There's my money. >> We'd like to call this meeting to order. Today is Monday, October 13th. We welcome and appreciate your presence at this meeting of the Grand Rapids Public Schools Board of Education. We respectfully request that you turn you
turn off cellular phones and refrain from clapping, cheering, or making audible comments. We invite you to make formal public comment during the designated time on the agenda. This includes agenda items and non-aggenda items. To do so, please
fill out the comment card and place it in the designated collection bin or submit it to the board assistant or public safety officer. We do have a change in public comment cards. We now have an orange colored
card for students specifically. That way we don't miss a student and they will stand out a little bit for us. I'm going to ask that all public comment cards be turned in um by the start of our celebration
portion of the agenda. That's item four on our agenda. And at this time, I would like um to ask Trusty Rodriguez to take the role. Thank you.
All right. Uh, Trusty Williams, >> present. >> Trusty Williamson, >> present. >> Trusty Davis, >> present. >> Trusty Kilpatrick, >> present. >> Trusty Melton, >> present. >> Trusty Moreno, >> present. >> Trusty Rodriguez, I am here. VP Wade,
>> present. >> President Davis, >> here. All right, we have a quorum. >> Do I have a motion to approve the agenda? >> So moved. >> Second. >> All in favor say I. >> I. >> Any opposed?
>> Motion carries. >> And at this time, I would like to ask Trusty Rodriguez to read us into close session, please. >> Yes. >> All right. I move that the board go into close session for the purpose of a strategy and negotiation session connected with the negotiations of
various collective bargaining groups at the request of the superintendent as permitted by the open meetings act section 81C. Do I have a motion for that? >> You're the motion. Do we have a second support?
>> All right. Thank you for that. Trusty Williams. >> Yes. >> Trusty Williamson. >> Yes. >> Trusty Davis. Yes. >> Trusty Kilpatrick. >> Yes. >> Trusty Melton. >> Yes. >> Trusty Moreno. >> Yes. >> Trusty Rodriguez. Yes. BP Wade. >> Yes.
>> President Davis. >> Yes. >> That passes. >> All right. We will move into close session. Um again, please have public comment cards turned in by the start of our celebration portion of the agenda. Public comment. Please get those in the
bin. Julie is going to get the last public comment cards and we will move into our celebrations for tonight. Good evening. And so if we can invite Mr. Dan Vanill um our director of fine
arts to come forward to talk about smart art and our scholar awardees. All right. Hello, President Buchek, Dr. Roby, other members of the board. Uh thanks for
giving us the time to celebrate uh Smart Art, our 2025 Smart Art uh award competition or art competition. Um Smart Art, this is uh a contest that began in 2013. Um this is so year 12 of this contest.
Uh it's a partnership with the Grand Rapids public schools consumers energy and art prize. Scholar artwork explores themes of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and environmental conservation. Um, when students are invited to the
competition, they were in grades 9 through 12 or 9 through 11 because the award, uh, wasn't given until the following school year when the competition started. So, uh, this represents work in multiple mediums. Uh, this year we had over 43 p
or 43 pieces submitted, uh, which is something we're really excited about. And it went through two rounds of adjudication. Uh one internal round and then an external round and um we had some uh external judges that were involved in the final decision.
Um I also want to welcome to the dis uh Mr. Nate Henchel. He's the uh consumer's energy community affairs manager and he's going to say a couple things about our partnership this year. Thank you Mr. Vanill and thank you all for having us here tonight. uh this is always an
incredible opportunity to see what your student scholars put forth as their work and it's always so uh I think encouraging to see how they want to see the world and how they think about it and I really just uh commend you all and the students who are able to um
participate this year and really thank you for your partnership. I know Mr. Vanill really puts in a lot of hours on this um and so do other staff members throughout the district. Um it's just a very neat opportunity and a really special thanks out of our prize as well.
I know um you think about the competition to involve the students, it's a really uh impactful opportunity and congratulations to Elliot, all of the award winners, like I said, if uh you have an opportunity, I think it was on the screen, but to review the artwork, it really is incredible. Um,
and we're just so thankful for this partnership and appreciate you all. Um, we also have some jurors to thank. We had Nick Antinakis from Grand Rapids Community College. He's a professor of drawing and painting there. Monk Duncan uh for the Center for Community Transformation. He's a creative
engagement curator. And then Mallerie Shotwell, who was with Art Prize, but is now more generally a community organizer and artist. Uh those were our three external adjudicators. And uh it's my pleasure to kind of show you the top three. This is uh very exciting. Uh in third place, we had
Somaya Alfred, an 11th grader at Innovation Central High School. Uh her art teacher is Carolyn Hints. Uh Olivia Phillips, a 10th grader at Southwest Middle School, and her uh teacher is Shelvin Cocker. And then uh really honored to have Elliot Williamson, our
first place winner. Um she's a student, a 12th grade student at City High Middle School and her um teacher is Megan Whittle. I want you guys to join me and uh giving Elliot a round of applause for her accomplishment. [Applause]
Um Consumers Energy is very generous annually in their prize giving. Uh the third place winner won an iPad, um a great Meyer uh gift certificate, and of course an Apple Pencil with that iPad. Uh the second uh place winner won a uh
MacBook Air um and also uh other great prizes. And then Elliot also won a MacBook Air plus a $2,000 uh college or trade school scholarship uh which were really just very grateful for Consumers Energy for that um those generous prize
categories. I wanted to give Elliot an opportunity to say something to you guys or if you had any questions for her about her work. Um, well, this has just been such a great experience. JRPS art students don't have many opportunities like this and there was so many amazing
submissions. So, I just feel honored to have my art recognized and be able to spread awareness of a global issue through my artwork. >> Great. >> Yeah, great job. >> Great job. Thank you. >> Congratulations. >> Elliot, if you feel comfortable, can you explain a little bit about your piece?
>> Yeah. So I wanted to incorporate the three main renewable energy sources which are wind, solar and hydro power. And so most of those are towards the top of my art piece that are fueling the light bulb. And I also wanted to focus on a brighter future for the earth. So
that's kind of the representation of the light bulb. I also used recycled wood to continue to focus on the environmental aspect of it and helping the earth. Elliot, is this an engraving? >> It's wood burning.
>> Wood burning. Yes. Thank you. >> Awesome. Thank you so much. Congratulations. >> Thank you. [Applause] >> Our next um celebration is the Jean
Hamilton Cop Teachers of the Year Award. And um for our audience, this is a very distinguished award. Miss Hamilton Culp was a kindergarten teacher in our district for many many years and um
dedicated kindergarten teacher at Huff Elementary. And she after she retired, she continued to invest in young people. She tutored and um worked very closely with children. Every year we have the
opportunity um her family comes up and gives a little overview of who Miss Hamilton Cop was and we actually have a quick PowerPoint related to that. So, if I can have the
cope family come on up was here. Welcome. Welcome. Let's give them a round of applause. [Music] [Applause]
>> And welcome Mrs. Miss Andrews. Oh, sorry. Sorry. Hi, I'm Lori Cob Grant. Can you hear me? Thank you little. Oh, okay. Anyway, and this is my husband, Mark Grant. We live in Irvine, California, but I grew up here. I went
to Forest Hills. Don't hold it against me. I just lived out on the river with my mom. My mom, uh, Jean Hamilton Cope, taught kindergarten at Huff, as you said, Dr. movie uh for not sure how long but almost 30 we think years. Um and we
were teachers kids. She started doing that in early 60s. So I was like 11 years old or something. My older brother David is sitting back there. Um four kids in the family, single mom like I said, but she was one of those um she was just born to be a teacher. I mean
her dad had been a superintendent of schools. It was like in her blood. her mother taught. I don't even know what level, but it was just really in her blood. And she never really intended to become a teacher. Well, no, that's not true. She got her degree from Michigan
in early childhood education, but she just wanted to be a mom. And so, four children and then my father decided to started start a new life somewhere else. Um, so she thankfully had her degree and the Huff School needed a teacher and she
stayed there and loved every minute of it. She truly was one of those teachers who heart and soul. And so when Mark and I retired almost 11 years ago, um we, you know, had to think about how
do we how do we want to use our not that we're loaded with money or anything, but you know, how do we what do we want to do with our money and our time now that we don't have to work anymore? And my first thought was, how can I somehow honor my mom and honor teachers?
Um because you know growing up as a teacher's kid, you're very aware of how much incred the incredible amount of work it is, how much dedication it takes, what it looks like when a teacher burns out. Um I don't believe she ever
did, but she, you know, it was hard work. She had two two classes as kindergarten teachers do. I remember at least one year, probably more, where she had two classes of 37 kids each. And um I was asking Chris behind me what the
caps are on class size these days and he explained it's kind of varies different situations but you know that's handwriting. I remember her hand printing out report cards and you know laboriously writing lots of detailed comments about kids and
all the followup and all the stuff that your teachers know about and have to do but it was just in her heart. Um, so that was just something we decided we wanted to do. So I approached somebody, I don't know, four or five
years ago, I don't know, um, here at DRPS to see if you needed some money to endow some kind of a an award for teachers to to honor teachers like my mom had been. Um, so that's where this came from. And so I've been working with
Stephanie and um, Dr. Roby and it's just a pleasure for us to come back every year and travel here from California. We still have some family here. Um, and to be able to meet the three new the three new people each year. So,
>> that's why we're here. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Now, I don't have the details on me about each person. Sorry. No, it's okay. We'll we will introduce and then play a short video on Kim Bradford from North Park Monastery,
Heather Lewis, CA Frost, Ele Environmental Science Academy, and Christopher Woods, Southwest Middle School, Academia, Bilingua. That's great. >> Think of a recent problem or challenge that you faced. Let's do the weather.
You remembered it was backwards. Nice job. >> Mr. Woods stands out in many ways. >> Let's head up to Miss Skip's room. Okay. >> If nothing, she is dedicated to her craft. >> All good. [Music] >> Experts believe that around 5,300 years
ago, >> Miss Lewis is a little bit quirky and a lot of fun. She loves the students with all her heart. >> Way in the Stone Ages. I love the teaching. I love the content. But what I really like is the relationship that I can create with children.
>> She is a lifelong educator who has grown and honed her skills every year she's been teaching. >> Excellent. I call it the art of teaching and I love the art of teaching. We talk about the perspectives that those textbooks don't because every voice is important, just not the winning voice.
What season is this? >> She dives deep and gets to know each of her scholars almost like a parent. My favorite thing to do is figure out what barriers my students are facing and help remove those barriers so that they can live a happy life.
>> Really make this the best learning environment not just for our kids but also for all of our kids here at our park. >> Can you come up here and touch the day? The moment when you've been working on something with a student and they needed support, needed support, needed support, and then the one day when they just do it with no help at all and then you're
like, "Oh my gosh, they did it. They did it. And what do they do? >> He's very outgoing, very creative. >> They come in and they hit here and they bounce, but it's curved, right? Being a teacher at Southwest is incredible privilege. That rectangle's been rotated
which ways clockwise to really help these kids be ready for the opportunities in the future. >> He's visible and he's here to support in any kind of way, not just the classroom. >> I can remember learning from so many great teachers when when I was that young teacher. It is truly important
that we keep great leaders in the classroom for other teachers to lean on, to rely on, and to see. >> You just don't know yet. She does everything she can for every one of those students to be successful. She connects with them. Really, your slide
is 67. In fact, I'm embracing 67 in my room. I printed out a picture of LeBron James with a bunch of hearts behind it with 67. It's those fun little things that make education just so exciting. It's just so amazing to feel seen as a
teacher in Salt Lake. The main reason why we do what we do is for the students, for the moments, for those things like that. >> So this to hear would be there's a lot of kids that really want to learn. And when a kid says, "Hey, Mr. Woods, I figured this out." And and battles
through something that they struggled with. Makes all the difference. >> Mr. Woods, congratulations. This is more than deserving for you. an equation with a what in it. >> She's going to leave a legacy not just with the scholars that she's seen over the last decades of service, but also
having a a beautiful legacy of a family tree of staff who have learned from her. >> She's been a phenomenal educator for years. I've only known her for eight weeks and I can already see that about her. Congratulations for building a
wonderful, legendary teaching career with students who love and have grown under your care. [Music]
[Applause] There we go. It is our pleasure to invite our teachers of the year up to the stage to collect their award and their gifts and also have a moment to have a photograph
with our board of education. >> And as our teachers of the year are making their way forward, I want to make sure that our audience also hears just how phenomenal they are. So I have just a couple of summaries for each teacher
if I can certainly share those. um elementary teacher Kim Bradford Bradford, excuse me, at North Park Monasuri. Kim serves as a special education teacher at North Park Monasuri where she leads the self-contained classroom for scholars with autism
spectrum disorder or ASD. She joined GRPS in 2006. Known for going above and beyond, Kim creates a learning environment that balances structure, care, and opportunity. Working closely with her classroom team, Miss Bradford
ensures that her scholars engage in school experiences that mirror the education of all North Park scholars each day. She integrates real life um skill development into daily instruction while also collaborating with her colleagues to incorporate monastery
materials and practices into her classroom whenever possible. Her leadership extends beyond the classroom. She actively fosters a culture of inclusion across the school by promoting opportunities for meaningful connections and friendships between her scholars and
the wider school community. Through her dedication, innovation, and commitment to inclusion, Miss Bradford exemplifies the monastery philosophy of educating the whole child while championing championing equity and belonging for
every scholar. So, let's congratulate Miss Kim Bradford. [Applause]
Our next honore is Miss Heather Lewis from CA Frost Environmental Middle High School. Heather Lewis is a social studies teacher at CA Frost Environmental Science Middle School where she exemplifies excellence in teaching and learning by consistently going above and beyond for her scholars.
She joined GRPS in 1996. She is known for creating innovative immersive experiences that bring social studies to life. Her classroom transforms into societies with functioning economies, governmental decisions, and daily
opportunities for critical thinking. She provides culturally affirming instruction that highlights multiple perspectives and ensures all voices are represented throughout history. Her high expectations are paired with engaging lessons that keep scholars actively
involved from bell to bell, supported by strong routines and clear communication. In the past year, Heather has given scholars opportunities to shine on national and district stages. She guided scholars in the national brochure
competition which won it with one advancing all the way to the nationals and coached her class in the district court writing competition where the top three winners were all from CA frost. These experiences amplified scholar voice and showcased their skills and
creativity beyond the classroom. Miss Lewis regularly brings in guest speakers, organizes numerous field trips, and leads the middle school section of youth in government. She facilitates both middle and high school youth and government and holds we the people congressional hearings in the
spring for eighth graders. She maintains strong family partnerships through newsletters, phone calls, individual emails, and by welcoming parents as chaperones. Through her innovation, high standards, and dedication to scholar success, Miss Lewis has become the
cornerstone of CA Frost community. Let's congratulate Miss Heather Lewis. And from our high school division, we'd like to honor and recognize Mr. Christopher Woods from Southwest Middle High School Academma Balingu.
Christopher Woods is a mathematics teacher at Southwest Middle High School, Academia, Belingu, where he is widely recognized for his unwavering commitment to scholars, families, colleagues, and the school community. He has more than 25 years of teaching experience joining
GRPS in 2020. Chris loves to find creative ways to inspire students, especially by adding STEM to every classroom and making STEM accessible to families at home. He believes that STEM will is not a class
that we teach. It's a culture that we build. In the classroom, Mr. Woods provides high-quality instruction while offering individualized support to ensure every scholar has the tools, encouragement, and confidence needed to succeed both academically and
personally. His passion for teaching extends beyond academics as he works intentionally to build strong relationships with families and colleagues, fostering collaborative and supportive school environments. As a member of the instructional leadership team or ILT, he helps guide schoolwide
decision-making and instructional improvement with scholar centered with a scholar- centered focus. He serves as the school's technology coordinator, supporting staff, students, and families in navigating an everchanging digital landscape. His leadership in STEM
education further highlights his innovative approach as he inspires scholars to engage in critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving while exploring future career pathways. Beyond his teaching and leadership roles, he
was a member of the 2017 2018 Michigan Department of Michigan Department of Education teacher leadership advisory council. He also wrote the book Daily STEM: How to create a STEM culture in your classroom and communities. He
shares free STEM resources on his website daily.com and at daily STEM on for his social media. He is the host of STEM Everyday podcast. Let's give a congratulations to
Mr. Christopher Lant. [Applause] >> And if we can invite our board members to take a picture with our honores. You guys keep sliding in.
All right, everybody ready? >> Three, two, one. [Applause] [Music] Thank you so much. >> Oh, no. >> I'm sharing that with my kids.
>> So, you turn it on >> and then press play or pause. Thank you. >> Thank you for being with us. >> Thank you. >> Okay, we will move into our public comment portion of the agenda.
>> We will be reducing the time to two minutes tonight. >> All right. So uh there's one public comment section on the uh meeting agenda tonight which accommodates both agenda and non-aggenda items. Each comment period is limited to
a maximum of two minutes. Individuals are kindly requested to fully complete the front of the comment card and indicate the topics they wish to address. Um if you're a scholar enrolled in Grand Rapids public schools, I guess for future uh record, please fill out the
golden colored card. Uh completed card should be submitted in the designated bin. We ask the speakers refrain from making abusive or disrespectful statements about board members, employees, volunteers, or contractors. Should you have a complaint regarding a specific board member, employee, volunteer, contractor, please utilize
the appropriate process outlined in board policy 9450. Speakers will be invited to address the board one at a time. Before beginning your comment, please clearly state your full name for the official minutes. Um, I'll monitor the time uh with this nice big timer
right here. um ensuring each speaker adheres to the allotted time limit today, which is 2 minutes. You'll be asked to conclude your comments promptly when your time has expired. Board members do not respond during public comment. All concerns will be forwarded to the appropriate staff for consideration. We value your input
tonight and thank you for sharing with us. >> Okay, we have three student comments, so I will call them forward first. Um it will be Grant followed by Unice and then Harper. So
Grant, you can come on up. I don't think he's here. >> Jose, can they see the timer? >> Unice Lron and Harper Vanderowen.
Um, hi. I'm here today to talk about dean transportation and the experience my choir and band had last year. >> Just excuse me. Sorry, Harper. Speak into the microphone or can we have someone do a microphone check to make sure it's live? >> Can you hear me? >> Yeah, that's better. Okay. Yeah.
>> You're Harper, correct? >> Yep. >> Okay. >> I'm here today to talk about Dean Transportation and the experience my choir and band had last week. The CA Frost choir was scheduled to sing the national anthem and the band was
performing the halftime show for middle school football. First, one of the two buses that was supposed to pick us up was half an hour late. They didn't let us know. They didn't let us or our choir teacher know. Second,
when it was time for us to go, one of our buses had no driver. We start school at 8:00 a.m. and by this time it was 8:00 p.m. We were all tired and cold and wanted to go home again. No communication. We ended up all having to go on one bus back to school.
What we need is for Dean to communicate with us. Even if a bus is stuck in traffic and might just be 10 minutes late, we need them to properly communicate with us. Thank you, Unice, [Applause]
and Grant. If you're here, come on down. >> Good evening. I'm Ununice Lron. Uh good evening to board members and everyone. I'm Ununice Lebron, a very proud parent of GRPS
um because of my children who attended and graduated from GRPS. I'm also a grandparent and great parent to my grandchildren who is attending GRPS. I love GRPS. My older children had a great great teachers who which they
attended when they was at GRPS. Now here comes my great grandchildren. The problem is now with the teachers leaving, we have great teachers um at the school they attending right now. and if these teachers leave um what happened
to my children, you know, if they leave our district. Um I love our district, but also I I would like to say that I would like um for the teachers to get paid enough so they wouldn't have to leave our district and they could stay
and our children would be there and have the teachers that they needed to pull them through um through graduation. Um, please save our teachers and their families. I'm asking by giving them the pay they deserve. They want to be there
for our children, but how can they when they cannot afford to take care of their family? They cannot afford to keep their homes. Please save our teachers. We cannot afford to have any more of our great teachers leaving to go to other district.
Please, what about our children? If you care about them, you would care about our teachers. I just want us to save our teachers by giving them the pay that they deserve. Thank you. [Applause]
>> Okay, Matt Marlo, followed by Jane Neman. Looks like Matt is not here. >> Go ahead, Jane. >> Good evening, Madam Superintendent, members of the board. You may have
noticed that there were more people in the audience before you went to close session. This was symbolic of what teachers have been experiencing and how they feel about our current negotiation situation with no calendar
and no contracts. We have come here. We have spoken to you. We have asked you to listen and we feel that we are not being heard. And what happens when people are treated poorly, paid poorly and are not listened to? They walk out. And that was
the action that took place tonight. Educators walked out because they feel that you have walked out on them and have not heard them. Negotiations have been going on for a very long time and we have yet to have a single agreement
signed. It is time to act. There is no more reason to delay. The state budget has been passed. You finally have some fund funding and additional at that. So we would appreciate it at the next bargaining session or mediation session
that what has happened be reflected. It has been very frustrating to deal with a lawyer from Trune. Stories are constantly changing. One minute we agree on something, the next minute we don't. It needs to be clear and organized. And there needs to be no more wishy-washy
talk and language. We need a contract. We deserve a contract. And we would like to have one now. Thank you. [Applause] Berget Rizala followed by Michelle Elber.
Can you hear me? Okay. My name is Brigita Rascala and I started working for GRPS 28 years ago. I've always been a defender of our district, my district. This is where I grew up. This is where I chose to send
my own kids. This is where my mom was a teacher and where she retired from. I love the choices GRPS has to offer. I love the opportunities provided by the athletic programs from elementary to middle to high school. I love the diversity in our district. I love my
current colleagues and my past colleagues. GRPS teachers work hard, very hard. When I talk to teachers from other districts, it is obvious that we have less planning time and less support. We work hard and we are tired. But we get up every day
and do it all over again. Many of us feel that we can never do enough. Even though we try so hard to do it all, we just can't. If you aren't a teacher, you cannot understand what it is like to be on all day long from the time you walk through the door to when the bell rings
and you say goodbye to your students for the day. Then you go back to your room with so many tasks to complete. But your brain is so tired that sometimes you just walk around aimlessly. Every day you are on all day long. Despite my love for our district, I feel
betrayed. Betrayed by something that I have given so much to. betrayed by something that I always defend. I researched some salary schedules. If I were in Kentwood right now, I would make 12,000 more. If I were in Forest Hills,
I would make 11,000 more. If I were in Granville, I would make 18,000 more. If I were in North View, I would make 8,000 more. Do I wish I were working in these other districts? No. But I do wish that GRPS
would realize how valuable their instructional staff is and pay them a competitive salary. You say you appreciate us. Now show us. Michelle Elbert followed by Justin Walcott.
Good evening board. My name is Michelle Alber. I am the lead teacher of the Academy of Business Leadership and Entrepreneurship at the Historic Innovation Central. I began my journey with GRPS in December 2018 as a student teacher bent on
changing my little corner of the world. I have been leading the same academy I student taught in now for five years. In the past years, I've been blessed to work with the most creative, industrious, and dedicated teachers and
staff. They make miracles happen every day for our scholars. Today, I come to you as an educator, a mother, a community member, and a change maker. Please spend a day
in one of our elementary schools. See the hustle and the heart. One of our middle schools. See the energy and the soul. And one of our high schools to see the passion and the purpose of GRPS. I promise if you spend a day witnessing
the very reason that you sit on the board, you will be forever changed. Our scholars deserve the best, the brightest, and the most supported educators in the county. They deserve the best chance to show this world their
brilliance, their kindness, and their grit. Their teachers are tired of being underresourced, underappreciated, underpaid, and undersupported. So much
that is sent our way is tonedeaf and missing the mark in every way. GRPS teachers are changing their little corner of the world in their classrooms. We need your help to make GRPS a place scholars want to be and teachers want to
stay. Thank you. >> Justin Walcott followed by Richard Trap. Richard Trap, followed by Lucas Leett. Good evening all. I'm a teacher at Union High School and I know you've been hearing we need to invest in our
scholars a lot and I want to just tell you investment is not just money. Our teachers invest their time, experience, patience, understanding, you know, and that's what we're doing. And we're also investing our own money when kids say, "Can I have a snack? Can
I have this? Can I have a dollar?" Because that's what they need. And we give it to them. Basic psychology says that people need food, clothing, and shelter first and foremost. And then they deal with their relationships.
Teachers can't give when they're worried about their food, clothing, and shelter. When they're when they're worried about their finances. Board, you are in charge. You set the priorities.
You can direct you can direct the the district bargaining committee to direct the superintendent to come up with a fair and equitable contract. I implore you to do so.
I'm on the front lines. I understand and I see teachers are coming to me as an experienced teacher. I'm 60 years old. I want to do this for another five years. And they're coming to me and they're saying, "What's going on?" Because I'm
on the bargaining committee and I'm getting to the point where I don't know what to say to them anymore. So, please, please, please, let's get this done. Direct. It's your job.
Thank you. Lucas Leit, followed by Jesse Mden Hill, Lucas Le. Plot twist. Tonight I offer an apology. Now I will never apologize for fighting back against any leader getting away with threatening a parent or the related
wrongful capricious termination of a good leader. I will never apologize for criticizing the unfair treatment and neglect of arts and sports or for roasting foolish wasteful spending on marketing or overpaid redundant
leadership. I will never apologize for believing that angry resistance to oppression is indeed a lesson our kids should learn, especially in these dark times. Your September 5th retreat minutes
revealed that Roby explicitly warned you that a large crowd would show up on the 8th. But you, Madame President, have laid the blame on us in the community, which now appears to be inept at best and a big lie at worst.
So I will never apologize for pushing back against the blue light special suburban wannabe authoritarianism and empty threats against dissenters. But I will apologize for how I've reacted to some of these nefarious acts.
A recent deep conversation with a community leader I greatly respect has led to some reflection. I've piled on to a potential shame spiral for some of you. I've failed to give credit when some of you defended against sinister efforts by one of your
peers to entirely neuter our public comment. Period. I've shown up in ways that could hinder the GREA who has recently mount mounted a coordinated fight and a communications blitz that must be commended.
I will own those things in hopes that the five maybe six of you that still have a conscience will own your own missed opportunities to do better as well. With no kid in the system anymore and little energy to dedicate, I don't know how much more I can give to the tyrants among you. You might win in the
end and hear less of me. But at least now there's finally a mass of voices echoing that many of us have been screaming into the void for years. >> And they're not going anywhere until you do the right thing by this community, our educ.
[Applause] Monica Rainey, followed by Sarah Martinez. Hi, I'm Sarah Martinez, parent of a North Park Monastery student. This weekend, I spent the weekend letting the
community know about why we do not have a contract and what is going on. You know, advocating, you learn a lot. And you know what? I took a lot of heat. Do you know what I found out? When we
talk about security as our number one thing, and I see bullying is on this agenda, parents were telling me horror stories of what happened to their child and why they don't go to GRPS. One student, one parent was telling me
their student got beat up in the Riverside bathroom every single day. He brought his phone to school to record it and he got suspended for bringing his phone to school. Another parent is telling me that her daughter's hair got ripped out at Koi Academy and she has
emailed the superintendent and nobody's doing anything about it. So, when we're saying security, we're not talking about multi-million dollar things. We're talking about having teachers. We're having kids being accountable. parents of these students
being accountable and going to do things. That is where we're started. And we need to pay our teachers more. This all boils down to bad management. I am a business owner. My husband's a
business owner. If we did not figure out how to pay our employees a living wage, we wouldn't have businesses. So, I can't believe you guys, you have the $40 million in savings. This is the time to use that money. We can't have a school
district without teachers. You need I'm sorry. I don't know who has mismanaged it, the board or the administration, but it is your job to clean it up and pay for our teachers. Thank you, >> Nicole Naterio. Risk
followed by Teresa McFersonson. Are you Teresa? Come on down. a little shorter. Okay. I wasn't going to talk tonight. I talked at the last meeting, but in light of what's been happening um with our last paycheck, um I'm a teacher at North
Park Monasuri. Call it a midlife crisis. I became a teacher in uh 2020. So, my first uh degree was in business and I was in marketing and sales um before having a family. And I want to make sure that the board is aware, if you're not already,
that paychecks have been messed with since the first paycheck of this school year. And I'd like you to formally look into that. I don't know who's being held accountable, but it's something that has to stop.
The teachers that talked at the last board meeting were younger than me. They don't have families yet. They don't have a husband. and they live with their parents, you know, they're counting on their paycheck and so are all of us, but and we should be able to. You all have jobs during the day. You should be able
to count on your paycheck coming on the day that it is supposed to. Our very first paycheck of this school year did not. It came the next day. We get a oops, I'm sorry. And then we've had multiple paychecks. We either overpaid and now
they're taking money back because we were they overpaid us. There was 200 people that were affected by the last paycheck. I was not one of them, but my co-workers were. And it just needs to stop. It's ridiculous. I don't understand why this is okay or acceptable. You
would not accept that in your jobs. Your families wouldn't accept that. And I don't know if it's the payroll system that we just spent lots of money on because now it's not done by hand. I don't know. But somebody needs to hold be be held accountable. were held
accountable, we'd be put on a plan, written up, all these other things if we don't do attendance and do all the all these other tasks. This is their job. Do not mess with our paychecks. Regardless of the fact that we're not getting paid enough, we should count on what we have.
Thank you, Marty Brown. Followed by Julie Nettling. Hello, my name is Marty Brown and I'm a fifth year music teacher here in GRPS and have been teaching six years overall. I've had the pleasure of teaching students at 15 schools
throughout my tenure at G GRPS. I've seen the highs and lows that this district has to offer firsthand and have weathered the storm because of my dedication to my students. I've witnessed schools where there are so few teachers as student advocates are forced to teach the class. I watched in disbelief as one of my students was
sprawled out on the floor bleeding out from a gunshot wound. One of the darkest days I've ever had as an educator. I protected children from intimate family abuse by their own father. These are but a few of the things that we face daily as teachers in Grand
Rapids. Yet, we are so much more than just teachers to these kids and to this community. We're psychologists, babysitters, friends, confidants, bodyguards, sometimes standing parents when our students don't have any. I've literally had my life threatened from
bomb and gun threats, potential active shooters, and attacks happening in our very schools. Despite all this, we remain. we soldier on. Why? Because we care. But care is not currency. Fair pay is,
respect is, recognition is. And that is what we're asking for. My question to you, the board. Don't you care? You sit there and listen to testimony after testimony. All of us pouring our hearts and souls into this community and
to you, begging not for something grand, but for a livable, workable wage. Many of us, as you've seen tonight, are mere steps away from leaving this profession completely. We don't want to. So, I implore you, do the right thing and invest in your educators. We've done
what we can. You've seen and heard from us all. Now, do what is right, what you know is right. Thank you, >> Julie Natling, followed by Tara Robbins. Tara Robbins,
followed by Salem Turan, Meg Johnson, followed by Heather Po. Hi, Heather Paulo, MEA, chief negotiator for GREA tonight. And I'm cutting some stuff out because I only have two minutes, but I hope you covered a lot of
it in your closed session, but I am calling this GRPS by the numbers. You can take notes, you can ask me, I'll send it to you. As of today, 62 certified staff vacancies posted. That equates to approximately 1,860 students without certified teachers, 14% of your
student population. Uh the initial GRPS budget for fiscal year 26 underestimated revenue by almost $7 million. Um furthermore, uh GRPS has underestimated revenue by over $58 million since fiscal year 2021.
This is according to the district's transparency reports and audits. The total net increase, thanks to our state legislators for fiscal year 26 is $9.9 million. That equates to $733 per pupil.
You are the third highest in the state. Combine it with the underestimated revenue of almost 7 million, you have 17 more million dollars than you were planning on for this school year. I'm not even going to go into the fund balance. Um, compared GRE career
earnings to all other districts, including the ISD, 21 out of 21. The average percentage increase needed in a GRPS contract to meet the Kent County average in the bachelor lane, 19.72%.
20 20% to meet the average. That is a career earnings that your educators are losing of $365,000 in their career. Amount per year they're behind the county average over $12,000. Bargaining months spent bargaining
without agreement 17 days Jerry has worked without a contract 105 number of board members district superintendent robe or district decision makers at the bargaining table zero amount of money paid to an outside law firm or attorney to bargain this contract for 17 months
yet to be determined foyer was requested did not get the info yet that's time >> Douglas Ren Angley, followed by Caitlyn Homewood, >> Alex Lton, followed by Nate
Langel. >> Uh, hello everybody. My name is Alex Lton Xanstra. I teach at the Museum High School. You've heard from me before. I've had coffee with some of y'all. I have bought artwork from some of y'all. And I recognize all of the things that
we all bring to the table here at GRPS. That's one of the draws to GRPS for me as a young educator is I wanted to experience other people. I wanted to experience uh different ways of looking at the world and I wanted to bring my
own experience to the table as well. Now after being in GRPS for almost 7 years now, I've come to some realizations that if I want to make anything happen in my classroom, it is dependent on myself, my
fellow teachers, and my students to make that happen. Whether it's finding funding or completing hours of paperwork to simply leave our building, I feel at this point in my teaching career that I'm at an impass where I need to make a decision to either buckle
down and really commit to this craft, become more active in my union because that's the only way we can have this collective voice to push for what's right or choose to leave this field and just forget it really exists anymore.
more and frankly choosing to leave sounds like a better option every day. Uh just looking at the total weight of where our world is going and seeing how our leadership here in GRPS is reacting to that. Instead of investing in their
personnel and the people that make this happen, they choose to pay an outside law firm to negotiate against them. you don't act or treat us like equals. I don't really understand anymore why we are treating y'all with with respect.
And when I say y'all, you know who I'm talking about. And if it's not you, it's not you. But I am frankly tired and upset with how these contract negotiations have been handled and I have to go to work tomorrow. So in the future, please don't call close sessions
when we all show up to talk. >> Nate Langel. [Applause] followed by Wendy Winston. >> Hi, good evening. Nate Langel. I'm a community member with three young children making some decisions soon on
school choices. It's my first school board meeting. I'm kind of excited to be here. I really came though because of the mountain bike trail not too far away. Uh 6:30. We welcome and appreciate your presence. I I didn't feel very welcome and I didn't
feel like my presence was appreciated. Um it was almost like going up to a house to trickor treat with the light on and there's just an empty bowl and then I sat around for an hour and I still don't have any candy. Um it
it doesn't seem like it's creating a culture of trust, collaboration and and stewardship. What was clear is that there's a engaged, impactful, diverse workforce or there there was until we had to sit for an hour. That wasn't cool. I I'd like to come back. I I'm excited about the future
GRPS. I'm excited about the future for my family. I love this city and I want to keep being a part of of good things happening here. Could we Could we not do the closed negotiation thing at the advertised meeting time?
Maybe before, maybe after my house is open. if you need a place to meet. Um I I just I think that was really disrespectful to the families that were here, to the students that were here, to the community members that were here. It would have been cool to celebrate the art with with everybody and the teacher
of the year with with everybody, but you you kind of iced iced us and that wasn't I thought it was I thought it was kind of rude. Um I don't know if I'm allowed to do this, so if I'm not, please tell me to stop. Can Can we get a thumbs up on like Yeah, let's not delay for an
hour. You're probably not allowed. I understand. Um, thank you. Thank you, Wendy Winston, followed by Jeff Winston. >> I didn't Okay. Christina Vandermir.
Okay, that concludes our public comments. So, we will move into secretar's report. >> All right, just a few updates. Um, finance committee meeting is scheduled to meet October 27th at 4:30. Um, and
the meeting will take place at JPS University. Um, ad hoc facilities committee meeting is scheduled on November 10th at 5:00 p.m. and it's going to meet here at Ottawa Hills High School. Um, and that's all I've got. >> Okay.
Committee reports. So, finance and ad hoc. >> Okay, William. >> With regards to finance, we will be getting the um purchasing agenda brought forward. So, um we've all had a chance to review that, so I won't labor that. Um but with regards to our ad hoc
committee, if I could just roll right on into is that okay? Um so, we um received an update about uh JLL and they will be getting some information to us after um November 1. I'm sober. Thank you. >> Sorry. Excuse me. Trusty one, could you
just hold it a little closer? I can't hear you that that well over here. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Is that better? >> Yeah. >> Perfect. Thank you. >> All righty. So, we received an update um with regards to uh JLL, which is our owners rep. So, they've had a meeting
with the city, but they will be bringing some information forward to the whole board after November 1. of that um meeting they will be having some deliverables for us about the work that they'll be doing specifically around
process and then um the scope of their community engagement will be what they will be bringing forth um and at this point that date is November one that they'll have it done and it'll come to us at our next meeting after that so that'll come to the full board it will
not come just to ad hoc um and then um we had um a robust discussion with regards to our um Riverside um monatory program and what we will do. Um and so
we are talking and we are trying to get information and we are trying to sort some things out to be able to bring to the entire board. Um it was a lot for us to really kind of talk about. Um and uh we do plan to have another meeting for
us to um again get some updates from the staff with regards to some of the questions we asked and then um uh try to flush out some more of this work so that we can have some options to uh bring to the entire board as this project is um
would be significantly over budget. um from what was projected. So we are trying to do some um work to try to understand what are some of our options and we are working with staff um and we're looking over some information. So this is ongoing work for um ad hoc
committee. We do plan to have another meeting um and because there are some timelines around um making sure we get um design uh contracts done and that we have um
jobs out to bid so that we don't try to get those bids out late and get in construction season where we lose time on that. So that is why we're having an additional meeting, but the staff will be um giving us some um information and
we're just really kind of exploring some additional options to bring to the full board so that we can um consider what we shall do with this um situation at Riverside Monastery. Um it's a lot. It's a lot. So be patient with us, but we are
trying to dig in and we are trying to be respectful of the time frames with regards to contracts and um and bids and things of that nature as well. So we should hopefully we'll have um a bit more to share at our first November
meeting um with the entire board. >> So did you schedule an additional meeting outside of the regular scheduled ad hoc? Correct. And so we have not we have not scheduled it yet because we're waiting to hear from the different um
members of the team for us to find out what works best for everybody. But um we are trying to have another meeting next week. >> Okay. >> And um the sooner I get that information, we'll get it to the board secretary so we can get it scheduled. >> Okay. Thank you. >> I have a quick question for Treasurer
Williams regarding JLL. You mentioned that on November one they'll be providing a presentation for their scope, their process. >> What will >> that? That is their deadline to get that information to the staff >> for them to review, but it will come to
us at the next meeting that we have not November 1. >> It will not that's a Saturday. >> Thank you. Um with the information they do present to us though, will that be around specific buildings or primarily just scope and process? So, we're not
making any movement on buildings yet. >> We are not making enough. We're not making movement there because there's some processing that we have to make sure that um >> they have unpacked it with us that we approved that that's the way that they
should go through the process. And so, the board will have to make sure that we are okay with that processing plan that they are putting out there. So they're working through that as well as working through their scope of how they will engage the community about the work.
>> So it could be another month before we have a process and then we'll get into buildings. >> Um we will get into some buildings. They have they have some um initial information that we will be getting soon probably at that same meeting about the breakdown of I think it's eight
buildings total. Um uh and so that will give us the two that as our initial pilot and then the other six that we asked for information for >> and it'll be they'll be presenting November 10th at our next I >> I don't know if they will be presenting
directly or if the staff will be presenting um so that's something that Dr. Roby and her team but the the deliverables correct um will be what will be shared with us specifically. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, conference report out.
We have the National Association of School Boards Cube conference. Uh Trusty Moreno and Trusty Wade attended. They have asked that we have future time at a work session to kind of >> engage in conversation regarding that
information. But if you could give just a brief um rundown of something some things you experienced that would be great. >> Yes. So um this is October. So in September we
visited we visited Los Angeles for the cube conference and um I did share some mostly in our retreat how impactful it is to be amongst school board members outside of your district in your city
and learn and glean from other other people's experience. Um myself and Eleanor attended one session that I think we collectively felt very excited about. Um and that is what we
want to dive into more. We did create a PowerPoint but we're going to bring that to the work session. Um and it's and it has does have some recommendations. So our our goal for that is to share the information and and then bring back
things that we actually could possibly implement here in the district. So, I kind of repeat some of the things that I said in our retreat around um how I felt really empowered as a school board uh trustee to um
I like what they talk when they talk about big board work and how we are our responsibility to uh do the work of this district while being called from our called on from our community. And so a
few of the things that uh I learned and really brought back and I'll wait I'll let you talk about the other stuff >> um was how we engage with our community. And I think that we talk about that a lot. Now one of the things I do respect about um this board is that we
individually continue to uh uplift the voices of the community. But one of the things I do think we miss a lot is the community that doesn't come inside of our board meetings. And so uh one of the
attendees asked a question and I think that it was very relevant to what we do and so I was like we're not alone. Uh we ask sometimes ask questions in our meetings so that we can inform or educate or ask questions for the people in our audience in our yeah our
audience. And sometimes we feel like that's us educating the community, but the reality is our our whole community doesn't come to these meetings or watch them. So, how do we better engage in and um
educate or inform our community is something that I want to bring and discuss more when we go into our work session. How do we not just ask questions and to be performative? And I'll say that in a in a in a with
assuming all the positive intent, but but how do we retain our get our information and share that to our constituents? Um, we do it through coffee with the board. We do it through our our beautiful newsletter, but is that enough? And so that's kind
of what I want us to talk about in our next when we were when we have this uh conversation. I I couldn't say it better myself. Uh and I think the there was a catalyst in
our conversation as we were building the PowerPoint to really think about how do we implement the things we learned. uh and that's what caused the pause uh to present to the group because I was like oh we can present all this really great information that we found really exciting but you know at what point uh
can we think critically uh in those learning opportunities to say hey this is the two or three things we aspire uh to commit to it and uh we were wrapping up the PowerPoint and uh I had like this little aha moment and I was like ah shoot uh I think we're doing some of
these things you know we have our strategic themes. We have our own board goals, um, but we don't have milestones. Uh, and so we have these ostentatious goals, but, you know, where are those moments of accountability, uh, that we're tracking for ourselves, uh, and
for our our staff? Uh, and so there's just these like really small moments, and I was like, oh man, we have we're it feels like we're almost there. Um, but, you know, how do we hold ourselves accountable to to some of those big dreams and aspirations for our district? Uh, and as Ari was saying, uh,
VP Wade was saying, uh, yeah, you know, there's I I know our board goals is looking at some of those like accountability things for our community engagement. Um, and I really really just want to uplift Mayor Lrand's work on his mayor Mondays and I was like, "Oh yeah, what does it look like for us to have uh
a themed coffee with the board?" Uh and I was like, "Oh, that just feels so simple." Especially instead of being so reactive to some of these emergent issues, you know, how are we projecting? Oh, yeah. You know, people are interested in the budget now that uh the our state budget is uh live and
available. Uh and you know, how are we doing that with our next coffee in the board? Uh and so how again, how are we projecting some of these big issues we know our community wants us to do? Um but I think uh we're we're finished with our PowerPoint, so we'll probably send it in advance. um and then include the
other resources we got access to during the presentation and hopefully that'll uh inspire other folks uh with some of these things. But I think uh VP Wayade and I are really interested to you know offer some recommendations of like oh yeah these three tools or these two things are again hopefully we can
integrate in things we're already talking about. >> If I could offer um that if you want to share the PowerPoint we can put it in our next board letter. And so prior to this board having a discussion, they will have a preview of it. So if you send that to Julie, we'll put it in the
next um newsletter. >> Thanks, Secretary Roi. >> Any questions? Okay, we will move on to our action items. First up is the purchasing agenda. Are there any questions, comments?
Do I have a motion to approve the purchasing agenda? >> So moved. >> Support. >> All in favor say I. >> I. Any opposed? Okay. Motion carries. Next action item is the acceptance of
rights, respect, responsibility, advocates for youth sex education curriculum. Do I have a motion to accept this curriculum? So move. >> So move. >> Second. All in favor say I. >> I. Any opposed?
Motion carries. Next up is the acceptance of puberty wonder years curriculum. Do I have a motion to accept this curriculum? >> So moved. >> Seconded. >> All in favor say I.
>> I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Next on our agenda is the consent agenda grouping. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> So moved. >> Second.
>> All in favor say I. >> I. Any opposed? >> Motion carries. Um for the board president announcements. Um I don't have any specific announcements. I just want to
again um congratulate our smart art winners and all the participants and then also our teachers of the year. It's always exciting. I cannot believe the amount of things that they're signed up for and that they lead in and just
exceptional educators that we have. Um so congratulations to all of them. I also want to uplift our goals. I know we've been um kind of sitting on these for a while. So, we do have our board
goals solidified and I did include those in our latest newsletter which you should have a copy of. They're on the back. Um it just kind of explains that we do a self evaluation which is a fairly new process. I think we approved
that as a board two years ago maybe. Um, so we do have our three goals. The board will establish a policy that outlines the process for regularly reviewing board policies. The board will strengthen alignment with the superintendent by clarifying and
building a shared understanding of key terms such as vision and mission and by creating clear processes for giving strategic direction. and the board will engage in internal professional development with district staff that will help deepen their engagement with the district's student data. I think
these are perfect ways to incorporate what you were talking about, Trusty Modeno, with the what did you call them? Like check-ins. What did you call it? >> Milestones. >> Milestones. Thank you. Um so, uh I'm hoping that we can get some milestone
dates scheduled just to keep us on track for that. Um, and then I would just ask that during your um, board member comments, if you do have your goal avail your goal or goals individually
available, if you could share those tonight. Um, I'm just trying to hold us accountable. Um, if you don't have them ready or you don't have them with you, that's fine. Um, but if you do, I'd ask that you add that to your individual
comment tonight. And I'm just going to read mine as well. So my individual goals, um, I didn't pick specifically from the different sections of our
evaluation, but I was looking at our three goals that we determined and then kind of pairing it with some other discussions we've had. So I have number one that I will work to fully understand our board policies and to use them to help run and be a part of more effective
meetings. I think this is something that uh I've been trying to work on as of late and even with all the preparation that I put into learning policies before stepping into this role, I'm finding that just making that a part of every
week where I can learn a little bit more from them and make sure I'm utilizing them. And then when policies don't seem to be in line with what we're doing or what we value, I will bring them to light and ask for our board to revisit them. Um and then secondly, I will work to clear up processes for setting
direction and directives for our superintendent. I think that's something that many of you have voiced as something we want to clear up a little bit and um we have been working on that, but I think we have a lot of work to do as far as that goes and then continue
the work of creating a clear board handbook. So that we've started that process, but um I think in the past couple months I've heard that we'd like to add to that and clear some things up with that as well. So a handbook for
onboarding candidates. And that is all. So I'll move into other board member comments. Do we have >> Trusty Williams? >> Okay. Um I will try to be brief. I'd
like to congratulate our three educators on the teacher of the year um as well as salute to our GRPS champion um at Alger Middle School. And then um uh congratulate Dr.
um Brandy Love Lady on her honor with the community philanthropic award. Um and then as far as my goals go, let's go back here. Um un um monitoring results
is a goal that I have is so that um as I'm doing this work, I look at um scholar outcomes um through the reports academic, social, emotional, and extracurricular participation. And then um under um community engagement again
just continue to uh work on uh systems and structures that can help uh engage a larger community conversation. >> Thank you. Trustee Williamson. >> Thank you. Um first um I can do my board comment along with this, right? We're
not just doing goals. >> Um >> earlier one of So >> how do I want to say this? I've been thinking about this recently. Um it's I'm I feel like I'm at a point now being on the board and I don't know how my other colleagues who are newer feel
like some of the things that you know the reasons we got on the board we're starting to see a little bit of progress on those. One of them is uh a lot to do with the facilities master plan and this comes out of our facilities ad hoc meeting today. Um and I just I I know
this is going to be a big new challenge. Um and we had a lot of discussion with uh Chair Williams today about it. Uh but I feel really good about the fact that we're having this discussion and we're moving forward the facilities master plan in a way that's going to make sense um as we figure out what that is. Uh so
I just want to uplift that and thank everybody all my colleagues on the board but also the staff in the district and also uh folks in the community for going along with us on that. But onto my goals. Um, one of them, uh, the first one is doing more in my individual role as an individual board member to help
educate the public more about what we're doing and what we're considering and the progress we're making. Um, thinking of the facilities master plan. I've had a lot of good conversations around that recently. Um, and then two, um, staying trying to stay more focused on
the main objective of us as a board. um and not you know getting sidetracked into other things when we are really trying to keep the interest of the whole district in mind. Um you know other things are important but those are sometimes second and third order uh priorities. And then for me um doing you
know finding more time to visit our our buildings and and you know speak with more of the staff and the families in the buildings and uh know what's going on a little more closely. >> Thank you. Trusty Davis.
>> Yeah, I was trying to find however I shared it with you before. So, sorry as to if this is different for my goals, but what I have is keeping us focused on our big picture goals, communicating as a group, um us being the board, and just keeping on moving things forward and not
letting us drop balls collectively. So, >> that's all. >> Trusty Kilpatrick. >> Yeah. Uh well, first of all, I just want to uplift and celebrate that today is indigenous people's day. Um and so I just want to honor the indigenous
communities that whose land we gather on and also just name and honor the indigenous students and families that we serve. Um and secondly, I want to express my gratitude to anyone and everyone who's on the sex education advisory board. uh just really grateful
for your thoughtful work over the years in presenting and coming up with the right curriculum to to present to us so that we could approve it today. So, thank you for that. I think maybe there's someone still left in the room who's on the Cab um for my goals. So,
coming out of um board superintendent relationships, I will commit to actively contributing to a collaborative partnership between board and superintendent. um and engage constructively in discussions, support our agreed upon decisions, and maintain
open communication channels. And then drawing off of our community engagement and advocacy work, um just committing to deepening my knowledge of our vision, our ends, and our strategies to reach those goals. um so that I can
clearly and confidently communicate that to our community members um and our stakeholders. >> Thank you, Trusty Melton. Um I'm very aware that we're almost done with quarter one, so thank you for all the staff here and up here as well. Uh
just for the hard work that it's taken to get through the first quarter of the school year. Um, and it has been fun to celebrate kindergarten teachers and um, you know, through the through the award tonight and then of course our different teachers that received the reward or award. Um, and I'm really just want to
acknowledge the huge improvement that the sex sex education curriculum will present for our kids. Really and truly a huge difference from where we have been to where we are going to be coming up here soon. So really excited about that. And I'm sorry to say I don't have my goal because I submitted to you.
>> Do you care if I read them? Sure. Okay. >> You have mine, too. >> I don't have yours. I'll look though in my email. >> Sorry. >> Sarah's are to fully understand and employ the role of governance in my work on the school board in a way that
provides a value ad to my colleagues and the district. And then the second one is to work towards operating as an effective teammate in unity with my colleagues and the district to achieve the vision of the district. >> Thanks.
>> Thank you. Good goals. >> Okay, Trustee Moreno. Um I also had in my notes to uplift that was uh Indigenous People's Day. um especially uplifting uh our our work uh our district work and intention to have
the Native American education program. You know, that's a really really valuable um space that we hold uh and especially, you know, my 9 to5 is working in food sovereignty and you know, we look to indigenous sovereignty. Uh and so I just really really value uh
our indigenous brothers and sisters uh who coexist with us and how much we give them space. Um I I do want to uplift I'm so grateful that we uh adopted uh the sexed curriculum. Uh that's definitely,
you know, one big win. Uh to my colleagues who weren't at the last hearing, uh there was just this really powerful story that stayed with me. Uh there was a parent who spoke uh who lived in Sparta and drives their their scholar here specifically because of all
of the amazing curriculum and programs that we have. And that was just like a really powerful moment. And even though that meeting only lasted like 20 minutes, I just really walked away just kind of feeling like this is the good work. You know, our families are choosing us even on the hard days. Um,
and I just wanted to share that. Uh, I know Dr. Lovely Mitchell isn't here, but also congratulations to her award, but Jose also won an award uh recently, and so congrats to Trustee Rodriguez on his advocacy award. Um, and then my goals,
I'm not going to say it how I wrote it in my email, but I think I remember what I wrote in a sentence, uh, was about uplifting and evaluating our community engagement work. We have our newsletter. We have our coffee with the boards. You know, we're trying to really do, uh, a
stronger job of communicating out, you know, all the really great work that we're doing. And, you know, I think that's one of my favorite things to think about is, you know, our relationship to our community. uh and I want to kind of create some metrics around that. You know, I do think milestones uh are really important to me
that keeps me accountable uh to those relationships. Uh and then the second goal was something around uh how do I support I think I wrote secretary uh but the more time I spend with all of y'all uh I was like oh how do I uplift the actions or the homework that we're
giving uh I was like I'm uh if you're into uh Clifton Strengths I'm an achiever. And so I put things on my list. I want to check those things off. Uh and because I'm really good at that those things as like I want to uplift that ability and share that with my colleagues. So I will do a better job to
share one of my strengths with y'all and say, "Hey, don't forget y'all." And maybe it'll just be via text uh that we got this homework and that we did this. And so again, I just want to be uplift my own skill and kind of share that with y'all.
>> Thank you, Trusty Rodriguez. Thank you. Um I like to be nice and clear in the mic. No, but um so yeah, ditto to everything that our board my board colleagues have said.
Indigenous people's day. Uh uplifting the sexed curriculum. Um one of my also uh yes, congratulations to our teachers of the year. Um congratulations to Dr. Love Lady Mitchell. Congratulations to
myself. Um, you No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. But, uh, one of my goals was to work to establish more touch points within our community. Um, not just for myself, but encourage our board members to do so as well. Trusty
Mono mentioned, right, our our uh board uh newsletter, um, our coffee with the board. Um and I just think of you know that one of the gentlemen who came and was like hey you know you did this you could have done this at another time and the truth is we can't and I I do you
know not that we can educate every single person but we also all right if you say something and it's incorrect I'm going to say that's not how it works right we can't have a closed meeting at any other time especially not at his house so you know I wish we could I wish
we could but so yeah just I mean in having more topic folks focused as we talked about with our board uh coffee with the board. I wrote more topic focused but also less formal and I don't know if that makes sense to anyone but it makes sense a little to me. Um
and then also I did also have a handbook but that was part of a larger establishing processes right and that's part of our bigger work but I also want to understand our processes as an individual um and make sure that I I know them. So, if I do want to uplift something or advocate for something, I'm
doing it um in the way that we've all agreed is the established norm to do so. Um and that's all I got. >> And um prior to Trusty Wade's comment, I just want to say I've heard a couple people mention
um just like community in their goals and like coffee with the board or the board brief. I will welcome any input you have for board brief. Like there's clear sections that we've developed.
>> Um but like the the section on the back, what is board work? If you guys ever have any ideas for what we want to get out there to our community, feel free to send them my way. Even now, um I can
start putting things together for the the next one. So feel free at any point to um share what you would like to see in the board brief because this is new and it can develop and become what we want it
to be. So >> thanks for that. >> Trusty Wade. >> Okay. So, I had a a busy weekend and I was excited to go to the Michigan State football game and I spent the entire game because we were losing looking for
Rashawn Rogers and I finally caught a picture of our Ottawa Hills um graduate number 68. Um I did not know this, but everybody on the football team does not suit up and walk out on that field. And
he does. that means he's either a first or second string football player and I don't know his position but I was extremely proud and um I was proud to tell the people around him like he went to one of my schools so that was a that
was like the >> I was cheesing cuz I found him and it was a lot of football players. Um, I also went to Ottawa's football game on Friday and it was really good to see a lot of fans, a lot of students coming.
Um, it it just I think the incorporation of the bands adds to the crowd and it's just a really good feel to go to those games and see people supporting on that beautiful, beautiful field. I want to uplift Dr. Love Lady and Jose. Jose won
the advocacy award with the young nonprofit professionals and that is really dope because you're nominated and you get there and you still have to win. So like it wasn't like he was just handed award. He won and that's dope. Congratulations. Uh my goals I do want
to uplift one of my goals is not on the handbook. I uh though I really think that will be great for us um to develop that. But I have two goals. um governance. Um the board participates in professional development to ensure high
levels of performance. Um I want to commit to doing better at completing the the the trainings that are offered to us and uh I read the books, but the trainings um I want to
commit to doing better at that. I do not want an email from Julie again. If you know, >> don't disappoint Julie. >> Um, also the community engagement uh board members are knowledgeable about
the vision, goals, ends and strategies in communication with the public. Um, I do want to be able to speak to our vision and our goals and the ends of conf more confident confidently. Yeah, more confidently and be able to uplift
uh our our um milestones or our success around the end. So yeah, those are my two goals. >> Wonderful. Okay, I think that is all for tonight. Do you
have comments? >> I was gonna say, do I not get comments? >> Yes. Go ahead. Okay. So, um, one, thank you to our board for being vulnerable and just saying what your goals are. I think, you know, when you say it aloud, that also has a level
of accountability for you and then also the rest of us can hold one another accountable. So, kudos and congratulations um to that. Um, congratulations again to Mr. Rodriguez, um, to Dr. Love Lady Mitchell. And then also um we have another honore that will
be honored at the NAACP um Gayla this coming Friday and that is Mrs. Malikica Jober Brown. So she is receiving an award as well. So we're excited about that. Um for
those who may not know Malikica is ours person. Um congratulations to our three honores for the teacher of the year award. um this weekend at our campus that we're currently at. It was filled
with rocket football and flag football and several events and I've heard just so many positive things around community. So community is not just the relationship between administration or board and community. It's also the
community that people create um in in those Saturday afternoons. So am excited about that. With respect to some other kind of community outreach, I am kicking off this week a um weekly or excuse me, not weekly, a
quarterly um time with community to give our community that may not always attend board meetings or have as much access around some of the highlights that we're doing related to our district. And that will be I will be meeting with um faith
leaders. I'll be meeting with business leaders um neighborhood associations as well as foundations on different things. And what we're trying to do is just give an overview of what where we are with our reimagine GRPS plan because they may not
hear all of those things as well as kind of celebrate all the other positive things. And that starts tomorrow. We're going to do our plan is to do it um quarterly or trimesterly. We haven't quite figured that out, but just to kind of kick it off this week to see how that
works with our community. And so I'm excited about that. Um that's it. >> Thank you. I was out of order. I skipped over you into board member comments. So I'm sorry about that. >> Okay. Meeting adjourned.