[0:22] Okay, the regular

[0:24] Richmond school board meeting is about to

[0:25] begin. Please stand for the

[0:27] oath of allegiance. Oops.

[0:30] Wonderful.

[0:34] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United

[0:36] States of America and to the

[0:38] republic it represents, one

[0:40] nation united under God,

[0:42] indivisible, with liberty and justice

[0:44] for all.

[0:48] I turn to one side. Um Candace,

[0:52] if you could read our

[0:54] mission and vision statement and take a look around

[0:56] .

[0:57] Our mission statement is that

[0:59] Richmond community schools

[1:01] provide a quality education and

[1:02] empower students to

[1:04] become accomplished global citizens

[1:06] . And our vision statement is

[1:09] to cultivate a culture of

[1:10] academic excellence, creativity and

[1:12] character, ensuring that all

[1:13] students are prepared to

[1:15] succeed in an ever-

[1:16] changing world. And now, let's call the

[1:20] council members. Gillian?

[1:24] Here.

[1:25] Sears, a board member? Here.

[1:28] Sublett, a member of the council? Here.

[1:31] McEachin, a member of the council?

[1:33] Here.

[1:36] Pardon. Holton, a council member?

[1:38] Here.

[1:39] And Fortune, a member of the council, says

[1:43] Yes. Yes. And I am Cunningham, a member

[1:46] of the council, and we have a quorum. And

[1:50] we have

[1:50] representatives from the student council

[1:52] who are not here.

[1:53] Yeah, they're

[1:54] here.

[1:55] When the time comes for the

[1:56] agenda, I will do it, but they will

[1:58] come, they will be there. Okay,

[1:59] thank you. Okay,

[2:05] I'm looking for a motion to approve

[2:06] the agenda.

[2:09] Um, I'd like to make a motion to

[2:11] change the agenda, to take our

[2:14] student council representatives,

[2:17] they said 7:45, so I'd like to

[2:19] move it to maybe 8. What

[2:22] 's the suggestion? After the points

[2:26] of interest or after our

[2:28] action points. I mean, because I

[2:32] think all of this is going to happen pretty quickly.

[2:34] Why not make four of them,

[2:39] uh?

[2:40] Return. Bring back

[2:42] eight.

[2:43] after 13.

[2:45] Yeah, okay. THANKS. It was nothing.

[2:47] And then renumber.

[2:49] Yeah. Okay, anyone else? Do

[2:53] I have a second for our motion?

[2:55] Support.

[2:56] He always does that to me. Uh, I'm going to

[2:59] give it to Ray. I'm going to give

[3:02] Ray the floor this time. Are there any

[3:35] other points to discuss? All

[3:35] those who are in favor? Yes, yes... Does

[4:29] anyone have any questions or

[4:31] comments about what they are deleting?

[4:37] Not so much on the what, but on the

[4:38] why, I imagine. Why are they

[4:41] removing it from there and putting it somewhere else?

[4:45] Um, what I read is that they

[4:48] think these are beliefs and

[4:50] best practices, not

[4:52] things we would vote on.

[4:56] Um,

[4:57] and they don't say that the MASB is an

[4:59] organization that actually has no

[5:00] power. It's an

[5:04] organization that really benefits

[5:06] school boards, you know, the

[5:08] conferences and courses you

[5:10] can attend. So, from what I've

[5:13] read, they're removing it and there are

[5:15] beliefs because if you

[5:17] look at that one, that one. But

[5:22] just some of the things they

[5:24] remove, there's nothing that can

[5:25] be done. Do you see what I mean

[5:27] ? This is nothing they

[5:29] can vote on to bring about

[5:31] changes. It's just that as an

[5:33] organization, it's what they

[5:35] believe in. And so, after a few

[5:37] years, they decided to simply

[5:39] transfer it. That's how I

[5:42] read it, because it's not an organization

[5:45] that can do much, unless it's

[5:47] lobbying the government.

[5:50] So they make cuts based on

[5:52] their convictions or what

[5:54] school boards accept or think are

[5:56] things that

[5:58] school boards believe in. Over the

[6:01] years, when we sent

[6:03] letters, when problems

[6:05] arose and the MSBA may have

[6:07] approached the state to exert

[6:09] pressure, we agreed to sign

[6:10] a letter and she accompanied it, that sort

[6:13] of thing. All right.

[6:14] And from what I understand, that's what

[6:16] the MSBA does: it advocates for and

[6:18] tries to get laws passed and

[6:21] talks to legislators to

[6:24] lobby, I don't like the word "

[6:26] lobby", but to advocate for

[6:28] some of these different things.

[6:30] And that's what I was wondering, if they

[6:32] removed that from their resolutions

[6:34] and then transposed it into what they

[6:35] call

[6:37] governance guidelines, the MSBA believes that

[6:38] best practices are still

[6:40] something they will support and

[6:41] defend, but simply in a

[6:43] different format.

[6:46] I think that's what I think. That's what I've

[6:50] read and what I think.

[6:51] Anything that suggests

[6:53] removing it is what you think. I

[6:57] think they put it in a

[6:58] different place.

[6:59] Yeah, yeah, that's right, okay. I

[7:01] ...

[7:01] But we don't really know why. I mean

[7:03] , I don't really know.

[7:06] I mean, what is the

[7:07] underlying reason why they decided

[7:08] to...

[7:09] And the only thing I could...

[7:11] Yeah, the only thing I could

[7:12] understand was that because of the...

[7:14] Yeah, it was just to say when

[7:16] you're in

[7:17] charge in December, that made

[7:19] this assembly of delegates, when

[7:21] you go there, when you log in

[7:22] and all that, you can, you know,

[7:24] they all have their badges and say who

[7:26] they are, just ask them a

[7:28] question, hey, what's the reason

[7:29] behind...

[7:31] Because they really didn't

[7:32] share.

[7:33] Well, that's it, and that's why

[7:34] I'm trying to glean from your experience as board

[7:36] members

[7:37] and by gaining more

[7:39] experience what that might be like

[7:40] . Perhaps there is something

[7:42] I missed, which was

[7:43] in the manual but I didn't get to

[7:44] read.

[7:45] No. Well, I even pointed out that it is

[7:47] said that

[7:48] this year's changes will simply shorten and

[7:49] refocus the assembly

[7:51] of delegates. It's a long time.

[7:54] It's

[7:54] true. And they

[7:58] can go until 9 or 10 am.

[8:00] So maybe they meant,

[8:02] you know, that they removed it as

[8:03] in a separate document.

[8:05] And I also don't know if there's

[8:07] someone new in charge of that,

[8:09] or their new president, or something like

[8:11] that? I don't remember.

[8:13] I think I saw something in...

[8:14] Yeah. So it could be

[8:16] someone new overseeing this

[8:18] who just says, "This is how

[8:20] they want to do it." "

[8:21] Find two things, perhaps?" I don't know

[8:23] . That's how I see

[8:25] things. There was something else in there

[8:28] that you had.

[8:29] I mean, I... It seems pretty

[8:33] simple. I highlighted a few points,

[8:35] but I suppose we'll see when

[8:40] we get there.

[8:41] I'm just going to say that if

[8:43] you two...Yeah.

[8:44] Ask and bring it back here...

[8:46] Yeah.

[8:47] You know, at our meeting just so

[8:48] we might have a

[8:50] better understanding of what they're

[8:51] doing.

[8:52] And that doesn't stop you from voting.

[8:56] Vote. Do you see what I mean?

[8:57] It's not like you're voting for

[9:01] us with something different.

[9:04] Monumental, if you will. I think

[9:07] it would be good to ask the question

[9:10] , but the reality is that this is what

[9:13] I think it is. SO. I would still

[9:17] ask why. And

[9:19] they could even say so too. They

[9:22] can. I'm sure they will do it

[9:24] because they're going through all of this.

[9:25] Yeah,

[9:26] they're definitely going to...

[9:28] Yeah. That's for sure.

[9:31] Okay, any other questions about the

[9:33] general resolutions? Okay,

[9:36] starting with the five

[9:38] amended resolutions. The first concerns

[9:41] early childhood education and the

[9:42] rationale for this resolution is

[9:44] that the committee wished to expand the

[9:46] programs on which the state and

[9:47] local districts should

[9:49] focus to help our youngest

[9:50] children and prepare them properly

[9:52] for school. You will notice that in

[9:55] this resolution,

[9:57] what has been changed is indicated in bold. Does anyone have any

[9:59] questions about this?

[10:05] All right. The next one concerns

[10:08] online education. Find it. It

[10:14] starts here. Okay, the resolution

[10:16] on this matter is the reason for the

[10:17] committee's existence. I'm sorry, that's the reason for

[10:18] this resolution. The

[10:20] committee wanted the state to

[10:22] support this allowance, which was

[10:24] eliminated in the 2025-2026 budget.

[10:28] Virtual testing days

[10:30] would allow students who did

[10:31] not show up for tests on a

[10:33] given day to continue their education.

[10:35] This could also allow for

[10:37] planning ahead for days when

[10:38] extreme weather conditions

[10:40] are expected. Any questions about this

[10:43] ? About online education?

[10:49] All right. The next one concerns

[10:52] state financial support. The rationale

[10:56] for this resolution is that the

[10:57] committee felt that this resolution

[10:59] should specifically request the

[11:01] legislature to follow the

[11:02] budget calendar law when it is

[11:04] agreeable. It also needed to be

[11:07] updated to reflect

[11:08] changes in budgeting and

[11:09] funding needs raised

[11:11] by collaboration in

[11:12] school funding research.

[11:15] Well, you all know, having

[11:16] worked on our own budget, how much

[11:17] we are constantly waiting.

[11:19] I'm sure Tammy over there is

[11:20] still waiting for some figures. Um, does anyone have

[11:23] a discussion or question

[11:25] about this? All right. The next

[11:34] point concerns property tax. Oops,

[11:40] I missed it. Do you see what I mean

[11:41] , please? Okay,

[11:45] the rationale for the

[11:47] property tax assessment, the committee wanted to

[11:49] strengthen this resolution in

[11:51] light of the recurring conversations

[11:53] about property tax reforms

[11:56] and the persistent problem of

[11:58] illegal stores that many

[12:00] areas of our state are

[12:02] facing. I don't know what

[12:04] the problem is with illegal shops.

[12:07] But I suppose that's just who

[12:09] knows what they do with that

[12:10] property tax. Any questions about this?

[12:16] Just the same question about what

[12:18] the clandestine store is.

[12:19] I know. I don't know what the

[12:21] persistent problem of

[12:22] illegal stores is that many

[12:24] areas of our state are

[12:25] facing. Perhaps they are

[12:29] simply speaking in a negative way.

[12:34] All right. Okay, the next

[12:35] amended resolution concerns

[12:37] general taxation. Um, the rationale for

[12:40] this proposal is that the

[12:44] committee wanted to

[12:45] formally include in the

[12:47] government's governance resolutions wording

[12:49] regarding revenue replacement

[12:51] and to clarify that new revenue

[12:53] should be sought if

[12:55] tax cuts have a

[12:56] negative impact on school funding

[12:58] . All right. Any questions about this?

[13:06] Not on that one, but if I can

[13:07] go back, a

[13:08] quick internet search...

[13:10] Yeah.

[13:10] Um,

[13:11] what does it say? That's what

[13:11] I just did too.

[13:13] What does

[13:13] it say?

[13:14] So, uh, our glorious AI and

[13:17] Google search found a...

[13:19] the Michigan Municipal League, which

[13:21] shows it as a link. Um, she

[13:25] says she finds the

[13:27] ghost store theory as a

[13:28] property tax assessment strategy where large

[13:30] national

[13:31] big-box retailers argue that their

[13:32] open and fully

[13:34] operational stores should be taxed

[13:35] at the lower market value of a

[13:37] vacant, empty, or abandoned ghost store,

[13:38] in quotes.

[13:42] Hey, cool. That makes sense. Thank you for

[13:46] sharing this. Okay, any other

[13:49] questions about the

[13:51] amended resolutions? Okay, in the

[13:56] next section we have four

[13:58] new or

[14:00] replacement resolutions. The first begins with

[14:03] non-partisan school boards,

[14:05] and the rationale for this

[14:07] proposal is that there has recently been

[14:09] a discussion within the

[14:10] legislative assembly to demand

[14:12] partisan elections for school boards. The MASB

[14:16] opposed the legislation, and the

[14:18] committee felt it was

[14:19] important enough to include

[14:20] in its advocacy resolutions. Any

[14:25] questions about this? Okay, the

[14:32] next three, skills assessment and

[14:34] testing,

[14:36] safe and secure schools, and

[14:38] school buses, all have the same

[14:40] justification. They and it is written:

[14:43] "A similar resolution was

[14:45] included in the

[14:47] governance resolutions. The committee felt it

[14:50] was important to

[14:51] also declare it as an

[14:53] advocacy position. "So, all three

[14:57] gave the same reasoning for

[14:59] wanting to add it to this part of the

[15:05] book." Are there any questions about any

[15:07] of these three questions? Okay, what's

[15:16] going to happen is if you

[15:18] encounter anything in the

[15:20] next two weeks, we'll vote for

[15:22] adoption, we'll allow

[15:24] Candace and Ray to vote on these

[15:26] issues and we're all in favor, it

[15:28] seems, because I'm not hearing

[15:30] any negative opinions. All right ? Okay

[15:36] ,

[15:36] thanks guys.

[15:42] Okay, the next item on the

[15:44] agenda is our double blue race

[15:46] . We'll start with Mary.

[15:49] Sorry, Danielle, I'll start.

[15:52] Oh-oh,

[15:53] who are we going to?

[15:54] We are both going to talk about the

[15:56] same thing, but I will start.

[15:58] Um,

[15:58] I draw on my ice pops

[16:00] just so I can,

[16:02] I'll just think about it, it's okay.

[16:06] We were both able to attend

[16:09] the sorting meeting on the 18th in Lee.

[16:13] Big Run Clark fans, as well as

[16:16] Danielle Lee, were wearing our t-shirts,

[16:18] but it was just a

[16:21] really, really cool gathering, just watching

[16:24] the kids pick their...how they

[16:29] do it. It's a bracelet that matches

[16:32] the house color, and that's how

[16:34] they do it, and it's

[16:36] really exciting. Danielle and I

[16:40] commented on the notes, the number of

[16:42] new children, you know, who

[16:44] come in and do it, but it's just

[16:47] fun with the music and the...

[16:51] So these are confetti cannons.

[16:54] Fun things, you see, but

[16:55] ? Just the children encouraging

[16:58] each other, and watching

[16:59] the children come out and saying, "Oh

[17:01] , that's the one," you know, the one

[17:03] they wanted, and just having

[17:04] a good time. But, and things are changing

[17:08] , things are changing at the college; They're going to

[17:11] do a sorting thing, so it's going to

[17:13] continue to follow, so it's

[17:15] really exciting to have been there.

[17:19] It's a good day. So well done

[17:22] to Lisa and the staff. Okay,

[17:26] I'm sorry Daniel, but you

[17:27] were second.

[17:30] As I said, same here. No, it was

[17:33] funny to see the expressions on

[17:36] some of the children's faces and the sheer

[17:38] excitement they had. Even the

[17:43] new students, I'm not sure

[17:45] they knew exactly what

[17:47] they were getting into or what was going on

[17:49] , but they held it up and the

[17:51] whole school, all 500 children,

[17:53] applauded, whether at home

[17:55] or not. So it was a lot of fun. And

[17:58] I really liked the

[18:00] inflatable mascot costumes and they

[18:03] interacted really well with the children

[18:05] . I think it was the

[18:07] kindergarten teachers who did it. They

[18:09] therefore did an excellent job

[18:11] interacting with the public. And

[18:14] Mr. Gusmano had his say.

[18:17] I will share more details

[18:19] in my update. All right. Is that

[18:23] better, Daniel?

[18:24] Yeah. Okay,

[18:25] thank you. Sarah.

[18:26] Nothing this week.

[18:27] Raymond.

[18:30] Uh yeah, just a quick thank you to the

[18:32] person in charge of putting all these

[18:34] events on Facebook and

[18:36] documenting all the different

[18:39] things that the teachers, the

[18:41] district and all the schools are doing. Because,

[18:45] you know, I can't attend

[18:46] all the events and I like to keep up to date by

[18:47] being able to

[18:49] see them on social media,

[18:50] watching videos and looking at

[18:51] photos. So, congratulations to the team that

[18:54] organized all of this.

[18:56] THANKS.

[18:58] I would say that the team is our

[18:59] buildings, our staff, our

[19:01] building administrators, the

[19:02] secretaries, Cynthia, myself, the

[19:04] district, but it's everyone

[19:05] because we don't have a

[19:07] communications director. So everyone's

[19:10] on deck, okay?

[19:11] But you're doing an excellent job

[19:13] covering that up, so thank you.

[19:16] Don't we have

[19:16] individual people in

[19:18] the building yet? Is someone

[19:20] responsible for them? Yes, there are therefore

[19:22] resource people in each

[19:24] building to whom everyone sends

[19:26] their belongings.

[19:28] Cool. Okay,

[19:29] Candace.

[19:31] I am here. I just want to thank

[19:33] Miss Bolling, Miss Zabel, and Miss

[19:36] Rodriguez for taking the time

[19:38] to attend the men's tennis tournament

[19:40] at BC Street this week. I

[19:44] know they were all there for

[19:47] the prom dress fitting, then

[19:50] they went over there, took their

[19:54] time and came back. I especially thank them for taking time out

[20:01] of their work hours and

[20:04] supporting the students.

[20:08] THANKS. I have nothing to say tonight. The

[20:12] next item on the agenda is

[20:13] our update on the superintendent and

[20:14] legislation. All right.

[20:16] We are in the fourth week

[20:19] of school. The students and staff are

[20:21] settling in and getting into their

[20:22] routines, it seems, it seems, and we

[20:24] get the impression that this is somewhat the case.

[20:27] I had the opportunity to attend a

[20:29] breakfast on

[20:31] manufacturing day with Miss Zabel at MISD on

[20:33] September 15th. It was a

[20:37] great event for all the adults who are

[20:39] planning for our children to go into

[20:41] a business, something the students

[20:42] will share more of. I don't want to

[20:44] steal the spotlight from them. The three

[20:48] directors and I attended

[20:50] the MACA. MACA is the Macomb Area

[20:52] Curriculum Association through

[20:54] MISD on

[20:55] September 16th. It was an excellent way

[20:57] to network and gather

[20:58] information. The four of us will be participating

[21:00] throughout the year. A

[21:03] virtual meeting and an in-person meeting.

[21:05] So we are thinking about how to

[21:07] achieve this. But they

[21:08] really enjoyed being there with

[21:09] me. We had our first

[21:12] early version of PLC, if you

[21:13] look at the calendar, the

[21:15] professional learning communities, which are the first

[21:17] year of operation. We received it on

[21:19] September 17th. Um, after

[21:22] lunch, around 1:00, 1:15, 1:10,

[21:23] the students go home, then

[21:25] our staff get to work

[21:26] together, and here, I commend our

[21:28] building administrators because they

[21:29] are responsible for all of

[21:30] this, um, but the focus was on

[21:32] data relating to

[21:33] student outcomes and on a culture

[21:34] of continuous improvement for our

[21:36] students. I was able to visit all

[21:40] three buildings and excellent

[21:41] work was done during this

[21:43] first PLC, and there is good

[21:44] energy for the next one. Uh, yes,

[21:48] the Lee house sorting assembly,

[21:49] I'm still a little deaf from that

[21:51] experience. Uh, it was noisy,

[21:53] very noisy, but it was great.

[21:56] Uh, I'm officially in the

[21:58] red house of Amistad, so uh, I was able to get

[22:01] out of the little thing too and

[22:03] I got a t-shirt and a bracelet. The

[22:06] children were excited, and it's

[22:07] funny, they all see me and they

[22:08] all say, "I'm also part of

[22:10] the red team." And they remember

[22:12] . So, they're excited about it.

[22:15] Such a positive and

[22:17] upbeat energy, uh, and then I'm excited

[22:18] for the college, as

[22:20] council member Telto said, they're going to sort

[22:22] their houses in October for the

[22:24] first time, uh, which will be

[22:25] exciting too. SO. Uh, the

[22:28] seniors' evening, I was able to attend the

[22:30] seniors' evening for football,

[22:31] the orchestra, golf, cheerleaders

[22:33] and tennis, uh, during the

[22:34] home football match on September 18th.

[22:36] Um, just like I love going there.

[22:38] Congratulations to all the parents and

[22:39] seniors. Um, I have a senior citizen myself,

[22:41] so I know how

[22:42] important this is. Um, but I love seeing them,

[22:44] they're just happy. It's sad,

[22:47] but it's a happy and sad moment,

[22:48] but I love, uh, excellent work by

[22:50] Preston and everyone who

[22:51] organized this. Um, I had the opportunity

[22:55] to attend the MASSA Superintendents' Fall Conference

[22:59] last week, from September 23rd to 25th

[23:01] . Thank you for giving me

[23:03] the opportunity to network with

[23:05] school principals in Michigan. I

[23:08] brought back some really great ideas,

[23:09] but more importantly, I was able to

[23:10] meet school principals

[23:12] I probably never would have been able to get

[23:13] in touch with otherwise, all across

[23:14] Michigan, some of them

[23:16] smaller than Richmond. 300 students, you

[23:18] know, 900 students, 1,000. I had

[23:20] almost 1,600. So, I didn't

[23:22] feel so small when I was with them.

[23:25] So, thank you for giving me

[23:27] the opportunity to attend. We are launching

[23:31] our

[23:32] My Kip school improvement process,

[23:33] Michigan's continuous improvement, as you have

[23:35] heard in the past. We have three

[23:38] objectives over three years,

[23:40] so we are continuing this work, but on

[23:42] October 5th, I believe, our

[23:44] district improvement team will meet

[23:46] and launch this process for the year

[23:48] and continue all the work that has been

[23:50] done over the

[23:52] past year. So I am very happy about

[23:54] that. We have some

[23:56] amazing people on this team and I can't wait

[23:58] to share that in October. We

[24:01] will present the data

[24:03] at the first meeting in October

[24:05] . You will then be able to see the

[24:07] impressive progress we have

[24:08] made and the enthusiasm generated

[24:10] in the school thanks to all

[24:11] the progress made in terms of

[24:13] student success. So stay

[24:15] tuned.

[24:17] Registration update. As you can see

[24:19] in your file, our workforce was

[24:22] approximately 1,595 as of September 23rd. We are starting to

[24:26] stabilize with

[24:28] all the additions and deletions

[24:30] of registrations,

[24:31] phone calls and absences. We

[24:34] do this work as the

[24:35] day of reckoning approaches, which is very

[24:37] important. I will therefore ensure that

[24:39] this message is sent to staff to inform them

[24:41] of the importance of taking

[24:42] attendance and to the establishments to

[24:43] call families if they have not yet

[24:45] shown up.

[24:47] So we are doing rather well in terms of

[24:48] student enrollment. I'm not going to

[24:51] say much more about the

[24:52] week of returning home, because the

[24:53] students have things to say, but

[24:55] that's coming. I'm very impatient.

[24:56] As a former high school principal,

[24:57] the back-to-school week is

[24:59] the most important. This is kind of the

[25:00] starting point for me. But I am

[25:03] delighted to participate in all the

[25:04] activities and festivities, and the

[25:05] student representatives will share

[25:06] what is happening. I don't want to

[25:08] steal the spotlight from them. We are launching our

[25:11] superintendent's advisory committee. Right now

[25:14] , we are collecting names.

[25:16] I am really delighted because it has

[25:18] turned into a group

[25:19] of primary school students, a group of middle

[25:21] school students and a group of high school students. We're

[25:24] going to separate them because I want

[25:26] these students to really tell us

[25:27] what they want to see in their school

[25:28] , what they like, and what they want

[25:29] us to improve. We are

[25:33] therefore receiving lists of names right now

[25:34] from administrators and

[25:35] staff. I hope that in October

[25:37] I will be able to organize my first

[25:38] meeting with the three levels and

[25:40] get the students' opinions and views

[25:41] on their year and what they

[25:44] would like to see more of and

[25:46] improve in the system. So, uh, an

[25:48] update on our

[25:50] School Resources Officer, SRO. Uh, I

[25:53] met Chief Castello. We

[25:55] met them twice. In fact,

[25:57] we met them today

[25:58] or yesterday. I don't remember when.

[25:59] No, it wasn't yesterday, because they

[26:01] met them on Sunday. It's

[26:02] today. Um, there are

[26:04] staffing problems at the

[26:06] police department right now. Uh, and we kind of knew that

[26:09] . So, right now,

[26:11] Agent McCoy is not on campus

[26:13] full-time, as he wanted or

[26:14] according to his schedule, whatever it may

[26:16] be. He is available to us, uh,

[26:19] by phone, whenever we

[26:20] need him. Well, they are

[26:22] available to us when we

[26:24] need them, when we have a

[26:25] situation. But at the moment, they are

[26:27] handling some

[26:28] personnel matters themselves. So, uh,

[26:30] I hope we soon find out who

[26:32] our SRO is, whether it will be McCoy or

[26:34] someone else, and

[26:36] then we can get up to speed on this

[26:38] routine schedule. So, I've

[26:40] been in contact with them and whenever

[26:42] we need them, they're there

[26:43] in a flash. So, we continue.

[26:46] And then, the Richmond band's concert

[26:48] is happening right now at the

[26:50] stadium. So, uh, the groups Algonac,

[26:52] Richmond and Armada are here, I believe,

[26:54] to perform. Well, they might be

[26:56] finished when we're finished,

[26:57] but

[26:57] Armada and Richmond have only just

[26:58] begun. All right.

[26:59] Claire just sent me a text message.

[27:01] Yeah. That's why

[27:02] I was looking at my phone.

[27:03] Yeah.

[27:05] So, uh, a lot of

[27:06] great things are happening. Um, I have to say

[27:09] that as the new director, I

[27:11] have to say that I am very... I will

[27:12] continue to say it. I am just

[27:15] very impressed by the students,

[27:17] staff and

[27:19] community members, by the kindness of the

[27:21] people, by their commitment, by their

[27:23] pride. Um, I'm looking forward to continuing to be a

[27:26] part of all this, to

[27:28] building it and perpetuating this

[27:30] great pride. Uh, students in

[27:33] particular. The staff

[27:35] are great, but the students

[27:36] I work with continue to be

[27:38] impressed by their kindness. And no

[27:41] matter what level I'm going to,

[27:42] Lee, whether it's middle school or high school, have

[27:44] a nice day, have a nice

[27:45] weekend, thank you, please, right

[27:46] ? Um, give me a

[27:48] hug. Uh, you know, in

[27:50] elementary school, they're all

[27:51] hugs now. So, uh, but

[27:53] I love it. That's great. And uh, I'm

[27:55] so happy to be here. Um

[27:57] , and kudos to this community, and um

[28:00] , it's an incredible community.

[28:02] So, uh, that's what I'm going to say.

[28:05] At the legislative level, there is nothing

[28:07] new, it will be very calm until after the

[28:09] November elections. It's as if I've

[28:12] really searched and searched,

[28:14] what can I share? But really,

[28:16] uh, we're going to talk about

[28:18] safety and security 31A A.

[28:20] We'll discuss that in October. Um,

[28:23] we will have a discussion and we

[28:25] will have to make a decision, I believe

[28:26] , in November, regarding this

[28:28] grant, whether we want to take this

[28:29] money or not. So, that's really the

[28:31] only thing that interests us.

[28:33] All right.

[28:34] THANKS. Yeah. All right. The

[28:36] next item on the agenda

[28:38] concerns the board's points of interest

[28:39] ,

[28:41] starting with Sarah.

[28:42] Uh, yeah. So, I just wanted to

[28:46] talk about one thing. I spoke with

[28:49] Deb the other day, yesterday I think, and

[28:52] we were talking about Sandy's resignation

[28:55] . And I know it seems the plan

[28:58] was for its effective date

[29:01] to be October 3rd, right? That's

[29:03] correct.

[29:04] Uh, the 4th. The 4th. It's the 4th because the vote takes

[29:08] place on November 3rd.

[29:10] Therefore, we need to provide it within

[29:12] 30 days. That's

[29:13] correct.

[29:14] But there are 31 days in October. So,

[29:16] 30 days is not the 3rd. But if we do

[29:18] n't know who it is... I know your

[29:19] plan was that whoever got

[29:21] the most votes would take over.

[29:23] All right.

[29:24] I'm just worried about all of us.

[29:26] Who will replace us then? That

[29:27] was my thought.

[29:28] Oh, okay.

[29:29] It was...It was...It was...

[29:30] my

[29:30] thought. And I didn't...We were

[29:32] just thinking about some

[29:34] things. That's what

[29:36] Deb told me.

[29:37] Yeah. That's my opinion.

[29:38] Then I started thinking about last

[29:40] night and I thought that first of all

[29:42] , with the 31 days, we had to bring

[29:44] someone in before

[29:45] election day, so we won't have

[29:47] the results yet. And I think it's

[29:49] too tight anyway because we don't

[29:51] even know if this person

[29:52] will be available for the rest of

[29:54] the year. So, I think we should

[29:56] publish it. I imagine that the people

[29:58] who are on the ballot, if

[30:00] they can, because some

[30:01] people may have things set

[30:03] aside for January, but who knows if

[30:05] they will be available for the rest

[30:06] of the year. I don't know. They

[30:08] might have things going on, or be on

[30:09] vacation. So, I guess I

[30:11] just thought maybe we could

[30:12] publish it anyway. If they

[30:14] are interested and available, they

[30:16] would come to the interview and we

[30:17] would choose, we would vote and we would

[30:19] go through the process rather than

[30:20] not doing it. That was my idea. I don't

[30:24] know what others think.

[30:25] I was unable

[30:27] to reach him. I called

[30:29] MASB today. I was going to speak to

[30:31] the lawyer there, but he wasn't

[30:33] available. So, I'll try again

[30:36] tomorrow and I've left a message. So

[30:38] , I hope I want to know what

[30:41] we need to do. Honestly, okay

[30:44] , if we let the

[30:46] 30 days go by, it will come back

[30:48] to the ISD anyway and they will decide.

[30:50] That's not true.

[30:51] According to our council policy, that's what

[30:53] she says.

[30:55] But the reality is that this is a

[30:57] unique situation. Let's think back to when,

[31:00] uh, what was her name?

[31:04] Bridget Chewbacca has left the council,

[31:06] okay? And we did not follow

[31:08] our

[31:09] board policy to the letter. Um,

[31:12] Sherry Zuby had served on the

[31:14] board, lost

[31:16] the election, and we, as the

[31:18] board, said,

[31:20] "Hey, would she be interested? "

[31:22] We didn't interview her, we didn't do anything

[31:23] because she was

[31:24] someone we already knew."

[31:27] So, we've already done it and the

[31:30] report itself, you can't

[31:35] do anything before October 4th. So

[31:36] you can't publish anything in there, can you

[31:37] ? So, you have...Yes,

[31:40] it says you have 30 days,

[31:42] but the reality is that we have

[31:44] a meeting on October 12th. On

[31:47] October 12th, we could have had...I mean, I would have

[31:48] thought we

[31:50] were going to have a conversation tonight,

[31:52] but we could have had a

[31:53] conversation. There are people who, uh,

[31:56] are former members of the board

[31:59] of directors. Uh, there are a few

[32:02] people who have approached me, and I

[32:04] told them that, you know, there are

[32:06] people who, a few people who have

[32:08] approached me, and I told them, you

[32:10] know, we don't have anything definite,

[32:12] but it could be, it could

[32:14] be really easy to pick

[32:15] someone who is a former board member

[32:17] to just

[32:19] fill a little bit of that void. Or, if you

[32:21] were to take up Deb's idea about

[32:23] who got the most votes in

[32:25] the election, that would be something

[32:27] we should vote on as a

[32:29] board. Is this how

[32:30] we want to do it? You

[32:32] could do this at the board meeting on

[32:34] October 12th. You could add an item

[32:36] to the agenda. What are you going to do

[32:38] to fill this void? And if it's the

[32:41] most votes or, you know, drawing a

[32:43] name at random from among the three people,

[32:45] all that. All right. In the meantime,

[32:49] between now and October 12th,

[32:51] because I was thinking about what you

[32:53] said,

[32:54] I did it either.

[32:55] that people might, you know,

[32:57] in their minds, think: "I'll put myself forward

[32:58] and I don't need to be on the

[32:59] board

[33:00] until January." "

[33:02] Or perhaps they would like to be

[33:03] , but that's what I thought afterwards

[33:05] ." I think Sarah and I talked about it

[33:07] . Okay, let's say Dana over there

[33:09] , I'll use you as an example

[33:12] . She said, "Yes, I would like to do it

[33:14] ." "And the interviews and we

[33:15] say, 'Yeah. "Does that

[33:18] give him an advantage on election day,

[33:20] November 4th?"

[33:21] But that's okay, because we did it

[33:22] with Jessica's camp.

[33:23] Well, now you see that I didn't

[33:25] know that.

[33:25] Jessica had an interview,

[33:27] and she was on the ballot,

[33:29] and we nominated her, and then she

[33:30] won the election. But I have

[33:32] the impression that it gives him

[33:34] an absolute advantage.

[33:36] And I didn't know if it was right.

[33:39] We've already done it. What I

[33:41] would like us to do is make sure

[33:43] we can't do anything

[33:45] before October 12th. That's

[33:48] correct.

[33:49] So, on October 12th, at the same

[33:51] meeting, I would like this to be an

[33:53] item on the agenda for

[33:55] discussion. And if we want to

[33:58] discuss the three people who are

[34:00] running, uh, name one of

[34:03] them or whatever, then I would like

[34:06] us to contact these three people and

[34:08] say to them: Are you

[34:10] interested? Does your

[34:11] situation and schedule

[34:13] allow it?

[34:14] So we are not obliged to

[34:15] publish an interview?

[34:16] What ? We...I examined it.

[34:19] We can, if we can,

[34:22] we could do it by word of

[34:23] mouth.

[34:24] But if you go and consult our

[34:25] policy.

[34:26] But on October 12, if we decide what

[34:27] we're going to do, and it's

[34:29] back, all three people

[34:33] are interested in something.

[34:35] You can publish the question on

[34:37] October 13th and

[34:38] this person must be

[34:40] interviewed on October 26th, which is our

[34:42] next board meeting

[34:43] .

[34:45] I don't know why we have to

[34:46] drag things out this long.

[34:47] I mean, I'm thinking why not

[34:48] give one of those three people.

[34:49] Assuming it is one of those

[34:50] three people. I'm making a

[34:51] guess. Why not

[34:53] involve them and get them used to it earlier?

[34:56] I have the impression that this is an advantage

[34:57] , don't you think?

[34:58] I'm not saying it's not an

[34:59] advantage. It is not one. I'm

[35:01] just saying that from a process perspective,

[35:03] this should be an item on the

[35:06] agenda. When we did it with

[35:07] Sherry, we, as a board

[35:09] of directors,

[35:09] were in agreement on that. We agreed that

[35:12] this should be on the agenda. We agreed

[35:13] that

[35:15] we could reach a consensus this

[35:17] evening. Yes, we are just reaching a

[35:18] consensus on what people want to

[35:20] do. I don't know if it needs to

[35:21] be as formal on the agenda

[35:23] as a presentation. I think that's

[35:25] right: what do we want to do?

[35:26] And then we'll know about the fourth one

[35:28] . Should we publish it? Do we

[35:29] contact people?

[35:30] Yes.

[35:31] I don't know if we should wait two

[35:32] more weeks. Put it on the

[35:33] agenda.

[35:34] Well, I can't... Well, I can't

[35:35] do anything before the fourth one.

[35:37] I say we can reach a

[35:38] consensus on a plan. It's

[35:39] true.

[35:40] This evening. We can say to ourselves: "Okay,

[35:41] what do we want to do? "And we

[35:43] can just make a plan."

[35:44] Yeah, that's good.

[35:46] So, you said to wait two

[35:47] weeks. Put that on the agenda

[35:48] .

[35:48] No, no. That's...That's what we want to

[35:50] do.

[35:50] No, the plan was as I said,

[35:52] but I...

[35:53] First of all, we are talking about the people who are

[35:55] applying for this position to

[35:56] start in January. Next, I think

[36:00] the chairman of the board needs to have

[36:02] a conversation...

[36:03] Yeah.

[36:03] with the three candidates or individuals.

[36:05] Because

[36:06] someone's schedule might be complicated.

[36:08] No, man.

[36:10] And maybe the three of them couldn't do it,

[36:11] and we would know we had

[36:13] a better plan. So, we don't

[36:14] need to publish it and

[36:16] redo it. It's not something

[36:18] we should...

[36:18] No, we don't do it.

[36:20] We can just choose our own plan

[36:21] .

[36:22] Yeah, it's... There's like an or or or

[36:24] .

[36:24] Our policy tells us to do this, but

[36:26] there have been some precedents that have

[36:28] created things over the

[36:30] past year. And Sherry is the only

[36:32] really important person where it was

[36:34] like, you know what, we don't

[36:35] do interviews, we don't

[36:36] waste our time doing that

[36:38] because we know we know.

[36:41] And she wants to come back and serve us

[36:43] until this election which only lasted a

[36:46] few months.

[36:47] Yeah, you know.

[36:48] So, what's her name? She did it

[36:49] too, but she did

[36:50] interviews. Who, uh,

[36:53] Tracy.

[36:54] Bartels.

[36:55] No.

[36:55] Yeah, yeah, I would simply express

[36:58] my support for contacting the three,

[37:00] seeing who is interested, and then

[37:03] bringing that up at the

[37:05] fourth meeting.

[37:05] Bring this up at the 12th meeting. We will let

[37:08] you know in advance, or if

[37:10] , say, there is one who is

[37:11] interested, then I will bring that up at

[37:13] the 12th meeting and say that we

[37:14] have one.

[37:15] But then, it's not a big deal. But does that

[37:18] mean that as a

[37:21] board of directors, we

[37:23] are only interested in the person

[37:25] I think...Okay, but that's what it

[37:27] takes...

[37:28] So we have to say it now as a

[37:30] board of directors.

[37:31] For me, continuity would make sense

[37:33] , wouldn't it? That's how

[37:34] I feel.

[37:35] I would say that if it is one of these

[37:37] three candidates and they are

[37:38] available and interested, it would only make

[37:40] sense for me, because the

[37:42] transition would be smoother. There's

[37:45] no retraining, there's no

[37:46] good...

[37:47] Yeah. Yes.

[37:48] For a month, if it were someone

[37:49] from the outside, but that wouldn't be

[37:51] enough. It's as if

[37:53] five people were attending

[37:54] four meetings. From

[37:55] the outside, who have already been

[37:56] members of the board of directors,

[37:57] that's what I'm saying. Not just any

[37:58] person. That doesn't make sense

[38:00] .

[38:00] Well, that's what I'm saying. If they

[38:02] apply for the position and they...

[38:04] Yeah.

[38:05] Because I mean, I agree

[38:06] . Yes, let's say, Jessica,

[38:08] right? I could call Jessica

[38:10] tomorrow and say, "Hey, can you

[38:11] replace her?" "Because she served

[38:12] on the board of directors." But the

[38:13] reality is that she hasn't

[38:14] been on the board of directors

[38:15] for a while. She probably could

[38:16] n't keep up. And I say that for everyone

[38:18] . You may

[38:20] need this acclimatization period. Do you

[38:22] hold the seat and fulfill the

[38:24] role if you have been on the board

[38:25] of directors? Yes.

[38:26] I think so.

[38:27] But I think it makes more sense to bring in

[38:28] someone who will most

[38:30] likely sit on the board

[38:31] .

[38:32] And to gain a head start.

[38:34] I'd like to, because I don't

[38:36] disagree with it, but I'm just saying

[38:38] that if that's the consensus, no matter what everyone

[38:40] wants to do, then

[38:43] Deb has to...

[38:44] What was my plan?

[38:45] I'd like Deb to call those

[38:47] three. And really, Deb, it

[38:49] could just be an email

[38:51] telling us that all three of us are

[38:53] interested and then we

[38:55] proceed differently.

[38:57] If all three of them are interested,

[38:59] that means that on the 12th, you have to

[39:00] decide what we're going to do. Choose

[39:03] ...

[39:03] Yeah. One of them

[39:04] ...

[39:04] And I can let you know.

[39:05] Yes. As soon as

[39:06] I...As soon as the fourth one arrives, that was

[39:07] my plan.

[39:10] Well, it doesn't matter who gets the

[39:11] most votes, because we can

[39:12] do it sooner. We don't

[39:15] need to wait for the elections, that's what

[39:16] I'm saying.

[39:17] We don't do that.

[39:18] I don't think we should

[39:19] wait until the end of the elections.

[39:20] Oh, I see what you mean.

[39:22] For

[39:22] me, the votes are not relevant.

[39:24] For me, we just need to choose one of the

[39:26] three and use the

[39:29] criteria we will use.

[39:32] Yes.

[39:33] And now I see what you mean

[39:35] .

[39:35] Because I don't know what...

[39:36] Literally, we could ask

[39:37] someone to start on October 26th

[39:39] if they are interested. That's correct.

[39:40] All right. Yeah. That's it

[39:42] .

[39:42] And if they are accepted, then so be it

[39:44] ? I imagine that uncontested people

[39:46] are probably

[39:47] accepted, so

[39:49] oh yeah. Once again, it could

[39:51] be. Again

[39:52] .

[39:53] Yeah.

[39:54] Unless there is an inscription.

[39:55] If they

[39:56] are...

[39:57] Then, does everyone...

[39:59] like the idea

[40:01] of Deb contacting the three candidates? And

[40:04] I think so. All right.

[40:06] Yeah, it's fine.

[40:07] Yeah, I kind of

[40:09] assumed it would be like that.

[40:11] I mean, I have my preferences

[40:14] among the three. I

[40:17] just based it on the last "Uh-oh, here

[40:20] we are in uniform".

[40:29] Uh, okay, if it's Ray, you

[40:31] didn't say anything, but do you

[40:32] agree with that?

[40:34] He did it.

[40:34] Oh, I didn't hear him say that. I

[40:36] just saw that you were listed. I didn't

[40:37] hear, "

[40:38] No, no, like I said, yeah, I

[40:40] just mean that it's in line with

[40:42] our board policy guidelines,

[40:45] and yeah, it makes sense to me.

[40:47] Okay,

[40:48] so all of you took the brunt of my

[40:49] anger.

[40:51] Oh, sorry.

[40:52] No, it's fine. Maybe I should have gone

[40:54] first. But that was my

[40:57] plan. I was going to contact the three of them and

[40:59] see first if they were willing

[41:02] and

[41:03] able. And then after that, I'd

[41:06] email you all and say, 'Hey,

[41:08] yeah, no, whatever.'" "And then, if

[41:10] we have one, okay, on the 12th, we

[41:12] interview this person or, I

[41:15] mean, I don't even know, do we

[41:17] need an interview? I mean,

[41:23] I don't think there is one.

[41:24] Like I said, that's true. I would

[41:25] just check that out. That's what

[41:28] I do. That's why I also made

[41:31] a phone call to MASB.

[41:33] I want to make sure I

[41:36] understand the difference between conducting

[41:37] the interview, because when we didn't conduct it, it was

[41:39] because someone

[41:41] had already served on the board

[41:42] .

[41:44] Oh, maybe that's it,

[41:45] and that's the only reason why,

[41:46] as a board,

[41:48] we said we weren't going to do an

[41:49] interview. The reality is,

[41:51] the three people who are putting themselves forward for the

[41:54] board have

[41:55] never been

[41:57] interviewed, have never been

[41:59] interviewed. I don't know why; that's

[42:01] the part I'm not

[42:03] sure about.

[42:04] That's why I need to check. I'm

[42:06] going to... That was one of my questions.

[42:08] Ask the MASB. Should I call

[42:10] our attorney? Uh-huh.

[42:11] To find out?

[42:12] Yeah. Okay.

[42:13] That's right.

[42:13] I thought of that too.

[42:15] It'll just give you your

[42:16] best answer.

[42:17] I had that in mind. Okay.

[42:20] Any other questions or comments that

[42:22] Sarah hasn't raised? Is

[42:24] everything okay? Okay. I have a plan.

[42:26] As soon as the 4th rolls around, I'll let you

[42:29] know as soon as I know... I know

[42:32] the MASB, Brad, is going to call me back. He

[42:34] told me the secretary said he would

[42:35] . So, I'll

[42:36] check with him, but I'll also

[42:38] contact Don. He's our

[42:40] district attorney. And make sure you

[42:41] follow up. Get an update

[42:42] from our district attorney.

[42:44] Well, I'll share with

[42:45] both of you. Okay. I thought of that

[42:47] because he's the one who helps us

[42:49] develop our policies. He has So

[42:52] maybe a better idea of what

[42:53] we can and can't

[42:55] do. And I just want to make sure

[42:56] we're doing things right.

[42:57] Okay? Okay, that sounds good.

[43:00] Sarah, anything else? Okay.

[43:02] Next person, Candace.

[43:04] No. I'm ready.

[43:05] Okay. Um, Danielle? That's fine.

[43:08] Um, Raymond?

[43:10] We were just talking about that. Okay.

[43:12] Margaret?

[43:13] No. That's fine.

[43:14] Oh my God. Okay. I just have one

[43:17] thing because you already took my

[43:19] other. Um, homecoming is

[43:21] next week. And we know we're

[43:23] going to hear about it. Um, I spoke

[43:25] to Carrie Schieber, who's ahead

[43:28] of the curve on homecoming in the

[43:30] building. And she was just at an

[43:32] event. We read an event

[43:34] together this weekend. She's going to send me

[43:36] all the houses and when they're having them

[43:38] . So, if I know that

[43:41] last year we got

[43:42] pizzas, some of them We did it

[43:44] or went to certain

[43:45] houses. I know Danielle

[43:47] gave us, uh, was it you or who?

[43:50] Candace. Candace gave us the...

[43:52] Oh, yeah.

[43:52] Candace gave us the good one. So,

[43:54] I'll have all that information as soon as

[43:56] I hear from Carrie.

[43:58] Uh, I'm going to check with her because

[43:59] she was supposed to send it

[44:00] today and I didn't get it.

[44:02] But I'm going to send it to everyone

[44:04] . And if you want to choose or if you

[44:06] want to go or not... Uh, I

[44:08] checked with Pasquale. The district

[44:10] will cover the cost of the pizza. Uh,

[44:13] so you can, you know, if you

[44:14] buy a pizza for that, you can return it

[44:16] and get a refund.

[44:18] Okay? Okay, cool. Okay, anything

[44:23] else about that? Okay, let's go downstairs

[44:29] . Okay, we're going to go over

[44:33] the rest because we kind of brought you

[44:34] downstairs.

[44:35] Yeah, I just told her to take

[44:36] a deep breath.

[44:37] Everything's

[44:38] fine.

[44:38] I told her where she stood.

[44:39] Okay. Since the next item on

[44:41] the agenda is

[44:43] public comment. Since the last

[44:45] council meeting, the council has not received any

[44:46] emails. There were no

[44:48] public comments that required a response

[44:49] at the last

[44:51] council meeting. This time, any member of the

[44:53] public will have 3 minutes to address

[44:54] the council. Please sign in and

[44:56] state your name. If you wish to

[44:58] follow up, please provide your

[44:59] contact information on the

[45:00] sign-in sheet for

[45:02] public comment. Are there any

[45:04] public comments? Okay, since there are

[45:11] no public comments, we

[45:12] will proceed to our action items.

[45:15] I am looking for a motion for the

[45:17] speech-language pathologist contract with Presence.

[45:21] I move to accept the

[45:22] Superintendent's recommendation and

[45:24] approve the contract with Presence

[45:25] to fill a temporarily

[45:27] vacant position in

[45:28] Special Education, as outlined in the

[45:30] attached documentation. Go ahead.

[45:32] Thank you. Is there a discussion? Everyone

[45:36] who is For?

[45:37] Yes.

[45:38] Against? The motion is adopted. I'm

[45:41] looking for a motion for the

[45:43] redistribution of the responsibilities of the

[45:45] Director of Educational Programs and

[45:46] Services.

[45:49] I'll introduce it and I'll

[45:50] look at it. Okay,

[45:52] go ahead.

[45:53] I move that we accept the

[45:55] Superintendent's recommendation and approve an

[45:57] allowance for each of the school principals in the

[46:01] rebuilding district for additional

[46:02] educational programs and services

[46:04] , at a total net cost

[46:06] not to exceed $10,000 per

[46:08] principal, including the allowance and

[46:10] all employer-paid social security and

[46:11] retirement contributions

[46:13] , for a total

[46:15] district cost not to exceed $30,000.

[46:19] Second. Okay,

[46:21] I'll give Sarah my word first

[46:23] . Okay, are there any

[46:25] discussions?

[46:25] Yes. Um, Mr. Cusumano, I just have a

[46:29] question. I know that in the background,

[46:33] there's talk of the first semester and

[46:36] all that, and my question was that what

[46:38] we're doing doesn't set a

[46:41] precedent, since we're

[46:43] only doing it for this semester. So,

[46:46] should that be in the resolution

[46:48] ? Just for

[46:52] the first semester?

[46:53] You know, because others... It's kind of like

[46:55] ... Well, not

[46:56] really... It's about addressing the

[46:58] fact that this is something that's going to happen

[47:00] , but in the background, and I

[47:02] know you and I have spoken on the

[47:03] phone. So, I just want to...

[47:07] Yeah, is the last paragraph

[47:08] helpful in the first action item

[47:10] where it says that before the start of the

[47:12] second semester, head teachers

[47:14] will review the effectiveness and

[47:15] workload associated with the

[47:17] redistribution model and

[47:18] determine whether continuing the

[47:20] model is appropriate for the remainder

[47:22] of the school year?

[47:24] Well, that

[47:25] helps, or

[47:26] rather, it helps in the

[47:27] background, but I don't think

[47:28] it helps in the resolution. And I don't

[47:30] know if we should say it's just

[47:32] documentation.

[47:33] Or if we should put in a

[47:35] one-time allocation? You're worried... Yeah, that's

[47:38] the one thing I'm worried about,

[47:41] a recurring precedent.

[47:43] Putting in a one-time allocation.

[47:45] Because You're going to review it

[47:46] anyway.

[47:46] Something that... Okay,

[47:48] because the context indicates that you're going to

[47:50] review it.

[47:51] Yes. Okay.

[47:52] Very well.

[47:53] Yes. So, it's her semester, it's

[47:55] only for the first semester,

[47:57] then I'll review how it's going

[47:59] , and then see if in the second

[48:00] semester I'll come back before the

[48:01] board and ask if I'd like to

[48:03] do this for the second semester,

[48:04] and then if we were to do this in

[48:06] the future, we should do the same

[48:07] thing.

[48:08] And it says not to exceed 30,

[48:10] so that would lend itself to you

[48:11] not being able to continue. But I would

[48:13] say OK, so I'll amend my

[48:17] OK motion

[48:18] to include the words "once" before "

[48:20] allocation." So we're recommending a one-time

[48:24] allocation and everything else.

[48:27] Can you

[48:28] still support

[48:28] Sarah, will you still support her

[48:29] ?

[48:30] Thank you.

[48:30] Yes.

[48:31] Do you want to include that it's just

[48:32] for the first semester at this stage?

[48:35] No, because if you do it once,

[48:37] it's now. If it comes back in the

[48:39] second semester, it doesn't

[48:42] say what it's for, is it for

[48:43] the year or for the Semester, it's

[48:44] not stated.

[48:45] Oh, I see. Does it

[48:50] matter? Tammy, what do you think?

[48:53] I

[48:54] think it would be clearer. I think it's

[48:56] irrelevant.

[48:58] what? I

[48:59] think it is. It sets a

[49:01] specific timeframe.

[49:02] So, approve a one-time allocation

[49:04] for the first semester of the

[49:06] 2026-2027 academic year.

[49:08] Yeah. Okay

[49:08] , I'll amend it to say that.

[49:12] Cynthia, do you have those words? Thank you,

[49:16] Tammy. Okay, any further discussions?

[49:21] I just want to thank the

[49:22] trustees for stepping in

[49:24] and doing a lot of things.

[49:29] It's quite a long list of

[49:31] additional tasks, and I

[49:33] really appreciate that. I second the motion for

[49:36] that.

[49:37] I'll second that motion.

[49:38] Yeah.

[49:41] Okay, any further discussions?

[49:44] So, this is a roll-call vote

[49:45] . Margaret?

[49:46] I.

[49:46] Sarah?

[49:47] I.

[49:47] Danielle?

[49:48] I.

[49:48] Raymond?

[49:49] I.

[49:50] Candace?

[49:50] I.

[49:51] Vote. The motion is adopted.

[49:54] Okay, and what about the motion

[49:56] regarding the increase in

[49:58] transportation fees for 2026-2027 field trips

[50:00] ? To

[50:01] move to accept the

[50:04] Superintendent's recommendation and approve an

[50:07] increase in transportation fees

[50:09] for 2026-2027 field trips from

[50:12] $5.76 to $7.33, as outlined in

[50:15] the attached document.

[50:18] Thank you. Is there a discussion?

[50:21] I just hope that all the staff

[50:24] who plan field trips don't get

[50:28] discouraged by this, and that

[50:32] parents or students who can't afford them—

[50:36] I know that's

[50:38] the case. I read that this covered

[50:41] that.

[50:42] And when we had this

[50:43] conversation with our

[50:45] building administrators at all three levels, we

[50:47] discussed how

[50:49] field trips are funded and

[50:52] how the PTAs, at certain levels, are

[50:54] trying to make them less expensive, or

[50:56] even free, for students, if

[50:57] possible by paying through

[50:59] internal accounts. Um, but, um, according to the

[51:03] three principals, they didn't get

[51:05] the impression that it would

[51:06] discourage the field trips

[51:08] we currently run or

[51:10] organize any others. Okay.

[51:13] So, I feel good about that.

[51:14] Okay.

[51:15] And they felt good about that.

[51:17] Yeah, and the funds are there for those

[51:18] who can't afford it.

[51:20] Yeah.

[51:20] It's like I... Yeah, and

[51:22] unfortunately, I mean, we haven't

[51:24] raised our prices in four

[51:26] years, and

[51:26] no.

[51:27] Prices are what they are, so

[51:28] unfortunately, we have to do that

[51:30] too. Any other

[51:33] discussions? Everyone in favor?

[51:37] Me.

[51:38] Against? The motion is passed.

[51:41] Okay, our last item on the

[51:42] agenda is the report from

[51:43] our student council. Claire,

[51:45] do you declare yourself under that heading? Go ahead.

[51:50] Okay, there's a lot going on

[51:51] this week because of going back

[51:53] home.

[51:56] Yeah. Okay.

[51:58] So, for elementary school, they

[51:59] spent the first few weeks of

[52:00] The school is committed to building a community and

[52:02] focusing on action and

[52:03] school spirit. So far,

[52:04] we've had a

[52:05] positive behavior assembly that

[52:07] focused on respect, and two

[52:08] students from each class were

[52:09] recognized for demonstrating

[52:10] these qualities. We held

[52:12] our big house sorting assembly

[52:13] . The Britton-Macon band

[52:15] came to play for our Year 3 students, and

[52:16] we thank Mr. Harmon for

[52:18] the Elementary school performance. We have our

[52:20] fire safety assembly

[52:22] next week. Thank you to

[52:23] the organizer, firefighter and

[52:24] council chairman Nick

[52:26] Yelleman, for coordinating this

[52:27] important safety message for

[52:29] our students. We firmly believe

[52:31] that culture is just as

[52:32] important as academics at

[52:33] Liam Elementary School, and we are

[52:35] delighted to continue providing

[52:36] students with a well-

[52:37] rounded learning experience. For

[52:39] the nursery school, our students are

[52:40] preparing for

[52:42] exciting autumn adventures. Our

[52:44] GSRP students will have a

[52:45] fun autumn adventure. Our

[52:47] three-year-old nursery students will be going on a

[52:48] school trip. fun at the

[52:49] Westview orchards. All outings will give

[52:52] our young students the opportunity

[52:53] to explore, experience, and enjoy

[52:54] autumn, while creating

[52:55] social memories with their classmates

[52:56] and families.

[52:58] Unfortunately, I haven't received anything from

[53:00] RMS, as they never replied to me.

[53:02] But for the high school, uh, we have

[53:04] a High School Making Day on

[53:05] Wednesday, November 30th, and we

[53:07] are excited to be doing a tour with

[53:09] the local company, Prosper Tool and

[53:11] Machine Tool, which is located near the

[53:13] post office. The students

[53:14] will learn about the field of

[53:16] machine machining and

[53:17] small engine repair. Five graduating seniors from

[53:19] the class of 2023 have

[53:20] been recommended for the

[53:21] College Board's National Recognition Scheme

[53:23] based on their

[53:24] academic performance and

[53:25] assessment scores. Congratulations to Evelyn

[53:28] Barron, Katie Dick Dever, Emma Jigoda,

[53:31] Madison Flowers, and Alizona Wesley.

[53:34] On Monday, our two marketing students

[53:36] will be participating in the

[53:37] Spark Lab kickoff event at Henry

[53:39] Ford High School. This is a A

[53:40] county-wide competition that resembles

[53:41] a real shark tank with

[53:43] real cash prizes. Students

[53:44] will be working on lessons and

[53:46] soliciting input from

[53:47] businesses throughout the semester, with the

[53:48] final competition taking place in mid-November.

[53:50] We are excited to see what

[53:51] ideas our students come up with. We

[53:56] kicked off College Month

[53:57] last week with Ms. Cramton arranging for

[53:59] universities and

[54:00] trade schools to come and share

[54:01] information with our Grade 11

[54:02] and 12 students. They had to register

[54:04] in advance, and I encouraged them to

[54:06] learn more about their

[54:07] post-secondary options. It's tonight,

[54:09] October 14th, at 5:00 p.m. All classes will be

[54:11] over. Students and parents

[54:13] are encouraged to attend. So, for our

[54:16] Back-to-School Week this week,

[54:17] Monday is Adam Sandler Day,

[54:19] Tuesday is Bad

[54:20] Opportunities Day, Wednesday is

[54:21] Color Day with freshmen in

[54:23] yellow, sophomores in

[54:24] blue, juniors in pink, seniors

[54:28] in black and purple, and The

[54:29] staff is mismatched and looks like

[54:30] a rainbow. Then Thursday is

[54:32] Disney Day or

[54:34] Fairy Tale Day, and Friday is

[54:35] Blue and White Day. The start of the school year

[54:37] also begins in the classroom and will be

[54:38] announced at halftime of the

[54:40] football match. The annual trophy will be awarded

[54:42] to the winning team.

[54:43] Class representatives will work

[54:44] with the students to create a design

[54:45] . Wednesday, October 7th, is the

[54:50] Powderpuff Game. It starts at 6:30 pm and

[54:52] the gates open at 5:45 pm. Proceeds

[54:53] will go to the Student Council.

[54:55] We'll have Empower Nutrition. They will be

[54:57] providing drinks.

[54:58] Concessions will also be open

[54:59] to spectators. And there will

[55:01] also be the NHS bonfire, which

[55:02] will immediately follow the

[55:04] Powderpuff match. On Friday, October 9th, we'll

[55:06] have the Cheer Assembly.

[55:07] This is the last hour of the day

[55:08] on the football pitch. And the

[55:10] Homecoming Parade and Match

[55:12] , with the parade starting at

[55:13] 5:30 pm and the match kicking off at 7:00 p.m.

[55:15] The halftime show will consist

[55:17] of announcing the football field, the

[55:18] float winner, and paying tribute

[55:19] to the families who organized the

[55:21] float construction this year. The

[55:23] double zombie will be on sale from 5:45 p.m. to

[55:25] 6:30 p.m. before the game. And on October 10th,

[55:28] it's our Homecoming Dance,

[55:29] which starts at 7:00 p.m. In track and field,

[55:32] there were some big wins

[55:33] for the boys' football team

[55:34] last week against Almont and Yale

[55:36] . And tonight, they travel to Cozzola

[55:37] to host Yale on Wednesday.

[55:40] The JV College football team

[55:41] has remained undefeated this year with

[55:42] some impressive wins on

[55:44] Thursday against Yale. Congratulations to

[55:46] the JV volleyball team for

[55:47] winning the

[55:48] Richmond JV Guest Championship with a 5-0 record

[55:50] this Saturday. The

[55:51] varsity volleyball team won

[55:53] their game at the Street Sats on Tuesday and

[55:54] travels to Amity City tomorrow. The women

[55:56] golfers competed in the

[55:58] SCC Championship this Afternoon at Southington

[56:00] Links. Next week is

[56:01] Homecoming, and the

[56:02] Athletic Department is gearing up for all the

[56:03] festivities surrounding the game. As a reminder, the

[56:07] Sports Hall of Fame inductees and

[56:08] Honor Classes will be honored at

[56:09] halftime for the

[56:10] Homecoming Field presentation. And the

[56:12] induction ceremony will begin

[56:14] Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in the auditorium.

[56:16] In the final home game of the

[56:17] season, the band will play its

[56:19] annual Go Show All Out game. That's the

[56:21] news I have. Tell us,

[56:23] how did it go out there?

[56:25] Yeah. Oh, it went really well

[56:26] . We went right after

[56:29] Al Gore, so I didn't get to see

[56:30] Arminio, but I think it went pretty

[56:31] well.

[56:33] Surely it did. Does anyone have any

[56:37] questions for our student

[56:38] ? Thanks, Kelsey, for coming, or Claire,

[56:42] for coming here in uniform and ready

[56:46] to go. Well, as it There's nothing more

[56:50] to do, the meeting is adjourned at 7:56 PM.

[56:53] Thank you all.

Richmond Community Schools Board of Education Meeting on September 28th, 2026

Transcript