AAPS board member Christine Stead. Across the table from Stead (and Deb Mexicotte, who's seated to Stead's right out of the frame) are board members Glenn Nelson and Susan Baskett. (Photos by the writer.)

Contending that any increases would do little to rectify the compounding losses of funding since the passage of Proposal A, trustee Andy Thomas summarized the state’s budget plan as: “One hand giveth and the other hand taketh away.”

Trustees also agreed to move to a paperless system of board documents. In other business, the board agreed to change the district’s liability insurance carrier, and joined an emerging advocacy group – the Washtenaw Alliance for Education.

Also at the meeting, the board heard from two sets of students, after making a conscious effort recently to increase student engagement at the board level.

The board also engaged in an uncommon back-and-forth with members of the audience, which stemmed from public commentary about a Thurston Elementary School teacher who’s been placed on administrative leave. 

Budget Update

AAPS superintendent Patricia Green introduced deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen to discuss the potential for state funding increases, as well as possible changes to transportation services that would impact the budget. AAPS is in the process of crafting its 2012-13 budget, which is estimated to require another $14 million in budget reductions. The district has already cut nearly $50 million out of its budget over the past five years.

Budget Update: State Budget

At the Feb. 8 meeting, Allen reported that that Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed state budget for FY 2012-13 was anticipated to include an increase in funding to K-12 schools. Allen said he would welcome any increase in the per-pupil foundation allowance, and noted there might also be a state effort to mitigate the rising retirement costs faced by school districts across Michigan.

Trustees expressed concern that a slight increase in state education funding would do little to rectify the fact that schools are being funded at 2001 levels, even before adjusting for inflation. “Calling it an increase is disingenuous,” said trustee Christine Stead. She cited increased testing requirements, tenure reform, and all-day kindergarten as examples of new, unfunded state mandates. Those unfunded mandates, she argued, should counter any perception of a higher foundation allowance as an increase. Andy Thomas summarized his view of the state’s funding of K-12 education: “One hand giveth and the other hand taketh away.”

On Feb. 9, the governor did reveal his proposed budget to the state legislature. In general, it does not call for an increase in districts’ foundation allowances – the per-pupil amount that public schools receive from the state. Instead, the governor’s proposal would offer extra funding to districts that meet at least five of six best practices: (1) having a “dashboard” of statistics on their website; (2) being the policyholder for health insurance; (3) opening up seats in the district through “schools of choice”; (4) monitoring student growth in each subject at least twice a year; (5) offering dual enrollment (concurrent enrollment in high school and college) options; and (6) offering online or blended learning. A small amount of additional funding would also be available to defray pension costs faced by districts, as well as to reward districts that show student academic growth and/or are making efforts to consolidate services.

Budget Update: RFP for Transportation?

Allen reported that he had followed up on a board request to look into joining Ypsilanti and Willow Run schools in issuing an RFP (request for proposals) for transportation services. Ypsilanti and Willow Run currently participate in a transportation consortium with AAPS, which is managed by the Washtenaw Intermediate School District. Allen said he found no opposition to AAPS joining in the RFP process.

Trustee Simone Lightfoot pointed out that joining the RFP process with Ypsilanti and Willow Run was only one of five suggestions the board had given administration to explore in terms of providing transportation services, and she confirmed that Allen was continuing to explore all options, including partnering with the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA). Allen said all options are still being considered, and noted that participating in the joint RFP process might also yield data about how much it might cost AAPS to privatize transportation services on its own.

Stead added that AAPS should move efficiently to identify areas in the budget that are highly likely to be impacted by budget reductions. That way, the district will have as much time as possible to plan for the implementation of any reductions with the AAPS community and families. She also requested that Allen include an estimate of how much fund equity must be maintained so that the district will not have to borrow money to make payroll.

Beyond Lightfoot’s brief mention, the possibility of collaborating with the AATA to serve the school system’s transportation needs was hardly discussed at the board’s Feb. 8 meeting. The board had discussed the possibility of collaborating with the AATA in more detail at its committee-of-the-whole meeting on Jan. 25.

Since then, conversations between AAPS and the AATA have started. In his monthly written report for the upcoming Feb. 16 AATA board meeting, AATA CEO Michael Ford wrote to the AATA board:

Ron Copeland [operations manager], Phil Webb [controller], Chris White [manager of service development] and I [Ford] met with the AAPS Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, and Director of Communications last week. This was our second meeting to explore how AATA service could assist in their efforts to reduce transportation costs. Since the first meeting, we have developed some opportunities for the 2012‐13 school year that would replace 2‐5 AAPS high school bus routes with students using existing AATA service. AATA and AAPS staff will be working in the next few weeks to develop the details.

The Superintendent expressed her pleasure with how this effort is proceeding. Later last week I met with AAPS Board Trustees Simone Lightfoot and Susan Baskett. I shared the details of our meeting with AAPS representatives and our coordination efforts. We also discussed opportunities to provide enhanced communication to parents regarding potential changes that could better help with their understanding of what public transit is, what it can do, and the ease of use.

We agreed to meet again and look at some longer term solutions such as identifying grant opportunities, raising local awareness and gathering data to pinpoint the needs of where high school student are in need of public transit, but don’t have a voice nor access to navigate public transit services to school.

During the agenda planning portion of the Feb. 8 meeting, trustees Irene Patalan and Simone Lightfoot each requested that a date be assigned to review the transportation options, including the WISD report of operational statistics. Board president Deb Mexicotte suggested that the board should bundle the WISD review with a discussion about the RFPs and conversations with AATA.

BoardDocs: Electronic Document Management

The board has been considering a move to paperless document management system for at least six months. BoardDocs, a paperless board documents system, was first introduced to the board at its July 2011 board retreat. The issue was on the Feb. 8 agenda for a second briefing and a board vote.

Board Docs: Description and Cost Information

Board secretary Amy Osinski made a brief presentation to the board highlighting the pros and cons of moving to BoardDocs. She also outlined the related cost information.

As benefits, Osinski noted ease of use, ease of access, and greater transparency. She explained how the public would be able to follow along with the agenda online, and how complete videos of each meeting would be uploaded to BoardDocs within a day of the meeting. The video capture would be done by Community Television Network, she said, which will also continue its livestreaming and replaying of the meetings on community access television. The video capture for BoardDocs would be uploaded as a YouTube video, and could have each section of the meeting tagged according to the agenda.

In addition, Osinski continued, using BoardDocs would allow all previous meeting documents to be scanned and searched by the public, from one central place. All documents would be formatted consistently, and agenda changes would be automatically e-mailed to everyone.

BoardDocs does allow for personal notes to be taken by board members during public meetings, and though they are only accessible through each trustee’s login, Dave Comsa – AAPS deputy superintendent for human resources and general counsel – pointed out that if notes are taken as part of a deliberative process, they could be made to be shared. He also counseled board members not to e-mail or text each other during a meeting.

Board president Deb Mexicotte responded, “It is not our intention to ever text or e-mail from the board table.” Trustees around the table nodded in agreement.

Osinski wrapped up the “pros” by noting efficiency and cost savings in staff time, ease of policy management, a “metasearch” capability that allows users to search board documents of other BoardDocs’ client-districts, the lack of need to maintain and pay for physical storage space, and BoardDocs “outstanding customer service.”

She then acknowledged that there are a few drawbacks to making the switch to a paperless system.

There would be a learning curve in terms of getting accustomed to everything being electronic, she said. Osinski also noted that access to a computer and the Internet would be required to access board documents, which could pose a limitation for some families. She also pointed out that the board might be limited in terms of meeting locations. However, she said she could mitigate constraints on location by creating a “hot spot” in her computer that could be used by all trustees to access the Internet during meetings. Finally, Osinski noted that confidentiality is not 100% guaranteed, though trustees countered that the same is true with paper documents.

Andy Thomas asked what would happen if Osinski’s computer was supposed to be the “hot spot” for Internet access, but she was not able to attend the meeting. Osinski replied that there would be redundancy training and that the district would have others who could sit in for her. She also noted that she has only missed three board meetings in eight years.

The annual cost for BoardDocs would be $9,000, a nearly $2,200 increase per year compared to creating paper board packets, Osinski said. The cost for the first year includes $1,000 in training and implementation costs. The product can be fully customized, comes with 24-hour tech support 365 days a year, allows the district to archive up to 10 years of data, and includes all upgrades. Also, the district maintains all ownership of its data.

Osinski presented a set of references to the board and opened the floor to discussion.

BoardDocs: Board Discussion

Christine Stead pointed out that BoardDocs would not save money – although it would significantly lighten Osinski’s workload, the district was not planning to decrease her position.

Trustees expressed gratitude to Osinski for her presentation and asked a few clarifying questions about hardware requirements, system capabilities, and confidentiality.

Osinski reiterated that using BoardDocs is as safe or safer than using paper. She noted that in 11 years of business, BoardDocs has never had a security breach, adding, “… but you can never say never.”

Deb Mexicotte told Osinski, “I think it is the right thing to do and we will all get used to it. But one of the most compelling things is how excited you are about it.” Simone Lightfoot agreed that Osinski had made a good case for the switch to BoardDocs, and had allowed it to grow on trustees who had been more reluctant.

Susan Baskett asked about the timing of implementation and training, and Osinski said it would be a six-week implementation, or until everyone is comfortable with it. Glenn Nelson suggested a target of having BoardDocs fully implemented at the board’s April 11 meeting.

Outcome: Trustees unanimously approved moving to BoardDocs, a paperless document management system, as part of the consent agenda.

Liability Insurance Renewal

Superintendent Patricia Green introduced deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen to explain the shift in the district’s insurance premium costs. The district’s liability insurance is renewed annually on Feb. 1.

Allen explained that the bids that came back from the district’s insurance agent, the Hylant Group, were significantly higher than last year. That led Allen to request that Hylant re-bid the district’s coverage with other insurance carriers. After examining a set of new bids, Allen said, he recommends switching insurance carriers from Zurich to Affiliated FM – not to lower the cost of insurance premiums, but in order to lower the amount of increase.

Allen also explained that it’s reasonable to have expected an increase in premium costs, given the district’s claim history over the past two years. As examples of claims made under the district’s coverage, Allen noted an increase in computer theft, a lightning strike at Northside Elementary, a flood in the boiler room at Forsythe Middle School, a transformer failure at Pioneer High School, and an exhaust fan fire at Ann Arbor Open.

Trustees asked if the coverage from the new carrier is equivalent. Allen explained that it’s actually a bit more extensive in terms of flood coverage and crime risk mitigation, but that everything else is pretty much consistent.

Simone Lightfoot asked if Affiliated FM is a known company, and Allen answered that yes, they are one of the biggest companies in school liability. Susan Baskett asked if the company was local, or was a historically-underutilized business (HUB). Allen said he would get back to the board about the firm’s location, and that he did not believe is was a HUB.

Outcome: Trustees approved the shift in liability insurance carriers as part of the consent agenda, which also included three sets of minutes approvals.

Washtenaw Alliance for Education

Deb Mexicotte asked Glenn Nelson to review a resolution he wrote for AAPS to join the Washtenaw Alliance for Education (WAE), a consortium of school districts in Washtenaw County focusing on legislative issues.

Nelson summarized the proposed resolution as having four themes: (1) closer coordination among the Washtenaw County school districts; (2) improved communication between board members and superintendents; (3) continued, more intense work on coordination and collaboration of service provision within the county, such as transportation and human resources; and (4) being a vehicle for advocacy on state legislation.

Christine Stead suggested that because the board had already discussed the WAE extensively during its organizational meeting on Jan. 18, the board should consider their Feb. 8 discussion as a second briefing. She also noted that approving the resolution to join WAE at the Feb. 8 meeting would allow AAPS to share the news at the legislative breakfast on Feb. 13. Trustees agreed to move the item to the consent agenda, but it was later pulled out for a full reading of the resolution.

Andy Thomas asked for clarification on who would be part of the WAE. Nelson explained that each district will have three seats on the WAE board – two district board members and the superintendent. For AAPS, Nelson, Stead, and Green would sit on the WAE as AAPS representatives. Thomas also asked Nelson to explain that this would not have any impact on taxpayers.

Nelson responded that there would be no increase in trustee salary for sitting on the WAE. “This will decrease our school board wages from 25 cents an hour to about 20 cents an hour,” he quipped. Mexicotte noted that 25 cents an hour is “not too far off,” and pointed out that trustees are paid $130 a month in total for their service.

Trustee Irene Patalan said this was “the exact right step,” and expressed her hopes that “better things will happen for our students with this kind of alliance.”

Nelson noted that the school districts in Washtenaw County are diverse, and that when the WAE takes a position on a piece of legislation, it would need to be with a consensus of the districts present. This means, he said, if the WAE finds ways to make things better for students in these diverse districts – representing rural, urban, small town, affluent, and distressed areas – it could be a model for the state.

Green added that she worked with a similar alliance in her previous position in Pennsylvania. She said that if a WAE were in place, it could provide a venue to discuss transportation and other regional issues. She also noted that as AAPS is embarking on professional development for social and emotional learning, the WAE could offer revenue enhancement opportunities. “That’s part of the richness this model can provide,” Green said.

Outcome: The resolution to join WAE was approved unanimously after being moved to the consent agenda, and then pulled out for a full reading of the associated resolution.

Length of Board Terms

Deb Mexicotte reviewed that new state legislation now requires the district to hold board elections every even-numbered November, which had caused the board to consider switching from four-year to six-year terms in order to prevent the possibility of a majority of the board turning over in one election. As it now stands, every other election will allow four seats to potentially turn over on the seven-member board.

However, Mexicotte continued, based on the board’s discussion at the previous meeting on Jan. 18, it seems that trustees feel that sticking with four-year terms is in the best interest of the district. She noted that in the past, large swings of the board membership have not been the norm, even when they have been possible.

Trustees expressed general agreement for four-year terms.

Christine Stead added that the amount of legislation passed on K-12 education last year, such as this law requiring even-numbered year elections, was “ridiculous… Who does this serve?” she asked.

Andy Thomas noted that moving to hold board elections in even-numbered years will make the cost of campaigning significantly higher, and moving to six-year terms could limit the candidate field even more by increasing the time of the required commitment.

Mexicotte agreed. “This is the right level of commitment. I don’t want to make the bar any higher than it already is.” She noted that by not approving a resolution to follow the new law, “We did what we could to register our displeasure.” At best, she said, this new election mandate does nothing to improve the education of students, and at worst, has made it more difficult for citizens to serve on the board.

Outcome: The board took no action, leaving their board terms at four years.

Student Engagement

The board often invites segments of the student population to perform at the beginning of board meetings. At the Feb. 8 meeting, board members heard from Riot Youth, a group for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) students and their allies. In addition, the board has broadened its invited associations to include regular reports from a wider group of students. The Feb. 8 meeting saw the first installment of high-school-specific student reports, from Pioneer High School.

Student Engagement: Riot Youth “Gayrilla Theater Project” Presentation

Riot Youth, a group for LGBTQ students and their allies, explained that social support and social justice were the goals of their group. They reported that they had conducted a climate survey concerning sexual identification, race, appearance, and other items, covering 1,200 students in four schools. They explained that they had taken the survey results, along with personal stories, and woven them into the “Gayrilla Theater Project,” inspired by the name of the Guerilla Girls theater project.

Riot Youth representatives then noted that the state of Michigan has just passed an anti-bullying law that requires all districts to have an anti-bullying policy. Saying that they would be back the following week to talk to the board specifically about their suggestions of ways to add to the AAPS anti-bullying policy, they then performed a brief skit for the board.

The skit focused on the marginalization of queer youth in AAPS, and noted that 10.5% of students surveyed identified themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or questioning. These students face a lack of queer sexual health information in health classes, regular verbal abuse, higher risks of physical harassment and suicide, and ongoing isolation, they said. According to the skit, only 62% of queer students feel safe in AAPS, and teachers, counselors and staff members rarely intervene when LGBTQ youth are harassed.

We tell our stories because we are good students not realizing our potential, they said. “We are an at-risk population.”

Deb Mexicotte and Glenn Nelson thanked the Riot Youth for performing and said they would be pleased to continue the conversation. “We really think we can make things better for you,” Mexicotte said.

Student Engagement: Report from Pioneer Students

Four students from Pioneer High School – Charlie Geronimus, Aidan Geronimus, Javon Williams, and Chelsea Racelis – gave a report to the board. The students began by explaining a new schoolwide communication system, which allows for greater student feedback to student council and administration. They noted that lunch time has been going well, and has brought the school together as a whole. They also reviewed a school-wide student council goal of sending Pioneer’s special education students to the Special Olympics. They said the whole student body has really backed the goal, which will require $6,000, but said that they hoped the board would choose to allocate money for Special Olympics in the future.

Pioneer High School student Charlie Geronimus addressed the board.

In terms of the budget, the Pioneer students noted that the arts programs in the district are incredibly rich, and noted that Pioneer students will be playing at Carnegie Hall later this year. “We have an incredible amount of talent in the music department, but we are faced with threats of our budgets being cut. We would like to ask when the budget cuts come around that you could keep in mind the excellence this district has had in the arts,” the students said.

The Pioneer representatives also praised their principal, Michael White. They said he is doing an amazing job, but that some kids still don’t care. “Classrooms are being run as if everyone is in the 10% [of students who don’t care]. The 90% that know what they’re doing – they don’t need to be disciplined so much.”

There is a level of respect that students are expected to give, they said, but they don’t feel like they are getting back the respect from some teachers that they deserve. Citing teachers who have no lesson plans, use tests printed off the Internet, or otherwise slack off, the representatives requested a mechanism, such as a drop box, where they could give direct input into teacher evaluations. “Teachers need to do their homework,” the Pioneer representatives said, “We would appreciate the ability to more easily bring it up to tell you when teachers are not doing their jobs.”

Multiple board members thanked the Pioneer students for their presentation, and for sharing their voices. Simone Lightfoot and Susan Baskett each noted appreciation for their attire – all four students were dressed in formal business clothes. “Image is important,” Lightfoot said, “and your bold diplomacy is great. I look forward to you holding us accountable.”

Baskett asked if they had had input into the school climate survey recently done at Pioneer. Student council president Charlie Geronimus answered that he believes the climate at Pioneer has improved since White was made principal. “I can’t speak to things like what Riot Youth was talking about,” he said. “But just because I haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean it’s not going on.”

Superintendent Patricia Green added that the board will be given a report on last year’s climate surveys at the next committee-of-the-whole meeting.

Administrative Leave for Thurston Teacher

Sherry Murphy, a teacher at Thurston Elementary School, was placed on administrative leave on Nov. 28, 2011. It prompted public commentary at the Feb. 8, 2012 board meeting.

Administrative Leave for Thurston Teacher: Public Commentary

Three parents spoke to the board about the placement of a Thurston 4th grade teacher on administrative leave, with no explanation given to parents or students.

Charlie Adams, mother of a 4th grader with dyslexia who was specifically placed in Murphy’s class due to her 30 years of experience, said that her child has been “thrown to the gallows” with the long-term substitute the class was given. Adams also pointed out that her daughter had numerous substitutes in her first two years at Haisley Elementary, and that she was finally stable academically. Adams said she has requested that her daughter be moved to another class to no avail, and said the current situation is unacceptable. Adams said the students miss Murphy desperately, and called her disappearance from the classroom “mysterious.”

Kristen Mogbo added that her 4th grader has the “math version of dyslexia,” and had also been placed in Murphy’s room specifically because of Murphy’s experience and skill set. Most troubling, Mogbo said, is the absolute lack of communication. She said she is not looking for personal details, and respects the need for confidentiality, but is requesting a timeline of when the situation might be resolved. “I don’t understand why administrative issues are being worked out in the midst of a school year,” Mogbo said. “I keep being assured that Dr. Murphy has done nothing wrong… I am extraordinarily distressed with the secrecy of the whole thing. Is there any form of response possible?”

Ben Colmery argued that his expectations have been crushed, after finally getting his daughter’s dyslexia addressed, to have Murphy removed from her classroom. He noted that he and his wife have their daughter tutored twice a week, and are doing their part to help, but he said that Murphy was critical to his daughter’s academic success. Colmery noted that Murphy was placed on administrative leave with 10 minutes’ notice, and was told not to discuss anything with anyone. But in this town, Colmery said, “There are no secrets.”

Before Colmery could continue, board president Deb Mexicotte interjected. She apologized for interrupting, but said she wanted to be sure that Colmery was “protected,” and warned, “If you make allegations, there are opportunities for people to allege illegality.”

Colmery asked, “Are you telling me I’m a risk for libel?” Mexicotte answered that the board was interested in what Colmery had to say on a macro level.

Colmery paused briefly, and then continued with his statement, saying that it appears to him that the district’s decision to remove Murphy was an economic consideration, not any other. “The thing you need to understand,” he said, “is my daughter is not a car on an assembly line … She is my daughter. I am her advocate.”

Administrative Leave for Thurston Teacher: Comment from AAPS

AAPS superintendent Patricia Green asked Dave Comsa, AAPS assistant superintendent for human resources and legal services, to address the public commentary about Murphy. Comsa said he could not get into specifics regarding personnel matters, but said that there is a certified, highly qualified substitute teacher in the classroom. He continued by saying that the reason for Murphy’s absence had nothing to do with economics, and that the district was working as fast as possible to resolve the situation. Mexicotte noted that the confidentiality rules are in place to protect not only the district, but also the employees.

A member of the audience then addressed the board, saying that Murphy had asked for the “gag rule” to be removed­­­­­­­.

The board does not typically respond to comments that are made from the audience. However, Mexicotte acknowledged the audience member’s comment, noting that the district is bound by legal and contractual circumstances.

Green invited Dawn Linden, AAPS assistant superintendent of elementary education, to comment. Linden said that although she understands parents’ frustration, the district “does not know about a return date [for Murphy]” and cannot share any additional information. Linden also reiterated Comsa’s statement that the long-term substitute in place is highly qualified.

A member of the audience again spoke, saying that Murphy’s substitute was not “highly qualified,” and again Mexicotte acknowledged the comment, saying that the term “highly qualified” is being used in the same sense as the state of Michigan uses it.

Mexicotte then asked Green to speak to one parent’s contention during public commentary that his daughter had experienced an excessive number of substitutes. Green answered that “the ripple effect of making the changes requested have been pondered, and there are implications that would create another situation if the requests are honored.”

An audience member again asked if the board could at least offer a timeline for resolution of the situation, and argued that if the children are not getting Murphy back as a teacher, they should be told so they can mourn that, and say goodbye. Mexicotte answered that she appreciated the speaker’s frustration, and directed administration to work through the process as efficiently as possible.

Trustee Christine Stead added that she would like to know if the families involved at Thurston could be walked through the process more, while still protecting confidentiality, saying “that might be helpful in this case.”

An audience member again said she was disappointed, and said that her requests to have her daughter moved were not unreasonable at all. Mexicotte then ended the somewhat rare discussion between the board and audience members, saying that the board appreciated her comments and had directed administration to respond as they are able. But Mexicotte concluded that the board needed to move on with the meeting.

Mexicotte then stood and gestured to the parents who had spoken about Murphy. Mexicotte and the parents left the board meeting room together. Mexicotte returned to the board table roughly five minutes later.

All-Day Kindergarten, Test Scores

AAPS is currently weighing the possibility of moving to an all-day kindergarten program district-wide instead of the combination of half-day, all-day, and extended-day options it currently offers. The impetus for possibly moving to all-day kindergarten is the apparent intention of the Michigan legislature to cut kindergarten per-pupil funding by half for all students enrolled in a half-day kindergarten program.

All-Day Kindergarten: Public Comment

Tina Richmond, parent of a first grader at Haisley Elementary School, addressed the board on a range of issues, saying she believed the district was operating at a bit of a “trust deficit.” She said she was dismayed to learn that the district has been accepting the full foundation allowance for kindergarten students, but not offering all-day kindergarten at all schools. Her options at Haisley, she said, had been to drive her daughter to another district school [one with all-day kindergarten] for six years, or to pay $4,000 for an all-day kindergarten option at Haisley. Richmond also noted that her daughter’s kindergarten class had 27 students, and that parents had had to beg for an aide.

Richmond also noted that she was pleased that the new MEAP (Michigan Educational Assessment Program) cut scores would more accurately reflect student achievement. But she was “disappointed that a district with such credentials would give such low achievement scores.” She urged administrators to be realistic in their communication with parents about the MEAP cut score changes. “I’m not a parent who is out there thinking we’re great,” she said. “What we’re doing is coming up to the national standards.”

“Cut scores” are defined in a FAQ posted on the Michigan Dept. of Education website: ”Scores for all state assessments are reported in ranges called performance levels. Both MEAP and MME [Michigan Merit Examination] use four performance levels: Advanced, Proficient, Partially Proficient, and Not Proficient. A cut score is the point on the scale that separates one performance level from the next. Cut scores were approved by the State Board of Education.”

All-Day Kindergarten: AAPS Discussion

Later in the meeting during agenda planning, Simone Lightfoot said she wanted to clarify some of Richmond’s comments on all-day kindergarten, saying “the sooner we can get [information on all-day kindergarten] out, the better.” Deb Mexicotte added that the way kindergarten funding has been used in the district was a “traditional structure that had been in place for a very long period of time.”

Superintendent Patricia Green asked deputy superintendent Alesia Flye to speak briefly about the communication being done with parents regarding the change in MEAP cut scores. Flye said communication has been sent at the building level and district-wide, and that all districts in the state of Michigan are being aligned.

Also during the agenda planning portion of the meeting, Glenn Nelson suggested that the board address the question of whether to move to all-day kindergarten as soon as possible. “I know that the administration has been working and I realize that work needs to get to a certain place, but let’s be conscious that that is an important issue that can be brought as soon as it’s ready,” he said. Green said a report on all-day kindergarten would be coming to the board “very shortly.”

Association Reports

At its January organizational meeting, the board named five associations to make regular reports to the board, and instituted a rotational system of student presentations. The board associations are: The Black Parents Student Support Group (BPSSG), the Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee for Special Education (AAPAC), the Parent Teacher Organization Council (PTOC), the Ann Arbor Administrators Association (AAAA), and the Ann Arbor Education Association (AAEA). The BPSSG, AAPAC, and PTOC addressed the board at the Feb. 8 meeting. A presentation from Pioneer students is described above, in the “student engagement” section of this report.

Association Reports: Black Parents Student Support Group

Leslie McGraw reported for the BPSSG, saying that the group did not meet in January, but did collect dates and locations of various Martin Luther King Jr. Day events. She noted that many BPSSG members also attended “Beyond the Bricks,” an event sponsored by the Ann Arbor Links Inc. group.

McGraw shared the URL of the group’s new website – www.dwbpssg.org – and said the group will be working to share suspension data with the community and discuss how to improve the statistics. She noted that Bryan Johnson of the BPSSG was one of a group of advisors working with superintendent Patricia Green on addressing discipline disparities.

Finally, McGraw reported on the Huron High School Rising Scholars Saturday school, which served more than 300 students over two weekends, and was open to all schools. Upcoming next steps for the BPSSG include the possibility of establishing a 501(c)3, and programming for National African-American Parent Involvement Day.

Association Reports: Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee for Special Education

Scott Zeleznik addressed the board for the AAPAC, beginning with comments on the recent alleged sexual assault of a special education student by another special education student at Eberwhite Elementary.

He suggested first that AAPAC is concerned that special needs students will be “vilified and further isolated by this incident.” He urged everyone to remember that bullying and abuse issues affect all children, and that special needs children are more likely to be victims than perpetrators – because of their inability to effectively speak for themselves in many cases.

Secondly, Zeleznik said the incident has prompted many parents to question whether to trust AAPS to protect their children and to inform parents of what is really taking place in the classroom, as they are legally required to do. He argued that abusive behaviors among students need to be identified and prevented from recurring, and suggested to administration that the district hold forums with parents to discuss the issue and how it relates to their specific school environment. He also noted that change needs to come from the administration in terms of securing student safety and well-being over the protection of colleagues.

The AAPAC has continued to hold Disability Awareness Workshops, Zeleznik continued, and he invited trustees to attend.

Association Reports: Parent Teacher Organization Council

Amy Pachera reported for the PTOC, noting that PTO officer training took place on Feb 8. The training is given by the NEW Center, she said, and reviews the fiduciary and other legal responsibilities of PTOs.

Pachera noted that the PTOC is in full support of the district’s upcoming technology bond, and looks forward to educating the PTOs about the bond. She also noted that the PTOC will be reviewing the district’s budget in overview at its next meeting, and will look at how the state budget and taxes affect the local budget.

Awards and Accolades

The board unanimously supported two proclamations: National School Counseling Week from Feb 6-12, and Principals Week from Feb. 13-17.

As a part of her superintendent’s report, Patricia Green recognized a number of students who received awards from the Presidential Scholars program, as well as Knowledge Masters Open winners, forensics competition winners, and various student groups who have raised money for certain local causes. She also praised the district’s music and humanities programs. Finally, Green invited everyone to attend the district’s upcoming Orchestra Night on Feb. 16 at Hill Auditorium, a free performance by all AAPS middle and high school orchestras.

Agenda Planning

Several trustees proposed items that they’d like to see on the agenda for future meetings.

Susan Baskett requested an update on the Rising Scholars program.

Simone Lightfoot asked if the board could look into what supports the district has in place for math, particularly the algebra strand, as she has heard many concerns about good students having difficulty with math.

Christine Stead added she would appreciate hearing about classroom-specific “key investments” the district could make to address math, MEAP cut scores, or other things. Deb Mexicotte clarified that the board was interested in considering adjustments to support for classrooms that may have been cut in the past, in order to better meet the district’s academic goals, and superintendent Patricia Green said that administration was looking at that.

Stead said she read an article in a Michigan Association of School Boards publication about how Birmingham schools are charging tuition to out-of-district students instead of participating in Schools of Choice. She noted that it was interesting that they were able to do that, and she wanted to be sure AAPS was aware of that. Schools of Choice students are actually a loss for AAPS in terms of the foundation allowance, because students bring their foundation allowance from their home district to AAPS, and Ann Arbor’s foundation allowance is higher than that of other surrounding districts.

Lightfoot also noted the possibility of charging foreign students tuition as part of an exchange student program. Green responded that she had a breakfast meeting last week with the new president of Washtenaw Community College – Rose Bellanca – and that the potential for such an exchange student program had been briefly discussed.

Items from the Board

Christine Stead noted that the Forsythe Science Fair was coming up on Sunday, Feb. 12, and encouraged people to come by. Also, she reminded her fellow trustees, “You’re just making it harder on yourselves if you have not started training for the Ann Arbor marathon.” She added that she was happy to help do what she could in terms of supporting them through training.

Simone Lightfoot said she had spent time this week with the Rising Scholars program and looked forward to assessing how the district can continue to support and expand that program. She said the program’s success shows her that kids will take any assistance they can get, including a balanced calendar. [A balanced calendar  could feature a shorter summer break and optional "intersessions" – one or two-week long academic or enrichment activities held during breaks in regular instruction, for example.]

Glenn Nelson said he had been happy to see a number of groups in the community coming together to address issues of student discipline, and noted his involvement in a community panel for Skyline High School’s accreditation review.

Susan Baskett thanked the ACLU and Student Advocacy Center for their recent event, and noted that she and Nelson had participated in a meeting of the district’s minority hiring committee.

Present: President Deb Mexicotte, vice president Christine Stead, secretary Andy Thomas, treasurer Irene Patalan, and trustees Susan Baskett, Simone Lightfoot, and Glenn Nelson.

Next regular meeting: Wednesday, March 7, 2012, at 7 p.m. at the fourth-floor boardroom of the Ann Arbor District Library’s downtown branch, 343 S. Fifth Ave. [confirm date]

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School bus operated for Ann Arbor Public Schools headed north on State Street on Jan 27, 2012. Changes to the way AAPS provides transportation services was a major theme of the AAPS board's Jan. 25 committee meeting.

That led to a vigorous discussion of the district’s immediate and longer-term options to continue to function in a challenging fiscal and political environment beyond 2012-13. “Everything has to be on the table … Education is not going to be the same,” said trustee Susan Baskett.

Mexicotte agreed, saying the time for incremental change has passed, and that the district “might need to make some bold moves.”

As options to consider for the following year, trustees listed the following: redistricting; eliminating 7th hour high school classes; closing schools; sharing principals; passing a countywide enhancement millage; changing high school start times; moving more athletics extracurricular activities to a “club sports” model; increasing the number of online class offerings; changing state law; working with the University of Michigan to allow AAPS students to earn credit hours there at a reduced rate; and moving to a balanced calendar district-wide.

In some detail, the board also evaluated its options for busing – in light of news that the Ypsilanti and Willow Run public schools are considering pulling out of the Washtenaw Intermediate School District’s transportation consortium. That would leave Ann Arbor as the sole participant in the consortium.

Trustees directed administration to examine and make a recommendation on the following transportation options: improving busing within the current framework of the WISD; consolidating busing with Ypsilanti and Willow Run outside the WISD consolidation; bringing busing back into the AAPS budget with bus drivers remaining public employees; bringing busing back into the AAPS budget but privatizing bus drivers; eliminating busing entirely; or collaborating with the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) to transport AAPS students.

Several trustees also made plugs for protecting classrooms from the effect of budget cuts, and even suggested lowering class sizes. AAPS superintendent Patricia Green suggested it was also important to relieve some of the pressure and anxiety felt by teachers and other district staff. “We are at the tipping point,” she said, “Five years of budget cuts can take its toll.”

Also at the Jan 25 COTW meeting, trustees heard updates on the AAPS preschool and family center programs, including some discussion of the county’s relinquishing of its management of the federal Head Start grant. And, the board was briefed on the implementation of the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), a new assessment tool the board approved for purchase last May.

Budget Update

Superintendent Patricia Green introduced the budget update by urging the board to consider a “balanced approach.” Later, she clarified, “We have fund equity for a rainy day – it’s pouring. It is my recommendation that we use fund equity this year.” Robert Allen, the district’s deputy superintendent of operations, said that in his view, the district was “past the tipping point” in terms of acceptable budget reductions. He noted that Gov. Rick Snyder will be proposing his budget on Feb. 9. That will give AAPS an idea of what its foundation allowance will be, but  Allen reiterated that AAPS is anticipating the need to reduce the FY 2012-13 budget by $14 to $16 million.

At the Jan. 25 COTW meeting the board discussed the 2012-13 budget mostly in broad strokes, rather than focusing on the evaluation of specific budget reduction suggestions. Trustees aligned themselves philosophically behind the idea of dipping into fund equity, a topic about which they have previously been quite split. They also discussed the budget-creation process – specifically how to engage community members most effectively and to make their input as useful as possible.

Budget Update: Using Fund Equity

Trustee Andy Thomas suggested that the board should try to meet half of its budget reduction target by reducing expenditures and enhancing revenue, but should meet the other half by taking the money out of fund equity. He noted the one-time funding AAPS received from the state to reward state-identified “best practices,” and Medicaid reimbursement as unanticipated sources of revenue that could be used to offset any budget cuts.

Thomas was clear that using fund equity would stave off the more difficult decisions only for one more year – due to the structural funding deficit facing the district. However, he said, that would give the district another year to have the kind of conversations in the community about what major things could be done, and a year to get any of those plans in motion. Optimistically, Thomas also said that there could be a change in the priorities of the governor or state legislature as Michigan’s economy continues to recover.

Trustees each expressed support for Thomas’ proposal, at least in theory. “I don’t know whether I buy into the ‘half’ formula, but I want to be supportive of using fund equity instead of trying to solve it all through revenue enhancement and expenditure cuts,” Nelson said.

Mexicotte agreed philosophically, she said, with using fund equity to give the district a “respite.” She argued, “It’s been hellacious the last couple of years and it’s just too much. Our people don’t deserve it. Our students don’t deserve it.”

Even Stead agreed, whose position on using fund equity has been among the most conservative of her colleagues. “I would be more comfortable using fund equity if we feel like we can get some political change … I’m certainly comfortable being a little more risky.” Lightfoot expressed support at Stead’s evolving position, to which Stead responded, “I’m not proud of myself.”

Budget Update: Budgeting Process

Trustee Christine Stead suggested that the board should spend the next few months working with the community to develop budget solutions specific to the areas most likely to be impacted. She noted that it would be more effective to engage the community sooner in forming partnerships rather than dealing with informing everyone over the summer of the impact of budget changes. “I think we need to fast-track [the process] and help people focus on areas we already know will be impacted,” she suggested.

Mexicotte went a step further, saying, “The community forums are not going to get us where we need to be at this point … I think we need to use to expertise we have.” She suggested that the administration was in a better position than the community to know what cuts have been made over the past few years, and to suggest how to proceed. She also suggested that it might be time to stop making incremental adjustments and instead to “make some bold moves.”

Baskett suggested changing elementary school boundaries [redistricting], or altering start times at high schools. “Everything has to be on the table,” she said. Education is not going to be the same.” Stead suggested making further cuts to athletics, and instituting a balanced calendar district-wide.

Mexicotte said she would be on board with any suggested changes that would provide a budget solution while strengthening educational outcomes. “Let’s be bold. Let’s put it all on the table – whatever it is,” she suggested. “I would like to know the very best thinking of our team … I would like to know what its worth to redistrict, to close a building … I don’t know if that’s what I want to do, but if it [leads to] better outcomes, I want to know the options.”

Mexicotte closed by asking Allen and Green if they felt they had received appropriate direction form the board, and they said they had.

Transportation

The one area in which the board did dive into budget specifics was busing. That was prompted by news that Ypsilanti and Willow Run public schools decided this week to consolidate transportation services in their districts, and put out a request for proposals (RFP) for transportation services.

Allen explained that if Ypsilanti and Willow Run quit the existing consortium of districts getting transportation services through WISD, that would would leave only AAPS in the WISD consortium.  That would significantly increase management costs that have, up to now, been shared by the members of the corsortium. He also noted that there has been a lot of talk at the state level about the possibility of consolidating school districts. Green suggested that merging transportation operations may be the first step toward a broader consolidation of Ypsilanti and Willow Run.

Transportation: Board Response to Ypsi/Willow

Trustees asked why Willow Run and Ypsilanti public schools made the decision to band together, with an eye to withdrawing from the WISD consortium. WISD assistant superintendent for business services Brian Marcel responded that both districts are under a lot of financial stress and are likely trying to be sure they do their due diligence. He noted that if the WISD responds to the joint RFP put out by Willow Run and Ypsilanti, it would be “competing against ourselves.”

Trustee Glenn Nelson added that he thought the Ypsilanti/Willow Run RFP was motivated by a desire to privatize services in order to get out from under the state retirement system mandate, which is rising to an employer contribute rate of 27% of total salaries. Nelson suggested that the board should explore whether AAPS could join the RFP process. Nelson said that privatizing transportation services – with or without Ypsilanti and Willow Run – would yield significant savings, though he said he was not necessarily advocating for that.

Mexicotte said that it distressed her that Willow Run and Ypsilanti “did not make a phone call to say they were going to do an RFP.” Trustee Susan Baskett agreed, likening the situation to AAPS “getting dumped at the prom.” Mexicotte reiterated how AAPS had decided to stay in the WISD consortium even when all but three districts pulled out because AAPS was the “linchpin” needed to make it work for the other districts. “I’m trying desperately to hang onto a top-drawer educational system, and I feel like at every turn we are being thwarted,” Mexicotte said. She suggested considering taking buses and drivers back within AAPS, or alternately, cutting busing entirely.

Marcel said the WISD has tried to be responsive to AAPS, and that it was not a fair assessment to say WISD had not addressed inefficiencies. When AAPS decided to change its overall transportation policy this year, Marcel said, “that changed everything.”

Transportation: Evaluation of WISD Transportation Services

Trustees Simone Lightfoot and Christine Stead expressed concerns that the board has not been given a requested update on operational statistics from the WISD. The operational stats would include a detailed breakdown of on-time arrivals and departures, and accidents/incidents. Marcel said the WISD has provided the board with a financial report, and will be undertaking a customer satisfaction survey of parents in the spring.

Stead said continuing to receive transportation services from the WISD wouldn’t be compelling if two of the three districts pulled out of the consortium. She added that the operational statistics were necessary to decide if AAPS should continue to work with the WISD on transportation. Lightfoot agreed, saying that the spring was too late to receive this information.

Mexicotte suggested to Marcel that he meet with trustees one-on-one to address their frustrations. She noted that the board has made “numerous” requests for information from the WISD that it has not received.

Transportation: Special Education Busing

Thomas wondered whether AAPS would leave special education busing in the hands of the WISD regardless of what it decides to do regarding general education busing. Allen said that was definitely a conversation that should happen, and noted that the fact that special education buses carry low numbers of students to central locations makes the consolidation of those services particularly appealing.

Transportation: AATA

Lightfoot strongly advocated subsidizing the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority to bus AAPS students rather than eliminating busing entirely. “AATA is thinking about its role,” she said. “We have a responsibility to work across government entities for the benefit of taxpayers.” [Lightfoot was one of 39 people who spoke at a public hearing on transportation held at a meeting of the Ann Arbor city council on Jan. 23. In her remarks, she encouraged increased collaboration between AAPS and AATA.]

Lightfoot also said she leaned toward supporting AATA rather than the WISD – because the AATA is in the business of providing transportation. She suggested that the AAPS could subsidize student bus passes, and that it’s important to give the community options, if AAPS eliminates busing entirely.

Baskett noted that if AAPS eliminates busing, many students will look to AATA to provide that transportation, and suggested that AAPS should give AATA a “heads up.”

Stead expressed concern with working with AATA while the transit authority is in the midst of a major transition to a countywide model. She noted that while Ann Arbor will still hold nearly half the seats on the restructured AATA board [7 of 15], it would not have a majority. Green agreed, saying that coordinating student transportation with AATA “is not as easy as it sounds, [and] … cannot happen on a short turnaround at all.”

Thomas noted that the basic problem with using AATA buses for students as he saw it was that AATA routes are “spokes of a wheel… intended to bring riders downtown, not to distribute people around the edge of the wheel.” Lightfoot said that AATA could be used to work in certain areas or at certain times of day, but Stead countered that AAPS cannot offer busing inequitably within student groups.

Nelson stated that there are models for this sort of cooperation, such as in Madison, Wisconsin. The strongest argument against the idea that it’s too hard, he said, is that this model works in other places.

Preschool/Headstart Update

Michelle Pogliano and Kecia Rorie – principal and vice-principal, respectively, of the district’s Preschool and Family Center – gave their annual report to the board outlining the various programs and services serving the youngest AAPS learners. The preschool serves children and their families from birth to five through four main programs – Head Start, the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP), Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE), and Early On. Children can qualify for services in a variety of ways – based on low income, being “at-risk of school failure,” or having developmental delays or special needs.

Pogliano explained the impact on the preschool of Washtenaw County’s decision to relinquish management of the federal Head Start grant. At this time, she said, a request for proposals (RFP) has not yet been issued for another entity to take over Head Start, but it is anticipated that the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD) will submit a proposal to become the new grantee. If local management of Head Start shifts to the WISD as anticipated, Pogliano said, AAPS preschool will remain a “delegate site” and the program’s structure will remain the same.

Nelson noted that Head Start’s grantee is required to make a 25% match of federal funding for program costs. He expressed concern about how that will play out. He questioned what the WISD would have to cut in order to provide the matching Head Start funds, which he estimated to be about $400,000.

Stead pointed out that federal funding is also likely to decrease over the next ten years, leading to a cumulative reduction that could have a serious impact on the ability of Head Start to be sustainable. Lightfoot agreed, saying that she feared the program might be phased out all together.

Trustees praised the preschool staff members for their dedication, and expressed their support for the preschool, regardless of what happens to federal Head Start funding. Pogliano said the new grantee should be in place by April.

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Assessment

AAPS deputy superintendent of instruction Alesia Flye, director of instructional technology Anne Reader, and director of student accounting, testing, and administrative support Jane Landefeld updated the board on the implementation of the Northwest Evaluation Association’s (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment in the district this fall.

The board approved the purchase of the MAP in May 2011. It is an adaptive, computerized assessment of math and reading skills. The MAP is currently being administered to all AAPS students in grades K-5 and K-8 students at Ann Arbor Open at Mack and the Scarlett-Mitchell campus. It’s administered three times a year – in September, January, and May.

At the Jan. 25 COTW meeting, both Flye and superintendent Patricia Green acknowledged that the rollout of the new assessment tool had been rocky, but that staff is now more comfortable with it.

Green said there was a time this fall when the district had to decide whether to follow through with using the MAP. “There were complications with the implementation due to our archaic technology… It became a real nightmare,” Green said. She explained that after significant retooling of the product, by both the vendor and AAPS instructional technology department, “the glitches weren’t there this time around.”

Reader detailed how professional development has been used to teach AAPS staff how to administer the MAP, as well as how to use the data it provides. She walked the board through some examples of the reports and planning charts teachers can access, as well as how individual student data will be shared with parents. Use of student growth data among third grade teachers at Allen Elementary was highlighted.

Trustees expressed excitement about the uses of the growth-over-time data provided by the MAP, as well as the utility of looking at MAP data side-by-side with other information about students – such as classroom grades, other assessment scores, and demographic data.

Mexicotte noted that this work supports the “personalized curriculum” objective of the district’s strategic plan. Nelson and Thomas noted how MAP data can aid the district in closing the achievement gap.

Baskett requested that the information sent to parents about individual student data should be written in more user-friendly language and include suggestions on available resources for helping struggling students. Nelson agreed, saying, “If you tell someone they’ve got a problem, and don’t tell them what to do about it, you just cause stress and anxiety.” Green said that Flye has “tremendous talent” in communicating with families about student data, and that she was currently working on that.

Trustees also suggested there might be a need to increase the student accounting support staff as the district’s data management needs increase. Green agreed, “The workload is enormous.”

Agenda Planning

The board agreed to amend its meeting schedule to avoid meeting five weeks in a row – by canceling its Feb. 1 meeting, and switching the order of the next two meetings. The next regular meeting will be on Feb. 8, and a COTW meeting will be held on Feb. 15.

Present: President Deb Mexicotte, vice president Christine Stead, secretary Andy Thomas, and trustees Susan Baskett, Simone Lightfoot, and Glenn Nelson.

Absent: Treasurer Irene Patalan

Next regular meeting: Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012 at 7 p.m. at the downtown branch of the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave. [confirm date]

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Simone Lightfoot and Andy Thomas raise their right hands as they're sworn in at the Jan. 18, 2012 AAPS board meeting. They were both re-elected to the board last November. Sitting between them is board member Glenn Nelson. (Photo by the writer.)

Also at the meeting, the board handled myriad internal board organizational issues, typical for the board’s first meeting after the start of the term for newly elected members.

After a 15-minute delay coming out of an executive session, the AAPS board launched into its first meeting of the new year, beginning with trustees Simone Lightfoot and Andy Thomas taking their oaths of office after winning re-election this past November. Though elected to four-year terms, both trustees will likely serve the board through 2016 – in five-year terms – due to recent state legislation mandating that school board elections take place only in even-numbered Novembers.

The board’s first order of business was to elect its officers. Three of the four board officer positions were uncontested re-elections, and were approved unanimously – Deb Mexicotte as president, Irene Patalan as treasurer, and Andy Thomas as secretary. But Christine Stead was elected vice-president by a 5-2 vote over Susan Baskett, who had previously held the position. Baskett and trustee Simone Lightfoot dissented. The four officers took their oaths of office, and Mexicotte appointed Lightfoot as board parliamentarian.

AAPS deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen gave the board a summary of the state revenue consensus conference held last week, including his assessment that nothing he heard indicated that the district’s per-pupil funding would increase, despite a surplus in the state School Aid Fund.

Allen’s report prompted the board to direct AAPS superintendent Patricia Green and her staff to explore taking legal action against the state for misapplying School Aid Fund revenue.

Also at the meeting, the board reviewed and made some minor adjustments to its internal administration, including: a list of designated board associations; representation on administrative committees; time limits; meeting schedule; voting order; communication procedures; and committee structure.

Receiving an initial discussion by the board was the length of board terms,  as new state law governing board of education elections takes effect.  The board also gave initial discussion to the possibility of using BoardDocs, an electronic system of board document management, to organize board informational materials. Both of those items will return to the board for more discussion and a decision at the next regular board meeting.

Budget Update

As AAPS deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen approached the podium to give the board a budget update, AAPS superintendent Patricia Green thanked him for his dedication. She pointed out that Allen had been in Lansing for two days and drove back that day to be able to update trustees directly on the outcomes of the state revenue consensus conference. The board thanked Allen for attending the conference and getting the information firsthand.

Budget Update: State Revenue Consensus Conference

Allen explained that the state revenue consensus conference brings together representatives from the state treasury department the house and state fiscal agencies – in order to see if revenue is coming into the state at projected levels. All three entities, Allen said, agree that economic conditions in Michigan are improving, with their assessment based on three main data points: (1) overall retail sales revenue is increasing; (2) vehicle sales are increasing, and (3) unemployment is trending downward.

Allen reported that the state School Aid Fund (SAF) is currently projected to end the 2011-12 school year with a surplus of either $42 million or $142 million. And if the same level of appropriations is assumed for 2012-13, the SAF will end 2012-13 with a surplus of either $122 million or $222 million. The $100 million discrepancy is due to the fact that one agency includes the $100 million that has been historically transferred from the general fund to the SAF, whereas the other two agencies do not, Allen noted.

He then pointed out that even in the best case scenario, there is still not enough money in the fund to keep school districts at the 2011-12 funding level. That’s because in addition to SAF appropriations, this year school districts were also offered an additional $300 million in the form of retirement rate offsets and “best practices” incentive funding. Unless those offsets and/or incentives are offered again, even a $222 million projected surplus would not be enough to maintain current funding levels.

Allen also pointed out that a $400 million surplus in the SAF last year was distributed to community colleges and universities – even though Proposal A made it clear that such funding was supposed to be used only for K-12 education, he said.

Budget Update: AAPS Budget Considerations and Projections

Allen then reviewed how the state revenue conference projections affected the budget for AAPS. Based on what he had heard over the past two days, AAPS will still be facing a $14 million budget deficit for 2012-13. Allen then highlighted two specific considerations: the effect of the state-mandated employer retirement contributions; and the proposition of moving to all-day kindergarten throughout the district.

Allen reviewed the rising cost of funding the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS), which will cost the district more than a 27% surcharge on employee salaries by 2012-13. He noted that the state is aware of the crisis, and has tried to mandate a shift in employee retirement plans from defined benefit plans to blended defined benefit/defined contributions plans. However, such a shift has faced legal challenges from teachers’ unions. Allen also pointed out that the state has $133 million in a reserve fund – which could be used to offset the retirement costs. But there has been no indication from the state about how that fund will be allocated.

Allen then reviewed pending legislation for next school year that will reduce the foundation allowance for half-day kindergarten students by 50%. Therefore, he said, AAPS is studying the costs and benefits of moving to a full-day program for all kindergarten students. [Currently, the district offers a range of kindergarten options, including both full and half day programs, depending on the demographics of each elementary school.] Green added that she will be bringing a recommendation to the board regarding all-day kindergarten as soon as possible after an administrative group concludes its study of the issue on Jan. 30.

Budget Update: Exploration of Potential Legal Action

Trustee Christine Stead expressed her frustration with the state’s appropriation of School Aid Fund surplus to institutions of higher education, saying, “I know there was some small clause in Proposal A that could be seen as allowing this in certain circumstances, but the spirit of the law has been violated in every way.” She suggested that that board direct AAPS administration to explore taking legal action against the state for its misuse of the SAF. “Time has come and gone for this.” she argued, “At what point do we say enough is enough?”

Lightfoot and Baskett responded to Stead’s suggestion with clear support. Nelson, Thomas, and Patalan were also supportive, but expressed concern about the allocation of AAPS resources to what could be a lengthy legal fight. Nelson suggested that if an initial exploration shows that a lawsuit would not pan out, AAPS could still address the issue by “going the political route.”

Mexicotte said she would be interested in finding out what the district’s legal prospects would be, and reminded the board that AAPS was a party to a set of lawsuits in the late 1990s [Durant v. State of Michigan] that succeeded in returning special education funding to local districts. “It is not without precedence that we have worked with other local districts and succeeded,” she said.

Consent Agenda Approved

The Jan. 18 consent agenda contained two items that were discussed as second briefing items – AAPS Educational Foundation Grant Awards, and the newly-crafted, district-wide Board Policy #6160 (Fines and Obligations). The first quarter financial report, minutes approvals, and gift offers were also on the consent agenda, but elicited no discussion.

Consent Agenda: Foundation Grant Awards

AAPS Educational Foundation (AAPSEF) executive director Wendy Correll came to the podium and offered to answer any questions trustees had about the set of grants being approved. She noted that the AAPSEF had just received an additional grant to fund a position currently held by Azibo Stevens, the district’s liaison to the Washtenaw Intermediate School District’s Education Project for Homeless Youth (EPHY), since state and federal funding for the position had “dried up.”

Lightfoot asked how many homeless students are part of AAPS, and Correll told her it was in the high 300s. Green added that a recent study suggested there could be as many as 140 additional students who have not yet been identified as homeless. Lightfoot said she would interested in a presentation from Stevens on the state of homelessness and truancy in the district. Mexicotte added that “educational neglect” is a related issue, and agreed it would be useful to have Stevens clarify the responsibilities of the district and the WISD as they relate to these students.

Consent Agenda: Fines and Obligations Policy

Mexicotte noted that many aspects of the regulations surrounding this policy were discussed at the board’s first briefing, but reminded everyone that the board only has purview over the policy itself. In that vein, she said, she suggested amending the policy by adding the following sentence to the end of the policy as a separate paragraph, to address the board’s main concern about the issue:

At no time shall a student be denied access to educational facilities or resources directly related to the free and appropriate public education of that student pending the resolution of outstanding fines or obligations.

Mexicotte also responded to some concerns of board members that the charge on returned materials should reflect the condition of the materials when lent. She reviewed than fines should be levied on students only outside of what would be considered “normal wear and tear.” Green added that with a policy in place, she was confident that school administrators would be able to achieve consistency in the application of this policy.

Outcome: The consent agenda was approved unanimously.

Board Organization

Every January the board reviews its internal organizational structure and procedures, and makes amendments if desired. At the Jan. 18 meeting, trustees reviewed and made some minor adjustments to various aspects of the board’s internal administration, including: time limits; list of designated board associations; representation on administrative committees; voting order; communication procedures; and committee structure. Three students spoke at public commentary regarding the board’s designation of the Youth Senate as one of its associations.

Board Organization: Time Limits

Mexicotte noted the last regular board meeting, which adjourned just after 2:00 a.m., included some discussion about doing business that late:  Was it in the best interest of the district or the trustees? She requested that trustees either acknowledge that meeting with unlimited discussion time may mean that board business takes a long time to complete, or agree to limit meeting length.

Thomas said he has felt somewhat stung by criticism regarding the length of board meetings, and offered to write guidelines that the board could adopt as policy in order to “eliminate redundancies” in discussion. Patalan advocated instead for greater self-regulation by trustees. Nelson suggested that a greater use of the parliamentary procedure of “calling the question” would lead to a heightened consciousness of time.

Lightfoot countered that she was concerned with discussion being cut off prematurely. She also expressed concern with the “I-know-where-you’re-going-with-this sentiment” she often hears at the table, “because you don’t know necessarily” where discussion is headed, she said. “We have a loaded agenda. There is not a whole lot of fat to get rid of.” If anything, Lightfoot said, the board should consider limiting its agenda, but not its discussion.

Mexicotte summarized the time limits discussion by saying that she had not heard any consensus on changing the board’s practice of speaking as long as it takes and giving all items the time they need to be resolved, while maintaining the option of calling the question to a vote. “Am I hearing this correctly?” she asked. “No change is basically what I’m hearing.”

Patalan disagreed, saying that simply the fact that the board discussed this issue would have an impact. She pointed out that not every board member had commented on every item thus far in the Jan. 18 meeting.

Thomas agreed with Mexicotte, saying, “I heard what you heard. What I heard was that the board has no problem with going on until one or two in the morning on a regular basis, and that there is no sentiment to do anything on a concerted basis to control our time management. If that’s the will of the board, I can stay up just as long as the rest of you. However, I wanted to bring forward some concerns.”

Mexicotte summarized the bottom line as she saw it on time limits: “What I want to affirm here is that if we decide we are going to talk as long as it takes on these very substantial matters, that we have a shared agreement that if a vote comes at 1:30 [a.m.], that’s when it comes, and that it’s not a fault of the process.”

Outcome: Trustees agreed they would not add time limits to their discussions, or limit the length of their meetings.

Board Organization: Public Comment on Youth Senate

Members of the district’s Youth Senate voiced their concerns about the board’s reconsideration of its associations. AAPS student Aoxue Tang said they applauded the board’s interest in expanding student engagement, but said it this effort should not compromise the board’s partnership with the Youth Senate.

Another student, Keely Earhardt, added that the process of involving students “should not move backward.” She noted that one advantage of allowing the Youth Senate as a board association is that it represents all high school students. Earhardt argued that if representatives from individual high schools are invited to present to the board, student voice becomes “competitive and fragmented.”

Public commentary on the Youth Senate was concluded by a student, Priya Menon, who reviewed the successes of Youth Senate initiatives in individual high schools. She highlighted ways the Youth Senate has strengthened student voice and opened up dialogue between students and administration.

Board Organization: Designated Board Associations

The board reviewed its designated associations. Currently, the board allows six groups to offer reports at all regular board meetings – the Ann Arbor Education Association (AAEA), Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee on Special Education (AAPAC), the Ann Arbor Administrators Association (AAAA), the Parent-Teacher-Organization Council (PTOC), the Black Parents Student Support Group (BPSSG), and the Youth Senate.

There was some disagreement about whether to continue to invite the AAAA to report to the board – because the group sends a representative to the board less frequently than other groups. However, it was generally agreed that without a policy governing required attendance, the door should be left open to the AAAA.

Trustees also discussed the possibility of allowing other bargaining units – in addition to the AAEA – to report to the board, perhaps in a rotating system of one or two association seats at each meeting.

The broader inclusion of student voice was also discussed, with multiple trustees giving accolades to the Youth Senate, as well as to AAPS assistant superintendent of secondary education Joyce Hunter – for working with the high schools to prepare a schedule for high school representatives to the report to the board. Lightfoot said she wanted to “reassure the Youth Senate that it was because they did so well that we wanted to hear from others, too.” She also said she would like to hear from a wide range of students, including those “standing in the [achievement] gap.”

Mexicotte suggested the board hold a broader discussion on its designated associations in the committee of the whole, addressing the schedule of speakers and attendance rules, as well as possible time frames and topic lists for speaking.

Outcome: The board voted to continue to invite the AAEA, AAPAC, AAAA, PTOC, BPSSG, and Youth Senate to make regular reports the board, along with additional representatives from each of the six high schools, on a rotating schedule to be determined by the board’s committee of the whole.

Board Organization: Administrative Committee Assignments

Board discussion about administrative committee assignments centered on two external groups – the Washtenaw Association of School Boards Legislative Relations Network (WASB LRN), and the city/schools committee.

Nelson informed the board that the WASB LRN position is likely to be different in the future due to the newly forming Washtenaw Alliance for Education. That’s a group designated by the WASB board of directors. The WAE would contain 33 people – two board members and the superintendent from each of the ten member districts of the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD), and from the WISD itself. If approved by member districts, Nelson said, the WAE would provide way to influence legislation at the state level in a timely fashion. The group plans to meet monthly on Tuesdays at 6 p.m.

Once the WAE is officially formed, the WASB LRN would essentially “hibernate,” Nelson explained. AAPS superintendent Patricia Green added that the model of a county-wide legislative advocacy group was used very successfully in Pennsylvania, where she has worked previously. Nelson closed by saying that the creation of the Alliance will not eliminate the need for local boards to act on their own, but should build on local action rather than supplant it.

The city/schools committee has not met in several years. Baskett noted that she has gotten a sense that the hesitation in meeting has not come from the city council or city administration side, but from the side of AAPS. Given this, Baskett questioned whether the city/schools committee will be viable.

Stead confirmed that she had recently spoken to city council members Sabra Briere and Jane Lumm at an event, and that they had each expressed interest in working more closely with the school board. Mexicotte confirmed that trustees were intent on reviving the defunct committee, and suggested that trustees reach out to make the invitation to city council members, and to the mayor’s office within 60 days. Nelson added that the city/schools committee should communicate with the recreation advisory committee, which maintains an active discussion among city and school representatives.

With input from the trustees, Mexicotte then made the following appointments:

• Lightfoot and Stead to the expulsion hearing/grade change/reinstatement panel;
• Baskett, Patalan, and Stead to the city/schools committee;
• Nelson to the recreation advisory committee;
• Patalan to the celebration of excellence committee;
• Mexicotte to the transportation safety committee;
• Thomas to the AAPS Educational Foundation as a board member;
• Lightfoot to the Youth Senate (if requested);
• Baskett to Health Place 101 [part of the University of Michigan Regional Alliance for Healthy Schools];
• Nelson to the Washtenaw Association of School Boards as a district board representative;
• Stead to the Washtenaw Association of School Boards Legislative Relations Network; and
• Lightfoot to the Michigan Association of School Boards Legislative Relations Network.

Outcome: The board agreed to renew the charge of the City-Schools committee, and all trustees agreed to their individual appointments, as listed above.

Board Organization: Meeting Schedule

As a way to make more efficient use of meeting time, the board considered expanding its summer meeting schedule. “Maybe we’re not on an agrarian schedule any more either,” Mexicotte suggested.

Trustees agreed that summer meetings could be used to do policy work, textbook adoptions, supply approvals, and hearing from summer school students, among other business. There was also agreement that not all seven trustees were needed, if vacation schedules prevented it, but that meeting more over the summer could allow trustees to off-load some of the work usually addressed during the school year.

Patalan noted that all of the committee of the whole (COTW) meetings were scheduled to take place at the Balas Administration building, and suggested holding them at various school buildings instead. The board expressed support for the idea.

Mexicotte requested that trustees submit their summer schedules to Osinski as soon as possible, and that Osinski put forth a board meeting schedule for the remainder of the 2012 calendar year within two regular board meetings.

Outcome: The board voted to meet twice in July and August – one regular meeting and one COTW meeting, and to relocate COTW meetings to school buildings.

Board Organization: Voting Order

Mexicotte noted that at the previous board meeting, a trustee questioned why the board always voted in alphabetical order. She asked trustees to consider whether they wanted to revise this past practice.

Nelson, Stead, and Baskett said they preferred board secretary Amy Osinski to read trustees’ names in a random order for every roll call vote. As a rationale for his opinion, Nelson offered, “Those who vote later in the process know things that others in the beginning did not know. That’s an obvious difference.” However, he also pointed out, “One can argue that it’s good to vote early because you can be such a strong influence on the group.” Stead said simply that voting in random order would make trustees focus more on their own votes.

Thomas, Lightfoot, and Patalan expressed interest in maintaining the board practice of taking roll call votes in alphabetical order. Thomas noted that he thought the decision was a “pretty trivial” one.

Mexicotte then said she was inclined to continue voting in alphabetical order because for her, “random is just too random – we just have [Osinski] tossing darts.” She suggested maintaining an order, but switching to reverse alphabetical. Trustees agreed to vote in reverse alphabetical order.

Referencing the board’s earlier decision not to limit discussion, Thomas noted, “If there is any doubt why our meetings last until 2 am, the last 15 minutes should provide ample explanation.”

Outcome: The board agreed to vote in reverse alphabetical order.

Board Organization: Communication Procedures

The board reviewed its internal communication procedures, as well as how it communicates with the AAPS administration and the community as a whole.

No changes were made to the board’s internal communication, except that some trustees requested a phone call from board secretary Amy Osinski regarding urgent matters – because they are not in continuous e-mail contact.

Trustees then discussed their relatively new process of making superintendent Patricia Green the single point of contact between the board and AAPS administrators and staff. That was something they had agreed to at their first committee of the whole meeting this fall. Thomas, Stead, Patalan, and Nelson reported that the process is working well for them, but Lightfoot and Baskett disagreed.

Lightfoot argued that with Green as the gatekeeper, “All seven [trustees] are not getting the same access to the cabinet.” Baskett also questioned the timeliness of having to wait for a reply via Green when in the past, she has been able to call specific cabinet members directly with a question.

Green clarified that it is best practice for all communication between trustees and top administrators to go through her, but that there is no prohibition against trustees contacting staff with specific questions. She noted that her cabinet has come back to her since the board began instituting this new process and reported how much better smoother and better this has been. “We have to avoid fragmentation,” Green said. “We have to work [trustees’] questions into the work flow, and can’t answer every question quickly.”

Mexicotte said she was concerned about the perception of unequal access to the cabinet, but suggested that when fielding constituents’ questions, trustees could refer them to AAPS staff or administrators directly. Lightfoot called that approach “a luxury,” and suggested that in some communities, referring constituents to the superintendent instead of answering their questions directly would be interpreted by the constituents as “putting them off.”

Patalan suggested the alternative of simply telling constituents it may take a while to get an answer for them. Lightfoot responded to Patalan’s suggestion by saying that would work for her better than telling a constituent to call someone else. Nelson also answered that if the superintendent does not grant a trustee access to her staff for whatever reason, the trustee always has the recourse of bringing the issue up at a board meeting. “If I can get a majority,” he explained as an example, “I can change that answer.”

Board Organization: Committee Structure

The board considered creating two board-level task forces or ad-hoc committees – one to focus on the technology bond and one to focus on legislative advocacy – but in the end decided not to create either one.

Regarding the upcoming technology bond millage campaign, Mexicotte noted that Stead and Nelson had already been in touch with the Citizens’ Millage Committee (CMC). Baskett asked for information on the work on the committee, and a list of its members.

Nelson explained that a similar group of people has come together to form the CMC during the past few AAPS millage campaigns, and that the CMC will function as the campaign’s advocacy arm. Because the district is legally prohibited from advocating for a “yes” vote on the millage, the CRC complements the internal group of AAPS administrators who are responsible for assessing the district’s technology needs, researching costs, and deciding how to make the most of any bond money approved by the voters.

Nelson named James Corey, Donna Lasinski, Steve Norton, Amy Pachera, Laurie Barnett, and Margy Long as some of the CMC members, but said he was sure he had forgotten some other names.

Trustees decided not to form a board-level technology bond committee, but to support the work of the CMC as well as the AAPS administrative group working on the issue. “It sounds like we have a strong role to play as advocates,” Mexicotte said.

Regarding the possibility of a legislative advocacy committee, the board decided to table the formation of such a committee pending the creation of the Washtenaw Alliance for Education [described above]. Trustees agreed that the WAE was worth their investment of time, but noted that, if necessary, they would revisit forming an AAPS legislative advocacy committee in the future.

Length of Board Terms

The board briefly discussed a first briefing item that would lengthen the term of board trustees to six years instead of four. The idea was suggested in response to recent state legislation requiring school boards to hold elections only in even-numbered Novembers. In AAPS, this will mean that a majority of the board (4 members) will be up for consideration in every other election. This would allow for a shift in the majority, unless the board votes to change the length of its own terms.

Board members did a quick straw poll on the issue, with the majority expressing an interest in maximizing board continuity while allowing the voters as much control as possible. Thomas noted that having six-year terms might increase the number of trustee resignations in the middle of a term, so it may be better to stick with four-year terms and risk that a majority of the board would turn over in one year. Mexicotte noted that six-year terms might set the bar too high for people to run.

Lightfoot said she trusts the voters, and that they should be able to vote people out in four years. Baskett was blunt, “Six years is just plain crazy … This is a volunteer position.”

Trustees noted that they would be interested in receiving feedback from the community on the issue before voting on it at the next regular meeting.

Outcome: The issue of board term lengths will come up for more discussion and a vote at the board’s next regular meeting.

BoardDocs: Electronic Document Management

The board had discussed moving to BoardDocs – a “paperless governing solution” – at its retreat in July 2011. At the Jan. 18 meeting, the board held a first briefing and discussion about BoardDocs.

The board packet contained a memo from board secretary Amy Osinski recommending that the board adopt BoardDocs, a paperless, electronic document management system.

Lightfoot and Thomas expressed their preference for hard copies, but said they could print the board packets out. Patalan and Baskett also expressed mixed feelings about the prospect of moving to a paperless system. Patalan acknowledged that she believes some aspects of BoardDocs would be very beneficial, such as transparency, the ease of updating policy, and being able to link to other districts.

Baskett suggested that the board would need to explore what to do to ensure connectivity, such as purchasing a computer for Osinski that could be used as a connectivity hub, or “hot spot.”  Baskett also said that she herself would require a “live body” next to her to help for the first couple of meetings, but that she thought it was important for the board to be a role model using technology – “it’s about time,” she said.

Lightfoot asked how much the district would really save, if confidential board packets are still to be printed and delivered by courier. Osinski replied that there are only a handful of confidential packets each year, and that the copy company can deliver them instead of a courier. She also noted that the cost of policy books and other large copy orders would be significantly reduced.

Osinski said overall, she expects the time savings to be huge. Although there are initial costs, BoardDocs would be worth pursing for efficiency, she said. BoardDocs would save the district approximately $4,000 to $5,000 per year in printing costs, she said.

Thomas reviewed the proposed costs as outlined in the board packet. If AAPS makes a five-year agreement with BoardDocs, the cost will be $9,000 per year, which would include maintenance, support, installation, training, upgrades, and customization. The annual cost would increase for shorter agreements, and all require a $1,000 implementation fee.

Osinski noted that BoardDocs has only “gone down” once in 11 years, and that the district would be reimbursed for the time when the system was down, if it ever happened again.

Mexicotte noted that her concern about moving to BoardDocs was about eye contact and meeting management. “I struggle with the laptop format in a meeting like this because you’ve got your nose in it and you’re behind a screen,” she said. Thomas said that trustees would be able to see each other’s faces over the screen, and pointed out how everyone could see the faces of the media representatives even though they were using laptops at the meeting. He joked that the greater concern might be whether trustees were really looking at the web pages they were supposed to be looking at during meetings.

Baskett suggested including corollary costs in the second briefing discussion, including any additional costs for ensuring connectivity.

Outcome: The question of moving to the BoardDocs paperless document management system will be reviewed at second briefing and voted on at the next regular board meeting.

Public Comment: Hiring

Jim Turner spoke of his disappointment about the board’s recent hiring actions. “I have never seen a bigger display of arrogance … You don’t know everything, and you just decide what’s best … You don’t listen to what people have to say … I don’t believe you’re looking out for kids…You don’t care about what the people in the district want.”  [Turner may have been alluding to the board's recent decision to award a bid for HVAC journeyman services to D.M. Burr, a non-union company in Flint, MI.]

Awards and Accolades

In honor of National School Board Week, Joe De Marsh, conductor of the Tappan Middle School chamber orchestra recognized the work of the trustees. His students then played three selections for the board.

Superintendent’s Report

Green thanked the local chapter of The Links for recently sponsoring “Beyond the Bricks,” a media project and opportunity for national community engagement on the consistently low performance and graduation rates of black males. She noted that AAPS assistant superintendent for secondary education Joyce Hunter had moderated a panel discussion after the film, and that the event had been very enlightening.

Green also offered congratulations to various schools, students, and staff members for exemplary work across the district, and the receipt of awards throughout the state. She also praised many of the community services projects recently undertaken by AAPS students and staff.

Finally, Green recognized the trustees for their work as part of school board appreciation month, and offered them certificates of gratitude. “I think it’s important that the conversations you all have are genuine and that they represent who you are,” Green said. “It’s because of what you do that we appreciate the results of what you do.”

Student Discipline

Based on the board’s earlier hearing, held in closed session, Mexicotte said, she moved to expel Student A from AAPS as required by the state of Michigan and board of education policy. Her motion was seconded by Stead.

Baskett noted that the board usually puts a time limit on its disciplinary actions, and Mexicotte said the action would be for 180 days. She also noted that in the hearing the board had requested that the educational needs of the student would be supported by referral to alternative education.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved the expulsion of Student A.

Acceptance of Canvassers Report

On Nov. 8, 2011, voters in the AAPS district voted to re-elect Simone Lightfoot and Andy Thomas to four-year terms.

Outcome: With no discussion, the board voted to unanimously accept the canvassers report from the November 2011 board election.

Agenda Planning

Mexicotte noted that she would add an agenda item regarding homelessness, truancy, and how the district interacts with the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD) on such matters. She also reminded board members that the next committee of the whole (COTW) meeting was next week, and that the February meetings are taking place on a condense schedule due to mid-winter break.

Lightfoot questioned the achievement update’s place on the board calendar in March and asked if it had changed. Green answered that no, it had always been planned for March.

Items from the Board

Stead encouraged her colleagues to sign up for the inaugural Ann Arbor marathon being held on June 17, 2012. She noted that they would have a full six months to train, and urged, “This is do-able!”

Stead also announced the upcoming Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad, the largest event of its kind in the nation.

Thomas invited the board and public to a performance this week of Life Sciences orchestra, in which Thomas plays the viola. He pointed out that this concert is geared to a younger audience, and will include an “instrument petting zoo” sponsored by Shar Music. The concert will be held at 4 p.m. on Sun. Jan. 22, 2012 at Hill auditorium, and is free.

Baskett invited everyone to an event on Mon. Jan 23 co-hosted by the local Student Advocacy Center and the ACLU. Saying it would be a forum to talk about student rights and responsibilities as they deal with expulsions, Baskett said the event would be “packed full of information.” The event will be held at the Peace Neighborhood Center from 6-8 p.m., and an RSVP is requested to attend:

Mexicotte noted that the WISD would be running a workshop on superintendent evaluations from 8:30-11:30 a.m. on Sat. Feb. 18 to bring the ten county districts together.

Present: President Deb Mexicotte, vice president Christine Stead, secretary Andy Thomas, treasurer Irene Patalan, and trustees Susan Baskett, Simone Lightfoot, and Glenn Nelson.

Next regular meeting: Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, at 7 p.m. at the downtown branch of the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave. [confirm date]

Union members in the audience of the Dec. 14 AAPS board meeting. (Photos by the writer.)

Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education meeting (Dec. 14, 2011) Part 2: AAPS board of education trustees approved a contract with D.M. Burr, a Flint company, for heating, cooling, and ventilation services. Many local union members attended the meeting and spoke in opposition of the bid award to a non-local, non-unionized company.

At the opening of the Dec. 14, 2011 board meeting, board president Deb Mexicotte requested a moment of silence to acknowledge the recent loss of two students. Mariel Almendras, a second grader at Dicken, died of complications related to a rare ovarian cancer. Lucina Partis, an 11th grader at Skyline, died of accidental drowning in a bathtub in her home.

The final board meeting of 2011 also saw debate on a new state mandate to change board election dates to November in even-numbered years.

The board also discussed a number of first briefing items, and held discussion on minor resolutions.

Agenda Approval

Near the beginning of the Dec. 14 meeting, a review of the meeting’s agenda included a change proposed by trustee Andy Thomas to combine two agenda items: (1)  an informational presentation and board discussion on local contracting; (2) and the second briefing on the awarding of a contract for HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) journeyman services. It was also agreed to move the second briefing items earlier on the agenda, to accommodate the large number of community members in attendance with interest in the journeyman contract.

HVAC Journeyman Bid Award

At the Nov. 30, 2011 regular board meeting, the board had considered as a second briefing a bid to contract with D.M. Burr of Flint, Mich., for 2,000 hours of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) journeyman services. The board typically sees resolutions twice – at a first briefing and at a second briefing, with a final vote taken at the second briefing.

However, on Nov. 30 the board voted to postpone the decision on the D.M. Burr contract. Trustees wanted additional information to be brought to the board’s Dec. 14 meeting by AAPS executive director of physical properties Randy Trent. Local union officials, including the president of the AAPS teachers’ union, spoke early in the meeting in opposition to awarding the bid to D.M. Burr.

HVAC Journeyman Bid Award: Public Commentary

Four local skilled trades workers addressed the board about their opposition to awarding the HVAC journeyman services bid to D.M. Burr.

Tom Yax, representing local plumbers and pipefitters, noted that all but one of D.M. Burr’s contracts with schools are to provide cleaning or maintenance services, not HVAC services. He also said that D.M. Burr has posted a job offer for this position, which says they need someone ASAP. Yax pointed out that more than five other contractors had bid on this, and urged the board to reconsider those bids. He closed with a quote he attributed to Benjamin Franklin: “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”

Jim Burns said he represented approximately 10,000 members and their families from the Washtenaw County skilled building trades. He passed out literature from the 2004 and 2008 sinking fund millage campaigns, and noted that local skilled tradesmen had supported these millages, with the understanding that they would be supported in return. Burns also pointed out that the board did not have a policy on paying prevailing wage, and suggested that such a policy should be crafted.

During clarification on public commentary, trustee Glenn Nelson checked his understanding that the money for the HVAC journeyman would come from the general fund, not the sinking fund, and AAPS superintendent Patricia Green confirmed that was correct.

Ken Wadland, a local electrician, reminded the board that they are representing the school system as an employer, and urged trustees to look at the “total value” of a contract like this. Saying he can relate to the temptation to take a ridiculously low bid, Wadland said it usually turns out that those bids have a serious flaw – either the service is poor, the materials are poor, the workers not being paid well – something’s wrong.

Ron Motsinger of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union 252 distributed a picture to trustees of a part of an electrical system that was incorrectly installed, which could lead to a fire or electrocution. He asked the board to consider the risk of hiring less experienced workers to perform HVAC services. He reiterated that local skilled tradesmen go through years of an apprenticeship program and are well trained. Motsinger also urged the board to adopt a bid policy that supports local workers.

During clarification on public commentary, trustee Susan Baskett asked Trent to speak to the picture that Motsinger had distributed. Trent said that some of the AAPS buildings have been around for 100 years, and that when problems are reported, they are fixed. “With HVAC and electrical issues,” Trent said, “We have problems every day that we’re fixing.”

HVAC Journeyman Bid Award: AAEA Report

AAEA president Brit Satchwell began his regular report to board members with a plea for them to reconsider the D.M. Burr bid. Satchwell said he understood the “seductive lure” of low prices, but cautioned the board – “you usually get what you pay for.” He pointed out that D.M. Burr has just started providing HVAC services, which makes it hard to do due diligence on determining if they are fully qualified for this job.

Satchwell noted that his father had designed bids in his professional career, and that his father had always advised to just throw out the outliers – bids at the high and low end – saying that the value was somewhere in the middle. “With such a short, non-existent track record,” Satchwell said, “it sounds to me like a roll of the dice.” He suggested that the board should instead hire experienced, local, trustworthy workers who have supported the school system and community year in and year out.

HVAC Journeyman Bid Award: Staff Report

AAPS executive director of physical properties Randy Trent came to the podium prepared to answer questions on a bid recommendation for HVAC journeyman services. At the Nov. 30 regular meeting, trustees had questioned whether D.M. Burr, the administration’s recommended contractor for this bid, was the right choice. Trent had come to the Dec. 14 meeting prepared to explain the rationale behind his recommendation.

Randy Trent, AAPS executive director of physical properties.

Trent went through a brief presentation that clarified that the D.M. Burr journeyman would not have farther to drive to reach Ann Arbor than the current journeyman servicing the district. He also compared the licenses and work experience of the current and proposed journeymen, in order to show that while D.M. Burr as a company may be new to providing HVAC services, the actual employee who would provide service to AAPS has had years of experience in this area and is fully licensed.

Trent reported that he had contacted 12 additional references for D.M. Burr (in addition to the three he had called initially) and that none of them had complaints. He stressed that the licensed mechanic D.M. Burr would provide is “more than capable of doing the job.” Trent added that D.M. Burr has offered to let the district out of the contract after 30 days for any reason, and that D.M. Burr is willing to adjust its bid higher “whatever the cost,” should it be the board’s desire to ensure that the workers sent to AAPS are paid prevailing wage.

Finally, Trent pointed out, “I fully understand that I work in the support area – every dollar that I can cut can go back into the classroom.” He acknowledged that the board has a difficult decision to make, especially in light of the public interest in this bid, but stood behind his recommendation to award the contract to D.M. Burr.

HVAC Journeyman Bid Award: Board Discussion – AFSCME?

Susan Baskett asked about the possibility of hiring an HVAC journeyman through the American Federation of State, County and Municipal employees (AFSCME) – the union representing current AAPS custodial and maintenance staff. She noted that doing so would actually save AAPS money, since AFSCME workers agreed to a contract last year that resulted in significant pay cuts.

Trent said that while he has been extremely proud of what the district’s custodial and maintenance staff has been able to do, that an AFSCME member could not be brought on to provide the HVAC journeyman services because it would have to be negotiated. Baskett questioned why the district did not simply invite AFSCME officials to reopen contract negotiations in order to be able to add another AFSCME member to the district’s internal staff.

Baskett pointed out that there is a history of going back to reopen specific contract items. She also asked AAPS deputy superintendent of human resources and general counsel Dave Comsa for confirmation that the district is not precluded from going back to any of its bargaining units to negotiate new positions.

Trent noted that hiring internally would be a longer-term engagement, and that it was his best judgment that the district would be better served by bidding out the HVAC services rather than “going back to AFSCME.” Comsa added that there was nothing “to [his] knowledge” precluding AAPS from reopening negotiations with AFSCME.

HVAC Journeyman Bid Award: Board Discussion – Reference Checks

Thomas thanked Trent for doing additional reference checks, and noted that it was well beyond the due diligence usually done for a bid recommendation. Thomas noted that in a list of reference check responses that Trent had prepared for the board, there were many positive references for other services D.M. Burr provided, such as janitorial and security services, but not for HVAC services.

Trent responded that there were three references for HVAC services– one from Carman Ainsworth Community Schools, one from Highland Park Independent School District, and one from a cinema. Baskett countered that in the e-mail the board received from Highland Park schools, HVAC services weren’t mentioned.

Trustees spent a few minutes reading through the references, including feedback that Trent had forwarded to them via e-mail. Simone Lightfoot thanked Trent for following up on more than three references.

HVAC Journeyman Bid Award: Board Discussion – Specific Employees

Lightfoot noted that she had recently toured some of the district’s boiler system and electrical rooms and had been impressed with the size and plethora of pipes and tubes underground and on the roofs, as well as by how much of it was unmarked. Given this, she said, she questioned how training would be done for a new individual who was wholly unfamiliar with the various systems at each AAPS building.

Trent responded that AAPS mechanical staff would work with the new person, just as they did with the current HVAC journeyman from Johnson Controls. Trent said that AAPS staff members have volunteered to come out on their own time to take the new journeyman through each of the buildings. He also noted that D.M. Burr had been given a tour of AAPS facilities when the district was previously looking at outsourcing custodial and maintenance services.

Lightfoot asked if Trent had met the actual individual to be assigned by D.M. Burr to the district, and Trent replied that he had spoken to him. She asked about that specific journeyman’s qualifications, and Trent reiterated that he holds appropriate licensure. Lightfoot asked how D.M. Burr ensures its staff’s licenses are kept current, and Trent explained that state licenses expire if required ongoing professional development is not completed.

Nelson pointed out that the D.M. Burr journeyman holds his own license, while the current Johnson Controls journeyman works under another person’s license. A union member in the audience, Andy Bronson, held up his hand and was recognized by Baskett. Bronson pointed out that he is a Johnson Controls worker who also has his own license, but Trent said Bronson’s license was not relevant – because he is not the current HVAC journeyman under discussion, to whom the potential D.M. Burr journeyman was being compared.

Lightfoot asked Trent if he was concerned that D.M. Burr had placed an ad for this a journeyman position on MLive, and Trent answered, “I am not regarding it and I would recommend that you don’t. I cannot tell you why they placed that ad. It does not concern me at all – I have the licenses of the person who will be working on our job.”

Trustee Christine Stead argued that D.M. Burr was not a qualified bidder, except for the specific journeyman. She suggested that the board should require the names of the specific employees D.M. Burr is assigning to AAPS to be listed in the contract “so there cannot be a bait and switch.” [In addition to the main journeyman, there is also a smaller, less technical maintenance position associated with the HVAC work.] Without the names included in the contract, Stead said, she would be unable to vote for the bid award.

Trustee Irene Patalan asked if an individual employee had ever been named in a bid, and asked Comsa if that was okay. Comsa said the contract can include whatever terms the board wants, including tying it to the specific individuals discussed. Lightfoot asked what happens if those people leave the company, and Comsa explained that the contract could be voided at that point. Mexicotte added that if the D.M. Burr employees were unable to fulfill their duties, the board would have full purview over their replacements.

Stead’s amendment – to tie the D.M. Burr contract to the specific employees AAPS had been offered – was amenable to the board.

HVAC Journeyman Bid Award: Board Discussion – General

Lightfoot said it was “scary” that D.M. Burr was willing to adjust its bid to “whatever the cost.” She said it seemed like a lot of work for the district. “I care that we get it right the first time,” Lightfoot asserted. “There clearly is something wrong with supporting this contract.”

Stead noted that while this is a small contract, AAPS is one of the largest businesses in the city with a budget larger than the city itself. She argued that the district needs a way to value the economic contribution of local businesses when considering bids, and said she had asked Comsa to explore some methodology to do so.

Nelson said he sees a vote for D.M. Burr as directly related to keeping class sizes lower, since the amount of savings brought by voting for this contract would roughly amount to what would be needed to hire another teacher.

Patalan commended Trent for his conscientiousness, and said he made her proud. “You answered my questions,” she said. “You looked out for the district, and you did what the board wanted you to do – to put our dollars as close as possible to the classroom while getting the best value possible.”

Baskett acknowledged that Trent’s work with the district over the years has been commendable, and apologized that she had not stated that sooner. She then listed numerous concerns regarding the D.M. Burr bid, saying that she did not think Trent would have made such a recommendation in the past.

Baskett questioned how long the D.M. Burr employee would be willing to work for such low wages and benefits, and if it will be long enough for him to become fully competent with the district’s HVAC systems. She again suggested going to AFSCME to reopen contract negotiations so someone else could be hired internally instead.

She again expressed concern that D.M. Burr was a significant outlier in terms of the other bids, and said that she did not think the board should “make even a hint of a promise” that the savings would be used to hire another teacher.

Baskett argued, “When I look at D.M. Burr, they are a generalist. I see what they’re doing – they are trying to buy their way in here.” She disagreed with Trent that the current AAPS staff would be as cordial as he is expecting to the D.M. Burr journeyman. “I don’t think the expectation Trent has of the current staff is realistic. Of course they are professional, but this person is coming in to possibly take their jobs.”

After the discussion, Baskett said, she felt even stronger in her position that D.M. Burr is not qualified.

Thomas said it had been a troubling issue to him for a number of reasons. Although he was not 100% convinced that D.M. Burr is the right choice, he was 99% convinced, and so he supported the bid recommendation.

Outcome: The HVAC journeyman services contract was awarded to D.M. Burr as proposed, with the motion to accept the contract passing 5-2. Trustees Lightfoot and Baskett dissented.

Resolution to Change Board Election Date

At 1:00 a.m., AAPS deputy superintendent of human resources and general counsel Dave Comsa brought a resolution to the board that would officially move the dates of future board elections to Novembers of even-numbered years, as Michigan law now requires.

The current election schedule for AAPS will include odd-numbered years. Deb Mexicotte’s seat is up for election in November 2012; Irene Patalan and Glenn Nelson are up for election in November 2013; Christine Stead and Susan Baskett are up for election in November 2014; and having just been re-elected last November, Simone Lightfoot and Andy Thomas will be up for election in 2015.

AAPS board members serve four-year terms. The recently passed state legislation enables local school boards to extend terms in order to comply with the law. In 2013, AAPS would likely need to extend the terms for Patalan and Nelson so that the seats could remain filled until November 2014. In a telephone interview, AAPS director of communications Liz Margolis told The Chronicle that the board does not need to act immediately – because the next scheduled election (this year) is in an even-numbered year.

Board president Deb Mexicotte pointed out that past legislation has always said that if AAPS began holding November elections, that the district would lose the right to move elections back to a different time of year in the future. Comsa pointed out that AAPS has no choice now except to hold elections in even-numbered Novembers.

Mexicotte argued that this is not a good idea, and expressed frustration that the state had “bludgeoned and coerced” districts into doing this. “It extends terms, or turns the board over in big chunks, and makes people have to run more expensively. I don’t want to pass this resolution. Sue us,” she said.

Comsa responded that it was his recommendation that the board complies with the resolution as presented. “I think you would be in a better position to adopt the resolution,” he added.

Mexicotte quipped, “Will we get more funding? Will they give us funding for mandates they are passing left and right?”

Nelson noted that while he shared Mexicotte’s frustration, he would support the resolution so that staff time and the district’s money would not be wasted fighting a lawsuit.

Thomas agreed. “We have our chief counsel telling us that it is his expert opinion that we should pass this, however distasteful this is.”

Stead noted that the cost of running will significantly shrink the field of board candidates, and asked Comsa what the ramifications would be if the board decided not to pass the resolution. Comsa said he would not speculate, adding, “I didn’t hazard that this issue might come up.”

Baskett referenced a point earlier in the meeting when Satchwell had held up a sign reading “resistance is not futile.” Patalan concurred, saying the community is not in favor of this.

Lightfoot noted that she would rather the district would protest the Race to the Top legislation, and that she would heed Comsa’s recommendation.

Baskett simply thanked Comsa for doing his job.

Outcome: By a vote of 4-3, the board voted against the resolution agreeing to hold board elections in even-numbered Novembers. Stead, Mexicotte, Baskett, and Patalan voted no. Thomas, Nelson, and Lightfoot voted yes.

After the vote, Mexicotte noted that alternate resolutions may be brought forward at a later date, and thanked trustees for their diligence in the matter.

Consent Agenda Approved

A consent agenda consisting of three main items, along with minutes approvals and gift offers, was approved unanimously by the board.

The three main items were the purchase of new sixth grade science kits, the approval of amendments to the district’s pension plans, and the approval of a resolution opposing Michigan House Bill 4770 (Public Employee Domestic Partner Benefit Restriction Act). Each item is briefly discussed below.

Consent Agenda: Sixth Grade Science Kits

At 11:45 p.m., the board opened its second briefing on the purchase of new science kits for sixth grade students. Though the science department chairperson Amy Dillar Deller was still present at the meeting, the board had no questions for her. Mexicotte said that she was impressed with Deller’s patience, and Nelson said to Deller, “Too bad you had to sit there all this time. Thank you for all your work.”

Consent Agenda: Amendment to District Pension Plans

AAPS director of finance Nancy Hoover explained that the law related to the pension plans offered by the district has changed, and asked the board to approve a resolution that authorizes the district to follow the law by amending the plans as required.

The item was presented to the board as a special briefing item, which meant that the board was giving final approval on its initial consideration of the item.

Consent Agenda:  House Bill 4770

Nelson introduced a resolution to formally oppose House Bill 4770, the Public Employee Domestic Partner Benefit Restriction Act. Though the bill had already passed both houses of the state legislature, it was awaiting Gov. Snyder’s signature at the time of the board meeting. Nelson explained that this bill would eliminate benefits for same-sex couples, and argued, “There is a chance that if the governor hears enough opposition, he will not sign it.” [Gov. Snyder did sign HB 4770 into law on Dec. 22, 2011.]

Nelson read the resolution, which noted that HB 4770

… would conflict with the high value we place on respect and celebration of diverse people including but not limited to diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions; … and would lessen the attraction of Ann Arbor and Michigan to people in same-sex relationships, or possibly in such a relationship in the future, and thereby decrease [the district's] ability to attract and retain excellent employees in such relationships.

Baskett thanked Nelson, saying the resolution was wonderful.

Financial Report

Allen began the first quarter financial report by noted that historically most of the changes to the budget take place in the second quarter, after the school year has begun in September. [The district’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.]

AAPS director of finance Nancy Hoover noted that some savings have been realized by changing to 100% direct deposit for payroll, and that coaches are now also being paid by electronic transfer. Baskett asked whether all vendors, as well as the board members, could be paid electronically. Hoover noted that new software would allow the district to increase the number of electronic payments made.

Financial Report: First Quarter

AAPS deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen made a brief presentation to the board, and noted that the district had spent 12% of its total budget in the first quarter, and that the board could expect that percentage to rise in the second quarter. He said he has begun to realign the expenditure categories based on audit results, and that those would come as future adjustments.

Stead asked, “Given the adjustments we’re expecting for the second quarter, and in terms of budget planning, what’s your best estimate of the kinds of reductions we need to plan for?” Allen said he still expected the district would need to look at reducing its budget by about $14 million.

Financial Report: Medicaid Revenue

Nelson asked what was meant by Medicaid revenue, which was bullet-pointed in Allen’s presentation.

Green explained that there are certain services that a district can be reimbursed for through Medicaid, depending on the actual service provided to special needs students.  She said that she had been concerned when she became superintendent of AAPS in July 2011, because she had not been able to locate any reimbursements – and she would have expected them to be a source of general fund revenue.

After much research, Green said, she was able to determine that an agreement was made within Washtenaw County a couple of years ago that the Washtenaw Intermediate School District would hold the funding in common, and that a portion of it might be used to purchase new human resources and financial software for the county and its districts.

Green noted that this was not a written agreement, and that it took her a lot of effort to determine that $1.4 million of the district’s funds have accrued over two years. She argued that this money should be returned to the district, and that it is the purview of the school board how this money should be used.

Allen added that the Medicaid revenue will be greater than $1.4 million because it does not yet include reimbursements from 2010-11. Nelson noted that he was very pleased and appreciative of this and pleased to hear it’s a number with seven figures in it. This is an example, he said, of where Green’s experience and “stick-to-it-ive-ness” is paying off.

Mexicotte said the way this money is being reported, and accounted for has been a concern in the special needs community for as long as she’s been involved. She said she is pleased Green has found additional money the district can use.

Outcome: The first quarter financial report will come before the board for a second briefing and a vote at the next regular board meeting.

Budget Planning Update

Allen said he was anticipating having a better sense of where the district stands in terms of funding after the state revenue conference is held in January 2012. Stead asked about the effect of a variety of factors on the possible funding, and Allen said nothing is settled yet. Allen added that the districts receive some information from the Michigan School Business Officials (MSBO), which has lobbyists who follow state actions more closely.

Patalan noted there had been a good turnout at the fall budget forums, and that she believed the community genuinely understood what the district was facing. She asked if there was a place for community feedback on the AAPS website.

Allen said that there is a suggestion box on the district website, and that he has also received some ideas directly via e-mail. Some ideas have been more detailed than others, he said, but all the suggestions are being compiled.

Baskett asked whether dates have been set for winter budget forums, and Allen said they have not been set yet, but that they would not occur until a budget had been proposed.

Budget Planning: Public Commentary

Mark Quigley said he was there to help, and presented two concrete ideas to the board regarding the budget. First, Quigley suggested that the board require restitution from the employees who carried ineligible health care dependents on their insurance plans up until a recent dependent audit. “Is it right, legal, moral, ethical to allow your employees to steal from you? Our money went to fraud, abuse, and waste,” Quigley asserted. The recent audit revealed $766,000 was spent on ineligible dependents.

During clarification on public commentary, AAPS deputy superintendent of human resources and general counsel Dave Comsa clarified that there were 200 employees who self-reported ineligible dependents. He also noted that in order to get maximum participation in the audit, there is a standard clause stating that employees would be held harmless if they responded. Comsa added, “I would be cautious of accusing people of criminal activity – I don’t believe that there was any.” He stressed that AAPS has saved $0.75 million as result of the audit.

Quigley’s second budget suggestion was that the district should shift more of costs of football parking on the Pioneer lot to the University of Michigan (UM). He suggested that the UM should pay for the cost of policing the lot, and noted that the “mulit-million dollar” parking contract is coming up for renegotiation soon – “Let’s put more of the expenses on [UM] and leave more for our children.”

During clarification on public commentary, Mexicotte asked the administration about the status of the current parking negotiations. Allen answered that the AAPS parking contract with UM expires at the end of the year, and that negotiations for a new contract will start in January. Mexicotte asked who was responsible for that negotiation, and Allen answered that it is Tim Gruszczynski, Supervisor of Environmental Services, and the Allen and Trent also have input.

AAPS Educational Foundation Grant Awards

The board held its first briefing of a list of grants being conferred by the AAPS educational foundation (AAPSEF). It was late in the meeting and AAPSEF Wendy Correll, who had made a presentation thanking major donors earlier in the meeting, had left the meeting by the time the item came before the board.

Mexicotte noted that the total amount of grants being awarded was $177,000, and that the impact of these grants would be felt by more than 30,000 students. “These are substantial awards around important programs,” she said, adding in reference to the fact that Correll was no longer present, “I look forward to saying additional things at second briefing.”

Board members highlighted individual grants on the list for recognition, including seed money for document cameras, the elementary enrichment coordinator program, and scholarship programs.

Green noted that one of the grants is the Karen B. Thomas Memorial Fund, started in honor of trustee Andy Thomas’ late wife. Green invited Thomas to describe the work of the grant.

Thomas explained that the purpose of the grant is to encourage reading and a love of reading at the elementary level, particularly among students who are economically disadvantaged. He described some projects funded by the grant, including the addition of classic literature at Pittsfield, co-support of an after-school reading club at Mitchell, and the refreshing of the library at Bryant. Thomas said in the future that that the Karen B. Thomas Memorial Fund might be used to purchase a set of Kindles for student use.

Patalan thanked Thomas for the grant, and said she was glad the board took a minute to talk about the literacy projects. “The whole piece of literacy … it’s simple,” she said, “but we can’t take it for granted.”

Outcome: Discussion and approval of these AAPSEF grants will continue as a second briefing item at the next regular board meeting.

Fines and Obligations Policy

Green introduced this item, saying that she was hoping this policy would streamline some of the inconsistencies she has seen across the district in terms of how student fines and obligations are handled. She noted that there has not previously been a district-wide policy on this issue One one goal of such a policy would be to ensure that students are not kept out of school because of outstanding fines or obligations.

Green invited Robert Allen and Alesia Flye, AAPS deputy superintendent of instruction, to discuss the proposed policy and associated regulations. Allen began by noting that he and Flye had worked with a committee, solicited input from building principals, and reviewed similar policies in other districts.

Allen read the proposed policy in its entirety:

The District will provide educational material, including textbooks or other tools and supplies necessary to access the curriculum during the normal academic year. Students are expected to return all educational materials in satisfactory condition at the time and location designated by school personnel. Should material be determined lost or stolen, or the material returned is in unsatisfactory condition, the superintendent or designee has the authority to collect an amount equal to the replacement value of the material. Circumstances may be such that alternative arrangements can be made with designated school personnel.

Trustees had no comments regarding the policy itself, but did suggest a few changes to the regulations. The board does not have purview over the regulations directly, but can make recommendations about them to administration.

Flye noted that earlier in the 2011-12 school year, there had been an incident where students had lost instructional time due to fines, and that that was not acceptable. Baskett questioned how these staff errors were addressed, and Comsa answered that an investigation was undertaken and that principals were advised that school policies should not prohibit students from participating in instructional time. Baskett said she knew of a student who had requested a letter of apology over the matter, and AAPS assistant superintendent of secondary education Joyce Hunter confirmed that such a letter had been sent.

Lightfoot suggested including parents earlier in the communitcation loop regarding fines.

Baskett suggested some clarifying wording changes, and confirmed that students do get a receipt when they return a book or other materials. She suggested that PowerSchool could be used to record receipts instead of generating more paper.

Thomas stated that this is a very well-crafted and well-designed policy that strikes a good balance between protecting the rights of students to receive an education, but still providing some consequences if they don’t return a book without making arrangements.

Nelson suggested cross-referencing this policy with the equity policy to make their relationship explicit.

Mexicotte suggested that the replacement value charged to students should reflect the condition of the book, and that she would suggest giving school administration the power to use their best judgment in waiving fees. She said she would like to see a way for students to agree on the condition of the books they are given when they receive their textbooks, and agreed that parents should be kept in the loop better.

She expressed some discomfort with the punitive nature of the policy, but said she was pleased that students’ instructional time and grades will not be affected by outstanding fines. She wanted to be sure that being on a payment plan was seen as sufficient in allowing students to participate in extracurricular activities.

Mexicotte also said she liked the idea of having related policies noted, and wanted to be sure that the policy is the same across all grades and all schools. Finally, she asked if there were other items that should be included, such as instruments or field trips fees.

Thomas noted that holding the final report card is an empty threat, meaning it would not be a motivation to pay fines.

Mexicotte thanked the administration for their work on this policy and its regulations, saying it showed how AAPS is passionate about getting students the equipment they need.

Outcome: This was the first briefing on this item. Any suggested changes or modifications will be incorporated before this item comes back to the board for a second briefing.

Other Public Commentary

The meeting also included public commentary on other topics.

Other Comment: Buses

Peggy Connors spoke to the board about bus service to Slauson middle school and Pioneer High School. She said that buses have been taken away from kids living between Liberty Street and Scio Church Road. In the morning, she said, it’s dark, and there are wooded areas lining the walk route. Saying she had tried the route herself, Connors noted that she was almost hit by a car, and argued that it’s a dangerous route for kids. She asserted that the costs of using the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority buses are prohibitive if a low-income family has multiple children with an adult who also needs to use public transportation to get to work. She requested that AAPS restore bus service to the area as soon as possible.

Other Comment: Buses, Privatization

Ronnie Rosner spoke to the board as volunteer and mother of five. She stated that she was there to strongly voice her opposition to the privatization of custodial staff and bus drivers. Saying she believed this could compromise the safety of AAPS school children, and lead to the layoff of some of custodial staff and bus drivers. Their pensions could also be negatively affected, she said. “There is no guarantee that privatizing these jobs could save money,” she argued.

During clarification on public commentary, Green and Lightfoot shared a concern regarding the busing situation that Connors had mentioned, and Green requested that Allen contact Connors and take another look at that situation. Mexicotte also pointed out that there is no proposal currently being considered by the board to privatize bus drivers or custodians.

Board Associations

The board invited regular reports from six organizations – the Youth Senate, the Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee on Special Education (AAPAC), the Parent-Teacher-Organization Council (PTOC), the Black Parents Student Support Group (BPSSG), the Ann Arbor Administrators Association (AAAA), and the Ann Arbor Education Association (AAEA). At the Dec. 14 meeting, the AAPAC and the AAEA were present to address the board.

Board Associations: AAPAC

Kathy Zager-Doxey thanked her son’s teacher, and Kelly Van Singel, a parent who recently gave a presentation highlighting how the iPod and iPad can be used to help students with special needs. Zager-Doxey pointed out that the slides from Van Singel’s presentation, “Happy to be Appy” are available on the AAPAC website.

Zager-Doxey also said the AAPAC is looking forward to increased partnership with SISS, and thanked Erik Thompson, assistant director of student intervention and support services for elementary buildings, for recently giving AAPAC a district update.

Finally, she noted that the district’s Disability Awareness Workshops would continue, and said that the AAPAC was looking forward to an upcoming report from AAPS superintendent Patricia Green on disproportionality in special education services, because many behaviors among special education students are manifestations of their disabilities.

Board Associations: AAEA

In addition to the part of his report regarding the journeyman services bid [described above], teachers’ union president Brit Satchwell noted that the State Senate is considering a bill (SB 865) which would “referendum-proof” the newly-enacted state emergency manager law (Public Act 4). He argued, “Many of these emergencies that we’re facing, that cities are feeling, are in part manufactured emergencies, for which those people are then blamed and have to suffer. How they do this without tanks rolling in the street is amazing to me.”

Satchwell urged everyone to advocate for the repeal of PA 4, and pointed out that the state is considering sending emergency managers to Detroit and Inkster. “If those two cities fall,” Satchwell pointed out, “over half of the African-Americans in this state will have lost their vote and be under authoritarian rule – no mayor, no county commissioners, no school board … If you’re an American this has to bother you.”

Awards and Accolades

The board acknowledged two major donations at the meeting, as well as successes of various students, staff, and schools.

Awards and Accolades: AAPS Education Foundation

Green pointed that the AAPS Educational Foundation (AAPSEF) recently received two substantial donations that she felt needed recognition in front of the board. AAPSEF executive director Wendy Correll expressed appreciation for a $50,000 donation from IMRA America (IMRA), a local high-tech company, and for a $10,000 gift from the Dearborn Federal Credit Union (DFCU).

Correll also announced that the AAPSEF would be partnering with Champions for Charity to put on the first Ann Arbor Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5K and 1.2 mile runs, and will be receiving philanthropic donations from the events.

Baskett asked how the AAPSEF formed relationships with IMRA and DFCU. Correll explained that IMRA approached the district as a way of being philanthropic in their community, and that DFCUapproached the AAPSEF because it is part of their mission to support education. Nelson expressed his excitement about the partnerships, and noted that the equipment that can be purchased with their donations makes learning math and science even more fun.

Board members thanked Correll for her work and for her leadership. Correll thanked the board for giving the space at this meeting to acknowledge these donors.

Awards and Accolades: Superintendent’s Report

Superintendent Green acknowledged “activities that have brought honor to our students and our schools,” including winners of various statewide competitions and contests, and community services projects undertaken by various school groups.

Student Disciplinary Action

Mexicotte explained that the board needed to share its reasoning behind a decision recently made in closed session concerning a student disciplinary action. She moved that the board reduce the disciplinary action to “level 3” to allow Student A to return to his or her school of origin, and noted that “this reduction in disciplinary action was due to the board’s determination that the weapon was not possessed for use as a weapon.”

Baskett questioned whether the word “weapon” should be used twice, and Mexicotte said the wording had come out of the closed session and could not be changed.

Outcome: The board unanimously approved Mexicotte’s motion to reduce the disciplinary aciton.

Agenda Planning

Mexicotte noted that she would be contacting each board member about the proposed agenda for the board’s upcoming organizational meeting on Jan. 18. The meeting will include the assignment of officer positions, ad-hoc committee positions, and board representation on administrative and community committees.

New Process and Procedure

The Dec. 14 board meeting saw the introduction of two new items.

New Process: Online Meeting Packets

The district piloted a new, online board packet at the Dec. 14 meeting. It can be viewed at this link: AAPS online board packet. Board secretary Amy Oskinski spent 15 minutes at the beginning of the Dec. 14 meeting orienting trustees to the new system and highlighting its technical features.

New Process: Meeting Adjournment Procedure

Mexicotte requested a motion to adjourn the meeting, a new parliamentary procedure for the board, which she said will help prevent her from inadvertently adjourning the meeting preemptively. The Dec. 14, 2011 meeting was adjourned at 2:07 a.m.

Present: President Deb Mexicotte, vice-president Susan Baskett, secretary Andy Thomas, treasurer Irene Patalan, and trustees Simone Lightfoot, Glenn Nelson and Christine Stead.

Absent: None

Next Regular Meeting/Annual Organizational Meeting: Jan. 18, 2012, 7 p.m., in the fourth-floor conference room of the downtown Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave.

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Brought forward by superintendent Patricia Green, the amendments raised the salary of deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen by 7%, and that of assistant superintendent of human resource and legal services Dave Comsa by 12%. The board also reclassified Comsa’s position, bringing him up to the executive level of the superintendent’s cabinet, and changing his title to “deputy superintendent of human resources and general counsel.”

From left: Ann Arbor Public Schools administrators Dawn Linden, Liz Margolis, Alesia Flye, Dave Comsa, and Robert Allen. At its Dec. 14 meeting, the AAPS board voted on contracts for all of these administrators, with the exception of Margolis. (Photo by the writer.)

The board initially voted to consider the contracts as a first briefing, which meant the item would return to the board’s next meeting for a final vote, allowing more time for public input. But later in the meeting – about 1:30 a.m. – board president Deb Mexicotte moved to reconsider that initial vote, which it did, and the item was then classified as a special briefing, allowing the board to take a final vote that night. Trustee Simone Lightfoot called the move a “bait and switch.”

Mexicotte defended her decision, saying that she is elected to make decisions like these on behalf of the district. Other trustees backed that view. Irene Patalan said she often explains her vote to constituents after the fact, and this time would be no different.

In the end, concerns over transparency and equity for other employees were outweighed by the belief that salary adjustments were needed to retain Comsa and Allen, and to reflect their value to the district.

Also at the Dec. 14 meeting, on a 6-1 vote, the board ratified contracts for two new administrators hired by Green to complete her cabinet: deputy superintendent of instruction Alesia Flye, and assistant superintendent of elementary education Dawn Linden.

The set of contract ratifications reflect Green’s desire to reorganize her executive cabinet to contain three deputy superintendents – Allen, Comsa, and Flye – at an equivalent salary of $140,000.

This report will cover in detail the discussions and procedure regarding the administrative contract ratifications. Additional coverage of the remainder of the Dec. 14 board of education meeting will be forthcoming in a separate report.

Agenda Approval

Near the beginning of the Dec. 14 meeting, the board engaged in a review of the meeting’s agenda, which it typically does with a simple assent. What made the Dec. 14 meeting agenda review atypical was an extended repertoire of parliamentary procedures: a motion, a friendly amendment, a calling of the question, and two roll call votes.

Part of the agenda included an item on ratifications for four administrator contracts: deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen; assistant superintendent of human resource and legal services Dave Comsa; deputy superintendent of instruction Alesia Flye, and assistant superintendent of elementary education Dawn Linden.

The item was included on the original agenda as a “special briefing.” Such items are briefed only once and voted on at the same meeting, usually because they are of a time-sensitive nature. A somewhat more common process is for the board to give an item an initial review as a “first briefing” and then, at a subsequent meeting, vote on it as a “second briefing” item.

Agenda Approval: Motion to Reclassify to First Briefing

Trustee Simone Lightfoot argued that the public should have a chance to give feedback on the ratification of administrative contracts before they are approved. So she made a motion to change the administrative contract ratification agenda item from a special briefing to a first briefing item. That meant it would be discussed at the Dec. 14 meeting, but would then return to the board for a second briefing and vote at its next regular meeting.

Trustee Andy Thomas asked superintendent Patricia Green if there was anything time-sensitive about the contracts that would make it problematic to postpone a vote on them. Green responded that she was concerned about waiting any longer to ratify the contracts for Alesia Flye, deputy superintendent of instruction, and Dawn Linden, assistant superintendent of elementary education, who were hired on Sept. 1 and Oct. 18, respectively.

Agenda Approval: Board Policy on Contract Ratification

Green explained her impetus for bringing the four contracts to the board for review. She reported that when she was in the process of extending offers to Flye and Linden, who were hired to fill vacancies due to retirements, she thought she had the authority to offer contracts to administrators without board approval. As such, Green explained, contracts for Flye and Linden were signed by Green and board president Deb Mexicotte without coming before the board.

Green stated that it wasn’t until she started to do research on contracts for Comsa and Allen, in order to bring them forward for possible amendment, that she found “deeply embedded” in board policy 2120 – Superintendent Contracting Authority – that cabinet-level employment contracts require board approval. Though it had not been established practice to do so, Green consulted Comsa, who counseled that indeed Green should present the contracts to the board for ratification.

Agenda Approval: Discussion on Board Policy 2120

Lightfoot asked what sort of predicament the board would be in if trustees voted down contracts for Flye and Linden, even though they had already been signed. Green responded that, though the contracts should have been brought to the board first, they were signed in good faith and the district should honor them.

Lightfoot expressed frustration that the board was being asked to ratify contracts “after the fact.” Mexicotte and trustee Susan Baskett each stated that they remembered administrative contracts coming before the board in years past, but that this practice had become out of compliance with board policy in recent years.

Green pointed out that she was trying to change past practice to comply with board policy and asserted, “The buck does stop with me.”

Lightfoot thanked Green for highlighting where the district needs to improve. Thomas also thanked Green for rectifying the policy variance and increasing the district’s transparency on this issue.

Trustee Glenn Nelson commented that the governance group of the seven trustees and the superintendent need to help each other out if any of them notices inconsistent application of board policies, and he acknowledged “sharing the responsibility for this procedural snafu.”

Agenda Approval: Motion to Reclassify to First Briefing – Discussion

Based on Green’s explanation, Thomas requested that Lightfoot (and Baskett, who had seconded her motion) consider a friendly amendment to split the administrative contract ratification agenda item into two parts – retaining the discussion and approval of contracts for Flye and Linden as a special briefing, but moving discussion of contracts for Comsa and Allen to first briefing.

After some additional clarification, Lightfoot and Baskett agreed to the friendly amendment suggested by Thomas.

Baskett asked when the second briefing and vote would take place, because the next board meeting – on Jan. 18, 2012 – is its annual organizational meeting, when board officers and committee appointments are set, and the board reviews its processes and procedures. Mexicotte answered that the organizational meeting is not usually for doing work, but noted that because it now occurs in the middle of the school year [it was previously held over the summer, when board elections were held in May], perhaps the board will need to take up some of its regular work at that meeting as well.

Baskett then echoed Lightfoot’s concern that putting the contract ratifications on the board agenda as a special briefing was “not fair to the community,” especially in light of how the district “[has] been preaching to the community that we are resource-constrained.”

Thomas called the question on Lightfoot’s motion to a vote, and Christine Stead seconded. The parliamentary move of calling the question is intended to end debate and force a vote on the item.

Outcome on calling the question: The roll call vote on whether to close discussion on Lightfoot’s motion passed 5-2, with Mexicotte and Patalan dissenting.

Outcome on main item: The roll call vote on Lightfoot’s motion, as amended, to shift the ratification of contract amendments for Comsa and Allen from special briefing to first briefing passed 4-3, with Baskett, Lightfoot, Mexicotte, and Thomas voting yes, and Nelson, Patalan and Stead dissenting.

First Briefing: Current Administrators

Green opened the discussion of contract amendments for Comsa and Allen by reminding the board that after taking the job as superintendent, she had wanted to spend some time assessing AAPS operations and organization before making any changes, and she had said she “did not want to make change just for change’s sake.” Saying she would not be bringing forward the contract amendments without reason, Green then outlined her rationale for the proposed changes.

First Briefing: Current Administrators – Green’s Rationale

Green began by explaining her thoughts behind suggesting the reclassification of Comsa’s position from assistant superintendent of human resources and legal services to deputy superintendent of human resources and general counsel, saying that the title shift would allow AAPS to use Comsa to attract revenue in the future. Green suggested, “The WISD [Washtenaw Intermediate School District] might want to use Mr. Comsa … There are [also] some smaller districts that do not have the kind of resources we have here.”

Green also said she has been very impressed with the legal services Comsa provides to the district. “There are very few folks of his stature in the entire state,” she asserted. “He is very marketable and could very easily be marketed right out of AAPS.” Green argued that, in her review of Comsa’s work, she could see that he has saved the district at least $500,000 a year in legal fees, and gave two examples.

Just this week, Green said, Comsa saved the district $55,000 “by reviewing some billings and saying ‘we don’t think this is appropriate.’” She also noted that AAPS recently fielded an Office of Civil Rights complaint [regarding the effect of athletics budget reductions on Title IX requirements], and that Comsa was able to get it dismissed by providing excellent leadership during the review process. “If it had not been dismissed, the legal fees could have continued to multiply,” she asserted. “The risk management function is something very significant. This is something we should not take lightly.”

In terms of her proposed raise for Comsa, which would take him from $124,542 to $140,000, Green argued that there was precedence in the district for having the head of human resources be a deputy-level position, and for all three deputies having the same compensation package. Finally, she offered some comparable salary ranges for the board to consider: Wayne-Westland is paying over $160,000; Warren and Utica are each paying over $140,000; and Troy is paying $151,900. Green noted that if Comsa chose to leave the district, the district would not be able to attract a good replacement without significantly raising the compensation level.

Regarding Allen’s proposed contract amendment, which took his salary from $130,556 to $140,000, Green said he has worked closely with her to make the Medicaid reimbursement happen. [This will be discussed further in Part 2 of this meeting report. In brief, Green’s comment refers to $1.4 million in AAPS special education reimbursements currently being held by the WISD that Green is working to get returned to AAPS.] Green also noted that Allen worked diligently to be certain AAPS qualified for best practices incentives offered by the state of Michigan. Finally, she reiterated that the three deputy superintendent positions should be at the same compensation level.

First Briefing: Current Administrators – Board Discussion

Thomas said he was torn about this issue. On one hand, he noted, his previous professional experience as a chief administrative officer of a large medical practice makes him sensitive to the fact that salaries should keep pace with market conditions. He argued that Allen had done an admirable job taking the lead on high-profile, high-controversy issues, and that Comsa has also been an exceptional leader behind-the-scenes. In this vein, Thomas said, “Frankly, I think both of them without question deserve a salary increase.”

However, Thomas said, the district has a lot of good people – including principals, teachers, paraprofessionals and others – who have not received pay raises. “I am very concerned about the message we are sending to our rank and file that we recognize inequities among cabinet and will rectify them, but not the rank-and-file salaries.” Thomas said he recognizes that the money in this situation is “a drop in the bucket,” but argued that it does “move the needle in the wrong direction” while the district grapples with another $14 million in budget reductions.

Finally, Thomas said he feels a little better about approving a salary increase in Comsa’s position because it would be based in part on a reclassification of his position. He asked Green if her rationale for raising Allen’s salary was primarily to equalize salaries among administrators of the same rank. Green answered that it’s possible that Allen could be used to consult with other districts in the future too, but that is not part of what she is proposing currently.

Stead asserted that the salary increases being proposed for Allen and Comsa are small relative to the savings they have brought, and will continue to bring the district. She reminded her colleagues that in the past five years alone, AAPS has had to cut $50 million out of its budget, and that Allen and Comsa have done that work. She also pointed out that former superintendent Todd Roberts left AAPS to manage a much smaller group of students for significantly more pay. She argued that the district especially needs good leaders during these times when the state is not valuing education.

Patalan said she is willing to support an excellent team, and noted that Green is using her experience to bring new ideas to the district and look at things differently.

Nelson said Comsa and Allen have performed admirably under very stressful conditions. Like Patalan, Nelson pointed out that Green’s fresh perspective confirms that these are really excellent, important people to the district. Saying he supports Green’s recommended contract amendments in part because of the stresses the district is under, Nelson noted that Allen and Comsa will be with the district longer than any short-term pushback from the community.

Lightfoot asked whether Green was aiming to give all cabinet members parity in compensation, and Green answered, no, just the deputies. Lightfoot then argued that AAPS cannot be compared to other places because it has other amenities. She also suggested tying Comsa’s salary to a percentage of whatever he brings to the district in terms of additional revenue, instead of giving him a raise preemptively. Green countered that Comsa has already saved the district $500,000 in legal fees.

Baskett said that AAPS cannot compete on price, but offers employees a great quality of life. She said she has a concern about bringing all the deputies up to the $140,000 level at which Flye was hired. Baskett asserted that new employees coming in will always “negotiate high,” and argued that the district should not continually ask to realign top salaries every time someone leaves and a new person comes in. Finally, Baskett noted that the district has communicated to the community the need to sacrifice everywhere, and that the board needs to be cautious about proceeding with these proposed raises.

Mexicotte simply noted, “At this time I am in support of these amended administrative contracts as presented by [Green].”

Outcome: Votes are not taken on first briefing items. So as a first briefing item, these proposed contract amendments would usually have been brought back for a second briefing and vote at the next regular meeting. However, later in the Dec. 14 meeting, the items were eventually returned to special briefing status and approved.

Special Briefing: New Administrators

After holding the first briefing on proposed amendments to contracts for Comsa and Allen, board members returned to the discussion they had begun during the agenda approval, and discussed the ratification of the two new administrative contracts the district recently signed.

Deputy superintendent of instruction Alesia Flye was extended an annual contract for $140,000 on Sept. 1, 2011, and assistant superintendent of elementary education Dawn Linden was extended an annual contract for $117,900 on Oct. 18, 2011. Both contracts were signed by Green and Mexicotte, but not brought before the board as required in board policy 2120.

Special Briefing: New Administrators – What Is a Raise?

Lightfoot contended that giving $140,000 to Flye when that is more than the salary of her predecessor was essentially giving Flye a raise before she had even started working for the district. [Former interim deputy superintendent of instruction Lee Ann Dickinson-Kelley’s salary was set at $132,000.]

Green countered that it’s not considered a raise for an individual who hasn’t been here. She argued that the market is such that if AAPS paid less than that, they would not be able to get a “top quality” person, and pointed out that the range for Flye’s position goes up to $169,000 in comparable districts.

Lightfoot asserted that there is no shortage of people wanting to work for AAPS. In response, Mexicotte and Green pointed out that the Flye did not accept the first offer made by AAPS, but negotiated a higher salary before accepting the position.

Nelson thanked Flye and Linden for bringing their “considerable talents” to the district.

Special Briefing: New Administrators – Incentive Compensation

Baskett asked for clarification about the “incentive compensation” section of the contracts being considered. [.pdf of contracts. See section 9 of Appendix 1 – Fringe Benefits within each contract.] Incentive pay is offered to top administrators based on the percentage of their performance objectives they reach each year. On top of their regular salaries, they are paid an additional $4,500 for reaching 100% of their performance objectives; $4,000 for reaching more than 90% but less than 100% of their performance objectives; and $3,500 for reaching more than 80% but less than 90% of their performance objectives.

“Is this consistent with other contracts?” Baskett asked Green. “How did you come up with these numbers?”

Green answered that the incentive compensation section is a standard part of AAPS contracts. Comsa clarified that incentive compensation was only offered to employees in Class 1, which consists of Green, the deputy superintendents, the assistant superintendents, and the executive director of physical properties, Randy Trent.

Baskett clarified that the district had budgeted for the high end of the salary range for each individual, so that in case the highest level of incentive pay is reached, it will not cause a deficit. Allen confirmed this is the case.

Lightfoot said she was “challenged by the standard practice” of offering incentive pay to staff who are already highly paid, while the district continues to cut services and raise class sizes. “This type of contract is not sensitive to current realities,” she argued, but clarified, “This is not a slight against the individuals in these positions.”

Nelson asserted that excellent people make an enormous difference in an organization, and that AAPS needs that kind of excellent leadership. He noted that salaries for comparable positions at the University of Michigan are higher, and said that if he had any doubt, it was whether AAPS was offering high enough salaries to the kind of excellent people it has in these positions.

Thomas noted that it would not be fair or appropriate to eliminate the incentive pay section of the contracts without raising the base salaries of the people currently in those positions, since they took their jobs with the expectation of being able to earn that additional money.

Baskett questioned how much AAPS has paid out in incentive pay over the last year, and Mexicotte suggested that could be answered outside the context of the contract question.

Outcome: The ratification of AAPS administrative contracts with deputy superintendent of instruction Alesia Flye and assistant superintendent of elementary education Dawn Linden were removed from the consent agenda, and approved by a 6-1 vote, with trustee Lightfoot dissenting.

Current Administrators: Reconsideration

After the approval of the consent agenda, but before the board action items, Mexicotte made a motion to reconsider the decision the board had already made to treat the ratification of contract amendments for Comsa and Allen as a first briefing item instead of a special briefing item. Her intent was to then bring the contracts to a vote that night, which is possible for special briefing items.

Current Administrators: Reconsideration – First or Special Briefing?

Mexicotte noted that she had voted in favor of Lightfoot’s original motion to change this item from a special briefing to a first briefing item, so she was entitled to make a motion to reconsider the board’s decision on this issue – she had voted with the prevailing side. [Only someone who votes with the prevailing side is allowed to move for reconsideration.]

Nelson seconded Mexicotte’s motion, and the board engaged in a heated discussion about the issue.

Lightfoot argued that this “comes across as a ‘bait and switch’ to me,” and told Mexicotte she was “disappointed that you have opted to maneuver in this manner.”

Thomas noted the time [1:38 a.m.], said he was “a little on the frazzled side” himself, and said he did not believe that moving forward on this proposal at this time would be in anyone’s best interest.

Nelson disagreed, saying he did not sense that there would be any movement around the table on this issue, and that the board might as well vote now “because we’ve got two excellent people who shall receive the word on how this is going to be resolved.”

Patalan added that she often explains her vote to constituents after the fact and that this time it would be no different.

Baskett argued, “I don’t think this is the best move. Perception says a lot. People will question why we waited until almost 2 a.m. to do this. I don’t get a sense of the timeliness of this. I don’t think these two employees are going to leave us any time soon.”

Lightfoot said she wanted to make a last-ditch effort to her colleagues to “walk the talk … We tell people we want them involved and that we care and then pull this at almost 2 in the morning. This is about knowing we are not doing the right thing or we wouldn’t be doing it at 1:45 in the morning.”

Mexicotte noted that this item came late to the Dec 14 agenda, and that many of the other agenda items also required a great deal of time to discuss as well. She then responded to a number of her colleagues comments.

Saying she was a trustee of the district, Mexicotte noted that she values input, but has also been elected to make judgments on any number of things – including contracts. “People expect that I’m going to try to do the right thing,” she said, “I feel pretty strongly about this being the right thing.” She argued that she was acting in the best interest of the district by supporting Green’s recommendation and that her belief was due in part to what she knows of Comsa’s and Allen’s work in the district, how much money they have found and saved for AAPS, and about the stability and excellence required in the district.

She countered Thomas’ earlier assertion that raising salaries for Comsa and Allen “moves the needle in the wrong direction,” saying that even though these are difficult economic times, the district still needs to figure out how to cut $14 million while doing right by their employees. She said she does not support cutting other employee salaries.

Finally, Mexicotte took issue with the suggestion that this action should not be taken because of what it might mean to the community symbolically. “We have a lot of hard decisions to make, and we have to galvanize the community about what’s important, not just what seems symbolically important – our funding model, the retirement rate, that students and teachers are starting to feel the squeeze – what we get so caught up in are these proxy fights.”

Saying she “bristle[d] at the suggestion” that this was any sort of maneuvering on her part, Mexicotte said simply that she had voted earlier, and then reconsidered as she thought about it throughout the meeting.

Outcome: The motion to reconsider the board’s earlier vote passed 4-3, with Nelson, Stead, Patalan, and Mexicotte voting yes, and Baskett, Thomas, and Lightfoot dissenting. When the board reconsidered its earlier decision, the outcome mirrored the vote on reconsideration – the board voted 4-3 (with Baskett, Thomas, and Lightfoot dissenting) to take up the contracts for the two current administrators, Comsa and Allen, as a special briefing action item.

Contract Administrators: Reconsideration – Board Action

After addressing one other piece of business, the board returned for a final time to its discussion on contract amendments for Comsa and Allen – this time as an action item.

Thomas repeated that he felt more comfortable raising Comsa’s salary because his job responsibilities will be increasing. Thomas felt it was less compelling to give Allen a raise to achieve compensation parity among the deputy superintendents.

Lightfoot asserted that she was “quite convinced” that this is not in the best interest of the district. “I think holy heck is going to be raised about the way this has been done, and this will get in the way of the tech bond … We’ve pulled the ‘okie doke’ on this one. It’s bigger than the politics … This is not acceptable to me.”

Nelson said he wanted to encourage his colleagues to use “I statements,” and then argued that he was supporting Green’s recommendations because it’s the best thing for the children and young people of Ann Arbor. He added, “I hope people listen to my ‘I statements’ rather than other statements about me.”

Patalan said she absolutely thought this was the best thing to do for the school district, and that she believed in Green’s vision and experience.

Stead said she also thought it’s the best thing to do for AAPS. She argued that the risk of losing the leadership of Comsa and Allen as the district tries to cut 8% of its budget is a bigger risk than any other cut that needs to be made in terms of balance.

Mexicotte said she voted the way she did early in the meeting so she could think about it, and then she did think about it, and brought a different motion. She said she looked forward to a very robust discussion about board process at the organizational meeting on Jan. 18, 2012.

Outcome: The approval of contract amendments for Comsa and Allen passed 4-3 with Stead, Patalan, Mexicotte, and Nelson voting yes, and Lightfoot, Thomas, and Baskett dissenting. The contract amendments reclassify Comsa as a deputy superintendent, and bring salaries for both Comsa and Allen in line with Flye’s at $140,000.

[This was Part 1 of the Dec. 14, 2011 meeting report. Part 2 of the meeting report is forthcoming.]

Present: President Deb Mexicotte, vice president Susan Baskett, secretary Andy Thomas, treasurer Irene Patalan, and trustees Simone Lightfoot, Glenn Nelson and Christine Stead.

Next regular meeting/annual organizational meeting: Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012, at 7 p.m. at the downtown branch of the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave. [confirm date]

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Percentage of AAPS high school students by ethnicity with at least one suspension during the school year. Part of the discipline gap that district superintendent Patria Green wants to address is reflected in the different between the blue bars – African American students – and other ethnic groups. Bars are clumped by year. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Green sees closing the discipline gap as a gateway to eliminating the district’s achievement gap. Green’s presentation included a detailed breakdown of suspension data from the past eight years – a data set that shows a disproportionately high number of African-American students, special needs students, and economically disadvantaged students being suspended or otherwise removed from instructional time.

Trustees expressed optimism that Green’s comprehensive and integrated approach could ultimately be effective in addressing the achievement gap. Saying that while the board has had binders, spreadsheets, and plans before, board president Deb Mexicotte said she believes in Green’s leadership. “A lot of times in the past, the piecemeal bits have not been clear how they would work together … I now believe we can do this.”

Recalling a question Green asked the board during her interview process last spring, Mexicotte told Green, “You asked us what we would like to see in five years, and we said: Close the achievement gap. We are absolutely unified on this.”

Also discussed at the Dec. 7 COTW  meeting were the new “cut scores” being used to determine student proficiency on the annual state Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test and Michigan Merit Exam (MME). Under the new system, students will need to get approximately 65% of the answers correct to be labeled proficient or above; the previous proficiency level was set at 39%. The district is working to mitigate parents’ surprise and concern. This year’s student scores will in most cases likely register a significant drop.

Trustees also gave their assent to a proposal by top administrators to widen the range of students who are able to address the board at their regular meetings, heard a brief budget update, and reviewed their upcoming agenda.

AAPS Discipline Data

Green opened her presentation with a review of her experience in reversing trends for suspensions and expulsions in other settings. She noted that a review of the national literature suggests there is no single factor that can account for the disproportionality that’s seen in suspensions. She said schools need to create multifaceted approaches that focus on: school connectedness, caring relationships, alternative disciplinary practices, and explicit attention to race and culture.

Green’s vision centers on the social and emotional learning components of education, which includes teaching both students and staff the skills to develop social and emotional competence. Calling suspension a “bandaid,” Green said that it has never been proven to be an effective technique to change behavior, and argued that any exclusion from instructional time should be a last resort in response to behavioral problems.

Jane Landefeld, AAPS director of student accounting, then led the board through a series of slides on suspension data. In 2010-11, the district logged 116 elementary suspensions, 251 middle school suspensions, and 337 high school suspensions. In all cases, compared to other students, a significantly higher number of African-American students, students who are economically disadvantaged [Figure 1], and students who have Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) [Figure 2] received suspensions.

Figure 1. Percentage of suspended AAPS students who were economically disadvantaged, 2010-11. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Figure 2. Percentage of Suspended AAPS students who had Individual Education Plans (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Landefeld presented data from the past eight years, which showed overall that the disproportionality seen in 2010-11 is part of an continuing trend and not an aberration. Figure 3 shows the percentage of high school students by ethnicity with at least one suspension during the school year. Figure 4 shows the same data for middle schoolers.

Percentage of AAPS high school students by ethnicity with at least one suspension during the school year. Bars are clumped by year. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Percentage of AAPS middle school students by ethnicity with at least one suspension during the school year. Bars are clumped by year. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Green’s Vision for Addressing “Discipline Gap”

Green laid out a 23-point “concept paper” in which she illustrated her vision for how the district can foster the social and emotional learning necessary to overcome the discipline gap. Linking her ideas directly to the district’s strategic plan, Green emphasized that her approach will be balanced, and will focus on more than just controlling student behavior.

Suggested elements of her plan include: establishing a superintendent advisory team made up of community leaders;  insisting on consistent enforcement of policies and procedures on student discipline; refining the implementation of positive behavioral support programs; institutionalizing comprehensive and regular data collection and review; creating a seamless mesh of student support services; establishing a student leadership program; and teaching empathy, impulse control, and anger management at all levels of the district.

Ultimately, Green said, these social and emotional goals will be unified with the district’s academic goals in a common framework, which is being developed this year. Green allowed that this process will take time, noting that reducing suspension rates by 48% in one of her former districts took about two years. “We need to have to courage to look at the data and say… we will change the odds, change the image, and change the results … It’s going to take time, … [but] we can do this as an incredible team. We can to do what few districts in America have been able to do.”

Green’s Vision: Board Response

Following Green’s presentation, trustees expressed a mix of positive emotions – from excitement and admiration to gratitude and relief.

“Thank you for owning this issue … This is the first time I feel like we are embracing publicly that we are not consistent,” said trustee Simone Lightfoot. She continued: “These [suspension] numbers are egregious and embarrassing and distressful to me.” Saying she didn’t want to move forward without acknowledging the distress, Lightfoot said she was looking forward to the implementation of Green’s vision.

Green’s Vision: Board Response – History of Community Engagement

In May 2010, trustees Simone Lightfoot and Susan Baskett convened a meeting for community members entitled “Beyond the Talk,”  which brought together key leaders in the community to brainstorm a list of ideas, resources, and programs which could be coordinated to create what Lightfoot began calling an “achievement gap plan.” Arguing that the districts efforts were not well-organized or well-defined, Lightfoot advocated for a separate plan to be created that tied together the district’s efforts in a way that would make them more accessible to parents and the wider community.

In November 2010, former AAPS interim deputy superintendent for instruction Lee Ann Dickinson-Kelley unveiled an “achievement gap elimination plan” as part of the state-mandated school improvement plan. The district has also recently produced a brochure entitled “A Call to Action,” which presents a timeline of math and literacy initiatives aimed at addressing the achievement gap.

At the Dec. 7 meeting, Lightfoot questioned how Green would include in her plan the work that is already being done in the community around this issue, arguing that Green’s approach is very “study-oriented and academic.” Lightfoot added that “there are some things that are not necessarily researched but known to work well in our district.”

Green agreed that the best practices she is advocating are all research-based. The community efforts at closing the achievement gap to which Lightfoot referred are “action-research,” Green said, and she would be eager to review them for inclusion in the plan.

Community leaders who have accepted Green’s invitation to participate on her advisory team include: William Hampton, president of the local NAACP; Bryan Johnson, president of the Black Parents’ Student Support Group; Donna Lasinski from the Parent Teacher Organization Council; Joan Doughty, executive director of the Community Action Network; Amy Pachera, board president of the Peace Neighborhood Center; Bonnie Billups, executive director of the Peace Neighborhood Center; Yolanda Whiten, executive director of the Ann Arbor Community Center; and leadership from the Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Council on Special Education. Green described the group as a “think tank” which would offer varied perspectives in an open, informal conversation.

Ruth Zweifler, founder and retired executive director of the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan, attended the Dec. 7 COTW meeting and addressed the board during public commentary as well as later in the meeting. Zwiefler noted that whenever the spotlight is placed on the disproportionality in suspensions, the number goes down, but when the spotlight is removed the problem comes back. Saying Green’s vision was a wonderful intent, Zwiefler encouraged the board: “I hope we make it this time.”

Green’s Vision: Board Response – Data Management

Mexicotte and trustee Irene Patalan each noted how Green’s vision looks at the “whole student,” which is part of the intention behind the “personalized learning” emphasized in the AAPS Strategic Plan.

Two years ago, the district began using a new electronic data collection process, called the Achievement Team Process (ATP). As described in May 2010 by former interim deputy superintendent of instruction, Lee Ann Dickinson-Kelley, the ATP database can be accessed by all teachers at all schools to create personalized learning plans. It can also be used to track which interventions have been tried for each struggling student. The ATP can then be used as a gateway to refer students to any number of instructional support programs or special education services.

The district also uses PowerSchool, an online data management system primarily used to track student grades and attendance, and which can be accessed by parents.

At the Dec. 7 COTW meeting, AAPS deputy superintendent of instruction Alesia Flye noted that she has asked four schools to pilot a newly-crafted behavior referral form. Flye explained that there are currently many different forms that are used across the district, and that in addition to collecting different data, each school is compiling data differently – some in Excel, some on GoogleDocs, etc.

Eventually, Flye said, the goal is for a single form to be used in all levels across the district to capture all data related to disciplinary action that reduces any instructional time in any way. All such data would be stored on PowerSchool, she said.

Trustee Christine Stead said she was very impressed and grateful to receive the binder Green had put together for each trustee, and noted that it’s clear Green’s vision is based on a wide body of academic work and solid data. She thanked Green for her efforts to standardize the discipline data collected and for laying the foundation for “data governance” that would allow even more sophisticated analysis in the future.

Stead also noted that better tracking would help maintain the buy-in from the community that Green is working to build. “Any institution undergoing great change needs lots of information,” Stead said. “People get nervous and need reassurance. We also need a path to know when [our efforts] are going off-course, and we need to know as quickly as we can.” Finally, she noted that she was looking forward to working with the community leaders Green had invited to her advisory team.

Rod Flowers, from the local NAACP, and Martine Perreault, of the PTOC, were also present at the Dec. 7 COTW meeting, and added their suggestions to the board’s discussion of the data collection process.

Flowers suggested that there should be a quantitative way to measure how different discipline options impact achievement. He said he would like to see masked suspension data (data lacking student identification) linked to the academic achievement level of each student – to help track the effect of suspensions on student achievement from year to year. Zweifler added that the board could consider adding student GPA on the new referral form.

Perreault suggested that the district should also track how discipline data are affected when principals move from one school to another – because their leadership has a significant effect on discipline practices in each building. “What might be insubordination to one principal,” she pointed out, “would not be to another.”

Green’s Vision: Board Response – Next Steps

Baskett thanked Green for exceeding her expectations, and asked what the administration’s next steps will be to turn the vision into a reality.

Green responded to Baskett by saying she plans to tie the “social and emotional learning” pieces of this work with the achievement gap elimination plan and the equity plan into a comprehensive action plan to be presented to the board in March 2012.

Trustee Glenn Nelson expressed his appreciation for the quality of the work, echoing the sentiments of other trustees. Nelson added that student attendance should be included in the analysis.

Green agreed that academic, discipline, attendance issues need to be examined comprehensively. She pointed out that she has a vision and is supported by tremendous people who believe in her vision. Green singled out Amy Osinski, board secretary, for developing a graphic of puzzle pieces fitting together to represent the work.

Lightfoot suggested bringing in African-American and Latino alumni to work with students, and involving students in defining what supports would be needed for their behavior to improve. Baskett suggested putting the report Green gave at the meeting on the district’s website, and Green said she would do that.

Patalan and Lightfoot also noted the importance of having the board, as well as staff, receive professional development training. Green noted that she had determined that Title 2 funding can be used for such professional development.

State Standardized Test “Cut Scores”

Earlier this year, the state board of education adopted this more rigorous scoring method, which will better align the results of Michigan’s state standardized tests with national measures of achievement, such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

AAPS is bracing for parents’ response to what will in many cases be significantly lower student scores on this year’s MEAP (Michigan Educational Assessment Program) and MME (Michigan Merit Exam). According to the district’s projections, Landefeld said that the new cut scores may reduce the percentage of 3rd-8th grade students who are proficient in reading by 10-18%. For math a reduction of 21-38% is possible. A summary slide created by Landefeld shows that AAPS is expecting decreases of 11-35% in student scores on the MME as well.

Lightfoot asked if there are sanctions for districts with low scores. Flye answered that yes, there are potential sanctions for districts that are seen as persistently low-achieving for many years. But she said that AAPS is “not anywhere near” the bottom of the state-created “top to bottom” list of schools that was released this past summer.

Landefeld noted that while AAPS would be affected by the new cut scores, the effects would be felt less than in other comparable districts.

Lightfoot asked what AAPS has in place to pick up kids who will fall through the cracks as higher cut scores are implemented.

Flye and assistant superintendent of secondary education Joyce Hunter outlined some of the academic supports in place, such as e2020 for credit recovery, support classes being added for middle school algebra, and summer school. Flye also noted that the Achievement Team Process (described above) should be used to evaluate all students – those at risk as well as those who are gifted.

Cut Scores: Board Response – Balanced Calendar

In response to the new cut scores, some trustees suggested dramatic changes to the district’s calendar.  Lightfoot suggested extending the school day, and Stead argued that the district should seriously consider expanding the school year for all students.

Stead contended that for AAPS to be internationally competitive, “we need more time with our kids… We cannot get there from here.” She noted that Shanghai, which is listed at the top of the international achievement rankings, has 243 days of school per year, but that AAPS has only 180.

Mexicotte pointed out that adding 60 more days to the calendar might be cost-prohibitive, since on average each school day currently costs the district $1 million.

Stead responded that she does not see a way to close the achievement gap with 180 days per year, but that she would suggest adding roughly 20 more days, not 60.

Cut Scores: Board Response – Coordinating Across Schools

Patalan asked how the district was coordinating with individual schools to be sure that parents understand why the MEAP and MME scores will look so different this year compared to previous years. Flye explained that parts of the presentation she gave at the Dec. 7 COTW meeting had been shared already with principals, staff, and PTOs. Green noted that a “toolkit” with talking points was sent to principals instead of just the raw data projections.

Flye also noted that the district has communicated monthly to the community in different formats and will continue to do so. She noted that letters have already been sent to parents describing the scoring changes, and that Green will be creating a podcast on the issue.

Baskett added that AAPS should continue to reach out to the community to help with tutoring, etc. But she noted that community volunteers need to receive consistent training. Stead also suggested referring students and families to free online learning such as the Khan Academy.

Nelson encouraged the board not to get “caught up” in the Michigan Department of Education’s assessments, but to continue to measure what is important to the district. He noted that the new state cut scores are attempting to ascertain college-readiness, but argued that they do a poor job of doing so. “I will be deeply dismayed,” Nelson asserted, “if we are preaching to kids that they are not college-ready on the basis of a test score.” Finally, Nelson said he would hypothesize that the traits developed through the social and emotional learning being championed by Green would be more highly correlated to college success than scores on any standardized test.

Mexicotte agreed that the district needs to address the cut score changes, but should focus on what it’s good at – she argued that that state is forcing districts to beat themselves up about “things that are not relevant.”

Student Perspective

The board heard a proposal from administrators to revamp the way student perspectives are invited into the board’s discussions. Hunter suggested that beginning in January, the district’s six high schools should rotate sending a representative to the first regular board meeting of each month. The new high school-specific reports could take the place of the Youth Senate association report at those meetings, she suggested.

Green noted that in the other districts where she has worked, students have had a seat on the school board – in one case, a voting seat.

Mexicotte expressed strong feelings about the dearth of leadership opportunities in the high schools, and said she would like to strengthen student efficacy. She noted it would be difficult to “unfriend” [an allusion to Facebook] the Youth Senate by dis-inviting them to be one of the regular associations that presents to the board. But she said the situation demands a “drastic rethink.” Saying that there are other structures for incorporating student input, Mexicotte asserted, “I don’t want to disparage the work of the Youth Senate, but I want this to be right.”

The board agreed to continue discussion of the inclusion of student input at its organizational meeting in January.

Budget Update

AAPS deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen and AAPS assistant superintendent of human resources and legal services Dave Comsa gave the board an update on possibilities being considered at the state level for reforming the Michigan Public Service Employees Retirement System (MPSERS). The rate that school districts are mandated to pay into MPSERS has been rising steadily, and currently stands at 27%.

Mexicotte asked if there was any reason to believe that the district would benefit from MPSERS reform, and Allen said he was hopeful. “They have been talking about this for years,” Allen said. “There is talk about having some sort of blended retirement – this cost is really rising out of control and is really sinking our ship.”

Allen said it’s also possible that the state will mandate greater MPSERS contributions from charter schools by changing the way the foundation allowance is paid to districts. In addition, he said, the state may offer more incentives funding for best practices.

Comsa added that there has also been some discussion about not going through with the proposed elimination of personal property taxes because it will be an election year, and no replacement funding has been identified.

Finally, Allen noted that the School Aid Fund looks better than it did at this time last year, which is hopeful.

Agenda Planning

Mexicotte noted that the following topics had been placed on the board agenda for the remainder of the 2011-12 school year: cabinet-level contracts, special donor recognitions, board terms, HVAC bid, balanced calendar, policy updates, change in high school start times, and board professional development.

Baskett requested a update on the Mitchell-Scarlett Teaching and Learning Collaboration (TLC). Mexicotte said the TLC, including its proposed balanced calendar component, should be considered on a broader level, noting that she has been asked, “If it’s good enough for Scarlett, why isn’t it good enough for the rest of the district?”

Present: President Deb Mexicotte, vice president Susan Baskett, treasurer Irene Patalan, and trustees Simone Lightfoot, Glenn Nelson and Christine Stead.

Absent: Secretary Andy Thomas [arrived for the last half hour]

Next regular meeting: Dec. 14, 2011, 7 p.m., at the downtown branch of the Ann Arbor District Library.

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Debate among trustees on the issue included discussion on paying prevailing wages, the legal requirements of accepting lowest reasonable bids, and due process of determining comparable services among bidders. Public commentary and the teachers’ union association report were also devoted fully to this issue.

Also at the Nov. 30 meeting, the board reflected on its decision to consolidate its busing services with the Washtenaw Intermediate School District, in light of firm audit numbers from 2010-11. Savings realized in the area of transportation fell nearly $1 million short of the district’s target in the first year of the consolidation.

HVAC Journeyman Bid Award

At the Nov. 30 meeting, the board considered at second briefing a bid to contract with D.M. Burr of Flint, Mich., for 2,000 hours of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) journeyman services.

HVAC Journeyman Bid Award: Staff Recommendation

AAPS executive director of physical properties Randy Trent clarified a few aspects of the bid in response to questions from board members. He noted that the majority of the 2,000 hours would be used on one primary position – a journeyman who would work from 7 a.m.-3 p.m., weekdays, and could be assigned to take care of any mechanical HVAC issues. There would also be a second person who would do boiler testing. Both people are fully licensed, he said.

Trent also reiterated that for years this HVAC journeyman contract had been coupled with a contract to maintain the district’s digital control systems. This year, however, the mechanical work in the buildings was split out as its own bid. The current contract (with Johnson Controls), which includes both the HVAC mechanical and control system services, expires on Dec 31, 2011.

Regarding the legal requirements of paying the prevailing wage, Trent explained that if the money used to fund the contract is from a state-guaranteed fund, like funds from the 2004 bond, the prevailing wage must be paid. In this case, he said, the law does not require that prevailing wage be paid.

Trent assured the board that D.M. Burr would be able to provide journeyman services comparable to the current contractor, Johnson Controls, and that the journeyman from d.m. Burr would be comparably accessible in the case of emergency. Saying he had done the “due diligence to talk to companies, the actual people who would be working for AAPS, their supervisors, and other school districts [who have used them],” Trent reiterated that d.m. Burr was the lowest qualified bidder at this time.

HVAC Journeyman Bid Award: Public Comment

Five people addressed the board about the administration’s recommendation to award the HVAC journeyman services bid to D.M. Burr, a company from Flint, Mich.

Tom Yax asked a group of local skilled tradesmen to stand – each was an AAPS alumnus who had completed an apprenticeship program coordinated by local union officials. Yax noted that these professionals are safe, already background-checked, and can do any work in the district better and faster due to their familiarity with the equipment. He also expressed concern that D.M. Burr had poor references, and suggested that “it needs to be investigated.”

Ron Motsinger asserted that AAPS had promised voters that it would pay all workers prevailing wages when the community passed a sinking fund millage and capital improvements bond in 2004. He also questioned why the board does not have information on the historically-underutilized business (HUB) status on this bid. He pointed out that prevailing wage will not be paid for journeyman services if this bid is awarded to d.m. Burr. Noting that the district will face budget shortfalls again next year, Motsinger said: “Paying for [the shortfall] on the backs of workers will not get AAPS out of deficit.” He encouraged the board to consider setting aside the D.M. Burr bid for any number of reasons, including the fact that local workers are better trained and have a history with the district.

Local skilled tradesman and AAPS parent Jim Burns highlighted local union workers’ volunteer efforts on behalf of schools, as well as the scholarship opportunities in local building trades provided to AAPS graduates. Noting the high percentage of minorities employed in local building trades, he questioned D.M. Burr’s commitment to diversity. Finally, he pointed out that the D.M. Burr bid was one-half of what it would cost to pay local union contractors to perform the journeyman services, because local workers are paid good wages and benefits.

Bill Carras spoke from his perspective of as a lifelong Ann Arborite and AAPS parent. Carras added that his son wants to go into the trades, but without the support of the local community, he is not sure he can advise his son to do so.

Andy Fanta, a current member of the Ypsilanti school board, and an attorney, contended that the board is not required to take the lowest bid. He recounted a number of instances in which the Ypsilanti school board accepted a local bid over the lowest qualified bidder, or at least required that the prevailing wage was paid by non-local contractors. Fanta argued that the benefits of investing in the local community far outweigh the cost. Finally, he said, “I’d be suspicious of a contract that came in 50% below any other contract.”

HVAC Journeyman Bid Award: Clarification

Trent was asked by the board to clarify that the district did ask for the same HUB information from journeyman services bidders that it had requested from contractors who bid on work to be funded by the 2004 capital improvements bond. Trent said that the district always requests HUB status from bidders, but that it is optional information, and for this bid, all but one of the companies chose not to fill it out.

HVAC Journeyman Bid Award: AAEA Report

The Ann Arbor Education Association (AAEA) – the district’s teachers’ union – is one of the six associations the board invites to present regular reports to the board. The Nov. 30 AAEA report was focused on the question of the D.M. Burr bid award recommendation.

AAEA president Brit Satchwell pointed out that the skilled trades training program mentioned during public commentary for AAPS graduates is a 4-5 year program, and that the $10-$12,000 annual program cost is paid for by local tradespeople. When students graduate, Satchwell said, they can expect to step into decent-paying jobs with decent benefits, so they can in turn start to give back and be contributing members in the community. He also praised specific contributions to AAPS and other community groups made by local union workers.

Satchwell noted that the first three words of Ann Arbor Public Schools are “Ann Arbor Public,” and that it’s a “downward spiral” when the board lets people come in from the outside and undercut local community members. “I am not interested in one more FTE at the expense of the community … When you lower the quality of life for the parents, you impact the students directly,” he said.

Satchwell argued that the only way D.M. Burr could undercut local union bids by half is by not paying a decent wage. He also questioned whether D.M. Burr has the longevity to provide superior mechanical services. “We have people who have been working on our mechanics longer than this company has been in business,” he noted, asserting that when working with gas lines, electrical systems, and boilers, AAPS should want nothing but the best for its schools and their students.

Urging the board not to accept what he called a “lowball bid,” Satchwell said that doing so would not strengthen our community. “You get what you pay for – there is something tremendously wrong here,” he cautioned.

HVAC Journeyman Bid Award: Board Discussion

Trustee Simone Lightfoot expressed concern that the HUB status hadn’t been provided by any of the bidding companies except for one. She questioned the district’s commitment to securing HUB contractors. She felt challenged that requesting HUB status as part of a bid could not be required legally, she said. Nelson asked whether the district would be able to determine HUB status on its own. Trent ventured it would use up a lot of staff time to do that research. Trustee Susan Baskett argued that companies who do not list HUB status do not have it. “I would not support taking valuable labor time on our part to help these companies say they are not HUBs.”

Lightfoot also asked how many of D.M. Burr’s references Trent had contacted, and whether any of them had shared concerns about D.M. Burr. Trent said that he had spoken to three of the 30 references given. He acknowledged that some of the references said they had been unhappy initially with the service they received from D.M. Burr. But after talking to D.M. Burr, Trent said, corrective action had been taken, and their concerns had been resolved.

Finally, Lightfoot contrasted the board’s position on the superintendent’s salary (“we get what we pay for”) with the board’s desire to go with an extremely low bid in this case and still expect great quality. She stated, “My concern is … this is a slippery slope.”

Baskett called the bid recommendation “cheap and shortsighted,” and argued that it was not in line with the district’s strategic plan, in that it does not engender trust and support of the district’s constituents. Calling it “disrespectful” to local workers to accept a bid that does not pay prevailing wage, Baskett argued, “We are not asking anyone to do this job for free. We expect a job well done and we should be willing to pay for it.”

Turstees Glenn Nelson and Irene Patalan expressed support for the recommendation made by Trent to award the bid to D.M. Burr.

Nelson brought up the point that 88% of the projects in the $254 million 2004 bond were given to local unionized contractors. He argued that AAPS will do more for local economic development by focusing on “mission-centered services.” Nelson said he would support this bid because it “squeezes as much education as possible out of every dollar taxpayers give us.”

Patalan, who owns a local shop in Kerrytown, said that local is important, but dollars are important too. Saying she feels like she needs to “do the dirty work” for the governor and others in Lansing, Patalan said she is supportive of the D.M. Burr bid because it would put as much money as possible behind the students. Also, she added, “I’m not fearful — I think these people will actually do a great job.”

HVAC Journeyman Bid Award: Board Vote to Delay

Trustee Andy Thomas moved that the board defer a vote on the bid award until the next regular meeting on Dec. 14, pending additional information from AAPS administration. Lightfoot seconded his motion.

Thomas said at first he had thought he might support the bid recommendation to go with D.M. Burr because it is the board’s fiscal responsibility to accept the lowest qualified bidder for identical services. He noted that while he heard and appreciated the comments of Baskett regarding lack of community trust, the community trusts the board to make the very best use of the district’s limited funds. Thomas argued that “as soon as you start making exceptions to the idea that you are going to accept the lowest bid, that opens up the doors to cronyism.”

However, Thomas continued, “I have heard a lot of things tonight that have cast significant doubt in my mind … [about whether] this is an apples-to-apples comparison.” Saying he is concerned that the district will not get the quality from D.M. Burr that it is accustomed to receiving, and that Trent’s description of the due process followed to select D.MBurr was “not reassuring,” Thomas enumerated a list of topics on which he wanted more information at the next meeting.

Thomas requested that Trent: (1) explain how much time would be required to bring a new contractor up to speed regarding the peculiarities of the AAPS system; (2) offer more specifics about the individuals being proposed to do the work; (3) complete a wider reference check; (4) and address how D.M. Burr is capable of addressing the district’s needs when they are novices in this area.

Lightfoot added that she would like to get an understanding of how D.M. Burr can do the job for nearly half the cost of the next-lowest bidder. She also asked how much administrative time would be needed to provide oversight, and what sort of licensing and training D.M. Burr requires of its employees.

Thomas said that the board should grapple with the work of creating policy on approval of bid recommendations. “We, as a board, need to have a very substantive discussion of local versus non-local, and whether or not we are going to support the prevailing wage,” he said. “I don’t think this is good for us to go through this every single time a particular contract comes up.”

Board president Deb Mexicotte added that she had also been thinking a lot about how the board considers contracts in a more global sense, but led the board to a vote on the motion at hand, which was to postpone the issue. She noted that in the case of a 3-3 vote [a possibility because trustee Christine Stead was not present at the meeting], the motion would fail.

Outcome: The bid for HVAC journeyman services was pulled out for separate consideration from the consent agenda. The motion from Thomas to postpone a vote on the bid approval for HVAC journeyman services passed 4-2. Baskett and Lightfoot voted no. Mexicotte, Nelson, Thomas, and Patalan voted yes.

Annual Financial Audit

The board had agreed at its previous meeting to submit specific questions on the audit to AAPS deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen, who would respond to them at the next meeting on Nov. 30, which he did.

Annual Financial Audit: Variances

Allen began by reiterating that, even though there were variances in some categories – some under, some over budget – the overall general fund expenditures were $1.5 million below budget.

Allen then read answers to 14 specific line-item questions that trustees had submitted regarding budget variances. In summary, many of the variances could be explained in terms of accounting or organizational shifts, such as staffing new programs like the Widening Advancement for Youth (WAY-Washtenaw program). Allen noted that in total, these lines cancelled each other out. By way of example, when the district had to contract for unfilled special education vacancies, “the contract line is over, the salary line is under,” he said.

Other variances were explained by: a larger number of retirements than expected (including some long-term employees who received severance pay, which the district no longer offers); overtime paid due to weather-related maintenance needs; and less savings from the transportation consolidation than anticipated.

Annual Financial Audit: Finance and HR Software

Allen noted that when staff members are moved from program to program after the budget is set, those FTEs are reassigned in the human resources software, but not always in the finance software. He said that the district is looking into ways to link the finance and HR systems to cut down on the manual work of moving people from line item to line item.

Patalan asked if the new software could help to monitor budgetary shifts. Allen explained that ongoing monitoring during the year is currently done on a macro level, but that with new software that could link human resources to finance, “we could go deeper into detail and make more adjustments throughout the year.” The software, he said, could show when HR and Finance are “out of balance” in terms of FTEs and their associated costs.

AAPS superintendent Patricia Green commended the administration for looking into changing the software to reduce the labor needed to monitor more detailed budget data throughout the year. She noted that such software had been implemented in her former district and that it had solved a lot of frustration.

Lightfoot asked whether the new software would be able to remedy the confusion of how long-term subs are accounted for on the finance side. Allen answered that yes, the software would automatically adjust budget line-items when personnel shifts are made.

Mexicotte said she found the discussion helpful, and said she hoped new software could help to marry over-budget items with corresponding under-budget ones so that the board could more easily identify budget line items that are truly out of sync with no simple explanation.

Annual Financial Audit: Transportation Consolidation

Multiple trustees had comments or questions regarding the net savings realized from consolidation transportation services with the Washtenaw Intermediate School District.

Allen noted that the district had hoped for $1.5 million savings in transportation costs, but saved closer to $500,000. In explaining the nearly $1 million variance, Allen pointed to: unemployment benefits extensions; four major workers compensation claims; payout of sick days for employees who left the district; increased fuel costs; and a greater than anticipated retirement rate of 20.66% (projected to have been 16.94%).

Lightfoot asked how it was that unemployment, workers compensation, and sick pay expenses had not been anticipated.

Allen said that the fact that the state government extended unemployment benefits could not have been predicted. The district decided it was the right thing to do to cover the cost of paying out unused sick time to transportation employees who left the district, he said.

Calling the AAPS transportation situation a “thorn in [her] side,” Lightfoot questioned whether the consolidation had been worth it, once all the unforeseen costs were considered. Allen asserted that it was worth the savings overall, even though AAPS missed its budget target.

Responding to questions about fuel costs, Allen noted that they are a “pass-through” item and that the WISD is encouraging more districts to join in a fuel-buying consolidation that doesn’t include consolidation of transportation services. Mexicotte suggested that perhaps the district should consider having a more active role in fuel purchasing.

Nelson asked how transportation of special education students is paid for via the consortium. Allen explained that the state reimbursement goes to the WISD, and WISD splits it up among members of the transportation consortium based on each district’s actual costs.

Nelson also noted that he didn’t want the public to lose sight of the fact that overall, the district came in under budget, and did not need to borrow money to manage summer cash flow, because the fund balance stood at $16.5 million.

Lightfoot questioned why Burns Park had received additional bus service, and how transportation distances are determined in relation to apartment complexes, specifically Pine Lake Cooperative.

AAPS director of communications Liz Margolis pointed out that the new Burns Park bus is to transport Pioneer High School students who previously were able to walk to school before the Stadium bridge pedestrian detour was implemented. [Reconstruction of the bridges at Stadium and State resulted in road closures starting Nov. 28.] For the distance calculation question, Allen explained that apartment complexes are measured from the beginning of the property.

Lightfoot protested that this was unfair to people living in the back of the complex, because the actual distance to a school for them is significantly farther than the district’s calculation – as is the case at Pine Lake. Mexicotte suggested that the board might want to consider a policy regarding measuring transportation distances. Lightfoot said she would like to take Mexicotte up on that recommendation, and Mexicotte asked Lightfoot to send an e-mail requesting the idea be added to the agenda planner.

Outcome: The FY 2010-11 financial audit was approved unanimously as part of the consent agenda, which also included approval of the control service bid, 2011-12 grant awards, draft minutes and gift offers. There was little or no discussion of any item other than the audit.

Sixth Grade Science Kits

Before the board as a first briefing item was a request for approval of 6th grade science curriculum units. Green asked AAPS deputy superintendent for instructional services Alesia Flye and AAPS assistant superintendent for secondary education Joyce Hunter to speak to the need for new 6th grade science materials.

Hunter explained that two teachers had already piloted these units. The district was now ready to expand the implementation to the remaining 6th grade science teachers, she said. The earth and space units will be taught at all five middle schools, and the total cost of necessary curricular materials is $55,426.

In response to board member questions, Flye noted that the timing of this purchase was planned, unlike the algebra textbooks purchase that was requested earlier this year.

Nelson asked for examples of what is included in the curriculum. AAPS curriculum staff member Amy Dellar answered that the goal of this second of three 6th grade units is to help students understand the Earth in context of the solar system. For example, students are supposed to be able to explain why we have seasons. Dellar praised the curriculum for being very hands-on and inquiry-based, meaning that students are given opportunities to apply their knowledge in a variety of ways.

Baskett asked what the other units were. Dellar told the board that the first 6th grade unit is weather, and the third is hydrology, or the water cycle. For the hydrology unit, Dellar noted that the district is still using versions of older curricula that are still well-aligned with state requirements.

Flye added that she is preparing a comprehensive look at needed curricula over a multi-year period, and that the district was still evaluating the need for a new hydrology kit.

Baskett asked about the “shelf life” for the proposed curriculum purchase. Flye said she expected it would last about five to six years.

Outcome: This item was heard at first briefing. A second briefing and vote will be included on the agenda of the next regular board meeting.

Budget Planning Update

Mexicotte noted that the budget would be an agenda item at each board meeting until the final 2012-13 budget is approved.

Green called on Allen, who passed out a set of documents to trustees which summarized the results from the community budget forums, which are also available on the district’s website. [See also previous Chronicle coverage of the forums, held Nov. 10 and Nov. 14.] Refering to ideas generated by forum attendees, Baskett noted that, “Some of these are very good ideas from the public.” She asked if the administration had decided which ideas to implement. Allen said that has not yet been determined.

Mexicotte asked if the board could have a “narrative” about what the savings gleaned from some of the top forum suggestions would be.

Allen added that the administration is working on updating the “costs by building” data set requested at the forums, and will be posting it on the AAPS website.

Association Reports

The board receives regular reports from the Youth Senate, the Black Parents Student Support Group (BPSSG), the Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee on Special Education (AAPAC), the Parent-Teacher-Organization Council (PTOC), the Ann Arbor Administrators Association (AAAA), and the Ann Arbor Education Association (AAEA). The Youth Senate and AAAA did not report at the Nov. 30 meeting, and the AAEA report was described above.

BPSSG

Bryan Johnson reported that the BPSSG had held its second general body meeting of the year, and gave an overview of the group’s 2011-12 goals. He noted that more specific work was being done in the BPSSG’s five committees, and that they would be reporting out at the next meeting on Dec. 19 at Tappan.

AAPAC

Katherine Fisher reported that the AAPAC is pleased to hear there will be a full review of SISS services coming up, and that parent meetings will be offered on the positive behavior support programs going on in the district. She also announced that the AAPAC will be putting on a technology workshop (“Happy to be Appy”) to highlight how iPads can help students with special needs.

PTOC

Amy Pachera congratulated Lightfoot and Thomas on their successful re-elections to the board. She reported that the most recent PTOC meeting had been its “Show Me the Money” fundraising forum, which encourages all schools to share their most successful fundraising strategies. Eleven schools were present, she noted. Pachera also referred PTOs to a section on the PTOC website about how PTOs can legally spend money. Finally, she thanked the AAPS administration for coming to the public early with forums on the 2012-13 budget.

Agenda Planning

Trustees suggested agenda items on the following: Head Start, the organizational meeting, school board terms, board professional development on superintendent evaluations, and the Achievement Gap Elimination Plan.

Agenda Planning: Head Start

Lightfoot asked Green about the status of Head Start, and Green responded that the program had indeed been defunded at the county level. [Washtenaw County's board of commissioners did not include Head Start in its funding for 2012-13. Chronicle coverage: "Washtenaw County Budget Set 2012-13"] Green noted there has been a “tremendous amount of discussion” about the issue, but that no decisions have been made about if and how the program will be continued locally.

Lightfoot requested that the board consider the district’s role in Head Start. Mexicotte said the issue had already been placed on the agenda by Nelson and Baskett.

Agenda Planning: Jan. 18 Organizational Meeting

Mexicotte again congratulated Thomas and Lightfoot on their re-elections, and encouraged trustees to start thinking about how they would like to serve on the board. She noted that at the board’s annual organizational meeting, set for Jan 18, 2012, the board will elect new officers, make appointments to external committees, and consider its interactions with associations.

Agenda Planning: School Board Elections

Nelson noted that the new legislation setting school board elections for Novembers of even-numbered years – when considered in the context of the board’s current use of four-year terms – could cause volatility on the board. He suggested that the board should consider making its terms six years long so that no more than three members would turn over as the result of any election outcome.

Four-year terms, Nelson pointed out, result in a majority of the board (four members) being elected every other election. Switching to six-year terms would mean that two members would turn over, then two more in the next election, and then three more the election after that, and then the cycle would continue.

Nelson said he would like to know what the community thinks about this issue, and said he believes that in Ann Arbor, there has been a judgement not to have majority of the board turn over at one time. Mexicotte said the issue of board terms has been added to the board’s agenda in the second semester.

Agenda Planning: Superintendent Evaluations

Baskett confirmed that the board wanted to go through a professional development workshop in January on superintendent evaluations and invite other local school board members to participate, as she had suggested. Mexicotte told Baskett to go ahead and coordinate it with the help of board secretary Amy Osinski.

Achievement Gap Elimination Plan

Lightfoot asked when the Achievement Gap Elimination Plan (AGEP) would be discussed. Green responded that it would be discussed in March as part of the Equity Plan. Lightfoot expressed concern that the two plans were being confounded. Baskett explained that the Equity Plan was constructed around the work the district has done with the Pacific Education Group, but that the AGEP was not limited to issues involving equity, and included community input.

Mexicotte said that the two plans can be discussed at the same meeting, adding that Green has a vision for linking them together. Lightfoot said she wants to keep them distinct.

Awards and Accolades

Numerous individuals and groups were honored at the Nov. 30 board meeting.

Thurston 5th Grade Choir

The Thurston 5th grade choir performed four songs for the board, and received many accolades from trustees. Participation in this choir is fully voluntary, with students meeting once a week during lunch to rehearse.

Celebration of Excellence Awards

Three teachers were honored with Celebration of Excellence Awards at the Nov. 30 meeting — Pat Jenkins, Kayna Edwards, and Jennifer Kunec.

Glenn Nelson announced the award for Pat Jenkins, a Skyline High School teacher and leader of the communication, media, and public policy magnet program there. The committee of parents who nominated Jenkins praised her for “creating a college-level experience in a high school class.” Jenkins thanked the board, her students, her colleagues, and her dad, who had traveled from Maryland to see her receive this award.

Andy Thomas announced the award for Kayna Edwards, a special education teacher at Skyline High School, who also runs the school’s talent show, and advises the ski club. She was honored for being a trusted advisor, and a sensitive and knowledgeable educator for all students. Edwards thanked Skyline principal Sulura Jackson for “embracing her personality,” and her husband for supporting the extensive me she spends on her work.

Simone Lightfoot read the award for Jennifer Kunec, the A.P. U.S. History teacher at Pioneer High School. She was nominated by former student Emma Hamstra, who said that Kunec’s support led her to learn how to study effectively, write well, and be self-confident. Kunec was thankful for the recognition, and pointed out that AAPS is unique in allowing all students to take Advanced Placement classes without taking pre-requisites. She said she is proud to have an opportunity to help all kids achieve in A.P. classes. (After a rough start in Kunec’s class, Hamstra received a “5″ on the A.P. U.S. History test and is now studying at the University of Massachusetts.)

Superintendent’s Report

Green reported that AAPS was among 60 districts named as “academic champions” in the state. She then announced multiple awards received by individual teachers and students. They included students in honors choir and orchestra, essay award winners at Tappan Middle School, a counselor at Community High School, an AAPS graduate working to increase visibility of climate change, and a Northside Elementary 2nd grader who was recognized by the Guiness Book of World Records for completing 192 hula hoop rotations in one minute, standing on one leg.

Items from the Board

During the earlier discussion on HVAC journeyman services, Lightfoot had mentioned that her absence from the previous board meeting was due to surgery she’d undergone for breast cancer. She’d been diagnosed early in her re-election campaign. During the section of the agenda devoted to communications from board members, Lightfoot thanked everyone for the cards and flowers she had received while recovering, said her prognosis is excellent, and thanked voters for her re-election to the board.

Lightfoot also “registered her disagreement” with any salary increases at the administrative level. That came in response to a communication from Green to the board that a proposal to ratify projected salary increases for top administrative contracts would be coming to the board in December.

Thomas offered condolences to Dave Comsa, AAPS assistant superintendent for human resources and legal services, whose mother recently died.

Nelson gave kudos to the Peace Neighborhood Center, the AAPS homebuilding program, and all of those who help the board create a better future for all AAPS children.

Present: President Deb Mexicotte, vice-president Susan Baskett, secretary Andy Thomas, treasurer Irene Patalan and trustees Glenn Nelson and Simone Lightfoot.

Absent: Trustee Christine Stead

Next regular meeting: Dec. 14, 2011, 7 p.m., at the fourth-floor conference room of the downtown Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave.

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Randy Trent, AAPS executive director of physical properties, gave the board an update on the technology bond millage and gave bid recommendations to the board. (Photos by the writer.)

Trustees approved moving the technology bond millage vote from February to May 2012, and passed a set of resolutions opposing pending state legislation.

A packed consent agenda passed unanimously.

Among other items on the consent agenda, one made official the board’s shift from maintaining two standing committees to meeting monthly as a committee of the whole.

Notable in light of the board’s organizational change was the increase in use of the agenda planning section of the Nov. 16 meeting.

The board’s meeting agenda is now set by the whole board – instead of by an executive committee consisting of the board chair and the committee chairs.

Budget Planning Update

AAPS superintendent Patricia Green and AAPS deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen gave their perspectives on two recent community budget forums, and the board offered a few questions and comments. [Chronicle coverage of the forums: "AAPS Seeks Public Input on Budget" and "AAPS Budget Forum Feedback"]

Budget Planning: Community Forums

Green noted that a total of more than 220 people participated in two budget forums sponsored by the district – on one Nov. 10, and another on Nov. 14. Green said the district will continue to engage the community. Saying the richness of the community was obvious, she thanked everyone for coming out “to give input and give testimony and talk about what’s valued and what the needs are.”

Green reported that the AAPS website will incorporate a suggestion box to gather additional input on the budget. She also thanked Allen for spearheading the district’s efforts, and asked him to share his perspective.

Allen confirmed that attendance at the budget forums was high, and summarized their format.

He also concurred with Green that “many excellent ideas were brought forward,” and stressed that the district has not yet drafted a budget reduction plan. First, he said, the administration wanted to know what was important to the community, and what other information the community might want to see.

Allen said summaries of the table discussions, along with budget suggestions the district has received via email will be available on the AAPS website. The budget presentation made at the forums is also available, he said.  [.pdf of AAPS budget presentation]

As far as next steps, Allen said the administration will present a draft budget plan to the board in March or April, then hold additional forums to discuss the proposed reductions, projected to total $14 million. Based on forum input, the budget will likely be adjusted, and then formally presented to the board in April.

Budget Planning: Board Comments, Questions

Trustee Susan Baskett asked when the board will have an opportunity to suggest budget ideas in an open and transparent way, saying she would like to be a part of the feedback loop before the administration gets too deep into drafting a proposed budget.

Trustee Christine Stead suggested that the board should hold a study session to have a more focused discussion on the budget in March 2012, after the state revenue conference is held in January, and after the house and senate fiscal agencies issue their reports. She also noted that the former planning committee had vetted the budget thoroughly, and suggested that budget development should be a standing item at every meeting until the budget is passed.

Christine Stead, AAPS board of trustees

Board president Deb Mexicotte said trustees are welcome to give input at each meeting as individuals or as a whole board.

Trustee Glenn Nelson, who had attended both forums, said he had found the discussion useful, even when he did not agree with it. Nelson also asked whether best practices funding was included in the projected deficit, and Allen said it was not. Allen explained that AAPS does expect to receive $1.6 million in one-time funding, with the first installment coming this month.

Nelson also asked whether the MPSERS offset had been included, and Allen said the offset of approximately $146 per pupil had been included on the revenue side. The effect of the increased retirement rate on MPSERS contributions had also been included on the expenditures side.

Annual Financial Audit

The district’s auditors, from Plante and Moran, discussed the results of the 2010-11 financial audit of AAPS. Explaining that the goal of the audit is to form an opinion regarding the district’s financial processes to see if they are functioning properly, the auditors produced an “unqualified opinion.” This is like getting a “5” on an AP [advanced placement] test, they said. Praising AAPS for putting forth rigor and extensive preparation regarding the 2010-11 audit, the auditors also noted that AAPS has a history of scoring well on its audits.

The audit was reviewed in brief, highlighting future uncertainties such as: the state retirement rate increases; a decrease in federal funding; a decrease in state foundation allowances; the cost of capital improvements without a new bond issue; rising health care costs; and a variable pupil count. In summary, the auditors stated, “It’s a difficult time to be in school finance.”

Trustee Christine Stead produced a list of variances on which she had questions, and asked for feedback specifically on the variance the district experienced in transportation service. The auditors suggested that the fact that the district’s transportation service has the most “layers” of the districts in the WISD transportation consolidation. That made it hard to anticipate the savings that might be gained. Auditors also noted that it’s hard to get a concrete picture of how such a consolidation will look until it is up and running, and suggested, “it will take a while to settle in.”

Board chair Deb Mexicotte suggested that the board might like to explore all variances above or below a certain benchmark, such as 3% or 5%. Stead noted she was mostly interested in looking at large-dollar items.

Andy Thomas noted that in the past, the board had used the [now former] performance committee to review the audit more closely and that such an opportunity had been lost with the shift to the committee-of-the-whole model.

Allen noted that overall, the district is under budget. A number of adjustments will brought to the board as a first quarter budget amendment. He responded to the board’s questions by saying he would prepare answers to specific line item questions for the financial audit’s second briefing.

Glenn Nelson noted that the impact of the increasing retirement rate is huge, and reported that by his calculations, the district is netting $105 less per pupil than it was in FY 2002, if the retirement rate is factored in, and that’s not adjusted for the cost index. Mexicotte added that the amount represents over $1.6 million dollars.

Nelson also asked the auditors to respond to “allegations of ‘fat’ in the staffing of the district [administration],” to which they replied that AAPS administration is not overstaffed, and pointed out that “certainly at mid-management levels, they are working a lot harder to get everything done than they have in the past.”

Finally, the board revisited its ongoing discussion about appropriate fund balance levels, on which trustees have very divergent opinions. Nelson suggested that AAPS should not be cutting teachers or programs to add to its reserves, and Mexicotte responded that the board did not make cuts anticipating that the money would be added to savings, and it was unexpected that the district would come in under budget.  Stead agreed with Mexicotte, saying that it was hard not to take Nelson’s comment offensively. She reminded her colleagues that fund equity can swing significantly from quarter to quarter, and that if the district’s fund balance drops under the amount of cash on hand needed to operate over the summer, it would incur interest charges to borrow the additional funding.

Outcome: The 2010-11 financial audit was a first briefing item. It will return to the board for a second briefing and a vote, tentatively scheduled for the Dec 14 regular meeting.

Tech Bond Millage

For some months now, the board has been discussing the possibility of requesting voter approval of an additional millage to fund a technology bond. At the board’s Nov. 16 meeting, superintendent Patricia Green reviewed the millage strategy being developed by the administration in concert with the board.

Green said she had asked the administration to develop a document to explain how each one of the eight strategies of the AAPS strategic plan is linked to the technology plan and incorporated into the technology bond proposal. Green said the administration is developing a list of FAQs, and asked Randy Trent, AAPS executive director of physical properties, to give a brief overview of what had been developed so far.

Tech Bond Millage: Strategy

Trent reported that the administration has developed an initial set of FAQs and their answers, and said that the FAQs will become a living document on the district’s website, with new questions and their answers getting posted as they come in from the public.

He briefly reviewed the timeline for the millage strategy as the board had discussed at their November committee meeting, and turned the presentation over to Liz Margolis, the district’s director of communications.

Margolis recommended that the board consider moving the vote on the technology millage to the May 2012 election date instead of holding it in concert with the Republican primary in February 2012, and briefly reiterated the reasoning as had been discussed by the committee.

She explained that holding a vote on the tech bond in February would be complicated since the Republican presidential primary is a closed primary. This would mean, Margolis explained, that citizens who declare themselves as a Republican would need to complete two ballots in order to vote in the primary and on the tech bond. Voters in the city of Ann Arbor who do not declare as Republicans would only have one ballot (the tech bond), and voters from precincts in other municipalities who attend AAPS could require up to three ballots – one for the Republican presidential primary, one for the AAPS tech bond, and one from their local municipality. Taken together, these possible permutations could cause significant voter confusion, Margolis said, and urged the board to reconsider the election date.

Margolis also noted that for many years AAPS used the May election date for school board elections and other votes, and said that might help achieve a favorable turnout. She added that there are community members lined up to help in an advisory capacity with a May millage, but said that she cannot reveal their names until the board commits to an election date.

Tech Bond Millage: Board Questions, Discussion

Andy Thomas asked Green whether the district was losing an opportunity to improve technology in a timely manner if the millage vote were to be delayed. Green said there would be no impact on purchasing. This point had been discussed by the district’s bond counsel during a previous regular meeting of the board, along with other details about what the tech bond would buy and how it would work. For details, see: “AAPS to Float February Tech Millage.”

Simone Lightfoot was not present at the Nov. 16 meeting, but sent questions to be discussed in her absence, which were read aloud by Mexicotte.

Lightfoot (via Mexicotte) asked how Barton Malow had been selected as the contractor for the tech bond work, whether their $1.5 million project management fee is standard, whether the bond includes money for training and warranties on equipment purchased, and what the connection is between planning for the tech bond and planning for the possibility of moving to all-day kindergarten.

Trent explained that Barton Malow and Granger had both submitted bids for the technology upgrades if the millage is approved, and that both have done technology work for AAPS before. Barton Malow was selected based on their proposal, he said, and their management fee is not standard. It does include warranties, but the allowable training is limited since the bonds would be issued only for capital improvements.

Trent explained that the research for the tech bond and the research for the possible kindergarten expansion were being done separately, but at the same time. Barton Malow, he said, was “going through server rooms and dusty attics” in all buildings to prepare for the technology work, and Trent himself was walking all the buildings with the principals to assess space for all-day kindergarten.

Green added that the question of whether to ask voters for a millage to support a tech bond was originally coupled with the question of whether the district would need to raise funds for capital improvements related to all-day kindergarten. She said though the board was not actively discussing all-day kindergarten, she did not want to lose sight of the possibility that the district might still want to move in that direction.

Nelson said he really appreciated the follow-up Trent had begun on space considerations for all-day kindergarten. Saying he was “amongst the group that let it slip out of my mind,” he acknowledged that “it could come up suddenly.”

The impetus for possibly moving to all-day kindergarten is a signal from the Michigan legislature that they intend to cut kindergarten per-pupil funding by half for all students enrolled in a half-day kindergarten program, though such legislation has not yet been passed. For more on the discussion to proceed with a tech bond only, see previous Chronicle coverage: “AAPS Board Hands Off Athletic Cuts”

Outcome: As part of the consent agenda, the board unanimously approved moving the technology bond millage vote to May 2012 from February 2012. 

AAPS Response to State Actions

With little discussion, the board passed three resolutions in response to pending state legislation. One resolution was to express opposition to the elimination of personal property tax – Senate Bill 34, which would lead to an additional loss of revenue for AAPS of $5.3 million, while increasing homeowner taxes by .48 mills.

The second was to oppose Senate Bill 618, which would lift the cap on the number of charter schools in Michigan, including those owned by private, for-profit companies.

The third was a resolution to oppose Senate Bill 137, which was amended to allow bullying if it is “a statement of a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction of a school employee, school volunteer, pupil, or a pupil’s parent or guardian.” Mexicotte noted that Green had written a strongly-worded statement about the legislation that was sent to parents district-wide. She also noted that after great uproar, the State House of Representatives had removed that language from the bill, but that the bill as amended had been passed by the State Senate.

All three resolutions will be forwarded to school and government officials across the state.

Outcome: All three of the resolutions opposing state legislation were passed unanimously as part of the consent agenda.

Consent Agenda: Miscellaneous

In addition to items described above, the consent agenda for the Nov. 16 meeting contained two items that were open for second briefing, but on which the board had little or no discussion: (1) the addition of a link to an Arab-American parent support group from the district’s website; and (2) an extensive set of policy amendments to formalize the board’s new committee structure.

The consent agenda also included two items that were entertained as special briefing items by the board at the Nov. 16 meeting, meaning they would be voted on the same day as first presented: (1) a revision of board policy 1250 to add wording for the use of the “call the question” parliamentary procedure; and (2) a resolution to waive intellectual property rights for an addition to the FASTT (Fluency and Automaticity through Systematic Teaching with Technology) Math program created by AAPS.

Calling the question is a parliamentary procedure used during a meeting, essentially to end debate and bring the matter to a vote. Mexicotte highlighted the fact that only someone who had not just spoken on the issue at hand could move to close discussion on that issue, and that any votes to call-the-question [or, put the question to a vote] would need to have a supermajority of at least five trustees to pass.

Regarding the waiver of intellectual property rights, AAPS assistant superintendent for human resources and legal services Dave Comsa reported that the board had held a closed session on Oct. 12 to discuss this issue, and noted only that “the royalties cannot be paid because it’s not a revenue-producer for Scholastic [the maker of FASTT Math].” He added briefly that the addition to FASTT Math created by AAPS is a small part of the program, and that Scholastic only pays royalties to long-time employees.

Noting that there will be no further modifications to the program, Comsa recommended that the board waive their intellectual property rights to the addition, and asked that the resolution be considered as a special briefing item. Trustees expressed skepticism about Scholastic’s claims, but supported Comsa’s recommendation.

Outcome: The consent agenda, which also included the approval of draft minutes, was approved unanimously.

Bid Award Recommendations

Randy Trent, AAPS executive director of physical properties, presented two bid award recommendations to the board. One was to approve a one-year contract with The D. M. Burr Group from Flint, MI for HVAC journeyman services totaling $93,025 per year. The other was to approve a one-year contract with Johnson Controls, an international corporation headquartered in Glendale, WI, for control service for $333,281 per year.

Trent noted that in the past, AAPS had combined these services in to one bid, but that it had separated them this time around in an attempt to save money.

Bid Award Recommendations: Public Comment

Two local skilled trades union representatives spoke at public commentary, both against the awarding of physical properties bids to non-local, non-unionized workers.

Tom Yax, representing local plumbers and pipefitters, asked, “Why can’t we use our people?” He said that out-of-town contractors pay sub-par wages, and that out-of-town workers don’t give back to the community. Yax pointed out that his union members support many school causes, including orchestra and athletics, and also train many AAPS students through an apprenticeship program. Urging the board to think about these contributions when they consider bids, Yax contrasted local workers with out-of-towners, saying, “These people take the money and leave – that’s not a savings, that’s a loss!”

Ron Motsinger, a representative of Washtenaw County skilled trades workers, added that in addition to offering training and apprenticeship programs, local building trades union members have endorsed AAPS bond projects and millages. Saying that local building unions believe in partnering with the school district, Matsinger noted that local union leaders had done mailings to their members, encouraged people to vote, and gone door-to-door to build support for the last bond [that built Skyline high school, among other projects.] He admonished the board for “shopping that bid all over,” and choosing a contractor who doesn’t pay its workers the prevailing wage.

Bid Award Recommendations: Bid Process Clarification

Though the board did not employ its new “clarification” agenda option after public commentary, Green did request that Trent go over the process for bidding as part of his presentation.

Trent reviewed that all bids are advertised on the AAPS and State of Michigan websites. In brief, he explained that the district puts out specifications its looking for, takes bid results, determines which are “well-qualified” bidders, and checks their references. As purchasing requirements specify, Trent said, he is recommending the lowest qualified bidder.

Baskett questioned how D. M. Burr Group was able to come in $65,000 lower than the next qualified bidder, and Trent confirmed it was because they likely “use a non-union type of pay scale, and are able to select people who maybe don’t need benefits.”

The board had some discussion over the state requirement to honor the lowest qualified bidder with the contract in lieu of awarding bids based on local commitment to community. Susan Baskett asked if the board was monitoring locality, along with other metrics the board had deemed important, such as whether the bidders represented historically underutilized businesses (HUBs).

Trent said that companies’ commitment to using local workers was not part of the bid, and that HUB status was requested, but is optional. Comsa added that, in his view, “it might be problematic” to request additional information from contractors (such as HUB status) that is not specified in the bid.

Christine Stead suggested that there might be a way to “math out” the economic contribution that one vendor might be able to make to the community, and wondered if there was a legal way to award bids that also honored local workers. As a counter to that line of thought, Nelson said that while he is very much in favor of programs that extend bidding opportunities to firms that represent underrepresented groups, he is apprehensive of trying to use models of economic impact. He argued that such models are difficult to apply in a careful way, and would “chew up” staff resources.

Andy Thomas also pointed out that the $65,000 difference between D.M.Burr and the next lowest bidder for HVAC journeyman services is roughly the cost of a salary for one teacher, minus benefits. So, he continued, “in an era of budget consciousness, we can either go with lowest qualified bidder, or we can reduce our teaching staff by one position.”

Susan Baskett argued that when the district undercuts local contractors, it takes away their trust. She noted that community trust will be necessary to gain support for the upcoming technology bond and any other future millages. She reminded the board that the union members who spoke during public commentary have supported the community, and that contractors from outside the community will not be paid a prevailing wage.

Outcome: These bid recommendations were presented at first briefing, and will come before the board for a second briefing and a vote at the next regular board meeting.

Grant Awards

Linda Doernte, AAPS Director of Purchasing, Grants & Business Support Services reviewed changes to 2011-12 grant funding totaling $4.8 million. She highlighted that amounts of federal grants are somewhat variable, and that the district cannot control exactly the amount it receives.

Trustees asked whether local students would lose Head Start completely if Washtenaw County no longer manages the program. Green noted that the local superintendents all agree it’s a valuable program, but that no definitive action has been taken to retain it, such as transferring it to the Washtenaw Intermediate School District.

Glenn Nelson thanked the PTO Thrift Shop and AAPS educational foundation for their continued support of the district.

Deb Mexicotte added a question from Simone Lightfoot, who was unable to be at the meeting. She asked if the district’s new grant writer was helping to coordinate grant requests to ensure consistency and that buildings most in need are participating and benefiting. Liz Margolis, the district’s communications director, explained that requests were being coordinated, and that the grant writer has held workshops at the Balas administration building. The grant writer has been working closely with the AAPS educational foundation, she said.

Outcome: These grant awards were presented at first briefing, and will come before the board for a second briefing and vote at the next regular board meeting.

EASE Team Update

Randy Trent reported on the Energy Awareness Sustainability Education (EASE) program at work in AAPS, which he said has produced steady savings in the area of utilities. The EASE program works with changing human behavior, and is coordinated by Johnson Controls.

Trent noted that the EASE program includes a booth for use in individual schools, an email campaign, and meetings with custodians. He said it created $671,000 in savings, which was $347 beyond the target of $324,000, and that every building saved energy with the exception of Skyline, which added 400 new energy users.

The program also includes a “plug survey,” that is, an annual survey of what is plugged in to every plug in every room across the district in order to have a clear idea of where energy is being used, complete with pictures. “What we’re not spending on energy, we can spend on the classroom,” Trent asserted, noting that an energy policy would be coming the board in the future.

Patricia Green noted that she was very impressed by the savings generated by the EASE program, and that she had directed Trent to explore the possibility of returning a percentage of the savings to the source of the savings – such as specific buildings.

Christine Stead thanked Johnson Controls for the program, praising the company for being a “great community partner.”

Andy Thomas asked about the information included in a recent EASE email that explained how plugging appliances into power strips and then turning the strip off could save money. Trent referred Thomas to the district website, which he said provides more detail on this phenomenon, known as “phantom load.” The Johnson Controls representative added that controlling the phantom load on the district’s electric devices would save the district an additional $7,000 per year.

Susan Baskett said she sees this program as an addition to the current district curriculum, and asked how much it costs. Trent answered that it costs $320,000 per year for four years.

Nelson invited an AAPS graduate, who works for Johnson Controls on the EASE progam in the district, to describe how she attained the position. She said she graduated from Pioneer in 2005, completed a bachelors and masters in environmental engineering at Cornell, and then became connected to Johnson Controls through work on a solar home. Nelson said that AAPS is very proud of its graduates.

Association Reports – AAPAC

Though the board invites reports from six associations at its board meetings, the Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee (AAPAC) was the only association present to report at the Nov. 16 board meeting.

The AAPAC representative applauded the administration’s foresight in embracing positive behavioral support, and said it can succeed in the district, despite difficulties. She also said the AAPAC is pleased to hear about peer-to-peer mentoring taking place in many of the district elementary schools, noting that these programs teach social skills, and are a win-win for special needs and general education students alike.

She said that the PAC was encouraged to hear from superintendent Patricia Green that the district is committeed to finding actionable ways to close the achievement gap among all students, including the 2,200 students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and several hundred more with Section 504 plans. [Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires federally-funded schools to create a written plan to meet the needs of students who require extra accommodations, but who do not qualify for a special education IEP.]

The AAPAC representative noted that the Disability Awareness Workshops held this fall have been very successful, and invited trustees to attend and experience any part of the two upcoming workshops.

She acknowledged that “this year will be very challenging” in terms of the budget reality, and asserted that parents of children with special needs are used to “thinking outside of the box” and are ready to help keep AAPS strong for all children.

Agenda Planning

The board suggested work to be done on: revenue enhancement, superintendent evaluation, AATA, equity, math support, legislative action, and board functioning.

Agenda Planning: Revenue Enhancement

Christine Stead suggested a renewed focus on revenue enhancement, specifically on increasing AAPS enrollment. She noted that the former planning committee had studied ways to increase enrollment, as well as other revenue enhancement strategies including increased philanthropy, business partnerships, and grants.

Agenda Planning: Superintendent Evaluation

Susan Baskett suggested that AAPS partner with other local districts to study approaches to meeting state-mandated changes in superintendent evaluation. She noted that Scott Morrell, vice-president of the Centerline Public Schools Educational Foundation would be available in January to provide professional development on this issue.

Stead questioned how Morrell developed expertise in this area, since the legal changes to employee evaluation were new to all Michigan school districts this year. Baskett said it was a fair concern, but that Morrell has worked closely with the Michigan Association of School Boards on this issue, and that MASB in working on a suggested model for superintendent evaluation, because the new law requires that student growth be included as a factor.

Deb Mexicotte noted that the superintendent would be informally evaluated in February, and formally evaluated in May or June. She suggested enlisting the WISD to convene a professional development session for all local districts on this topic. She said doing that would be a good opportunity to consolidate efforts.

Green added that she had asked the district’s legal counsel, Dave Comsa, to research how the law affects current contracts. She noted that there is no consensus among superintendents across the county about which takes precedence in an evaluation – the new law, or a superintendent’s employment contract.

Agenda Planning: AATA, Equity, Math Support

Baskett asked about the status of possible meetings with the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority to develop ways the AATA could be of more assistance to the district. Green said that she had requested that the district’s next meeting with Ann Arbor city administrator Steve Powers and his top staff include the AATA.

Baskett also requested a status report on current or future work on equity, and math support, saying she was hearing a lot of concern from the community about math support at the middle school level as all students prepare to take algebra in the 8th grade.

Agenda Planning: Legislative Action

Baskett reviewed the board’s recent actions surrounding legislative advocacy, and suggested the board should consider what else it can do to lobby and raise awareness.

Mexicotte said that the board should consider forming a task force or auxiliary committee on legislative matters. Nelson said there is a group forming through the Washtenaw Association of School Boards that could complement any AAPS board committee.

Stead asserted that the legislative work that lies ahead will require a state-wide ballot initiative, and suggested that the board needs to “put that on the radar.”

Agenda Planning: Board Functioning

Mexicotte reminded the board that part of the service they had received from the superintendent search firm last year was to take the board through an evaluation tool to determine how well it was functioning. She suggested the board may want to revisit that tool to compare its current functioning with how it was working before. She said she is thinking about how to propose that work formally.

Awards and Accolades

Various individuals, entities, and events were highlighted by the board and administration.

School Board Election

Nelson, Mexicotte, and the AAPAC representative congratulated Thomas and Lightfoot on being re-elected to the board. Mexicotte also commended the other four candidates who had run for bringing constructive discussion to the campaign. She encouraged the former candidates to bring their passion to the district in other ways, saying, “Your service didn’t end to the students in this district if you didn’t want it to.”

NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner

Green reported that on Nov. 5 the local NAACP held its annual Freedom Fund dinner, which honored over 100 students earning a 3.2 GPA or higher – the largest number of students ever. Green added that it had been an honor for her to participate. It was noted throughout the meeting that Baskett, Mexicotte, Nelson, Lightfoot, and Thomas also attended.

During items from the board, Nelson commented that the event was “really impressive in terms of honoring the young people,” and that the stories of the Raymond Randolph Jr., the keynote speaker, were courageous and moving.

Phantom of the Opera

Green also congratulated Pioneer on their recent production on Phantom of the Opera, saying it was “phenomenal.” Thomas added as an “item from the board” that this production “didn’t just happen,” but that it developed as a result of sustained support of the visual and performing arts throughout the district’s K-12 experience.

Superintendent’s Report

In addition to some items noted above, Green also commented on a wide array of honors and awards received by schools, programs, students, student-athletes, staff, and teachers throughout the district.

The district's newly hired assistant superintendent of elementary education, Dawn Linden.

Green also welcomed the newest member of her executive cabinet – assistant superintendent of elementary education Dawn Linden.

Green noted that she had been a guest narrator for the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s opening of a family musical series.

Items from the Board

Andy Thomas noted that AAPS has been given an A- rating by the Sunshine Review, a non-profit that evaluates the openness and transparency of public organizations, whereas Michigan as a whole received a C.  Thomas said he “just wanted to point this out because we continually hear that we need to improve our transparency, but at least one unbiased group is of the opinion that we are doing a pretty good job.” Thomas thanked Patricia Green and Robert Allen for their work in making this happen.

Thomas also pointed out how he had been surprised to discover that his recently-won 4-year-board term had just been extended to include a fifth year. He explained that there is another piece of legislation coming out of the state that will move all school board elections to Novembers of even-numbered years. Thomas stated, “I find this just an incredibly bad idea. The amount of money that it will take to run for school board will quadruple as a result of this – it’s going to make it much harder for people to run … What this will inevitably do will force people who want to run for school board to run in slates.” He noted that in the 2011 election, an odd-numbered year, six candidates ran for two seats. The year before, in an even-numbered year election with five open seats, there were only five candidates.

Glenn Nelson reported that the spirit shown at the 50th anniversary of Allen School was wonderful, and gave kudos to all schools that create community in their neighborhoods. He also noted that the recent Challenge Day at Huron High School was a bug success, and that in decision-making, everyone should follow the mantra from that day: “notice, choose, act.”

Baskett thanked state Sen. Rebekah Warren (D-18) for holding a town hall on charter schools, which was valuable and efficient. She also congratulated AAPS sports teams, including the team on which board secretary Amy Osinski’s son plays. “It was hard work,” Baskett said, “and there’s always next year for bringing home the trophy.”

Noting “marked improvement,” Mexicotte expressed her appreciation for the Ann Arbor District Library and Community Television Network staff who had done some “awesome work and fine-tuning” on the microphones and audio quality at the board table.

Present: President Deb Mexicotte, vice-president Susan Baskett, secretary Andy Thomas, and trustees Glenn Nelson and Christine Stead.

Absent: Treasurer Irene Patalan, and trustee Simone Lightfoot.

Next regular meeting: Dec. 14, 2011, 7 p.m., at the fourth-floor conference room of the downtown Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave.

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Robert Allen (standing at right) with the large gathering at the budget forum held Nov. 14 at Pioneer High School. (Photos by the writer.)

The district’s approved budget for 2011-12 is $183.62 million.

As staff scrambled to bring in more folding chairs and photocopy additional handouts, AAPS superintendent Patricia Green and AAPS deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen opened with a presentation on funding and budget challenges.

The presentation had been tweaked since a similar forum held last week. [For the details from that forum, see previous Chronicle coverage: "AAPS Seeks Public Input on Budget"]

This report highlights some of the changes made to the budget presentation, but focuses on the questions and suggestions offered by the community members who attended Monday’s forum.

Monday’s Budget Presentation

Most of the presentation remained intact from last Thursday to Monday, with some slight shifts in emphasis on three main issues: the school aid fund, use of fund equity, and the history of budget reductions.

Budget Presentation – School Aid Fund

In addition to the information outlined in the report on Thursday’s forum, Monday’s presentation included greater emphasis on the state of Michigan’s decision to reduce corporate taxes while using money from the School Aid Fund (SAF) to make up the lost revenue.

Allen said the SAF, which was created by Proposal A expressly to fund K-12 education, was recently used by the state government to: (1) make up nearly $600 million in revenue lost to tax reductions, including the elimination of the Michigan Business Tax; (2) fund nearly $700 million of higher education budgets; and (3) supplement funding for community colleges by nearly $200 million.

Allen questioned the legality of the state’s action, and contended that at least the spirit – if not the letter – of the law as stipulated in Proposal A was not to use the School Aid Fund for anything other than K-12 education.

Budget Presentation – Fund Equity

On a slide showing the district’s three-year budget projections, Allen highlighted the fund equity line. This year, 2011-12, Allen said, AAPS opened with a fund equity balance of just over $20 million. He observed that if the entire amount of the upcoming year’s budget shortfall were taken from that balance, fund equity at the end of 2012-13 will be roughly $6 million.

Projecting another year into the future, Allen said, if the district continues to use fund equity to address the structural deficit, the district would end the 2013-14 year $12 million in the red. And he explained that if the district runs a deficit, it would be at risk of being taken over by a state-appointed emergency financial manager, which he described as being “second to God” in terms of what such a manager can do. Under such management, Allen said, the board would be rendered helpless and all contracts – internal and external – could be voided.

He encouraged the community to realize that while no one relished making the tough decisions necessary to balance the budget, such decisions need to be made to keep the district under local control.

Budget Presentation – History of Budget Reductions

Allen reviewed the total budget reductions the district has made in the past five years: $5.7 million in FY 2007-08, $920,000 in FY 2008-09, $2.7 million in FY 2009-10, $18.6 million in FY 2010-11, and $12.6 million in FY 2011-12.

He also pointed out the areas in which cuts have been made, which include staff reductions, employee concessions, health care expenditures, operations and maintenance costs, legal services, and athletics. The district has also offered an early retirement incentive, consolidated substitute services, outsourced transportation, and reduced departmental budgets across the board.

Allen pointed out that from FY 2007-08 through FY 2010-11 class sizes remained steady, but this year the district had to increase class size targets.

Questions on the Budget Presentation

Before starting smaller group discussions at individual tables, Allen entertained questions from participants.

AAPS trustee Andy Thomas (maroon shirt) took notes at one of the smaller group discussions.

There was some confusion expressed by forum attendees about the money paid by the district to fund the state retirement system – the state retirement rate. Allen clarified that “for every dollar in salary that we pay out, we pay approximately $0.24 to the state.” He compared this scenario to private industry, where perhaps 8 cents on every dollar would go into a retirement pool. Allen also explained that the increases in the rate are due in part to the fact that the retirement system is a defined benefit plan (not a defined contribution plan) that includes health care benefits. The cost of health care benefits continues to rise.

Allen also explained that retirement costs are mandated, and cannot be addressed in collective bargaining with the teachers’ union. In closing, Allen noted, “this is not a problem that snuck up on anyone,” and encouraged the community to urge their legislators to take action.

A forum attendee asked whether the district would be in the same position now if voters hadn’t approved the construction of Skyline High School. Allen said that Skyline costs about $4 million a year to operate, and that it was built to relieve overcrowding. Before Skyline was built, he pointed out, Pioneer High School was the largest high school in the state, and Huron High School was the fourth largest.

Most of the questions posed to Allen were also reflected in the suggestions reported out from the tables at the conclusion of the forum. Many of the questions posed to Allen are folded into the table reports below.

Budget Suggestions

People gathered at tables in small groups for just over half an hour, and produced several suggestions. Here, those suggestions are broken into four main categories – additional information requested, inclusion of parents in the budgeting process, budget suggestions and priorities, and revenue enhancement.

Within each category, some attempt has been made to clump items together into thematically-related clusters.

Suggestions: Additional Information Requested

• Break down all costs by student, building, educational level, subject area, and square footage and put it all on the AAPS website.
• Give a more detailed budget breakdown at every table, and on the website.  (“You can’t use a scalpel on the budget if the information you have is at the meat-ax level.”)
• Give the cost of professional development days.
• Show how teacher salaries compare to other districts, adjusted for cost of living.
• Provide salaries and job descriptions of all administrators.
• List the history of administrative cuts – both central administration and building administration.
• Give the history of budget cuts broken down by full-time equivalent positions.
• Give the district’s history of enrollment numbers, and projected enrollment.
• Project the cost of cutting teachers in the long run.  (Does cutting preschool teachers mean you need more aides later on?)
• Provide list of mandated services – special education, transportation, school lunch, etc.
• Show cost versus income for preschool programs.
• Explain the budgetary effect of moving to all-day kindergarten.
• Separate items into those requiring legislative action versus options under local control.
• As soon as possible, make clear which budget cuts you are considering.
• Provide real numbers on how much it takes to keep each activity going (for example, theater, crew, etc.) – otherwise parents just fight for their own kids’ activities.
• State whether required programs are required by federal or state mandates, and what funding is restricted to those required programs.
• Explain the burden of unfunded mandates on the district.
• Provide information on  any real estate owned by the district that could be sold.
• Give more information on how the state has borrowed from the pension fund.
• List all contracted services.
• Explain what the Washtenaw Intermediate School District provides to AAPS. (Does AAPS have the ability to opt out of any of those services?)
• Estimate what it really takes to provide a quality education.  (What would it cost if we “did it right”?)

Suggestions: Inclusion of Parents in Budgeting Process

• Connect with parent groups who already have a history of lobbying the state legislature.
• Put together talking points for parents to address the legislature.
• Be a more unified lobbying force to reach systemic solutions.
• Use PTOs as channel for lobbying.
• Focus less on state-level legislative problems, since we cannot affect them this budget cycle.
• Be more transparent and proactive.
• Have a series of small focus groups with parents who know nothing, to help shape these budget presentations before they come to a large group.
• Hold more meetings throughout year with specific topics to inform the public.
• Hold more frequent, smaller meetings.
• Explain why some of these suggestions are not viable.
• Explain why you are not enacting some of the ideas presented.
• Address perception that in the past decisions had already been made before the budget forums were held.
• Give feedback from this forum at future forums.
• Leave longer time for feedback.
• Make a video recording of the presentation.
• Communicate, communicate, communicate.
• Make spreadsheets available.
• Do an online survey.
• Try to regain trust. (Administrators need to show good faith and willingness to make cuts.)
• Don’t use meetings like this to pit groups against each other.

Suggestions: Budget Reductions and Priorities

• Look at best practices in other school districts.
• Use fund balance to offset budget shortfall until the economy bounces back.
• Focus on large budget items.
• Compare the AAPS budget to budgets of other “hold harmless” school districts.
• Do an across-the-board cut.
• Do research on districts that are running efficiently, even out-of-state districts.
• Negotiate prices for mandated services.
• Consolidate human resources, legal, finance with the other districts in the WISD.
• Join forces with other districts and make a cohesive plan.
• Don’t assume that one class size fits all.  (Class size should depend on age and subject.)
• Provide incentives for better teachers to teach larger classes.
• Use staff efficiently. (Be sure teachers have full schedules.)
• Reduce instructional staff, because the retirement costs are so problematic.
• Re-open union negotiations.
• Bargain lower benefits costs for teachers.
• Freeze all step increases for teachers.
• Ask teachers to pay up to 50% of fringe benefits.
• Ask teachers to help with the budget.
• Give teachers pay that would otherwise go to compensate substitutes, if they don’t use sick days.
• Figure out how to retire poor-performing teachers faster.
• Devise a way to make it easier to get rid of poor teachers.
• Look at privatizing non-instructional employees.
• Reduce administrators, especially principals in schools with multiple administrators.
• Spend administrative dollars on those who have interaction with students.  (Do not do principal-sharing.)
• Hold forum with AAPS employees so everyone understands where the money is going, and ask employees to make suggestions.
• Reduce consultants.
• Reduce teacher aides.
• Audit custodial and security staff and reduce if possible.
• Outsource custodial, maintenance, secretaries, payroll.
• Reduce administration.
• Sharing principals is preferable to increasing class size, but neither is a good option.
• Ask parents what not to cut. (Find consensus.)
• Reduce the breadth of programs, and focus on what we do well.
• Cut athletics instead of arts.
• Maintain athletics and arts.
• Don’t cut athletics. (It’s only 1.2% of the budget.)
• Don’t increase pay-to-participate. (It may disadvantage low-income families disproportionately.)
• Not in favor of pay-to-participate.
• Have pay-to-participate for all extracurricular activities.
• Keep athletics intact.
• Share sacrifice.  (Do not pit arts against athletics.)
• Don’t alter athletics, music, art. (If these activities are taken off-budget, certain populations will not have equitable access, and student transfers out of AAPS will likely increase.)
• Shift athletics and extracurricular activities to Rec & Ed.
• Separate athletics from general fund, perhaps by moving it to WISD.
• Pursue consolidation wherever possible.
• Audit open space in schools – not all rooms are used.
• Engage staff in energy reduction planning.
• Require mandatory closing of buildings for a month in the summer.
• Repurpose buildings.
• Close “boutique” schools.
• Consolidate elementary schools.
• Move alternative education programs into comprehensive high school buildings.
• Move all high school students back to Pioneer and Huron, and rent Skyline to a community college.
• Consolidate Ann Arbor Technological High School and Roberto Clemente Student Development Center.
• Don’t eliminate Clemente. (It is successful and worth preserving.)
• Don’t merge Clemente into another school.  (Merging will not preserve core community of program.)
• Consolidate Community High School with Skyline High School.
• Increase collaboration with the University of Michigan.
• Consolidate with University of Michigan for maintenance, lawn care, snow removal
• Collaborate with local universities – they have an obligation to support us.
• Ask local universities to provide guidance counseling, and reduce guidance counselor positions.
• Cut transportation costs.
• Collaborate with the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority on busing.
• Consider K-12 neighborhood busing.
• Reduce buses between Community High School and other high schools.
• Lengthen school year, and consider alternative scheduling.
• Reduce the length of the school day.
• Hire students to mow lawns and clean buildings.
• Ask students to bring more of their own supplies.
• Consider using iPads instead of textbooks.
• Eliminate programs that are not working.

Suggestions: Revenue Enhancement

• Have booster clubs run parking for University of Michigan football games.
• Increase parking revenue for University of Michigan football games.
• Increase pay-to-participate for athletics.
• Consider corporate sponsors for certain programs or sports teams.
• Partner with Google Adwords.
• Have advertising on uniforms.
• Allow advertising signage in schools.
• Advertise museums, farmer’s markets, higher education institutions on inside of buses.
• Revisit countywide enhancement millage.
• The enhancement millage was supported by Ann Arbor voters though it didn’t pass countywide.  Take advantage of that goodwill.
• Maybe Rec & Ed does not have to be cost-neutral – it could be a revenue enhancer.
• Provide other services to WISD member districts, such as finance, human resources, legal services.
• Increase enrollment in all ways possible.
• Improve customer service to retain students.
• Increase online course offerings.
• Recruit more students.
• Market AAPS by MEAP scores.
• Market top programs, such as music education.
• Do more exit interviews when students leave the district – find out at what age the district loses students to charter schools and why.
• Start magnet programs at the middle school level (such as talented and gifted, math, or information technology magnets) to attract private school students.
• Lobby state legislature to give School Aid Fund surplus back to K-12 schools.
• Lobby to repeal the Headlee amendment.
• Political campaigning.
• Be more aggressive about enacting legislative changes.
• Have a whole program on how the community can take a stand in Lansing. The district should function as a community organizer.
• Lease AAPS-owned land.
• Lease facilities to other organizations after school hours.
• Increase parking fees for students and staff.
• Raise funds directly from the alumni base.
• Allow parents to donate money directly to AAPS.
• Allow earmarking AAPS educational foundation donations for specific programs.
• Ask parents to contribute to their schools, with portion to be given to other schools to ensure equity.
• Seek corporate sponsorships.
• Get aggressive at grant writing. Grant money might be temporary, but it’s still real.
• Figure out how to ask University of Michigan for money.
• Can we put together an Ann Arbor Promise like the Kalamazoo Promise – a billion dollar endowment? We have a lot of people here who are good at raising money.
• Fund a bond to move to geothermal heat, get good at it, and sell power to University of Michigan.

Allen closed the forum by thanking each table for their suggestions, and said he would try to put together answers to Frequently Asked Questions on the AAPS website. He also thanked administrators and the three board members who attended – Andy Thomas, Irene Patalan, and Glenn Nelson. Green added that listening to all the community’s suggestions was very powerful: “It’s a big step when we can come together in open conversation.”

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