September 28, 2026 at 7:00 PM - Regular Meeting

Description:  Josh will provide an update.

Description:  Brittney Boyer

Description:  Charish Crawford

Description:  At the July regular board meeting, the Board approved a list of teachers who have recently acquired tenure under the Michigan Teacher Tenure Act. At that time, I mentioned that because of a misunderstanding on my part regarding the length of the probationary period for new teachers, some teachers were not included on that list. We've since been able to verify the teachers included on the attached list have also met the requirements for obtaining tenure in the district.

Description:  The administration is requesting Board approval of a district-wide Professional Development Advisory Committee, as required by the Michigan Department of Education, to allow certain professional development hours to be counted as instructional time.

The committee must be composed of a majority of teaching staff and include representation from multiple grade levels and subject areas, as well as special education, non-teaching staff, parents, and administrators. The committee’s role is to review and recommend at least eight hours of qualifying professional development to be counted as pupil instructional time for the current school year.

Board approval of committee membership is required for compliance with state requirements and pupil accounting audit expectations. By meeting this requirement, the district is able to count up to 38 hours of professional development time as instructional time for the school year.

Description:  Beginning last year, contract addendums were approved for some of our building administrators for taking on additional responsibilities beyond their building leadership duties. These essential duties require a significant amount of time and expertise. In many districts, they are assigned to a curriculum coordinator or central office administrator, but since Bloomingdale does not currently employ such a position, these responsibilities have been distributed among our principals.

To recognize the added workload and ensure these critical functions are supported appropriately, I am recommending Board approval of the following contract addendums:

• Nikki Meloche - District Title IX Coordinator: Stipend of $500 annually, with an additional $250 for each formal Title IX complaint managed through the grievance process, up to $1,500 per year
• Brandon Lukes - District Testing Coordinator: Annual stipend of $1,500
• Scott Martin - District Homeless Liaison: Annual stipend of $1,000
• Amber Mortensen - District Curriculum Council Coordinator; Annual Stipend of $1500 (new in 2026-27)

If and when a curriculum coordinator or other central office administrator is hired in the future, these responsibilities could be reassigned. At this time, I believe compensating our building leaders for these added responsibilities is fair and appropriate.

Description:  At the June regular board meeting, the Board approved the 2026-27 salary schedule for  administrators and other nonunion employees. According to the adopted salary schedule, the school mechanic position was to be paid an annual salary. We've since learned that this position should be paid an hourly wage.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), skilled trade and manual labor positions, including mechanics, are classified as "non-exempt employees", regardless of their compensation structure or method of payment. While the law permits non-exempt employees to receive a fixed salary, they are legally entitled to overtime compensation at a rate of 1.5 times their regular rate for all hours worked over 40 in a work week.
Administering a "salaried non-exempt" position requires the business office to manually calculate a fluctuating regular hourly rate each week to properly process overtime. Transitioning the mechanic position to a standard hourly wage ensures compliance with federal labor laws while simplifying our payroll process and overtime calculations for the business office. This adjustment is a structural change to payroll classification and does not reduce the employee's standard baseline compensation.
I recommend that the School Board approve the adoption of the updated salary schedule, transitioning the position of District Mechanic from an annual salary to an hourly wage.

Description:  I am recommending Board approval of the district’s updated K-12 course catalogs. The Michigan Pupil Accounting Manual requires boards of education to approve the courses or curriculum offered by the district for credit or grade progression. These approved courses and curricula are used for pupil accounting and auditing purposes.

While the manual does not require annual re-approval, presenting the course catalogs to the Board each year provides a consistent process for ensuring that new courses, course changes, and other updates are formally approved and that the district maintains a current record of its Board-approved instructional offerings.

Description:  The 2026-27 State School Aid Act again provides funding under Section 31aa for student mental health and school safety. Bloomingdale Public Schools is expected to receive approximately $65,000 for student mental health and approximately $130,000 for school safety.

For 2026-27, the privilege-waiver requirement applies to the school safety allocation but not the mental health allocation. To receive the school safety funding, the District must agree that, following a qualifying mass casualty event, it will be subject to and cooperate with a comprehensive investigation and waive District-held privileges that might otherwise protect information from disclosure for purposes of that investigation.

The Board considered substantially similar language in November 2025. At that time, the Board adopted Resolution D, which conditionally authorized the District to opt in while requiring the District to rescind its participation if the privilege-waiver requirement remained in effect. Because the waiver remained in effect, the District did not accept funding requiring the waiver.

Since that decision, there have been important legal developments and changes to Section 31aa. The Michigan Court of Appeals upheld the waiver requirement, and the Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal. The 2026-27 law also separates the regular mental health and school safety allocations, allowing districts to receive mental health funding without accepting the privilege waiver.

In addition, remaining competitive Section 31aa(4) and (5) funds from 2025-26 are again available. The District is considering applying for Section 31aa(5) funding to help support the hiring of an additional middle school counselor. Counselors are an allowable use of Section 31aa(5) funding. The grant application requires the Superintendent to sign a certification agreeing to the privilege waiver if the District receives an award. Therefore, Board authorization is necessary before the District submits an application. If the District is not awarded funding, the waiver does not take effect.
Because the reopened Section 31aa(4) and (5) competitive grant applications are due October 5, Board action is necessary at this meeting if the District wishes to preserve the opportunity to apply for these funds. A proposed resolution is included for the Board's consideration that would authorize the Superintendent to apply for and accept Section 31aa(4) and/or (5) funding and execute the required certifications, including the privilege waiver applicable if funding is awarded. The District has additional time to consider whether to accept the 2026-27 Section 31aa school safety allocation. Administration will therefore bring that separate question back to the Board for further discussion and consideration at a future meeting.  

Description:  Last month the Board repealed its historical policies and transitioned to the Thrun Law Firm Policy Manual. At that time, we retained our student bullying policy in order to fulfill the statutory requirements of the Matt Epling Safe School Law (MCL 380.1310b).The Revised School Code mandates that school boards must hold at least one public hearing prior to adopting or modifying an anti-bullying policy. Tonight, the Board will conduct this required public hearing to receive community input on the proposed Thrun Policy 5207 (Anti-Bullying).

Following the public hearing, the Board will consider a formal resolution to accept the  recommendation, officially adopt Thrun Policy 5207, and fully replace all previous district bullying policies with immediate effect.

Description: 

As previously reported to the Board, the District rejected portions of the asphalt paving work completed by Michigan Paving & Materials as part of the series 1 bond projects. 

Following Michigan Paving’s disagreement with the District’s demand for removal and replacement, the District pursued a claim under the contractor’s performance bond with Liberty Mutual. Liberty Mutual has completed its investigation and denied the District’s claim.

The District’s legal counsel, Thrun Law Firm, has been assisting the District throughout the dispute and has prepared a proposed settlement framework for consideration by the Board. The proposal seeks a practical resolution that would provide financial compensation to the District, preventative pavement maintenance, additional warranty protection, and a long-term performance guarantee and remediation obligation while avoiding the cost and uncertainty associated with further legal action. 

Attorney Mackenzie Flynn has also provided the Board with a written legal opinion regarding this matter. Administration recommends that the Board enter closed session to review and consider the privileged written legal opinion before providing direction regarding the proposed settlement.