Good evening, everyone. Welcome. Welcome to the Tuesday, May 19, School of Troy Board of Education meeting. We have all seven of our trustees present. We always start our meeting with the pledge of allegiance. Please stand. Thank you. Alright. Everyone is really excited. We have a whole a lot of recognitions today, and we're gonna start with doctor Machesky recognizing our outstanding support staff. Yes. Thank you, miss Ania. I'm very pleased this evening to recognize the twenty twenty six outstanding support staff person of the year.
The strength of a school district lies in the staff, and nowhere is that more amazed that nowhere is there a more amazing group of individuals serving students than here in the Troy School District. We begin tonight with our outstanding support person of the year. For those who may not know, this category of employees includes a diverse group including bus drivers, secretaries, paraprofessionals, 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 25 nominees for outstanding support staff person of the year, but one person rose to the top. Our twenty twenty six outstanding support person of the year is Matt Snitken. You can stand right up by the podium. Alright. Thank you. I'm gonna I'm gonna brag on you for a minute. Okay? So get ready. Alright. So Matt was not Matt is a paraprofessional at Athens High School in the Mokai Room. That's our moderate cognitively impaired group. Matt was nominated by Rebecca Roy. Some of the comments in his nomination, include, what truly makes Matt exceptional is his unwavering belief in his students.
He sees potential where others often see limitations. Matt's unwavering positivity, compassion, and work ethic are remarkable. He strengthens the learning environment not only through what he does, but through who he is. He continuously models and encourages communication in all forms through body language, gestures, facial expressions, and various devices. He treats every communicate communicative attempt as meaningful and worthy of response, reinforcing the belief that every student has something to say. One of his students said,
we have a secret handshake. Mister s is a great person because he's nice. He makes me feel happy and excited to be at school. He makes me feel safe at school. He's simply the best. Please join us in congratulating mister Snitkin as his as on this well deserved recognition. His name was engraved on the support person plaque that will be displayed at his building, Athens High School, for the next year. We would like to show a short video of our visit to surprise Matt. We're here today interrupting this very important class, to honor mister s.
He cares so deeply about each and every one of his students and gives 100% of himself to you on a daily basis. And because of that, you helped him be named the Troy School District support staff person of the year. So congratulations. When I got the email that, if they were looking for sports that person of the year, it was like the first person that popped in my mind was Matt. Mistress is truly incredible. He's I've worked with him for eight years now, and he has never been,
anything less than an excitement and a joy and just such a positive light and energy in the classroom. The kids absolutely adore him, and not just kids in his classroom that he helps, but also kids in the hallway. He's always out in the hallway between classes and is, like, making connections with anyone and everyone that's around him. He goes way beyond and above. I cannot think of anyone more deserving, more, enjoyable to work with. He works with every inch of his heart. Anything you want him to do or need from him,
he's there and always the first. He helps all the kids. He loves all the students. He's kinda brought all of our programs together. He hangs out the hallway with his boys, and so it's great to just really see him with everyone. Congratulations, Matt. You're the best. We're so lucky to have you. Congratulations. You deserve it and more. You're the best. Love working with you. Congratulations, Matt. We are so happy to have you in our room, and you deserve this even though I know you did not like being recognized. So Matt has touched the hearts and lives of many students at Athens High School. We wanna thank you and congratulate you one more time,
Matt. The aforementioned plaque you get to take with you tonight, Matt, as well as a certificate. We wanna get a picture. Thank you, Matt. Okay. Our next recognition is the legislative CAP students report to the Board of Education. The Board of Education is pleased to welcome the students from the legislative track of our career accelerator program, CAP, to the podium this evening. These CAP students have been actively engaged in learning about various levels of government, from our own school board, the city,
to state senators and representatives. Tonight, two students will share their experiences, insights gained through this program, and how CAP has positively impacted their educational journey. Thank you so much. My name is Amal Serti. I'm in the, cap legislation track. And, one site visit that resonated with me the most was visiting the district courthouse with judge McGinnis because I'm interested in pursuing a career in law. It was interesting to see the different types of cases and the procedures involved in each case as it gave me a better understanding of how the legal system works
in real life. For example, defendants attending trials through Zoom meetings and different trials with different objectives. During the visit, I noticed important qualities such as professionalism, patience, and critical thinking being demonstrate demonstrated throughout the courtroom. Judge McGinnis listened carefully to each person, remained unbiased, and spoke respectfully to all defendants. This showed me how important respect and professionalism are in a work setting, especially in the legal field where decisions can greatly affect people's lives. I also observed how organized the judge and other legal professionals were and how carefully
they listened in order to make their decisions. Out of all the qualities I saw, I believe critical thinking is the most important in this field because lawyers and judges must consider both sides of an argument without allowing personal in opinions to influence their decisions. Without some critical thinking skills, it would be difficult to reach fair and accurate conclusions that follow the law while also taking different circumstances into account. Another thing I found surprising during our visits was what I learned in Lansing about how the senate operates. My peers and I were shocked that some senators appeared to be talking while senator Weber was talking about bills because it seemed like they weren't paying attention.
However, we later learned that senators review bills multiple times before voting, so many of them are already familiar with the information being discussed. Overall, the most beneficial part of the government track was being able to see what the legal field looks like in the real world. Many professionals explained that there is a major difference between studying law or government in college and actually working in the field, and that experience is the best way to learn. This experience gave me a head start by teaching me more about how courts and governments operate while also showing me the importance of professionalism and strong communication skills. Hearing from people who are passionate about their careers motivated me to think about how
I can prepare and also improve myself in the future. Thank you. Hello. My name is Sineman Sattaraf, and this is, my reflection from my participation in the government track. When I was first elected to the government track, I can't say that I was thrilled. Government was one of the few things that I was pretty sure I wasn't going to do. But now seeing what government truly is and the different things that it it encompasses, it's made me appreciate and think to myself, oh, this is interesting. For example, I never thought about a job like Nathan's who's a front office clerk for Senator Weber. But now I've learned more about it.
I now realize that if jobs like his are part of government, then there are so many aspects and jobs of government that I feel like I might actually enjoy. The things I saw and heard and the people I met impacted me in ways I never anticipated. We went to a lot of amazing places, but personally, the site that resonated me with the most was the day that we spent in Lansing. I think the main reason why is because it felt surreal, and I had to double check that I was actually in the state capital and that I was actually talking to representative McDonald and senator Weber that people I've done
research on for government class, but I never thought I would meet in real life. I thought that everyone that I met and I've spoken with was very patient, honest, and gave good advice, which I greatly appreciated. Getting a chance to speak with multiple government officials helped me truly grasp the importance of listening patiently and with good judgment. For example, Mayor Baker said that being a good listener was important, but you also need to have the judgment to know how to act upon what you hear knowing that you can't please everyone. The entire job of government is to follow the needs of the people, and I believe that not listening and understanding what people want defeats the entire purpose
of working in government. I thought that the people in government would be more serious, maybe not interesting, and overall boring to be around. So I was rather shocked when I saw the personalities of people such as Mayor Baker or Rep. McDonnell and saw what nice people they were and how lucky we are to have them serving us as part of our government. Even meeting Senator Weber opened my eyes to the fact that despite the polarization of modern day politics, there's still bipartisan cooperation and with it still hope for unity and strength. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this track and has the potential to be an eye opener for many students whether they're interested in it or not.
Thank you. This is Tilda? Yeah. Okay. It's just Tilda. Any questions for any of them? Them? If not, we have some permission to We'd like to thank you all for your participation. We have some certificates for you up here. We'd like to get some pictures. So thank you very much. No. We were just reporting. They were just reporting. Okay. Just a picture. No certificates. Sorry. Okay. Yeah. That's fine. One of the things I always hear from people when they see us in meters is they're actually real people. Okay. Our next recognition is our school of character recognition.
I will invite miss Grifor to help us recognize our schools. Good evening. Thank you. We're excited this evening to recognize six of our schools, throughout the district. First, I'll I'll read kind of a description and then I'll invite the school teams up to to be, recognized. This evening, we'd like to honor Hamilton Elementary and Troy Union Elementary for being recognized as National Schools of Character. Hamilton and Tour Union are just two of 72 schools nationwide to receive this distinction from character.org.
A national leader in character education. The designation recognizes schools that use character development to positively impact academics. Academics, student behavior, and school culture. Next, we'd also like to recognize Schroeder Elementary, Troy Union again, and Bolin, Park Middle School for being named state schools of character. State schools of character are, a comprehensive process that reflects schools' commitment to creating a caring community, fostering belonging, encouraging students to practice strong character and engaging families as community partners.
In addition, both Waddles and Barnard Elementary Schools were receiving honorable mention in this category tonight. And in addition, character.org has recognized Pro Union and Waddles as the only schools the only two schools in Michigan to earn recognition for promising practices. These programs highlight innovative efforts to strengthen school culture, encourage student leadership and service, foster positive relationships, and promote good goodness and action throughout the entire community. Congratulations to all of these outstanding schools. We're very proud to dedicate your dedication to creating school environments where students feel supported,
included, and encouraged to succeed. Succeed. At this time, we'd like to invite, representatives from Hamilton Elementary led by principal Reba McNally. I'm gonna play a few games. I'm gonna play. I get certificates for you, and then we'll just take a picture with Hamilton. For a man here at that. Alright. Next up, Schroeder Elementary led by principal Lindsay Keegan. Next up is Bolen led by principal Toni Morse. It is. Alright. And we also have Wattles Elementary and Barnard, led by Amy Wallace and, Karen Bush. Congratulations again to all of our recipients. Thank you.
Thank you, Chris. Alright. And and the recognitions continue. We'll move on to our volunteer appreciation recognition. Miss Montante will come and help us appreciate our volunteers. Thank you. Once again, it's our great pleasure this year to extend a heartfelt thank you to our incredible volunteers who generously share their time, talents, and support of our schools and community each and every day. The month of April is Volunteer Appreciation Month and we're especially grateful for the lasting contributions of some of our most dedicated volunteers whose students will be graduating from TSD
this year. Volunteers are a vital part of the Troy School District and your continued commitment does not go unnoticed. The care, energy, and support you provide have made a meaningful and lasting impact on our students, staff, and the broader community. As we recognize volunteer appreciation month, we reflect on the difference you've made in the lives of so many. Your generosity and compassion can you continue to inspire us all. Thank you for your dedication, your kindness, and the many ways you uplift our schools. We are truly grateful for everything you do.
At this time, I'd like to invite the following individuals up and we will present you with a certificate and, a token pin of recognition. Christina Cano from Athens High School. Canoe. Christina. Heather and Kevin Blum. Also from Athens High School, and Samantha Zoll from Athens High School. Christine, you wanna get a picture of them? It's not pictures. Oh, hold on. We wanna get a picture, guys. Hold on. Hold on. Next is International Academy East, Kharj Dule. Minnow Kulkarni.
Sariah Salati. And last is Troy High, Sherry Armstrong, And Sherry Gillespie. Once again, thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers. Our our schools wouldn't be what they are without you. So we we very much appreciate you. Alright. Next in our recognitions is teacher appreciation week. Teacher appreciation week is observed nationally each year in May. This year, teacher appreciation week was celebrated Monday, May 4 to Friday, May 8. 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 Zendler. 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 equality, 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, it be resolved that the Troy School District supports National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 2026, 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. Okay. Moved by miss Sendler, supported by miss Potts. Any questions or comments regarding this resolution from any of the board members? Seeing none, all those in favor of the resolution,
please say yes. Yes. Those who oppose, say no. The resolution passes. Thank you so much for all our teachers. We really appreciate you. Not just for this one week, but through the entire year. Right. Our last recognitions in the list is mental health awareness month. Each year, Oakland County Health Network, along with its service provider networks, host an array of initiatives that promote community awareness about mental illness. Our schools also work very hard to increase the awareness and end the 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 Month. May I have a resolution from him, miss Potts? 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 05/07/2026 is designated the National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day,
and May 2026 is designated as Children's Mental Health Acceptance Week. And now, therefore, be it resolved that the Troy Board of Education hereby recognizes May 2026 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. Okay. Moved by miss Potts, supported by doctor Philpot. Any questions or comments from anyone? Seeing none, all those in favor of the resolution, please say yes. Yes. Those who oppose, say no.
Resolution passes seven and seven o. Alright. That pretty much completes our recognition. So we will take a five minutes recess while you guys get a chance to leave and to go back and enjoy enjoy the beautiful day out there. Thank you. Okay. We will get started. That was a long five minutes. Alright. The next on our agenda, additions and deleted deletions. We don't have There are none, Tiffany. Correct. Yes. And public communication on agenda items. There are none. We don't have any. We don't have any. Okay. We have one on non agenda item,
which we'll take care of later in our Very short. Yeah. Later in our meeting. Next to in our agenda are general consent agenda items, and we have a long list of general consent agenda items, which include a minutes of the 04/07/2026 special board of education meeting, b minutes of 04/07/2026 board of education workshops, c minutes of 04/14/2026 special board of education meeting, d, minutes of April 2020 04/21/2026,
board of education meeting. Minutes e, minutes of 04/28/2026, special board of education meeting. F, minutes of 04/28/2026, closed session meeting. G, made it minutes of 04/28/2026, board of education workshop. We have a lot of meetings. H, treasurer's report, March 2026. I. Approving the Oakland Intermediate School District budget. J. Resolution to hold a public hearing on the proposed twenty twenty six-twenty twenty seven school
year budget. KIA budget approval for the twenty twenty six, twenty twenty seven school year. And L, K-eight literacy pilot purchase. May I have a resolution, please? Mister Haft? Be it therefore resolved that the Troy Board of Education takes action to approve items a through l on the consent agenda. Support. K. Moved by mister Haupt, supported by miss Salish. Any questions or comments in any of these items? Most of these items have been discussed at our workshop. And for the ones that haven't, we have information in our board packet.
Feel free to read read them. All those it's since no comments or questions, all those in favor of the resolution, please say yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Those who oppose, say no. Alright. Our resolution passes seven o b. That brings us to our item no. We don't have a six or a seven. Personnel? There's none this evening. Okay. Thank you. And number seven, our curriculum. Same. There's no We don't have any. That brings us to number eight in our agenda, our business items, and we have two for consideration.
Mister Trudeau. Good evening, board of education. On your agenda this evening for your consideration is two relatively small items that we discussed at the last workshop. First of which is Boland Park. So we have our third bid pack. This should be the final bid pack. These are three items that we have to wait for some materials to come in during the post bid process, just to validate and make sure that we selected the right, pieces of material. So, this would have three separate categories. So we have overhead doors, flooring, and that or terrazzo flooring for some smaller areas and then acoustic spray.
So the total pack with a 10% contingency is $297,803 and this will be funded from the 2023 capital project fund. K. Thank you, mister Trudeau. May I have a resolution, please? Doctor Philipart? Be it therefore resolved that the bid for a complete renovation of Boland Park Middle School, including architectural, mechanical, electrical, and structural work be awarded as attached here too in the amount of $297,803 and that this amount be approved as an expenditure of the Capital Projects Fund.
Support. Okay. Moved by doctor Philippart, supported by miss Zendler. Any questions or comments regarding this? Okay. Seeing none, all those in favor of the resolution, please say yes. Yes. Those who oppose, say no. Resolution passes seven-zero. And then the last item for consideration under business this evening relates to the purchase of two, operations vehicles. So we have our general operations vehicle as well as our food service operation vehicle. Both the same type of vehicle, but both are nearing end of life, approaching twenty years old. And so we've had the research and wait,
for the right opportunity. So, we plan to use food service funds for the food service truck, and then we are gonna use some of our capital maintenance fund, dollars that are outside of the general fund for the operations, truck purchase. So the total combined purchase, through my deal pricing is $205,610. And those typically are about a six month, bill time for those because they're the the bigger operations trucks that we have. Okay. Thank you, mister Trudeau. May I have a resolution, please? Miss Salish? Be it therefore resolved that the bid for food service vehicle and an operations vehicle
be awarded to Gorno Ford in the amount of $205,610 and that this amount be approved as an expenditure of the food services fund and the maintenance improvement fund. Fund. Support. Okay. Moved by mister Leach, supported by mister Haft. Any questions or comments regarding this? Okay. I do have one question. So how, I know one of the purchases are being done with the food service, fund. Does that draw down most of our food service fund or do we have still We'll get another, spend down plan probably next February.
Okay. But we did spend 1,400,000 on the Troy High Kitchen, and then we had this $100,000, truck purchase as part of that plan too. Okay. Wonderful. Thank you. Alright. All those in favor of the resolution, please say yes. Yes. Those who oppose, say no. Resolution passes seven o. Alright. That finishes the business, items in our agenda. So there's one more? That's under other. Okay. Yeah. There's one more under other. That brings us to public communication on non agenda items, and we have one here.
We have actually oh, yeah. Miss Sritika Koneru. Are there two people that are gonna speak here? Okay. Sritika Koneru and Kesha Nachampayan. Nachampan. Sorry. You're you're now pros at this. So, you have three minutes to address the board. Thank you. Good evening, board members. My name is, a student with team eighty seven twenty eight, the Argonauts, out of Troy Athens High School and a student within the Troy Robotics Foundation. It's the fourth time a robotics community has stood before you, and every time the conversation has moved forward.
So for anything else, thank you for staying with us at the table. Since we last spoke, we've been actively searching for our facility alongside the district. This is a real search with real progress, and we're working through it together. Here's what we're aiming for. We'd like to close out the school year with a plan in hand so we can use the summer to repair a space for the fall. Phase one is getting our high school program a full field. From there, we're committed to partner with the district on phase two, a full robotic center that supports our k through 12 community as discussed with the Troy Robotics Foundation. Good evening. My name is,
also an Argonaut with team eighty seven twenty eight and with Troy Athens. As the year ends, we're proud to see our seniors graduate. We'll miss their leadership and experience heading into the next season. And we have big shoes to fill in. But this with this district's continued support, we're confident that the next generation of students will soon will soon see results. And the work doesn't stop here. Troy High School's team, FRC two two six and Athens eighty seven twenty eight are partnering with the Troy Robotics Foundation and the Troy Public Library to co host Troy Robotics Day. And the hammerheads just hosted the Troy FTC Mayhem last weekend,
bringing 36 teams across Metro Detroit here to our city. This spring, Money Inc also named Troy High School one of the top high schools in Michigan, specifically recognizing our district's award winning robotics team. So here's our ask to you. Let's use the rest of the school years to lock down a plan for our field space and keep the phase two conversation moving so the Troy Robotics Center becomes real by this fall. We've built the program with your partnership. We're ready to have up. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Alright. Okay. That brings us to the last items on our agenda, which is in the other section. We have Oakland Schools biannual elections, that we need to look at. We have the individuals listed below, the individual listed below has filed as a candidate for one six year term open for the twenty twenty six Oakland Schools Board of Education biennial election. Our own ex board member, mister Gary Hall. Mhmm. Oakland School Board members are elected by an electoral board composing of one person designated
by the board of each constituent school district. The revised school code prescribes that each constituent school district must designate a representative to this electoral body by adopting a resolution that will, one, designate a person to vote in the election on behalf of the local school board, Two, direct the designee as to which candidate the local election board supports, the local district board supports to fill the open seat. And three, direct the designee to vote for the individual at least one of the first ballots
taken by the electoral body. The designated electors must cast their ballot in person at the election scheduled to take place between 05:30 and 07:30PM on Monday, 06/01/2026 at Oakland Schools Conference Center located at 2002111 Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford. The revised ISD election bylaws prohibits the acceptance of an absentee ballot. Alright. So may I have a resolution for this,
please? Doctor Fulopart? Whereas Michigan, Comp Law 380.614 requires a constituent school board to designate its representative and identify the intermediate school board candidate the board supports by a resolution adopted not earlier than twenty one days prior to the date of the election and whereas Michigan Comp Law 380.614 prescribes the method for passage of a resolution including the requirement to consider the resolution at not less than one public meeting before adopting the resolution.
And whereas the board previously considered the resolution at an open meeting conducted in a manner prescribed under the Open Meetings Act on 05/19/2026. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the board designates Kendra Montante as its representative and a member of the Troy School District administration team as its alternate representative to serve on the twenty twenty six electoral body responsible for electing members to the Oakland Schools Intermediate School District Board of Education. The board supports candidate Gary Hoff for one position on the Oakland Schools Intermediate School
District Board of Education for a term of six years ending 06/30/2032. The board directs its representative, Kendra Montante, to vote for candidate Gary Hough at least on the first ballot taken at the June first twenty twenty six election, and that will be the last ballot as well. Do we need support for this? Yes. Okay. Alright. Resolution by doctor Philippart supported by mister Haupt. Any questions or comments on this? I do have a Mhmm. Question.
Does it so it doesn't have to be one of us Yes. That was her votes. That's correct. I called them. I sent them a message, and they said it can be anyone Okay. To represent us. And thank you, Petra. Appreciate it. We actually have our own board meeting that day. The goal. Yes. Okay. Sure. As we all know, we all have our own board meeting that day, so we can't go. So well, unless you guys wanna skip this board meeting and one of you go. And I'm just I was just gonna make a comment to, just for the public. Gary Hoff is the only candidate running for this position.
So, yeah, that's why he's the first and last. That's why. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Any other comments or questions? Okay. If none, all those in favor of the resolution, please say yes. Yes. Those who oppose, please say no. Okay. Resolution passes seven and o. That finishes the scheduled part of our agenda items. So it takes us to, I guess we can do the student reports first, and then we will go to our others. Last student reports of the year. Yes. This would be our last meeting. We're gonna meet miss you, and we have two seniors here.
So we're gonna let them let the seniors go last. So I'll start with Chloe. How how are things at TCC? Oh, it's a senior. Oh, Chloe. You're a senior too. I'm so sorry. Okay. Well, I guess you still can go. Okay. Well, happy last board meeting, of the 2025 to 2026 school year, everyone. The past couple of weeks have been busy, especially our seniors. Like my especially since our seniors like myself are leaving tomorrow. Congratulations, class of 2026. I will try to make this quick as I can.
I will try to make this quick as I can starting with TCC's first grill out chill out held at Pacific Center Park, which was a hit. Students were going back to their inner child swinging, playing a big game of basketball while running up and down the hills, then rolling rolling down them, all while the staff grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. Monday evening was our senior recognition where the whole where the whole school got together to recognize all of our hard
work and efforts by passing out caps and gowns, grab pins, tassels, medals, and all of the hugs you can ever imagine. Moving on, May 14, TCC held its third prom ever, which again, another hit. This year, we decided on masquerade slash casino night and then said, well, go big or go home. Right? We got prizes, money to gamble with, and DJ MIA, which is one of our students at our school. Decorations, desserts, masks,
and even a huge random decision wheel. It's like one of those big wheels with the colors that you spin. Yeah. I try to, like, look up what it's called. But anyways, it's safe to say that absolutely no one left that night empty handed. Furthermore, into our furthermore, into our busy weeks, half of the girls in the woman of tomorrow program attended a field trip to Rochester University where they were inspired and intrigued by a local college that has smaller class sizes. While seniors went to Trinity Hospital Trinity Hospital's non nonprofit community farm,
and they helped farmer Katie weed and mulch their native gardens to help prep for the spring harvest, which will then be picked to distribute to local families that may be in need of affordable healthy food options. And they also have a flower garden in the back so families can go back there and, like, pick the flowers for their, families or family members in the hospital for free. So that's really cool. Yeah. I found that really cool. Yep. Any other they'll be distributed to local families that might not have any other healthy food options.
And while we're talking about field trips, many of our students attended the twenty twenty six Michigan construction Career Days. This event brought a great opportunity to learn about employers, trades, and colleges in the construction industry. They also got to try their own hands got to try their own hands on tasks, tools, technology, and even equipment that construction professionals use. I also hear that Gretchen Whitmer is also there most years, and I believe that she was there this year. So it's always pretty cool seeing the pics perfect.
Then lastly, on my long list of events, this is our annual or tomorrow is our annual arts beats and treats. Yes. I know I already mentioned this last time, but it is truly all of our favorite days of the year. Students and staff get up on stage and play instruments, sing, dance. Students sell their artwork, crafts, baked goods, cultural foods, and everything in between. It's our last goodbye to the seniors, you know, and that's at TCC starting at 1PM if any of you on the board were interested.
To wrap this all up, I just wanted to say a few words. Sitting up here with this board has been a highlight of my high school career. I have heard and listened to many stories and data, wrote many reports, and chosen many outfits to come here. Though the one and only thing that is going to stick with me is all the newfound confidence from all the amazing, sweet, and overall interesting leaders who sit up here with me once a month on Tuesday at 07:00. You all truly are so inspiring. And, again, lastly,
congrats, class of 2026. We are going to miss you, Chloe, and good luck with everything you're going to do. Any other questions, comments for Chloe? Okay. Alright. Okay. Aying, how are things at IA East? Good evening, everyone. I hope everyone is having a great Tuesday, and I can't believe it's already the end of the last full month before the end of the school year because it really feels like yesterday was August. But in the month of May, as usual, we had amazing student accomplishments and events at IES even though it's, like, the end of the school year. So this past week,
two students at our school competed at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair or ISF in Phoenix, Arizona. ISF is the world's largest and most prestigious pre college stem competition as it brings together thousands of exceptional high school students from over 70 countries to showcase independent research and compete for nearly 9,000,000 in awards and scholarships. I'm very excited to announce that my partner and I placed second in the world for our research that discovered two effective therapeutics to treat Parkinson's and pancreatic cancer in
the category of computational biology and bioinformatics, receiving a $2,000.400 prize. Now moving on. Moving on, on the more science things as well. Our science Olympiad team also competed at the Michigan science Olympiad tournament last month. And out of 54 teams, I East placed thirteenth, breaking our record for the best placement at a state tournament this far. And forensics students also competed last month at the statewide forensics tournament at Eastern Michigan University with amazing performances from students as many IAE students placed top five in their
respective events. Now with less than four weeks of the school year left and with finals creeping up, we will be wrapping up the school year at IE East with our annual club picnic, which is one of my personal favorite events at IE East. And so club picnic is a school wide event where clubs at IE East can advertise their club to students and fundraise by selling food and drinks with fun activities that every club hosts. And it's also an event where the we have the department awards for juniors where an exceptional junior from each department or subjects subject receives recognition.
The student council is also holding a food drive this week, and seniors have their prom next week and their graduation ceremony in June. And that's really everything from the last full month of school from IEDs and my last report for IEDs of the school year. It's been an honor serving as a student representative for IED this school year. So thank you so much. Wonderful. Thank you. Sorry. Are you planning on returning next year? Yes. I hope so. Wonderful. That's awesome. That's great to hear. Alright. Sarah, how are things at Athens? Good. As the school year comes to a close,
there are many exciting events going on at High School. Since our last meeting, we had an amazing prom on May 1 at Cherry Creek Country Club. Student council did a great job decorating the venue with the theme Starry Night, and everyone had a blast. On May 14, Athens hosted our first welcome and activities fair for the incoming class of twenty thirty. Many many activities were represented by students, and over 300 families came to learn about our extracurriculars. This week is Mental Health Awareness Week here at Athens, with activities sponsored by our counselors promoting mental health.
Today was Talk It Out Tuesday, where counselors were available to be a listening ear throughout the day. Looking forward, Athens Abroad is getting excited about their World War II tour in Europe this summer. They will travel to England, France, Belgium, Germany, and Austria to learn about and experience important sites of the war. Tomorrow will be our honors convocation where over 300 seniors in the class of twenty twenty six will be recognized for their high distinction. Since the rain foiled our plans to have a senior sunset yesterday,
tomorrow morning, we will get to school early to appreciate one last sunrise together on the football field. Finally, our commencement ceremony will take place on May 30 in the 0 Arena at Oakland University where all graduating members of the class of 2026 will be recognized. Since this is my last time speaking as a student in the Troy School District, I would like to thank everyone who shaped my journey from kindergarten at Barnard all the way to seeing being a senior at Athens. I'm truly so grateful for all of the memories I have made in this district, and I can't believe that my time here is coming to an end. I am so excited for my education journey to continue next year at Michigan State
University, and thank you for giving me the honor of representing Athens at these meetings. Have a wonderful evening, and remember, it is always a great day to be a Red Hawk. Oh, wonderful. Anyone see comments for Sarah? Okay. Well, miss Paula, let's finish it up with Troy High. Good evening. As the school year comes to Ecoleas, Troy High has once again proven their commitment and love for academics, athletics, and fine arts. It's been an exciting and memorable memorable month for our Troy community, and notably the class of 2026. Our student journalism program had an outstanding outcome at the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association competition.
The chariot newspaper staff earned multiple first, second, and third place awards along with numerous honorable mentions across writing, design, public affairs, and feature reporting categories. Additionally, the try high yearbook staff earned an overall gold rating in the Spartan yearbook critique contest and received national recognition through the Woolsworth Publishing Gallery of Excellence. Their publication will also be featured at regional states and national conventions as an example of outstanding yearbook design and photography. Last Tuesday, Troy High welcomed incoming freshmen during freshman orientation.
Future colts had the opportunity to meet student government, students of student government, attend a q and a session and explore a club fair that showcased the the many opportunities available at Troy High. We're excited to welcome the class of twenty thirty this fall. Looking ahead, tomorrow's senior walkout will begin with a senior breakfast followed by senior superlatives, and the graduating class will take a final walk through the building together. Senior prom will take place this Thursday and graduation is scheduled for May 30 at Oakland University followed by the annual all night party. Earlier this month,
the Troy High band held its spring concert during the during the evening, long time band director mister Nutting announced his retirement after more than a decade of leadership, dedication, and commitment to music education at Troy High. His impact on the school community and the music program has been tremendous, and he will greatly be missed. And as someone who had the honor of being a student for three years, I can say that he's an absolute incredible teacher, and he will definitely be missed a lot. In the athletics, Troy High continues to see success across many spring sports. South Ball captured its first league title in five years,
winning the OAA Blue Championship game with a strong 10 to seven victory. Baseball also had an exciting month winning the annual battle for Troy matchup against Athens with a two to one victory. Competed against Athens earlier this month finishing in a hard fought tie after entering halftime with a two zero lead. Girls lacrosse also earned an impressive regional victory with an 18 to two win. Addition, on May 18, 19 Troy High student athletes signed letters of intent to continue their athletic career at the collegiate level. We're incredibly proud of their hard work and dedication both on and off the field.
It has been an incredible month at Troy High as we celebrate the Accomplishments of our students and prepare to recognize the class of 2026 in the coming weeks. It's been an honor to represent Trinity School on the board of education. And as always, thank you so much for your continued support. Congratulations. Thank you. Congratulations to all the three seniors, and good luck to you for the future. Right? That brings us to the other other. We can go from that end. Miss Langer, do you wanna start us off? Sure. It's always a tough act to follow all of you.
So since we're on the, the role of recognition, I have some extra recognitions tonight. One of the cool parts about being a school board member is you get invited to all kinds of interesting, community events and recognitions. So I've had the opportunity to see our friend Chloe recognized at the, Troy Youth Assistance Youth Recognition, where Chloe, along with many of her classmates from TCCHS, were recognized. So we're so proud of you. And just as much as we inspire you, you inspire us. So you can go out there and get it, girl. Right? So, also, we had the pleasure to be at the incredible kid recognition.
So some elementary students in our district were recognized. There's so many kids doing so many amazing things in our school district. We couldn't possibly name them all if we sat here all night. But that wouldn't happen without the collaboration of our really impressive Troy community. And just this spring, it just occurs to me as I sit at these events and and participate, how much our community wraps their arms around us. As an example, the Troy Interfaith Group hosted a National Day of Prayer event a couple weeks ago. I had the opportunity to, present there, And the whole point of it was to lift up public school in prayer,
which was so cool because there were folks from every walk of faith that are represented in our community, each of them in their own unique ways supporting our schools and our community. And, just last Friday, along the lines of mental health, is there was a a Kiwanis Club of Troy fundraiser that was focused 100% on supporting Troy kids in, mental health support. To see our community wrap around our students is the most, powerful thing, and I'm just so proud to be a part of that. Additionally, congratulations, class of 2026. Can't wait to hand out some diplomas in a few weeks.
And, to our teachers who are working hard every day, especially now that the temperatures got real hot. That's when the kids just sort of shut down. So, to be honest. So let's everybody be really nice to your teachers in the next nine or ten days until school is done. And, do your best. So thank you again, and let's have a great June coming up. Alright. Thank you, miss Angus. Miss Potts? So I'm gonna piggyback a little bit off of what you were saying. May is always a really busy month in our school district. I mean, every month is really busy,
but, I had the pleasure of going to Smith and participate participating in some of the eighth grade interviews. Those kids are impressive. I just I loved how they showed up in their ties. They made good eye contact, shook my hand. It was very impressive. These kids are very sweet. I met a future neurologist, a future marine biologist, lawyer, but not one single nurse. I was not at that point. But anyways, I'm going tomorrow morning to, Baker, so that's gonna be another group to Will I still meet your nurse?
I might. Yes. I'm gonna hang on to that. I don't remember if I talked about Les Mis when we were last here, but I keep thinking about it. And I think my only regret was I didn't go to every single show. It was so good. And I got a few, emails about how great it was, so congrats to our to mister Vickers for that. I guess the last oh, I also went to the Larson celebration of learning night, where the Girlbots presented, a bunch of different student groups presented. That's it's always so impressive to see what our middle schools are doing.
And I will also say, yes, it's always a great day to be a Red Hawk because the Athens varsity girls beat Troy High. Woo hoo. But at that game, I was representing both because I think he plays for Troy High. I rang my cowbell very enthusiastically for Athens, and I did ring it, you know, just a little bit. Not as hard, but I cheers to Troy High. And I kept screaming, one Troy for one Troy so that the Troy High people did not be beat up. So, thank you for to all of our teachers,
teacher appreciation week. You know, there are some voices in our district loud and very critical. However, obviously, we do some really, really good things in our district, and we can't do any of that stuff without our educators and, without our wonderful, wonderful scholars as well. Volunteer Appreciation Month. Thank you to our volunteers. As also one as a very long time, very long time volunteer in the district, I know how much work, goes into putting on these events, how much time we sacrifice away from our families to make everything really, really good for our kids and for our teachers.
So on that note, the next time I'll see some of the kids on this sitting up at this board will be at graduation, and I look forward to that. This school year went by horrendously fast, way, way, way too fast. And, I remember from our first graduation ceremonies last year, we are to bring tissues, lots and lots of tissues because I tend to cry at all those graduations because I'm so proud of our kids. So I look forward to seeing all of you. That's it. Thank you. Thank you, miss Potts. Doctor Philippa? Again, I wanna, give my congratulations to Sarah,
Bella, and Chloe on your graduation. And thanks really to all four of our reps. You guys have done an amazing job of representing your schools and participating, you know, in our governance this this year. So much success to all of you. I look forward, again to seeing you all at graduation. I guess, the only other thing that I would add, that hasn't been mentioned by my other two colleagues is just a reminder, another way of, your ability to support the district, would be for whether you're a golfer or not,
but to, participate either in golfing or the dinner that is being hosted by the Troy Foundation for Educational Excellence on Tuesday, June 9 at the Greystone, Golf Club. TFEE is an important organization that provides enrichment monies to, our teachers in classrooms, for things that, aren't able to necessarily be funded, in budget. So, would appreciate your support, for that event and and for that organization. Alright. Doctor. Nelson? Yeah.
I was just gonna go back to our mental health awareness month, mental health awareness week at Athens. We heard about some of the activities going on there put on by, led by our counseling staff. I also attended the Troy Kiwanis event, the Harvesting Home Healing Begins with Us event this past Friday. President Nuneen was there as well as Doctor. McCheskey too. So it was great to have a nice turnout from from our school district. One of the things that I wanted to bring up is how our ride the pillar we talk a lot about our our pillars and our we call the colors,
but, it focuses on well-being of all. And I think this plays into that and and also a reminder that our pillars are really the backbone of our strategic plan, which we will be revisiting. But we've all, as of word, at our last workshop decided that those pillars are important and we'd like to keep that structure, with some kind of tweaking around that. So with that well-being piece, I know that, I've been getting some questions and speaking with some board members questions around, the budget for next school year and cuts and,
you know, what does that look like and who's involved. You know, from a board perspective, we're looking at how do we balance the budget and we rely on our administrative staff to make the decisions on how to go about that. I know that we've put a lot and made a lot of progress into building that well-being piece. And it would just be my hope that as we make decisions, I know that we've been thinking about, what will have kind of the least impact on our kids because we know that, taking away anything is going to have some sort of impact.
So I would just hope that we keep in mind that we not move backwards on the progress that we've made with our students' well-being because I think that that, the reason why it's a pillar is because, really, that's a core of our strategic plan. Our kids' health and well-being is so important. So I would just hope that we can make, decisions that will, maintain that progress that we've made. I wanna echo a lot of sentiments as well. Congratulations to our seniors. We will see you, in a week or so. Yeah. Yeah. It's crazy. I also wanted to echo,
it's a busy time of the year. There's a lot of events and a lot of parties happening. So I really do want to appreciate all of our volunteers and all the parents that come out and support. There's field days, there's fun runs, there's class parties. And the teachers really do appreciate the support of the parents coming out and planning those because they have enough on their plate to, you know, teach our students as well. And like the eighth grade interviews, they're always looking for volunteers. So if that's something that you're you think you might be interested in, they're gonna have it again next year. So please, feel free to ask us how to sign up for next year as well.
So thank you. Wonderful. Miss Alish? K. Mine is more of a like a status report. So I'll go backward date wise. On, on May 11, I attended the MSBA legal trust fund, meeting. Every once in a while, a meeting will be called if there are school districts that are looking for financial support from the trust fund. There were two requests, both of which have been approved. One is for, financial support. The other is for financial support and an amicus brief. The first is Bailey Russ Redford, Union Board of Education, and that is,
concerning a censured, board member who is suing the board, on first amendment rights. And so the, the legal trust fund will will give support with money in any of this brief in that case. The second is, Rosenberger versus Mason Consolidated Schools. That case began with a, a district request to discharge the employee with the state tenure commission. That request was denied. Upon return to work, the employee was reassigned within the parameters of the bargain contract. And, mister Rosenberger decided to,
file on the circuit court instead of filing a grievance. And so the Mason Consolidated School District requested financial support, and then that was approved. That was approved as well. And then an update on a on a case that was supported last year was DA versus the Tri County Area Schools. That was a a case where a student or some students were wearing T shirts that had an innocuous seeming message, but in fact was code for something else. And the district did win that case. The judge ruled that the administration has discretion,
has, you know, quite a lot of discretion in those closed closed call cases. So that was, so that was one that was supported with an amicus brief last year. And then on May 6, I attended the Oakland County School Board Association government, relations, committee meeting. Just a couple of highlights. 31 double a, our favorites. The court of appeals said that it was constitutional. They did note that about 75% of the districts did not take the money last year. So there is some expectation that there'll be at least some changes in the wording
this year. Not necessarily that they're required that the the ask will completely go away. Maybe a combination of requiring an investigation, but maybe not waiving privilege, but, you know, that is, remains to be seen. One important update is legislation has been signed into law in the last couple of weeks, concerning the Michigan merit examination. So students no longer have to complete the writing component, and the score will not be on a student's, high school transcript anymore. Yeah. So that was I I think it was signed into, like, the thirtieth or in the last in the last couple of weeks.
So kind of shifting to the budget. All three budgets are out now, the senate, the house, and and the governors in there. They have some similarities. They all, you know, call for $250 per pupil increase. The senate and governors would go to the weighted model. There is an expectation that more money will be taken out of the k 12 fund for higher education. And there's also a bill has passed the house that would eliminate the 6 mil state net tax. The expectation is that it won't go further than that.
But, you know, this is kind of yet another attempt to to defund public education. This amounts to about $3,000,000,000 per year. So not only is money being taken out of out of the k 12 fund, there is now an attempt to revoke some of these millages that exist so more money would be would be, taken out. And then I do wanna remind people that we do, you know, have an August election, and that there is an Oakland County millage that is being proposed, that will be on the ballot. Surrounding counties, including Wayne and Macomb,
have approved those millages in the past. It is part of the reason why they're able to recruit teachers sometimes. They can pay higher salaries because they have the extra monies coming from those county millages. So, there there are a lot of things, a lot of good potential for us in Oakland County. There's lots of things that we kinda need to keep an eye on at the state level, because there's there's some successful so far attempts and there's further attempts that it just robbing public education. So, I would encourage people to, you know, to keep an eye on that.
It is we we can't do what we do here. We are already in a situation where we are having to, cut our budget. We are not the only ones, and that is under the current funding levels. And there are all these attempts being made to further reduce the amount of funding yet all of our expenditures keep going up. And there is you know, we are not magicians. We are not a for profit corporation. We can't manufacture money. We can't sell products. We can't do these things. So, I just encourage everybody to to really pay attention to this stuff.
It's really important. Thank you, miss Savesh. Doctor Machesky? Thank you. As was mentioned, May is a busy month, and it's been clearly articulated by board members. And thank you, Ms. Leach, for, for making reference to the budget that it will be a challenge for us moving forward. And to Doctor. Melton's comments, as we think about, as we think about budget reductions, dollars 12,000,000 budget reduction in an organization that is 9493% to 94% people makes it very difficult to consider reductions without considering FTE, without considering, positions across the organization.
It is it has been our clear focus, thus far to to stay away from the classroom as much as possible is our first goal. Second goal is to to, attempt not to impact supports for students, as best we can. And then thirdly, to attempt to do that through attrition. To that end, the board did authorize administration to move forward with a with a a a severance plan, to offer employees a severance plan that has, that has been communicated. That information is out. Tomorrow will be two weeks that that, impacted employees will have had a chance to consider.
I will say thus far, those numbers are coming in strongly, as we anticipated. There's still significant time yet for employees to make that election up until, I believe, it is May 18, nineteenth, June 19, excuse me, to make that election, June 19. So more time yet, but, but, things, are looking promising on that front. We do anticipate May 1 at our, workshop, spending significant amount of time on budget. And then where we get June 1. I'm saying May. Sorry. June 1. June 1. Where we're gonna we're gonna spend quite a bit of time and not only looking
at next year's budget, or or closing out this year's budget with amendments, but looking forward towards next year's budget and and how we we anticipate, meeting that $12,000,000 budget deficit. K? Closing that deficit. To, we had an, our spring updates are almost over. We have just a couple, that we have yet to do, have been well, well, attended. Our PTO meetings have been well attended, and I think the information's been well received. Had a chance to, welcome Stone and Victor, who are fifth graders at Barnard today for they were superintendents for the day. Oh, wow. Chance to spend time with them,
touring the district today. They had a chance to go into Smith Middle School. They put their little hard hats on and they toured the building. They had a they they had a sneak peek, at at the building. It's coming along exceptionally well. Continue to be on on schedule, for a fall opening and on budget, which are two really important, two really important things for us. So I look forward to the end of this week or tomorrow, Thursday, I guess it is, welcoming two more of our, superintendents for a day. So it's always fun this time of the year to to see the end of the year and and the excitement in through their eyes.
So I look forward to to that. Groundbreaking at for Boland Park for the renovation at Boland Park will take place 10AM on Thursday of this week. So, I know board members, several of you are attending on are intending upon, on being there. We look forward to that. Word is there's gonna be some large machinery, maybe even a jackhammer to, to welcome the groom. So we'll see. Alright. Coffee, coffee with the board as well as, be joining the board this time around since our our scheduled events were so close. We just decided, given this time of the year,
to combine those. So that is, Thursday, the twenty first, at services in this building at five at 05:00. So anyone within the community that has an interest in attending, by all means, please, be here. It says services. User services in this building, not the civilian services. It's over there. It's gonna be at Central Office. Okay. In the conference. It's a good thing I brought you all along today. Definitely needed it. Our SSAB is holding its, middle school leadership conference, this coming Friday, 8AM, in this building. We look forward to welcoming a 100 middle school students. Our SSAB students run that run that conference.
They talk about, things that, eighth graders should be thinking about as they transition into high school next year. Things along the lines of how do you get involved? How do you manage your time? How do you manage the stress of of increased workloads and things along those lines. So we look forward to welcoming, those 100 middle schoolers on Friday of this week. Operation belonging is is Friday evening, five to eight at Athens High School. The community is welcome to that. Again, Athens High School, any auditorium, five to eight. Our, students from across the district will be, will be showing off artwork,
and, the mayor will be there recognizing the group. I'll be there welcoming the group. So we look forward to anyone within the community wishing to be a part of that. Five to eight, Friday of this week at Athens High School. And one other celebration, June 1, normally, at the May meeting, we would celebrate our our our retirees. But given some of the some of the shift in in opportunities for retirees this year, we've chose to move that a little up a ways. So, June 1, we will celebrate retirees at, at Troy High School in in the,
the cafeteria prior to our workshop. So we look forward to to welcoming a significant number of retirees. I will I wanna thank our students for, number one, speaking tonight, around our robotics programming, but also sticking out the rest of the meeting, because I did wanna also, again, say thank you for partnering with us. Shout out to mister Trudeau, who has been working alongside representatives from, from the ro Troy Robotics Foundation. They have thus far visited about 12 sites, and we're zeroing in. They're zeroing in on a couple of sites that we think will meet the needs.
Our goal as is their goal is to wrap this up as as quickly as possible, be able to bring forward a recommendation to the board in June so that it can get started already this summer in preparation for, the coming school year. So more to come, on that. And I think that's it. Okay. Wonderful. That's a lot, surely. Okay. So I'm not gonna try to repeat anything any of them said. I'm going to just try and see if there is anything that I have attended that they haven't and because there's a lot of overlap. There's a couple of things that I can recognize that which is I got to
attend the salmon release, which happened about a week and a half ago, I believe. It was amazing to see those kids from both Larson and Martell taking these little tiny cups with this size salmon and releasing them. I it's it's amazing the joy in their faces and the energy they spent in growing them for and it's I heard 350 to 400 salmon, something like that. So it's a huge tubs of salmon that they've released into Fenton River.
It's it's an amazing scene, so it's awesome to go and see that. If you missed it next time, you should do it. The only other event that I had attended that, that was not mentioned is there was a faith and community leader, breakfast that happened in Bloomfield Hills, at the Kirk On The Hill, I think is the church. And it was, the topic for that is preventing child abuse, and that was definitely something, very useful and impactful. In addition to all the events that are happening and all the adults and the teachers and the students that are participating,
it would be, not faithful to the students to say, well, congratulations on finishing up all your AP exams, all your other exams. I think there's one more IB exam tomorrow remaining, and that finishes math and French, I think, is remaining tomorrow. So with that, you're almost there. You got one more two more weeks of school, and then you're done. Congratulations to hanging in there, working hard, getting all the things taken care of, And congratulations to all the seniors. It was great having you guys here and giving us updates.
We really appreciate every single minute you're here. That brings us to our next board of education workshop, which this time is going to be on a Monday, not a Tuesday, on June 1. Right here? No. No. At Troy High School. Oh, right. We're right. At Troy High School. So at in the in the media center. In the Media Center. And followed by our meeting is on Tuesday, June 16, right here at 7PM. Okay? Alright. That concludes our meeting. We can adjourn the meeting at 08:27.
Yes. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much. Okay.