uh where we should be for the school year I always make a note of the state aid that we receive it between November and August of each school year and our
federal revenue is recognized as items are expended our capital outlay for this month is higher than normal just due to uh payments for our boiler work and we'll get to the vendor payment
report shortly that coincides with the staff report F1 year today revenues are down compared to last year in January speciic specifically due to federal revenue from Esser funding year-to dat expenses are up
compared to last year down for the school year but up compared to last year due to the expenses for the boiler work and we paid for 21st century Ed in January as well and you'll see
that payment in the vendor payment report so the large payments that went out in January $942 2151 to Andy Egan our Blue Cross Blue Shield payments
for our district health insurance Centric [Music] learning our payments for our what I say curriculum at cap centri learning I just want to make sure I use
the right vers for our curriculum at Cape field turf was a large check for our track community in schools vs America was a large check for
our U cafeteria Furniture hopefully you haven't had a chance to see it it's excellent and tear for our food service and our payment to connect is for our adult ed
services our budget to actual summary as you can see our revenues are at 52% our expenses are at 53% the details for that summary are on the next
page and I've also made the adjustments in our revised budget column to reflect the budget changes that we voted on last month after that report is our AP check register please let me know if you have
any questions I have Madam chair okay so um you you have the floor um I I do have a question um about tape um with that being an alternative school
is is there a difference in the amount that we take in per student um for alternative school students have a couple questions in that regard no we receive the same funding per student for
all students do you know round about how much per student right now our foundation allowance per student is approximately it doesn't have to be 2,68 okay so
9,68 per Cape student and are we able to um recruit if you will students outside of the district um for Kate through Kate
I'm going to defer that to uh Dr bus thank you director uh B Carter yes ma'am so actually we can that's a model that um bar and springs use and they recruit students all across the actually the state with their model
so so we can use that model to start recruiting our students so um I have I have spoken with Mr Roseberg and we will be entering in more talks on how to um how to mirror expand and mirror their
program as well for our for our students I'm so glad you said that so what you're saying is that with Kate we have the capability to recruit all over the state so there's
really not a big limit on how many students we can bring in there it's online right now there is a um you know due to some of the federal things that are happening there
is a a population of students who don't want to come out but do want to be educated and so I think that it's an it's an opportunity for us to expand our offerings um ex expand our Diversity Program and to also uh change that
Revenue stream and you know in understanding the value of cape and what it can do for our district just like what the similar program is doing for Baran Springs so I'm glad that you're on board with that uh expanding cave yes ma'am so actually when I first came in
as interim I spoke with the the then uh superintendent of Varan Springs who who actually started their program and uh even through his retirement he has uh I've spoken with him and he has um advised that he would be willing to
help help me with um expanding the program throughout the state just as they have theirs because they have noticed that some of our students participate in their programs as well so awesome we coupled that with
the 21st century program um we will have a niche our teachers will have that connection with Howard University we will be able to Market that program um in a way that no other District in the area is doing so
I'm super excited about what's possible uh with the numbers and with what we can offer our children thank you uh vice president B thank you on the budget to actual detailed version I got a few questions on that and um please I
can't hear him on the um budget to actual deter version I have a few questions on that on line 221 it says Improvement of instruction what exactly does that is that professional development for our
teaching staff okay and Office of the principal that's all your building principles throughout the district correct okay and it's another one Security Services is that the camera system or no that's our edge of Staff our
staff okay thank you safety monitors okay thank you okay I just want to continue and finish up with the monthly report uh the re year to-day Revenue comparison um as stated in the financial
summary our revenues are down compared to last year and that's mostly on the federal line due to um not being able to draw down those exra funds anymore and then the year-to date expense comparison compared to last year
our expenses are higher but that's due to the spending for our 21st century Ed program that we paid for last month and the statement of Revenue expense expenditure and changes and fund liances
as you can see if we continue on the road that we're on will have a positive fund balance at the end of the year thank you I think we need to do a there's sometimes they they throw nuggets out there and we don't miss them
but I want to make sure that we do celebrate and highlight those things because was once a time where Ben Harbor area schools wasn't there um recently so we definitely want to make sure we clap and celebrate that I'm sorry I spoke without you giving me the floor Oh no you're you're it's okay uh secretary
triplet go right ahead question yeah go go ahead go ahead um I you know when I look at this and I'm going to start looking at it um more more in detail for uh clarification purposes I I I keep seeing Student Activity
fund that is showing up on report and um just would like to get um not tonight um more information on that um also when I'm
looking here at at the um information as it relates to uh the RO label some of them in
uh in our booklet where it has bar $4,000 and those yeah that's I'm going to get to that report um I was one of the board members requested to see how much we had spent
on closed buildings year to date oh you haven't gotten there yet no sir okay thank you I just want to go ahead and review the staff report F1 that we'll vote on at the next meeting reason for board consideration a
set of financial reports is provided to the Board of Education each month facts and Analysis this evening is it is recommended that the January 2025 payments be approved for all of the district
funds policy reference 6470 payment of claims strategic plan goal reference facili SL operations Venton Harbor area schools will develop Implement and evaluate
a time I get to that word I have to laugh physically responsible plan that will ensure physical and psychological safety recommended action that the Board of Education approve the January 1st
through January 31st payments for the following funds general fund $887,500 Food Service fund $566,000 36 Student Activity fund
[Music] $2,422 for a total of 2 million6 4,133 37 um as stated previously I um one of our trustees requested that we that they
see the amount of money we spend on closed buildings so the first report is a detail report on those expenses and the year toate expense report by building uh summarizes those details by
building so we know how much the district spends on closed buildings year to date and that's from July 1st up until January 31st this report reflects those numbers director uh director Carter uh
someone was saying Could you um read those numbers out sure public please by school we've spent $483 to70 Boon we spent
$5,610 home we spent $1,284 38 Beane Northwest we've spent $481 1568
marale we spent $3,239 76 Morton we've spent $539 72 Northshore we've spent
$3,559 76 sort we spent $ 6,667 and3 The Chemical Bank building we've spent $ 4,17
$516 fairplane West we've spent $8,155 59.76 so the total year to date amount we've spent on closed buildings is $61,800 not necessarily a building that I'm pretty sure we still own we have the Farmland that we lease out to another
entity is there an expense that we pay for that Farmland I'm thinking we would are we accountable for the taxes or are they accountable for the taxes within that lead they pay the taxes so that that property has no current expense for us that's
correct uh I'm gonna go to Gavin and then I'll come back to you secretary triple if you don't mind thank you so much um my question is is um is Boon habitable I I still can't figure out why we closed Boon in the first place had a
brand new gym it was a amazing school is it habitable I I'm not sure I'm oh director Dash is going um I will have to refer to director Dash on that cuz I'm really not
sure about if it's habitable or not or not okay I I guess I asked because if it's 64,000 for closed buildings and our schools used to have upwards of 600 students in a in a
building that serve that neighborhood if you had you know 15 kids in one of these schools that would cover the cost of all of these schools these are cost I'm sorry no it's just a thought in
terms of wondering you know if we have other options of leasing um you know to someone who won't you know mess up the the
um Integrity of the building as a school um or you know any other types of options to utilize these facilities while we work on our Master facilities plan well the costs are low because
they are not in operation if they were in operations the cost would definitely increase um and as far as leasing is concerned when we start to do for-profit business and nonprofit bus in nonprofit
buildings those buildings can now be considered profitable buildings and we would have you know property tax expenses other expenses that that we don't have to pay right now because it's a school building um so that's the main
reason uh why we don't we haven't considered leasing uh especially for something that's um not a district function or Partnership if they cover the cost if they cover the
expense if it's a partnership with a nonprofit or state um or government entity I'm wondering if that still falls under the for-profit um category if it's to cover
expenses I'm going to let Dr bus turn in so thank you uh director B Carter if if we were to to go back to try to open that for any school purpose we have to go through the entire process of having their building reinspected by the state
and bringing it up to code so it's not just as simple as we we stick students back in and if we do it to another nonprofit We were we had um DHS had looked out I mean reached out and and looked into a a potential rental of the
chemical bank they have not responded back as to whether or not they were interested but even in part of that as entering a a entering a contract although they are a public entity when
we leave that um property we still start to incur taxes Etc even though they are another state entity we are the original owners and whenever we become a a lessore we are we start to incur taxes
because the state looks at it as Revenue that we would be getting in and it will be considered Revenue that we we are gaining from the lease of a building thank you I'd be very interested in hearing what what the attorney has to say be good to have an attorney at the table for questions like
these um appreciate your input secretary secretary triplet and then trusty rocket Martin um first I would like to say that I am grateful um uh to be able to see something
visually and to get an understanding of what it is and and just historically under false pretenses many of these buildings were closed we are aware and we know that we've had all
types of uh things that have been said uh as a part of and I will continue to say that the dismantling of the school district um it's just like this unfortunately you all have inherited
this okay and so the questions will come to you uh when I look at you know there was a time when H was shut down in January they you know people close things when they're dismantling they close in the middle of the year just out of the blue and and it
switches um there was a big mold line one year and then the next year the building was reopen at Hall probably the best building that we have in the district and the only reason it hasn't been damaged it hasn't it's not because
we've been doing our due diligence is that it's across the street from the bent Township Police Department um when I look at B I'm trying to think of $44,000 for what when I look at Hull I'm
trying to think of $110,000 for what when I look at Boon $5,000 for for what it can't be it can't be lights or anything because I live down the street from bton and um the building is dark all around
it that has never happened never and it's just sitting there for it to be broken into and for it to be vandalized and Destro no lights and I've lived there for 20s something plus years and so when I look
at it uh when I look at this I will be asking more um brother chairman got the smirf Smiles in the games they're over it's over for me okay it really is
and it can be six to one but at this table I want it to be perfectly clear because I am I I'm I I don't play the game about none of this this stuff is very important these are our assets
people come and people leave and we're left with this I pay taxes I have lived in this community the majority of my life and and and I am very concerned so again I'm I'm glad to be able to see this to get something
concrete so that I can know how to ask the questions and I appreciate this form of reporting out this is no joke people this is this is at this table this is no time to
play about anything this is some very serious business because right now when you when we get through what's happening in the United States of America it's not just going to be Benton Harbor we're talking about the Department of Education public education
is being attacked from the federal level and we can sit here and joke and and and not do our due diligence and not take care of our business so thank you so much uh director Brock Carter I I I am looking
and trying to study and I will be more diligent and and and and and have the question that I think that this community deserves thank you so very much you're welcome director tripy and the report
that's also linked in the agenda that's prior to the summary does have the detail of each individual transaction for each building so if if you have a chance to look through it we can schedule a meeting and go through it um
the details are there on what was spent yeah because when I'm looking at the check register it's kind of confusing to me you can get clar you can give me clarification I'll schedule a meeting so that we can talk about that okay uh through our chairman thank you
um was going to be my question and what way where we are incurring these expenses um for these buildings so you've already answered you said the report is linked to the building but I
can say this some of the buildings from the outside look like they are in good shape but I remember going into Hall School we were doing 21st century after school uh program and the whole ceiling was down on the floor so you know looks
can be deceiving you actually need to walk through the buildings those that you can to see what's going on and to bring some of them up to Cod would be millions and millions of dollars President Robinson I just wanted
to provide a quick uh clarification of secretary triplet I know I did giggle a bit but it wasn't about your conversation topic it was because and I think everyone was in line with me that timer I haven't heard it all night right soon you start talking it's not even three minutes and the timer just
magically goes off so I think that's why we tickled I don't think you really pay much attention to itone I don't know where the timer came from but it went off I Madam president I'm I'm being honest with you they're gonna hate they
rang that Bell oh Lord I'll say that they're gonna hate that they rang that Bell I mark it down every time they ring why y'all G so I want to clarify from the public it was a very serious
conversation gigling because of the topic it was inside joke I have a quick question for you um probably Dr bus probably can answer this I know in the um previous administration before you became superintendent do we have a backup
building just in case one of our buildings go down or what was the contingency plan for that I'm sorry I put you on the no no no that's fine because they the the initial plan when I first came in we had to the end of the first year of my interim C to open up hold reopen hold
with some repairs to the back there was one room that actually did have M but it had a ceiling leak and it could have been repaired but after that year was up we have to go now go back through the entire process as if it were a new building so it would have to be inspected by the state B up to code Etc
in order to open it so the answer to your question is no the only buildings we have now are the buildings that we have online and and in use real quick question on that question answered can we use sinking funds to get
that Building B up Cod that's what we can use those funds but as part of the master facilities plan that're we're trying to put together so that the sinking funds are for build and repair Etc so the
short answer to your question is yes okay and then trusty do then we'll let you continue director Carter that was my question I was um wondering about the master facilities when will we know about what buildings that we have and
what issues they have that's that's coming up in my report all right back to you director Brock crowler thank you now we'll talk about our 2526
budget um oh I'm sorry the I have a question I'm sorry is this something for the sake of time would it be okay for us to save this pres part of the presentation for next meeting or do we need because if you need to give this to us tonight I want to allow you to do so
I really do okay I really do go ahead I'm sorry um we need to we need the truth to be told um so the 2526
budget um of course I always want to reiterate our vision statement for the district that Ben Harbor area schools is committed to the best in academics Athletics and the Arts retaining and valuing staff diversifying academics and
enriching Student Activities The goal of the budget is to increase academic performance increase culture and climate for our students and staff and increase community and family engagement opportunities
and the general fund is our primary operating fund and organizational unit it consists of revenues expenses and a fund balance just to highlight some of our 2425 items we increase the number of
certified teachers we have new Ela and math curriculum programming resources our 21st Ed stem PL platform our communities and schools partnership our student retention and recruitment
plan and we have been diligently trying to leverage Our Community Partnerships and input from our community taking a look at our 2 2425 Revenue
sources from our local property taxes we expect to receive about 8.3 98 million from our state aid we plan to receive 9568
million the federal funds are 16.24 four million and our incoming transfers and others is mostly our interest that we receive from our CDs and our various accounts that we have
money in is about [Music] $487,000 so our expected revenue for 2425 is 34 m6983
25 or 25 26 242 I want to overview 2425 first and I'm about to get to 2526 and I just want to reference that 9 million of that 16 million in federal funds was from Esser so now our 25 26 Revenue sources and
this is a very conservative budget this is based on the talks at the state level that have not quite been decided 100% yet but just the
conversations that the Senate and the house is having at the state level and what our expectations are also at the federal level um lots of talks of lots of budget
cuts and funding that we may not receive I did not feel comfortable putting those dollars in our budget at this point if something changes the federal government supposed to decide on March 14th the budget for
2526 so we no more then and may be able to make some changes but as of right now today these are the numbers that I feel comfortable with as actual Revenue we will receive next year and as you can
see is the total revenues is1 18, 351,000 for 2526 and it's very conservative I rather be in the mind of a tight budget
and get more in where we can make changes and add things later then to start off at a high level and then have to cut back when school starts so that's why this is a very conservative budget and the summary of the general
fund as you can see the 2425 revenues were 34.6 million our estimated revenues for 25 526 is 18.3 that's a difference of $16.3 million we did have onetime expenses
2425 that we won't have to do again in 2526 and that's about $10.6 million so the 2526 potential budget cuts May total $5.7 million
and our proposed budget cuts we have been meeting regularly as a Cabinet team um these are proposed budget cuts um support staff 2
million instructional staff 46,000 central office 365,000 cust your maintenance 543,000 and additional changes of 2.2
million and we're hoping to make those changes with different programming that we may not renew or also we would like to um reach out to different vendors so that
we can possibly get some of the things that we have at a lower rate and that will get get us to the $5.7 million that we need to cut in the budget our next steps is to speak with
our building principles about the proposed budget cuts get their input make sure that they are aware of what we are what has to happen next year so that we can have a balanced
budget we will finalize our 2526 staff fee and building changes to balance the general fund budget and we will discuss additional changes exploring all options for programming stand Staffing and vendor
contracts again this is just an overview of what we feel like will happen in the 25 26 school year and this is to prepare you all for the potential budget cuts
that will come up between now and finalizing our 2526 budget and if there are changes at the federal level we'll make changes in our budget of course the state right now they're saying they may not make
decisions till till June or maybe even July so we'll do the best we can with the information we have when we are ready to finalize the budget but that's where we
are yes Madam president oh I'm sorry okay so um and these these suggested adjustments we would need to have finalized prior to June 30th 20125 correct that's correct okay so I just want to make sure that the the board is now aware of the need for us to do a
refresher on the CBA 103 tonight and then CBA 310 is budget anatomy and shortfalls the course helps board members better understand the budget development process and budgeting during tough Economic Times specifics will be addressed including utilizing program
budgeting etc etc so it's very important that we do get this training as one of our um required trainings because if you all know um director Brock Carter you can hear the concern in her voice and presenting this information and it's not
something independent to B Harbor area schools however B Harbor area schools wants to ensure that it's physically responsible moving forward my question now is to Dr bus I know we previously referenced um and we're planning to have
the smaller groups of board members meeting with you all to kind of discuss the details of these Cuts in various areas is that something we're still planning to do and can we get that scheduled immediately yes ma'am that is something we we plan to do we wanted to
we we got all the information up to today okay and now that we've presented it to you all that the next one of the next steps we should have added to the slide was to make sure we start holding these these smaller group meetings to present to you what our proposed changes
will be okay so I'm asking the board and administration if we can look at our calendars and have these individual meetings completed prior to the regular board meeting in March so that everyone has an idea um of where things stand and
I know that we have have um gone to a meeting of the whole um as it relates to committees but I want to ensure that you all are aware that if we need to have a special session related to the budget itself to do this work I'm asking that all of the board members are committed
to be present because we want to make sure that we're making the best um decisions possible and we're supporting um director Brock Carter and her efforts I would like to personally commend you for having a conservative budget for paying both of you for for paying
attention to um what is coming down the pipe and for presenting this to us in a way so that we understand the serious nature of it and so I just want to thank you all and now I'm done and thank you I I gonna say real quick we're gonna I'm
sorry Dr buts um for the sake of time uh let's try to adhere to the two-minute um buzzer I I know um but let's do this for the sake of time and then also if you have questions extended questions just write them down so that way we can um get that individual meeting with the
superintendent and um the finance director uh vice president B so I wish we had this and I'm glad you know this presentation the way we do our agenda I wish Finance would have went first um as you were trying to warn us
um thank you guys for proactively and get you know being a step ahead of the game the state superintendent warned us and as we see what's going on um oh you can't hear sorry I want to thank you for joining
this and getting this ready for this the state superintendent warned us about this I believe last year um I would also encourage us I know we want to do cuts and we always look at cutting the cost and everything but we also have a lot of
unnecessary spending and Corporate America we called it the war and waight um so I would encourage you guys to please discuss with your departments make sure we're cutting down on wasteful spending and copying paper all of that
um also I just want to remind my colleagues that if you watch the negotiations with the lieutenant the governor and the Speaker of House and you watch how Michigan elections go every eight years where you know it's Democrat than Republican so we need to
be mindful on that not saying a Democrat cannot win that's pro- friendly to education but I think we need to look at the longer picture down the line that it we're looking at 18 million estimated it could even be worse later down the line thank you all
right um trusty Gavin secretary triple you have something to say or you good thank you so much um chair Bradley what I would say is I've seen this a lot and I hope that everyone who hears my
voice can hear the intent behind what I'm about to say it is not to harm it is really to just this is what's coming up for me um in a very serious way when we're talking
about the potential of losing funds in the traditional way in which we received them I've heard that for years in b haror and I want to encourage us to look at more creative
sources to attract more dollars and to retain our children and our staff so that we are expanding While others are looking to get rid of folks that means Grant coordinator or grant
writer bringing that back bringing back somebody whose responsibility is to find the money from all sources bring the money in and then we have more money like that creating ways for students and staff to
recruit other students to come back incentives for them to encourage their friends to come back finding out why they left and creating a student retention plan based on the
feedback right like I believe I believe strongly that if we incorporate some of these things in our daily work and in our reports to the board what's the
student retention plan how was that working how are you surveying students and staff and families every day to find out how we can better serve right and how are we bringing in the type of employees who will help bring in those
dollars like a grants coordinator and looking into a foundation for us there's a lot of people who want to give back to Ben Harbor directly how are we utilizing our resources and our strategic Partners to
make sure that we are expanding and not looking at what the federal government is doing and then just cutting and getting rid of our resources because of what they doing so that's my those are my thoughts I believe it's possible it's not to to criticize anyone is just to ask us to look at things in a different
way thank Terry triplet add 30 seconds to the gentleman's time no no no not necessary it's good um and I'm good um for me again and I'll say it every time I don't take time out of my busy schedule to
play and I really don't allow people to play in my face because I I have I have been very professional [Music] um it's all good okay and so it just it
just speaks volumes to me as to where people are as it relates to me it's good but I'm still gonna do what it is that I do I taught you you can't be tickled that
tickled okay but anyhow moving forward I I agree with um truste Gavin we have when Benton harbard went into the $18 million debt
so the the lies with the $18 million debt the $18 million debt as people scammed and shimmed and shroomed and got yachts and bolts and everything look here let me tell you something we're not new to this we're true to this right now Benton Harbor
continue to operate for years as if they had 10,000 students they never pay close attention but we have someone in that office right now that is paying close attention but we also have people in positions who had
positions who were supposed to be recruiting students and getting out there and no plan of action and so it's going to make it's going to be some serious repercussions but it starts at the top this go around
because it it a lot of the damage and the things that have happened in this community when people feel so comfortable to come through here work in our community and dog our community at the same time this community has been kind to
people very kind to people financially and every opportunity that they get when it's over you see how they felt when they leave and so those are the types of things that we need to pay attention we
don't need a big Fleet of of of busers and we only got 400 kids so I mean it's just some decisions that have to truly honestly be made and it cannot be our people not this go
around it cannot and if I have anything to say about it it will not thank you that was my Dean trusty ra Martin microphone
microphone as we look at what we have to do that the budget cuts will be as far away from the kids as possible especially uh since we're making the gains academically and and that needs to stay
as stable as possible and so um you know anything that directly affects or even kind of indirectly affects the the the children you know I'm concerned um but this is not new I've been in the
district for about 40 years and uh people were watching the budgets and because they were watching the budgets buildings gradually closed they didn't close everything at one time ster Brunson was not over there uh you know they gradually closed
the buildings and we had other buildings we could go to so I mean it's been happening it's been happening along the way it's just that right now we're really in a dire straight however we cannot continue to bleed out money
61,000 million $61,000 is a lot of money to bleed out in a year and we can't continue to do that either so we do have to look at creative ways and we just pray and hope that that money is
available in creative ways you still can't get it if it's not there so we we're just you know pray we just have to kind of wait like you said and see what comes down the pike and see how you know we can just weather the storm we've got
about three years to go to weather the storm you know what I mean but anyway I was um we'll we'll we'll do the best we can with your help thank you I was just going to say because I um I don't know you got more
to say but I was just going to say um right now you know with that report coming out that you just did it's it's very concerning and you know this is a time where we're going to have to be very open-minded um when you say $5 million
yes it's GNA be hurt somewhere but definitely um this is you know I'm glad that you're that you're on on it because you know most times we can sit back to our thumbs and be like oh well you know l l l then boom now you know we got to make cut somewhere so thanks for being
proactive and you know you everybody's you know they hear that word conservative but hey right now conservative is a good word that we have to use right now thank you you're welcome any more U for the finance that's it alrighty I will hand
it back over to you madam president thank you so much all right so up next we have thanks so thank you so much to the finance and Facilities committee for your um thorough update we do look for for to those one of those I believe we were going to do three at a time two trustees
per meeting I volunteer to sit in each meeting so I can ensure that each trustee is getting the same information each session so that when we come to the table there's no confusion everybody's heard the same thing we can be on one Accord with the work that we um start
doing my goal is to ensure that we've had our training as a whole board as well so that we can utilize that knowledge those know knowledgeable tools tools to assist us in supporting the district and doing this budget related work so thank you all for a great um
session um next we have the human resources committee at this time there was no agenda provided by the human resources committee their only item of business is to select and appoint a committee chair um so at this time I'll ask are there
any individuals from the human resources committee um just for the public those members of that committee are the human resources committee is consist of vice president bour secretary triplet and truste Doyle so at this time I open the floor is there anyone who would like
to serve as chair of the human resources committee president yes I had taken into consideration running uh for the chairman of the human resource committee and as I stated
I um I want to spend this time uh working on my role as the Secretary of this board of education I stated again I do not uh want to serve in the uh capacity
of chairman of any of the Committees that I served on under this administration because I want to eliminate excuses um uh as it relates to Mr triplet I want those excuses to be eliminated I want
everybody to be able to work in peace and get the work done um and so for me um there is a chairman of the human resource committee that served last year
um tonight he seems to be very giggly and tickled on so many different levels but I I I um would like to nominate um vice president Bowens to
continue to serve in the role of chairman of the human resource committee and I hope that the next time we come to a a committee of the whole session that there will be some information um
presented from the chairman of this committee so with that I'll pass all right is there anyone else who is interested in serving as the chair of the human resources committee uh trusty doy I believe you've communicated you're
not interested in that role uh previously to myself so vice president Bowes are you interested in maintaining your position as shared I accept secretary's triplet um nomination without the shade that was the most professional shade from ever wasn't it you haven't
seen any I'm assuming there's no objections okay so we would like to congratulate vice president bornes for maintaining position as chair of the human resources committee um we do uh look forward to your um committee report
in the upcoming work session I'm not sure if there's any hires anticipated coming um if if so we would need those updates prior to the anything relevant for us to know prior to the March meeting if you could send that out to us that would be great um I would ask that you um meet with Mr
mcdermit and touch base regarding what may be coming for the March agenda Mr mcder and Dr buts yes I look forward to working with Mr mcdermit and Dr buts and um as chairman I promise I will make sure I
communicate efficiently and effectively and making sure that you get documentation um for our meetings and and how do we make Bon Harbor area schools a worldclass community uh worldclass place to work at so thank you
for your trust secretary triplet and truste Doyle and I look forward to working with you thank you thank you one second my apology all righty sorry about that so up next we have um this section is the superintendent section so I'll give the
floor to Dr bus he's going to pass it on to the high school presentation graduation thank you madam president and this is for our high school counselors and our graduation coach if you all would come up and do your presentation I wish they were here should looked to it
earlier and thank you so much for your patience and waiting through and just to clarify for the public while they're passing out this meeting is a little bit longer than normal if you all haven't been tuning in we used to have individual one hour to
one hour and a half committee meeting and then we would also have a work session and then we would also have a regular session what we've done is merged our committee meetings into the work session so we're doing the work of every Committee in this meeting so that there is not a need for those additional
45 hours of work within um the month and so we do thank you all for your patience as we dig into this work um so now we're going to pass the floor to you all and um trying to stay at a 50,000 level of
foot view I would hope that there's some flexibility from Administration um in the buildings because I know you all are may be a bit tired and sitting here and going through this with us and so um I would ask if Dr bus or your uh principles in your building could take consideration of your time here spent
tonight and adjust if needed in the morning thank you all and just for the board is 912 and we still have to do training good evening to the board and everybody who's here and this um the community thank you for having us to
present tonight I am Linda sford I am one of the high school guidance counselors here and um I'm here with I'm sherlon Kyles I'm a graduation advisor L Morant the principal at the high
school and I will be brief everybody should have received at this point um the graduation status report it's a one-page document this one is for the high school specifically I do have numbers for Cape and then miss Kyle's has some information I think from oh she
has the paper you have the same paper that she has from Kate um documented some of their interventions I'll just go ahead and start with the BHS graduation status report and this report was dated on 224 2025 um this report outlines the class of 2025 is progress towards graduation
this report will address resource optimization interventions and other relevant information that discusses the work being done to support the class of 2025 to meet the MMC graduation requirements as well as Ben Harbor High School's graduation requirements um as you see in the report some of the
objectives that we have to make sure that the class of 2025 is successful is there's four objectives one is to Resource optimization maximize the use of available resources through tiger time extended day in the guidance department number two is to communicate regularly with students and parents
regarding students gradu ation progress number three sustainability incorporate interventions during tiger times to help students down track for graduation or recover credits necessary for graduation and then I added extrinsic motivation help students prioritize and set goals
for post-secondary options by exposing them to college career military or career paths um the interventions that have been used thus far this year counselors grad advisers have had student meetings the tiger times have been designated for students who are um
in credit recover y to go ahead and have those times to recover credits and to work specifically on credit recovery um we have extended day that has been offered to the students two times per week on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5: parent letters have gone out and
were notified both first and second semesters about students who have failed classes and those who were off track for graduation parent student meetings we have met with the students and the coun the counselors and grad advisers have met with the students and parents to discuss graduation Progress credit Audits and interventions some classroom
lessons were done about post-secondary planning so that kids would know what their options were to help you know get them excited about or plan for what they were going to do next and how to um make sure that they were staying focused on their credits and classes uity this platform allows students to recover credits for past fail classes there are
few students using uity to fulfill initial credit attempts um number 3B is extended day students are offer extended day as a way to get extra help in classes in which they are struggling or to continue working on credit recovery and then lastly um college visits trade
days events College military rep visits to bhss have been some of the interventions that we have been using this year to help students with their graduation progress I understand from the past this is my first year here I started in August I understand that these there have been similar
interventions in years past um where students were given these opportunities to help stay on track for graduation through Credit Recovery or um Mr Alexander coming in over the spring break helping students get their credits recovered staying getting on track for graduation um and so I understand
there's been some carryover parent letters things like that currently the status for the BHS graduation students right now our 47 students are on track for graduation which means that they are ready to graduate we were to have a graduation today okay so that's 47 of our students 48 of our students are on
track with a little bit of intervention needed so that means that they may have a class or two that they're you know working through to recover on Ed right now so they're not too far Bas but there are those interventions are being done right now four potential for summer graduation which means that they have
too many credits right now to recover in addition to their current case load course load I should say um without overwhelming them I mean anything's possible so if they get it done and they really put in the work it could possibly happen but realistically speaking most of those those four students will
probably look toward a summer graduation if we were to offer one and then three students currently are off track they're severely credit deficient meaning they have like at least five or six classes that they are needing to recover on um Credit Recovery in addition to the courses that they are taking right now
so their graduation this year may not H will probably not happen and again these people have been notified parents have been contacted we've reached out some students parents have not responded we've done what we can do to make sure that everyone was notified because we didn't want anybody to be
caught off guard so we are still working diligently each day to still communicate with students about their options their opportunities things like that to get them on track for graduation and to help them be successful this school year we haven't given up on anybody so we're going to continue to work really hard it's up to them to decide if they want
it so it wouldn't be our on us the school is doing everything we're all working together with teachers guidance Administration I've even seeing them go through the build and trying to motivate students too about their credit recovery so it's a lot happening on behalf of our students some of the recommendations
though that we wouldn't want it to become a barrier for our students as they are working to be on track and then I'll get to Kate's numbers um we want our students to be Expos to as many opportunities as possible I think that's so important in postsecondary planning as the rest of the guidance department
and the staff here at BHS thinks what major thing is that they have to be here especially if they're credit deficient they need to be in the building and I understand that trips and things are coming up and that kids want to go on these trips but our recommendation is if they are so credit efficient or if they're not um
have that have issues with attendance or things like that haven't taken their state test we believe that those students should not go we're not going to tell them they can't go our recommendation would be that they shouldn't go um because they need to be here to work as much as they can to get these things done um and then we
continue to encourage them to utilize the interventions and supports that we are offering them those are our recommendations at the time for k um they have six on track students who are six students on track for graduation four students who have interventions
required um three summer intervention three summer students who could possibly graduate this summer and three that are currently off track so that's their senior class numbers right now in addition to that they have three transfer outs yeah because we just lost some more
we just lost two to more today so and then his interventions uh doc uh Mr rosberg's intervention that he um has been using at the cape cap mentors monitor students daily activity on Centric and Ingenuity mentors check in with students via phone email or
inperson for student concerns students receive weekly progress reports with updated academic information graduation credit UDS are held with the parents and students each semester to review academic progress toward graduation All Cape high school students have the opportunity to attend extended day
learning at the high school on Monday and Wednesday from 3:30 to 5: all Centric students have the opportunity to receive academic support through Centric certified teachers Tuesday and Thursday are open to students to come into Cape to receive seal and academic support Cape offers extended day learning
opportunities for all credit recovery sors after school hours and weekends Max of four hours a week and PBIS incentives are available for all students so that's the report from from Kate and um I'll turn it over to miss
Kyle if she has thing add or any questions M rocket can you please use your mic do they have to have any volunteer hours no no
can how many students do we have at K do anybody know seniors total yeah just I mean how many students do we have 67 67 students and how many of those students are
seniors 21 and out of 21 students only six on track can you run through those numbers again because it was kind of quick okay it's included on that I have a copy of this but I don't it doesn't have
number okay just run those numbers back to me all right so so there are two students um data that was not mentioned because those two students are um sped students and they
needed more consultation with Doc I needed to check in something with Dr bernick to make sure that their credits or what they've been pced out of which means they have received personal curriculum from and they're not mandated to um earn those credits I needed to double check those numbers so keep those
two in mind there's six on track four intervention required three transferred out three summer intervention and three off track okay this is my my my next question of the
seniors who are at Benton Harbor High School who are not on track who have failed classes and uh what have you what type of data when we look at our students and what's been presented
to us from HR with our staffing vacancies uh uh teachers not in those particular classroom do we have substitute teachers who are being allowed to fail our
students and if so who is responsible for going in on a regular basis through uh for semester by semester marketing period by marking period who's auditing those grades who's auditing what the
objectives are and how are we justifying those students who have failed in classroom without certified teacher how how has anybody do you all have that information we don't have it offand but what we have done like if they didn't
have a class with chemistry let's say for instance they will be given uity majority of our seniors now they were given these opportunities last year so we wanted them to start this year on track no I'm not talking about I'm I'm getting to that you're talking about the
student um the teachers that are in the classroom that um that's basically not certified and if they're failing the students yes me myself in the if we do go into some of these class classrooms and work with the teachers to see where they lost at and what's going on um and
we find out some things that some of the methods that they're doing is incorrect so we work with them to get them back on track as well so again I guess this is my question again as we audit students from an
administrative position who's auditing these teachers in these classroom if if if they were to ask you all right now to go in pull their lesson plan and pull their grade book what will we find do
you all have that information is that being done yes perfect example one of the teachers the way their grading scale was way off and so we went in and we talked with them to get that corrected so situations
like that yes thank you you had you you had a kind I going to add that when I do credit Audits and when I'm looking at the percentage if a kid fail I go right to the administrator and say this is way off this there's no way possible this kids should fail this
class so we do advocate for the kids immediately so and we have found that that has been happening so we're trying to correct all of that just had a situation I want to say a couple of weeks ago where one of the tests was graded like if it was 80% for
the whole marking period yes okay so we we okay so director cups can we add that particular comment to the curriculum um agenda moving forward he said that they determined a a uh an
exam was mised as if it was 80% did I understand you correctly 80% of the course so there's some there's something off even in the the grading of particular courses so if we could dig into that further and kind of get some feedback on that okay so I just
want to jump in and let the board know thank you all thank you all for your presentation we appreciate the intervent go ahead that we can come in what time tomorrow who us all right I did say because you all
have been here extremely late so I know you're the principal I don't know who you have to get permission to I think you the boss in the building but your staff if we could please make a and I'm trying to say this from a 50,000 foot view but I'm just making a recommendation if we can make
accommodations for their start time um because they have been here so graciously waiting and I and and I did see that you all were here but I'm so used to being here this amount of time that sometimes it skips my mind that you all are sitting here painfully with us but I do appreciate your efforts I just
want the board to know um this presentation was specifically a request um from the curriculum committee and wanting to know where our students are as it relates to graduation because what I've seen happen in recent years as we get closer to graduation and parents and
students are panicking because they don't know whether or not they don't know that their child is not on track and so I asked if we could get an update at where we were now if we could be clear on what interventions have been given to any students that are not making the mark and making sure that all
of those things are being done now versus us getting to May and and people are panicked so I do appreciate you all coming in um and providing this information to us um the only other thing that I will add is that we I know for I can I can't speak for
everyone but I will have a very close eye on cap um and this is something that I share with the curriculum committee I know that we this it's an alternative learning opportunity for our students but we don't want to use that as an
excuse um for ourselves and so I just want to make sure that we are giving them the ultimate level of support knowing that they need Alternative Learning efforts it should be a big up the the earnest is on us to provide that increased level of support and so I just
wanted to ensure that we were doing that not just for Kate but for all of our students um and also knowing whether or not there's shortfalls and disconnect in reaching the parents and things of that nature because I know sometimes that's part of it having that that communication with the parent um in the
manner that we need to so I do thank you all and I do appreciate you and I'm really excited about the great things that you provided to us and um we'll have some conversations behind the scenes um more so about what we can do on our end as a board to further help you in your
efforts thank you all so much principal Mor say he in here with us every every board meeting to the tail I worked all day okay so we're gonna um just so the board is did you have a comment Dr bus or no okay so just so the board is aware we're at 928 and we still
have a training to do I'll move so we got the train is for everybody all board members have to be here but it's but we G we gonna self-pace it because it's not it's we
pasting it but we gonna proceed Dr bus has okay so next is the unused facility survey I did ask for Dr bus to provide that for the sake of time what I am going to ask that you all do um Dr bus if you can email this PDF out to the
board I am asking that the board look through the survey as it stands and email your recommendations for any adjustments back to Dr buts um today is Tuesday February the 25th if you all could do that by Friday end of business
so that we're not slow down to the next meeting that would be awesome um I did want us to kind of go through it and give any input that we have but a lot of it is is a bit um repetitive um they they have you identifying if you reside in the school district and then or if you're a non-resident then it opens up
to the particular survey for you and then you're going to kind of give some suggestions on what you think that we should do for each building if you have any um suggestions to the the language being used additional questions that you'd like to see for each building
um things of that nature I would ask that you send that in by Friday end of business okay um Dr bus is now going to provide us with the mde final partnership District Benchmark Review Dr but thank you madam president with the
mde final partnership District Benchmark Review you have that entire document in hand so you can see that I want to jump down to the district partnership agreement update so with that update you will see that the overall not met uh for the
district the partnership agreement did not meet the district level goals that were tied to each building so the district level goal was the training so seven six of the seven board members were at the training along with myself but they were tied to each school that
one standard was tied to each school which means um if if as if that training was not met then the overall partnership was not me but if you go to page number two in the slide you will start to see you will see
where there has been Improvement in the efficiency in the AC on the academic portion so Benchmark performance from data from Spring 22 compared to Spring 24 performance data you'll see MLK FP Fair playan middle bent Harbor High
School and Kate they all made increases on the next page The District overview for math you will see that MLK sword FP play uh Elementary made significant gains the
middle school made significant gains the high school unfortunately decrease but we are working on interventions for that and Cape um we don't have any we didn't have any um data for Kate so we'll be we will be updating that just a reminder that was
an 18month Benchmark where we have saw as you just saw on on your pages academic overall Improvement through the district with with some necessary needed adjustments so when we speak about um
um the the plan to to rectify and correct um starts with the c I can't remember it now reconstitution excuse me S an R the reconstitution reconstitution is what everybody presented tonight that is
looking at the budget looking at the curriculum looking at student Support Services looking at uh the the overall picture reconstitution as it was falsely uh reported last time does not mean that
schools will close we have to look at our resources and use them better turn use our take our resources look at what we have look at the teachers look at how we're presenting look at the the material that we have
and we make adjustments to what we have is what we have written into the partnership agreement thank you and just to provide some clarity um to the board in order to be considering um meeting the the The Benchmark a district needed each school
had to meet a minimum of 2/3 um so the high school met the two3 cape met one3 fairplane East met all three which is extremely exciting um Fair playan middle met all three and and Martin
Luther King Jr met all three so our students are doing a phenomenal job and showing the progress as it relates to the partnership agreement so I do want us to make sure that we clap for that we can celebrate that um and as Dr bus mentioned part of
our um overarching goal as a um District was that we would as a leadership team attend at least the two scheduled workshops as he stated six out of a seven of us were able to make it to masb um certified trainings that our
facilitator came in office to do with us but I am proud um to inform the public that the board of education completed a full training for this board in January of 20 uh 25 so last month and then
tonight we will be completing our second training um for this particular period And so as long as we have met the remaining three um at The Benchmark which I believe we previously clarified happens in June then we will have done
our part for that um District level goal and so we'll then be depending on our district uh buildings to do continue to do as well as they are doing um with Focus to Cape of course um and then ensuring that we can get support for Ben
Harbor area schools Ben haror High School specifically um as it relates to our math and state assess so as I indicated previously I'll be working well I'll be um depending on the HR department to kind of give us some assessments of our staff levels um in
all of our buildings of course but specifically what we're doing for Cape and in the areas of math at V Harbor High School because the progress shown in the other buildings is phenomenal and I think it shows that we're headed in the right direction so we need to focus
and tone in zoom in on those areas where we still seeing deficiencies and make sure that we're doing our part and giving those areas everything that we need so I do want to take a moment to celebrate the district um because it's it's doing a phenomenal job in a
majority of the schools and so I just want to make sure that we are celebrating those administrator teachers support staffs and most importantly um our students for example MLK improved 6.15% in math so some of these numbers
you have it for you in the presentation and I just want to um tell director CBS and Dr buts a great job as well as our full administrative team for the efforts that we're seeing um and the impacts that it's making to our students so thank you
all thank you madam president alrighty so we're gonna move right along in the agenda um Dr buts do you have anything um you've given us the Benchmark is is that your partnership agreement update for the day yes ma'am
all right up next on the agenda and and go ahead right before this if if we can go ahead and excuse the executive cabinet we can you all are excused for the even patience guess what you do not have any other committee meetings to do you
don't have any other that's the beauty of it this is it until the next regular meeting so thank you all for your patience yes did that already they didn't we did that they didn't have a they just appoint selected their chair got you
okay who is the chair but they have a meeting I think um Bowen is thank yeah okay um the district partnership agreement update was provided within the MD final partnership so we'll move forward old Business board Retreats as
stated January 28th 2025 we completed our first um official training as this board although we've done trainings before I want to make sure the public is aware of that we did the two trainings there was seven out of eight people present and so the board has done
training but the the objective is to have everyone at the table so this board has done a training January 28th 2025 which was a fabulous training on effective committees um and tonight we'll be doing
um a training on finance we have a training scheduled during the work session March 25th um April 22nd and then May 27th as long as we maintain those dates we'll be on track to have all five goals done by The Benchmark um
so just making sure everyone notates those on those on their calendars um and we may have to do some adjustments to the committee that we do the um the next Finance training or that might be a different date I'll have to look at into
that because those are tend to be two to three hour trainings so just be flexible in the adjustment and ensuring that we get that PC in yes madame president um I know you're gonna kill me but have we thought about just going ahead and splitting the training up to a different
day and that's what I'm saying so the training the com the the um Finance training I think is especially urgent so that may be a standalone training on its own for the purpose of insuring and we have the time to designate to that
training I can also look into if there are any others that we want that's maybe an hour to tag onto that date and knock out two as it stands these are the the the training dates but that training I
know will have to be separate and it might eliminate one of these as a training date can debm or whoever comes masp since can we do three trainings on one day so we have the authority and ability to do them in the manner that we would
like as long as it's all of us present and they're within those particular outline topics that's in the partnership and we um in this in this worthwhile trainings we can do a Saturday session
and knock out two just like we attempted to do before absolutely okay all right um I have no new business next um open public comment is there anyone present for open public
comment all right Dr bus I did do the announcements here so that if people if there were any guests that made it this far and wanted to leave they could so do you have any um announcements or comments uh just the uh I the team is gone but I just wanted to
thank the team my team for the hard work they're putting in every day trying to make sure that we stay on task um and if you get a chance after the training the students have started to paint their sections of the walls in the cafeteria
so um that that has begun um and that's all I have at this time all right uh trusty Gavin no comment all right um vice president Bowens no comment Vice uh Treasurer Bradley I was just going to
say um thank you everybody for coming out I'm gonna be real quick um just just because I vote no on something I want to make sure I put that out there just because I vote no on something doesn't mean that I don't support it I support um things wholeheartly but then you get further information and more information
and the um will start turning so I do support our driver's ed so I want to put that out there before somebody go and say oh he doesn't support driver said no I do wholeheartedly support it all right uh trusty Doyle I just would like to thank
everyone for coming out um I'm really proud of some of the uh things that we've have accomplished here um the driver's ed um the improvements in k25 with the
nwaa um the engineering CTE I'm really proud of the Pam mediation and I like to uh talk about or just mention about what trusty Gavin was saying about being creative and finding
creative solu sols when our budget do have to take those cuts let's be creative and and make it happen like we always do thank you all right and I think oh we don't have secretary so I'll be brief I just want to thank everybody for your flexibility tonight commend our
directors for their efforts um thank the public who was willing to um stay here with us for this evening this is our first run at doing the work session and the close session um and the student reinstatement piece was a big part of
the conversation as well as the driver EDS courts but moving forward I believe if we um do not have to do those particular pieces we'll be able to get through this particular structure rather smoothly and I'm excited about not having additional committee meetings um
I'm excited about being chair of policy as well I love policy um so I'm excited for that work and um I have nothing further so at this time we have CBA 103 which is Basic School fin um we are logged in I believe we're set
up and ready to go is the singer exit no she's still down it's so quiet are we gonna be able to can we get this moved so we can see it we can move it or I can set up the tables right quick like we did the last time how would you like it we can just move it I think if we
could move it so we can see it we can take a quick recess so we GNA you guys are getting up we still in training in the meeting okay so we're going to take a a quick recess is 9:43 if we could come back maybe about 9:50 give us about six minutes break to get
set up and then we're going to knock this training out it is self-paced they anticipated it takes an hour but we don't have to necessarily take an hour because the majority of us um most of us have seen this so this is a refresher course for us and then a new course for
others so we're going to take a a brief recess as a 9:44 all right so we're returning from Recess effect of 9:59 p.m. as a remind to the board the Board of Education um is doing a training CBA 103 um this is a
basic School Finance course we are taking this course as a board um to ensure that we are prepared to take um to move forward with our needed budgeting so we're going to go ahead and get this started it's on the big screen for us and then we're going to allow the
module to walk us through can you play this go ahead it does have sound so turn your sound on Trent it don't have sound oh it doesn't have sound okay will you do the okay let me I can't see that bar oh well let me
read it for you go ahead you have the floor I got it yeah the computer you me do it she H up me from crisis to compromise a school funding story it has been 25 years since Michigan's legislator and
Governor John inler completed completely changed how public schools are funded we are still wrestling with school funding questions today but it helps to know how we got here as we consider how to move forward before proposal a before 1994
Michigan School operations were primarily funded through local property tax revenue unsurprisingly the result of this funding model included large disparities in schools per pupil funding between districts since they were there were large disparities and property values across the state while people
living in communities with high property values could increase their tax rates modestly and generate a great deal of new revenue for their students when those communities with low property values try to tried to raise a similar amount the tax
rate had to increase a great deal all right next slide pre- proposal and illusion what if both Port prosperous and struggle City Schools wanted enough additional funding to hire 10 teachers how would the the property tax increase cover that cost in
today's dollars both communities would need to raise about $700,000 in Revenue to raise roughly 700,000 in struggle City people would have had to raise their property taxes by at least six meals this means that a family with
a $75,000 house will be paying $450 more property taxes per year likely the weekly take home pay for a parent in the family meanwhile in Fort Pro prosperous people would see a one mill increase to property taxes to yield enough funding
for 10 teachers those families will also see a tax increase of about $450 per year which would likely be about as much as a parent in that family earned in a single day in addition to the inequitable funding between school districts a high
dependence on property tax revenues resulted in Michigan having the seventh highest property tax burden in the country with Michigan yanders paying about a third more in property taxes compared to people in other states there were many attempts to reform property
taxes in Michigan but from 1972 to 1993 Michigan voters rejected eight proposals to solve the issue everyone seemed to agree that there was a problem but could not agree on a solution and the status quo ranged colaska runs out of money in
March of 1993 on March 24th 1993 the students and the community of calcasa public schools fa the real consequences of depending on local property taxes to fund Public Schools instead of preparing for spring break students said goodbye to their teachers for the summer two
months early because the district ran out of money and could not finish the rest of the school year calcasa faced a perfect storm in the school property tax problem the community's median household income was around $10,000 less than the
state median income and his per pupil spending was also significantly below the Statewide median the community's ability to pay more was limited and the KPS students were missing out on resources other students in the state took for granted
in the previous six months citizens in calcasa have voted three times to reject a proposal to raise mind oh property taxes to 7.3 six meals enough funding to finish the school year with no more funding The District closed shop
early the state Superintendent at the time Robert Schiller believed that calcasa could have stayed open through the end of the school year by making significant cuts to the school's budget but the local school board president disagreed and stated that 135 days of
quality education is better than 180 days of bad education the same day the district shut its doors the state senate passed legislation that would give the state the authority to assign an emergency Financial Manager and reopen the district for the remainder of the school year but that bill NE never made
it out of the house legislators vote to defund everyone then in July 1993 when calcasa students were going into their fourth month of summer break then state senator Debbie stabile governor inler and the rest of the legislator did something
that could be categorized as pure genius pure insanity or both while debating Governor England's proposal to cut property taxes by 20% Senator sabau introduced a substitute to the bill that eliminate all of the property taxes that have previously funded School operations
some believe she introduced the bill not because she actually supported the full roll back of property taxes but as a move to emphasize the danger of cutting Revenue so drastically without a plan to replace it whatever the strategy within 24 hours the full Ro back bill was
passed by the house and the Senate and headed to Governor english's desk for Signature that meant there was no money to pay for schools to open in that meant there was no money to pay for schools to open in the fall of 1994 the legislature still
then set a deadline for itself of December 31st 1993 to work out an alternative plan to fund school districts in Michigan at the same time Governor Engler was pushing for legislation that would create charter schools and schools of choice a group of
14 members of the House seven Democrats and seven Republicans developed a package of bills that included taxes to replace Revenue wiped out by the property tax roll back as well as Provisions that created charter schools and schools of choice because the proposal would change the sale tax rate
in the Constitution the voters would have the chance to have the final say at The Ballot Box they would choose between proposal a and a statutory alternative that would have gone into effect if proposal a was not approved voters would not be asked about the
charter schools or schools of choice issues but these non-finance bills were TI tie bar to the ballot proposal legislation meaning that if the legislature failed to pass the charter and choice Provisions
the ballot [Music] proposal legislation would also fall would also fail leaving all Michigan schools unfunded after a 26-hour session day the package of legislation passed just
before noon on Christmas Eve the charter and choice Provisions were passed and Michigan voters would see proposal a on their ballots the following March a yes vote on proposal a supported an incre increase in the state's sales tax a no
vote would be a vote for the default statutory option that would have increased the income tax both options had additional changes to both options had additional changes to the tax code as well voters then went to the post and approved proposal a by a
w wide margin with 69% of the voters marking yes proposal a success 25 years later the goals of proposal a were largely achieved property taxes have been drastically reduced with Michigan's property tax burden now ranked in the middle of the pack compared with the
other 50 states the state's share of school funding has also increased and there is more funding equality among school districts in 1993 to 1994 some school districts spending per pupil was three times as high as others in 2017
and 2018 the funding Gap is much narrower for the school year the highest Foundation allowance for a school district was 12,124 and the lowest Foundation allowance was 7,631 yielding a gap of
4,493 or less than double as high while still not equal the school funding structure is certainly more equal than in the pre-proposal a years in 1991 to 1992 average per puple
spending in Michigan came to about 4,600 which is $ 8,394 in today's doll our per pupil Foundation allowance average now is $777 as a state we spend
$6,185 to educate a child in 1992 to 1993 which is 10,9 in today's dollars for 2014 to 2015 the last year for which US Department of Education data are available we spent $1,056 per child that does not seem like
much of a difference the trouble is our dollars aren't going as far as they used to not only because of overall inflation but also because retirement and Healthcare in particular have become cost are very difficult for school districts to Bear all right that's the end of that
slide anyone would like to take over and read proposal A's at quality Victory eating up tripl would you like to read this next live for us you're G to put the timer on how much time do I have two minutes
proposal a equality Victory eaten up by retirement and Health Care the state mandates that Traditional School District but not chartered schools participate in the state's pension plan for teachers as fewer teachers
participate in the pension system caus a decline enrollment due in part of Charter School the solvency of the pension system has been eroded and contribution rate have risen back in 1995 the amount of
District payroll that went through the retirement system was 14.56% now the contribution rate is capped at 20 96% for individual district with further
contributions needed to keep the pension system system solving com mean from the state aid fund we might conclude that a pension system is a luxury we cannot afford in 2018 but the state cannot
legally in pension benefit that retirees have already earned in our County to live on the health care picture is much better is not much better the average annual premium for family C coverage in
the United States oh wait a minute the healthcare picture is not much better the average annual premium for family coverage in the United States is 19 in 1993 was
$523 or $9,250 in today's Dollar in 2018 school districts are statutorily permitted to spend up to $1 17,897
for family coverage that's nearly double the cost the school district even accounting for inflation was the manufactur the manufactured is necessary before proposal a most michiganders agreed that
property tax reform was necessary and that schools should be funded but equitably despite the consensus people kept choosing the status quo over and over again only when
the legislature and the governor created a crisis so severe that schools would not open without a change did everyone finally choose a new path in 2018 we are faced with a consensus that
our students would be better served if we had different education policy what we do not have is a consensus about what those policies ought to look like will we need to
manufacture a crisis like that of 1993 to find consensus think about what caught your attention in this article all right anybody have any input
that you'd like to add or caught your attention I do trusty Gavin oh so I was just talking about this Governor Engler I can't hear you I was just talking about um you know know Governor inler
making a decision to kind of come after Ben Harbor and Detroit schools to you know recommend closing around the 1990s and then him also being the quote unquote father of the charter school movement
and so it's just for me like seeing the history of these policies even though they might have been popular they weren't in the best interest of our kids they weren't in the best interest of our schools and districts like ours you know
suffered and so it just for me it just highlights like how we have to really think what's in the best interest of our kids let's be grounded um and let history teach us a lesson um in terms of
looking for creative ways to make sure that we Center the students um and not let folks who have you know a not an aligned agenda um encourage us to do things that are not in the best interest
of our kids but I'm glad that they wrote this you know that they actually put it in there I'm surprised any other comments from the board vice president BNS any feedback as trusty Gavin stated I was reading the other side of the river
again and when John Engler came and discussed shutting the schools and how he you know proposal a and everything of that nature um I confirm all right if there's no other any other feedback from the board
remember did and it wasn't it wasn't um even then people knew at uh truste Gavin stated that the the district that that would suffer the most would be districts like Benton Harbor um District that didn't have high property value that
wouldn't be able to um you know be able to do millages or or do things that would be able to to sustain their district and so when you look at the way in which our Michigan schools are funded and the timeline throughout
the summer when it ends in July and you don't get the money until October all of those things like I said Michigan was Michigan has one of the worst system as it relates to timing and taxing and and and and District being
paid because it ended the fiscal year ends one um June the 30th I'm not correct but you can't you could not um you don't get that money until that that funding stay there that money does not drop until October so it what
it what it what it what it required District like ours to do is to have to continuously take loans oh and when we had to take those loans to keep us Sol it and for us to be able to continue to do the work those loans had interest High interest
rates on them and it put us in terrible situation so I think you know just to um to to the the uh What uh truste Gavin stated is that it was it was it was a
strategic plan for him to become and you look at it right now who's leaded in charge for for Char of school the Republican y school for property to close down public education and they slid it up under public education so there would be some
way because the eventual goal right now you'll see that they're starting to change and trying to change it right now where some of the the state aid or some of the aid can go specifically to those charter schools so they had they they had long range plans they didn't just do
that they knew like they always do they plan out 30 40 years for what what it is that they're going to do we do transactional things we address things right then and there but they already knew this what this was coming down so I have a question for you
uhuh if the way we fund School find into some budgets I noticed in bit in Harvard we frown upon Charter Schools but one year maybe two years ago we had people from Flint and B
Harbor they love it I mean Detroit they love it why is what is the difference what do you think is the difference with that what you mean they love propal a they think the charter schools like they watched what it did to Detroit public schools excuse me but some of them
support the black charter I mean Charter Sports because they're for profit and but what the deal is is that these charter schools are all these things are owned by Rich
billionair and so what they do and what they did even here in Ben harbard think about it when they open Countryside what's that Countryside Academy they used cassant G to open that school up she was
the first administrator an African-American woman from Ben Harvard graduated in 1979 she opened up Countryside when they opened up dream Academy guess what Eddie Anderson was used to open up dream
Academy and a month later or two months later they fired him when they opened up Ben harbard Charter School it was disgruntled board member former board members Reverend Brown and a few other board members who opened up VIN harbard
charer school because they were disgruntled about some things that had happened at at the Board of Education because they were board members here and former teachers Miss Wilder Patterson Ruby they U uh Miss Jane all of them
became members of their Board of director every last one of these charter schools in this community were opened up by African-American people who were from this community and V har Eric schuz was
not on top of their game to say enough is enough how do you have all we have how many Charter Schools we have seven in our district that affect our district on top of desegregation on top of school of choice
and we're still standing but you have to think about that's why they like it in Detroit because they're making money and they went and got I was approached to say would you if we wanted to do this would you be willing
absolutely not I sat in a meeting with M well and at that particular time Elder Wells was the pastor now I want you to hear this so Elder Wells asked me to come to the
meeting they brought in James Ru who had been a former superintendent of V Harbor area school now listen to this I'm sitting there all of these people are sitting there talking about M just see well
okay Mr Ru comes in to that meeting and he thinks that I'm down with the charter fol I had already told Pastor well I said pastor well I was a member there at that time I said pastor well I'm for public education he said
trip just come on to the me come on down let me that's what he said trip I just want to see what you think about it Mr ruter came downstairs in that basement and I this is what he said they love me he said I can get
300 to 400 of their students out of that District this is what he said listen I ain't nobody told I heard it I can get 300 students do you know they open new J well and guess what
after that Ben Harbor area school hired Mr R to be the Apple director at Ben hary area school these are the things that we when I sit here from a historical perspective and my frustration because I've never wavered
as it relates to not just Ben har area school what I feel about public education but these are the things everybody every one of these Charter Schools was open by one of all and people who were in they tell
y'all we got millions of dollars I'm going hire you angel I'm going give you that and that's what they do in Detroit it's money okay so we do so I know we're having a good conversation but I want to make sure we can get through the next question we've kind of dug into um can
you read that next question for US Secretary triplet how would you explain the role a proposal ad we've kind of dug into that I know you had a comment you wanted to add yep I thought you were getting ready to say something to the previous
conversation okay any any vice president uh Treasurer Bradley want to say I speak the sentiments of uh secretary triplet because you know a lot of these Charter Schools came into the area and decimated public schools and they put the what
what's the word I'm looking for they put the thing out there like oh these are better better and but anyway yeah and all sincerity and if you are maybe you all not remember this but Stephanie you should remember that they
were so adamant about opening um Ben Harvard charter school that they were trying they were they were putting it in a church and they had eventually say no but they kept on fighting and they had noncertified teachers in there but
they pulled our kid 400 here 300 here and Ben Harbor was so arrogant at that time because Ben Harbor had so many student they were yeah they were so arrogant when this said came in
allair in and and um Coloma guess what their coaches came from where Benton Harbor they chose Mr gisby Billy GIS was the first coaches out in Coloma they chose people from our community that
they knew people would come and follow them there is not one of these schools that's close by us where there hav't been cultes that's on their staff that did not work or come from Bon hary and
that's why we have to lock it doesn't matter if we know these people we have to have a stance on what it is that we believe in and proposal a I think again trusty Gavin summed it they knew it was his goal Governor
Engler had a goal so he could become I've never heard quite heard it put like that but he's the father of charter school okay so we don't necessarily have to type that in there because the purpose of it is for us to have a a
conversation it does have a note that says that it's not recorded or read by others so you can just kind of I don't know how you want to summarize that up summarize it ill true dismantling of public education Dr bus said it's a true
dismantling of public education is what he would like it was and it still is it was is a true dismantling of public education
dismantling a public education and I can tell you from teaching in public schools and I've had kids in Georgia from private schools and when that when those kids from private school came to public school they were well
behind yes the the students in public school because and when you're in a private school the teachers are not mandated to have a degree they only have to have a high school diploma yeah and when you in marginalized communities that's all you're going to get if
charter schools and school of Choice were strategically designed for affluent communities where they could afford to pay college educated teachers but for the marginalized communities it was for
profit and to make profit off of students and not to teach students it's another way so I just have to say it it's it's a modern day almost slave mentality that keep people from learning to keep people marginalize people from learning trusty
Dole did you have a comment can you uh try to speak in the Mike for us I did um my daughter I pull my daughters from B haror and put them in M SE Wales and found out they was way way
way way behind when I tried to move them so yeah that's crazy but when you look at the state north guys and you look at the state and you go to the bottom bottom under M har Charter was under you just see
wealth was under us you know they were under us and so when you and if you look at Countryside you're talking about the mcmanis you're talking about uh the Catholic Church the backing because see
when we were coming up and going to school in Ben haror area school Ben Harbor was the top school district in the region but there was still the only people that we had to compete with was Michigan Lutheran and Lake M Catholic
people used to pay tuition from St Joe and other places to come to our school district when I was in the school okay they paid which come VI vice president B um so I want us to get back to focus but I will say some Charter
Schools do have great results look at Dr Steve Perry look at Urban prep look at Chicago so some of them do have good results and I understand you know in the
model that it is I have family members that are teachers that have their master's degree in education that will only work at charter school so I understand both parts of it but let's get back to the subject because my job
because I my my ey my eye is sitting on my court my shoulder St looking at you right now I don't know if I can be any more of a sad I have took my eyeball off and put it on my shoulder looking at vice president bour can't listen to it let's let's
Contin let's continue honestly my sister works at vitton Harvard Charter School I've seen kids our Val Victorian for 2008 our Val Victor 2008 was from B Char School right we have to work through it more
all the way down yeah okay let's go Revenue sources let's go that was a needed conversation we're GNA work through everything quickly are you continuing to read or would you like me to read I'mma read Because I G sleep the one that need to be
reading you're talking for michig can we get back point of order please I'm going to ask that um we're going to keep this is a training so we're a little bit la but we are still being recorded this is still uh the business of the board table
so I want to yeah we we're on YouTube right now okay this boy me right all right let's move forward okay all right so I'm so glad was able to say because it is the
truth okay school district in Michigan have three main branches of funding the federal government state government and local government let's take a look at the role each played in providing Revenue Public
Schools I think this where we coming into now that we get ready to face and deal with our sources of funding although the revenue source is federal fund although the role of the Federal Government roughly 6% is less than the
state and local governments when it comes to education funding its impact is still significant almost two-thirds of federal kindergarten through 12th grade funding goes towards two programs the title one of the elementary and
secondary Education Act which Target economically disadvantaged students and the individuals with disability education acts which supports children with disability funds are also allocated for
such purposes as improving teacher quality educating English language Learners and providing impact Aid to schools impacted by military bases I want to read that again funds
are also allocated for such purposes as improving teacher quality educating English language Learners and providing impact Aid to schools impacted by military bases most of these money are distributed either directly to Local
District or to schools through their state before proposal a schools were primarily funded through property Che taxes with some money coming from the state in 1993 proposal a created a found
Foundation allowance which guaranteed schools a minimum amount of money per student this Foundation allowance was designed to create equity in school funding no longer was Revenue dependent
on property taxes now each student in the state would come to their district with the same validation allowing the state funds the allowance in many ways the state selles tax
Lottery Revenue business taxes as well as taxes from tobacco real estate casinos and Commercial forestry all add to school aid funds from which the foundation allowance is
drawn school aid appropriation interested in how money from the school aid fund is being spent click the screen below so to visit the Michigan Senate Fiscal agency website there you will find an interactive graph
by lay that lays out where Michigan 13 billion designated for education is at work so I would ask that Dr bus he's he's pulled it up on his if you could just email that link to the full board and then that way we can take a look at
that and give that a thorough di uh dive later if we want to do it but this is it on the screen if you guys want to take a look at it so if you look at the um look at the graph you can you can read those numbers
too if you if you'd like do they School a K22 2024 25 initial grow appropriation by program area so y
wait was not a bad it you foundational money that you didn't have it gave you at least a star M everybody would have am yeah they do see a new light on it can we get your mic please can you
pull you must be allergic to your mic or something because you she got it turn backwards see what I say proposal a gave you the foundational Grant which is the monies that we depend on so much right now for our uh for our students that's
why we need more students we can get more of that foundational money it just gave you another way of funding schools without using the property taxes because that way it was not fair but the property taxes regardless to what they gave they gave you the foundation but
then they pulled your kids out they pulled your kids out through charter school they gave you but that wasn't but that didn't have anything to do with the proposal a but that's how it end up affecting right okay let's get so so Dr buz sent that chart out to
everyone we want to do a deep deeper dive let's get to back to the main screen um it's up one of your tabs at the top right here okay now yeah Revenue sources local
funds School District themselves have a role in bringing in Revenue this mostly come in the form of militants local funding what is approximately 177% of a mill is an amount equal to one
1,000 of a dollar this amount is used in figuring a tax of milit rate taxes are calculated by taking the taxable value of the property roughly one half of what the property is worth and multiplying it
by the number of meals through by voter taxable value of property Time Mill equals tax own owed for example if a piece of property is worth
$100,000 the taxable value would be about $50,000 if the tax rate was five mill the tax would be $250 or
50,000 Time Zero or five 100 of 1,000 of Dollar by one what is that 100,000 yeah 5,000 50,000 times that 5,000
no 005 1000,000 the first one is 10 100,000 okay oops types of milles there are several
different types of milles each with a specific function purpose and set a rule Click on each item below to learn more about a few of them and how they
may be used in your District here go enhancement an enhancement millage is levied by an ISD or a Resa to request operational fund
from its Community is shared amongst local districts District district can request up to three meal enhanced meal can be voted in for a period not to exceed 20
years so that's something that we need to have more information on how that looks as it Rel to our research because the question that one of them ask be confident this many of us we don't know what it is what is the roller sir you're supposed to be taking
a class I get it non Homestead me voters and y'all say one more word I'll walk out and your whole meeting be Y'all Gonna respect me tonight non Homestead meal vter I know you ain't thinking about talking at all
now yeah voters can approve up to 18 Mills to be levied on all properties that are not primary residents funds stay in the Local scho District so this doesn't cost us anything in our
home the non-homestead meal hold harmless meal these millages were designed to be a way to make sure that school distri districts would not receive Less in state aid than they
would have had before proposal a all right hold harmless District are allow to Levy an additional tax to make up the difference but you saying this is whole harmless District trustee rocket Martin
while you supporting propos sinking funds voters can approve up to three Mills for up to 10 years funds can be used for purchasing real estate construction repair of school building
acquiring installing technology and building security okay they didn't touch may I read yeah you can see it close enough absolutely no I want right here you can read I'm
still ask my question okay Dr bus had a quick comment and then we're going to go to uh truste Gavin just a quick comment and and we'll move forward because I don't want to jump back on it but with that proposal a although it created the foundational uh allowance it still is
still tied that the School of Choice and and uh charter schools which was a dismantle which was the beginning of the dismantling of public education that's that's what I was talking about but okay okay trusty gav you have it finding your
account student count days twice a year in September and February the state mandates a day when the number of students in a district be counted these numbers are figured together using a preset ratio to determine the number that will be used as the total student
count for the district's Foundation Grant Revenue let's look at an example together can I we're ready next I'm gonna ask to write all your questions down ready for the next doing the
math use the yellow arrows below to walk through an example of how a district finds their student count and how that translates to revenue SE February Amed
of each of these accounts is they're then added together to get a final total in this district has 7,544 students cting the current model
says 90% of the Fall count is used to determine the final number so here 90% of 7,544 is 6,789 stud thank you next please
two is the account taken the previous February on that day 7,544 students were present 10% of that total is then taken so 10% of 7,504 is 750 students
thank you next so we then multiply the foundation all which is $ 7,871 by our St number 7,539 students the total amount of
revenue for the district B is 59 Milli 33946 the state funded do the amount of Revenue coming to the district from Villages and non taxes here that number is 11,550
730 so the total amount coming to the district from school aid fund is 47 m788 739 this money will be delivered to the from October through August
next please thank you want to encourage everybody to take notes hear you want to encourage everybody to take notes uh we're ready next please unit three the school budget where do funds go next please what is
the budget the School District budget is more than a breakdown of how money comes and where it goes out there are several important foundational perspectives of a budget for members of boards of Education to consider next please the school
budget one piece of that answer is that they're PID for with public funds with tax money from our communities as board members we're responsible to our communities for what schools do with that money and the budget is the tool
that we use a school budget however is more than just a list of what comes in and what goes out out it's a living document that's vital to our school communities at the foundation of a school budget is the idea that budgets
serve as an instrument to allocate public resources among the social and economic needs of your jurisdiction the budget is the way we communicate how we are using public money in our districts and how we are meeting the needs of our communities it
specifies the way ways and needs of providing Public Service nice foundational perspectives ands is this the school budget is the translation of prioritized education means of our communities put into a
financial plan should there be a new school health center can we provide for major technology upgrades this year or maybe make the addition of social workers and Elementary buildings how we answer these questions reflects the
needs and priorities of our districts and the board's commitment to those priorities all of this work all of these conversations all of these decisions have to start with Vision Without A Clear Vision and go lay laid out in a
strategic plan the governance team lacks clear Focus Focus but with vision and goals in place board members superintendents School staff and the community as a whole has a common rallying point has your community
identified literacy as a priority school safety enhancing stem experiences whatever the focus the evidence of support for the goal should be seen in the school budget let's take a closer look at how this might play out with
some specific spefic goal examples here are three goals from a fictional School District take a look at the first one in the area of student achievement this district has made it a goal that each School building demonstrate five%
Improvement each year for the next three years with this goal in mind what kinds of things might we look for in school budget perhaps it would include line items for professional development for teachers and admin rators maybe an
upgrade in computer equipment or new instructional materials whatever the resource the governance team should be able to point to the places in the budget that reflect their commitment to that goal with these foundations laid in our
understanding let's turn now to look at some more practical pieces of school budgets in very simplified terms budgets are comprised of revenues of what monies come into the district and expenses and
what monies go out from the district as we already learned most Revenue comes to a district through a foundation allowance where the district is Promised a specific dollar amount per student of funding districts may also receive fund
from State categorical grants these grants are funds that come to a district for a specific purpose there are grants for geographically isolated districts grants for early literacy programs grants for Career Tech education even
grants that allow schools to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables in addition to these state grants there are also grants from the federal government that come to school districts these grants provide revenue for special education programs and provide funding for districts that serve
at risk student populations many times Grant monies that come to districts must be spent in a specific way this is very different from how most of us budget at home for a moment imagine your household
budget let's say in a given month you find yourself a little short on your grocery fund if that were to happen perhaps you would go to the cafe or see a movie for the difference you would be looking to
another budget category and P funds in from there things function differently in school districts however yes it's important to note that many times Revenue that comes to a district goes to
a specific fund and can only be spent on what it was specified for for example if a district got a technology Grant to purchase new computers they could not use it to purchase a new school bus instead no matter how badly they needed
one on the other side of the budget we find expenses the largest item of expense in most districts is staff salaries benefits and retirement expenses also include items like water gas and electricity schools
be utilities just like we do at home but there are many other items of expense to consider as well take for example Capital needs Capital needs cover the physical needs of a school chairs building buildings
desks there are recurring costs that come with building ownership for example does the school need a new roof how about repavement in the parking lot do the HBC system up toate Capital needs cover more than just
buildings too they can also include equipment like weight rooms or band instruments and computer labs budgeting well requires careful attention to the maintenance and state of facilities and Equipment transportation is another area
that requires consideration calculations must be made regarding conditions such as fuel cost and replacement of vehicles which can vary greatly depending on the types of roads and distances buses are driving districts
must also consider how their policies impact Transportation budgeting for example does your District have a policy that every student in kindergarten must be picked up at their door that will impact your budget how about extracurricular events who pays for the
transportation to basketball games or music festivals or robotics competitions all of these Factor enter Transportation costs as well these are of course just a few examples there are many other areas to consider when budgeting take for example
teaching supplies like test tubes in the science lab textbooks library books both new ones and ones that need to be replaced professional developments with teachers security items like cameras school resource officers and door locks
even the accompaniments for the school choir all of these items and more have to be planned for and budgeted this is an immense task that requires a lot of planning to lead to
success budgets are complex documents but by keeping the vision of your District at the Forefront asking good questions in keeping the process moving Board of Education will do its part to bring its goals into reality okay so
question question what caught your attention in this section on school budgets response yes I uh how it t proposal a the foundational uh allowances and and now how you look
at the whole budgeting thing the whole budgeting and how carefully you have to pay attention to the different just like now with the with the federal cuts and and everything that's going into place and all the things that we have to look at and the biggest thing that caught me was when we get money especially for
grants they're tied to specific things and we can't just use them for any other thing monies are specifically allocated yes and must be
used for of purpose stated ensuring that there is no supplanting right of funds mismanagement of
funds we have to be careful about some plan I I like it when they talked the governance team at work like so many other portions of governance both the superintendent and Board of Education have important roles to play in the budget process next please
no is that why I Smo slow because okay superintendance role the work of research you can't see the work of researching and preparing the budget falls to the superintendent and his or her administrative team this group will
assemble their work into a budget proposal and then submit it to the Board of Education the superintendent is then responsible for making any revisions requested by the board once adopted it's his or her responsibility to administer
the budget throughout the year board's role the board has the responsibility to review the budget submitted by the superintendent and make sure the finances align with the district's goals with your District vision mission and strategic goals in
hand you can begin the process next please sample District goals let's look again at our imaginary District goals consider goal number three how might this goal be represented in the district's budget goal number three
student enrollment reduce the current Trend enrollment loss of 10% how might goal number three excuse me be pres represented in the District budget great question conservative budgeting
you go ahead we so every year we get a projection from middle cities we get typically three to five projections what we try to do is go with the middle one because we don't know what the state allocations are so we we make conservative budget amounts so that we
don't overspend and when we get extra money then we can we can always go back and add those things in but we come in conservative because we always want to keep our fund balance at a rate that we know that we can sustain the school district throughout the year it's such an interesting word
choice can we go back to that go real quick I just want to see what it said it doesn't let you go back it says something about reducing your go it said reduce the current trended enrollment loss so this is
talking about reducing uh Dr bus it's talking about reducing the student loss right so I don't I don't understand how that is related to having a conservative budget
this is talking about keeping your kids right it's reduce the current Trend enrollment loss right and the trend of losing students at 10% so how do you can we go next can we go to the oh now go
back to next yeah so how do you how my go three be represented in the district's budget right how can our budget show that we are trying to reduce the loss of students so like this year we we we did
not lose over 100 kids we at the begin at during count we had lost the first count we had lost only six to five we on the but but in the year before we lost like 120 so this year when I say only 65 it's like we almost cut it in half so when we
account for that we account for that additional 60 something students that we kept and now we look so like this year we we had an additional 60 students although it was exra funded we were able to fund the driver's ed program so when
you when you when you only have when you don't have as many students leaving you can take that conservative budget and start to slowly reintroduce programs that were lost from uh a Dro in enrollment so as soon as we start to see
a trend of students coming back into the district we can start adding those pieces that you all are asking for so that's what that's how we align the school goals and that's how we start the budget planning we come up with a retention plan the the driver's ed is a
portion of that retention plan if we can retain our students by having that program then we can take the conservative budget that we have after count day then we can start adding stuff in because as as it said earlier in the document it's a living it's a living
budget so we can always make adjustments and changes as needed we bring those those potential changes to the board for you to vote on and for you to keep a strategic eye on and then we move forward in that perspective thank you so much absolutely bringing in programs
that will bring our kids back um you look at it from this right here like a sample and it was saying that you know we when you get right when you put that budget you look at the district goal and so this this is one of our district goals that we want to you know stop Los
and kids all right so the question becomes over here how might go number three be represented in the District budget he said like I would say but I okay but you saying that that might possibly retain student
yes but I I would look at it like how might goal number three be represented in the District budget can we include what that should goly with with with with with with with Capital outlay Capital Improvements with
fun uh uh programming with teachers it's it's a holistic View I'm just curious have you all ever seen weekend with Bernie when they drag Bernie the dead man all the way through that's how I feel right now I just call
myself half day programing like he said uh like free drivers education say that and other programs that attract students and then we can hit submit if it's okay with the board yeah we can because they don't record the answers so
you could do as long as we're having a conversation you could put ABCD in there and it doesn't um it doesn't reflect for the actual training record free driver's education allm you want to put it okay
it's all good all right board's role asking questions another piece of reviewing the budget is asking questions in most cases the superintendent or perhaps an appointed member of the administrative team will present the budget to the board this is your opportunity to ask questions to help
yourself and others clearly understand how choices were made and how priorities are reflected in the budget practical tip it can be helpful to ask your superintendent or School business official the questions you have before the board meeting this gives them time to collect the information you're
looking for and prepare a clear response for when you ask the questions again at the board table next please than pleas looking for data as you look at your District's budget it can be helpful to look at how other districts are working
the Michigan Department of P of Education publishes bulletin 1014 each year to share District financial information including revenue and expenditure per pupil student counts average teacher salaries and more
companies such as idex forecast 5 and M munetrix also work to provide schools with data to decision making of course each district and its Community is unique the information presented in the resources is not to say who is doing
well and who is not nor does it tell a complete story instead it is a tool to Aid in gaining perspective and asking thoughtful questions click here to see bulletin tin okay think about it read the questions below to determine if they are best asked by the board the left or
superintendent right drag the question into the appropriate blue comment box so I think we got to do a activity we have to drag where are our literacy goals reflected in this budget read the question if they are
best asked who should be asking that what is it okay yeah I guess those are the board that's the board on the left and the superintendent on the right it said read the questions below determine if they are best asked by the board or
superintendent drag the questions into the appropriate blue box where are our literacy goals reflected in this budget that's the board that's the is this use of Title One funds and compliance with our federal regulations that's the
superintendent right there Y and what are our District's priority regarding school safety and that's both in between correct oh good job 15 board's rle approving the budget
many people are involved in establishing a budget throughout the cycle District staff members and administrators further develop the budget by putting together cost estimates and projections the school business official and superintendent pull the full budget together with a careful eye on both
revenues and expenses it is however ultimately I'm losing my voice the board's responsibility to approve a balanced budget and present to the state by June 30th each year next please ready oh God
okay unit five sample budget re W review came out of nowhere didn't they get I mean not that I don't love learning I do just 11 o'clock examining budgets most of us don't spend our days
examining complex budget documents School District budgets are lengthy documents with many layers of information as we begin to wrap up our study of school budgets let's take a look at an example of what an actual budget report may look like in the pages
that follow hover over each flag and then click to take a deeper dive into specific items next please assumptions and projections next please budget projections are we just hovering Foundation allowance increasing
Foundation allowance we can each year the foundation allowance changes even a slight variance can have a huge impact on a district when the number is multiplied over hundreds or thousands of students look at the other one state a
blended figures you want me to read the legislator determines what percentage of each count day will be used in this example last year 85% of September count was added to 15% of the previous February count now the split
will be 90% oh um SL 10% there's a one flag at the end teacher student ratios this is the ratio of the number of teachers to the number of students in the district the ratio is important when determining teacher workload and allocating
resources it can also be seen as an indicator of the amount of attention a student will receive in class this is where I say we should have a 15 to1 there is no one single no one single correct I think there's
more Rao ratio although I think it should be 15 all districts must do their best to find what works for the staff and Community selfish plug of 151 okay so everyone can just take a quick glance at the comparative statement um we don't have to necessarily
the identifi section but this is examples of Revenue and expenditure you got expenditure those are our adoped [Music]
audited that's the that means listen to this looking at a financial report is important to knowe that negative numbers are represented with parentheses in this example the total
revenue was 106 million 864,000 235 and the total expenses expenses were 11, 94,6 73
so the expenses outweigh income by 4, 23,43 and I would like to say that is what is called a deficit structural balance not a not a uh fiscal balance but that's a deficit structural balance which is different from the fiscal balance
yeah that's just for example C definition that we can become familiar with um pertaining to revenue and expenditure um adult and continu education Etc next
don't go next at the bottom it's important to know these terms go next down here in every setting next it's imperative to know how terms are defined having that information when
talking about a District budget is crucial Board of Education it's important it's cral I know y'all tired but your financial team uh Treasurer
uh Bradley your financial team she be able to supply you with a list of terms to help you decipher the code you in the reporting process what
recommendation oh I'm sorry go back no thank we're good all right um recommendations budgets are not static they are constantly changing the district Finance team is often called on to cut large sums From The Bottom Line
This is an example of the kind of process here the team has gone through a noted where they may be able to grow revenue and where they may be able to cut expenses so that's good they're showing both growing and cutting that makes difference aligning goals and
resources super important most initiatives at a school district require financial support in this example we might not see exactly what the district is marketing but the item clearly represents an understanding of we scroll down of the financial investment in the
district's making and the district is making so important policy and budget this is an example of how District policy can influence budget in this case okay yep good deal go ahead in this case the district estimates that allowing
11th and 12th grader students to drive their own vehicles to after school activities like sporting events would save the district $150,000 interesting like the know like the basketball team D they G the
liability detail report dang oh child Revenue breakdown in this report we see revenue streams in even more detail local state and federal taxes and grants are all
totaled here other local revenues and local revenues and many districts grow their revenue by meeting needs in the community and in this example we see school age child care as well as that
for both younger children and teens as we create jobs those jobs come back to those money comes back into the district yes they do as we serve needs other local Revenue as public entities districts must carefully Mark all their
income rebates from purchasing cars ticket sales from school plays and fees for parking permits are all noted here and can get complicated focus of federal title grants title one for the high poverty schools and districts used yep
okay to uh provide services and supports to students who are at risk of failing to meet State Standards professional learning of teachers and leaders used to increase teachers and Lead academic achievement of students by improving teachers and school leadership quality
move distribution the money distributed based on number of English language Learners in addition District used for supplemental services to improve academic achievement as well as professional development for teachers so
there's extra money for uh English language Learners under the current Administration with those titled one two and three those are the federal funds that are being cut in half they're trying try trying correct they got a FTE
the column shows the number of full-time employees represented by each figure largest expenditure teacher salaries are the largest budget expense in most districts followed by the benefits and retirement teachers in the district may get salary increases based on
contractual steps for years of service and level of Education what information did you find of particular interest all of it all of it Al l o fit t period next tired
now submit you have just a few left here I think I'm gonna go back and make that all capiz it's all great really back emphasis on it all of it one two three one more
question coming yes please do I have a consensus could have been done with the next a consensus for what Matthew I didn't get from that yeah I see you yes sir yes sir you talking
toor if you were on this board what additional information might you want in a future presentation what type of information we want what additional from the thing that that they just
called yes legal fees additional opportunities for income under other streams of income like grants things of that nature students yes and a student other
Revenue other Revenue stream yes uh more information for me on how what is
it the budget sheet bud I gotta put and have it doesn't matter Mr Tri will come after me okie dokie in review at the beginning of this course we cited four learning objectives one of the most powerful tools we have
as a Lear as Learners is reflection it is reflection that helps new learning to stick and make a difference in our practice as we wrap up take a moment to consider what you have learned and work through two final exercises in your head
Define Key School Finance terms identify Revenue sources understand the connection between Vision goals and budget that's super important identify governance responsibilities around school finance and budget next thank you
skill check drag the items into the boxes on the right so they're not so they are next to the correct definition Federal grant given to support at risk Learners that is Title One base amount of money given
foundational base amount of money given to a district for each student foundational 1993 ballot initiative proposal a one 1000th of a dollar meal and submit
drag drop all righty Dy submit continue good deal skill check all funds that go out from the district expenditures a District's largest expenditure
salary reflection of budget change that occur in a single fiscal year that's the amended budget the state money used to fund K12 is the school aid fund and and submit I'm sorry y'all am I going too
bad okay not trying to be rude sorry Smart Board we got it continue think about it can use our inside our head voices how many what how may what you have
learned in CBA 103 Basic School Finance impact your work as a board of education member I thorough connecting goals to the budget okay con go that
th which I would like to highlight I believe we continues to become questions take no talking in class okay submit we are almost there until we meet
again submit we're good fiscally leaders responsible okay respons thank you so much period and what trying to say question question about school finance and how we
can be question so here to support us let's just do it right here what course are you taking cv13 I think there was a I think there was a scroll down I think there
was that was it okay what court are you taking one1 excuse me3 to number two what did you we hope to learn I'd be happy
there how well were were your expectations did good good the aspect of course we improveed we had to talk would you
yeah for new people yeah I think if the whole thing was yeah more audio video and then we're done and we thank you Class
A answer question interative the whole presentation was interative all right Board of Education so as he wraps up put he in there I want to thank you all for taking the time to do this I think it was extremely important that we did work through this
tonight um because I wanted us to ensure that we were able to meet that second meeting Benchmark as stated so I'm going to check into the deeper level CBS CBA course um and that will more than likely
be on uh evening by itself even if we have to adjust or amend the work session but we'll we'll kind of check into that so I'm asking that you all are flexible um and we've already done comments so I'm going to go ahead and wrap it up and ask if there is a motion to adjourn
president I make a motion to adjourn the meeting all right the motion has been made by VP Bowes and supported by Treasurer Bradley any questions comments or concerns Madam president you did okay I'll do mine right now point of
order I'm sorry please respect the business of the table everyone I know that we're tired but we still are in a professional meeting so the motion to adjourn was made by VP Bon and supported by treasure Bradley um we're at the the
section of questions comments and concerns if there's none I have I close out with the other portion of it it has really been a pleasure to see um the direction that the board is going into seriously
um we may clown a lot here at the table well I I think that we're all passionate and serious about the work that we're doing I like the growth I like the individual efforts that's being made for us to respect one another uh
one another's opinion one another's thought um and I love us the I think that many of us are doing the self-examination work it's easy for me to see seriously what everybody else is doing wrong but to sit back and do that
self-examination work is some serious work and I think when we do that kind of work it'll make us stronger together and with that Madame President I'll turn it over to you all right so the motion has been made by vice president B and supported by Treasurer Bradley that we
adjourn secretary triplet can you please call the vote my that President Robinson yes vice president Bradley I mean vice president can you come back to
me you better vice president Bowen yes secretary triplet yes treasure Katon I mean treasure Bradley treasure Bradley yes secretary
triplet who that is guys trustee rocket Martin truste Gavin yes truste Doyle yes madame president motion Carri meeting ISJ as of
11:27 p.m. great job everyone 11:27