Welcome to this special meeting of the Okemos Board of Education held in public for the purpose of conducting the business of the school board.

There is one opportunity for public comment: Citizens who wish to address agenda or non-agenda items will have an opportunity at the beginning of the meeting. In-person individuals who wish to address the board must complete a blue form, located with the agendas near the room entrance, and present it to the board’s secretary prior to the start of the agenda item. 

At the appropriate point in the agenda, the board president will call upon individuals who have submitted a blue card for their comments.

Pursuant to Section 8(a) of the Open Meetings Act, the board of education may adjourn to Executive Session for the purpose of discussing a personnel matter.

Tom Buffett, Katie Cavanaugh, Shulawn Doxie, Mary Gebara, Melanie Lynn,  Andy Phelps, Jayme Taylor

Superintendent Hood and representatives from Secure Education Consultants will provide an update regarding a safety and security grant to fund a Safety and Security Director position for the district.

Representatives from TowerPinkster, Christman, and Veridus Group will provide an update on summer bond work and forecast future bid packages that are underway.

Building Administrators will present the proposed changes to the elementary, Kinawa, Chippewa Middle School, and Okemos High School student-parent handbooks.

Food Service Director Emily Swirsky will provide an update regarding the legislation providing free breakfast and lunch.

At this time in the meeting, citizens have an opportunity to address the board regarding items of interest that that may or may not be part of the evening’s agenda.  Citizens are required to limit comments to three minutes, except when this requirement is waived by the board president during the meeting.  A designated timekeeper will communicate to the individual who is addressing the board at three minutes. The board highly values public comment and input; however, the board meeting format is designed to facilitate the evening’s agenda and, therefore, restricts board members from engaging in conversation with speakers or immediately responding to questions.  Questions and concerns may be addressed by the board later in the agenda and may be assigned for follow-up by the board or superintendent at a later date.

The superintendent will highlight events and issues of interest and take questions from the board.

The board will acknowledge receipt of correspondence.
Individual board members may highlight other events and issues of interest and request follow-up on other matters of concern.

Within Action Items, there is a Consent Agenda to expedite the business of the board which groups a number of items together to be dealt with by one action of the board. However, items in the consent agenda may be extracted by individual board member request for further discussion or clarification.

In an effort to expedite the business of the board of education, but in no way meant to diminish the importance of each item, a Consent Agenda has been developed.

The Other Action Items require additional discussion prior to board action.

School districts may elect to have the plan review of school construction projects and inspections conducted by local building departments.   For this to happen, both the school district and the unit of government(s) must execute the application, Request for Annual Delegation of School Plan Review and Inspection Authority to a Local Unit of Government Enforcing Agency.  Absent approval of the completed application the State of Michigan, Bureau of Construction Codes has responsibility for construction code enforcement of school buildings within that unit of government.

The hiring of all certified employees must be approved by the board of education; employment of support staff shall be in accordance with school district policy.

The board's policy committee has been engaged in the implementation process of Thrun's board policies. The committee is submitting several policies that have been reviewed and/or revised:  1101 General Policy Statement;1201 Mission Statement; 1301 Creation, Amendment and Posting of Policies; 1401 Definitions; 2101 Roles of the Board and Board Members; 2102 School District's Legal Name and Status; 2103 School District Boundaries; 2104 Student Representative on the Board; 2201 Board Powers/General Powers; 2202 Authority to Enter Into Contracts; 2406 Board Officers' Duties; 2505 Board Committees; and 5511 Secret Organizations.  The committee is recommending a July 1st effective date for these policies. Policies given first reading by the board are posted on the district website for thirty days for public review. Policies not given first reading are returned to the committee for further review and editing.

Discussion items are intended to provide an opportunity for review of material and interaction concerning the individual items.  Action is not taken during the board meeting.  Discussion items may be acted upon by the Board of Education at a later date. The board president may move a discussion item forward in the meeting agenda to facilitate timely discussion and/or community input on that discussion item.

Executive Director Elizabeth Lentz will provide an update regarding the finalized state school aid budget, current enrollment estimates, and related staffing needs.