Welcome to the regular meeting of the board of education for Tuesday, March 10th, 2026. This meeting is now called to order. May we please have a roll call? >> Yes, Mr. Secretary. Thank you. >> Here. >> Mr. Walker, >> here.
>> Miss Heinrich, >> present. >> Mr. Rosento >> here. >> Miss Smith >> here. >> I myself am here. President Williams, >> I am here as well. >> Wonderful. >> Thank you. We will now uh pause for a
second. pressure. Just give me a second and I'll tell you the story of that. >> Okay. >> We will now stand for the pledge of allegiance and Payton is going to lead us.
>> Go. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic of which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
>> Thank you, Miss Payton. That was the best rendition that we have heard this entire year. Thank you. All right, we will now move into items from the president. Is there a motion to approve the agenda? >> Oh, I move to approve the agenda for the
regular meeting of the board of education Tuesday, March 10th, 2026 as presented. >> Support. >> Motion made by Mrs. Heinrich, supported by Mr. Walker to approve the agenda. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor? Any opposed? Any abstensions?
That motion passes. We will now move to announcements. Lots and lots of things going on in the past few weeks since our last meeting. First, I want to thank all of our schools who held a Black History program of some sort. I know many of us
were able to attend some of those. Uh just this past weekend, our board met uh on Saturday for a retreat. I want to again thank the board for their time commitment. Uh I am not aware of any other boards that I'm affiliated with
that make the commitment to spend a full Saturday together to uh do some of the things that you guys were able to accomplish this past uh Saturday inclusive of the data dives and the reviews of curriculum. Um the discussion, the wholesome discussion,
the opportunity to sort of provide feedback is all super great and I just am proud to be part of this group. Um the state of the cities was just this past week as well. Want to congratulate both uh mayors and our superintendent
for providing really great updates. I learned a lot and uh I'm thrilled about the area that we live in and all that is going on well there. Uh this is reading month. Uh some of us had the opportunity to read to some classrooms. Uh so appreciate board members who have done
that or are yet to do that. I know that it is a highlight of of mine every March to get into especially the elementary schools. So, thank you all for for supporting those efforts. Uh last night was the PTA founders dinner. Uh was really pleased to be able to attend that
with some of my colleagues and um just in appreciation of all of the parents and staff members. I know that there were several staff members who were recognized yesterday. um some of whom are our custodians who are both uh daytime and evening custodians with AB
is it AB >> ABM. So wanted to uh congratulate everyone who was recognized. Uh I also wanted to uh thank the superintendent for allowing board members to visit uh on a more formal basis our our schools.
Uh most recently, uh board members were able to attend North Farmington High School to observe the math curriculum. Um and so we don't just get to talk about some of this stuff or or listen to presentations, but to actually see some of this stuff in practice at our high schools and our middle schools with the
teaming and our uh elementary schools as well. Um I know that many folks find that really really rewarding. And so, uh, Ron Thomas and Claudia, thank you for, uh, attending that last one. The reflection ceremony was last week. Uh, again, so much going on. Uh, and so,
congratulations to the students. I was really impressed by uh one of our all of our students, but in particular a student at North Farmington who wrote about uh her friend Michael Rump, who we all learned last year uh unfortunately
uh lost her life. Uh but she had just a beautiful story about her own journey with that grief and and her um overcoming that and and realizing how she uh belongs and and it was just really it was um very impactful to me.
So uh thank you to the PTA uh uh folks, parents and and staff members who support our PTAs and the reflections program in particular. Pauline Kim wherever you are out there is she's just amazing. Um I also want to acknowledge
that there are other schools who have reached out for reading month and uh please keep those asks coming wherever board members are available. They like to do those sorts of things and uh if we don't then just know we'd like to but we can't always make the time. Uh there was
a community coffee and conversation. Well, this seems like a long time ago, but it was just uh maybe a couple weeks on uh February 28th at was it Blue Hat? Um so, thank you to uh our board members, Dr. Blau and uh Mrs. Hinrich
for hosting that and hearing from our community. There was another community conversation that was held just this past week um which was attended by Ron and um Mr. Rinto, Mrs. Smith, and Mr. call uh to sort of get feedback from our
community on oh and Mrs. Heinrich on our uh 10-year facilities plan. And so that is was the first of three opportunities to collect some feedback and hear from our community. There will be two in-person discussions and one virtual.
So, thank you to the superintendent in her office for making those opportunities uh available to people and also for providing that flexibility. Um I think there was some uh programming at Hillside yesterday uh with um the
young people who actually presented. Uh so hearing there's some good things coming out of Hillside as well. Um I may have missed something. There's a whole lot going on uh that many of you have been able to participate in. Want to just make a quick announcement for
things to come. Farmington United Wintergard uh friends family show is at Farmington High School on Wednesday at 7:30. The Rise and Thrive uh awards are I believe it's next week on the 19th. Uh always a really great event. Uh there
are pep rallies going on at some of our high schools. Again, more reading um at uh some of the uh elementary schools. And there is another ambassador meeting coming up uh at the end of the month. So, uh, stay tuned for all of those
great things. Uh, the board met earlier today in a special session to, uh, have a conversation with our superintendent. This is a part of our normal periodic, uh, feedback sort of loop. Uh, really great things going on there and I want to thank the superintendent uh,
personally because I I think she's doing a really great job. There's a lot going on and it's it has to be really tough to manage a district like this and keep all of us informed at the same time. Uh so kudos for the work that you're doing there. Wanted to just make a quick
announcement as well uh that um because this subject has been uh coming up quite a bit at our board meetings on uh our reproductive health curriculum. I wanted to again state that the state updated their standards. Uh they previously had
not been updated uh since 2007. Um the framework addresses contemporary student needs including expanded guidance on reproductive health and sexuality, mental health, social media literacy, and personal safety. Uh while these standards establish a state
benchmark, the Michigan law preserves local control, meaning that individual districts like Farmington Public Schools are responsible for determining how this content is integrated into our curriculum. We have not made any changes to our curriculum. As I've repeated
multiple times, uh however, Farmington Public Schools will engage in a process to review and update our standards. uh and there is a really rigorous process for how we do that. Uh first is making sure that our administration understands
the requirements. Uh there is um further conversations with our staff to ensure that they are prepared uh for a deeper understanding. Uh then there's a process around getting community voice and engaging the uh reproductive health
advisory council. Uh then there are some recommendations that are made. Uh there are public hearings and board discussions uh followed by curriculum writing and some professional development followed by more public hearings and board discussions and
finally uh review and and all throughout that process uh uh as required by law. uh our school district will continue to provide families the opportunity to review all instructional materials in advance and parents again may excuse
their children from any portion of the reproductive health curriculum without penalty. Uh so just wanted to make sure that folks were uh well aware of that process. And with that we will move on to our agenda and we will open it up for
public comments. Uh, anyone who is interested in making public comments should fill out a public comment form which is at the back of the room at that table and uh, please put it in the ceramic bowl in front of uh, or in back of Mrs. Scriptur's name plate. Uh, there
are two opportunities to make public comment but you may only do public comment once. We provide the opportunity twice in the agenda to make it uh easier for people who are either here early or who can't make it early and need to do it uh closer to the end of the program.
Uh if you wish to make public comment, you will get three minutes to make your public comment. We ask that obviously you're respectful that you address the board and not the audience. And also uh if privacy is uh appropriate that you refrain from using any staff member or
especially student names. With that said, I'm going to start uh public comment with Charlie Grneck, followed by Bill Loveway and then Phil Broman uh in that order. Uh and uh each of you will
have three minutes. And uh welcome. >> Hello everyone. My name is Charlie Guerellnik and I am once again here as a representative of the local high school robotics team here in Farmington, the Hackbots. um here tonight with some more updates
from our team. Um more good news. We are now pretty much 100% mechanically done with our robot, which means we are throwing our entire team onto two things. First of which is our programming. Specifically, we're focusing on coding the autonomous
section of our game where the first 15 seconds of every match are there's no human interaction with the robot. It is completely coded and completely autonomous. Um we are also focusing a lot more on strategy specifically developing a more scouting methods for
our team. Um scouting is basically at our competitions we give our members like notes and they fill it out throughout the competition take notes on other teams on their robots how they play how they do and then it's for two purposes. The first of which is to use
that data um strategically to help us, you know, pick alliance partners for playoffs and to know who we should, excuse me, we should be in alliance with. And the second reason is to help promote more learning and more knowledge within our team members. The scouting
really helped them focus in and learn more about other F FRC teams instead of just watching them. Um, another thing, um, especially going into practice every day, watching the construction of the STEM facility being built outside of
Farmington High School is extremely motivating for a lot of our team members, especially watching it grow. So, I would just like to express our immense gratitude for your decision. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Loveway. Good evening. Uh, I would like to ask
that the board uh resend the proclamation that they adopted on August 11th, 1920. It's the DEI proclamation, although they didn't name it that. And at the last meeting, the president uh
said that DEI would be revived because it was uh overturned by the courts, which is well half a truth is better than none. They the courts never ruled on DEI. It is acknowledged that there
and here's my problem with uh proclamation. I don't get past the third whereas and I feel insulted as we all should. It is acknowledged that there is a long history of racism, discrimination, and segregation within
our community, which has adversely impacted educational and economic outcomes for many racial groups. And no place do you ever ever mention that 40
Farmington residents were killed in the Civil War to eliminate slavery. That's a double insult. You ignored it. Uh and on the second page of that uh
section four, uh there's where you uh break it out into the open and say that this is DEI. The board will seek to eliminate incidents of racial bias and discrimination through required diversity, equity, and inclusion
trainings focused on race and implicit bias for its staff while also committing to monitor incidents that are reported in sharing statistics on its results. Uh, as a matter of fact, um,
I'm not the one who was racist. this board is racist. And uh that's been proven time and time again as you focus on uh the learning gap between all students and black
students. And I've engaged in discussions where I said it isn't black students, it's poor students. And you haven't done anything to uh change that. And so the gap that was
there five and six years ago, it's still there now. And maybe you've made some progress uh in the interim since the last uh MSTEP reports. Uh but the question is, is what you did going to
have any favorable impact on the MSTEP results that were measured uh by uh for the communities? Uh that's how we're compared to other school districts. We fail.
>> Thank you. Um >> uh let's move on to uh Phil Mrs. Williams. I'd like to say something. I know we do not do this during public comment. >> Go ahead, Mrs. Smith. But I am very offended to being called a racist.
I am African-American, Latino. My grandfather was a white man from Ireland and my grandmother was Cherokee Indian. to stand here. Now, we get insulted every week
and we don't get paid for it. to continue to come into this meeting and to say some things like that and to say, "No one has ever called this man a racist."
But this gentleman has even asked our new board member, "I didn't know your wife was black." Just last Wednesday, the comment was made that black people don't have books in their homes. So when it walked like a duck and it
quacked like a duck, it started looking like a duck. Now I am not going to be called a racist. Sit down. Sit. You know what I think? So Mrs. Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Smith,
thank you for your comments. >> Mr. Mr. Mr. Love, >> please have a seat. Mrs. Smith, thank you for your comments and I appreciate that um um some might find uh some of
the public commenters offensive. Um, I believe that it is important to talk about race and racism and uh we will continue to do so because uh when we hear statements like that, including that black people don't have books in
their homes, uh I think it's important to uh address those kinds of things. Um if any member of our staff would say something like that, we would most certainly uh require some uh some training. Uh, I think it's important to
understand um what comments uh might be offensive to others and and and to do better. And so I'm really proud to be a member of a board who uh believes the same thing and and we'll continue to support those kinds of um um trainings
and awareness to make sure that all of our people, our staff, our students, and our community feel safe and valued. So, thank you for that. Can I Yes. I I just also want to say and thank you for speaking up, Miss Smith, but I also want to be I wanted to be very clear that
just because people are silent when that kind of behavior takes place does not mean that there's any acceptance about that kind of behavior. And just because people exercise maybe a different form of expression when that kind of situation manifests again does not mean an acceptance or allow any kind of
permissiveness of that kind of behavior. Period. I just need to say that. >> Thank you, Mr. Walker. Uh, I apologize for the interruption, Mr. Bronson. >> Uh, Mrs. Smith, my grandfather's also, uh, Irish, so glad we have something in
common. >> Thank you. >> My name is Phil Brazen. Oh, I cost myself time on that one. We've had children in the district for the past 20 years. My youngest daughter is currently a junior at North Farmington. Uh, three things I'd like to cover today. First, I'd like to recognize and thank Matthew
Greenberg, uh the coral and theater director at North Farmington. When Mr. Greenberg joined the uh district 5 years ago, the coral program at North Farmington was quite small. The theater program was, to put it, kindly challenged uh and co was still very disruptive. Since joining the staff, Mr.
Greenberg's grown the coral program from 30 kids to 100 while at the same time raising both the quality and the expectations of those students in the program. It's most recently evidenced by the performance at districts where both the magical and the troubled ensembles uh received district uh division one
excellent ratings. So thank you Mr. Greenberg. Uh secondly, it's the theater program which Mr. Greenberg inherited that I'd like to discuss. Uh although it only exists as an afterchool activity, it's not yet adequately represented in the school's core curriculum. Mr. Greenberg still manages to use theater
as a tool not just entertain but also to educate. Uh they've tackled some really difficult and serious themes in shows like Radium Girls and last fall's uh adaptation of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Uh he's also worked hard to expand
the size and scope of the program which is most evident in the spring show Joseph in the amazing techn color dream coat which brings together at latest count about 130 students in the cast in the technical crew in the pit orchestra
and that's not just North Farmington he's got kids coming in to perform on stage from Warner from Forest from Wood Creek from Kenbrook and from the Steam Academy. So his real desire for this year's show is to make it much more than just a North Farmington performance. It
really is a community event and Joseph's been a favorite for 50 years because it's really a great story and honestly it's just a really fun show. But I'm going to let you be the judge of that because Superintendent Coffin invited you to North Farmington. I would like to
invite you to North Farmington, too. Please come see the show. The kids will have put in hundreds of hours of their time and their energy and trying to create something that's amazing. Give them back a couple hours
of your time. Okay. The shows are April 23rd to April 25th in the evening. Uh plus there's a matinea on Saturday. The way funding works, ticket sales are about the only revenue source that we have to fund productions. That includes sets, that includes
costumes, props, the performance rights to do the show, and the professional musicians that we hire to perform side by side with our student orchestra. So, it's really vital to the the sustainability and the growth of the programs and what Mr. Greenberg wants to
do. So, please come on out, see the show. >> Thank you very much for that. Just really quickly, you said April 23rd and 25th. That's >> through the 25th evening. >> Gotcha. I'll say that.
>> Okay. So 23 24 25 in the evening and uh that's Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Saturday's got an afternoon and an evening. And how much are the tickets? >> Uh they're usually around 12 to 15. >> Okay. I'm going to say whatever it is 12
to 15 in the evening is probably like seven, right? Um yeah. >> 7 and 1. Thank you. Uh I've said it before. If you haven't been to a musical program or a play or a theater event at one of our schools, you are missing out.
Uh I think they're fantastic and uh you should really go see one. So yes, >> um senior citizens are invited to the place for free, I think. >> Oh, nice. >> Tickets uh at the board office.
>> There's a senior card. a senior card at at see Colleen at the board office and she'll >> So don't show up without the senior card is the thing. Yeah. Expecting and say I'm a senior citizen. You see this gray in my hair. No, you need a card, Mr.
>> Um I'd also like to encourage everyone to um attend uh the musical theater throughout. My daughter has been involved uh since Warner um her Warner days. I'd also like to thank the Brozens, uh Brad, the whole team. These uh these men and women put in time
beyond their work to construct the beautiful sets. Um they're safe. They work together with the administration at North for access safe access. They're working on um ways to educate the the students of on how to safely build uh
and and encourage folks to get into the uh um the construction arts. Uh Phil, for example, has designed much of the set through CAD uh um computer AED design uh which again he's willing to teach some of the theuh students if
they're interested in that. So um I want to wish everyone a good luck. These guys are great to work with. I um always try to raise my hand and only can show up during set strike. So but uh it's going to be a great performance from what I hear. >> Yeah. And and Elena's been doing great
since Peter Pan in at Warner. So, I agree with you. I agree with you. >> Thank you, Mr. Cinno. Thank you, board. >> Thank you. Uh, our final card. If anybody else I only have one more public comment card wants to speak, please uh fill out a card. Um, forgive me if I get
this wrong. Miss Souk Drews. >> Oh, yes. >> Okay. And I Thank you. I uh my name is Misuk Drews and I teach third grade at
Beachview Elementary. Okay. So, I'm Misuk Drews and I'm from I teach third grade at Beach View Elementary. And one of the things that we hear back like comments from guest
teachers or other people that's been in our building, they always say how how friendly and kind and and you know how uh we are so inclusive and we welcome people so well and even the ch uh
students um are very welcoming and the reason why I I was impelled I was compelled, not impelled, compelled to come here even though I'm not very comfortable speaking in a big public forum like this is that and I'm shaking
right now. Um but so um but because I care and and have such um have built such strong relationship with Derek and Courtney and Jojo who are our custodial staff, they're like family to me. I don't know about other people in my
building, but I but we're pretty tight in in our building and they're like family. In fact, they all three of them have come to my family reunion because we hel hold it at the Heritage Park. That's how close we have become. And
I've been in the district for over 20 years. And I've been through the the transition of, you know, when we uh when the other company took over and how how terrible it was and then and then the new company and since we've had uh you
know the company that Derek and Courtney and Jojo are right now. It's it's been wonderful. They're like family. They're not only are there to just work and doing their jobs well, they also are involved like Courtney, she is our lunch
monitor. So, she, you know, she she knows the kids. She knows who needs help and who doesn't and who can come to her and and some students are so comfortable they they go to her they ask for her you know or if they need to calm down space
or anything and if she's available she's there for them. So, and Derek, oh my goodness, he is my I always call him he's you're my prince charming because he's there uh and if he's there at night
when it's dark, he watches me leave. He'll open the door and make sure that I get in in my car safely because I'm sometimes the last one to leave. So um and so I really value the relationship
that we have built with these people and in fact I'm so glad you have this profile of a lifelong learner here. One of the um profiles is that we're working towards compassionate being compassionate community members and resilient problem solvers. I can tell
you each one of these um empowered collaborator. all you know practice that with the kids every day. So, thank you uh for letting me speak uh and uh please keep them. Thank you. >> Thank you very much.
>> Um that was the penultimate card. Now we have Mark Forchy. If there is anyone else who wishes to make a public comment, uh please pick up a card. Otherwise, this will be our last public comment for this period. This is from an article by Jeff Minnik.
On June 6th, D-Day 1944, some 73,000 Americans landed on the beaches in Normandy or parachuted into the French province. On that day on Omaha Beach, Americans met a stiff resistance from the German
and Nazi forces. The fighting on the beach that day left 2,400 American dead, wounded or missing in action. So going back to the constitutional convention
at the end of the Declaration of Independence is a vow. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledged to each other our lives, our fortune, and our sacred honor. The men who signed that
document were serious about liberty. They knew they were putting themselves in grave danger by that standard. They forced us to read those words to weigh our own beliefs and commitment to freedom. On the last day of the constitutional convention, Benjamin
Franklin when it was asked, "Well, doctor, what have you given us?" And he said, "A republic, ma'am, if you can keep it." So, jumping back to to the 1960s, in a speech delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August
28th 1963 Martin Luther King proclaimed, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they shall not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their
character." More than 60 years later, that dream still haunts us, asking whether we have yet learned to judge by character rather than by skin color.
>> Thank you. Um I agree. All right. Um I think if there are no further public comments, seeing no further public comments, we will move on to our agenda. The next item is items from the secretary. Uh,
Mrs. Secretary, the board received communications regarding the office of Head Start notifications. Many emails regarding concerns over outsourcing of custodial services and safety concerns around ICE. The board acknowledges all communications and responds as appropriate. A list of
correspondents is included in the board packet which is available on the Farmington Public Schools website. That's all. >> Thank you. We will now move to legislative update. >> Uh, yeah. Thank you. Uh just a few things uh uh coming up. Uh there are a set of House bills uh 5310, 111, and 12
that are being introduced that would eliminate uh the current schools of choice framework for districts um and replace it with a mandatory statewide open enrollment system. And I know um they're just being introduced, but um something to keep an eye on where it would uh rem uh essentially remove uh
the shift of authority from our local um school board to a statewide uh mandate. Um we'll keep an eye on that. The budget is still being worked on that uh Governor Whitmer introduced. Um,
again, there have been um some discussions regarding uh and presentations examining potential weighted school funding models um and maybe some structural changes uh in current um foundation allowances. Um a
reminder that for us and anyone or many of the school board that it is May 20th is the behind the scenes at the capital legislative day. Uh and we're all invited to attend that. the registration would be through um our um through Colleen. And then on the federal level
um there has been a national advocacy effort by the epilepsy foundation to called uh Caesar safe schools. It's been going for some time and there has been um sort of momentum for se Caesar training laws. Uh many states require them. Michigan does not. So, um there's
a a goal to ensure that someone in in each building uh could respond if a student has a student has a seizure. And so, again, we'll keep an eye on that. Thank you so much. >> Thank you very much. Um we will now move to district updates.
>> Yes, thank you, President Williams. Uh as you had mentioned, it has been an incredibly action-packed week since we last all sat here at this table. Uh my calendar I know has been full but more importantly my heart is really full after spending so much time listening to
people who make this district what it is. One of the highlights for me and I know for many of the board members who join me is to continuing to meet with our students and principles as part of our lunch and learns. There's nothing quite like sitting down with our students to hear their perspective. We
ask them about the opportunities they have, whether they feel truly noticed and heard by us and what exactly does success start here mean to them. Their insight is exactly what should be driving our decision-making. I've also
been able to meet with several of our PTAs. It's been wonderful to hear parents talk about their hopes and their dreams for their children as they move through the Farmington Public School system. whether they have a preschooler or a high school senior, that shared vision for their child's future is
really what keeps us moving forward. As President Weim shared, we did hold our first community conversation. Um, and this is really an opportunity to connect uh specifically with community members who may not be connected to our schools, you know, no longer have children within our district. The next
session is going to be April 9th at 6 PM right here in this board meeting room. and we look forward to another great turnout. Um, I too had the pleasure of celebrating our students incredible talent at the annual PTA reflection ceremony to see that level of creativity
in one room as a reminder of the whole child education that we strive for. Additionally, I was proud to represent the district at the state of the cities that we were able to host right in Farmington High School um where I shared the amazing work that's happening with our broader community. I was also
honored to serve on a panel for the Michigan Education Workforce Initiative. I sat with leaders from across the state to discuss the innovation happening right here in Farmington to ensure student success. It's clear that FPS is often part of the conversation when
people talk about what's working in Michigan education. I also joined a team from FPS and across the state to meet with US Representative Haley Stevens to discuss the teacher shortage here in Michigan and how this can be addressed. We were able to share our thoughts and
perspectives and we're happy to provide feedback from not only myself but our educators sitting at the table and the impact this has long term uh for us and others in the state. and we so appreciate Representative Stevens taking the time to listen to us. As we head
into the business of this evening, I do want to give a quick shout out to our educators and all of our support staff as we transition into this busy, busy, busy spring season. Their energy and dedication makes all of these successes
possible. It really is a great time to be part of our district. Next, I'm going to share one another really cool thing. I'm going to invite up to the podium uh Miss Don Christensen, uh an educator with Project
Search, Miss Dorene Forester, who's a supervisor and principal at Visions Unlimited, and Dr. Lydia Moore, our executive director of special education to share an update on Project Search. Good evening, Dr. Coffin and board of
education. Thank you for having us here this evening. I am not going to take up much of your time because I am going to allow my colleagues to tell you about Project Search, our newest adult transition program that we have in Farmington Public Schools. So, I'm going
to go ahead and turn it on over to Dawn. You can do it. I can do it. >> Hi, my name is Don Christian. I am an instructor at Project Search. I am a teacher in Farmington's public schools of special needs adults currently.
Whoops. Thank you. Um I'm also a Farmington resident. So I want to say thank you to all of you for all you do here. Um this is our our crew here. Uh we are a schoolto work transition
program and we work with New Horizons and MRS Corwell and of course here we are and project search and project search is a model that we follow um and to to complete the program
here. It kind of says it's okay. Well that's okay. So, uh, Project Search is a is a worldwide, um, model. So, there's 782 sites. I think that's kind of cool. We have 11 countries, 48 states, 18 sites in
Michigan, three sites here in Oakland County, Corwell Health and Farmington, West Bloomfield, Henry Ford, and Troy Corwell. Oh, thank you. Um, who participates in our program? It's young adults who have an IEP and school transition services
ages 18 to 26. They are able to participate in a full school school day and uh it's really geared towards young men and women who are interested in working and getting a job. They also have to apply to this and there's that whole process that we don't need to go
into. Um so here's some specifics. They want gainful employment. Um, this is also considered their last year of school because off they go to work after this. Um, typically there are six to eight
students. We have six our first year. I think we're doing great. Um, we follow Farmington School's calendar. Um, there's a special education teacher and we have two skills trainers actually on site based upon the amount of uh interns we have. We call them interns. Um so
they come we we all report to Corwell Health and we all work from there. That's where our classroom is. Um we do all kinds of interesting things. Uh we have four departments, nutritional services, materials management, environmental services, and
sterile processing. Um we run a regular school day, but they are at work most of the time. Um the goal is for us all to teach them the job training skills. Here are some of our curriculum that we follow.
That's so Thursday we went to New Horizons in Auburn Hills and there were 10 different uh companies there and they all had a chance to do like I called it speed interviewing and they went and rotated through 10 different companies
practicing their interview skill skills. It was so amazing. Um I really enjoyed it. It was way better than I thought it was going to be, I have to say. And they all did great. >> Um, this is just us, some pictures. We are committed to getting things done.
>> Okay. >> So, this is just we they eat together. They have a choice of either eating with their um with their departments, but they all choose to eat together. They do three different internships of 10 weeks each. Currently, we're on a transition
week, as we call it. And we're working on our well, we're working on our our interview skills still and and resume. And so, hopefully when they'll leave, they're going to have a nice portfolio and a Google Drive filled with information that they can take and go on
and >> gainful have gainful employment. Yes. And uh we're going to help them find jobs. So, if anybody knows of any jobs in Farmington Oh, sorry. I I please please uh you know think of us.
>> So the exciting thing about this program that is different than um what we've done prior is that really strong connection between the schools. Corewell the host business and uh Michigan rehabilitation services or MRS. So New
Horizons is an agency that provides skilled trainers. Um, we obviously provide the instructor. Um, and Corwell actually has managers that are working to teach the students the skills they
need to become employed. So, these are not students that are on a job site with a pair of professional um, the whole time. We have that option for students who need that, but that's a different program. Um what's exciting here is that this is uh the students are really
taking a lot of their direction from the manager and their colleagues in their different settings and Don's done an amazing job um at getting this program up and running. and Dorian's done an amazing job of supporting um and I know
that when I hear the students speak because they have recently um shared their experiences, the pride um and ability to talk about themselves and advocate for themselves is is astounding how far some of these um young men and
women have come in the short period of time. So, thank you. >> Any questions? >> Yes. I I just want to say that I think this is such a wonderful example of a true wraparound set of services for our students uh specifically our students
with IEPs and such. Um it it this is what happens when the community and businesses businesses get together and provide the space and place for our students. And you mentioned pride and dignity and too often I think we forget that they want the same things that we
want. even though they may not communicate it in the same ways, they want the same things that we want. And us doing this, it cannot be overstated how important this kind of work is. Um, for a population that often times doesn't have the voice it deserves. So,
I just need to lift that up. Uh, and I want to thank you all and everyone else plugged into the program with that work. >> Thank you, Mrs. Smith. >> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Um you all have well especially you Dorene you
know and Lydia you know >> where my heart is in this community um and especially when with our students but mainly with this population um the work that you do with these students with mainstreaming them if I
use that word um and how you've shown them how to go out into the community how to go I mean there's been a A couple of them I've run into and TJ Maxx and some other places, but you are teaching them. Um, even at Henry Ford Hospital,
um, in West Bloomfield, I've seen some of our students um, in our markets. I want to thank you and this is diversity. >> Thank you, >> Mr. Hull. I'd like to also thank you for
for taking the time and investment of our of our uh young people um that are normally overlooked in society. And we put so much we put so much um money behind to make sure
they're educated, make sure that everybody get a fair chance. and to have that investment pays off and I'm sure that with u their parents to have a a sign of relief that my
child will be okay after they're gone, you know, and that that speaks volume of the um of the community that we we serve because everybody can contribute >> to their best ability. So when we when
we actually have a a group of of of caring individuals that say hey we can go ahead and give them a sense of pride and a sense of contribution that is all was worth all our efforts all our time and all the education that we spend with them in our investment. So
thank you. >> Thank you uh Mrs. Hinrich. >> Yeah I you know we Dr. coffin talked about the teacher shortage and we were at North Farmington observing our math curriculum and the teachers and hearing this presentation from our educators
here. So, thank you for choosing a profession where you get to go to work and make the difference in the life of young people every day. And I think we need to get the message out so that the schools of education instead of having a
shortage of students will have a waiting list of students that want to get in. Um because it is such an important because the work that you're doing is so important and the work that you're doing at this level with our with our students that need this extra support um is so
important. And so, thank you so much um for choosing education and choosing to make a difference in the lives of young people. >> And I can just say honestly that it is our honor to support our students um and to represent Farmington Public Schools
with community partnerships. So, thank you all very much for your continued support of our transition programs. >> All of them. >> All of them. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. We appreciate that. Uh we will now move on to the uh reports
from board committees and uh Mrs. Zinrich will you provide the finance and facilities committee meeting? >> Yes. Um the finance facilities committee met on March 2nd. Um myself and Dr. Blau were present. Um the first thing we
talked about was the um oven purchase. This is going to be a discussion item. Um there's a need for a um new um comi combi oven at K Elementary School. Um and so that will be presented um there's
bids and um through consortium pricing and one of the things we asked with the new nutritional guidelines, is this something that is a worthwhile investment? And yes, it is. Um, and so this is going to be um needed to replace aging equipment, but it's a long-term
investment. Uh, the next thing we talked about was the furniture um purchase, and I think that was a um discussion item. No, it's a discussion item for this. And
so there's a um and then it will be So there's two meetings for it. So there um it's a discussion item for new furniture for the transportation staff lounge and hall uh over at transportation and also furniture for the hallways in this
building here. And the third thing was um an update on the district warehouse and the finance committee or the board had asked for an update um just because when this was put in um we were told that it was going to alleviate um some of the storage problems throughout the
district and it will also free up some space um in some of the buildings that could be put to better use. And so, um, we had an update on that and, um, I think that is going to that's not a discussion item, is it? No.
Okay. So anyways, but anyways, they um updated the finance committee on that and um it did reduce um costs in the district because we were renting um semi-trailers um that were kind of expensive and so we
have um we have you made better use of our resources. So thank you for that. That was it. >> Thank you for that update. Uh, seeing no questions, we will move on to discussion items to discuss all of those things. >> All right. I'd like to welcome Miss Jennifer Kaminsky, assistant
superintendent for business services, uh, to the podium to talk about, uh, the nutritional service uh, proposed purchase. >> All right. Good evening. >> Good evening. Uh, unfortunately, Ann Stevens, our director of nutrition
services, could not be here this evening. So, I am presenting on her behalf. And I do not have a presentation at all. Um, as Mrs. Heinrich mentioned, uh, the combination of and purchase was presented to the finance facilities
committee on March 2nd and I know there were some questions that came about uh, during that meeting and um, I did provide some information through email uh, answering some of those questions. If there are additional ones at the end
of uh this information, I'd be happy to answer them or if I can't, I will make sure you get the answer before you vote on April 7th. Uh so the combination oven purchase is being recommended for Gil
Elementary. Um the nutrition services fund is a federal fund and so there are certain procurement requirements uh that apply to that and that is it's considered a small purchase if it's less than $350,000.
So this oven is around $40,000. So, we are required to follow the small purchase uh requirements of federal law which allow us to go out and obtain three quotes
uh for uh equipment and other similar items. And so we did obtain three quotes for the uh blahit uh they shorten it for combi oven uh for gill. We found that our oven was approximately 40 years old.
And so we've maintained and repaired that oven for for many many years. The useful life is typically 10 to 15 years uh currently. And so as the the oven gets older, uh product quality, you
know, becomes inefficient, inconsistent, and parts are hard to find as well. And so the new technology that is now in ovens uh will help improve food quality and uh production efficiency. So three
quotes were received. Gold Star Products for $42,208, Bell & Suns $44,2851 and Stafford Smith for $43,867. Um and so we are going to recommend that um Gold Star be awarded uh the purchase
for the oven. Also included with the actual oven is removal and disposal of the existing oven in that space. Delivery and installation equipment setup and commissioning and then onsite training for staff. Um and if approved,
it will be funded through the nutrition services fund. and I can answer any questions you might have. >> I do have one question and it's just around you know the age of ovens at other um at our other facilities. Is
this the only one that appears to be like you know 40 plus years old >> right now because we have been replacing equipment either through redoing a kitchen altogether through some of the bond projects or uh replacing it on that
as needed basis. um over the last 10 to 15 years. So >> and just so that I have um you know an opportunity to understand the scale of this given the price here like most of us are familiar with double double
ovens. >> Mhm. >> This is obviously much larger than that like what is the capacity for this kind of oven given this pricing? >> Uh capacity that I'm not able to answer at this time. Um, obviously it's a
commercial oven and so um different features for that um you know I guess greater use we're using it on a daily basis where you may not use your oven um at the same level. Um but I can find out that information for you.
>> I'm just trying to get a sense for what what was the I'm guessing is the same size as the old one. >> It's the same size. >> Okay. Yes. And this was went through the same sort of bid process you go through. I don't know if it's consortium pricing
or um so th that's been the difference. There's been some changes in nutrition services equipment purchases over the last year or so where it follows the federal procurement guidelines um versus
uh the state of Michigan guidelines. And that's what I talked about at the beginning was that we have to f if it's less than $350,000, which the $40,000 is um then we are allowed to obtain quotes
um and compare those and select uh the the company that we would like to use. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? Seeing none, I think I want to thank you for that presentation and we can move on to the furniture purchase.
>> Yes. So, uh, Mr. Paddock will be joining, uh, Miss Kaminsky at the podium, uh, to share information on, uh, furniture purchase recommendation. Good. >> Thank you. Uh, good evening, President Williams, Dr. Coffin, and the board. Thanks for this opportunity. So, yep. We
to spend a couple of minutes with you tonight to talk about the furnace purchase recommendation for transportation in MEC and we certainly appreciate this opportunity to just articulate a couple of more a couple of details uh for you. So, when we think about furniture purchase recommendation
this evening, this is a discussion only. April 7th is when we would ask this to come to the board for an action item. And uh it's important to note that this recommendation as uh Mrs. Hinrich uh talked a little bit about just moments ago that this recommendation has been
reviewed with the finance of facilities committee um on March 2nd and uh we spent some time talking about some of the the questions that they had and certainly addressed all of those and I'll I'll recap those at the end of this presentation. Um when we think about the
the what for the purchase, Jennifer, >> I'll walk through this slide. Uh so what are we purchasing and the cost of that? Uh so we're going to be uh replacing all of the existing tables and chairs in the transportation uh staff lounge. Uh we'll
be purchasing chairs and small tables for the hallway waiting areas here at MEC. Um and those are similar to the chairs uh and small tables that you see uh down one of the hallways at uh the administration building. We're using the
Omnia contract uh noted here uh which is a competitively bid consortium contract and so we're taking advantage of that pricing. Our total quoted cost uh including shipping and handling is
$43,5065. And so this is through um ODP which is the vendor that we used for furniture purchases here at MEC uh when we purchased the furniture a few years ago and then over at administration. So the
recommendation will be to approve a not to exceed amount of $50,000 in case anything pops up uh later on that might require adjustment. And the funding source will be general fund. So, we do have an allocation
uh right now in our current budget for furniture and fixtures and we'll be using that line item to pay for this >> coming here because of the amount. >> Any questions from board members on this one? Oh, I'm sorry. >> Did you have a few more? Okay. >> Yeah.
>> So, uh when we think about the human experience, I think it's very important when we make decisions to always articulate and have a chance to explain the why. So, transportation staff lounge uh the current lounge furniture is actually over 20 years old. Um and it is been assembled from other locations all
into one. Uh providing a professional clean and comfortable space to regroup for employees between runs. This happens to be an area where quite a few of our employees will spend some time together just because of their work shift. Um our director holding some staff meetings there. Opportunity to hold in a large
space. Uh some strategic staff meetings. uh strategic use of budgeted general fund dollars. Jennifer just explained that uh bus drivers and transportation staff are a critical employee group supporting student safety. Uh so very important. Uh their comfort does matter to us as we continue to think about
keeping our employees. Uh and a well-designed lounge signals that the district values these employees and supports and supports job satisfaction and certainly pride in Farmington Public Schools. Jennifer talked about bringing some of this together that is consistent with our other buildings. the Y behind
the MEC hallway furniture. Currently using uh what we're referring to as some outdoor furniture as you approach some of the hallways uh in seating areas in this building. Uh enhancing the experience for candidates and community members waiting in the hallways. Right. This this building is visible to the community and certainly when we conduct
some job interviews here, we want to make some a nice first impression for folks coming in and ultimately providing a professional uh setting, comfortable seating that reflects the district standards across all buildings. uh and support an open collaborative space for the MEC staff is if they want to come
out into the hallways, they do have a little collaborative space to to uh visit and and also conduct some meetings in more of an open space and then aligning the MEC environment with the administration building. You heard that we're working with the same designer essentially looking at the same furniture to bring some alignment with
similar similar furnishings to all of our place places. So, this is just a quick rendering. If you can envision the the current uh space at the staff lounge um over at transportation, the four graphics, that's what that is there. And
you can see the gray laminate wood tops are consistent with uh spaces and furniture that we have in other places. And then the not so much a rendering, but if you can envision some of the furniture, you've all been down the hallway at the the main uh the administration building, that sofa type
furniture is exactly what's pictured uh in the lower right hand corner for you. So, important to note finance and facilities discussion. This was a a great opportunity for us to come before them. Uh Jennifer and I were able to articulate a little bit more uh in
detail than we went into tonight. But what was important is that as we discussed bringing this forward for all of you that I wanted to recapture just some of their great questions that they've already had and some of the things that we uh looked into in preparation for tonight. So opportunity
for input that was a question that was talked about is who helped design some of this um and who the kind of the ask and who was involved in this and certainly our FTA a collective bargaining group. They had some representatives bringing this to our attention as something that they would appreciate and like. Transportation
director was involved with some on-site visits. There were some questions about the comfort and ergonomic design and how was the furniture selected. Uh cost and fin uh fiscal impact. Jennifer talked about that that this was an already budgeted line item, but we're have we have to come to you because of the
amount. That's why we're coming here today. And then the impact and on the employees and the overall district. And I think it's important to note that this invests in a critical employee group uh that you heard me talk about that does have just the uniqueness of their jobs and split schedules and ensure and then
at the MEC specifically talking about that experience that we're trying to create for maybe a first impression as folks come in here and think about this district as a place of employment. So final recommendation to be clear. So tonight is just a discussion April 7th
we would be having that as an action item. So furniture purchase for transportation staff lounge hallway furniture here at the MEC not to exceed $50,000 from the general fund and then of course the next steps would be we would get going on awarding the contract
and then potentially uh some installation and getting some shipments delivered here. So we thank you and essentially look forward to your approval next month with this. So thanks for the opportunity to discuss >> Mrs. Smith.
Thank you. I really appreciate that you um brought this to us and I appreciate the fact that the bus drivers are being looked at. Um I have uh gotten up and ridden the buses. Actually coming over here at 6:00
in the morning knowing I do not like moving out of that room of mine until 9. But I've ridden the buses and I've seen that busy yard. Um a few years ago we looked at a building that would have been ready just a turnkey. They would
have had a beautiful um facility um as you know that was turned down. But I think that we as a board um many of us have well I've had my kids go through here Miss Williams and Mr.
Walker and all the Mr. Hall Mr. Rinto here. um have students here and those are the first people our kids see in the morning and they're the last that see them at night. Um they need and not only
do they do buses, they do um things throughout our community. They're in our parades. It's a good group of people. We shouldn't just be looking at them like they just a bus driver. Let's make sure we have something nice for them. We
sitting in here and it's nice. So, let's let them have something nice. So, um I thank you for the recommendation. Um make sure we can get a if you can get something special for Mr. uh Hill. So,
um and his staff and I want to see this happen. Thank you. >> Yeah. Thanks for the opportunity to bring it to you. Thank you. That's what we have. >> Yes. >> Upon approval, what's the turnaround time for the furniture to be purchased and installed? >> Yeah, I think it's about 6 to 8 weeks. >> Six to eight weeks. >> Mr. Walker. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. Thank
you so much. >> I had a similar question just on pricing. Um, as I look at some of, and I've had this question before, and I appreciate that there's a difference between more of the commercial grade furniture than furniture I would buy for my home. Um, when I'm looking at some of
the pricing for chairs and tables, they feel way out of the range of what I would buy at home. And can you just speak to that and and what the rationale is for that? I'm guessing, you know, more use, sturdiness. If you could just help the public kind of understand that
a bit. >> Yep. Similar to the furniture that's purchased for the, you know, the boardroom here and some of the other spaces, it is meant to um withstand, I guess, more use um and uh than than a
typical household uh would be. So, yes, comma commercialgrade furniture. Um, I believe some of it's Han, which is a very good quality product. Again, we don't want to invest in something that
isn't going to last long term. And so, that's been taken into account as well as to the life of these products. So, >> thank you. >> Any further questions? Seeing none, I think we can move on. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Our next item is a discussion on the disc on our next discussion is on the custodial bid recommendation. Um you got you all will remember that this was a discussion
item at our last meeting. It may or may not have been an action item. This is the third time that we are discussing this item. Um, and I personally thought it was important to have both a discussion and an action item on our agenda today to give us an opportunity
to talk through this. Again, I know there was a fair amount of discussion at our last meeting. I know folks were in various places when it came to uh whether they were ready to move forward with recommending an action. Um, and so we decided last time to uh get some
additional questions, answers. Some board members still had some questions. Um I'm pretty pleased that the district has addressed most all of them. Uh even going so far as to have a meeting with the group to get more in depth in terms
of uh what some of the concerns were beyond some of the things that have been answered for us. So I just wanted to open it up and uh see whether board members had any additional questions. If not, I'm happy to summarize some of the questions and go through that or uh if
um um ask our facilities chair if she'd like to do that as well. Not putting you on the spot. You don't have to. I can do it if you if you like. >> Um well, let's let's let's hear what people have to say. You know, we we've had feedback. We've had questions.
>> Dr. Blow, I would love to hear um I know that Dr. coffin between our last meeting and this meeting has um uh had an opportunity to um invite the many of our custodians in for a conversation around
this and I was wondering if you had any feedback. >> Yeah, thank you. And that that was something that came out of that last meeting talking to a couple board members that that would be uh a nice you know uh the next step. So uh had a great meeting with the group. Uh, I think
pretty much everyone there was able to come. A couple had mentioned that they had a doctor's appointment or they weren't feeling well, but outside of that, it was a it was a it was a packed room. And I I'll say what came out of that is I I just appreciated everyone's openness and honesty about some of the
challenges that were currently occurring uh between uh what I'll say is our daytime shift and our afternoon evening shift. And what we realized or what I realized from that conversation was that um there was some work we need to do we needed to do on the contract management
side because it it there were some things happening that that were that needed to be changed and so within two days we made that change. Um, but I I wouldn't have known and I I appreciated the the feedback and the and the the
honest and open conversation and um the professionalism of the group to be willing to sit and and to share that with with my myself and Miss Scripture was in the room. So, um from there we we we knew that we had to we had to fix that. Um and we did that. So, uh, again,
I think I shared with the board, uh, some additional information, but overall, I I just really appreciated, uh, the group making the time and spending like over two hours with us after their their shift to be with us. So, um, again, it gave us some a good
perspective of what needed to change. Um, and and we've made steps, uh, in that direction immediately. I I I really appreciate that as we're moving through this process that you took the time um to to do that uh
because um they are very important members of our community and uh they they deserve that >> absolutely level of respect. >> They have the support. They deserve to have the support. >> Absolutely. Absolutely. Um, I also I'm I'm glad to hear that that uh the
conversation was really fruitful and productive and that some items were addressed that were taken care of right right away. Um because that also demonstrates our commitment as a district to you know to um >> to listen >> to listening and yes
>> and correct >> exactly and um I don't know what what our ultimate decision as a board will be this evening but that um I feel encouraged that whatever
decision we make that uh the relationship between our superintendent and our custodians is is, you know, strong and healthy. So that there can be an ongoing, you know, um ongoing going
communication and um you know, uh relationship building between the uh our our existing staff and whatever and whoever else >> with our students. >> Exactly. >> Absolutely. >> Exactly. So, thank you for that.
Um, go ahead. >> I I just um for the point of clarity for myself, going back to the last meeting, it felt like the general lean was that we were looking at um or was being looked at or
favored upon outsourcing um day staff and making it a fully privatized piece. But what I wanted to be very clear on, especially having read the emails and listening to public comments as well, is that our
commitment, if that were to be the option, our commitment is that where they are is where they're going to be. >> Yes. >> And that whatever their status is to the degree it is humanly possible, that will be maintained in this transition.
So that um those p those relationships will be maintained. Yes, >> those connections will be maintained. Um, and we've now addressed that middle ground as well so that any discomfort
and so forth can be dealt with more effectively. That's my understanding. >> Yeah. Yeah. Uh, I think so. And so it may be helpful to summarize the question that is before us and the questions that we've had over the past few weeks.
uh the district was required to uh go out for bid because we had a contract that was ending and so we had to do something. Um, as a part of doing that due diligence with respect to the current contract, several options were
identified to either continue with the services that we have now, which is FPS, daytime custodians and contracted um night custodians. Um or as a second option there was um something around um
having the custodial contract take over the supplies and keeping things the way they were but this company would take over the supplies which was some savings or the third option which was to fully privatize at a savings of about $3
million over a three-year period. Uh the district initially recommended that the board approve our continued work with ABM. So there were other options with other uh service providers. Uh and that was because our current contractor uh
we've received some positive feedback uh regarding their work and believe that uh any transition uh if whatever based on the board approves would be a smoother transition. And so the options that we have before us are only with respect to the current service provider, not any
new service providers. Um the first concern um that was raised by uh the board was um the the uh wages of our current staff. And so the district uh supported that third option as we
maintain our current daytime custodians at their same hourly wage. Um and that was something that the district went back and negotiated with the service provider because that was a concern of the board was you know uh folks's
livelihood with respect to lower wage. The second question sort of came around um service and a question around service uh quality. We've experienced a decline in service before and that's certainly something that folks were concerned
about. Um again we have uh some visibility with respect to service because we're using the service provider now. Uh the district went out where Luke Kudau actually went out and got some references and those all came back uh very positive. Um there was also some
questions around uh the number of people who would maintain a job. there was um some noise around not everyone being able to transition over and so we got that clarified that anyone who wanted to transition over would be able to transition over so there would be no uh
uh turnover there. Another question was around benefits and so we dealt with the wage issue and so the next question was around benefits. Uh we were able to uh look into the benefit plan offering um and we know that the district actually
went back and did some work because we noticed that uh benefits would not be offered for 60 days and the district went back and renegotiated that uh such that that would be waved for staff that were hired by FPS so the benefits would start immediately.
Um, we also had some questions around what the funds would be used for if we were to move in that direction. Uh the board recently approved uh significant
payraises for many employees such that our targeted fund balance was impacted and we weren't necessarily within the bands that we would have liked to be when we approved the budget in June. And
this would offset some of that to put us back into um a fund balance that was more comfortable and align with the policy. Uh we could also use those funds to bring back afterchool tutoring run by uh our uh educators uh for students and
families who want that service. We could continue to invest in our team-based staffing model that includes collaborative planning time with teams across the district. We could invest in our uh classroom sizes and keep those lower especially for uh elementary level
and support some additional reading and math at the early grades. we could add instructional coaches at the middle school and high school level. Um and so those were some of the conversations. Um ultimately though, I think there was
still some uh uneasiness right around um weighing the care that we have for our staff uh and the impact to 22 uh folks. um that was still you know I
think in everyone's sort of hearts and minds and in particular uh just a general resistance to change um given a um what we believe would be a culture shift um and that was expressed time and time again in the many emails that we
received from folks. And so that is certainly weighing on many of our staff members and certainly our staff members who are who are telling us that. And so that's something that we're going to have to balance. And I think that's why and how uh Dr. Coffin uh met with the
group. I think most folks came in at after hours and had some really good conversations about little things um inclusive of what color shirts we wear uh whether we're branded Farmington Public Schools or not. And I think that you were able to
get through some of those conversations. >> Yeah. And I think the other piece too is the concern of um their work during the day being impacted with some of the processes and procedures that were happening in the evening. And that's why the change was made immediately uh where
we shifted the supervision and and who was taking over the contract as well as setting up regular meetings uh for a current model that we sorry that came directly from the feedback that they >> Yeah. So, I think that that even given
all of the questions and I appreciate the district going over and beyond and getting some of these questions answered and going back and negotiating with the service provider. I appreciate all of that. There's still some of this uh anxiety. Uh for me personally, I don't speak for the rest of the board, but in
as part of this discussion, one of the things I'm thinking about is cost. And um you know I can't um I'm I I obviously value people. We have at this board table invested in our people constantly
and we'll continue to do that. Um I'm what for me and you know I'm the accountant on the board. I I need to weigh cost and benefit. And so when I think about the impact here, I am more than willing to invest 5, 10, even
$20,000 in uh our staff, right? That's what I would generally think is a good amount of investment to um continue your professional education, to do some professional learning, to go back to school, right? Um all of those kinds of things I'm willing to invest in. this
investment works out to be about $150,000 per person. And that's where I I pause and I start to think about um uh where those funds might be
redirected. Um is that is that the kind of investment that I'd want to make? And I don't know, you know, um uh I I can't say, but that's what I'm I'm thinking through. Um, and so with that, um, I I
think, you know, everybody's got some different thoughts and opinions, but I think we're at the point now where we need to make, um, a decision. >> Mrs. Hinrich, >> you know, to your point, um, all the feedback we've got is how important the
relationships are in the building with our custodians. Um, and and that's very important. We're in the people business. Uh we talk about when we talk about the cost um we talk we were talk we talk about programs um we had uh coffee and conversations you
know parents from an elementary school came and said we had tutors last year this year we don't have them um we're piloting a you know a reading program in a title building and if it works out you know we have title funds in our title buildings but what about the other buildings have students that could
benefit from the services um but we don't have the funding for because they're not title bunding. So, um, budgeting is always precarious. Um, I do not believe in treating people like a budget, like a line item on a
spreadsheet because I've had that experience and is not pleasant. Um, I I think it's really important to listen to the importance of the relationships. And one of the things that seems to be consistent is the fact that people that
work for Farmington Public Schools values their employees. And um when we went back and I wasn't none of us were well some of us were probably on the board when the initial privatizing it didn't go well. Um you know that
wasn't a good experience. We have found a company that we've had a good experience. So this is not so the the stories is when we went to privat privatization. >> Yes. um you know it was such a bad experience but you know if we go if we
go with the um changing the contract on Friday to Monday the same person that was at work at Friday is going to show up at on Monday and they're going to be the same person and they're going to still have the relationships in the
building and they're still going to have the same work ethic. Um and I think um one of the things in looking at all of the things that we've done is um this ABM company seems to value its employees
also because we said to them we won't even consider it if you don't consider the employees wages. Um it's important that our employees have benefits immediately. Um it's in whatever issues we've brought to ABM.
Um I it seems like we have evidence that they care for their employees. Um when Dr. Coffin um talked to some of the the evening custodians um she shared feedback that they've had
positive experience as far as being employees of ABM. And so I haven't heard um I haven't heard a lot of hor I've heard horror stories about GR >> PS.
>> Okay. But I haven't heard horror stories about ABM. Um our buildings have been clean. It seems like there have been some issues where work wasn't completed at night, but um they weren't aware of it. Now that they're aware of it, adjustments are being made. So it's a
work in progress. It's a people business. Um, and so the bottom line is um what is best for the entire school district and for our students and for our employees and how can we continue to provide
services that are needed and how can we be um conscious about the cost of the services and how best to allocate our resources. And so it's it's not a it's not an easy
decision. Um and it's something that I think it weighs heavy on every member of this board. Whatever whatever decision that we go with, I think will be the right decision for this district. Um because we take the time to listen to all of the feedback from our community
and our employees, and we also take the time to listen to the feedback from our fellow board members. >> Thank you. Uh Mr. Walker. >> Yes, sir. I first I want to commend the committee for this kind of work, Dr. Coffin, all of you involved, the level
of detail getting the responses and information back. Uh, greatly appreciate it. Um, I I want to lift up for just just briefly that with respect to the company, I don't know that um I can say that this is about them
respecting their employees. I don't know that I have necessarily evidence of it, but what I do have evidence of is that they want us and want to keep us as a client. And I'm happy to see that we have taken the time to leverage that in order to make this the best possible situation should it go this way as
possible. And it's something that I would hope we would continue to utilize, not inappropriately, but to the protection and in honoring if we end up going this way, honoring what those persons did in the past as if this decision moves in this direction going
forward. So, um I I just want I want to make sure that we understand that they need to make sure they do right by our folks regardless because we are the customer
and they are our client. I want to be very clear about that part. >> Yeah. And if I could just add on to that, Mr. Walker. So um as I mentioned there was some the contract management piece that falls on us not not on our employees. It falls on us and um ABM has
committed to having an office space and being in our district every day to ensure. So everything we have asked for they have done and gone above and beyond. I think there was some um communication gaps prior and I I just again appreciate our our custodians coming and sharing that information so I
could get to the bottom of what was happening. I feel like we're we're pretty close to that and we have the right people in the right positions now with the commitment from that company of having a a space and being in our district every day. And that's one thing that was missing is the presence of them supporting their their people.
>> Thank you again. Thank you for the work across the board. >> It's not been easy. >> Yes. >> Thank you. Um it's important to feel valued by the
place where you work and whatever decision we make our custodial staff if we keep our current model we have some Farmington and some ABM uh custodial staff but we want everyone to feel included and part of our Farmington
family. So, are there some ways either way that we can as a district do that so that that that feeling of family and community continues? >> Absolutely. I mean, it's the same thing we do with other our edu staff. Our sub
the majority of our teachers who substitute teach with us are part of another company. Uh but I know Brad and his department does a lot of work to help them feel part of Farmington family. So there's uh and again if we have dropped the ball on that that's our that's on us that is not on them. So you
know for us that is our job and um I just appreciate um everyone meeting with us and sharing how that felt because we had some that also worked for us and for the company and so it gave me a very good perspective on what we needed to do
moving forward. So, so there are ways because we've done it with we do it with with Ed staff that so we already have a model that we could implement so that everyone feels like part of the Farmington family no matter where their paycheck is coming from, but that that
they're a valued part of our Farmington community and family. >> Mrs. H. Yeah, we asked um one of the things the committee asked was to check the references of other school districts that ABM works with and um Ann Arbor public schools was one of the ones that
was referenced and they said that um the Ann Arbor has 158 custodians across 36 buildings. So it's probably maybe a little bit bigger than Farmington. >> All right. But um they partnered with them since 2014. So that's 12 years and
they're currently another two-year succession or extension. My words are not coming out right. They express satisfaction with the services provided and emphasis that success depends on holding management accountable and maintaining strong working relationships
which it sounds like um we saw a need and we're addressing it. And they also said that they feel ABM staff had built solid relationships within the district and feel like part of the organization. Yep. >> And so we're really looking for our employees to be long-term employees. And
before we went to the hybrid model, we hired employees that were good employees for a contract company. And so we selected employees with a good work ethic. And so um you know, it's our hope
that that will continue um because whatever we bring to our buildings, we want to continue doing that. Um, we also had references from Lancing Public Schools and Plymouth Canton Public Schools and they were similar as far as
um, Lancing has worked since 2024 um, and then Plymouth Canton since 2021. >> Couple things. I'm I'm having a just a just a I don't know just a a disconnect that's
happening and maybe it can help. I got a couple things. Uh the first thing is for the savings that we're going to be experienced say a million like a million dollars a year 3 million right
okay so here's my disconnect if you're paying if if that other company if ABM is paying that company the same wages uh great benefits on our but on the farmington
There's a million dollar gap. Is it that I I I don't understand how they're saving that much because we're not a pro for a profit company. Therefore, I don't I don't see that. I just don't see that cost.
I don't understand it for that. Where we going to get that million dollars from which we can if we really want to reduce a million dollars of that cost? What is it? I don't understand. So that's the disconnect for that. And then um and
then also secondly and it could become and you know it could come from like you know uh retirement other benefits and everything like that but if they're if ABM is having the same the same or or you know I don't know
better um benefits then I just don't understand why we don't we can't match it. But and then secondly that although everything we say everything's going to stay the same in the contracts
and you know and and they're going to stay at the same schools and and all these other things. I just have a problem with with they may have their employee handbook of rules and regulation saying that hey if you're 15
minutes late or if you or if you've uh missed this or miss that you know you get you you're going to get terminated immediately that I don't I don't understand their policies for that. And um and so somehow I I have a I just I just
I just see a lot of loopholes that I don't understand that could come up that could be easy although it's in the contract but there's always other ways to get around certain things. Um I really have a problem with that. And uh thirdly,
we all know the contribution and the morale of having custodians that are protected by Farmington public school policies that they go above beyond in case if there's an incident
like a kid or two kids in a hallway get into it. And I don't want it to be a point of the custodians second-guessing their job to say, hm, should I go and, you know, intervene in this little squabble with
these kids or am I going to lose my job if I say something? So, guess what happens? I take the safe, you know, the safe route and I'm not losing my job over them. And therefore, it's a I think we're going to be losing something uh from that point. So those are my points
that I I'm very I'm I'm not really wrestling with, but I just see the logic for it. >> I can answer a couple and and maybe you want to talk about the economy of scale. >> Yeah, I I I will and then I we'll go to Mrs. Smith. I don't think anybody can speak to the savings. I'm just only the
contractor can do that. But what I will say is that I I don't think that anyone is saying that everything will be equal. The wage will be equal. the benefits will not be equal. I don't know what the benefits are, but there is a benefits
package. Clearly, that is likely where most of the savings is is in all of the other benefits and whatever retirement and that that sort of area. I expect that the contractor is likely because
their original proposal to us was not to match the wage and it also was not to offer benefits immediately. So they're taking a bit of a loss because they want our business. So originally the the million dollars a
year in savings was being um created because they were going to pay us a lower wage. the district went back and renegotiated that and and as a result the I don't know if the company's taking a loss but when they look at the whole of the contract having both the day and
evening it's still that it's still something that they want to do and I believe they get more benefits and economies of scale particularly on the supplies um that's where it's creating the savings I think everyone on this table would agree that we're going to lose
something if we proceed to outsource. I don't think that is a question at all. Um, will it be on the cleanliness of the buildings? Will it be on the culture? Will it be both? Um, I certainly think
that as an employee of the district, I probably will behave differently than if I'm a contractor in the in the district. And so, yes, we run that risk. And and that's why this is such a difficult decision to make. I I don't disagree
with you. And so that's where we have to figure out what the balance is. >> So if I can just address some of it. We have 51 custodians that work in the afternoon and evening that work for ABM. Some who were ours and chose to go work for ABM. That means they are at athletic events. They're here. They are stepping
in. They are part of everything that happens in the evenings in our buildings. We have some of our day custodians who are also working at night and are giving all of their effort as much as they do in the day. So uh remember I think uh Miss Hinrich said
that the the all the people we have for day came from another company and we brought them on because of their exceptional work and we had this conversation when we met that they were exceptional when they worked for the other company and their exceptional working with us now and we'll continue
that. So, so that's a a little bit of it, but we already h we have people right now. And to your point of where the standards are, it's Farmington standards because we are paying them to provide this service. And that's when I mentioned that we have not been managing
the contract as we should have been to ensure that that quality was there. So, it isn't that they come in and say we're going to do this. We say we are you're working here at Farmington and here's the standards we have. Uh Luke has had several meetings with them to ensure
that that's the way it looks. It's the way it looks with in the in the after we again we we identified some gaps in that connection of what you were saying about what was happening and did they have the right uh direction or support in the evening and that's what we are shifting.
So, um, so again, these are the same people that have been doing great work with us for many years under a company or with us, and they brought up some ways that, uh, to Dr. Blau's point, they didn't want to feel excluded from Farmington because they love working
here, and that's on us to ensure that continues. >> Mrs. Smith and then, uh, Mrs. Heinrich. >> Thank you, President Williams. Um, at our last meeting, Dr. coughing. You know, I guess she must have thought I
had some timers when she said, "Miss Smith, we've done this before." Um, and I'm aware. >> Mhm. >> I was on the board when they did it the first time, and I'll be on the board again when we do it again, maybe, but at
the end of the day, the bottom line is, um, I understand. Um but um we have our board members here that um you have our board that this board
that will look at things in a different way than me and then you got me. Um I'm a old head. I ain't the oldest one up here, but I'm old. Um,
it's like a marriage contract to me. Um, whether you've been married by the priest, the minister, the rabbi, justice of the peace.
When you take those vows, you have a contract. Some people get prenups, but then you have those that you think you going to follow that contract. There's some hidden secrets in that
contract that everybody don't see. I don't believe in hidden secrets and hidden things and contracts. So, this contract may be beautiful and green on the other side, but it hasn't uh
doesn't mean that that contract is going to be what all will want. There might be some hidden things in there and they come back and say, "Well, we thought," and then we have somebody come back and say, "Well, we had
something hidden right here." Um, if it's not broke, it's not fix. If it's to me, if it's not broken, it doesn't need to be fixed. And I understand, Dr. Coffin, that we do have to re visit things um,
including your contract. So, I say that to say I'd like to know why we talking to Luke and not Mr. Bar. Because I know Mr. Bar is the man that's over our facilities and I've known Mr.
Bar for a while and Mr. Bar has always given us um conversations and you know broke things down to us um in ways that we could really really get it. I'm not saying you know some people
would say well you know Dr. coffin. Why would we renew your contract? But we know what's in that contract and we don't have nothing hidden in it. And we tell that to people. We are going to be transparent when it comes down to you and your contract.
But I don't want a contract given to these custodians and these custodians find out there's something else in it. This past Saturday, we were at the board retreat at Wood Creek
and our custodian was cleaning buildings and doing everything. People have a tendency to look down on others. I was raised never to look down on anybody unless I
was picking them up, tying their shoes, helping them. almost had to help a community member if he'd have kept walking up to me today. He wouldn't have liked the way the help was going to be given, but I'd have helped him.
But at the end of the day, this board took great pride in having that custodian there. We made sure we thanked her. We did not look at her like, "Thank you, whatever." even though she may or was supposed to be there, but maybe she
wasn't. But my thing is, like I said just a few minutes ago, contracts, contracts have things. Even as a spouse, you took vows to say you may not wear rollers or you
may not gain no weight, but in there you don't wore them rollers. And I done been without eyelashes and I didn't gain weight. So, I don't believe in changing contracts if they don't need to be changed.
>> Thank you, Miss Smith. Um, Mrs. Hinrich, did you were you next? >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> Oh, go ahead. No, go ahead. >> No, no, go ahead. I I was just looking up. I mean, part of the board packet was uh a lot of the savings was in
consumables and um equipment um that ABM would provide that we would they have a bigger buying power. They're in the they're in the cleaning business. We're in the education business and so they have
better prices on those things. >> Okay. >> Um I'm going to let Mr. Rento and then follow come back to you Mr. Rento. >> Um yeah I think like uh like it's been brought up. I think um you know we are going to lose something. I think my
thought is you know you can't buy culture you know if we could we'd be spending a million dollars a year to get the culture in every single school up to speed. So um there are opportunity costs like you know that have to balance with the financial cost. Um I'm a big
proponent of much and I think it will happen. And I hope that it's sort of a one team mentality. It doesn't really matter where you're getting paid. Um but that the that the our team will participate in the opening day, you know, schools and and work and and and
um you know uh perform task as well as any other employee. I am more concerned about kind of the um you know my is my hesitation
uh would be on they seemed uh the employees are speaking and they do seem to be want to be part of the Farmington Hills family if it was loud and clear and their teachers and their administrator and their building uh are all in support of that. Uh so that kind
of rose me a little bit wrong. Um, also to be honest, it's the the one employee that we're retaining. Um, we're keeping one I believe to reach retirement and then it sort of it's we keeping one but
not all. Um, that doesn't make uh much sense. And then even then the savings I want to ensure uh as I noodle that it doesn't go to I think paying other people like we're you know we're taking pay from one to pay another part of the
organization. So that's sort of where I'm wrestling at. Um it is sort of the opportunity cost you know is it going to be you know I think the actual functions are going to be fine. Again, I do kind of uh I did not think about sort of the policies that another company has
regarding interference dealing with children. You know, I think you had mentioned that however they're in other schools, but um there could be issues there that we're that's unexpected and maybe um maybe we should see with, you know, things that we can control and and and maintain that. So,
>> Mr. So, so my my question is that you know as the savings is from the u from them purchasing the um consumables that has a lot to do with the savings. So I I'm just asking an obvious
question. Why can't that just be in a contract for what it is since we're since they already got our evening crew? Can't they just purchase the consumables if they got the best buying power for us? if they really want our business. I
mean, I'm I'm saying that. So, >> did did you have a response to that? >> Well, I was just going to say about the consumables, I attended one of the sessions at the um uh MASBY annual leadership conference this past fall. There were three small districts, I can't remember what they are in
somewhere else in the state that combined services like that so that they could have those significant savings on on consumables and equipment. Uh so so there is a significant savings by having
this other you know by having ABM purchase and maintain the equipment and their large purchasing power for all the consumables and including supplies and toilet paper and all that you know you wouldn't think so but it it it does make a great difference. >> Yeah. So why can't they do it right now?
I mean I'm just just asking question >> they uh I'm sorry that was one of the the um conditions >> the bids um yes but without the day staff the savings was not as realized >> well maybe you can >> I don't know >> and I think it's just important I think
the whole purpose of having this discussion is that there was uh we when we went out to bid there was uh we found that we could say the district could rec capture $3 million a million dollars per year um by keeping the wages the same,
keeping our same people, keeping them at the length that they care about so much, which we hear all the time, and ensuring um they had benefits and that they didn't have to wait for those. >> So, that's really the decision because the priorities of the board are very
clear as far as what we, you know, we're here for our students and what we do there. And I I believe that every person sitting in this room agrees that we that's our focus. So, it's that's really what it comes down to. >> I think that that is um a great sort of
thing to land on is a um a thought with with with students in mind. Uh I think we ought to call the question. >> Well, actually this is discussion and we have public comments come up as >> Thank you for that. Thank you for that.
Is there any further discussion? So then we will end this conversation and we will move on to our next public comment period. Is there any public comment? >> Haley, you're going to go first. >> And is that Skylar? >> Yeah.
>> Skyler, you're second. >> I remember you. Um, >> so we're going to have same rules. I think you were here earlier, so we can just get to it. We're going to have Haley first, Skyler, and then Constance
will be next. Uh, when you're ready. >> I am presenting this information to provide context surrounding our concern for the out for the outsourcing of our custodial staff. This is a shortened version of an email that each of the board miss board members have received.
I would like to point out that the only major factor that changed between your previously failed custodial contracts and the current hybrid model featuring what has been considered a significant improvement of staff satisfaction is this plan involves Farmington Public School in-house custodians. Our efforts
and personal investment in our schools are being used as an appealing point to bolster ABM's own perception of competence and mistakenly are not attributing this success to the hybrid model as a whole that we as the FBS custodial trailblazers work diligently
to turn around. ABM has stated that they will match our current pay rate and that they provide benefits packages. This has misled some of the board to think that the only thing that would differ between our current circumstances is that we would lose our title and our pride as FPS employees. As much as I hold that
Farmington pride within me, I cannot financially afford to place my greatest concern with my title. ABM as well as all third party models would that have been considered provided less substantial benefits and will cost me out of pocket to invest in them. Essentially, I would be taking a pay cut
in order to attempt to meet the standard that FPS provides to me. An unemployment officer would consider this downgrade in benefits an unsuitable transition of unemployment due to lack of comparable quality of life. ABM is currently facing staffing shortages and cannot employ enough staff through your buildings as
is. A considerable amount of their staff are actually FPS employees during the day. The folks who presented the vote the proposal to have an all thirdparty custodians have not provided answers as to how they intend to continue to employ these uh current FPS employees under the
exclusive employment of ABM. Speaking frankly, there is no way a third party intends to pay the overtime that would be necessary for ABM to provide if the staff that is currently working both jobs were compensated with overtime necessary to cover these shifts. This does not even consider the ramifications
of the FP FPS and custodians who will choose to seek work elsewhere because of this potential decision. I hope by presenting this information it offers insight as to why there has been so much outcry regarding your consideration of a full third party. I understand it is a necessary part of the process, but this
process was not known to us until we were on the brink of losing our employment with Farmington Public Schools. I hope these points remind you to envision the decline in quality of the services you currently receive. I am entirely confident that a decision to fully outsource again will result in the exact same scenarios you were faced with
when dealing with previous third party companies. I would like to highlight the decision you are making is one that considers the sense of safety, safety, community, and consistency that we provide and the futures of the lives we impact and are worth investing in. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Skyler. Hello. Uh, I don't have a speech. I just wanted to go over something. Um, when I started this job, we have two options for our retirement. You can pick, you know, as much as you work here, you can take that with you wherever, or there's
the plan where you have to work 10 years for a school district. So, knowing that we've already replaced our Farmington custodians before, I asked multiple times with multiple of my different bosses to figure out like, so if this tenure plan, it's great, but we've
already replaced all our custodians before, and if I lose my job, I won't be able to carry that unless I find another school job. And they assured me we would never make that same mistake over and over and over. And I just kind of feel like a fool for setting myself up for a 10-year
plan when there was a four-year plan that none of us were even aware of. And it's really changed my entire life. So, thank you. >> Thank you. Um, Constance McKenzie, if there's anyone else who wants to make a
public comment, please let us know. Good evening board members and thank you for taking the time to listen to all of our concerns and we really appreciate it. I had um I had someone to send in a email for me because I didn't have access and I just want to know that
everyone received that synopsis that I that I sent in and I have the hard copies I'd like you to have because I invested money in to make sure you had these pictures. Uh I keep hearing about money that that's the issue. Okay. Farmington community is a good strong
community with good bones. Very good bones. Enough reputation, good reputation to get money from any place and every place. I used to do um fundraising and I also work for uh a late Senator Dave Holm's wife and
there's tons of foundations that would gladly give you money based on your reputation. You got a school. You got a You got a house sitting on on 11 Mile Road just east just east of uh of um
It's on 11 It's on 11 mile just east of Farmington. That's that that one building speaks volumes to who you are. This is where descendants of slaves, that's their home. That was their home. You have a you have a street named named
Freedom Road that was a part of the Underground Railroad where safe haven there's corporations like Burroughs Burroughs Foundation Kresky Foundation they will gladly give you whatever money that you need it. So if this is just about money or you needing money
the money's there all you have to do is ask for it. Everyone is saying about the salaries and the guarantees and all that, but once that door is closed, you can't control what people do. Once your
custodians are out of your control, you can't control it. They can say anything they want to say to you, but that doesn't mean they have to honor it. They can come up with all kinds of excuses why they could not honor it. The custodians that I've worked with, it's not about the money. It's about
belonging to the district. They want to remain employees of the district. So if you need me to go on the road and try to drum up some money, I've got a lot of experience in that and I'll be glad to do it. They don't want to move to
another company. That's the issue. So I'd like to give you these these documents that I invested in so that you can have them. And I really really really please
think about the microphone. >> I thank you. But it's not about the money. It's about feeling like you belong to the to a to a cause you bought in on. And when I made the application, there was no contingency clause in my application. There's nothing in my
application that said within two years cuz that's all I've been here that you're going to have to um be sourced out. >> Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Um
is it uh Harold Dmack? >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> Hello. But I just like to uh say one thing about my co-workers. I couldn't pick a better group of people to work with.
I've been doing this type of work for 50ome years. I've worked with four different districts and Farmington district has been one of the best districts I ever worked for.
I know that you come together to plan and work things out. I know politics and numbers are big in the equation. But when you stop and look at your district, starting with administration,
starting with the schools, the principles teachers students parents community, and you stop and watch the decisions have been made over the years. Some schools was a blessing to the
district. It created multitudes of greatness. Harrison, which is no longer here. Farmington produced stars from all walks of life.
North, same thing. Each one of our middle schools on this board, our kids are booming. Every custodian you see in here participate in every child in every
school. We work with the teachers, the parents, the coaches, sports program, soccer hockey golf, football baseball track swimming
chess games, tournaments. We break down, set up every school. I work in Mikeville now. I come to work every day at 6:15. I get up at 4 with my mind set on my
job. I honor and respect leadership. I look to fulfill my part. I don't wait for somebody to ask me fulfill my part. I have a servitude attitude.
My co-workers I work with, all of them have the same type of attitude. Each and every last one would get a phone call to come in 3:00, 4:00 to move four or five inches of snow.
When most of the teachers, administrators, you guys asleep, we are in the storm. We got sent home 2016, 17, 18, 19. We went south.
>> Thank you. >> Subsidized. I just want to say this. We went back and we lost. We came back and got thrown in the fire when CO came.
>> We built these schools and brought these schools back up for everybody to come back. >> Thank you, Mr. Mack. And now we we are here. Thank you. >> We appreciate your comments. Thank you. Is there any further public comment?
Is there any further public comment? Seeing no further public comment, we will move on to action items. The first item is uh the marching band uniforms. And as a reminder, uh let me get to it.
Um, these are marching band uniforms for both Farmington and North Farmington High School. Uh, we had some questions uh at our last meeting, one of which was to get some feedback from students. Um, that was delivered in your board packet.
I'm really happy uh to announce that the uh students at North Farmington were very pleased with the design um and there was overwhelming positivity. And I was really happy too that they interviewed eighth graders as well. So those are the students that are going to
get the most use out of um those um uniforms. So with that, we will entertain a motion. >> Mrs. Hinrich. >> I move that the board of education approve the purchase of new marching band uniforms for Farmington High School
and North Farmington High School from Deullan Brothers and Company at a total cost of $258,825.70 utilizing consortium pricing. >> Support. >> Motion made by Mrs. Hinrich, supported
by Mr. Walker to approve the purchase of new marching band uniforms at a total cost of $258,825.70 using consortium pricing. Is there discussion? Seeing no, may we have a roll call vote, please? >> Mr. Hall? >> Yes.
>> Mr. Walker? >> Yes. >> Miss Hinrich? >> Yes. >> Mr. Rinto? >> Yes. >> Miss Smith? >> Yes. >> I myself am yes. Miss Wink, >> I'm a yes. That motion passes. Thank you. Next is the struct structured cabling recommendation which was also
presented at our meeting on February 24th. >> Mrs. Hinrich, >> I move that the board of education approve the award of the structured cabling contract to complete interactive technologies incorporated CIT in the
amount of $56,3360. This project will be funded by the 2020 bond as presented. >> Support motion made by Mrs. Heinrich, supported by Mrs. Smith to approve the award of the structured cabling contract to complete interactive technologies in
the amount of $56,33.60 to be funded by the 2020 bond. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, may we have a roll call vote, please? >> Yes. Mr. Hall? >> Yes. >> Mr. Walker? >> Yes. >> Uh, Miss Hinrich? Yes, >> Mr. Vicinto. >> Yes, >> Miss Smith.
>> Yes, >> I myself am a yes. President Williams, >> I'm a yes. That motion passes. Thank you. The next one is the network electronics recommendation, which was also presented at our 2020 our uh February 24th meeting.
Mrs. Henry, >> I move that the board of education authorize the purchase and installation of network electronics from Delta Networking Services in the amount of $79,42.99. This project will be funded by the 2020 bond as presented.
>> Support motion made by Mrs. Hinrich, supported by Mrs. Smith to authorize the purchase and installation of network electronics from Delta Networking Services in the amount of $79,42.99 to be funded by the 2020 bond. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, may we have
a roll call vote again, please? >> Yes. Mr. Hall? >> Yes. >> Mr. Walker? >> Yes. >> Miss Hinrich? >> Yes. >> Miss Mr. Rosento, sorry. >> Yes. >> Miss Smith, >> yes. >> I myself a yes. Miss Williams, >> I'm I am a yes. Thank you. That motion
passes. Uh, the next item is the custodial bid recommendation. Mr. Motion, Mrs. Heinrich, >> I move that the board approve entering into a contract with ABM Educational Services LLC to implement a fullervice custodial cleaning services model with
ABM responsible for staffing all daytime, afternoon, and evening custodial services position with the exception of one AM custodian position to be retained by Farmington Public Schools. and with the ABM responsible for the cost of custodial equipment and
consumable income cleaning supplies in accordance with the resolution form of contract as presented to the board and wave the reading of the resolution support
>> motion made by Mrs. Heinrich supported by Mrs. Smith to enter into a contract with ABM to implement a full service custodial cleaning services model uh with ABM responsible for staffing all daytime afternoon and evening with the
exception of one AM custodial position to be retained and with ABM responsible for the cost of custodial equipment and consumables. Um is there any discussion? I just want to say one thing for for me. Um and and it kind of came up tonight
and it hit me. Um closing Harrison High School was the hardest decision I've ever had to make. And I remember sitting at North Farmington on stage with tears in my eyes because that was extremely
difficult. And uh I knew we lost something great with Harrison. Harrison had a spirit. It was a special school. Um, kids like
got along like you I've never seen anything like it. We lost something when we closed Harrison High School. There's no doubt in my mind about it. At the same time, if I had to vote again,
I don't know that I could vote to keep a school open um to keep that even even to keep that spirit. Um I ju you know um I just it is was and I
don't know that that's the right answer but um I I I wish we could figure out how to keep some of the intangibles that we know that um are impacted um in decisions like this if this is something
that gets approved by the board. Uh, with that, um, may we have a roll call vote, please? Oh, yes. >> Just just I just want to make sure, of course, >> for this, um, motion because it's three motions and I want to make sure that I understand what I'm Yes.
>> what we have. Thank you. >> So, so is this what So, what we moved on was the full hybrid. I mean, not the full hybrid, the full outsourcing. >> Yes. >> Okay. And that the uh >> with the exception of one person
>> except for one person and and and um ABM for >> the consumables >> consum got okay >> yes m >> Mrs. uh >> yes yes okay >> Mr. Hall >> no
>> Mr. Walker >> no >> Miss Hinrich >> yes >> Mr. Reninto, >> no. >> Miss Smith, >> no. >> I myself am a no. Miss Williams, >> I'm a yes. >> Thank you. >> Motion does not pass. Is there another
motion? >> Yes, Mrs. Hinrich. I move that the board approve entering into a contract with ABM Educational Services LLC to implement a hybrid custodial cleaning model utilizing Farmington Public Schools staff for daytime custodial
services and ABM staff for afternoon and evening services with Farmington Public Schools responsible for the cost of custodial equipment and custoable and complete and cleaning supplies and according to the resolution and form of contract as presented. presented to the
board and wave the reading of the resolution. >> Support. >> Motion made by Mrs. Hinrich, supported by Mr. Walker to approve entering into a contract with ABM Education Services to implement
a hybrid >> hybrid custodial cleaning model utilizing Farmington Public Schools staff for daytime custodial services and ABM staff for afternoon and evening services with Farmington Public Schools.
No, that's the wrong one. >> Yeah, >> we would pay the consumables. savings if we got the other >> with the okay with Farmington Public Schools responsible for the cost of custodial equipment and consumable and cleaning supplies in accordance with the
resolution and form of contract as presented to the board. Is there any discussion? I have uh a question. Earlier it was it was mentioned that there was this form that was presented with them paying the consumables but that was removed because we didn't think
that the cost savings was negligible. >> No, they didn't. We had to um the only one where they offered to pay the consumables was the full >> was the full >> was the full model. We had we had three we had three options. We had the hybrid
model. We had ABM supplying the labor and we would supply the consumables and then we had ABM supplying everything labor and consumables. >> I feel like there was a fourth one. This one this wasn'ted. >> It would have cost us more. >> It would have cost us more to do it that way. Okay.
>> We took it off. >> Okay. >> So, >> what uh I'm sorry. Can I just ask what is the difference between option one and two? Two is fully outsourced with us maintaining uh the equipment. >> What is the difference between two and
three? >> Three is fully outsourced with uh ABM having all of the materials and uh consumables and the equipment. >> Repeat that. >> Two and three are fully outsourced. Option one is keeping the current hybrid
and us keeping the uh consumable. >> I see. Okay. Okay. Uh Mrs. Smith. >> Can you repeat that one again? The first one was to um keep everything as it is >> and FPS pay the consumables
>> which we do right now. >> Which we do right now. So keep everything as it is. >> And so these last two are to resource them out. >> Correct. >> Okay. >> And so the option to outsource the consumables resulted in a higher price. >> Correct.
>> Gotcha. Okay. Thank you. And that's why this is not here. Okay. >> Mrs. Hinrich, did you have discussion? >> No, I just >> every make sure everyone's on the same page.
>> Um, roll. Yep. >> Um Um, >> you do want more discussion. >> I just want to make sure that because there's three of them here and I just want to make sure I'm not saying the wrong one. So, >> so this one keeps everything as it is. >> Okay. Everything as it is. Yes.
>> So, this one, what we're doing now is keeping everything as it is. >> Correct. >> Correct. Okay. >> The one that we're voting on now. >> Correct. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Mr. Wal. >> Yes. >> Miss Hinrich. >> Yes.
>> Mr. Rento. >> Yes. >> Miss Smith. >> Yes. >> I myself am I Yes. >> Yes. That motion passes. All right, we are um moving on to our next agenda item which is the consent agenda.
I move to approve the consent agenda. A approval of minutes. Number one, February 24th, 2026 regular meeting. Number two, March 2nd, 2026, finance facility committee meeting. And
three, March 7th, 2026 board retreat. >> Support. >> Motion made by Mrs. Heinrich and supported by Mr. Walker to approve the consent agenda. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, uh, all in favor? >> Any opposed? Any abstensions? That
motion passes. Are there any reports from board representatives? Mrs. Heinrich. Um, Oakland County Schoolboard Association, uh, next meeting is March 18th. The deadline to register is tomorrow. Um, the program is AI, bring your own device. Um, let Colleen know if
you want to attend. >> Thank you. Any other reports? >> Could I'm sorry. Could you repeat when that was again, please? >> Um, it's March 18th. So, it's a week from tomorrow. It's a Wednesday. >> So, it's dinner. You have to let Colleen know what you want for dinner
>> and let her know before tomorrow. >> And you have to bring a computer. >> You don't have to bring your computer. You bring your own >> device. Own device. >> You can bring a phone or an iPad. >> You're right. Sorry. >> Your mini computer. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. >> All right. Any other uh reports? Seeing
none, we are now joined.