get started. I'm actually going to call the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. We have a full house here tonight. So, thank you everyone for joining us this evening and those for uh who are tuning in on our YouTube channel. Thank you. Um my name is Lauren Christensen. I'm the president and I'm going to ask the
remaining board members to uh introduce themselves starting with uh Miss Ahmed. Good evening everyone. I'm an Ahmed board member. Thank you so much for joining us. It's great to see a full house. Hello, I'm Cheryl Pequard and welcome everyone. Good evening. I'm Anupam
Chuku. Thanks for being here. Hi, I'm Patrick Hio. Thanks for joining us this evening. Welcome. I'm Jennifer Voss. Okay. Thank you. And I'll ask my student co-chairs to um or co-chair I suppose to introduce themselves. Good evening. My name is Josh Patterson and I'm a
Plymouth Junior and an SBA co-chair. Good to see you all here tonight. Thank you. Dr. Merritt, can you introduce yourself and the team? Good evening, Superintendent Monica Merritt. Welcome to the board meeting this evening. I'd like to begin by introducing my assistant, Miss Diane Robertson. We want to thank her for being here to take our
minutes. Also want to uh give a shout out to the voice of PCCS, Mr. John Kger, and thank him for taking care of our technology needs this evening. I'd like the remaining members of the staff to introduce themselves to you. Thank you, Dr. Merrick Curtis, assistant superintendent for student services.
Welcome. Good evening. I'm Jill Minnik. I serve as chief finance and operations officer. Good evening and welcome. I'm Beth Rail. I'm the chief academic and innovation officer. Um, good evening. I'm Abdul May, chief human resources officer. Welcome everyone. Liz Vartanian Gibbs, assistant superintendent, student
family engagement. Great. Thank you very much. Let's all stand for the pledge, please. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, thank you. On to the adoption of the agenda and the approval of our consent agenda. This is action item number 25-05-74. Can I please have a motion?
Madame President, I move that we adopt the agenda, approve the consent agenda, action item number 25-05-74. Can I please have a second? I can second. Okay. It was moved by um Vice President Sadu and seconded by uh trustee um Ahmed. Uh Dr. Merritt, can
you please take us through the agenda? Thank you, President Christensen. sentence this evening. Our consent agenda consists of human resources transactions since our last time together. We have leaves, resignations, and retirements for your consideration. We also have the approval of the minutes
from our regular meeting. That's on May 13, 2025. We have quite a few final reading policies this evening. First is fi policy 1623. That's section 504 ADA. Prohibition against disability discrimination. We have policy
2260.01 that is also section 504 ADA prohibition against disability discrimination and policy 5517 section 504 ADA prohibition against disability discrimination. Additionally, we have policy
6110, grant funds, 611, internal controls. 6112, cash management of grants. 6114, cost principles, spending federal funds. This evening, we also have two uh resolutions for your consideration as a
part of the consent agenda. The first is the MHSA membership. We do this annually in order for our students to participate through the Michigan High School Athletic Association for August 1st, 2025 through July 31st, 2026.
Additionally, we have our cooperative agreement with Wayne West Community Schools. This is for the William Ford Center that will allow our students to participate in the program for career and technical education. Okay. Thank you, Dr. Merritt. Okay, I'm
going to call for the vote. Those in favor, please say yes. Yes. Those opposed, say no. Motion carries. 6. Uh, Mr. Voom, can you please take us through human resources? Yes. I would like to um acknowledge um the retirees that we had on today's agenda. So, I'll start with
Christian Bertoya. Um was instructional coach at TANDA. She's been with the district since 1990. Um Lynn Kennedy, a classroom teacher at Dodson. Um has been with the district since 1995. Christopher Moore, who was a middle school assistant principal, has been with the district since 2000. Lisa
Peele, um, history teacher at Plymouth, has been with the district since 1990. Kelly Bruno, a science teacher at East, has been with the district since 1995. Joanie Van Djk, a resource room teacher at Plymouth, has been with the district since 2007. and Robin Robin
Wner, a resource room teacher at Field, has been with the district district since 1995. Let's give a um round of applause for those retirements and and we thank them for their years of service to the district. And that's it for today. Okay,
thank you very much. On to celebrating success with uh members of Thank you. This is one of the highlights of the evening. So this evening, the board of education is honored to celebrate the exceptional contributions of one of our
outstanding leaders by presenting an extra mileer award to Mr. George Hill, the principal of Bird Elementary School. Principal Hill has been a constant and inspiring presence at Bird Elementary for the past six years. Whether greeting students in the hallway, chatting with
them at recess, or participating in school events like STEM night, come on up. It's all about you. So whether it's STEM night, Halloween festivities, curriculum night, Mr. Hill leads the heart and presence
and passion for students. He is not just seen, he is known. He is known for creating a welcoming, inclusive school culture where all students feel seen, supported, and empowered to succeed. He models the values of Bird Elementary
School Creed: integrity, respect, belief in oneself, and dreaming big. Mr. Hill's commitment to diversity and inclusion is evident in every aspect of Bird Elementary. He ensures that every child, regardless of background, feels valued.
He leads with empathy and builds connections with students at their level, whether that means talking to them on a tough moment or joining them in a game on the playground. At this time, I would like to invite bird parent elementary parent Megan Daniel to share
a few words about her reflections about Principal Hill. All right. Hello. My name is Megan Daniel. I'm a proud parent at Bird Elementary School. I'll keep this brief because there are a few students who would like to share their thoughts about how amazing Principal Hill is. And let's
be honest, they're much cuter than I am. Six years ago, my now fifth grader started kindergarten at Bird. Like many parents, I was nervous. New school and a brand new principal. We didn't know what to expect, but wow, were we blown away. Then, of course, CO hit. I remember feeling for this new principal who had
to lead through this completely uncharted territory. But Mr. Hill, as always, showed up with dependability, energy, and a true commitment to helping Bird thrive. As a frequent school volunteer, I've had the chance to witness firsthand how he interacts with the students. He gets down on their
level, truly sees them, and makes them feel like they're essential part of the Bird family. I've even seen him build a snowman on the playground. How many principles can we say have done that? He empowers his students to do their best, and he does it with kindness, compassion, and silliness. And let's not
forget he might just be the best dressed principal around. I am beyond grateful for this elementary experience my children have had and that so much of that is thanks to Mr. Hill. And I'll have um Alex Rudder come up and read a few words. [Music]
Hi. Hi. My name is Alec. My name is Alex Rudder and I'm in third grade at Bird Elementary. Mr. Hill is a great principal because he cares about all the students at Bird and he's always there for us when we need him. He can usually
be found in the hallways helping out students and looking cool in his many suits. I wore one tonight in honor of him. Thanks, Principal Hill. And then this is uh Brooklyn
[Music] Daniel. Hello, I am Brooklyn Daniel, a fifth grader at Bird Elementary. I have had the honor of having Mr. Hill as my principal for the last 6 years. I love how funny he is and how hard he works to make Bird Elementary the best school
around. My favorite memory is when Mr. Hill and Dr. Wagner dressed up in inflatable costumes. Mr. Hill helps us always remember to believe in ourselves, invest in our learning, respect oursel and others, and to dream big. These are the words to our
school creed. Mr. Hill makes this creed to reflect in our school. I'm so lucky to have him as my principal. Once again, always a once aird, always a Thunderbird. Thank you, Mr. Hill.
[Applause] Thank you for those thoughtful and very powerful words. I would now like to welcome the executive director of elementary education, Dr. Denise Lily, to share a few words about Principal Hill.
Good evening, everyone. And I won't be as cute as Brooklyn and Alex, but I'll try my best. Uh, Principal Hill is a courageous leader who continuously goes above and beyond to ensure that all students and staff feel welcomed and supported. He leads with integrity,
compassion, and an unwavering commitment to equity and excellence through intentional actions and inclusive vision. He has fostered a school a school culture where every student feels seen, valued, and empowered to succeed. staff members, students, and families
have been inspired by his dedication and support through professional development, collaborative opportunities, and a shared belief in the potential of every student. Principal Hill's leadership not only uplifts the school community, but also sets a powerful example of what it means to lead with courage, heart, and
purpose. I am very honored to work with Mr. Hill and I have seen every day the work that he does and the contributions that he gives to not only Bird Elementary School but our entire team. So Mr. Hill welld
[Applause] deserved come closer. Principal Hill, thank you for being the leader that every school dreams of having. Your dedication, care, and leadership shape not just the
school, but the future filled with confident, capable, and compassionate learners. On behalf of the board of education and the entire PCCS community, congratulations on this welldeserved recognition. You embody what it means to lead with purpose, passion, and heart.
Would you like to share a few words? No, but I will. Um, I just want to say I'm very honored to be acknowledged. I don't get up every day and do this work to be acknowledged. I simply love what I do. I come to work to se excuse me celebrate kids and do
the best things I can to make them have a great experience at Bird Elementary School. I can't really take credit for all of this because I have a great team of support with my colleagues at the elementary level and I also have an amazing team at Bird School. So I would be remiss if I didn't celebrate them because the bird school is a great place
not just because of me but because of all of us. So, I'm truly honored and thank you for this opportunity. [Applause]
All right. It's always a hard act to follow. Those are so wonderful. So, congratulations to Mr. Hill and thank you to the students who spoke. That was just so inspiring. Um, on to board committee reports and action. First up is the president's report. I do have a few things that I
want to say this evening. First of all, thank you for everyone who is here on a a night like this when we've had a stretch of rain and now we have a little bit of sunshine. So, I do appreciate those who are sacrificing sacrificing their evening to be with us. Um, I want to wish everyone well as we embark on
these final days of the 2024 2025 school year. For our seniors, I think it's under what, two weeks now at this point. Um, so I'm sure everybody's counting down the days. Um, I want to give a shout out to my fellow board members that were in attendance of the high school um, honors nights this last week.
Um, and of course a bigger an even bigger shout out to the students who were in attendance as well who received accolades and uh scholarships for their great accomplishments this year. Um, I also want to send some well wishes uh to everyone in these rem remaining days of the school year.
Teachers, I'm hoping that you're able to enjoy these last few days with your classes and ride that wave of the year end excitement and, you know, have a little patience. I know there's the the year- end jitters that all the the kids are a little bouncing off the walls. I understand that. Um students, may you
hang on for these last few days as school of learning and celebrating your accomplishments. And um to the parents, I hope you're also surviving Mayber and keeping it all together uh for these last few days. Um I I would be remiss if
I didn't also look ahead to the next school year. Um Young Fives and the kindergarten registration is still up. So, if you have any neighbors or friends or community members who are looking for a school district to join, please come on over to PCCS. Uh more information can
be found on our district website, uh pccsk12.com. And that concludes my president's report. Okay. Up next, we have uh student performance and achievement committee. Now, normally member Westerro would uh report out, but she's not in
tonight. U member Sudu, are you able to share some updates? We actually have not met since the last report out. Um, but we do have a meeting coming up in this room June 4th at 5:00 PM. Would love for all of you or anyone watching to join us. Okay. Thank you. Up next is the
policy committee. Back to you. We actually just met and I have some things to report out. By the way, I want to thank people that do show up to our committee meetings. We had um three people that spoke during citizens comments. We have two committee members that are parents and we have three
students that are part of our committee. So to have that kind of collaboration in terms of what we do for students is um really inspiring. So thank you to everyone that showed up today. So we went through really
uh sort of dense policies in terms of changes for procurement purposes. Uh these are federal changes. We looked at policy 6325 procurement federal grants and funds. There are a lot of changes happening at the federal level that get passed down to NEOLA which is the
company we contract with to take that language and to draft policies for us and that those policies come forward with legal guidance. So we reviewed those recommendations had minor tweaks for that one. Um we also looked at policy 7310 disposition of surplus
property. We didn't have any changes for this one. So it will come to the full board for a first read at the next meeting. And the next one we reviewed was policy 7450 property in inventory. That again did not have any changes. So it will come to the whole board for first read
at the next meeting. Our next meeting for policy is going to be June 24th at 5:30 p.m. down the hallway. So please join us for that one as well. Thank you very much. On to finance and operations committee with member Kho. Thank you. We met last uh Thursday,
May 22nd at 5:00 pm here in this room and we reviewed a couple of the presentations that we'll be seeing this evening, including the budget progress update as well as the recommendation to purchase security cameras for the CTE areas. We also did a review of the financial reports for the month of April. Our next meeting is a slight
adjustment in the process here. Uh the Starkweather graduation ceremony is at uh um 6 pm at uh Salem High School and many of the board members including those that are on the uh FNO committee really want to attend that. So we're moving the
time up to 4:30 and we'll be holding that uh FNO meeting in the Salem main office conference room. It is still a public meeting and we welcome people to come to to that meeting. Thank you. Thank you very much. on to student voice and action committee with um both Josh
and Arjun. Thank you. At our last student voice and action meeting and wetstone, the PCCS dietitian brought spicy and plain boneless wings for SBA students to try and provide feedback on. Very yummy. By the way, our lunches are amazing. Um we then discussed how our
how our wear green for mental health day went and worked to come up with a plan to improve it for next year. Finally, we talked about the hate and bias form, when to use it, and some common misconceptions about the form. And our next student voice and action meeting will be next school year with the the date still being determined. Thank
you. Thank you very much. Okay, up next is the superintendence report. Dr. Merritt, thank you. This evening, I want to begin by offering my sincerious congratulations to the graduating class of 2025. Please join me in a round of
applause for our seniors. HAP seniors will attend their last day of classes and they will have the prom this week. We'll celebrate our graduates from Starkweather on June the 5th. That will take place at the Salem's Gloria Logan Auditorium and PC. All three
schools will have their commencement on June the 8th and that will be at the George Gerbid Game Above Center at EMU. Um, when we think about our graduates and their journey, they truly embody that learner profile coming through our
system, many from preK through their senior year. So, we're very proud of them. We look forward to their future endeavors. I know that there is no ceiling on what they are able to do. We also want to thank their incredible teachers and staff for their support and really just pouring into our young people to allow them to truly learn,
prepare, and thrive here at PCCS. When we talk about thriving, we had the pleasure of seeing and celebrating our students this week at their honors uh ceremony. This was an I really to highlight their accomplishments in both academics, they had scholarships, they
had athletics and extracurricular activity successes. Um we had quite a few board members that were able to join us and we appreciate uh member boss from being there, member Sadu, um member Pequard from being able to share and represent the board that uh those various evenings. I believe millions of
dollars at each school. A couple of millions of dollars worth of scholarships were earned by our young people. So again, this is just another example of the many ways our students use their education provided here at PCCS to find their best success and prepare for uh their future life outside
of high school. So just again, congratulations to our young people. This week, I think I highlighted this at the last meeting, we had a couple of opportunities to be in the news. It was wonderful to see the great things that are happening at PC. This was on channel
4's in your community segment. The cameras follow. This is our senior Ben Trudeale for a day at the park and the piece highlighted the many opportunities available for students on our three school campus. Now this uh I think they had the opportunity Ben is really a
superstar. He was in the world uh renowned culinary program as well as the radio station. So, he had an opportunity to see and uh share some of the experiences with our young people. But we were really really proud of that accomplishment. But of course, not to be outdone, thanks to member Pequard's
husband, we were able to get Channel 7 to highlight our radio station, 881 the Park and its campaign to expand its studio space. The station had a busy and successful week that week after their annual radio station auction raised almost
$30,000 towards the studio expansion project. So, we are well on our way. We are continue to be thankful to Plymouth Rotary PM that has this uh match campaign for us. So, we What is the total number, John? Don't let me say the wrong number. 200 $200,000. $200,000.
So, we're going to match that and our community is supporting our young students for this excellent experience and we know that we will get that uh studio expanded. So, we're so appreciative. And finally, I'd like to end just celebrating the hard work of our students across the district this month at the PCCS K through2 art show.
Did see quite a few board members there in attendance as well. The show highlighted outstanding student work from across the buildings in the district. We had hundreds of visitors that day. They had outstanding arts educations here at PCCS at all grade levels. We want to thank our art
teachers and our K12 curriculum coordinators for visual and performing arts, Miss Kathy Williams, for their hard work and dedic dedication to our young students. And hopefully we have an opportunity to be able to put some of these uh pieces on display here in the boardroom. Maybe rotate them out. That
would be great to see. So, that concludes my report for today. Thank you, Dr. Marin. Okay. Up next, we have citizens comments. So, just wanted to let you know we have quite a few here that we're going to go through. We have about the first section of citizens comments is
limited to 30 minutes. Um, Miss Robertson is going to set the timer. Each person gets about three minutes, not about they get three minutes to talk. Um, just note at this time it's it's our opportunity to hear you, but board members do not actually respond to cit citizens comments at the time, but
Dr. Merritt or and the administration will uh provide followup. Um, as a reminder, please do not share any names when sharing any concerns or criticisms unless you have uh that individual's permission to do so. Um, let's get
started. All right. Up first, we have Christopher Townsend. Good evening everybody. On behalf of concerned parents and guardians here in this area, I come before you tonight and not as a stranger or not a stranger to struggle, but
someone who was shaped by the soil of Mississippi, right? Uh a place where true oppression once were a war no mask. a land where my parents drank from
separate fountains and walked a long road of disenfranchisement. That's why I find it both offensive and alarming that this board has chosen to uphold policies rooted in an ideology that pretends to heal but in practice divides. I'm
referring to the so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion framework, better known as DEI, and how it's no longer a benign initiative. It is now state sanctioned favoritism wrapped in academic
jargon, which you've enshrined in your policy manual under educational and racial equity. is laced with divisive terms and slogans more suitable for political rallies than public education. And under Executive Order
14151, it is now unlawful. The federal government has spoken. The Department of Education has acted and your refusal to [Music] comply is not a stand for
justice. is defiance of law and a betrayal of duty. To equate the lived experience of foundational black Americans, people whose ancestors built this nation in chains with someone's sexual preference or gender
identity, is not inclusion, it's insult. We bled for the right to vote and we fought for the right to be judged based on the content of our character and not the color of our skin. Yet you continue
to bundle us into acronyms. Our history is not to be used for your social experiment. And neither should Title Nine, a law born from our struggle for equity. While refusing to comply with
this true intent by forcing women and girls to compete against male-bodied athletes is not progress. It can only be seen as eraser. And let's be honest, you didn't invent this language. It was important.
This policy recycles academic activism and imposes on students who came here to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, not Marxism. And for what? So this district can be a progressive trophy case so you can act
like you're above the law. I think not. And I'm here to remind you that even in this affluent bubble, the law still applies. Thank you. Okay, thank you. Up next we have Tim Mosa. Good evening. My name is Tim Mosa. I
understand there's a group of people here today that are displeased with your actions, but I'm not here to condemn you. I'm here to thank you and to commend you. First, thank you for finding a way to remove parents from the equation entirely. For far too long,
it's been thought that raising kids was a team effort. Parents, teachers working together. But you, oh wise board, have discovered the sweet spot where parents are just a funding source. No need to tell them about name changes, pronouns,
or private medical matters. After all, what could parents possibly know about their own children? Second, thank you for what can only be called innovation. Cracking the centuries old problem of how to get pornography into the hands of minors. For decades,
predators tried and failed. The law kept stopping them. But you found the golden loophole. Just slap a school library code on it, call it literature, and bam, mission accomplished. That's the kind of deception even Satan himself would
applaud. is truly masterful. Third, thank you for revolutionizing the concept of private spaces. For years, silly old-fashioned people thought the girls bathroom was, you know, for girls. But you cracked the
code. Now anyone can declare a new identity and boom, it's a co-ed freefor-all. Privacy boundaries, safety. Who needs them when you've got a progressive policy to uphold? Fourth, thank you for elevating
education beyond boring things like math and reading. Why waste time there when you can train kids to sort themselves by race, gender, and victimhood status? You've managed to replace unity with division, merit with identity, and
shared values with grievance charts. Bravo. Truly, you've redefined what it means to educate. And finally, here in the Detroit area, home of the legendary Dan Campbell, who I'm a big fan of, we know what it means to bite kneecaps,
play hard, and fight with grit. But thank you, Plymouth K School Board, for showing us that not all men and women need to be bold defenders. No, no, they can still be cowardly compliant, weak need leaders who fold under the slightest cultural pressures. Thank you
for reminding us what spineless leadership looks like so our kids never feel the burden of becoming anything more. And most of all, thank you for showing our children they never need to aim for courage, honor, or conviction. After all, look how far you've come
without any of it. Okay, thank you. Up next is, and I'm going to do my best to pronounce this, so please correct me. John Anu Chak Chakquu. It's Amanuku. Amanuku. Thank you for the correction. Please come on up. It means I know God.
Okay, that's what it means. Thank you. You know, since your policy likes to say that a kid can be what they want to be, you know, if a kid thinks they're a cat, we call that furries. They can come and be a cat at school. Not true. They could be a dog. They want to be a dog. Be a
dog at school. And hey, I'm black as you can see. But I'm a white woman right now and I'm six months pregnant. Matter of fact, I'm a board member. Do I have the right to go grab a seat and just sit down right there in the empty seat right there? Can I go sit there? Is it okay if I sit over
there? Can I Can I go sit down? You're speaking, so I'd like you to stay at the podium. Sit down over there. I identify as a school board member. Are you going to take take away my rights? You know, because if you can identify as a, you know, a woman and be
a man, why not? Because this is what you all believe. This is the insanity of diversity, equity, and inclusion. And many of these policies that's being pushed by this wicked god called Gretchen
Whitmer who many of you all worship at her feet who has never met an abortion policy that she doesn't dislike. And you know what uh Margaret Sanger said in the letter to Dr. Clarence CJ Gamble in 1939. Margaret Sanger said that she did not want the word to get out that she
wanted to exterminate the negro population and she would use the black charismatic preacher if it ever occurred to any of their more rebellious negroes. And guess what? She was a white liberal and there are some white liberals on this
board. Some other minorities as well who are also into liberalism. But guess what? You are pushing racism because you support abortion. He even thought at one point that children should have the right to abort their baby and keep that information away from parents. Let me
tell you something. God is going to judge every last one of you harshly. One day, especially you, Mr. Patrick Kho, you love to talk about abortion. You You're a liber of all liberals. Let me tell you something. There's coming a day where you'll stand
before Almighty God and you're going to have to give an answer to this. The Bible says, "Every man shall st stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an answer of what they've done in their body, whether it be good or bad, and knowing the terror of the Lord." Paul says he's persuades men. But
you all think you're God because you have a seat. You have a seat and you think you're God. You think you wrote the Bible. You think absolute truth comes from you. It doesn't. It comes from God. And God is going to judge you harshly because you have damaged
children. You know, it's better to have a millstone tied around your neck than to do harm to a kid. God is going to get you. God's going to judge you harshly. And what will you do in the judgment? How will you respond? Because when God
decrees a thing, there is no man that can change it. So enjoy your comfortable seats while you can because wrath is coming. [Applause]
Okay, up next we have Kelsey Ray. Thank you. I'm speaking today as a mother of four, a K to2 educational administrator and the owner and director of a private lending library because I have immense concern regarding the safety, mental health and legal protection of the students in your care.
There are books in the middle and high school libraries that contain graphic sexual content, depictions of violence and detailed suicidal ideiation. Books like Flamer by Mike Curado, George by Alex Gino, Jay's Gay Agenda by Jason June, and The Hate You Give by Angie
Angie Thomas, the last of which depicts violent racism and police brutality is the norm with extremely mature content. Due to the experimental sexuality and mature content of these titles, all of these books have been listed with the American Library Association as being
amongst the most contested and bone books across schools in the United States, but they're on your shelves. These books are being removed by your own educational colleagues, but they exist in your school system. The literary descriptions and the illustrations are blatantly violent and
pornographic and offer no psychological resolution, only gross exposure, leaving children confused and traumatized. These are materials available in your middle school libraries to children as young as 11 without parental knowledge or oversight. The scientific data on harm
is overwhelming. A 2020 JAMAMA pediatric study found that children exposed to pornography, even softborn before age 13, are three times more likely to suffer from clinical depression and suicide. Three times. According to the CDC, suicide is now the second leading
cause of death among children ages 10 to 14. Studies also confirm what's called suicide contagion. when young people read or see detailed stories of self harm or suicide and they are significantly more likely to develop similar thoughts or behaviors
themselves. Again, these books are on your library shelves. Let me be clear, this is not art. This is not diverse storytelling because there is zero quantifiable scientific proof that they contain educational value. Allowing these books in your library is dangerous
to the mental health of your students. And under code 1470, it's a federal offense to provide obscene material to a minor. And there is no exception carved out for school libraries. What has been hiding on your shelves is now exposed and you need to deal with it. This is
not theoretical or partisan. This board has publicly committed to protecting students and creating safe, respectful learning environments. So I ask you, how does allowing middle school students to access content that glorifies suicide depicts violent and graphic sexual acts
and stories that normalize emotional trauma align with your mission, especially when you acknowledge that you're concerned about the mental and emot emotional health of the children of Plymouth. I heard that from the two gentlemen over here in the corner. This is not about censorship. This is about
protection. The science is clear and actually the federal law is very clear. And now I end. Thank you. Thank you. Up next we have Reston Ray. I love being a dad. I have four kids. Pretty sure you guys all love kids
too, right? You guys probably have kids. I mean, you work in education. There's a lot of passion in this room. There's a lot of passion in everyone's hearts right now because of the passion in the room. Um, you know, there's a there's a famous saying, you know, that, you know, we're not raising
boys and girls. You guys know the saying. We're raising men and women. You know, we're not we're not trying to just coddle kids to stay here. We want to develop them. That's in all of us. I mean, think back to when you first took your career path. It's cuz you admired a
teacher, someone that looked at you and said, "You know what? That's an individual with some potential. I'm going to give of my time and invest in them." They did that for you, and now you want to do that for others. I remember I remember being a kid, man, my favorite teacher, we call
him Z, his last name was Zordon, Daryl Zordon from where I grew up. He was a shop teacher. I was not an academic. I'm dyslexic. It's hard for me to read. I'm really good with math when the numbers are what I say they are. But it's when they
actually are, I struggle, you know. But Daryl Zordan, man, I honor that man to death because he looked at me and he said, "You know what? You're a you're a man that works with your hands. You're a skilled worker. I'm going to pour trades education into you and I'm going to give
you some dignity." I also work for an organization called sexchangeregret.com. I get emails from all over the world from people looking for dignity. They thought they could find it
with sex change, with transgender confusion. They they thought they could. People that trusted them were confused and had that heart of, you know what, I don't understand it, but this is what the experts are telling me. This is how I think I should help you. Can I tell you blatantly that gender affirming
therapy is not what I see as being beneficial to the student. What I see beneficial is trauma therapy. Over and over and over again. I'm getting emails literally. I got one from Colombia the other day of someone
saying, "I was abused when I was a kid. Now I hate myself. Did I bring it on myself? Did I do this? I hate that organ now because I was abused by that organ. I want it chopped off. I don't think I'm a one, but I sure don't want to be a
man. So, I want to encourage all of you to just pump the brakes with some of the ideology going on around here, rewind yourself a little bit to when when that person that poured into you, that made you wanted to get into education that said, "You know what? You have dignity.
You have value. I'm going to pour into you." There's people in this room that don't want to promote the gender ideology stuff, but they don't know what to do. So, I just want to encourage you guys, reconsider the therapy that you're giving. Go with trauma therapy. Thank
you. Thank you. Up next, we have Colin Miranda. Good evening. I'm Colin Miranda, a Plymouth resident. In February, the policy committee said that Niola was suggesting fixes to grammatical errors by replacing singular third person
pronouns like he, him, his, and she, her, hers with pronouns like they, them, theirs. Ironically, these suggestions actually introduced grammatical errors into some policies. In April, I spoke at the school board meeting demonstrating that using they as a singular pronoun is
grammatically incorrect. The board responded respectfully and thoughtfully, saying, "While traditionally considered plural, they there is now widely accepted by major grammar authorities, including the Chicago Manual of Style as a grammatically correct singular pronoun. Our board policies are
developed in partnership with Niola, which follows current language standards." Yes, I agree. The Chicago Manual of Style or CEOs now says that they can be used as a singular pronoun. However, this does not warrant any policy changes. CMOS does not say that
they is a grammatically correct singular pronoun and certainly does not say that this is part of the current language standard. It simply states, "We now also endorse the use and it is increasingly acceptable." Semos never states that the his/h her construction which we find in
the premodified policies is incorrect. Rather, it instructs writers to use singular they only after trying seven other options for gender neutrality. Because these options other options are workable in the policies in question, it appears as though Niola never actually
opened up CEOs. Any appeal to SEMOS would actually require the board not to use they or its derivatives where the committee has indicated. Moreover, an honest read of CEOs reveals that a dog dogmatic appeal to its authority is completely unwarranted in the first
place. Camos admits that dozens of changes throughout every chapter stem from the ideas our readers have contributed through social media, including the use of they as a singular pronoun. Apparently, the self-described definitive guide borrows its authority from the general public's social media
suggestions and even tweets. Brian Garner arranged the grammar and usage chapters for SEMOS. He directs the reader to his own book Garner's Modern English usage. Whereas Semos decept deceptively calls the use of the singular they a natural development in
language, Garner more honestly admits by a confluence of natural linguistic evolution and a few social engineering campaigns, the word has been thrust into prominence. Dictionaries and style books have begun sanctioning those sentences as acceptable, mostly because of social
pressures. The linguist Jeffrey Pullham says this was a radical break with all previous English grammar pushed by a sudden enthusiasm for non-binarity and sexual identity. This is not an authentic exercise of authority by SEMOS. Appealing to CEOs only reveals
that Niola and the school board are not following current language standards. I ask that the board please stop using Niola's grammatical errors. Thank [Applause]
you. Okay, up next we have Peggy Leonard. Sure I get this right. Hello. You hear me? Yeah. Hello, my name is Peggy Leonard and I'm a retired art teacher from the Ann Arbor public schools. Thank you for the various leadership roles that you have
within this district. I'm here tonight to speak on behalf of my colleagues from Bentley Elementary. You need to know that the culture at that school is being destroyed and it begins at the top with the leadership. In my 35 years of teaching, I had various leaders, but
never was I degraded, harassed, and bullied by a principal until he arrived at Lakewood. The same leader is now at Bentley. Actually, he's only been there for two years. But did you know that a significant number of teachers have retired? Some are on leave and many are
currently on the transfer list. This means that systemically something is wrong and this should be a call to action. For parents that might watch this and those in the audience, ask this question. What happened to my child's teacher? There's a special bond that
exists between a teacher and their classroom. It's what makes this job so special. So for a teacher to leave that job midyear means that something is drastically wrong. The situation is complicated because it's very targeted and very specific towards certain
individuals. It's targeted towards non-tenure teachers and especially those tenure teachers who are nearing the end of their teaching careers. This is not the way any teacher wants to end what's been a rewarding life work. You might hear this particular leader
say, "I'm here for the students." But what you should be hearing him say is that I'm here for my teachers. Teachers who are valued, acknowledged, and supported stay in their jobs. I urge you to take a hard look at the culture within this school. No one should have
to endure the abuse that many of us have felt. Some of those teachers are here tonight, but many more are afraid to come forward for fear of retaliation and for fear of being forced out of a job they love. I urge you to address this situation. This should be your call for
action. Thank you. Amen. How are we doing on time, Diane? How much How are we doing on time? Thank you. Okay, up next we have Nicole Mcjin. Correct me if I'm saying that wrong.
It's Nicole Mcinn. McInn. Okay, thank you. My name is Nicole Mcinn and I was asked by the Bentley teachers to speak tonight regarding their current principal. He previously served as my principal at Lakewood Elementary in the Ann Arbor public school district during 2017 18 academic year. I bring 20 years
of teaching experience to my current role as a reading specialist in the Washington County. Previously, I've taught second, third, and fourth grades, and I hold a master's degree in reading and language arts, along with a K12 reading specialist endorsement. The following are some facts about Bentley's principal concerning his conduct and
actions during his leadership at Lakewood. Seven staff members left his first year as principal, including myself. Some were denied a transfer, which was a reasonable request, with others forced to resign. No matter what the teacher did, there was a constant criticism. This principal constantly
found fault. First with her lesson plan format, then with every minor detail, even after the format was changed to his format. Week after week, this teacher was forced to make pointless edits and add irrelevant content. This teacher was also constantly being watched. This principal came into her classroom every
day for weeks and questioned her on everything she was teaching, which created a stressful environment and had parents asking questions. This principal belittled and shouted at this teacher during an IEP meeting with staff and parents present, later claiming it was her fault. This teacher began taking
detailed notes every weekly meeting with this principal because he frequently would contradict or deny her his earlier statements. This was a clear case of gaslighting by the principal, a form of emotional abuse where the victim is made to doubt their own experiences and feelings. Because of this, this teacher
took pictures of her classroom furniture to prove that she had flexible seating because he constantly said that she did not. In in Arbor public schools, new teachers are assigned mentors by their principles. Unfortunately, this teacher was ignored and told to find her own mentor. She finally found one, but only
in a different school because no one at her own building was willing to support her in fear of retaliation from this principal. Despite weeks of training and preparation, the teacher serving as a report card building representative unexpectedly had her responsibilities taken away. She was excluded from
meetings and her roles given to someone else, all without any explanation. After this teacher resigned, parents were told that she did not follow the curriculum, which was untrue. I went through all of these moments. I was that teacher, a teacher who was rated highly effective
for many years prior to this principal and even from him. If you look at the 12 signs of bullying and harassment in a workplace written by Ellie Kier provided by high-speed training, nine of the 12 are listed above. Refusing reasonable requests, constant criticism,
overbearing supervision or monitoring, threats, aggression, and shouting, misusing a position of power to belittle, demean, or intimidate, being excluded and ignored, removal of duties without reason, having malicious rumors spread about you, and having unfounded threats and comments about your job
security. With him now in the role of principal at Bentley and with the pattern of teacher departures and medical leaves both at Lakewood and at Bentley, one must wonder, is this merely a coincidence or a [Applause]
pattern? Okay, up next we have Julie Milo Cassar. Did I say that right? Okay. I'm reading a letter um from one of our parents from Bentley Elementary School. Good evening. I'm writing to you as a concerned parent of two children
currently attending Bentley Elementary School. I watched portions of the board educ board education meeting on the 13th and was absolutely horrified to hear the emotional abuse and toxic work environment than several teachers have experienced since the new leadership took position at Bentley. When my oldest was in third grade, her teacher was
Michelle West. Michelle left halfway through the school year for reasons unknown to my family, which greatly impacted my teacher who lo my daughter who loved her as a teacher and was devastated when she left, thinking that she perhaps had cancer. After hearing the reason Michelle left, and several other wonderful teachers that decided to
leave Bentley, I feel I have no choice but to reach out to you and voice my absolute disgust in the situation. I'm concerned extremely that an individual whose behavior and treatment of teachers has created a work environment so hostile as force for forced devoted veteran teachers who love teaching to
resign in the middle of the school year have been allowed to remain in the position of principal. I can understand the complaint simply being noted that even brushed off maybe difference of personalities if the accusations against them were only from one or two teachers. But this individual's bully-like behavior has been reported by 17
individual seasoned educators and pair professionals. They've been ignored and allowed to carry on with no precautions. He has been allowed to with no precautions or fair investigations. This type of behavior would never be tolerated among students, would never be tolerated among teachers,
and should absolutely never be tolerated by an individual whose job description is to support the teaching staff around him and represent the culture of the school. Over the last two years, I've noticed significant drop in educational legend lesson planning and relationship building with my children in their
substitute and new teachers, especially as many of those teachers were brought in mid school year with no warning to kids or parents. Knowing now that these changes correlate with the arrival of the new leadership at Bentley. Based on the testimonies during the May 13th board of education meeting, it appears
as though you as a leadership of this district have failed to support these teachers with their concerns that were initially raised. And my children children have had to pay the price with brand new and often uncertified teachers in place of experienced and profess and professional ones. My husband and I want
to ensure that the environment our children are learning is uplifting and supportive and non-toxic not only for them but for their fellow students but for teachers we trust and rely upon to teach. Model appropriate attitudes behaviors and provide a safe educational environment for our children. Because of
this, I respectfully ask that the district, the superintendent, and the board look into this matter further, allow for a fair and proper investigation into many allegations against the the administrator at Bentley, and consider reinstating the teachers that have left either on their own or due to toxic the toxic
environment. Not only does your decision matter impact the staffing of this upcoming year, but the year after this and the entirety of Plymouth Canton community is watching you now and the very reputation of Plymouth Canton Community Schools, specifically Bentley Elementary, is at stake. Thank you for
your time. Sincerely, Amy Sububenville. Thank you. Thank you. It looks like we have time for one more. We have Michelle West. Hi, I am Michelle West and I stand here before you on behalf of Bentley teachers. I'm here to talk further about
the treatment of teachers at Bentley Elementary School. This is part of a letter responding to a parents concern from human resources. Thank you for sharing your concerns with me. While I understand the emotional response this matter has triggered, I must respectfully caution against making
assumptions based solely on the comments heard during the meeting. It is important to remember that the information presented is only one perspective and a thorough investigation must be conducted to ensure that all sides are considered fairly. Please rest
assured that we take all allegations seriously and we are committed to fully investigating the matter. Here's my questions. Why did it take the district over a week to contact the teachers who spoke at the May 13th meeting? They're
doing a thorough investigation and why did we have to initiate contact? We are committed to fully investigating the matter. How how are you doing this? Is there any sense of urgency? What about the employees still at Bentley? At least six are brave
enough to come forward and are on the transfer list. Why do their transfer interviews keep getting postponed? Another quote from the uh letter from human resources. It is important to remember that the information presented is only one
perspective. No, no, it's not. It's a perspective of 10 staff members. We have written statements from 10 staff members who are brave enough to come forward and two previous employees from Ann Arbor that state that they left the school
because of the principal. Why haven't the 16 or 17 employees that have left Bentley Bentley been interviewed? Do you want to know their perspective? Or do you want to just cover this up and hope summer break takes it away? Does Plymouth Canton schools have
a policy on how internal investigations are done? If so, we'd like to see it. And finally, and this is from a current employee at Bentley. quote, "I hate coming here, but I will not let him force me out. If I can't
transfer, then I may have to retire." I asked this teacher to come and speak. This teacher said, quote, "If I speak, then I might as well be done. He'll never let me finish the next year." I hope saving this principle is worth
sacrificing all of us. [Applause] Okay, thank you. That concludes this section of citizens comments. We will pick up the remainder um later in the
agenda. Um let's move on to administrative reports and recommendations. First up, we have finance and operations with Miss Minnik. Good evening. It's my pleasure to present to you an update on our progress with developing the 2025 2026 general
fund budget. We always start our budget work with a connection oops excuse me. There we go. Uh we always start our work with a connection to the Plymouth Canton Community Schools dynamic plan. Strategic goal A indicates that calls
for PCCS to increase achievement for all students and close achievement gaps and we will attain that through our strategic objective FNO1 and two align financial resources including state and fin and federal resources to areas of greatest need as support for individual
students as identified through academic achievement data and also through a strategic goal B. All Plymouth Canson Community School students and staff will report that they feel physically, psychologically, and emotionally safe and represented at school. We'll attain this through strategic strategic
objective FNO4 to align financial resources to the areas of greatest need to support the social emotional needs of all staff and students. So, with that as a a foundation, uh this evening we will take a look at our budget development timeline so we can understand where uh we are in that
process, what we've achieved and what's yet to come. I'll preview or rather not preview but share some highlights of the executive house and senate budget proposals for the school aid fund as well as share some highlights and outcomes from the May 2025 consensus revenue estimating conference. I recall
that this consensus revenue estimating conference, also called a CRE for short, uh occurs twice at the state per year, January and May. And so there are some changes in those revenue projections. I'll also review our budget
assumptions and considerations as we start to build out our uh 2526 budget and then uh review our next steps from here. So with that, our budget development timeline. You can see the grade out items we've accomplished together both
at the FNO committee meetings and then here at a full board meeting. Uh we have the arrow at May 22. That was Thursday evening where we did review uh the May Craig, the House and Senate budget proposals and our updated budget assumptions. And so with that this evening, I'm bringing that information
here forward for the full board. uh and then we will meet again uh in June and I'll review that at a later uh step this evening. So, some highlights from the executive house and senate proposals for school aid. The executive recommendation
was issued by uh our governor on February 2nd. I've reviewed that uh some highlights in previous meetings since that time. Uh but the Senate released their budget proposal uh May 14th, Senate Bills 166 and the House budget
proposal. They passed an abbreviated proposal on March 6th, House Bill 4162. And we do expect a full House budget proposal sometime soon, but the abbreviated House proposal focused only on primarily three budget areas. Foundation allowance increases,
including special education, mental health and school safety grant funding, and retirement funding. So as you move through these slides, I just keep in the back of your mind that the house did not weigh in on a number of the factors that we are looking for. So first up, everyone is interested
to know our foundation allowance uh uh potentially any increases or how we might be funded. That's our primary source of school aid under the general education and special education uh foundation allowances. Uh this current school year, we are receiving
$9,68 per full-time equivalent pupil. And those proposed increases for 2526 uh are as follows. The governor's proposal was $392 per pupil increase. That would equate to about a $6.2 million increase
uh for our district. The House proposed an increase of $417 and the Senate proposed an increase of $400 per pupil. both uh generating right around 6.6 $6.3 million. Now, all of those proposals do include special education foundation allowances to equal
the general education foundation allowance and that has not always been the case. Uh that's new just in the last couple of years and I'm glad to see that they're maintaining that. Uh this is kind of a wordy slide. Uh but the idea is to share with you uh that all three budget proposals uh
include ongoing funding for the mental health and safety grant funding that we've had for the last three years. Uh they all do include weighted funding increases for special education. And then the executive and the senate proposals also include weighted funding
increases for at risk, the great start readiness program, which is a preschool program, and career and technical education monies. Uh that's important. That refers back to our Michigan School of Finance collaborative work in 2018 which uh did a lot of research and advocated for uh weighted weighted
funding approaches, mathematical formulaic approaches uh to funding higher cost um populations of students and academic needs. All three of the budget proposals also included uh ongoing funding for free school meals uh
when combined with the federal funding sources. However, even with all those increases, there is a call for reduced funding for uh retirement costs for MIPERS, our Michigan public school employees retirement system. So, there are cost increases for the healthcare
component uh to replace to replace 50% of the previous contributions that employees formerly made. Um but yet there are reduced payments to districts for current year liabilities. Uh so some special uh rather some school aid increases along with some red reductions
in that funding. Uh so those were some just some highlights from all three budget proposals. I will report back to you once the house uh generates their larger proposal. Um but we'll shift now to the May consensus revenue estimating conference. Just a couple of highlights
that I think are are curious and important to note. First of all, on the blue front, uh just the the biggest takeaway from the entire day uh in May was that the projected annual revenue growth in the school aid fund is nominal yet positive. So, that's a great thing.
Uh it ranges from 2.1% to 2.6% uh for this current fiscal year, and recall that the state's fiscal year goes through September. So, we're still in the middle of their fiscal year. So they're still projecting their revenue estimates uh for this uh for their
fiscal year currently. Uh and then long-term for FY28 and 29 uh that increases a little bit to 2.7 to 2.9% of revenue increase. So that's good news. So I'll take your attention here to the blue arrow that's on the school a fund
row. And we see a total projected revenue for FY2425 of 18.5 billion uh billion dollar 18 I'm sorry 18.8 billion. Uh and I'll take your attention to the blue square that
shows that that is an increase from FY24 from last year of about 2.6%. So that's good news. And reading further to the right then under the FY2526 column we see that school aid fund that percentage change from 25 for FY26 is that 2.1%
increase. Now in green I wanted to share with you that the state's general fund general purpose revenue projection declined from the January estimates. So that may put some pressure on the school aid fund because let's say uh where the green arrow is we see that the total
revenue projected there is 14.4 uh billion dollars in the state's general fund. So in January that's the information on which the governor issued the executive budget the the senate and the house presented their budgets. Uh so
uh if the May revenue estimate is less than what was uh estimated in January, we see that's a reduction of about $221 million. Perhaps the House, the Senate, the governor may have used those revenue estimates to build her budget, their budget. Uh and uh some of those budget
priorities may shift. Uh and uh there's there's an opportunity for uh the legislature to move funds between monies between those funds. I'm not saying that's going to happen, but we always keep our eye on that when there's a significant reduction in those revenue estimates for the general
fund. Another key takeaway from this estimating conference is the pupil membership. Recall that our state aid is a factor of both enrollment as well as that dollar pupil dollar value per pupil. So on the
pupil count uh we use the word pupil membership uh in the in the finance world. So according to the house fiscal agency and I thank them for the use of these slides uh 70% of traditional districts are experiencing enrollment decline and we are one of those
districts. So a takeaway from this slide, you can see the three fiscal years listed FY25, 26, and 27. And you can see from left to right, it shows what the January estimate was in the number of pupils. And then the May
estimate and the change between the two as well as the change from the prior year. So just looking down that change from prior year, you can see that local districts are losing pupils and local public schoolmies are gaining uh students. Now we don't have data on
homeschool students or um other types of populations. It's they are just contrasting local districts with public schoolmies and uh we know that for some time particularly since COVID districts across the state are experiencing enrollment decline and that appears that that will
that trend will continue. So with those items as a foundation, those data points, those projections at the state level, the house, the senate, the governor's budget proposals, uh we move into our assumptions on which we will build our budget for next school year. So
beginning with the state aid foundation, um as I mentioned, it's that equation generally is the number of pupil FTEEs times that per pupil foundation allowance. Uh it is a weighted blend. 90% of that count from the current fall and 10% from the prior school year. We
project that our enrollment for next year will be based our funding will be based on 15,883 FTE pupils. That is a loss of 151 students and a revenue loss correspondingly of about $1.5 million. On the foundation allowance
side, we are uh going to use the assumption that the increase in the foundation allowance will be equal to the governor's proposal. It is the most conservative but not uh incredibly so. uh it's reasonable. And so that projected revenue increase from that foundation allowance increase would
generate about $6.2 million. So having that reduction in the enrollment, but the increase in the foundation allowance would net an uh about a about a $4.8 million increase in state aid overall just for that for the foundation allowance and the enrollment alone. We
always uh project about a 2% increase in our enhancement millage revenue. uh that equates to about $125,000 for next year. So with those two as our primary revenue sources in the general fund, we turn to the expenditure side of the ledger and look at those projections and
the assumptions we'll use uh on which we will build our budget. So staffing is obviously a cost driver about 80 to 85% of our budget is staffing. We are a service-based industry. Uh so base we will base our staffing levels on board adopted class size guidelines and we
will align that to enrollment and because of the align alignment to that declining enrollment we are projecting about two $2.25 million in savings across the board as our uh chief HR person here reported some more retirements. Uh we do anticipate
retirements across the district, all types of positions. And we are estimating roughly 20 uh FTE uh equivalent to about $1 million in savings. And that's generated by new employees maybe starting out lower on that negotiated salary schedule uh with
a retiree maybe a higher level of that uh schedule. Employment contracts, of course, we will include those negotiated collective bargain agreements for next year. And for retirement, we know that the employer rate has decreased just slightly uh for a little bit of savings there, but the unfunded accounting
actuarial liability rate uh did increase by about 4 and a.5%. So there's going to be some additional costs, but we also know that there are some revenue offsets that have been proposed in each of those three budgets. They all vary differently. Uh so we're going to take the stance that the expenditure side
will just be flat. We know there's some revenue offsets coming, but we didn't include that in the revenue projection because we don't know. They're very widely varied. So, we're not taking a a guess at that. We're having a flats assumption is still uh conservative. The hard cap, the hardcap
refers to our benefits. So, the state law tells us that uh we cannot spend in excess of a certain dollar value for our employees on single, two person, and full family health care. Uh and that rate only increases um oneif of 1%. So
it's a very nominal value. Uh not to say that the premiums won't be increasing. Health care cost itself is on the rise. Um our custodial transportation services even contracts such as our substitute teachers and other significant contracts will be included in the budget of course
u based on those negotiated rates. And then we are anticipating an increase in our utilities. Our electric has increased significantly this year and so we are building in about a $300,000 increase for gas, electric, water, uh refuge collection, all of that. And it's
a little bit more than we would typically include. So with those assumptions, uh what are the other considerations that we need to make as we build our budget? So first we want we have to make sure that we maintain our fund balance levels according to board policy which calls
for a 10% of expenditures amount. Uh we have to comply with state statute which calls that for a fund balance to be maintained at a rate of 5% of revenues and best practices which calls for fund balance to equate to about 15% or more of expenditures.
Uh we also want to be sure that we're aligning our staffing and all of our resources with student enrollment to be cost-effective. We are always continuously evaluating our current programs for effectiveness. Uh we want to allocate the most restricted grant funds first. What does that mean? That
means uh we receive a number of state and federal grants each year. So the ones that are very restricted in their use, we want to be sure that we're committing uh whether it's staff salaries or or some supply purchases or what have you, we want to be sure that we're fill fulfilling that grant first
because then other expenditures on the ledger could go to fulfill other types of um less restrictive grants. And then we want to leverage the bond program to preserve general fund. So right now we know that we have plans this summer for significant um construction at Salem at
Farand and we are um certain that those improvements will take away or reduce the repair budgets in the general fund because we'll have new equipment, new furniture, new uh systems and infrastructure that should certainly call for less repair. Um, now there are
other costs that we incur across the year and we talk at our FNO committee meeting around whether to uh charge those eligible bond costs to the general fund or to the bond. And so those conversations are ongoing because we want to be sure that we're um preserving the general fund for classroom and
student directed use. So with that, after accounting for the projected levels of state aid funding, the enrollment decline, staffing salaries and benefits, and services and supply costs, we know we have planned budget reductions over the next four years that are necessary in order to
maintain a positive fund balance uh within four years. So with that, uh, the budget, uh, reduction that's necessary or revenue generation in order to maintain a 15% fund balance is about $5.5 million. Uh, but we know each year
some monies go unspent. We don't spend 100% of the budget. So, uh, to assume at least 1% of that budget would remain unspent is reasonable. So that would be about $2.5 million. So that net revenue generation or expense reduction that would be
needed is about $3 million. So with that we the district has been able to identify expenditure reductions uh slightly in excess of that value about a third of it coming from salaries and benefits the other two/3s coming from uh professional services supplies
and equipment. So, taking a deeper dive into those reductions in the salaries and benefits bucket, if you will, uh we're looking to eliminate certain vacant positions and redistribute responsibilities for cost effectiveness for a savings of about
$782,000. We're also looking to reduce the co 19 era healthcare technicians that were put in place at that time and the paraprofessional position at about $350,000 uh for a total cost reduction in salaries and benefits of about $1.1 million.
uh for non- salary non-benefit costs, we've identified some professional services to generate some savings as well. So, we've we've identified almost $600,000 in professional service line item reductions that departments and schools um have uh committed to take
across the board as we move through the year. Each school, each department has different types of professional services in mind that they'll scale back. All contributing to this bucket of about $600,000 in savings. We will reduce the use of premier substitutes uh for about
$450,000 of savings. This is what we've called typically our building subs, but we will certainly of course have daily substitutes in our classrooms. Uh they may be even may even be the same person. Uh vendor service contract renegotiations. We're looking to save
about $90,000 by renegotiating certain service agreements that we have with transportation. We a variety of of professional services from vendors. We're looking to save about $316,000 in software. That's either by eliminating certain software suites or
perhaps moving from one to another. For instance, Zoom. Uh we moved to Zoom during COVID I believe and now we're going to do away with Zoom and move to Google Meet which is part of our Google suite. So we have some savings that way. Uh we also have uh other types of
consulting and professional development savings that have have been identified about $184,000 as well as uh just some savings around copies and postage and mailing by utilizing electronic means to pay people and to communicate and what have you where it makes sense uh for a little bit
of additional savings. So all in professional service cost reductions of about 1.6 $1.7 million. And then on the supplies and equipment, uh again just that various line item reduction where schools and departments have committed to reducing their spend by about 182,000 and then a
reduction in the capital outlay line items of about $242,000 for a total of savings there of about $425,000. So just to uh recap, we have identified about $3.2 million in expenditure reductions when coupled with
about 1% remaining in of our budget. uh we will certainly achieve that $5.5 million in budget savings for next year. So taking us back to that budget development timeline, our next steps are that on June 5, we will review then that
proposed budget and of the general fund uh with the FNO committee and we will also uh review and preview the uh proposed budgets for all the funds in our district. We have a number of funds. We have a food service fund and we have a grant fund and we have our capital projects funds. um just a number of
budgets that we that we produce each year and amend those as well. We'll also be looking at the um the final amendments for all of our funds as well. And we will bring those back forward to the full board for review on June 10th. We will hold a public budget hearing. Uh
and we will collect uh input and public comment on that. And we will also have of course the first reading of that proposed budget then as well as the amended budget for 2425 and then an approval for the 2026 tax levby and then on June 24th we'll come back for a
second read and hopefully an approval of those budgets. I'm happy to take any cons any questions you may have and answer any other uh or entertain any other considerations or comments you may have this evening. Thank you. Thank you for your presentation. Um, I'm actually going to open it up to our student
co-chairs if you'd like to start. First of all, I know how complicated this process of putting this all together is, so I want to thank you for all your feedback is a lot of information, so I have no questions. Um, but thank you for all your hard work and your team as well. Thank you again.
Yeah, you gave us a lot of info and I don't have any questions. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, member boss. Um, I have just one question and you might not be able to answer it. I might have to might have to go to um HR. Um
but when you cut healthc care techs um have like have we talked to the office staff at the building levels? Um just because I know office staff when we cut health care tax. Yes, of course we're not at the same level of
care needed that we were at COVID, but there are not nurses in every building. And so we have um office paras and office secretaries who are having to care for students who are coming in for shots and you know for some reason
especially at the middle school level they students you know wander in thinking that you know they can get out of class or whatever and those office the office staff are finding that they are not able to get their regular work
done because they are having to care for students where there's no nurse in the building at that time and it h it's happening often from um office staff that I talk to and see. So, do we have a
plan for to help those uh staff? Thank you for your question. Um I'll just mention that communications have absolutely and certainly uh been had and continue to meet. Um I see that uh Dr. Vartinian Gibbs has pulled her microphone forward. So I'll let her
speak to that. So great question uh Miss Voss. So first of all we have met um with our administrators in our district on a consistent basis to explain this reduction. So we started in the district with 24 healthcare techs when when CO um
was here in our district and we have slowly reduce the amount but continue to maintain and increase our school nurses. So, um, in a middle school, for example, the school nurse as well as the office paraprofessional would be the key people
working with students when they come to the clinic. And the school nurse will always be available if there's an emergency. For an example, if the school nurse is at Discovery and Bentley and there's an emergency at Discovery, the school nurse will go over there. We also
will have other people identified in the building who can help if a student needs that type of support. We also know that students are coming to the clinic for various re reasons. They might need a band-aid or they might have a bloody nose. So, we are going to be working with our building administrators so they
can work with their staff on when to send a student to the office. So there will be a slight reduction in the amount of clinic coverage at our buildings K8, but we are reviewing lots of data and if we have a high need situation or some
students with some health concerns that we know we need additional care, we will address that and make sure they get what they need. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you, Treasure Kho. So, we had the benefit of having an extensive conversation about this in the FNO uh uh
meeting. I wanted to point out a couple of things. These cuts in general are things that are going to be felt. They're things that are not something we want to do, but we don't have the level of funding that we need from our state government to support the initiatives that we have. Our funding, our um our
foundation allowance this year is the same as it was last year. We got zero foundation allowance increase. So it's not a uh a sustainable situation that we have. This is also a planned use of fund balance uh budget. So in addition to the
um in addition to the reductions and the changes that we're doing, we will be running a deficit budget using some of our fund balance to help support and manage the programs that we're doing. This is not sustainable in the long term. So these additional cuts will be necessary in uh in future years unless
the state legislature starts actually supporting us at the net level that's necessary. The there's been numerous studies and work that's been done about the level of support that's necessary to provide an adequate education and we're about 20% below that from a funding level. We're
at the lowest level of all uh public in public schools throughout the state and it's really unacceptable. So, this is something that's not really solvable at our local level. We actually have local legislators that are incredibly supportive of of us in public education,
but at the overall state level, they're not making the right choices to support pu uh traditional public education in this process. And this is something that's got to change. I know it's a little bit of a soap box, but this is one of the things that is a challenge for us when we look at the hard cuts that we're seeing with healthcare tax or
anything else. There's a great process that the administration went through called transformations where they try to make the least disruptive uh cuts in the classroom and that's really where these cuts are occurring right now and you know but they still will be felt. So
thank you. Thank you. Thank you VP Sadu. Thank you. Um yeah I'm going to go off of what Treasurer Kho said. These cuts will be felt when I look at professional services um premier sub
reductions consulting and member Voss mentioned the health texts. All of these people interface with students and I mean these are hard cuts for us to for me to look at and I know it has to be done given the fact that we have to
balance a budget with that. We have to balance a budget by June 24th legally by June 30th. June 30th, but we have a board meeting on the 24th. So, I'm guessing that that's when we're going to be voting. Are we going to have a budget by the
state before that date? Thank you for that question. I don't believe we will. So, we're just going to base it on the lowest basically no increases, go off of zero increase because we don't know where they're
going to end up. So, I appreciate your comments and your thoughts because we don't know where they will end up. We don't uh and likewise, we don't know where our enrollment will land. We don't know we don't know a number of sign significant factors. We don't know the number of retirements. We don't know exactly where healthcare will come in.
We don't know what the retirement uh cost offset revenue might be. Uh we don't know the level of other grants. We don't know the level of federal grants. It's really all up in the air. Um however, I'm not aware of a year where they actually had the budget done by June 30. And if they did, we really need it done by now so that we can
incorporate all those variables into the work. Um so we're not going to let that hold us up. We're going to continue to build this budget based on the assumptions that I've presented this evening with the foundation of those considerations and our compliance with board policy and state statute and so
forth because we also have those mechanisms of a budget amendment process. So, as we move in through the fall, we will learn our enrollment. We will learn of what this what the legislature did with school aid funding. Sometimes that's still getting shaken out once they even pass that bill into
the fall. Um, so then once we see what those what that state aid looks like after we have our October pupil count, um, then we'll be able to assemble and we're doing it all the time. Even though this feels like budget season, every day is budget season because there's something on the horizon and we have to
be sure we have data to prepare and make really good decisions with that data. Um, so with that, then we move into that amendment and then we always have a final amendment at the end of the year also so that we can continue to be current evaluating our programs, being sure that we're being really cost- effective and efficient uh, and make the
best utility of every dollar. Thank you. And just to add to Patrick's, I know what's the amount for adequately educating a student uh, from the research collaborative. That's what I was trying to draw. About 112,000,
right? It's in excess of $12,000. Is it 12,000? Yeah. And that I don't think even keeps up with the rate of inflation. So we also have those projections as well. What that would look like uh with inflation adjusted numbers. We'll get those in June. Well, we do that just
internally. Okay. Yeah. And it also doesn't include that that educational uh costs don't include transportation, right? Which is, you know, about five or 10% of our Yeah. 7% of our budget. So, it's a substantial amount. Yeah. Thank
you for all your work. I know that was a lot for you to put together. Thank you. Thank you. My pleasure. Member Peard. I I don't have any questions, but thank you for the report. It was nice and clear and everything. So, thank you. Thank you, member Ahmed. Thank you for all your hard work. I just
had one question. Could you give me or I guess all of us some examples of the kinds of professional services that staff have identified that would be cut? I sure can. Uh some of those uh and I want to
keep in mind that it's maybe uh some service levels may change, but also just the dollar value of those same service levels because we're looking to just kind of renegotiate some of those as well. Um I do see our chief academic officer pulling her microphone. I can pop in and talk about some of them. So
what we've tried to do is be very diligent over the last few years to build some internal capacity to do some of these things looking ahead and doing an environmental scan across multi-year. So for example, there may be um consulting firms we've worked with to build in capacity for um some of our
internal staff to do specific things around leadership support or um coaching models, different things like that. knowing that as we're looking ahead, it doesn't look like there's going to be this huge cash flow coming. So those types of things. Um some of the things
we do with around um some of our additional research opportunities and stuff with some external partners that are great things to do when we have the funds to do it. But the balance between that and touching classrooms or having to reduce staff that are directly
impacting students in any way, shape, or form. We think about like concentric circles out. What's the furthest away from our students in the classrooms and then working our way backward there. So, um, also we're looking at, um, just based on some contract language and also ways we can shift some of our
professional development work, um, some stipens for some of the summer work that we've traditionally done, looking at how we do that differently, how we leverage people in a different way. So, trying to get to those things first before we have to get any closer to classrooms. So,
those would be some examples of one of some of the things we're talking about. Thank you. All right. Thank you very much. I just wanted to end on a note that I've heard a couple of you mention that we are feeling these reductions. We will feel
these and we will continue to go through this difficult work for the next handful of years uh to properly align our resources with what we're receiving from the state to align it with our enrollment uh and take the best of the best from COVID. Right? we've had to add a lot of supports and supplies and a
number of services through that era and we need to be sure that we're letting go of some older things or the or and keeping the best and most effective uh tools for our students uh in a cost-effective way. So, it's always we're going to be going through this exercise continuously um and we hope
that patterns and trends change um but I'm proud of the work that we've done so far and we'll just continue to work through it. So, thank you so much. Thank you, Miss Venick. Don't go too far because we have the next item on here. Consider approval of a resolution to purchase security
cameras for CTE areas at PA. This is a first reading. Can you run us through that, please? Thank you, uh, President Christensen. Uh, this is a request, a first reading for purchase of replacement security cameras in our career and technical education areas at at PAP. Uh, we have identified the need
because the current cameras are uh beyond their useful life. its old technology uh and there are some security vulnerabilities and fura compliance concerns. Uh this purchase will be made through software consortium pricing uh for a total not to exceed
$73,60057. The scope includes a full replacement and installation of the cameras and integration with our secure camera server system. uh and we will be uh funding this with our 31A uh state of Michigan school aid budget allocation for uh mental health and safety uh
grant. I'm happy to take any questions that you may have um or I may defer those questions to another expert. Great. Start with Josh. I have no questions and I'm glad to see that we're able to work these into our existing systems as well. So, thank you.
Well, I also have no questions. Thank you. Thank you, member boss. No questions. Thank you, Treasure Kho. So, we discussed this extensively at FNO. Um, these security cameras are used throughout the CTE program, but when
they're in educ educational spaces, they will not be providing uh recording. They'll only providing live viewing. So, for example, in our school stores, the uh the teacher is going back and forth between the classroom and the school store, and the camera allows them to get
a live view between those two places, but it is not actually recording in the educational space. So, we had a great discussion about this, and um we're excited to see these things be aligned with our technology that we have for camera systems throughout the district.
Yeah. Okay. VP Sadum. Yeah. Um, maybe a little bit off topic with regard to the 31A money. How much did we get this past year and how much of that was allocated for mental health support versus security cameras and equipment? So, um,
we got the final number. Maybe Miss Minn can help us, but we divided that in half in terms of the two supports. Um, this the two departments. We had 125 million across the state which was different from the 150 million that we had
previously. There was a supplemental bill that came one time if you recall from the state in October to try to make up so we would continue to get the same amount that we have received for the last two years um and then to be determine what will come forward for 31A
next year. Okay. Thanks member Pard. Um I don't have any questions. Thank you, member Ahmed. No questions. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Okay. Up next, we have action item
number 25-05-75. Consider approval of a resolution to purchase furniture and equipment for bid package number HS-4A, Canton High School Innovation Hub, Robotics Edition. This is a final reading. Can I have a motion? Madam President, I move that we consider
approval a resolution to purchase furniture and equipment for bid package HS4A Canton High School Innovation Hub Robotics Edition. Final reading, action item 25575. Can I have a second? I can second. Okay. So, it was moved by Treasurer Kho and
seconded by member Ahmed. Um, this is a final reading. So, we had this on our agenda for first reading last last meeting. Um, any additional questions or comments? No. Okay. We'll call for the vote. Those in favor, please say yes. Yes. Those opposed, say no. Motion
carries 6. Thank you. Thank you. Up next, we have teaching and learning with Miss Rail. Yep. So, I bring to you tonight for a first reading a a consideration of a new high school course called Understanding and Using AI responsibly. So, I'm pretty excited
about this course. It's a very innovative course. Um, very forward-looking course. This would provide 11th and 12th grade students with hands-on comprehensive introduction to artificial intelligences and it would focus on various aspects of AI. We did um talk about this very extensively in
SPA um how AI systems function in various applications across um all different um opportunities in the future including um workplaces like healthcare, business, entertainment, social media. Students would engage in hands-on projects, discussions, and interactive
simulations. Um, they would develop problem solving, ethical decision-making, and data analysis skills, uh, work with AI models and tools, and explore essential questions about AI creativity, employment use, privacy implica implications, and environmental impact. This would be an
18-week course. It would launch the second semester of next year, the 2526 school year, in a in a unique creative way that the the team has come together and developed this course. It would allow students to make a choice of one
of two options for the credit. they could choose to either do a half credit of English credit because it's been mapped to the high school ELA standards for um ELA 11 and 12 or a 0.5 um CTE credit around computer science. Now this
class has been designed very explicitly to be very inclusive because there is coding developed in this class but it is entry-level coding. So, it's scaffolded so that any student in our um in our school, regardless of their
prerequisites or anything that they've taken previously, could enter this course and be highly successful. Um you'll see in this in in the the outline how it attaches to our learner profile and it really is looking at helping students prepare for their world, you
know, world of work, world of college and career readiness because we know that AI is ubiquitous. it is everywhere now and it will be involved everywhere in our students future. So, um it's a it's standards aligned and aligned with the ELA standards and career and technical education competencies and
we're really looking at college career and life readiness. Total proposed cost for this course. Um back to what Miss Minnik was saying about looking at those restrictive funds first. This course has been mapped such that 20 overall it would cost us $20,400 just for the development and
that kind of stuff. is not for the teacher and things like that, but of that CTE grants will pay for 18,000 of the course for supplies and professional development. So, what we would expense out of our general fund for this course would be some of the stipens for the curriculum development work to the tune
of $2,400. So, I'm going to open it up to any questions you might have and uh answer anything I can for you. I'll start with our student co-chairs, Josh and Arjun. Oh, first of all, I know I always say that I'd love to take all these courses. This is this is one that
I definitely am going to try and prioritize next year. Um, I'm trying to figure out how to work around my ELA classes now. Um, I also love to see that this is like a class kind of tailored to the generation that we're living in and the things that are changing around us. I just think it's amazing idea and glad
to see that we're bringing in classes such as this. Um, amazing job. Thank you, Josh. And I hope you have room for it next year when you're a senior, right? All right. Um, so I have a couple questions. To start off, uh, you mentioned it's for 11th and 12th graders, but I'm wondering, you said
there was low prerequisites, and I know a lot of people interested in coding AI, especially with the rise of it in 9th and 10th grades. I'm wondering the accessibility of this course. Is it open to 9th, 10th graders? Not next year, but we'll look at look as we look ahead and the course is built out, we'll see we'll see what it looks like and whether we
want to expand it beyond 11th to 12th grade, but for the first launch year next year, we're looking at 11th and 12th grade. So, oh, and then one more thing. So you mentioned that it's only going to be a semester long, but I know that there especially um with like AI and CS and in higher levels of it too,
there's a lot of interest in people with people who have a deep understanding of coding. Yes. Um but I see that a semester long class can also have a restrictions on the people who want to take the class. I just like to mention myself in my schedule planned for the rest of high school, there's not a single class I have that's going to be
semester long. So I believe I'm look uh trying to see like will there be any opportunity for a class like this because it's a amazing class to give students opportunities who are interested in AI to be a year-long class so kids don't have to worry about what is the other semester long class you're going to have to take with if this only takes one semester. Thank you for that
Arjun. Um what we'll be looking at as we as we launch this course for the first time is also looking at interest and building it out from there. Um, our goal with any new course that we design is as we get more feedback from students, always expanding and creating additional
pathways. Um, this is one of those courses that like many of our um, longitudinal pathways may end up becoming a four-year pathway at some point in time. This is our first goound with this. So, we'll keep you in mind as we do some feedback and stuff for the
future, too. So, thank you. You member, I don't have any questions. Thank you. Thank you, Treasure Kho. Super excited about this class. Lots of things happening in the world with AI, especially across our CTE programs and uh uh English and everything else. I
concur with some of the feedback that this was likely to grow, but I'm really glad to see it come forward. Um obviously, as we look at success here, this may be also something we consider as a a summer program to allow people to take take this program in the summer. won't help our our rising seniors um in
in what they want to do because they'll be gone. But um I did have a technical question around access. Yep. Do we currently block access to uh generative AI uh solutions in the district? Primarily, yes, for students right now, we've uh opened access for our staff.
Students can use it with staff members, but it isn't wide open for all students right now. Yeah. We're also looking at um we've been spending this year doing some learning behind the scenes to look at a poss possibility of rolling out an AI tool across the district next year.
We're in we're nearing the finalization of the plan of what that tool may be. So, so then would we be offering uh a district uh controlled tool as part of this process or would we be opening access to the many different generative AI tools and then if that is the case,
how do we restrict access to the broad use but allow it to be used within this class. Our goal is to get to the point where we're able to say yes more often to tools because we know that they will help build our students future skills. Um, and one of the things we're doing with this one is mapping it through and
ensuring it aligns with our AI policy, but looking at various tools to allow students to use here, but also beyond. Um, we have we have a number of teachers right now doing some innovative um, work in an innovation cohort around AI access to students. So, we have some teachers,
for example, who have launched um, uh, created chat bots to help support it, to get feedback from students. Um we also have some teachers doing some very uh unique critical thinking skill um mapping across with with students as
well and we you know we we want to continue to make sure we're meeting the needs of our students for their future. So I'm excited about that innovation if you can keep us up to date as we make progress in that process. We will I will keep you up to date as will my uh whoever comes next. So that's right.
But I will I will be sure that it's on our our list to make sure everybody's updated. So thank you for that. No. Um, I have no questions, but I agree with some of the excitement that has been shared. I love hearing from our student co-chairs how how interested they are and and it's so relevant. So, I'm appreciative that we're developing
curriculum around it. So, thank you for that. Yep. Thank you. And I just want to shout out the team that created this and put it together. So, Heather ShraMM, Jeff Blakesley, Montene Barbie, and John Mculich um came together to do to do the primary foundational work around this with lots of support from other staff as
well. Super proud of the work that they've done this year. Okay, it's great. Okay, piece of doo. Yeah, just a little background. We did discuss this in spa um in in detail. Everyone was excited. Spa for those of you that don't know is student performance and achievement. We don't actually go to the
spa, but we do student performance and achievement meeting. I always feel like I have to clarify because people that are watching, they're like spa, they're going to the spa. Um but it is our student performance and achievement committee where we discussed this in depth. There was a lot of excitement from the students and the committee
members. With regard to policy, I will mention we worked on the policy last year with input from local businesses um entrepreneurs. We had people come in and talk to us about how they are using AI in engineering, in marketing, in their um entrepreneurship business. So there
were so many applications and they were telling us do not restrict this from students. Do not you know block it completely. So that's where we talked about sort of a low roll out because we really have to protect students and their data because if we don't have those protective measures within those
tools that they're using in school um then it's not safe for them. So I think part of the challenge is looking at which tools can be used with those data protections and I know Mark does a great job with that. Thank you for doing this work and the team. Thank you. Okay. And I I don't have any questions. Thank you.
Thank you. No questions. Thank you. It's uh really heart heartwarming to see proactive work. We really appreciate it. Great. Thank you very much. All right, we're on to citizens comments overflow. We do have a few folks here in
the list. Um we'll get started. I believe this is Linda Verdusco. No left. Okay. All right, we have Stephanie Boon says. Okay, Adam rebrand.
Okay, correct me if I said that wrong. Okay, thank you. Perfect. All right, before I get started, uh I know the time will start, but that's okay. Um, just want to say so cool that you're incorporating some of the high school students in this. I think that's awesome. AI class, uh, cutting edge. I
think that's super cool. So, I just want to share a couple thoughts kind of as a follow-up on how the meeting started today. Um, you know, wisdom and folly both literally yell loud from a hill. That's what we hear, you know. So, you have these messages that are both super
super loud, but whatever is loudest, it's never an excuse that we just go for what's loud. What really matters is which one's the truth, which one is the wisdom. Um, and you know, I wanted to focus on a couple things tonight as I think about our kids. And there's two different equality acts out there. Think
of wisdom and folly. We have God's equality act and then we have Satan's equality act. Okay? God has actually said some things that, you know, we all agree with. Black, white, male, female. You know, if we look back at Title 7
before Title 9 with girls sports, Title 7 actually added gender as a protected class. And our federal government said the reason that it was added as a protected class was because like the other things, race, you know, national
origin, it was immutable or unchangeable. That's what our government said. Now, here we have Title N. We have some some males that would like to compete in our female sports. enter our female bathrooms and that's just not right. Um, I wanted to focus also on the
issue of uh abortion. I just want to hit a couple topics because we have to know what God has said. In Jeremiah 32, God says that it never even entered his mind. Um, he never commanded an abortion or child sacrifice. the chapter
immediately before that and after that he says the stars are fixed in place and unless you can change the stars or the path that the sun goes throughout the sky those are fixed things unless you can change those you can't change my word my word stands forever so I just
want to encourage us you know the Bible does say that one day every knee is going to bow and every tongue will confess God says that we can argue with that might not think it's going to happen but I challenge us all kind of picturesely to be on on our knees. And there's two choices. Our hands are either up in praise and worship to our
God, the king that created us, or we're on our knees and we're just trying to to move the stars around and the things that he said. And I just don't want to be at a point of foolishness at the end of my life where I'm actually focused so much on trying to change the things that God has said. You know, if I think about
the way that the rainbow God used that, there's seven colors in the natural rainbow. One of them is indigo. Indigo symbolizes God. So the LGBTQ rainbow actually only has six colors. I don't know if you know that, but it took out God. There's six colors. Whereas in
nature, it it occurs with seven. God's perfect number. The devil's always doing things with six. 6 feet under, right? 6 feet apart. Separation and death is what he's always focus on. So I just want to encourage us all to think about what does God say? If it's all for the children, he would have a different
message for us tonight. Okay, up next we have Deborah Pinkinbelle Sandra. Okay. I don't The only reason that we need to do it is because we're reading a resolution. Yeah. A little popcorn thing like you
guys did the other night. You read this, then you read that. Who do you have for your next four? I have Joan. Yes. I have Sarah. Yes. And I have Michelle. Yes. Okay. Great. Okay. So, I'm going to go first. Okay. And you are? I'm Michelle.
Okay. Michelle, you we'll reshuffle you. That is fine. if there's a sequencing. Very much. Okay. Okay. Michelle Mustakis. Yeah. Very good. I think you've learned to pronounce it after I've been up here screaming so many times. Um I'm Michelle Mustakis and I am
with um Western Wayne um chapter of Indivisible. I'm going to try really hard not to address some of the things that have already been said, but I just do want to say that I wish that people would bring the kind of passion that
they seem to bring to to what they've been saying tonight to the millions of children that will be cut from their food stamps, from their SNAP benefits,
from their Medicaid. that is what we should be focusing on. That is what counts in a child's life. So I'm just going to start there. Um and so tonight what I came for is to talk about um as I
have been uh adopting asking the board to adopt a safe schools resolution uh that will protect our immigrant students. And the purpose of this resolution is to
ensure my glasses to ensure that our immigrant students have the rights that they are entitled to under our uh constitution. And why do I want this
implemented, adopted? Because it's just simply the right thing to do. And we need to have the courage to do it. So um with that I thought it would be a good idea to just simply read the resolution and the accompanying policy
so that you can just understand what's in it. It's not radical. It is so I'm going to start out and then we're going to go around. So whereas it is the right of every child regardless of immigration status to access a free public K through2
education and the district welcomes and supports all students. Whereas the district has a responsibility to ensure that all students who reside within its boundaries regardless of immigration status can safely access a free public K
through2 education. Whereas federal federal immigration law enforcement activities on or around district property and transportation routes, whether by surveillance, interview, demand for information, arrest, detention, or any other means, harmfully disrupt the learning environment to
which all students, regardless of immigration status, are entitled and significantly interfere with the ability of all students, including our US citizen students and students who hold other legal grounds for presence in the
US to access a free public K through 12 education. All right, we better do that. She already up next we we have is it Deborah? Sarah. Sarah. Okay, up next we have Sarah Kanski.
Yes. Okay. Uh whereas through its policies and practices, the district has made a commitment to a quality education for all students, which includes a safe and stable learning environment, means of transportation to and from school sites, the preservation of classroom
hours for educational instruction, and the requirement of school attendance. Whereas parents and students have expressed to the district fear and confusion about the continued physical and emotional safety of all students and the right to access a free public K12
education through district schools and programs. And whereas educational personnel are often the primary sources of support, resources, and information to assist and support students and student learning, which includes their
emotional health. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the US Immigration Enforcement Office, state or local law enforcement agencies acting on behalf of ICE, or agents or officers for any federal, state, or local agency
attempting to enforce federal ima immigration laws are to follow district policy blah blah attached to and incorporated in this resolution to ensure the district meets its duty to provide all students, regardless of
immigration status, access to a free public K12 education. Be it further resolved that the board declares the district to be a safe zone for its students. Meaning that the district is a place for students to learn, to thrive,
and to seek assistance, information, and support related to any immigration law enforcement that interferes with their learning experience. Be it further resolved that the district shall within 30 days of the date of this resolution create a rapid response team to prepare
in the event a minor child attending school in the district is deprived of adult care supervision or guardianship outside of school due to a federal law enforcement action such as detention by ICE or a cooperating law enforcement
agency. be it further resolved. It continues to be the policy of the district not to allow any individual or organization to enter a school site if the educational setting would be disrupted by that visit. Given the likelihood of substantial disruption posed by the presence of ICE or state or
local law enforcement agencies acting for ICE, any request by ICE or other agencies to visit a school site should be presented to the superintendent's office for review as to whether access to the site is permitted by law, a judicial warrant is required, or any
other legal considerations apply. This review should be made expeditiously but before any immigration law enforcement agent or officer appears at a school site. Push that button again. Are are you Joan? I am Jo. Okay. Thank
you. Um where did you guys leave off? Yeah, those all say that. You get the drift here, right? Be it further resolved in its continued commitment to the protection of student privacy, the district shall review its
recordkeeping policies and practices to ensure that no data is being collected with respect to student immigration status or place of birth and cease any such collection as it is irrelevant to the educational enterprises and
potentially discriminatory. Be it further resolved should ICE or other immigration law enforcement agents request any student information. The request should be referred to the superintendent's office to ensure compliance with family educational
rights and privacy act fura and student constitutional privacy standards for judicial warrant and any other limitation on disclosure. This review should be conducted expeditiously but before any production of information is
made. Be it further resolved, the district shall post this resolution at every school site and distribute it to district staff, students, and parents using usual means of communication and that the resolution will be translated into languages spoken by students at
home. Be it further resolved, the superintendent shall report back on compliance with the resolution to the board at its next meeting. Be it further resolved that the board directs the superintendent to review district policies and practices regarding
bullying and report back to the board at its next meeting and communicate to staff, students, and parents the importance of maintaining a bullyingfree environment for all students. Be it further resolved, the board affirms that
certified district personnel have academic freedom to discuss the resolution during class time provided it is age appropriate and students are to be made aware that the district counselors are available to discuss the subjects contained in this resolution.
Be it further resolved after school providers and other vendors and service providers who contract with the district shall be notified of this resolution within 30 days and required to abide by it.
We have copies and uh Deborah uh Finkerbinder pepper miner pepper. Yes. So, I'm going to read the sample district policy that's part of this. So, it's entitled access to education, student privacy,
and immigration enforcement. School personnel must not allow any third party access to a school site without permission of the site administrator. The site administrator shall not permit third-party access to the school site that would cause disruption to learn the learning
environment. The school board in resolution number to be provided in the future based on its educational experience and as part of its deliberate process as our grow as our governing body has found that access to a school site by immigration law enforcement officials substantially disrupts the
learning environment and any such request for access should be referred to the superintendent's office immediately. School personnel must contact the superintendent's office immediately if approached by immigration law enforcement agents. Personnel must also attempt to contact the parents or guardians of any students involved. The
superintendent's office must process requests by immigration law enforcement agents to enter school site or obtain school data as follows. Number one, request identification from the officers or agents and photocopy it. Number two, request a judicial warrant and photocopy
it. To a if no warrant is present, request the grounds for access, make notes, and contact legal course counsel for the district. Number three, request and retain notes of the names of the students and the reasons for the request. 3A, if a school site personnel
have not yet contacted students, parents or guardians, do so. 3B, do not attempt to provide your own information or conjecture about the students, such as their schedule, for example, without legal counsel present. Number four, provide the agents with a copy of this
policy and resolution number to be determined in the future. Number five, contact legal counsel for the district. Number six, request the agents contact information. And number seven, advise the agents that you are required to complete these steps prior to allowing
them access to any school site or school data. Thank you. Okay, thank you very much. Thanks for your time. Up next, we have Rachel Hayes. Hello, my name is Rachel Hayes and I'm a P Flag board member and a member of
Western Wayne Indivisible. Thank you for your time tonight. I'm sorry to say that we are living in a time when too many believe that hate toward others is normal, appropriate, and acceptable. It's no surprise when our government is setting an example of persecution of
people for who they are as human beings. For example, the ACLU is currently tracking 588 anti-LGBTQ bills in the US. More than 850 anti-LGBTQ bills have been filed so far in
2025. 850 and it's only May. This is up from just over 100 in all of 2020. While not all these bills will become law, they all cause harm to LGBTQ people. The vast majority of these bills target nearly every aspect of transgender life.
Bathroom access, IDs, medical care, even the legality of one's existence. The goal is clear. To make it impossible for transgender people to live openly, safely, and with dignity. And this hate and persecution, this othering is not
solely reserved for trans people. We have been given permission to vilify all queer people, immigrants, and people of color. We are now encouraged to be mean. PCCS is a microcosm of our broader community, reflecting its social and
political norms. This meanness, this disregard and disrespect for others who are different from ourselves has permeated our schools. Too many kids walk through their days feeling unwelcome, unaccepted, and anxious. But it doesn't have to be that way. P Flag
and Western Indivisible say that this is abnormal, inappropriate, and unacceptable. That's right. And the good news is that most of you agree. We are thankful for your response to our concerns
and for your willingness to see the reality that kids face every day. We want to thank those who have sat down with us to work together to find solutions. Thank you school board trustees Anna Pumpchug Sidu Jennifer Voss Patrick Kho and those on the board
who have offered words of encouragement. Thank you. Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Kurt Tiskowitz, Chief Human Resource Officer Abdul Majune, Chief Academic and Innovation Officer Beth Rail, Canton High School Principal David Reed Nordwall, director of
diversity, equity, and inclusion Katie Illegic, and queer youth committee adviser Olivia Foster. It's easy to claim to care for all children in our schools. Anyone can speak words of concern. It's much harder to invite tough discussions, to face harsh
realities, and to then take concrete actions to make real change for kids who need help. Thank you for truly caring about all of our district's children, and we look forward to continuing to work with you. Thank you. Thank you. Amen.
[Applause] Okay, thank you. Up next we have Heather Gatney. Thank you for your time tonight. My name is Heather Gatney and I live in the city of Plymouth and I have two children who
go to school here in the district. I'm here with members of our local Indivisible group and P Flag because we care deeply about the safety and well-being of LGBTQ plus students. Over the past few months, I have watched
as the climate in our schools has grown increasingly hostile. My own children have told me about the bullying they witness. My middle schooler hears homophobic slurs daily. And even my elementary age child has started
encountering hateful language at school. This isn't just hearsay. It's happening in our classrooms and hallways, often without intervention. Last month, students at East Middle School's Gay Straight Alliance shared their own experiences with bullying during a meeting. These stories
documented by their adviser, Kelly Voit, are heartbreaking and urgent. One student shared that they were deadnamed after Trump was elected. They were told, "Welcome back, dead name." Other students shared stories of
being told things like, and I quote, "You're disgusting. God doesn't like people like you. This is why you're going to hell. You'll always be a girl. These students also said they
routinely hear the fs slur, ts slur, and words like gay and trans used as insults. I believe we can all agree that every student deserves to feel safe and respected in our schools. I also believe that most of our dedicated teachers and
staff genuinely want to protect our students and stop harassment, but they need the right tools and support from the administration to do so effectively. When slurs go unchecked, identities are dismissed, or bullying is
ignored, it sends a harmful message that LGBTQ plus students don't belong. This isn't just about hurt feelings. It's about mental health, academic success, and even lives. Research shows that LGBTQ plus youth face higher risks of
depression, self harm, and suicide when they lack support. Therefore, I'm urging the board to take action by implementing mandatory training for all teachers and staff on how to proactively address anti-LGBTQ plus bullying. This training should
empower our educators to intervene when they hear harmful language, create inclusive classrooms, and affirm LGBTQ plus students dignity. Silence is not neutrality. It's permission for harm to continue. Our schools should be places
of learning and belonging for every child. By providing our educators with the necessary resources and training, we can show LGBTQ plus students that this district values their safety and humanity. Thank you.
[Applause] Okay, thank you very much. We have Lori Mays. Thank you. Uh, President Christensen, Superintendent, Merritt, and board members. I'm Lori Mayor's, president of P Flag Plymouth Canton. In recent meetings, our group has shared with you
our concerns about bullying and slurs against LGBTQ students that we have heard from students. We have heard that some changes are being put in place to create better accountability on the hate and bias form for which we thank
administrators Beth Rail, Abdul Madun, Katie Igic, and others. While we know that the current federal government wants to literally erase diversity, equity, and inclusion, we know that these values are critical to the success of Plymouth Canton Community
Schools. But beyond district policies, we need to create a culture that encourages and requires students to treat each other with respect. We need to create a culture where teachers immediately address slurs and insults instead of pretending not to
hear them. We need to create a culture where bullying in all its forms is treated seriously. Matt's law, named after an East Lancing boy who died by suicide, mandates that districts and schools
address bullying and report all incidents. Yet, it seems that some schools in our district have not taken the reporting requirements seriously. In 2023 to 24, East Middle School reported only one bullying
incident. And in the two school years before that, West Middle School reported zero incidents for two years in a row. Salem High School with 2,000 students reported one bullying incident in 2021
and two in 2223. I wish these numbers were real, but I think we all know they can't possibly be. I urge all school principles and administrators to take bullying seriously, to follow the law, and to
report and address bullying. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you very much. Up next, we have Ian Gonzalez. Okay. Um, hello everyone. I'm Ian Gonzalez. I'm a member, sorry, a little
nervous. I'm Ian Gonzalez. I'm a resident of Canton, Michigan and also representative as part of Western Wayne Indivisible who's concerned about the safety of our students in Ply the Plymouth Canon Community District. Uh I'm here to talk to you today about the
Michigan's new safe safe home safe school law passed in 2024 which requires that school districts inform their par parent and caregiver communities about Michigan's safe gun storage law every year. First of all, I want to thank you all for being ahead of the law and for
already sharing information about secure gun storage. As you know, this information is crucial to keeping our kids and schools school staff safe and saving lives. If you are unfamiliar with the law, the state of Michigan passed a law in 20 2023 that requires gun owners
to securely store their firearms with a gun lock or in a gun safe when kids are near or could be reasonably be expected to be found near a firearm. Firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teens in Michigan. Uh in an average year, 1500 people die and three
3,000 people are wounded by guns in Michigan. 800 of those deaths are by suicide and over a 100 children and teens uh die by guns every each year. About 40% of the Michigan house of Michigan households have at least one gun and therefore educating parents
about the importance of locking up firearms is a crucial way that we can prevent homicides, suicides, and unintentional shootings among our youth. Um I am very grateful for the steps that you have taken to educate our community about secure gun storage. I am here as a volunteer of End Gun Violence in
Michigan and would like to offer resources and answer any questions you have about the new law. Uh End Gun Violence in Michigan is a coalition of more than 50 organizations working for gun violence prevention. Uh we have developed a one-pager which Joan will hand out uh that I am dropping off for
you uh with our most up-to-date information about the safe home safe schools and what school districts should expect to see and when. Uh, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is a source uh is a a source for
materials that uh sorry is a source for the materials that uh you will be asked to distribute and will be sent to you via the Michigan Department of Education. Uh the law asks you to share this information to parents by October 2025. Um if you need any more information, I'd be glad to set up a
time to speak with you later on. Uh, and thank you for your time today and uh, thank you for keeping our students and district employees safe. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you very
much. Up next, we have Natalie Sharp. Thank you. [Music] Hello. Um, my name is Natalie Sharp. A lot of you have heard me speak before. Um, I don't plan on speaking at Citizens Commons much in the future due to some
concerns like my schedule and just other things going on. But, um, if there is a reason specifically for me to comment, I will be back. But anyways, as a PCCS grad and former staff member and a substitute, um, I had a negative experience with the district recently. And I don't want to get into it. That's
not the point of this. Um, but the point is is that and also my experience going to the board meetings and being a subhead has made me realize some things and I just thought I would share them with you guys as a reflection um of what I've learned from just my experience and listening to these board meetings and making sentencing comments myself. So,
the first thing I've learned is that if there's a problem instead of complaining about it, it's always better to offer up a possible solution rather than simply complaining. It doesn't really do much. Um, I think for an example is the bike racks with myself. You know, I could have just spent on complaining and being like, "Oh, this school doesn't have a
bike rack. Not enough kids bike to school," which I did do. I was venting, but then I came here and I offered up a solution and just not just complaining for complaining sake, but like here's the solution. Here's the benefits. And that just is so much better. Um, and I think it's better for you guys than just
to hear random complaining. Um, also being grateful and having gratitude for the people who have heard me out, even if it's not the results I wanted. I realize that in a lot of countries and a lot of places not all everybody is awarded this freedom just to like have that freedom of speech and share their opinions and being able to voice. So I'm
very grateful for that um that I've been listen to even if people don't always agree with me or um doesn't go the way I planned. And also I think it's the failures that have made me stronger in the end. I think we really need to have emphasized that more in the school system is more chances for people to fail and screw up and see what comes of
it. And I think that's one of the most neglected things these schools are teaching in all the schools I've been in, giving people a chance to fail. And I've personally learned a lot from my role in the mistakes I've made in my situation and just everything. And being able to come up here and make mistakes and stumble over my words and learn.
It's just such a growing process that I love. And one of my favorite parts of being a substitute teacher is being able to grow and learn every single day from my mistakes. Um, and it's always better to be worth it to be a part of something bigger than yourself. Most people talk about wanting to make the world a better place, but I think few people actually
do it. And in my opinion, making the education system just a tiny bit better is worth it. Like that feeling that I had an impact on this district, even if it's really small, like the fact that I was able to implement substitute feedback, it's like a small change, but it feels good knowing that I was able to do something as a community member to
make the district better and make education better at large. So in conclusion, I just wanted to say I think as a sub, one question I get asked a lot is if I want to be a teacher and the truth is I have no desire to be a teacher. But but listen, I do think that
for my career, I really do want to make a difference in education for my career path. And I think my experience with PCCS as a student, employee, sub, and everything I've been through and going up and speaking at these board meetings has really solidified that. So thank you guys for hearing me out. And I don't know when I'll be back, but at some
point I'm sure I will. Thank you. [Applause] All right, thank you. And that wraps up our citizens comments overflow section. Up next, we have action items and discussion. So, we have action item
number 25-05-76, consider approval of a resolution designating local district's Wayne Lisa election representative. This is a final reading. Can I have a motion? Madam President, I move that we consider approval of a resolution designating the
local district's Wayne Rea election representative. This is a final reading action item 25576. Can I please have a second? Second. Okay. So, it was moved by Treasurer Kho and seconded by VP Sidu. Um, I know this was on the agenda last time. Do we have
any additional comments or questions around this resolution? I just wanted to thank uh member Voss for being able to uh attend this. Uh, I noticed that we needed a second uh spot. So, do we Yes. for the alternate? Yes. Thank you for bringing that up. Yes,
there is a blank as as some a backup for Miss Voss. So, does anyone have the availability to be a backup or want to uh volunteer for that position? What was the time for the meeting? Let's look. 6 p.m. Did you say? Yep. It says,
"And is the role only in the event that Miss Voss is not able to attend?" Correct. Yep. We need need to name an alternate. It says right here, um, the board I'm going to read part of the the um the resolution here or action item. It says, "The board does hereby approve
the designation of Jennifer Voss as a representative of the board for the electoral body and whomever else we name as an alternative as an alternate, excuse me, in the event the designated representative is unable to attend. Which body will elect one candidate to
the vacancy on the Wayne Reesa board on Monday, June 2nd, 2025?" So, I can support this as an alternate in the unlikely event that Jennifer can't attend. So, um just ask her to let me know as soon as possible so I can shuffle things around. Fair enough.
Thank you for um volunteering for that being an an alternate. Um so, that being said, do we have to um we have to vote on this with the names in there? Yes. Do we do we need a new motion after we add this? I'm sorry. I'm Or can we just call for a vote as
amended? There hasn't been a motion to amend the resolution. So, can I have an a motion to amend this uh resolution to add member Kho as an alternate? Madam President, I move that we amend the resolution to add uh member Kho as an
alternate. Can I have a second? Second. Okay. It was moved by member Kho and seconded by member Sadu. Um I will call for the vote at this point. Those in favor, please say yes. Yes. Those opposed say no. Okay. Motion carries 6.
Thank you. Um, up next we have action item number 20. That was only the only now now we have to vote on the amended resolution. Okay. Thank you. I stand corrected. Sorry. Okay. So, can I
please have do I need another? I don't think you need another motion because we've amended it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. So, we're I'm going to call for the vote on the um amended action item number 25576. Those in favor, please say yes. Yes.
Those opposed, say no. Motion carries 6. Now we will move on. Thank you everybody. Um action item number 25577. Consider approval of a resolution for local district vote on Weeden Visa budget. This is a final reading. Do we have any other questions or commentary
around this? Okay. Can I have Oh, I'm sorry. Can I have a Madam President? I move that we consider approval of a resolution for local district vote on Wayne Ree budget. This is uh action item 25577 and it is a final reading. Thank
you. Second, please. Can I have a second? Okay. It was moved by Treasure Kho. It was second by members um Ahmed. Do we have any questions or comments around this action item? No. Hearing none, I'm going to call for the vote. Those in favor, please say yes. Yes.
Those opposed say no. Motion carries 6. Thank you. Okay, we're on to follow-up board questions. And I believe we had one here. It looks like it was complete in our May 16th board notes. That's correct. Um, did we have any uh
questions from this evening that we picked up? I had heard one from member Sadu, I think around the 31A funding. What percentage was went to security went to mental health? You said in half. We answered it. Yeah. 50/50. So that's all set. I had a request to have a
followup to the board as they solidify their AI technology practices for this course. Okay. Okay. Any others? No. All right. Thank you very much. We're going to take a short recess as we transition
to a board workshop on our dynamic plan. This is still an open board meeting. So, anyone who wants to hang in there with us past 9:30 uh for the workshop, you're welcome to stay. Um, I'll give, like I said, five minutes. We'll return at 9:28.