It is 7:04. I'll call us to order. I apologize for my own tardiness. Traffic was unexpected. Um, Miss Hokor, can we get a roll call vote? Trusty Martin here. Trusty Lions
here. Trusty Zel here. Trusty Ferris Highland here. Trusty Chambers Trusty Torres here. Trusty Taiki here, student representative uh Djaga and Student Representative Mega.
Is it on here? And Superintendent Leo here. Thank you, Miss Oore. Uh Trusty Lions, can we read our mission statement? Yeah. So, our mission statement is nurturing each child, educating all students, and building world citizens.
Thank you. Can I get a motion for the approval of our agenda? I move that the board of education approve the September 8th, 2025 regular meeting agenda as presented. Second. Motion was by Trusty Torres, seconded by Trustee Taiki. All in favor of the
motion, please say I. I. Any opposition? Motion carries unanimously. Uh can I get a motion for the approval of minutes? I move that the board of education approve the following minutes. One, August 25th, 2025 regular meeting. Second
motion. Motion was made by trustee Ferris Highland, seconded by Trustee Torres. Are there any changes to the minutes? All right. All in favor of the motion as presented. Please say I. I. I. Any opposition? The motion carries unanimously. Uh the
next item on the agenda is recognition. Do we have any recognition today? I have none, but Oh, but our students have some. All right. Well, should we invite up the student representatives? We shall.
Um, hi. I'm Maya. And I'm Tanya. And we're just here with a little update about what's been going on um at school. Um, so we just had Club Rush and it was a massive success. A lot of incoming freshmen and new students. Um, joined a lot of clubs and there were also a lot
of new clubs formed such as the pre-law club or the fun club. For many students, joining a club is one of the ways they meet new people. So club rush is really important um to many in the social sense. So having so many clubs to choose from here is something that should be
celebrated because a diverse range of clubs appeals to a diverse range of people. Okay. And then we also our foot football oh my god sorry our football team had their first um home game last week. So despite their loss we still had the marching band debuting their show
and then like the dance team got to debut a new piece. So despite the loss, the student section was bustling and there was a lot of spirit over there. And then we also have a little glimpse into like what's upcoming. So all of the students are extremely excited about spirit week next week and then the
parade on Friday and the dance on Saturday. And we also recently found out that our MSAN students are going to be traveling to Virginia this year. So there's a lot of stuff to look forward to. And then on top of all of this, we also have to acknowledge that the seniors are in the midst of applying to a lot of schools right now. So, it's
both a stressful and exciting week for many, but that's pretty much it. Um, yeah, I also wanted to mention that the girls volleyball team um they've been kind of on a streak winning like tournaments in the past weekends and also the girls swim team um won their
last two um quads. So, that's really good. Um and um also we had senior sunrise. This was like the first week of school, but um a lot of seniors attended and it was like a good, you know, get together and a lot of pictures were
taken. So, yeah, that was really nice. That's all we have. That's all we have. Thank you so much. I did hear one other sport related news. Um Addy Laji, she's a sophomore, got a hole in one golfing last week. I I don't know what
course, but yeah, pretty cool. Wow. My addition to that from the football game Friday night might have been my favorite moment when I was down near the student section and I was standing with a couple of the high school administrators and all of a sudden, you
know, up in the stands in the student section there, everybody's turning around and attending to something and people are running and they're grabbing their phones out to record it. And Mr. Lampy and Mrs. Schwarzback went running up there, you know, thinking that there's some sort of scuffle or
skirmish. And what it was was a giant praying mantis. And everybody just had uh Yeah. I mean, everybody assumed they were getting their cameras out to film something, but Mr. Lampy very carefully took it in his hands, brought it down, and released it into the grass. But the
whole um like what looked like something big going on there was a bug. Oh, wow. So, yes, we were pleased that it was a bug. Very pleased. Yes, it was uh Yes. I've never been so happy to see a praying mantis. Yes. Nature's on our side, too. Yes.
Yeah. Everybody was really good for our first game. Everything went really well besides the game. Everything else went really well. Played hard. Yes. Besides the score. It was a really nice night game. Yep. And to tie together a couple of threads from our student representatives, one of my favorite
things about the homecoming parade is seeing all the student organizations and the way they're represented and the important work that they're doing. So, um it's awesome to see the commitments that the young people at the high school have and um it makes me really happy for
our district. All right, is there any other recognition? Okay, we'll move on to the next item on the agenda. Uh it's our superintendent's report. So, Superintendent Leup, thank you. Um and just acknowledge uh
Mr. Mitchum for covering my last meeting. Uh he was here to cover for me and um so I thank him for that. But I am back. Um first thing, a little bit about our calendar. The board of education will be taking action this evening on the collective bargaining agreement for
the East Lancing Education Association. And once the contract is approved, we will distribute calendars for 2526, which we've already shared, but it'll be official through 2728. So, we'll be able to send those calendars out um following
uh action on the uh CBA. I want to talk a little bit about the status status of the state K12 budget um and how it relates to free school meals. I talked about just meals last month, but that's really a a bigger item than just our meals. State law mandates that lawmakers
approve a K12 school budget funding budget by July 1st each year so districts like ours can plan and operate with certainty. That deadline has passed and no agreement has been reached. Without a budget, there is a risk of a state government shutdown on September
30th, which could delay funding that schools depend on to operate. If the legislature does not pass a budget, districts will miss their first scheduled state aid payment on October 20th. for all schools. This this payment um is a major resource we rely on to
compensate teachers and staff who work with our students, how we maintain class sizes and student support services, and how we maintain bus operations, fund academic programs, arts, athletics, and student activities. In addition, current funding for the Michigan School Meals
Program is set to expire September 30th, and ELOPS is still continuing to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students, at least through this date. If the legislature renews funding for the school meals program for 2526, free school meals will continue beyond September. If not, we will notify
families of any changes with as much notice as we are provided. So, I think this uh topic you'll hear more about, you're going to see more about in the coming days and weeks as that deadline of um September 30th gets closer. Um and
we're just trying to uh educate our community about this as well so that they can help us with um help us um communicate the importance of needing a budget to our lawmakers. Uh a few special dates. We have some
upcoming board meetings. Um, as we work to ensure that our district events avoid religious and cultural holidays, we've rescheduled our next two board regular board of education meetings. Uh, dates for the next two meetings are Thursday, September 25th here at McDonald Middle School and Tuesday, October 14th here at
McDonald Middle School. Uh, a little bit about our health clinic. Our health clinic is uh, coming along in partnership with U of M Health. Sparrow uh will be offered will be open to start offering services September 29th. Uh parent guardian consent forms and
student information forms will be distributed soon. So, please watch for these forms in your email. All students between the ages of 5 and 21 through 26 with an IEP are eligible to utilize the health clinic. More directions will be coming and a grand opening event is being planned with U of M Health Sparrow
for October 30th, 2025. will open before that, but the kind of kickoff grand opening event will be on October 30th. Um, a little bit about construction update uh on the new administration building. I'll just share on schedule on budget. High school work is well
underway as well. Um, and while it's early, still on schedule on budget. I have some photos in here included about with the new administration building. Um exterior wall of the entryway has been framed and wall sheathing started. Trusses and sheathing completed over the
canopy to the entryway. Some additional interior metal stud framing and u mechanical, electrical and plumbing work is completed and ongoing. Some is completed, some keeps going. Interior door frame installation is done with for many of the areas. Insulation
application to the underside of the roof sheathing is in progress and flushing and cleaning of the main water supply line also is in progress. And you can see we've got some um Tyveck up on the outside. And you can see the metal uh framing indoors um of the different
spaces and offices there. And next will be um drywall, but we're still looking at completion here November. And so I've got photos. And then the last thing I have are some important dates coming up. Um, our first staff professional learning day is Friday,
September 26th when there are no no school there is no school for students. And then our next one after that is Friday, October 31st. Um, also no school for students for professional learning. And then because this is new this year, I just putting it in there so families
uh have advanced notice, there is no school Thanksgiving week uh November 24th through 28th. And that's all I have today. Thank you. Thank you. I am excited for that uh Thanksgiving break. That's going to be
really nice. Um are there any questions for the superintendent? [Applause] All right, we'll move on to the next item on the agenda that is public comment. Um I don't know if we've received any public comment forms. While
Miss Hoker is bringing this up, I will read our public comment statement. This is the opportunity to address the board. Speakers are to confine their remarks to five minutes. If a speaker requires more than five minutes, after all other persons who have requested to speak during this part of the meeting
have spoken, that speaker will be allowed additional time, the superintendent or other staff make comment to clear up or avoid significant misunderstandings. And I believe we have Mr. Gorman here on behalf of ELA. So,
Mr. Gorman, good evening. Good evening everybody. Good evening. Um so let me collect myself here. Um Superintendent Leo, members of the board, East Lancing community. Uh thank
you for coming out today. We're voting on the tentative agreement for uh East Lancing Education Association today which was approved by a majority of our membership in the last few weeks. Uh I want to take a quick victory lap about all the great things that are in this contract. Um, it contains a cost of
living adjustment for teachers at 1%. It gives steps of seniority to all of our members and East Lancing has some of the most generous steps in the area. Uh, it provides a medical leave bank for our members so that in times of emergency,
they can have paid time off to tend to themselves or their family in unforeseen circumstances. That same bank provides paid maternity for birthing mothers where I think we're the only district in the area that does that or that will do that I should say and it expands our
extracurricular offerings and it does all of these things at a time when there is extreme uncertainty not just in education in Michigan and across the United States. It does it when we are still waiting on a budget. Um and it does it in a way that gives teachers
stability at a time where there is so little. So acknowledging all that, I also want to mention that this district has a significant deficit and a somewhat bleak financial picture that it is trying to write, but it has a robust fund balance.
And I would be negligent to my members if I did not mention that there is significant concern over a cap placed on their salary in this contract. um this cap would persist in perpetuity and limits I think East Lancing's ability to attract talent far more than it preserves the finances of the
district. So if this financial woes are to trickle down, I think it should be done with equity, but I do want to stress that this contract is a good contract and I think that it provides stability in a time where there isn't stability around to be provided in a lot of places and I hope that people can
recognize that. So, I want to thank Superintendent Leo and the team generally uh for all of the hard work that we put in because I would say that it was nothing less than that and it was certainly a lot of hours. Um and I look forward to staying around and hearing uh the vote on this. So, thank you all for
your time. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Gorman. Just to clarify, maybe add a little I would say one of the things that uh my experience along with this is the process we used while timely and cumbersome um absolutely
results in some um strengthened relationships, you know, from working together in the collaborative type of bargaining that we use. And I would um advocate I I I can't ever see myself going back to the other process because even though there are sticking points
for us, we come out of that with great relationships, great camaraderie, and getting to know uh administrators, getting to know teachers, teachers getting to know administrators in a way that we wouldn't have um otherwise. And um while the cap is in place at $96,000,
there um is language in there just to clarify for the board that does still um provide the anything in excess of that to the member just in a couple of options of how they receive it. So um the salary schedule itself is but if any
of the increases that are agreed on in future years at least or at this point um with that cap in place our members are still receiving that those funds just they have a couple options of how they receive it outside of their salary
but through like a um 403b or their health savings account. So, they're still receiving it, just not as part of their um paycheck salary, but it's not um lost in wages, just to clarify. Well, thank you for the clarification.
Yep. All right. I don't believe there's other public comments, so we can close public comment at this time and move on to the next item on the agenda, which is board discussion. Um, I have had some
communication with members of the board about potential topics, but nothing that I think is ripe for discussion today. Um, but if there's anything that board members would like to discuss, uh, now is the time to do it. So, is there anything we'd like to bring up? Um, just with the, you know, start of
school, I've been getting a lot of questions from community about the new attendance policy at the high school and also, um, the conferences, the confing conferences for middle and high school. So, you know, we had curriculum nights last week. A lot of people couldn't attend. So, and a lot of teachers have
been doing a great job of getting out the new policies and um the high school sent out the new attendance information, but I would like to see maybe some more communication about it. Um, and that's
just a suggestion I have and I don't know if that's, you know, to be discussed right now or just, you know, I'm just expressing my I just like a little bit more info on it. Um, so I know that I'm I think I'm presenting it to people correctly, but I would would
like to be sure. Um, so that's one thing. And I would also um love to talk about at some point the traffic concerns at Glen Karen that the city seems to be addressing. Um but I know we've kind of been brought into it
a bit and um you know it is city has implemented some new things but I would like to clear up like what they do versus what we can do um so people understand that better as well. So well and I'll echo what Trusty Ferris
Highland said about the conferences. I have the benefit of being a firsttime middle school parent, so I don't know what the old way was, but um we've received some communication, but I have definitely received questions from family members who are used to the way things have always been. Um they just
just expressing concern that they'll find be able to find a time to meet with their students, teachers. Um and I've been on many of the emails about the traffic concerns, too. And I certainly appreciate the district's efforts to
date to respond to those concerns and confident that there's whatever we can do to work with the city to make that uh to make the the route to school safer. Um I'm I'm confident the district will take that step. If there's anything that
the district needs from the board in terms of communication, advocacy, whatever it is, let us know because it's important to all of us, I think. Yeah, I can speak to um I mean I was given a heads up about the Glen Hen traffic thing, so I'm pretty wellversed to speak to that. I I I would need to
bring the high school folks or get more information or know what questions you have more about that to speak to the attendance stuff at the high school. So I don't have that prepared tonight. Sure. Yeah, but it's just really come up since curriculum night and and I'll sure if it's been anytime there's Yeah. changes and same
with, you know, conferences as is a new style um through our negotiations with the union, a new style of conferences at the secondary level. So, again, that's new. I'm sure it's starting to come out yet right now, but as conferences get closer, I think you'll receive a lot
more information about them. Um it's just a way to try to um allow flexibility in how uh the staff is meeting with families. um you know whether and and not limiting it to just two nights or three nights, but trying
to allow flexibility over a period of time to be able to do it via phone during you know uh their planning time or during a meeting or do it via Zoom, but trying to allow flexibility to meet families where they are um and not limit it just to having them um a certain
nights of the week during those couple weeks. So, but more information and we can uh bring more here or if there are specific questions you have um you could email those to me and I can uh get the information and come back. A little bit about Glenare Traffic. I have been in
contact with um ELPD and um I know that they are uh let me see here they a few things uh that I have that they have done um since the beginning of the school year looking at that corner of uh
Grand River and Kensington. Uh they've uh worked with their road patrol officers um by conducting traffic enforcement at that intersection. Uh they've had police administrators rotate in to assist with traffic over the last two weeks. Um posted additional overtime
shifts for traffic enforcement during the school start and end um morning and afternoon. And they've utilized PACE to assist with crossing guard posts as well. Um, I just received also a notification today from um Michigan
Department of Transportation and their Lancing Transportation Service Center and they are uh requesting a copy of the school route plan serving Glen Karen Elementary School and they are reviewing the school zone and school crossing on
Grand River near the school. So, um, our transportation department and principal Richardson are providing that information to them so that they can evaluate the traffic, um, and intersections there along Grand River. That I just received today. So, it's just a few updates about both what our city's doing and, um, Michigan
Department of Transportation is responding to this and checking it out as well. Great. Is there any other board discussion? All right. Uh, thank you for that information. Let's move on to our action items.
The first action item is the ELEA collective bargaining agreement. Can I get a motion? I move that the board of education approve the collective bargaining agreement with the East Lancing Education Association as presented. Second. Motion was made by Trustee Adsel,
seconded by Trustee Torres. Um, is there any discussion on this topic? Well, I I would just say it's really nice to see Mr. Gorman here and other representatives of ELA. It's always great to hear from our partners at ELA.
And um when we've been going through this process, our superintendent and the team have done an excellent job of keeping the board up to date on the negotiations, what um you know, what we can do, where the sticking points are, things like that. Um, something that is
a point of pride for me and I don't know uh if it I I assume it is for the others on the board is that the top end of our pay scale is achievable in 15 years and it is achievable and it's the highest top end of the pay
school pay scale in the region by a lot and we do that for a reason because we value the work that our teachers do and it's important for us to show that both, you know, in the nice things we say up here, but also in the way we compensate
our teachers. And we do think we have the best staff and the best faculty in the region. And we want uh the contracts and the, you know, the the pay scale to reflect that. And I hope that uh when the members of the LEA go home, you
know, tonight that they understand that. And um that's because it is something that that I know that we've talked about as a group and it's important to all of us. All right. Is there any other discussion? All right. All in favor of the motion as
presented, please say I. I. Any opposition? The motion carries unanimously. I would say this might be Russ's uh final uh showing for a little while as he exits the president role and Will Paddock takes over the president role
and has so yes pass the crown the torch whatever it may be no kings torch our terms well thank you both for being good point thank you both for being here and um
yeah I'm excited excited to see what we're able to accomplish this year with our kids. I'm really excited to see it. So, thank you. All right, with that out of the way, let's move on to committee reports. The first is academic and technology trusty lines.
We have not met and we are very close at getting a date and it looks like the week of September 22nd. So, um stay tuned. All right. Thank you. facilities. Trustee Ferris Highland. Same for facilities. I think we're
aiming for that week, too. So, uh we'll get something in the books and let Cali know ASAP. Great. Thank you. Finance. Trusty. So, uh finance did meet today. Hopefully, I got everything um uh correct because I didn't have a whole
lot of time to rethink it all. But, um several items we did discuss. I think most of you received the proposal from the Women's Center of Greater Lancing. Um, we took a look at that both in finance and and policy. Um, still
waiting to hear if they've gotten any grant funding. There are concerns about using public funds for a function not directly connected to education as well as some concerns about FURPA. So, at this time, we'd need additional information um before considering
anything moving forward. Uh we also had a discussion about ELLL funding in the face of the federal government plans to uh remove federal funds. However, the total of our funds of about 90 950,000 that goes to ELLL programming uh only
about 36,000 comes from the feds. Uh we have received that a full allocation but not sure when if anything will change when this is reconciled. Um, in regards to state funding, as the superintendent mentioned earlier, we're
still dealing with the delay for the House and their inability to pass a budget. Um, I won't make the snarky comment I wrote in here, but um, current plan moves most categorals categorical, the current house plan, most categorical
into one block grant. This would lump lunch and breakfast, mental health and safety, literacy, coaches, and bilingual programming into a block grant. Um the the other
uh we discussed the uh Mesa renewal which did come in significantly lower than projected at 5.8% versus 12% which will save the district about 150,000 uh dollars. um
some of the drivers for that. Uh so a couple of the things there um uh the district's pharmacy trend was was in the negative. Um uh uh where was my what was I looking at
there? Anyhow, some of the recommendations that came because uh we have an insurance expert um is uh where you know uh that could improve costs going moving forward is instead of using the ER like a primary care uh you know
working with primary care um physicians doing more preventative care um and such uh were some recommendations moving forward on that. Lastly, the audit is complete and it will come to the board on October 27th.
September. Is it September 27th or October? Oh, did I say September? Yeah. Okay. Well, the audit's always one of the more exciting meetings of the year. Yes, it is. So,
and off Oh, which I forgot to ask earlier. Are we going to are they going to come to finance like they have in the past first? Okay, that's planned. Okay. See, we get it twice. We're special. Oh, good thing. Yeah, we've got five members participating.
Okay, that makes sense. Yes. Um, intergovernmental relations, trusty Torres, nothing to report. Very good. We got to do a little intergovernmental talk when we talked about the the road crossing on Grand
River. uh personnel committee that's uh I'm the chair of that committee. Don't expect to have uh any meetings anytime soon. We have some personnel matters that are coming up but I don't believe that the personnel committee needs to be involved
in those uh policy committee trusty. Uh so we met today as well. Um there are five remaining trune policies which need to go through the board. Um, two of them we looked at today and we do not need to
uh add the optional language that was being proposed. So, those actually won't come to you. There is one that we are adding the optional language and that'll be an items of information for the next meeting and there's two more we're still working on that we need to collect a little bit more information. So, these
are from the trun updates most of which we adopted either last meeting or the meeting before. Um, we've continued having a discussion on policy 3304.01, which is the facility naming policy. Um, I will be reaching out to Trune on a few
questions that we had to fine-tune this policy. Uh, there's a book review policy that we are um considering. It's still in the draft stages. Glenn was working on that. Claudia and um Kathy Kowalsski, is that
right? Um and uh so Claudia will get together with Kathy and then probably take it back to academic tech before bringing it back to policy. And then um this was just a question I had that um
uh there are seven topics that became negotiable in this contract and whether or not those need to be aligned in any way with policy. And so I'll reach out to Trun to see if those topics um any changes made in the contract need to be
addressed through changes in policy. And that was it for policy. Those are all great notes. Thank you. Trusty is OA. Trusty Taiki. I'm sorry. I said nice. We met on September 3rd and got an
update from uh the director of government relations for the MASB, Jennifer Smith, who spoke about the legislative update. Echoed a lot of what um Superintendent Leo already said. Um really encouraging not just schoolboard members and superintendents, but all
parents to call their state reps about the need to pass a budget. Um we got an update uh superintendent's roundt update from Jason Melma the superintendent of the Ingam ISD. A couple of things that he mentioned was discussion around the
um full impacts of the Medicaid cuts are expected to set in by 27 20 through 29 and will be felt most by our students with special needs. Um and also that the support offered through the Capitol Area College Access Network or CAPCAN um for
free application for federal student aid FAFSA took a hit due to funding cuts to the Americanore Vista program. So they're anticipating what the impacts of that is going to be. Um we did a roundt discussion was just some general updates
from each district. Uh, in November, we're going to have an in-person meeting to tour the Beakman Center in Lancing, which is a school that serves the ISD students who qualify for services under categories of moderate and severe cognitive impairment, um, severe multiple impairments and autism spectrum
disorders as determined through IEP process. I believe the tour is intended to bring awareness to the need for renovations to the building because as I understand it, other than a new roof, it has not been renovated at all since it was built in 1968. Um, and we're going to meet again on
October 1st. Was there 10 years ago? All right. Uh, announcements next item on the agenda. Our next meeting is Thursday, September 25th, the eve of our first professional learning day. So, uh,
mark your calendars. It's a little bit of offcycle meeting, but I'm glad that we're getting the meeting in, uh, because there are a lot of Mondays that are that are, you know, cultural observances or holidays that we want to make sure that we don't, um, we don't
book meetings on. Are there any other announcements? I don't have an announcement, but I just wanted to follow up with uh Trusty Tekaki. Was there any discussion about passing a bond to uh remodel, rebuild Beakman? Uh no, there wasn't any discussion, but I assume it's coming. Okay.
Coming. It's coming. Yes. Okay. I think the ISD board will be um taking action on it very shortly. Okay. Um within the coming weeks and they're looking at uh May of 26 for a Okay. um
county special education bond um to uh renovate Beakman. You know, Beakman was operated by Lancing Public Schools for many years, but now the ISD is operating it and uh to make the
um oper or the the offerings equitable to what's offered at the ISD campus. Beman really does. We we've as superintendent group already taken this tour um so that we could see um some of the changes that need to be made there. Uh I I don't know if they're looking at
renovations or demo and rebuild, but uh that will be coming through the ISD board shortly and then we'll be looking uh coming to counties, you know, or to districts within the county um to help spread the word. Great.
But yes, it's coming. I think that you should be a great advocate for simply tearing it down and rebuilding. And I think they have enough property in the back that they probably could build behind and and tear down the front one. Where is it? It's over off Aurelius.
Um I I don't know the street that goes off Aurelius. Like if you're headed south on Aurelius, it go it's to the east on one of those streets. Maybe. I don't know. I just take my where my car took me. It's like that that whole thing Wash Road. Yeah.
Far south lancing area. No, no, not that far. Uhuh. It's It's closer to Mount Hope. Oh, I see. I see. So, so it's not that far south on Aurelius. Yeah. You got to weave back to find it. You're not just going to pass it, you know, and and traveling. Okay. But yes,
but it's between Mount Hope and Jolly off of Aurelius. Okay. That I can I can conceptualize that. Any other announcements? All right, we'll be adjourned at 7:39. Thank you all for being here. See you on
September 25th.