Good evening, everybody. Hello. Good evening, everyone. We're gonna get started. Hello? Gonna do this. Alright. Good evening. Alright. Welcome. Welcome to the May 20, Tuesday Board of Education meeting. We always start with, pledge of allegiance. I forgot to mention that our president, doctor Philippart, is not here, so I'm gonna be helping with the meeting. And we have six of our seven trustees, here. So, we start with recognitions. We have recognitions this evening. And thank you, miss Annie, for, serving, as officiant for the meeting today. As mentioned, doctor Philip Hart is out of the country.
Our first we have several items of recognition, that we'll move through today. This is always a very exciting time of the year where we get to celebrate. I shared with our our retirees just a brief moment ago. This this is this is, celebration season, and so, it it's great to see this room full of people celebrating the the hard work, and the individuals who make our school district a special place. So we're gonna start with the, item a, which is our outstanding support staff award. The strength of a school district lies in its staff, and nowhere is there more a more amazing group of individuals serving students than here
in Troy. We begin tonight with our outstanding support staff person of the year. For those who may not know, this category of employees includes a diverse group of individuals, including bus drivers, secretaries, care professionals, student support aids, custodial staff, food service, technology, childcare, security, and more. These individuals ensure that our students and staff have what they need to learn and grow. This year, there were more than 24 nominees for outstanding support person of the year, but one person rose to the top. Our twenty twenty five outstanding support person of the year is Phyllis Walters.
Phyllis is an administrative assistant to the principal at Wausau Elementary School. Phyllis was nominated by the entire Wausau staff. Some of the comments in her nomination include, Phyllis is a problem solver and many times heads off problems before they can be even become one. She is exceptional. She is extremely organized, efficient, trustworthy and kind. She goes above and beyond for students and our families each and every day. WAS runs smoothly because of Phyllis. She is the backbone of the school. She is resilient, adaptable, and has an unwavering dedication to our school and its members.
Please join us in congratulating Phyllis Walters on this well deserved recognition. Her name was engraved on the support person plaque that will that will be dis displayed at WASC for the next year. Phyllis was also surprised with a check for $250 from the Troy Foundation for Educational Excellence. We would like to show a short video of our visit, to to surprise Phyllis, and and I can tell you Phyllis was surprised. We nominated Phyllis here at Bot Elementary for support staff of the year because Phyllis has just been such an integral part of everything that we do here at Watts.
She is our head secretary to the principal, and she has been through so many changes here at Watts along with changing staff, changing principals, and Phyllis is the person who knows everything, sees everything. She's always organizing things behind the scenes. She takes no credit for any of the things that she does around here, and she does so much. Phyllis Walters is very deserving of the support staff of the year and we couldn't be more proud and happy for her. Phyllis is the heartful and helpful one of the first faces you see as you
walk into WAS. I think one of the greatest things about Phyllis and why she's so deserving for this award is that she's not asking for any credit for anything she does each day and she does it because she loves WAS. She loves the students and the families and the teachers. Phyllis has been working at WAS Elementary for thirty two years. The building's only been here forty six years. So at Team forty six, she's served this community for thirty two years. She is deserving of this nomination, in so many ways. She should have been recognized years ago, but, right now, I will say she is,
in one word, professional. She does not take days off. She shows up every day and does the work. If there's ever a problem, you need something, it goes far past school supplies. She's willing to help you with any issue to make our school a better place, and I'm just so proud of her. She knows this building like the back of her hand. She is a support to everybody, the students, the parents, the families, the staff, the principals, the parents, the kitchen staff, the custodial staff. She makes this place run smoothly, and she does it with class,
character, and she is just the ultimate professional. She did not want the spotlight in this. I think when we told her that we had nominated her, she was so sweet and just turned around, and she said, well, no one asked me if that was okay. But we know we would have asked you if we did nominate you, you would have said no. That made it even more important and special that we nominate her for that. She won this award and was completely shocked and she shouldn't be shocked because the things that she does for Wasp should never go unnoticed because she does so much for all of us and we appreciate her more than she'll ever know.
Congratulations, Phyllis. We're so happy. Congrats, Phyllis. Way to go. Congratulations, Phyllis. Well deserved. We had a, we had an opportunity last week to celebrate our support, staff persons of the year. All 24 of those individuals were invited to Troy High. We had a reception in their honor. And true to form, Phyllis, does not like to be in front, of recognition. So, unfortunately, she's not here with us this evening, but principal of Waus Elementary, Kristen Crowell, is here to accept, the, plaque for Phyllis, on her behalf. Thank you, Kristen, for being here to support Phyllis. Next under recognition this evening is our our,
is to recognize our graduating class of twenty twenty five from the Troy School District, our staff and support staff and administrators who will be leaving us after a combined nine hundred and thirty three years. So, to celebrate those individuals, mister Pagel, our assistant superintendent for employee services. Good evening, doctor Majeski and members of the board. I have the, the distinct honor and privilege, tonight of presenting to you, our, graduates, staff graduates for for 2025, our beloved, retirees. This this group has over nine hundred years of collective experience,
and they have left a legacy in the Troy School District. Their resume is not on paper, but it is etched on the thousands of students and staff members and colleagues that they have touched during, the course of their careers. And tonight, we celebrate them. We are super excited that they are here. When we when I, call their names, I'm going to read their, their, where they're where they're working and also their date of hire. And And we would invite them to come up, to receive recognition from the board of education and,
members of the fan clubs. Please feel free to applaud. And members of the paparazzi, if you'd like to come and take pictures of your loved ones, please do so. So without further ado, here are our twenty twenty five retirees for this year for the Troy School District. Yeah. That's great. Ruba Alexander, teacher, Troy Uni, nineteen ninety five. Nadia Barbach, teacher at Baker two thousand and five. Michelle Barsh, principal Martell Elementary twenty eighteen. Heather Childress, teacher. I think they wanna get some pictures in between. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Sorry. Okay.
Talk. Alright. Heather Childress, teacher, Martell Elementary, nineteen ninety eight. Kelly Klevic, counselor at Baker, two thousand four. Cindy Christiansen, teacher, Larson, two thousand seven. Melissa Kurth, assistant principal, Troy High, nineteen ninety five. Paula Davidson, paraprofessional waddle, twenty ten. Carol Dosco, teacher, Hamilton, nineteen eighty five. Laura Doosie, central enrollment, pupil accounting coordinator, central office nineteen ninety nine. Aaron Fisher Baloo, teacher Troy High two thousand. Rose Gabreloska,
systems analyst at services since 2024. Shelley Hakala, teacher, Troy High, '19 '90 '9. Joe Hebrilla, teacher, Boland Park, '19 '90 '4. Jane Held, teacher Martell, '2 thousand and '3. Robert Holder, teacher at Athens, Two Thousand. Carrie Johnson, Teacher at Baker nineteen ninety nine. Patrick Conable, teacher Smith, nineteen ninety one. Sandy Conable, teacher, Bolin Park. Nineteen eighty three. Family shop. Frank Lyon, teacher, Boland Park, nineteen eighty one. He he said he's going to.
Catherine Locke, teacher at Baker and Larson two thousand three. Diane Laux, teacher at Troy High, nineteen ninety five. Christa Manfredi, teacher, Athens, nineteen seventy four. Benjamin Martin, teacher of Waddles, two thousand. Kathy Mathis, secretary Barnard, nineteen ninety six. Yeah. Shelley McHugh, teacher, Larson, two thousand two. Brenda Rice, teacher, Athens, Athens nineteen ninety six. Jennifer Sobczynski, teacher at Troy High, nineteen ninety. Linda Stanko, early childhood coordinator at the preschool, 1985.
Jennifer Taylor, teacher at Boland Park, Nineteen Eighty Six. Laurie Uluitz, Teacher at Baker nineteen eighty nine. Carolyn Van Nord, project search coordinator two thousand and six. Marie Weber, explorer supervisor at the preschool of 1999. And our beloved colleague, Mike DeSantis, teacher, Athens, nineteen ninety six, and Mike's family of Georgia. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, our wonderful, fabulous colleagues and retirees for 2025. Thank you. The, next up on recognition, is our is our TSD mission moment,
the Athens Girls Powerlifting Champs. I'd like to invite mister Janssen to the podium to tell us about these three time, champions. Doctor Majeski and the board, it's my privilege tonight to be able to introduce, coach Lusk that will be able to talk, more eloquently about their season. We are thrilled to celebrate the remarkable achievements of the Troy Athens powerlifting team, the twenty twenty five state champions. These exceptional young women have secured their third consecutive state title while also demanding their competitive skill on national and global stages. Throughout the years,
they have shattered numerous school, state, and national records showcasing their dedication, strength, and unparalleled talent. With that being said, please join or please, help me welcome coach Nick Nicklaus. Thank you for inviting us here tonight. These young ladies are amazing. I've been coaching this team for six years now, and there's just something special about the Troy Atherins Grow Powerlifting team. Our men's team is doing very well too, but these girls, they just take it to a whole new level. Their hard work, dedication, it's just amazing to watch these young women walk in a little nervous about a
barbell. And then after a couple practices, they're like, yeah. Give me more. Give me more. Give me more, coach. Give me more. I couldn't be prouder of a group. So I wanna ask any of you if you'd like to come up, say a couple of things. Put them to all yours. You're well and told. Hello. I'm a senior. I've been working for two years. I just wanna thank you for this opportunity to be honored in this way. I just wanna, first of all, thank God in the fact that I couldn't do anything. I wanna thank, my family for driving me to every meet and always being there,
for my teammates for always supporting me, helping me with every set and every rep, and my coach for always being my number one supporter. There's one thing that I would like to say is that, if we could do all of this with, without funding from the sports program, imagine what we could do with it. So I would love for us to get, more funding and for us to become a sport so we can do more amazing things. So thank thank you. We do have some certificates, mister Lusk, as well as your power lifting athletes. We're gonna get those to you,
and I would wanna get a picture here. Okay. Next to our doors. Alright. Which one do I do? Oh, okay. I'm sorry. Yeah. Alright. CAP. Mhmm. Next item of recognition is our legislative CAP students report to the board. Mrs. Montante. Good evening, Doctor. Machesky and Board of Education. I am pleased to welcome students from the legislative track of our career accelerator program or CAP program to the podium this evening. These CAP students have been actively engaged in learning about various levels of government from our own school board as you met with them and had dinner with them.
And they asked you all sorts of lovely questions. The city, state senators, and representatives, tonight, two students will share their experiences, insights gained from the program, and how CAP has positively impacted their educational journey. So if I could invite all of the CAP students to come on Yeah. Okay. Jackson is gonna go first. Thank you, missus Montante and, mister Seats, wherever you are. Oh. Yeah. And, doctor Machesky and the board for allowing me the opportunity to speak today. Originally, when I enrolled in the government track for the career accelerator program,
I joined it to go to Lansing because that sounded interesting. However, through my experience in the program, I gained a deeper, insight and understanding into the intricate workings of government and the various roles within it. This journey proved to be remarkably insightful. Even though I had already taken advanced placement government at Troy Athens High School, I, even though I sorry. I encourage anyone considering this program to, understand this profound impact.
Beyond theoretical knowledge, it offers a firsthand look into how government operates, allowing offer participants to hear directly from influential figures who hold significant power. This exposure reinforces the practical application of governments and decision making, making it an invaluable experience regardless of one's future career path. One of the program's most striking revelations was the accessibility of government officials.
Prior to this experience, I was unaware that constituents could directly contact representatives and senators to share their concerns. The officials we met emphasized their willingness to learn and engage with the public so long as those interactions remains respectful. A memorable example was state representative Sharon McDonnell, who despite describing herself as an introvert, was eager to hear diverse perspectives. Her Her openness to reflect her openness reflected a broader truth.
Elected officials exist to represent their constituents, and active engagement is key to effective governance. The principle of this principle applies to individuals across all professions from nuclear engineers to postal workers. Understanding how representatives advocate for their constituencies is fundamental to civic awareness. This revel that revelation further underscores how programs like the career accelerator programs, government track are beneficial, not just for aspiring leaders and legal professionals,
but for anyone curious about the complexities of government service. I extend my sincere appreciation for Kendra Montante and Doug Teets for organizing these invaluable interactions. Their efforts made it possible for me to engage with the individuals shaping our government, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of this incredible experience. Thank you, doctor Machesky and members of the school board for giving me a chance to speak today. I admit, I applied to this program not knowing how it would turn out, how I would do, and what I would achieve. While I was a bit of a shot in the dark,
I trusted the process. When When I when I was accepted into the program, I was both excited and anxious. But once it got underway, I never looked back. This pre internship program opened my eyes to so many basic but critical things that are needed to not only survive in the real world but in the business world as well. I learned various things from holding eye contact, making polite talk, and having a firm handshake, to understanding how the government works on both the local and state levels. What made this experience so unique was that it combined those basic skills with the complexity of the legislative universe. This experience provided me with a well well rounded view of how our government is
structured and some key details on how it functions. First off, as this pre internship program taught us, the importance of a good handshake or strong eye contact cannot be overlooked. These basic things could seem irrelevant, but this program helped me realize that they are the key to building trust, demonstrating respect, and making good first impressions. In the workforce, first impressions are key and often might be the only chance you get. This legislative program also taught me the major functions of the mayor and a local and state governor. Before this internship, I thought the role of the mayor was just to occasionally give a speech and attend events. But I learned that their job is much more than that.
They are the key to a city's success, and they are in charge of everything from managing public safety to budgeting for the city. They're they represent the community's wants and needs while also keeping the budget in check. I also got an introduction to how local courts work and was actually able to sit in and listen to some of court cases. I also saw courts I I also I saw how courts tried to cases. I also saw courts I I also I saw how courts tried to maintain order and fairness. Because these cases were at the city level, they were they were relatively small. But even though they were small, they had a large impact on the people involved. This experience in court also gave me a lot of respect for the judges conducting the cases because there is an incredible amount of information to know prior to the
case that takes a lot of time and effort to read. In summary, this pre internship brought me a whole new perspective of the legislative world. I learned various life skills, met amazing people, and established a new found newfound respect for people in legislation. This experience helped me see that behind all the new news headlines, there's a whole lot more going on backstage that we can't see, yet it impacts all of our lives in one of the biggest ways imaginable. Thank you. I just wanna say thank you all for sharing. This is, the cap legislative groups. Last night, most of our cap students had their last night at our capstone reception the other
night. It was a wonderful event and evening. So, I hope all of you really enjoyed it. I know that they did. They they have all, sent me wonderful essays and letters thanking us. So, they just wanted to kinda share the culmination of some of their learning. So thank you. Thank you. Alright. Now it's my so the next recognition is teacher appreciation week. Teacher appreciation week is observed nationally each year in May. This year, teacher appreciation week was celebrated Monday, May 5 through Friday, May 9. At this evening's meeting, the Troy School District and Board of Education would like to recognize all our outstanding
teachers by adopting the following resolution. May I have a resolution? Miss Alish? Whereas throughout Troy and across the country, teachers inspire, nurture, and open children's minds to new ideas, whereas teachers promote and strengthen the principles of democratic qualities, develop leaders, and encourage critical thinking, and whereas Troy Teachers set the bar for excellence in education and continually exceed the highest standards in the profession, and whereas the goal of teacher appreciation week is to raise national and local awareness of teaching excellence in building a better society.
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the choice school district supports National Teacher Appreciation Week, May fifth through ninth twenty twenty five, and encourages our schools and community to appropriately recognize the vital and changing role of teachers in imagining and creating a better future for society. Support. Moved by Mr. Lee, supported by Mr. Hoppe. Any questions or comments? Not all those in favor, Say yes. Yes. Thank you. Resolution passes. Next recognition is Mentor Health Mental Health Awareness Month. Each year, Oakland County,
Oakland Community Health Network, along with its service providers network, holds hosts an array of initiatives that promotes community awareness about mental illness. Our schools also work hard to increase awareness and end stigma for those seeking help during the month of May, which we have been asked to recognize along with other school boards across Oakland County as mental health awareness map. Resolution. Whereas mental health is important for our individual well-being and vitality as well as that
of our families, communities, and schools, whereas one in five of all Americans, including children, experience mental health issues that could lead to school difficulties, physical problems, and even suicide, whereas 05/08/2025 is designated as National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, and May 12 through 05/18/2025 is designated as Children's Mental Health Acceptance Week. And now, therefore, be it resolved that the Troy Board of Education hereby recognizes May 2025 as Mental Health Awareness Month and seeks to increase the awareness and understanding of mental illness and
the need to support all people seeking help. Support. Moved by Doctor. Melton, supported by Miss Potts. Sorry. Sorry. Any questions or comments about it? If not, all those in favor, all those support, say yes. Yes. Resolution passes. Alright. Our next item do we wanna take Yes. No. I think we can let, Amina go. Alright. Do you like to go to the second? Yeah. Okay. Go ahead, Amina. So we I wanted to take a moment, to speak on behalf of our student, Bilal Ahmed, who passed away at the beginning of this month.
We've been celebrating all these wonderful things, and so, we thought it would be appropriate to take a moment to celebrate a life. He was an eighth grade student at Boling Park, who collapsed during Troy High Freshman orientation. From everything I've heard and seen, he seemed to be a truly special person, and he seemed to be the best of us. And what I wanted to read was a statement, and and I'm reading this with permission of his of his parents, to really to to thank the school district, and, you know, and to show how much to our schools really meant to the family,
at the funeral, at the burial, and then also last night at the Troy City Council, meeting, his father, ex expressed his, gratitude. And I think for somebody going through something so tragic to be able to, see our our staff. And, so I'll let their, you know, I'll let their words, speak for themselves. Our son, Bilal, passed away on 05/01/2025 at 14 years old. Bilal was a beautiful and innocent soul. Our child was kind, charming, quiet, humorous, and caring. He was loved and cherished by everyone, including his parents,
his sister, his uncles, and aunts, his cousins, and his grandparents. He also had an extended family and his classmates, teachers, friends, the entire Troy School District, and the entire Muslim community in various masjids throughout Southeast Michigan. The outpouring of support from everyone has been amazing. From prayers and kind words to memorials at his school to beautiful notes and messages to flowers to love to heartfelt hugs, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We can never express how much it means to us. Thank you to each and every one of you. Your love and support has gotten us through this tragedy and will continue to get
us through this for the rest of our lives. As his parents, we are forever in your debt. It takes a village to raise a child, and you are our village. He was in eighth grade at Bonaparte Middle School and was going to be a freshman at Troy High School in the fall. He was very excited about attending there, but sadly, that was not meant to be. While at freshman orientation at Troy High School on May 1, Bilal had a medical emergency related to his heart. We were also attending the event for parents in the auditorium and rushed to the gym. We witnessed the law on the floor with Troy High staff administering CPR.
This was followed by Troy police and Troy EMS taking care of him as well. He was rushed to Troy Beaumont Hospital where they did their best to help him, but Allah had already made his decision. Bilal passed away that evening at 9PM. Allah lo Al Alal loaned him to us, and he took him back from us. We accept his decision. He loaned him to us at Troy Beaumont Hospital in 02/2011, and he took him back from us at Troy Beaumont Hospital in 02/2025. Between that time, we were able to love him and cherish him for fourteen years.
We created wonderful memories together, which we will hold on to for the rest of our lives. He was like an angel, and he died like an angel. And I do wanna say in the, you know, various interactions I've had with the family, they they really, mention often how they felt like the the staff and everybody that evening treated Bilal as if he was their own child. And so, they also did wanna share that there will be a celebration of life ceremony on
May 30 at IEGD. That's where the funeral also took place, and that's at 879 West Auburn Road in Rochester Hills, Michigan at 06:30 in the evening. Thank you, miss Suresh. We will take a five minute recess allowing everybody who are here for recognitions to go on with their activities of the day. You're welcome to stay back for the rest of the meeting if you feel like. We will return in five minutes. We're gonna continue with our meeting. She just Hello, everyone. We're gonna continue with our meeting. Okay, folks. We're gonna go ahead and get started. I'm not loaded up.
Okay? Okay. Thank you. It's thank you, Rich. My principal voice. Yes. Exactly. Alright. The next item on our agenda is additions and deletions. There are none this evening. And next is public communication on agenda items. There are none. We have several on non agenda, but we'll do those at the end. Okay. Very good. Next item is our consent agenda. And here is my consent agenda. I am missing my consent. There we go. I have it. I have it. Alright. In our general consent agenda, we have a five a, minutes of the 04/01/2025 Board of Education workshop workshop,
minutes of the April 2025 special board meeting and closed session, minutes of the 04/22/2025 board of education minute meeting, treasurer's report of March 2025, approving the Oakland Intermediate School District budget, and a resolution to hold a public hearing on the proposed twenty twenty five, twenty twenty six school year budget. Item g, IA East budget approval for twenty twenty five, twenty twenty six school year. Item h,
OCSBA amendments to bylaws. I, Troy High kitchen upgrades. J, transportation parking lot lighting. And k, beverage cooler replacement for Baker Middle School. May I have a resolution, please? Mr. Hobbs. Be it therefore resolved that the Troy Board of Education takes action to approve items A through K on the consent agenda. Support. Moved by Mr. Hoppe, supported by Ms. Alish. Any any comments or discussions on this? If not, all those, in favor of the proposal, say yes. Yes. Opposed, say no. Proposal passes.
Next item in our agenda is personnel. Yep. We have several items under personnel this evening. Mister Fagle. I'm back. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Good evening once again, board of education. This evening, I have, some administrative appointments for your consideration. The, four candidates that we bring before you this evening have been through a very robust, series of interviews and performance tasks and practice lunch duty simulations and so forth. And so we bring them to you, for your consideration this evening. First of which is the appointment administrative appointment for the principal of Martell Elementary.
I am pleased to recommend the appointment of missus Colette Ivy to the position of principal at Martell Elementary School. Missus Ivy has an extensive twenty year background in education where she began teaching in the Livonia Public Schools in 1997 before accepting a principal position in 02/2002 for Livonia. She also was principal in Birmingham Schools. Missus Ivy currently serves as principal at Baugh Elementary in Ann Arbor Public Schools. Missus Ivy holds a bachelor of arts in education and a master of arts in curriculum and teaching from Michigan State University.
During her principal career, she has supported, participated, and achieved MCA accreditation. With your approval, missus Ivey will begin her principal position at Martell Elementary beginning 07/01/2025. Alright. Okay. We are asked to, support under resolution. May we have a resolution? Mister Hough? Be it therefore resolved that the Board of Education issues a two year probationary administrative contract without tenure in the administrative position to Colette Ivy, who will begin her duties as principal, Martell Elementary School, effective 07/01/2025.
Support. Moved by mister Haupt, supported by miss Sandler. All right. Any any comments or discussions on this stuff? On this resolution? If not, any everybody in favor of the resolution, say yes. Yes. Anyone opposed, say no. Yes. That's next item. Here at Seaman with, Oh, congratulations. Good evening, superintendent Machesky and members of the board. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as the next principal of Martell Elementary. I am honored by your trust and excited to join a school community known for
its excellence and dedication to students. I look forward to working together to support our staff, families, and create the best learning opportunity for every child to grow and succeed. Thank you. I am elated to join the Troy Public Schools. Welcome. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, missus Ivy. Next up for your consideration, an administrative appointment for the principal at Hill Elementary School. I am pleased to recommend the appointment of mister Ross Burdette to the position of principal at Hill Elementary School.
Mister Burdette started his career in Michigan teaching economics and history at Mason Public Schools. Mister Burdette then came to the Troy School District teaching social studies at Bolin Park Middle School. He also served as the Troy High Summer School principal. Previously, mister Burdette has served as middle school assistant principal and athletic director at Grand Grand Blanc Public Schools. Mister Burdett has been the assistant principal at Baker's, Middle School since twenty twenty two, twenty three school year. He has a bachelor's degree in history from Michigan State University and a master's degree
in educational leadership from Fort Hays University in Hays, Kansas. With your approval, mister Burdette will begin his duties as principal at Hill Elementary School commencing with the twenty twenty five, twenty six school year. Thank you. We are asked to vote on a resolution for this administrative appointment. May I have a resolution, please? Miss Melton. Doctor. Melton? He had therefore resolved that the Board of Education issues a two year administrative contract without tenure in the administrative position to mister Ross Burdette, who will begin his duties as principal, Hill Elementary School commencing with the 2526 school year.
Support. Okay. Moved by Doctor. Martin, supported by miss Potts. Everyone in support of the resolution, please say yes. Yes. Anyone opposed, say no. Resolution passes. Congratulations. Thank you. I appreciate it. Little worried about the nose there for a second. So I appreciate it. This is an incredible community, and I know all of you know that. And I've been a professional member of it in two thousand fourteen, and I've always felt supported and trusted and allowed to grow. And your support means everything in the world in in the world to me. So thank you, and I'm incredibly excited to start my time in Hill,
a new adventure. And I look forward to next year. So thank you. Congratulations. Welcome, mister Burdett. Next up for your consideration is an administrative appointment for assistant principal at Troy High School. I am pleased to recommend the appointment of missus Jesse Allgaier to the position of assistant principal at Troy High School. Missus Allgaier started her career in 02/2004 at Troy High School working as a counselor. Missus Allgaier holds a bachelor of arts in anthropology from the University of Kentucky and a master of arts in counseling from Oakland University. In 02/2004,
she received a post master's specialization in school counseling from Oakland University. And in 2013, received her education specialist in administration and leadership. Missus Allgaier is currently the department head for counseling as well as part of the principal learning network through Oakland Schools. With your approval, missus Allgaier will begin her assistant principal position at Troy High beginning 07/01/2025. Thank you, mister Pedro. We are asked to consider an administrative appointment of assistant principal for Troy High School. May I have a resolution,
please? Miss miss Salish? Be it therefore resolved that the Board of Education issues a two year probationary administrative contract without tenure in the administrative position to missus Jessie Allgaier, who will begin her duties as assistant principal at Troy High School effective 07/01/2025. Support. Moved by miss Elise, supported by mister Hupp. All those in favor of this resolution, say yes. Yes. Anyone in favor, say no. Anyone opposed, say no. The resolution passes. Congratulations. I just want to thank all of you for this incredible honor.
I've had the privilege of being, a counselor at Troy High School now for twenty one years, and it's my home away from home. My family, surprised me, my counselor's family, and my, administration is also here who I am so very, very excited to be working with, next year and, for the future of my educational career. So thank you so much for this honor and this opportunity. I also just wanna say thank you to my sweet boys, Jackson and Max, who are here to support me. I'm so excited. I can't wait. Congratulations. Next up for your consideration this evening is an administrative appointment for the position of
special education supervisor at our services department. I am pleased to recommend the appointment of missus Janie Evans to the position of special education supervisor here at the Services Building. Missus Evans started her career as a school social worker from Holly Area Schools in 02/2008. She then moved on to continue social work at Kingsley Montgomery Schools and at the Lake Orion School District. She has most recently served as the special education supervisor at Pine Tree Center in Lake Orion since 2021.
Missus Evans holds a bachelor of arts in social work and a master's degree in social work from Michigan State University. In 2021, she completed her education specialist leadership program from Grand Valley State University. Missus Evans is an instructor of nonviolent, physical crisis intervention and is a member of the special education coaching model committee. With your approval, missus Evans will begin her supervisory position at the Services Building beginning 07/01/2025. Thank you, mister Fickle. We are being asked to consider an administrative appointment for,
special education supervisor. May I have a resolution, please? Miss Potts? Be it therefore resolved that the Board of Education issues a two year probationary administrative contract without tenure in the administrative position to Mrs. Jamie Evans, who will begin her duties as special education supervisor, services building, effective 07/01/2025. Support. Okay. Moved by Miss Potts, supported by Miss Landler. Sorry. You both did it. All those in favor of this resolution, say yes. Yes. Anyone opposed, say no. Resolution passes.
Congratulations. Hi, everyone. Very excited about the opportunity to come to Troy, join the amazing special ed department. Excited to work with Sarah and Trevor. Thanks to my family for being here, my husband, my two kids, Austin and Addison. Just really looking forward to it, excited for everything, and we all enjoy. Thank you very much. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you, John. All right. Thank you. Next item on our agenda is curriculum. Oh, I'm sorry. Yes. There's nothing in curriculum this evening. Alright. Okay. Next item would be business. We have no business items this evening. Alright. I'm gonna make a slight change. Our students have finals this,
this week. So we're gonna move our student reports up before the public communications so that, we can let them go and have study for their finals. So we will start with give me a second. Christian, you wanna start off? Sure. Thank you. This month at TCC, we've had or not this month, but I've been here a little bit. So quarterly awards going into quarter four, happened at the beginning right after, got back. Woman of Tomorrow had a field trip or a banquet finishing the school year and then a field trip to the zoo as a little celebration.
We have arts beats and treats, May 23, open to everyone. It's also the senior's last day. May 15 is prom, the second year we've had it. Miss Geyser has finished the yearbook. Second year, again, we'll have it. Steel recycling drive by, human impact is is still going on and still open for donations within the school. Senior recognition is Friday, May 23. Graduation is June 4 and practice is June 2, Troy High Auditorium. And we had a speaker from soccer come in to share recycling news or like
new stuff, more information and how landfills and recycling facilities work, sharing that with human impact. Thank you, Christian. Any questions for Christian? No? Alright. Nureeda, what's going on at IA East? Good evening, everyone. I hope you are all having a terrific Tuesday. At IA East, this month has been a blend of new beginnings, cherished traditions, and bittersweet endings. During Star Wars weekend, the force was strong with IA East. From May 2 to May 3, our forensics team took 31 competitors to the state tournament in a galaxy not so
far. Away in Saginaw. Armed with powerful arguments and light speed wit, these students engaged in six intense rounds of public speaking. In the end, we had two state champions, four state finalists, and 15 state semifinalists across multiple events. May the force always be with IAEA East Forensics. On May 6, the new Japanese Culture Club held its first meeting. Students gathered to explore the rich traditions of Japan and discover its culinary delicacies with
some awesome snacks. One of my favorite parts about PAE Eats is the way we celebrate and embrace our diversity. And we are very excited to see what this club will open our eyes and taste buds to nest. Yesterday marked the kickoff of the sophomore ropes course trips, which will continue throughout the week. The trips serve as the grand finale of the two year IB adventure challenge course, which helps students cultivate strong leadership and communication skills that extend beyond the classroom.
At the course, students take turns belaying one another up to 40 feet in the air to put their teamwork to the test. Although letting teenagers hold your lifeline is a highly nerve wracking experience, the trip is a memorable way to build trust, overcome fears, and form lasting friendships. Speaking of incredible experiences, some good things, including IB exams for seniors, must come to an end. The last two exams will take place tomorrow,
and then our seniors can begin suiting up for prom on Thursday evening. On behalf of the entire senior class at IAEA East, I wanna thank our amazing board of education and district administration for a transformative academic journey Thank you, Narita. Yeah. That's all I have with current news from IAEs. Thank you. Thank you, Narada. Adam, how are things at Troy High? Good evening, members of the board and of the community. Thank Thank you for the opportunity, the last opportunity for me to update the community on Troy High School happenings in
the recent month. To start off, we're gonna give a an athletic update, for our spring sports. They are wrapping up their seasons within the next few days and heading to playoffs where we wish all of our student athletes luck, not that they'll need it. A special shout out to the Troy Colts baseball team, which was named the OAA White League co champions led by coach Joe D'Orazio and his coaching staff. Staff appreciation week took place from in early May where Troy High student government and other participating organizations at Troy High School celebrated staff appreciation week throughout the week with
the Staff Spirit Week including College Representation Day and Staff Twin Day. On top of showing their school spirit, staff members at Troy High School were gifted with staff lunches, breakfast, a coffee and donuts cart, and other small tokens of appreciation. I'd like to extend my gratitude to all Troy High staff and Troy School District staff members. Next up, we had AP testing. The college board AP tests began Monday, May 5 and ran through Friday, May 16. Students at Troy High School were tested in all subjects range ranging from psychology to
Spanish language and culture. I'd like to give a special shout out to the counseling staff and proctoring team at Troy High School for streamlining the AP testing process and ensuring a secure testing environment for over 1,500 administered exams. In recent weeks, Troy High School seniors began saying their goodbyes to the bustling hallways, their closest staff members, and their community for the last four years. In the April, seniors enjoyed a spirit week, a senior cookout, and other festivities where they could give a proper farewell to Troy High School.
On Sunday, seniors began the final ceremonies with the senior sunset tradition in which seniors spent time together in the coveted Don Hill Stadium and shared memories from the past four years at Troy High School. Tomorrow will mark the last time many of us seniors will enter the Troy High School doors with final day festivities like the senior breakfast and the annual senior superlatives or the gimmes. Additionally, seniors will participate in a rehearsal graduation and the senior clap out where students will snake the halls and end up on the Troy High Field for their class photo.
Parents and other supporters are welcome to join us in congratulating the class of 2025 at the clap out out by the field tomorrow where they will say goodbye for the last time to Troy High School and get excited for prom on Thursday evening. The Troy High School class of twenty twenty five will graduate on Saturday, May 31 at Oakland University Arena. From there, students will spend the afternoon celebrating and rejuvenating for the annual all night party where seniors will spend one final night altogether. As a senior myself,
on behalf of the class of 2025, we'd like to thank the staff members, family members, classmates, and Troy community for supporting us through the last thirteen years of our educational journeys. For all that you have done to prepare us for the bright, bright future, thank you. Now moving on to the updates for underclassmen, spirit packs are now on sale. You can find school pay links to buy THS spirit packs at at Troy High Stugo on Instagram. These spirit packs will be used throughout the twenty twenty five, twenty twenty six school year, and they come with a blackout shirt, a class specific shirt, and beads to get you ready for upcoming spirit days in the fall.
For incoming ninth grade students at Troy High School, you're formally invited to attend the twenty twenty five homecoming planning meeting. At 03:30 on June 2, Troy High Stugo will host a homecoming planning meeting at Troy High School for all incoming ninth graders to assist in deciding the homecoming theme, begin planning, and meet other incoming freshmen. We look forward to seeing you there. And for my last time, that is all from Troy High School about April and May of twenty twenty five. Peace out and congratulations to the class of 2025. Congratulations, and thank you to all our board reps.
All of them are seniors, and this is your last meeting. You've done an amazing job keeping us updated with everything that's going on, and good luck to you all. For future. All right. The next what? Okay. And as you leave, you can take your name placed with you. That's right, doctor. Next item on our agenda is public communication on non agenda items. We have a few. We have nine. Alright. As I call your name, please come to the podium, say your name. And if you have a student in the district and you have three minutes to to speak, please, first speaker is missus Jackie Skinner.
Good evening, board of education. Thank you for your time this evening. As a parent in the district and an educator, I feel very strongly about moving forward with the adoption of the revised units of study and writing, which is obvious after our last session together. However, I feel I need to share some of my feelings after the comments and questions from the board. Like myself, so many educators in Troy choose to live in the district they love and value so much. So many of these educators, like me, trust the administration and the teachers to choose the curriculum they feel is best for their children.
This is why they send their children to Troy schools. Do all parents in Troy get to review curriculum options and be part of the process as I was? The answer is no. So how did I get so lucky? I am an educator. I am certified. I am a teacher of eighteen years of love and experience. I can't read MRI results. I can't help a client file for bankruptcy. And I can't build a house. I can't fix plumbing issues either. However, I know that a writing curriculum that restricts the creativity, choice and love for writing in my students is not best practice. I know this because I chose to be an educator.
All parents in Troy do not get to be part of this experience, my husband being one of many. Parents have never been involved in the selection process of new curriculum that I am aware of. While I am a parent, I was not selected to give my input as a parent rather because of my teaching credentials. The focus of our conversation should be on curriculum and what is best for our students not the fact that some of our educators are also parents in the district. We need to look around the room and realize that the majority of our parents of our elementary students are not present. These parents have also not written letters to the board nor shared concern with Doctor.
McCheskey or our leaders in elementary. This is the silent majority and we should be listening to that silence. In One Troy we honor and respect all voices However, we need to listen to the recommendation to adopt the revised writing units of study from the teaching professionals. The team of educators who diligently reviewed different writing curriculums for all k through five students did not take this job lightly. Even when at a glance one might not seem fitting, educators dug deeper making sure not to rule anything out. The process was intense. The results from your Troy Educator speaks volumes.
As I shared last time, this writing curriculum allows for strong instruction and assessment. The rubrics that align with state standards guide our lessons. Student checklists allow for daily intervention based on individual needs. Young writers are setting goals and working daily to achieve them. Students are choosing authentic and meaningful topics which creates stronger and more powerful pieces. Ownership of writing time is established as students are given the power of choice and the workplace for creativity. Again this is done through crafted lessons and clear expectations in the curriculum. The thought of teaching to a prompt and adopting a one size fits all writing
curriculum saddens me. I hope these points weren't dismissed last time we spoke because I am also a parent in the district. Adopting a new writing curriculum is what is best for our students and where the trust of our educators comes in. We have given this trust through many adoption processes and I hope you will consider doing so again. Thank you for listening, and thank you for considering the revised units of study. Thank you what is doing for doing what is best for our young authors. Thank you. The next the next speaker is mister Mark Barbieri. Hello. Mark Barbieri. I have two children in the district in different schools,
different ages. First, I wanna say that the teachers and staff in this district are great. However, the administration at this point has lost all credibility to me with how they have handled the AARC. First, the the way it was rolled out stemmed tons of confusion from parents even understanding what was happening. Second, from parents on the committee, there seemed to be near unanimous opposition to option c, and yet that seemed to be the only one that got serious consideration. As we looked at the community conversations, it seemed awfully convenient that the the group that was impacted the most at Larson,
Our community meeting was the night before spring break was going to start until we push back on that. And then as we look at the survey results that was published to the board a couple weeks ago, it's full of flaws in the data. One of those glaring flaws is on page 16. There's a claim that 88% of students who experienced the middle school to high school split felt neutral. But on that same page, if you do that the same way about those that felt negatively, you get 53%. Those two views are mutually exclusive and cannot both be true.
That's not the only piece of flawed analysis. On page 25, there's a claim projecting 20 students from the Troy Union fit footprint that are zoned to Smith would be enrolling at Larson. I took a look through the Larson directory because my son is there. This year's sixth grade class alone has 18 students from that same footprint, and there's roughly 50 or more today. So so do we really expect a 60% drop in just two years for that
cross enrollment? No. So I asked the board, why are these flaws consistently happening when it's either the AERC or curriculum recommendations looking at the input appearance? It to me, it's either a, we're trying to force the data to support what we wanted to say, to justify something that has already been decided, or b, they don't have the capability to actually do this properly. Either way, how are you as a board expected to make good, informed decisions for our communities if you're not getting accurate work?
Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker is Ms. Suzanne Siegel. Siegel. Siegel, sorry. Good evening. My name is Suzanne Siegel, and I'm a second grade teacher at Moores Elementary. I have the privilege of serving the Troy School District for over twenty years, teaching multiple grade levels across Barnard, Hamilton, and currently at Morse. Throughout my career, I have had the honor of working with students with wide range of economic, cultural, and educational backgrounds, each bringing their own strengths, challenges, and unique perspectives into our classrooms.
One of the reasons I have always been proud to teach in Troy is because of the continued support from the Board of Education. You have consistently demonstrated a respect for the professional expertise of educators and a commitment in investing in our growth. However, I'm here tonight not only as a dedicated educator, but also a Troy resident with serious concerns. Despite thoughtful recommendations and clear support from classroom teachers, the board continues to delay the adoption of the new units of study.
And I'd like to say that again. Despite the voices of those who are in the classroom every day, there remains hesitation in moving forward with the curriculum that we, the teachers, believe in and stand behind. So I ask you this, what legacy does this board intend to leave? Will you be the board that continues to champion the voices of educators, or will you be the board that hires and trusts highly qualified professionals only to silence their input?
Will you be the board that shifts the direction of this district's investment in teachers, and in doing so, alters the daily experience of our students? I'm disappointed to find myself here under these circumstances, but I also know how important it is to speak up. My hope is is that we can move forward together collaboratively and with mutual respect, as we have done so so many times before. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Christian Cubitt. Thank you to the Board of Education.
Doctor. Machesky. Administration parents. My dedicated colleagues here tonight and across the district. There are two things I wish to convey this evening. Number one, reading and writing curriculum is already aligned and reciprocal in the Troy School District as our elementary pacing guides that you now have show. And number two, the legislation in the state of Michigan is for reading, not writing. In Troy schools, we have integrated aligned reading and writing curriculum as well as phonics in k through two. The pacing guides you are looking at are used every year, and they got our teaching from September to June.
And they show that students are immersed in each genre of writing over time to gain stamina and volume within each unit of study. I've never in my twenty eight years of being an elementary teacher had a more integrated curriculum. My second point is that the legislation for the state of Michigan refers to reading, not writing, which is what we've been focusing on this year. This legislation refers to the science of reading research, which first appeared in educational discourse in the eighteen thirties. It didn't create a nation of readers and writers on its own. All those many years ago and yet here we are discussing it again.
I'll repeat that. Since the eighteen thirties, when science of reading was first introduced in educational conversations, it hasn't created a nation of readers and writers. It's missing key components that students need. The science of reading movement needs writing workshop and authentic text. It needs guided reading, shared reading, independent reading, and read alouds. It needs an understanding of what motivates students that is grounded in student choice and what they write about, what topics they research, and how they elaborate and use author's craft. Balance literacy was also being discussed early on.
The McGuffey readers were replaced with Dick and Jane. Meaning making an authentic text became popular, yet it replaced direct phonics instruction with embedded phonics within the authentic text. We know some students need direct phonics instruction. Is this really what our discussions are truly about? Is this perhaps the conversation needing to take place? The replacement of direct phonics that the science of reading so clearly states is best. Then let's have that conversation when we review the reading curriculum. The legislation is not about writing. The revised units of study in writing will continue to differentiate instruction,
while the proposed list of reading curriculum will be a one size fits all instructional approach. I am here tonight advocating for all k five students. These units foster growth in students of all abilities. Let's not dismiss the recommendation to adopt the revised units of study and writing, which adheres to the Michigan standards and also aligns with our values here in Montroy. Let me repeat that, please. Let's not pause or delay a decision about our writing recommendation. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker is miss miss Christy McGraw.
Hello. My name is Christy McGraw, and my son is JJ McGraw. JJ started enrollment with choice schools this past fall as a first grader. JJ came to Hamilton with zero ability to read. Due to a strange series of events, he was in a tiny private school for kindergarten. And while they taught him to feel loved and confident, they didn't do what was needed concerning his reading and writing. I knew we would be dealing with some sort of reading issues in the first grade. I didn't know how truly behind he was. Within the first few days of school, I got a notification from doctor Anderson, the literacy specialist at Hamilton,
that he needed to be in reading recovery. I was amazed by the efficiency of that. Doctor Anderson went out of her way to calm me down and to walk me through the process. She was immensely reassuring and compassionate to me. She neutralized any shame I felt about him being behind. She said of his former school, was he loved? Was he happy? Well, then they did their job, and that's enough. It brings tears to my eyes thinking about the weight that took off of my family. JJ loved his time working with doctor Anderson. She got to know who he truly is. She brought him stickers of his favorite Lego guys. She talked with him about the movies he was going to see with me.
She brought out his creative side. With her persistence and guidance, JJ was able to go from not reading at all to being fully caught up and beyond in a matter of a few months. He was not a statistic or reading score or a problem to be fixed to her. JJ was simply an amazing kid who needed to do a little extra to get caught up on basic skills. JJ's literacy journey has continued to thrive at Hamilton. In addition to his reading struggles, JJ did not want to put pen to paper. He saw writing as boring and intimidating. At points in the year, he simply refused to write and would daydream about science instead.
The writing curriculum at Hamilton has begun to change that for him. As the curriculum unfolded, J. J. Eyes lit up over being told he could create a character and send them on an adventure. He and I would talk about his realistic fiction writing and invent characters that made us laugh. He got to write about things he's passionate about. I've read his reviews of Pokemon characters and books that he read to repeat that. My child, who could not read or write, is now writing book reviews. Every few days, he jumps in the car at pickup and says, we're writing about this now, mom. The other day, he told me he really likes writing. He called himself a writer.
I know that sometimes these wins with one individual student go largely unnoticed in the bigger scheme of things. Doctor. Anderson, Mrs. Bosio, and the team at Hamilton have forever changed my son's life for the better. I cannot be more grateful to Hamilton Elementary for his progress this year. I struggled with deciding what district to send him to and ended up settling on Troy because I went here. I actually went to Hamilton, and I also struggled my first grade year. The interventions and curriculum we experienced concerning reading and writing have been nothing short of life changing for my family. Thank you. Thank you.
The next speaker is miss Lisa Cort. Lisa Court. My name is Lisa Court, and I'm a first grade teacher at Morris Elementary. I'm honored to be speaking to you tonight alongside my fellow colleagues. I'm standing before you as proud as a proud teacher of literacy to our youngest students. I'm a City Of Troy resident, and I'm also a former Troy School District parent of four Troy High graduates. I have dedicated and committed myself of teaching students in my classroom using a wide range of instructional practices.
I respond to the children in front of me, teaching children not a script. I've seen the way that our writing curriculum supports students who need additional instruction, but also who have received who have advanced in the area of writing. Alongside my students, I respond to them, coach them, and provide them with the next steps necessary to support their writing skills. I demonstrate through direct instruction, offer feedback on work they've done, and help them evaluate their own writing. This instruction is salient for the learners of diverse backgrounds.
I can say with great confidence that I wholeheartedly support the adoption of the updated units of study and writing. I have been through many curricular implement implementations over the thirty one years and have seen a wide variety of instructional materials in front of our students. I have watched Basil's, otherwise known now as core curriculum, be presented to our students. I have watched it fall short, especially in the area of teaching writing, especially for my struggling learners. It assumes all a great deal about what children know and what children don't know
that core curriculum didn't know my students in front of me. As a teacher, I was constantly left having to supplement or replace what gaps that curriculum tried to force upon my kids after not knowing them. It would be a great disservice to wait, to not adopt, to not support the units of study and writing for our children. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is missus Anne Malia. Hi. My name is Anne Malia, and this is my twentieth year of teaching. The last nine have been a proud I have been a proud Troy Teacher at
Morse. I am thankful to be part of a district with a board that supports its teachers and honors their expertise. This expertise that my colleagues and I have is not incidental. It is earned. We are well equipped with the educational credentials to teach young children and utilize curriculum. This is paired with additional extensive professional development that our district has invested in us. It is job embedded and responsive to the current to the current realities, expectations, and challenges of classroom teaching. This is most importantly joined with the expertise gained from the years of practice in
refining my craft of teaching, writing, and more importantly, teaching writers. I can say that I have coached and helped grow hundreds of writers over the course of my career, all with their own unique needs and backgrounds. I can also say that I am a proud Troy parent by choice. I thought carefully about the education for my own children. I thought of the opportunities they would they would have to build or I'm sorry. They I thought of the opportunities they would have to build friendships with, neighborhood friends and be in their own community. Instead, I chose to bring them to Troy to benefit from the expertise of my colleagues
and the values the district embodies and placed on the rubric that we use to select the writing curriculum. The choice to bring them was deeply intentional and rooted in the confidence I have in our district. Unfortunately, with my oldest son, we logistically could not offer him the ability to stay in Troy. Now with him in his home district, we can clearly see how the lack of investment in writing and the opportunity to write as frequently as he did in Troy is hindering his educational development. Instead of the opportunity to write multiple pieces,
he is limited to writing once a quarter. These are the opportunities left for students who use core curriculum. The opportunities for writing diminish as it is not valued. In turn, I watched my child who always shared that he wanted to be an author when he grew up, no longer share that same joy in his writing. I can see what happens when we don't hold space for writing in our day. I stand strongly behind the adoption of the new units of study because it is what's best for our students. Thank you. Our next speaker is missus Elizabeth Money.
Good evening. My name is Elizabeth Money, and I'm honored to be a Troy School District teacher. I've taught kindergarten students and first grade students for twelve years at Morris Elementary School. I watch and wonder as children use writing to find their voice and share their critical thinking by responding to texts they've read. I utilize best practices in my classroom from doctor Steve Graham's latest research, a leader in our field on writing instruction. His work on utilizing workshop and the need for students to produce multiple pieces throughout the writing process for a real audience and for multiple purposes is supported deeply by
the units of study for writing. Each day, I confer and pull small groups of children based on their needs and guide my instruction for them to become stronger in the areas of structure, development, and conventions. These groups change daily because students don't have the same needs, and they deserve instruction that isn't one size fits all its core would offer. My students often groan at the end of writing workshop, or I will find them writing during indoor recess because they can't wait to finish their piece. They are bursting with pride at the end of a lesson to share their work with their peers.
I feel so proud of them seeing them gain critical skills while also boosting their motivation to keep learning. My own son in a neighboring district that does not implement a writing workshop is in a district that does not implement a writing workshop. He is filled with his own opinions and ideas, but he is a perfectionist. I can see assignments come home with prompts he needs to write to or fill in the blank, and I can see his frustration be behind trying to fit his big, beautiful thoughts into a tiny window. I know he can do so much more. I am so disheartened my son's district does not offer him access to daily writing
instruction. My hope is that at least my students can continue to benefit from this incredibly important work. I am asking the board to please listen to the voices of the teachers, even those like me, who were not on the literacy leadership team, and improve the curriculum my colleagues have recommended. I am in full support. Thank you. Thank you. Up next up next, mister Ali Abohidian. Good evening, Ollie. Troy resident, Troy parent. I'm sure you're all aware by now that Troy Schools provides inappropriate sexually explicit or pornographic books to minors.
One of these books was just removed from our schools only after I exposed it publicly at the last board meeting. Parents and community members also need to know that Troy Schools pushes LGBTQ propaganda to six and seven year olds in our elementary schools. Here's some content from one of these books. Gay, people who physically who who whose physical, romantic, emotional attractions are to people of the same sex. Bisexual, someone who forms physical, romantic, and emotional attractions of more than one gender. Transgender, People whose gender, how they feel on the inside and how they express themselves is different from the
sex they had when they were assigned or when they were born. Queer. Some people have reclaimed it to refer to an identity that is not strictly homosexual. Some queer people refer to prefer to be called they instead of she or he. Why are you all allowing books in our libraries that destroy the innocence of a child? Why does our district think that it's normal to push push the sexual experiences of adults into the classroom or a school library? Elementary kids should be taught how to read and write,
not what adults do in their bedrooms. Here's another quote. Then they chanted, two four six eight, gay is just as good as straight. And three five seven nine, lesbians are mighty fine. Really? Really? Don't tell me this is not propaganda. Don't tell me this is not brainwashing. Only a pervert, a pedophile, or a child trafficker would be interested in exposing a seven or an eight year old to this kind of sexualization. And how about this? Another line from this book. HIV AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease that can affect anyone, not just LGBTQ people.
I wonder if our elementary media specialist would accept the book to be donated that actually taught kids the real truth about HIV. And the real truth that all kids should learn is that abstinence before marriage and faithfulness and marriage between one man and one woman will give them a % guarantee that they'll never get HIV or any other sexually transmitted disease. If you like if you allow sexually perverted material in our media centers, it shouldn't surprise you that more and more kids are suffering from anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation.
This trash does not belong in our schools. It never ceases to amaze me why Troy Schools is so intentional at placing sexually perverted material in the hands of minors. It makes absolute absolutely no sense that the adults who should protect the children from this content are the ones who are actually providing it to them. Until next time, I hope I gave you all enough to think about. Thank you. Thank you. That concludes the public comment section. Our next item is other. Other items? Would you want to start off,
Ms. Sandler? Another round of applause and great, respect to our retirees tonight as well as our support staff of the year nominees. Also a sincere thank you for all of your comments this evening. Lots to think about as the board continues to learn and work together as a collaborative team. A reminder that the June 3, workshop will be held here in this room. More conversation around elementary writing will happen then as well as other topics that may be of interest. The best populace is one that is engaged and involved, so we'd appreciate seeing you there,
here, then as well. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Potts? I'm going to keep it short and sweet. Looking forward to the end of the school year, like probably the majority of you. Shout out to all the teachers who are retiring. I think nine thirty three years, was it? Yes. It's a lot of years. It's a lot of minds that you've formed and helped become very successful adults. So I thank every single teacher here and who, left for the evening. Another shout out to our graduates. I'm going to miss hearing all of the,
updates, Narita, especially your, like, very animated updates. I love hearing about the schools. And I guess up next is all the graduation ceremonies. So I'm looking forward to that and look forward to another productive school year. I would like to thank our retirees as well. It was so, bittersweet seeing teachers that my own kids had at elementary, middle school and high school. And even one of the teachers that I had in high school. So, you know, as a parent, super grateful for the wonderful education that my kids have received in the district,
And as a former colleague and friend to several of our retirees, very excited for their futures and appreciative for their hard work over the years. As a Board member, we're I think we're all learning. And and as new board members, I think that learning curve is is pretty steep. I had an opportunity yesterday to attend an event, that I didn't know much about. And, I have to say it was it was really moving, very exciting. It was the Troy continuing education track, celebration, which is, an adult education certificate program,
here in the district. The district partners with, our community education program and Oakland County, Michigan Works. And we have adults, many who are immigrants and oftentimes moving here with a great set of skills, but having to put that into a new context and learning new, vocabulary for things that they may have known, in their home countries. And they go through this educational process. And last night was their celebration of all their hard work. And I was fortunate enough to spend some time talking with teachers of that program
as well as graduates of that program and their families. And these programs really make a difference for families in our communities. For a lot of reasons financially, you know, emotionally. I think, for their kids, many of which are in the district here, they get to see their parents going through the hard work, that it takes when you move to a new place and have to, get those skills. And so it was very motivational for their children to see their parents in that way. One of the things that I would like to point out was when I was speaking with the teacher, their funding for adult education has already been impacted by cuts.
And there's potential that they could lose even more funding. And so I think as as educators, while our focus is is typically k 12, we're educators across the spectrum. So if you have the opportunity, it's always great to reach out to your representatives, and advocate for funding for our kids, but also for programs like the adult education programs because they really make a difference, for people in our communities. And so I just wanted to let you know that, if you ever wanna see, like, a totally moving, like, tear jerking event,
that's one to go to. Thank you. Thank you, doctor Maslow. I'll keep it, short and sweet. Congratulations to the retirees again. Congratulations Congratulations to the teachers for getting through another school year, which is great. My daughter and son are counting down the days. I don't know. Every day it's a new number and I don't even remember. But, I also wanted to, just shout out again to Phils Walter. She holds a special place in my heart because I'm a true dad. She's been great. So congratulations on the Support Staff Award. And thank you to all the speakers tonight, sharing your thoughts on a variety of different topics, but I appreciate you coming out and sharing.
Thank you. Miss Salish? I have a few things. Bear with me through the beginning, and it'll make sense. This July will mark the thirty year anniversary of the genocide in Serbanence of Bosnia committed by Serb forces. Outside of my immediate family, my entire family lived through the war in Bosnia with family members ethnically cleansed, interned in concentration camps, and living under a three year siege of Sarajevo. But instead of memorializing such grave injustices, we would be better off in so many ways to prevent them instead, like those taking places like in Gaza today and so many others.
But I bring this up not just because these are moral failures taking place in a time when I thought we as a society should know better and do better, but some of these current injustices directly impact the work that we do here. As our taxpayer dollars are used to fund some of these current wars, as we speak this week, potential bills could pass that would cut money to Medicaid. IDA funding is not at originally promised levels. And other title programs are at risk of having funding levels cut or eliminated.
All of these programs have a significant effect on the work that we do here. They affect what we can pay our teachers, what level of programs we can have, and what supports we can offer. We in Troy are really lucky that our voters have approved sinking funds and infrastructure bonds, So we have to use less of our general fund dollars to keep our physical infrastructure running, and we can use the money for other things. But this may not always be the case. You know, and something along the lines of what, Doctor. Melton just said, you know, funding is going away. We're often being told there's not enough money for those things that are really important,
like education. So I would urge everybody to contact their representatives and senators, and ask them to protect the funding that is so important to our schools. And some of that is happening, this week. On to happier things. Last week, I attended the celebration of learning at Bolin. It was so nice to see the students show up for things that taking place in our classrooms, such as the rocket launches and applied engineering, as well as clubs like HOSA and the HTS, all the wonderful food provided by our full Bolen families. And I also do wanna thank all the community members, staff, and parents who attended the NAEP workshop.
I was able to attend virtually, as well as the community conversation with the board. I may aid to share their thoughts regarding the writing curriculum. And, you know, I look forward to continuing that discussion on June 3. Thank you, miss Salish. Doctor. Machesky? Yes. Patel or yes. Any. I'm sorry. That's fine. Couple of things there. Just a a couple of items. This Friday, our student advisory board will host its middle school leadership conference. That's it'll be the second year for that leadership conference, so we're looking forward to our, current SSAB students who will be hosting that for eighth graders,
right here in the Services Building. We, invite all or anyone interested to attend the open air festival, which will take place May 28 from four, starting at 04:00 in the back Athens parking lot. There will be music. There will be games. There will be, artwork, displayed and for sale and so forth. So it's a great opportunity to support, our local, student artists and, musicians. As also a reminder to the community that graduation is next weekend. Hard to believe, but we're already there. The '20 the thirty first will be graduating both Troy High and Athens, at,
the Orita as well as June 1, IA East at INOB, and TCCHS will graduate June 4, at at the auditorium and and Troy High School. Also wanna mention June 10 is a TFEE golf outing. I think if Nancy was here, she would have reminded everyone that, so I'll mention that. For those interested in participating, you can get, information on the TFEE website. And I wanna thank all those that participated in eighth grade interviews and those that may still be participating. I think Baker's interviews are tomorrow. I know that I'll be there for that, and we'll be wrapping up an opportunity to interview all eighth graders,
across our school district. The only other thing I wanted to mention just in in regard to at least one comment this evening is, just remind the community that we do have a process for a review of of media materials, and, it is it's important that that process be followed. It it provides for a a collaborative team to come together and consider, questions and concerns that have been brought that may be brought forward by a community member or even a staff member. So strongly encourage, folks, to stay within that process. The process works, and we appreciate cooperation. Wonderful. Thank you.
I have only a few things to add. I wanna echo the rest of my board members. I first wanna congratulate the retirees and also congratulate all the new administrators, new principals, and welcome to the Troy community or Troy Teachers, Troy School District. Also want to thank all the people who have come and spoken to us or or, heard talk to us about at the workshop, at the community conversation, and today at the meeting. We all hear you. I understand me personally, while we may not respond to each and every one of your messages and emails,
We definitely are listening, and we definitely believe and, hear everything you're saying, and it will definitely be considered in the decisions we are making. Thank you. And I did get a chance to go to the eighth grade interviews as well. This time, I actually went to the two schools that I usually don't go to, Boland Park and Smith, which was really nice. And it was amazing to see all the students, how well prepared they were, how, well the teachers prepare them, and how well they're ready already. And they're can't believe they're actually eighth graders,
and they're not even in high school yet. So thank you for all of you who who do that. And, also, teacher appreciation week. Thank you for all the teachers. And, yes, the meet the year is coming to an end. Can't believe it. Already, it's May. Congratulations to everybody and, I guess, everyone who is looking forward to this summer break. Well deserved summer break for all of you guys. And our next meet next workshop is on June 3 at 6PM at the Services Building. And our June meeting is on June 17 at the board works board meeting right
here at 7PM. And very much that concludes the meeting. Meeting will be adjourned. Thank you. Thank you for joining us.