Hey. I'd like to call the regular meeting of the Board of Education to order at 6PM on this 12/15/2025. Roll call, please. Deaton? Here. Becker? Here. Wardress? Present. Fox? Here. O'Connell? Here. Gratini? Here. Here. So, can I have everybody stand for the pledge of allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag k.
I need a motion to accept the agenda. I need a motion to approve the agenda as written. Can I just make one that we're get can we move that conference request to new business letter p? Sure. Is that where was the conference request? That's part of the consent. Yeah. Move it from the consent. Move it from the consent to new business. Yes. I make I amend my motion to We we approve the consent agenda after public comment. Okay. So we can do that separate? The regular agenda is okay? Yes. Okay. Can I is this where I'm at? I want to move to add the HPECEA 2526 salary increase and ongoing negotiations to
the agenda as in item GP. As in item what? G. Wait, girl. Oh, so, we, there's a motion to accept the agenda with the addition of the, grade start salary increase and negotiations. Okay. So is that were we gonna do that with g? Yes. I don't understand. It's already on the agenda. So may I clarify? Yeah. Do you wanna clarify? No. Go ahead. Oh. We had been waiting for this information, and so it was not on the posted agenda. It was on your updated agenda for this meeting.
So it was not posted properly as of yesterday because we only received the LOA today. Okay. I get it. But we wanted to make sure if if the board chooses to approve this, then we can take care of this before the holiday. Okay. Perfect. Sorry. So I made the motion. You made the motion. Well, Heidi made the first motion. Second by Monica. So now we need to Amend. I I make a motion to add item GA, grade start salary increases. I also support. Yes. Thank you. Okay.
Roll call. Yes. Eugene? Yes. Dean? Yes. Becker? Yes. Fox? Yes. McReynolds? Yes. Yes. Yes. Motion carries. Okay. Good evening. I'm very excited. Today we are, from Webster, and we have Maxwell Foreman here with us today. Maxwell is very deserving of being named Webster Early Childhood Center student of the month. He is kind to all of his classmates, and he is very understanding of students special needs. He is a wonderful, caring friend. He works with others and is an excellent teammate.
In learning situations, Maxwell has mastered focusing and remembering the topic. He has also grown in his ability to cut, count meaningfully, write his name, and knows most of his ABC letters. He is learning new sounds of letters every day. Maxwell loves to to play in the kitchen center as well as constructing unique structures in the building area. Congratulations to Maxwell Forman, a wonderful, intelligent, and delightful young man. He is a pleasure to have in our program. Hello. I have miss Malia Hill from United Oaks, who is a second grader. I don't believe I see her.
I don't think they could make it, but I'd still like to share. Malia Hill is a motivated and dedicated learner who consistently pairs hard work with genuine kindness. She approaches every challenge with determination and a positive attitude, and she effortlessly spreads good vibes to everyone around her. Malia leads by example, treating peers and adults with respect, compassion, and a smile that brightens the room. Her commitment to doing her best while uplifting others makes her a shining role model
and truly a deserving student of the month. Hello. I'm here to honor Jasper Pierce. They couldn't be here this evening. But I still want to tell you about Jasper. Jasper was voted student of the month by his peers. Many peers stated that he is respectful to others and adults, completes his work on time, always on task, and his handwriting has improved tremendously. Jasper is also able to work independently and in small groups and stays on task the entire time. Congratulations, Jasper. We are lucky to have you here at Hoover. This is very well deserved, and we are also proud of you. Keep up the great work.
I'm Bobby Keiger from the junior high, and our, representative also cannot be here today. But, Gael Polanco Flores is, was our student of the month. Gael consistently demonstrates outstanding character, dedication, and a strong commitment to academic excellence. Known for his positive attitude and willingness to help others, He sets a wonderful example for his peers and staff alike. We celebrate Gael's hard work and leadership. Congratulations on this well deserved honor. My student of the month isn't here either. His name is, Kyle Sandrovsky.
Kyle is an excellent student with this hilarious sense of humor. He's an avid reader who reads after completing his work. Miss Kay has stated that he has fun talking about books. Oh, he is here. He is here. There he is. Okay. Miss Keizer stated that he has fun talking about the books that he is reading with him. He participates in class, is very polite, has high level questions, and is very thoughtful in his work. I have to comment on Kyle's sense of humor. There's one day that I was visibly frustrated with a student who was giving me a hard time in the hallway and visibly frustrated to put enlightening.
My blood was kinda boiling. And Kyle came up to me very matter of fact and said, mister Smith, how are you doing today? You need anything done? And his timing was perfect because he took all the attention out of my body. I just laughed and hugged him and told him thanks for being him. And he, like I said, took all the attention out of my body. So thanks, Kyle, for being who you are. He's our student of the month for advantage. Good evening. We're proud and honored to grant to congratulate ninth grader, Britney Nowicki, as Hazel Park High School's November student of the month. Britney is an excellent example of the HPS Viking who values and demonstrates the core
values of hard work and positivity. Britney has consistently shown what it means to be a respect respectful and dedicated student. Not only does she work hard academically, but she also demonstrates a level of responsibility that sets an example for others. Among staff, Britney is known for actively contributing to a classroom, a positive classroom atmosphere, and for respecting classmates and teachers. Britney is inclusive and empathetic, ensuring everyone feels welcome, seen, valued, and heard. She is a well she is well known among the school for her kindness and
willingness to help others. Britney is a natural mediator and problem solver who strives to support collaboration and respect among her peers. Britney's calm and inclusive demeanor sets a tone for others around her. She is amazing at noticing when someone needs a positive comment, friendly smile, or empathetic ear and is quick to provide it. We are incredibly proud of Britney's accomplishments and positive impact at Hazel Park High School. Thank you for the support and encouragement you provide at home, which allows her to excel and bring her best to school each day.
Congratulations, Britney. Mrs. Nastasi could not be here this evening, so I am stepping in. Probably not as eloquent as she does. Paige Hawk is our student of the month in Room 223. Alright. So you're gonna go up and shake hands. Paige demonstrates fifth grade responsibility as soon as she walks through the doors of Webb. She starts by taking care of necessary steps to start her day with zero reminders, getting her Chromebook, marking her lunch, gathering important materials for the work day. Paige never forgets to check-in with me before she heads down the hall to help
our friends in wheelchairs get to their destination. She continues to assist throughout the day by reading with peers, cleaning up the classroom when needed, and completing service squad duties. I'm so proud of Paige and hope she can she keeps up her genuine attitude and great work ethic. Congratulations. Did we miss anyone? Yes. Oh, yep. I can read Addison and Jardot. Hold on here. Edison, Zachary Harrison. No? Zachary is friendly and respectful, and he works hard to keep his grades up. He makes an effort to follow the behavior expectations and stay on track with both
his studies and his behavior. Since last year, he's made tremendous progress towards achieving his goals, both academically and behaviorally. He's a pleasure to have in class. Way to go, Zachary. And for Jardan, Robert White. Robert is always kind and caring and respectful. He comes to school ready to work. He's always aware of his appearance and presents himself as a responsible student. Way to go, Robert. At Invest, we do not have, any information, but her name is Leila, and I'm probably not going to say this right, Safrahi.
But they did not write anything here, for Leila. So hopefully we can get something and send it out to the board so you can know the great things that she does. Thank you very much and, congratulations parents on raising some pretty amazing kids. Okay. One more round of applause for our wonderful students. Thank you for coming out on this very night. Next, I have the Junior High Representative Report. Anyone here from the Junior High? Okay. Okay, next we have high school representatives. Bunch. Yeah. Look at this. Yeah. We got a lot of representatives today.
Alright. Hello. My name is Preston Blaze, and I'm the high school representative. I'm just gonna share just a few things from the past month that has been going on at the high school. So starting off, we have boys basketball began their season on December 2 against Eastpointe and currently have a record of two to two. Girls basketball opened their season on December 9 against Lamphere and won. They also have a game tonight, so good luck to them. The band had their annual winter concert on December 4, where members from both Saponic Winds and the concert band played their music. The spring musical has been announced and it is Beetlejuice.
We have auditions for, fourth through eighth graders tomorrow, at the high school. The winter blood drive is on December 8, this Thursday, and we currently have 31 people signed up. Please sign up between eight and two if you can. Highly encouraged. On Saturday, competition cheer got first place at their division four, yeah, division four meet, so congratulations to them. Bowling and swim have been practicing for their season that starts after break. Mr. Dimas has announced a PBIS award for all students who have less than five tardies
on December 19. There will be movie there will be a movie, games, and food, so that sounds fun. We have spirit week this week. On Monday, we had or today, we have Nightmare Before Christmas. Tomorrow, we have Tinsel Tuesday. Wednesday, we have Ugly Sweater Day. Thursday, we have Grinch versus Candy Cane. And Friday, we have PJ Day. Perfect day to start off break. On December 18, we'll also have our winter pep assembly that will include games, performances, and announcements from, throughout the past few months. And lastly, some of our drama members, some right behind me, just returned from Michigan
Thespian Festival where they participated in workshops consisting of acting, dance, and technical theater. Some members participated in thespies, which are little competitions where they get to show off their creative skills in those, same elements of acting, dance, and technical to judges for feedback and a rating. So I'm gonna name off some of the scores that, our our students received. So first off, we got Mal Staten with a superior in solo and group acting. We have Timothy Hawk, a superior in group acting. Axel Cochran, who is not here, got a superior in costume design.
Jayla Gaines, who is not here, got a superior in group acting. Kaden Mortintellus, who is here, got a superior in group acting. Quinn Beverelin, got a superior in playwriting. And I, Preston Blais, got a superior in solo acting. Next up we have our excellence, Jay Le Gaines got an excellent for sound design. Quinn Beverly got a excellent in musical theater group performance. Axel Cochran also got an excellent in musical theater group performance. So did Bria Collins, and Genia Toponitzka also got an excellent in prop design.
Separate from those scores, we also had a student that participated in a college related version where, colleges got to watch their audition and award them money. So Bria Collins was awarded $80,000 to Rochester Christian University. So, yeah, that's pretty much it. Thank you for listening, and I wish you guys all a wonderful break. Thank you. That's a great report. And all those successes, it's a lot of talent and, very, very good news. Before I do the next one, it's the Vantage representative.
If anybody wish to speak, there's a form on the table back there to fill out, and it will go in this basket. But I need the Advantage representative. Somebody here from Advantage? Good evening, everyone. My name is Princess House, and I'm honestly be back speaking as the student representative at Hazel Park Advantage. This school has helped me grow a lot. My attitude, focus, and mindset have all improved because I'm in an environment that pushes me to do better instead of giving up on me. I'm standing out of drama, keeping up with my grades, my work, and staying focused on graduating early, and I love being able to show other students that change is
possible. I also wanna talk about the boys basketball tournament in November and congratulate them for winning second place out of six teams. I want to take a moment to truly thank miss Hall who works closely with students on college planning. She believed in me, guided me through the application process, and gave me advice that really mattered. With her help, I was accepted to Grand Valley State University and Oakland Community College. She didn't just help me with paperwork, she helped me feel confident about my future. Having someone like her in the building means more to students than people realize.
I'd also like to welcome our new math teacher, miss Todd. Students appreciate her patience and the way she explained things clearly, which has made math feel less stressful for many of us. Overall, the school feels more organized and calm. Mr. Smith's leadership and consistency from staff have made a real difference in our learning environment. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak and represent the students. And now we have, presentation by Advantage. I'm just coming up to introduce what's going to happen tonight or because I'm gonna have our Oakland 80 rep, miss Dre Hall.
She's gonna talk to you about what she does with our students and highlight some things, and then I'm gonna show you I'll have, Charlie Robinson read a beautiful poem that she wrote that was sent to me over this weekend. I hope you guys have your tissue. Good afternoon, everyone. Is this the to control the okay. Perfect. My name is Jay Hall, and I am the career and education navigator here at Advantage. Essentially, I work with the students who are interested in pursuing post secondary opportunities, here.
So mister Smith essentially, asked me to kinda highlight what we've done thus far, for the first trimester. Yeah. So what we've been up to, we've really been focusing on FAFSA completion, not only just with creating FSA IDs, but completing them fully. With that we did have a winner, our student representative Princess. She actually won a kendo after being the first in an advantage to not only complete her FAFSA but also complete her, college applications during free, application month in October.
So she was awarded a kindle for her dedication to her future, so that was really nice. We've also been focusing on college application and resume writing. So with the resumes, about eight students have come to me to assist them with creating resumes. And of them, five have, went a little bit further and we did interview prep. And all of them as of this month have secure positions, so that's really exciting. We've also worked a lot with field trips.
We did manufacturing day, MRCC career day, a health showcase with OCC, and we also went to Michigan Career Quest. So through the slides, I just showed a couple, pictures of the experience that we had, just to kinda see what the students have been exposed to for these last couple field trips for the, MRCC career day. Essentially, this was, partnership with the Union Carp, training center, like local, where we kinda
went through a lot of carpentry positions as well as, millwright positions as well. These before we kinda go further, these field trips were kinda cultivated based off the students' interest. So when we had senior meetings at the September, a lot of the seniors who, are set to graduate in addition to the eleventh graders who are set to graduate next year as well, A lot of them had interest in these fields, which is why I planned field trips to kinda surrounding those because I wanted to really show
them what they wanted to see, essentially. So, this one was really heavy on carpentry where the students got to do really hands on activities so that they can see themselves in those positions, which is what I wanted to kinda do when it came to planning field trips. So these are just a couple pictures. They have, like, a VR setup, which was really nice. So this was one of our first field trips. Next, we had, Michigan Career Quest Southeast. This was really nice. They had multiple, essentially, like, rooms where the students could experience whatever field that they
had interest in. So they had health sciences, construction, advanced technology, and, they also had regular technology as well. So these are just a few pictures, of the students kinda doing what they do. We had a really nice, turnout with that as well. That's a nice little group photo, me and my my guys. And then also we partnered with OCC, Southfield, and we attended their, health showcase. A lot of my students also are interested in, like, the health field, whether it
be CNA, dentistry, even health administration. So that's another field trip that I cultivated based off their interest, And they were able to go to the showcase where you can see they're also doing a lot of hands on things. They, like, sewed a pumpkin to kinda get the idea of, like, multiple skin sewing. They were able to, like, dissect the pumpkin as well, which is really cool for the students to experience. They showed us, like, our their hospital wing. It was honestly, it was very informative because you really feel like you're in a hospital, which a lot of the students appreciated because, again, this is just another opportunity
to expose them to those those careers that they might not have seen in their grasp. So being able to see this and being able to experience it hands on was definitely, very good for them. In terms of upcoming opportunities for the coming, second trimester that we're currently in, I wanna kinda shift the focus. Our last trimester, I was heavily, highlighting trades due to the strong interest amongst our
students. However, here not only do we, kinda encourage the students to do the trades that they're interested in, but we also really highlight the importance of attending colleges and universities. So this trimester we really want to focus on our lunch and learn. So we have a nice amount of college reps visits planned at the school in addition to college tours based off of, the interest. So a lot of students wanted to go to Wayne. A lot of students wanted to go to OCC again. A lot of students wanted to visit Macomb and Oakland University.
So, like I said, I really cultivate the field trips based off of large interest and then also smaller field trips based off of the small groups of students. But then also everybody's welcome. So like I said and then also we I also, gain a partnership with Oakland Schools. So they, in January, are gonna come with VR headsets. I ordered 30 of them, and, essentially, the students are gonna be able to, you know, pick their career field and kinda also get that hands on opportunity if they've missed some of the field trips. So, like, I dissected a whole knee.
You know? I was like, oh, wow. Gotta bring this to the school. So, dissected a knee. So I'm a doctor now. Also, they were able to do, like, dentistry. So I have a cup two students who are interested in dentistry. So they have, like, a simulation where they can put on braces. So really enjoy that partnership that I was able to get with them. So that is coming in January, so I'm excited for that. Let's see. In terms of upcoming events that we're planning, this is gonna be, I believe, our second or our third college and career fair.
That is what I'm kinda planning right now. It's February 25 here in this boardroom. This is gonna be a more interactive fair. I've noticed with my students, they really like that interactive component when it comes to, vendors and college representatives and things of that nature because they like to see that hands on component. They like to actually physically see themselves in that role to know whether or not this is something that they're interested in or not. So I really wanna, emphasize that interactive component here. So this is gonna be, like, a bigger one.
Every I was here May, so I did kinda kinda see the last one, but, obviously, I wanna do everything bigger and better than the year before, so I'm super excited to see where this one goes. And then upcoming events as well. We're gonna have our third decision day. I'm also planning for that. Last year, I did start in May, but I also was able to organize a decision day. It wasn't as big. It was big. I'm proud of myself. It it it was it was a thing. It was nice. I kinda did it pep rally style.
A lot of the students had it, like, experienced like a pep rally. So I did it pep rally style. I allowed all the students to kinda, the ones who I worked with say, oh, I'm going to OCC. This is what I'm doing. I'm going to Oakland, whatever the case may be. They got the opportunity to say what they wanna do, things of that nature, and then we kinda play games, rewards. It was super nice. So because I wanted to be bigger than last year, I'm already, planning that as well, so that's super exciting. We've also still have been working with our previous class. So Carrie Ann, who's miss Mitchell here, very great student.
She's working really good in early childhood development at Wayne State. I still talk to her regularly. Ladasia, she's at OCC looking to transfer to Wayne State as well. That's Kaiden. She's also at LCC. So a lot of the students are still, thriving and still, contacting me for assistance even now, which is super good. And that's all I have. Thank you. That was fantastic. The experiences given to the students there, very informative.
Very good. Thank you. And thank you. Okay. Next is, public comment. Yeah. We know it. We can have that. Yeah. Oh, yep. I'm sorry. Hi. My name is Charlie Robinson, and I was asked to present my poem, Where I'm From. I'm from glass houses and brick doors from a place where the sky feels bigger than the people who tried to break me. Where the nights get quiet enough to hear your own heart arguing with itself. Where porch lights flicker like they're praying for everyone to make it home safe tonight. I'm from worn out shoes by the front door from text me when you get
there, love. The kind that doesn't say much, but means everything. I'm from slammed doors, whispered prayers, and the soft of it's gonna be okay. Even when no one said it out loud. From kitchen counters, sticky with memories and the smell of someone trying their best. I'm from slammed doors, soft apologies. From voices that rise too fast and arms that wrap around even faster after. From learning the difference between being lonely and being alone because I've been both. I'm from bruised knuckles and soft hearts, midnight talks that saved my life and all
the versions of me that I had to outgrow just to breathe. I'm from the girl who kept going. The girl who didn't always know how but always did. I'm from nights spent in cars, music blasting through crack speakers, windows down, hair wild, yelling lyrics that know me better than anyone else ever will. Radio turned up just loud enough to drown out whatever hurt too much to name. From screaming lyrics out of windshield like it might shatter the weight off my chest. From songs that knew my story before I ever understood or wrote a word of it.
I'm from road trips to nowhere, from sunsets that painted over the worst parts of me, from laughing until my ribs hurt and crying until they did too. From moments made in empty fields and little moments that save me without anyone noticing. I'm from the ones who made mistakes and the ones who paid for them. From promises broken, rebuilt, and broken again, and somehow I still learned how to hold people gently. I'm from the people who broke things and the people who stayed to sweep it up. From addiction shadow in the hallway and forgiveness in the living room next door.
From seeing love get tired but somehow never quit. I'm from the girl who grew up fast but still keeps pieces of her child in the glove box. The girl who loved hard lost harder and held herself together with shaky hands when no one else knew. I'm from late night talks that stitched me back up from soft eyes across the room, from hands that help mine like a promise. From loving someone who didn't have to say much for me to hear everything anyway, from hope that shows up quietly like sunlight on a cold floor, from learning that healing isn't pretty or poetic, it's messy, stubborn, and sacred.
I'm from every version of me that didn't think she'd make it and the version standing here now who finally believes she will. That's where I'm from, that's who I am, and that's who I'm still becoming. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I apologize for getting forgetting, that was very, very nice. Actually, I have public comments. I don't have any, people here, because this is a chance to address the Board, but from the community. And next we have, approval of the consent agenda. I make a motion to approve the consent agenda with moving campuses to new business
item p. The Wharton. Motion by Heidi. Support by Monica to put the promises to at the end of roll call. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I have a discussion for just a second on that. I saw that there was minutes for, the, policy committee. Did we receive those some additional minutes in a prior meeting in board book?
I didn't see them when I went back. I would have to look into that and get back to you. I couldn't tell you right now. There was three meetings. Right? Yeah. Okay. We'll take a look and get back to you. Alright. Thank you. Mhmm. Alright. Budget. Budget number two. Alright. Give me one minute. Max can pull it up. Alright. Good evening. I am presenting, budget amendment number two tonight. So to begin, I wanted to, start with a few important, points on the budget
budget note. Sorry. I was the one using the clicker last time. Mom goes talking, so I have to remember that. Some of the few talking points is that this budget reflects the spending projections based on the information made available at the time the amendment was created. While the state funding levels has been established, the full impact of certain funding changes is still being evaluated by the district. Fall student membership counts are still pending state audit, so enrollment related adjustments are not yet reflected. Grant funding well, although we've completed portion of the the our portion of the student
count, that's what it means. So the we're waiting on their audit. Grant funding and categorical revenues are subject to recalculation and may change as data is finalized. This is more so with the state aid, not necessarily the, other grants that we obtained. We will continue to identify grant opportunities and alternative revenue sources to support district programs and reduce reliance on the general fund. K. Now turning to revenues, the most significant driver this year, continues to be the increase
in the state aid foundation. I know some of this information on here is a little repetitive from what we went over on the first amendment, and, really, it's just the main portion at the top, letting you know what our new foundation per student amount is. So going from there, the FTE, based on the information that we submitted to the state, is, 2,145.4. Now this is just the unaudited, piece, and we will have the official numbers once
they come in. It usually takes a few months. The some increases that we've seen that total out to about 1,500,000.0 is the one forty seven c MPSR's UAL stabilization, and that is just due to statewide funding increases and updated pupil and need based, data incorporated into the state aid formula. And this can change, but for the most part, it remains the same. 61 d and 61 a a, CTE total increased by 23 k with 61 d
being double the amount in what we had last year. And for those, in the audience and out there in the community, in case you don't know necessarily what 61 d and a is, the 61 d is a career and technical education programs, by funding instruction materials and services tied to approved career pathways, whether it's welding, go to OTEC, different things like like that. The 61 a one supports the administration and coordination of the career and technical education
programs ensuring they meet state requirements. So it's a really great program for those that, are looking into the fields and kinda ties into what our representative at Advantage was talking about. We also have two new grants, 35 m and 35 n. Those are these are war support, instructional priorities without adding pressure to the general fund. I can thank our grant person, Stephanie. And this is quite a bit. So in all, based on what we have here is about 1.5.
And the federal funding is is the same as what we had prior, just kind of reiterating the fact that we don't have ESSER funds. So that is no longer this graph just shows the increase from the, state aid 09/06/2008 to 10/2015. This graph just shows the enrollment trend. Although 2026 isn't labeled yet, right now that is just reflecting the, 02/2004 enrollment. But, again, this will be updated once we actually get the audited numbers.
Now with the revenues oh, I'm sorry. I missed a spot. So I did want to note with the revenues, it's not on here, but we did receive the updated information for the December state aid. And with that, we it shows a positive enrollment rate stabilization adjustment of approximately 170,000 along with funding under section 27 l two, which is the educator compensation program.
And I believe that's about 400 about $400,000. So I just wanted to let you know it didn't make it for this amendment, but you'll see a tie out on the next one. Okay. So this is just a summary of the revenues that reflect our known changes, since our last budget amendment. In the end, the budget amendment number one is 57,000,000. Our proposed for amendment two is 57.6 for the revenue, which is a total gain of 658,000. And the information at the top is is pretty much just the same on what
it was for amendment one. There really hasn't been any change in regards to that. This right here, the chart for 2025, does, accurate accurately reflect reflect the 1.5, $7,000,000, fund balance that we had at the 2025. Now the summary of expenses. As of right now, for the amendment number one, we have 59,080,000.00. We are down about 223,000 at 58.8. And this is in regards to the help of the it contributes to the the
staff reductions, refining the budget, any and other changes that we know, that we've known of for just within the next month. And, again, we'll continue to monitor any other changes in addition to any, positions that can be, reduced or eliminated, furthest away from children. General fund budget trend. So with the first amendment, although if you guys were to take a look at the previous one, the beginning fund balance, this now reflects the actual audited amount, whereas
prior on the on that one, it did not. So it does with this one. So now we have projected a 4.36 fund balance, which is a 2,500,000.0. And now our next steps, we want to make sure we maintain disciplined spending and regularly review expenditures and, contact for cost saving opportunities, monitor grant spending to ensure timely use and reimbursements of committed funds, continually review budget projections to some more, support informed
decisions, use caution with large, unbudgeted purchases as union negotiations begin, and they continue pursuing grants and other revenue sources to supplement funding and reduce general fund, reliance, which we've actually been doing a great job with that, I believe. The district will continue to monitor revenues and expenditures and make adjustments as more information becomes available. And then with the business business part and HR departments, we continue to evaluate evaluate
these positions and make recommendations for changes based on needs. And this is actually a partnership not just with HR and the business office. It's just with the district as as a whole. So I don't want to just probably should change that as district for the whole and not just with HR and, business department. Crystal, are you able to talk about the $400,000 and what it has to be used for? For the That came in on the state aid unit. The I have to get information about that. So It is it is, It's a educator It's an an educator bonus.
So, really, like, we had a few years ago, remember, where everybody got set amount of money, we have to negotiate that with the unions again. And everybody that touches children will get some kind of bonus with, you know, those dollars. And so, they're still waiting some guidance, and then we'll talk with all of our unions so that we can make sure that we get that in the hands of our staff. And so that's gonna be a flow through. It's gonna be an in and out back to our staff. And that's pretty much it. But I do wanna make one comment. Just so everyone's aware, it's a collaborative effort between the district.
So it's not just a couple departments doing everything as I just, noted prior. But it takes a lot for the principals and just administrators, central staff to all come together and make this work. So it's it's a complete district team effort with it regardless of if it's a point 00001%, involvement in it. So just wanted to to kinda throw that out there. If you have any questions. Any questions? Thanks for all your hard work? Alright. Thank you. Great report. Thank you.
I I'm not checking. We do need approval of the biz I move that the Board of Education approve the budget amendment number two as presented. Second. Motion by Monica. Support by April to accept the, amended budget number two. Roll call, please. Eugene? Yes. Dean? Yes. Becker? Yes. Lucas? Yes. Brock? Yes. Yes. And then? Yes. Motion carries. Seven zero. PowerSchool training and customer support. I need a, motion. I move the board of education approve the purchase of additional PowerSchool training and customer
service hours, including implementation support for incident management and amount not to exceed $1,865.75. Support. Yes. Go ahead. Okay. Motion by Monica. Support by April. Is there any discussion? We did this last week, but sometimes we have questions. Okay. No problem, please. Bridgette? Yes. Deaton? Yes. Rekner? Yes. Wardress? Yes. Fox? Yes. McRoberts? Yes. Yes. Motion carries seven zero. A motion for a school choice resolution. I move the Board of Education approve the school choice resolution as presented.
Second. Motion by Monica and second by, Darren. Do we need to read it? Discussion? Mhmm. Yeah. We did read the last one, did we? No. Want me to read it? Yeah. Please. Board of Education School of Choice Resolution. Whereas the Hazel Park School District desires to make its schools, grades, and special programs available for enrollment by nonresident students residing within the Oakland School Intermediate School District and its contiguous and noncontiguous intermediate school districts to the extent permitted by law and to
count the same in membership pursuant to section 105 and section 105 c of the State school aid act, MCL three eight eight point one seven zero five and three eight eight point one seven zero five c, otherwise known as the schools of choice legislation for the upcoming twenty twenty three, twenty twenty four school year. Twenty five, twenty twenty. It should be '25. Yeah. Twenty twenty five, twenty twenty six school year.
2627. Oh, one more time. 2627. I'll do that. I'll get there. I'm actually It's updated lower. Oh, twenty twenty six twenty twenty seven school year. Therefore, it be it resolved that the Hazel Park School District shall make such all of its schools, grades, and special programs available for enrollment by nonresident students residing within the Oakland Schools Intermediate School District and its contiguous and noncontiguous Intermediate School Districts to the extent permitted by law and count such pupils in membership pursuant to section 105
and section 105 c of the State School Aid Act, MCL three eight eight point one seven zero five and three hundred and eighty eight point one seven zero five c, otherwise known as the Schools of Choice legislation for the upcoming twenty twenty six-twenty twenty seven school year. It is further resolved that the school district, through its administration, will comply with all the requirements set forth in MCL three hundred and eighty eight point one seven zero five and three hundred and eighty eight point seven zero five C for participant participation in school of choice.
Resolution declared adopted 12/15/2025. Okay. Is there any discussion? Again, we did that last week, but so we'll roll call, please. Yes. Fox? Yes. Yes. Becker? Yes. Rogers? Yes. McPowell, please? Yes. I'm gonna vote yes, but I still want an enrollment committee. Okay. Yes. Motion carries seven zero. The next is Oakland County, association resolution. They gave us these two resolutions. The first one is about, they support non partisan school board elections.
The legislature's wanting to turn the school board into, partisan, making your choice. And the second one is funding early childhood, early on Michigan, completely. And that keeps coming up. That's not the first time that came up. So those are the two resolutions. We got a nice packet explaining them both, and we just need a motion if we support both of those. I move the Board of Education approve the resolutions for Oakland County School Board Associations as presented. Support.
Motion by Monica, support by name. Any discussion on those? Okay. Roll call, please. Yes. Becker? Yes. Dean? Yes. Borges? Yes. Fox? Yes. McCall Williams? Yes. Hampton? Support. Support. Motion by Debbie. I mean, motion by hiding support by Debbie. Any discussion? Okay. Hearing none, roll up. Yes. Yes. Mhmm. Yes. Becker? Yes. Fox? Yes. Yes. Yes. Motion carries seven zero. That shows nonunion salary schedules. I move the Board of Education approve a formal central office salary schedule.
Support. Motion by Veronica, support by April to approve the nonunion salary schedules. I just have a question on this. It says that MASA recommends that the district adopt the board approval salary schedule for the superintendent. Is this for the superintendent or is it for central office? It's for both. And so the information I gave was, in order to support and show, how superintendent contracts have incorporated, they recommend that you write in their contract with these individuals, the same you develop it such as this.
This. And I thought I gave an example of it before, through the MASA, but anyone that for the audience and the community, anyone that is not in a union now needs to do this based upon an ORS agreement that was done, last year. They're still working through this. If it's not put in place, then we risk if somebody's retiring them not getting the percentages that they should. So it's something that we should do every year. I also have a question.
In this packet, you, we got a lawsuit that was pending regarding this, the MASA ORS lawsuit. Was this, is this lawsuit finished? It is ongoing. But this first piece, has been put in place, which is why it's recommended to be in everybody's to do a salary schedule for those and to be in the superintendent's contract. So, also, the second copy that we got for this week has a few extra
people in it or new I mean, maybe they're supposed to be in it in the first place. Yes. But Webster principals in there, why aren't all the principals the rest of the principals are in a union? Well, currently, they are that position is not in the union. I mean, by all rights, the they could request it to be in there, but at this time, it is not in a part of their bargaining agreement. We talked about this a couple months ago. Yeah. Okay. And these are no raises pending. This is just a schedule for the past few years. This is the schedule and then when you determine what you'd like to look at
for the 2627 school year, then we would readopt that salary schedule and just keep going so that we make sure that we're protecting our people. Okay. So this would just be updated with the actual amounts in their contracts when they're settled? When we come to what that salary schedule would be. Okay. We bring it back for approval with that amount again. I mean, most places are going out, but at this point in time, if you're in the situation Yeah. This is my recommendation. Okay. So, I have a question too. It says, it is important to work directly with the staff who will be creating
and maintaining the salary schedules for the district employees and to collaborate with the Board of Education to ensure that new documentation is adopted. So, would that be payroll or would that be fund who would the board be collaborating with? HR. HR would bring that means HR brings up a recommendation and that you guys would approve it. Okay. Anybody have anything else? Mhmm. Alright. Roll call, please. Yes. Ethan? Yes. Becker? Yes. Fortress? Yes. Fox? Yes. LaCroix? Yes. Answer. No. Motion carries five to two.
I mean, six to one. Six to one. Great start. HPECEA salary increase. Motion. I move the Board of Education approve the twenty twenty five twenty six HPECEA salary increase and ongoing negotiations. Letter of agreement as presented. Second. A motion by Monica, second by Heidi. Any discussion? Oh, this is new. We didn't have it on last time. So anybody have questions? I think it's great that that it's came together. So maybe for the community I think, isn't there more to come?
Yes. So, for the community, our GSRP and Preschool Academy, have formed a union. And, due to some unforeseen, issues this fall, we did not get a chance to negotiate. And so in order to make sure that we, get them their salary just for this school year, the agreement is is that this will be the the salary for the 2526 school year, but we have dates already set up in January to negotiate with the union on other topics that, we may agree to and they may propose
to us. So salary will not be one of them until we talk about 2627. Anybody else? Thank you for that because we weren't, aware of all of that. So, what we know is coming. I shouldn't say that we knew a little bit. That was good. Roblox? Yes. Fortress? Yes. Deaton? Yes. Becker? Yes. Fox? Yes. McConaughey? Yes. Yes. Motion carries seven zero. How do you schedule extension motion, please? I move the Board of Education approve to designate 12/26/2025 and 01/02/2026 as additional paid
days off for district employees, extending the district's holiday closures. Second the motion. Okay. Motion by Monica. Second by Darren. Any discussion? Roll call, please. Yes. Fox? Yes. Dean? Yes. Gavin? Yes. Orders? Yes. Gonzales? Yes. Yes. Yes. Motion carries 70. Next is district council. I move the board of education approve the elimination of the district council I have
a couple of things. Anybody? Okay. This came forward to us in, March when our audit came back that we had a zero fund balance and had deficit. And then it was brought forward to us in April to approve an extra year after it had we had a small discussion about having no funds. And now we do have a fund balance, but we're using the reason that we don't have money that we need to, end the position.
And so I think it's been back and forth. I think we have funding now, and I'm not in favor of terminating this, job at this time. Unfortunately, we do wanna get at that 5% and more. And I understand our fund balance is getting higher, but it's still not where we want it to be. We also got, a great outlook of where our money has been going for lawyers. It could be potentially something that we could do as needed basis if it's here at board meetings or certain things.
But you have the salary that it is would really help going towards something else. We do have negotiations coming. We have plenty of other things that need that amount of money or could use that amount of money. And I'm I feel that district council has been aware of this for some time. Yeah. And it's not right to not give raises and keep this. Anyone else? Okay. Roll call, please. I believe you have to read the resolution. Is your resolution? Yes. It has to be done by resolution. I don't see resolution. It looks like those are your it will be on your desk.
Okay. I got it. Yeah. I can do it. Hazel Park School District, Oakland County, Michigan. Resolution regarding elimination of district council position. A meeting of the board of education of the school district was held in the school district on the March 2025 at 6PM. That should be fine. Nope. It's been it's the one at your table. Can I give you this one? A meeting of the Hazel Park School District Board of Education was held in the school district on the December 2025 at 6PM. The meeting was called to order at 6PM by Beverly Hinton, president.
President, members, Fortress, Latif, Becker, Beaton, secretary Fox, vice president LaFran Boy, and president Hinton. The following preamble and resolution were offered by member Ratti and supported by member d.
Whereas, the district's recent financial audit has confirmed the need for the board to take immediate and necessary action to reduce costs. Whereas, the board has determined that the elimination of the district council position, which was only established as a new administrative position a few years ago, would result in significant savings to the district with the loss of services being able to made to be made up by other administrators and the district's outside legal counsel. And whereas, the employment contract of the district's counsel with the district permits a termination
of the contract for reasons of a reduction of personnel upon ninety days notice. Therefore, be it resolved that the board hereby authorizes the reduction of the district council position effective 03/15/2026, and that the district superintendent shall ensure written notice of this board resolution is provided to the employee forthwith in at least ninety days prior to 03/15/2026. Okay. Any other comments? Then we have roll call. Yes. Dayton? Just wanna offer by way of explanation that we we just had a preschool teacher
salary schedule in front of us that is, like, literally poverty wages. We have parapros that are working sixteen hours a day as latchkey staff in order to make ends meet. We had drama students here that were getting awards left and right, that we told had to fundraise their own opportunity because we didn't necessarily have the money to pay for it. And I don't I think that there's some value that our district council has to add in terms of administration and FOIAs and things like that.
But when I see that we're literally taking money away from our kids, to the tune of almost a quarter million dollars, I just I can. Yes. Again, this is just looking at the position and looking at the state of our affairs and looking at all of the legal fees that we do pay to all of these attorneys, it's it's just in the best interest, I think, to spend that money elsewhere. So I mean, yes.
Fortress? I am a no. Thank you. Fox? No. The primaries? No. No. Motion fails. Three to four. Can I ask a clarifying question before we move forward though about item we've passed it, but I think the item g, the HPECEA salary increase? I noticed in our packet when I was digging through it that we also have a resolution for that. Does it need to be rent allowed? Do we need to vote again or are we okay? That's an LOA that, we will ask, president Hinton to So I don't need to?
Okay. That's I was just worried that if we didn't do it the right way, they wouldn't get their money. So Thank you for questioning that. That would have been pretty bad. Ken Peas awards motion for Lincoln's interim. I move the board of education to approve the site improvement. Can't be as a wood at a cost not to exceed $40,000 Support. Motion by Monica, second by April. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Motion carries. That soccer field, we need a motion. I move the Board of Education approve the request to seek a request for proposal
for the construction of your new soccer field at Invest Roseville. Support. Motion by nine is support by Gabriel. Discussion? Roll call. Yes. Eaton? Yes. Becker? Yes. Wardred? Yes. Fox? Yes. Milfandowitz? Yes. Yes. Motion carries seven zero. High school doors, RFP. I move the Board of Education approve the request to seek to request a proposal for additional doors at Hazel Park High School. Support. Motion by IT, support by April.
Discussion? Roll call. Oh, Boardress? Yes. Dean? Can I? I just thought I could be cut. Something's Can we redo that motion? This motion is to do a request for proposal for additional doors at the high school night. Did I not? Isn't that right? I think that's what she said. Okay. Alright. I just probably didn't hear it. Thank you. Yes. Deaton? Yes. Becker? Yes. Fox? Yes. McFarland? Yes. Thirteen? Yes. Consent. Yes. Motion carries seven zero. School safety training motion, please. I move the Board of Education approve the conference request for digital threat assessment training
and advanced digital Threat Assessment Training not to exceed $1,116 as presented. Support. Motion by Heidi and support by Monica. And I'm just looking at where is this gonna be, doctor Wilcox? It is, virtual. Oh, it's virtual? Yes. They're virtual friends. Okay. No travel. Alright. Thank you. It's probably on here. I just don't see it. Okay. Roll call. Fortress? Yes. Verdis? Yes. Dean? Yes. Wagner? Yes. Fox? Yes. Yes. Motion carries, seven zero.
Board training. I move the Board of Education approve the Board training for the twenty twenty six Winter Institute which is virtual for any Board member wanting to attend and the, CBA one two twenty three class support. Motion by Heidi. Support by Monica. Sorry. I'm reading all the great training here that you're signed up for, Monica. There's a big list, and, dang it. Any discussion?
Okay. Roll call. Fortress? Yes. Kijee? Yes. Eaton? Yes. Becker? Yes. Fox? Yes. Will Provo? Yes. Yes. Motion carries seven zero. Student discipline. I move the Board of Education approve the student discipline as presented. Second. Motion by Monica. Second by Naidi to approve the student discipline. Any discussion? Roll call? Yes. Porter? Yes. Dean? Yes. Becker? Yes. Fox? Yes. Yes. Yes. Motion carries. Seven zero. And now we have the conference request.
Do you need a motion for that? I move the board of education to move the conference request as presented. Second. Motion by Heidi. Motion by Maia to support by Heidi. Discussion? Roll call. Yes. Yes. George? Yes. Dean? Yes. I understand you because of familiar family conflict. Fox? Yes. Woodrowley? Yes. Yes. Motion, carries with one abstent. Superintendent report enrollment. This is a nice report. I guess so, what you're getting to see is our data and analytics coming to
life. It's even more exciting when we dig in a little bit further. You can even show how many people have enrolled in, how many have enrolled out. This is how when I meet with students, I take a look at not only on what their discipline was, but I can go in and see their past test scores, what interventions they're receiving through our student system of support, how long they've been receiving it, when they change. It's very exciting that work that Doctor. Dolmage and Josh have done, and the building principals is just substantial, and will continue
to show this coming to life. And so I felt like these two reports were helpful. If you don't think they are, let me know. But it just gives you a really good vision about what's happening. Our special ed numbers that are actually I was shocked to see them more, not higher, than last year. So just it's, I think, a really good piece for you to see. I appreciate the color copy too. Thank you. You're welcome. It's very informative. And, please, next. Any questions? So we do have fundraisers that are on here for December, that were approved. And so, interesting enough, the junior high is gonna be raising some money for PE
equipment. And Jason Smith's family are he and his wife own a dance studio. And so for their fundraiser, they're going to do dancing lessons, which sounds pretty fun. Are you good to go? We weren't invited as administration, but if they did, I would surely go. Something I've always wanted to do, so it'd be fun to check it out. I have a list of things that I promise I'll go through quickly. The governor's literacy, summit happened today, And, it was really fantastic to hear people from all over the country talk about, literacy and what's happening in our state and other
states. We are at, you know, 44, in the country here in, Michigan. And some of the, pieces that they said, I just wanna kinda go fun fact, we're thirty fifth and fourth grade math. We're forty fourth and fourth grade reading. We're thirty fourth and eighth grade math. We're forty fourth and eighth grade reading. One in four Michigan students are considered proficient in subjects listed. One in four. We are 27% in the country on per pupil funding. Forty second over law all compared to other states.
One of the things that they said is that one in four individuals are, proficient as adults at this point in time. And so it's a real move from our business, and our state and, because if we can't have literate individuals, then we have a hard time hiring. We have a hard time people doing their jobs. One of the things that said is the most important thing that could happen is that boards collectively work together with their superintendent and administration to not blame, but to
talk about what things need to be changed because this is a crisis in the state of Michigan as a whole as well across the country, the same with math. And so, it was a very good conference. Literacy, the, governor stated that being literate is a superpower and that every child, it shows 95% of all children can learn to read and can read at their grade level, and that's what the research is saying. So it's a really wonderful conference.
I have lots more that I could say about it. We'll see what their next steps are. They brought in Mississippi, who was at the bottom of the country and now have risen to the top by slow moving together. It is a marathon. It is not a, it is it's what did you say? It's a marathon. It's not a quick race. It's something that's gonna take a long time. Is this what you went to today? Yes. Oh, my gosh. Yes. It was a the whirlwind day? Yes. And it was, the press were there, Balmer was there, Kresge was there, the governor
and her team were there, the new state superintendent was there. I mean, it, was really great. I sat next to an ISD superintendent, and chatted with him for a while about what they're doing. It was it was important to and, you know, some of the things they talked about are some of the things that we're doing, the letters training, making sure Rodriguez letters, making sure they're getting Norton Gillingham, having a, program that, is scientifically based, which we do, and we've been doing that. And so the reason we're invited is our work that we do with Barb Palmer.
They talked about the summer discovery grant and how important that is and how community schools are important as well, that if we can't wrap our hands around families, then, we're not gonna help be able to help them. It broke my heart today when we met with a student that had some discipline, and I asked what he likes to read, and he says, I don't have any books in my house. And that was a conversation that was done in the conference as well. So many of our kids do not have books in their home, and it's something we need to change. Take the phones out. Get rid of the iPads. Let's get kids some books so that they can read because it is AI is
gonna come and do so many things for you, but kids still need to learn to read. So I'm sure there'll be more for that. We have our first girls basketball game, as he said, and Tuesday night is the, junior high band concert, and we do have boys basketball at home. We received a wonderful donation from Amazon and still is receiving parts of it up to 10,000 on school supplies. So once we get it in, we'll open it and do a little PR thing for them to thank them. They now have a communications person for the Hazel Park area, and I am super
excited about that because of the fact that, I've been trying to get through to Amazon for some time. We will also be writing a grant in the spring to them for some additional things. They said if you write a grant, then it's not like the long grants we write pages. It's write a paragraph. We're super excited for that. Thanks to probably the same organization that gave the rec center their items today. We have the junior high choir concert on Wednesday. Thursday is the Webb holiday concert. I also wanna thank all of those who, did holiday baskets that gave, donations.
I know families. We had 85 families, that were given, and all but two were picked up this weekend, which is pretty exciting. So that was What concert is it at Webb? Because No. High school. It's it's at the high school. Yeah. And on Friday, our school of work, UAW training center on 9 Mile had a wonderful party. Party. I unfortunately had a issue in a building and was not able to attend, but I know doctor Dalmich got to be there. And, when I met with the, 2026 parent group on Friday night yes.
Friday night, 07:30, that parent meeting. The boys had said they were waiting out front for me to escort me through on my red carpet. So I did disappoint a few boys by not being able to get there, but I'll make it next time. But just a really good opportunity. Wonderful things happening. If I missed anything, you know, please let me know. I just great things happening, and we're really proud of the work that our administrators, staff, secretaries, custodians, maintenance are doing, especially when it's so cold out there. The NDK limiter. Who is it? Oh. Jamie, can you tell me those?
It was Mackenzie Brets at Hoover. Mackenzie Brets at Hoover. Yes. And staff and teachers, if you want one, Chuck puts it in the newsletter. Make sure that you, get that out. That's awesome. That's awesome. Okay. Because back to public, well, actually, future request agenda items first and then public comment. For future agenda items, I would love to see us discuss a resolution in support of pending legislation, Invest in My Kids, which is it's aimed at equitable school funding,
offering some additional funding towards districts that, have lower tax base or, lower income residents that that would sort of elevate them up to the same status as our county peers. I will happily put a packet together and email it to you. Is that okay? Yeah. So that we can maybe have a a packet to discuss at our next committee of the whole. Okay. Awesome. Our December meeting, we normally, honor the fall sports. We didn't do that today, so maybe something about that.
Of the sports? Yeah. All sports. We should do fall sports in December. Have that done to Blue Cross? I did. I'm writing as we could. Alright. Thank you. So then if we do calendar dates, does that mean January we'll probably be at the high school if we do all sports? Yeah. If we do that. It depends on the numbers of kids. I think, we'll address that at Committee of the Whole, if that's okay. Okay. We have to find out what's good for the kids based upon what sport might fall on that night. They can leave the bench and run over. Yeah. Maybe not. Let's do it right in the gym.
Because that was a great game. If you Good. And it's public comment. Missus Presley. I always remember when I met you, you said my name rhymes with Presley. Presley. Yeah. That'd be Miss Presley. And my ex husband wanted me to name our youngest Elvis, so it would have
been Elvis Presley. Okay. I'm gonna put on my, community school hat on Wednesday, December 17. We're doing another food distribution. We have about 200 ish, shelf stable food boxes left from our forgotten harvest. We're going to invite anybody that would like a box or two to Longfellow, which is the address is 244400 Battelle. So come on over eight to 09:30.
Don't have to get there too early. We're going to be, just doing it out of the front door and, we're so, you just pull up and we're gonna ask you, how many people in your home and then, the box is for four people. So if you've got a, four four family, then we'll give you a box. If you've got more than that, we'll give you two. So please come on over Wednesday, December 17, eight to 09:30 at Longfellow Community Center,
24400 Patel. Thank you. 930. Thank you. That's awesome. Alright. Miss Kales. Christy Kales. Hi. Chrissy Kales. 1812 East Harry Avenue. I stand before you today with a unique perspective. I've served this district in many capacities over a significant period of time. First as a parent, then as a volunteer, a board member, and now as an employee. Today, however, I'm speaking as a community member. Over the past eighteen to twenty four months, I've witnessed something deeply troubling. The continued denigration of the role of the board member.
Despite the amount of training many of you have received, there's been a persistent disregard for what that role is and just as importantly, what it is not. It is quite honestly disappointing to watch. I spent six years sitting in the very chairs that you occupy today. During that time, I would never have made even half the comments I've heard coming from behind this table before, during, and even after meetings. It's embarrassing to witness sometimes. What's even more concerning is the volume of feedback I've received from both community members and employees regarding what these meetings have become.
The number of people who have reached out to me is staggering. I've heard comments from staff such as how sad. We watch for the entertainment. And I'm so sorry. You're being treated the way that you are. Those aren't things anyone should ever say about the governance of a public school district. I'm here to ask directly that the disrespect towards the staff stop. In my role as human resources, I am the person employees come to with complaints and concerns. I never would have imagined that those complaints would be about the actions and the conduct of the board of education itself. I'm asking that we use January as a fresh start, an opportunity to reset, a
chance to refocus on the many positive things happening in Hazel Park Schools, our programs, our accomplishments, and our continued efforts to educate the children here. Our staff is already under an immense amount of stress. They should not also have to worry about how they're perceived or spoken about by the board. Every day. I see incredible hard work taking place. I see people coming together to support students. All students, whether they live in Hazel Park or not. And that's where our attention needs to be. Thank you for taking the time to listen. I sincerely hope you've heard my concerns and will take the time to thoughtfully consider
them. Thank you. That brings us to board member and administrative, comments. I guess I'll go first. Congratulations to all those drama students back in this work. What else did I write? Reminder of the Blood Drive. I have to work, so I can't go, but but I support that wholeheartedly. And I'm looking forward to Beetlejuice because I love that movie. Yeah. That's a better one. Anyone else? Doctor Wilcox said most of mine because I was going to talk about all the junior high band concerts and everything, Christmas concerts coming up. But, I do wanna say thank you to our representative from Advantage coming up.
Seeing all of the things that she did for college readiness and getting her FAFSA in and winning that tablet and just you can see down her face how proud she is of herself. So I just really wanna congratulate her on that because a lot of kids don't understand that they can truly make themselves proud with something like that. I do wanna thank miss Kales for coming up. Just in general, I know to speak to the board like that is hard, but you're speaking up for all of your staff in your role. So I do appreciate that. And I do wanna say, it is hard up here to do things and ask
for items or ask for someone to not work here anymore or anything like I don't wanna clean up with too much, but, like, it broke my heart. Like, Nate's hand was shaking. It's hard. It stinks. But sometimes we have to do it, so we are doing the best for our kids. So I'd just like to, say that I went to Hoover's choir concert. And there's this little girl, I think she was in third grade, who was just having the time of her life.
And just to think that life is so easy, and you can just she was just having such a good time. She just melted my heart, and she was just in the moment. And I think a lot of the times we forget just to be in the moment. So, I urge everybody to just take a minute during the holidays and not worry if your presence are wrapped perfect or you're sure a gift. Just be in the moment. Life is too precious to worry about these small details. And I think her name was Charlie, who read that poem.
Well done. Well done. You did amazing, and, I think it could that poem had home for a lot of our students. And it was hard to not get all choked up while she was reading it. I wish everybody a happy holiday and I hope that everybody enjoys their family time. Also, thank you for our gifts. Oh. And whoever did this one. I don't know. I didn't look at me yet. But thank you. And see you guys all next year. Mhmm. Yeah. I just wanna say, hope everyone has a good happy holiday, good New Year, get
some rest, get some relax, get some time with your families, and, enjoy, enjoy the holidays. Anyone? Yeah. I wanna complain about school funding like I always do. I you know, listening to the statements that were made about the literacy crisis within the state and across the country today, Just sort of a reminder that literacy begins with putting books in your kids' hands, and giving them access to reading at home, which is early literacy is literally when you have a baby, and their fine motor skills are learning to turn the pages of those little board books that they put
in their mouth and just learning what a book is. With that, you know, we we made some strides today, in having the Hazel Park Early Childhood Education Association be formed, and making sure that our preschool teachers get raises. But just to remind everybody that across the board, while all educators deserve to be paid a significantly more robust salary than they currently get, across the country, preschool teachers do not even make enough to pay rent in an apartment on a single salary. And it is not any different here in Hazel Park.
So I would really look forward to us, working more closely with them and let you all know that money should be in classrooms, and I hope that your union is good to you going forward. I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday and happy New Year, and, thank everyone for participating tonight. Anyone else? I just I have these books from mister Sobe, per each board member. A better way to budget is what he's governing and working his program.
I just want this from mister Fox because he makes those are papers from the last meeting, and this one's for the paper. And I just have to say Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, enjoy your family. There's nothing like family time. It is, I think, one time when people do make time for each other, because everybody else has such busy schedules. So, enjoy your family. Enjoy, the time off. Motion to adjourn. Support.