Ruth Kraut

Next week, the board of the Ann Arbor Public Schools will need to cut about 5% from the district’s budget. That’s a reduction of about $8.6 million. Teachers have already taken a 3% pay cut.

Per-pupil funding for next year ($9,025) will be less than the per-pupil funding of 12 years ago in 2001-2002 ($9,034). So it’s no surprise that we’re at the point where cuts are painful. Cutting teachers, cutting programs – none of it is happy news. There will be consequences. The question is, what kind of consequences?

In the civil rights world, a “disparate impact” occurs when a policy is non-discriminatory in its intent but affects a “protected class” of people in a disproportionate way. In Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, for example, these protected classes include race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, and marital status.

AAPS is a district with a large achievement gap – between white students and African American and Hispanic/Latino students. And this gap has persisted for many years. Although in state civil rights law, income is not a protected status, income is highly correlated with race, age, and marital status. District-wide, there is also an achievement gap that is related to income: Poor kids are more likely to do poorly in school.

So it’s important to consider the AAPS budget from a perspective of potential disparate impacts. On the surface, the proposed budget cuts treat all students equally. But if we look deeper, would we find that certain budget cuts worsen – or perhaps improve – the achievement gap?

Three proposed budget cuts have raised a significant amount of opposition this year: (1) eliminating high school transportation; (2) cutting reading intervention teachers; and (3) cutting seventh hour or making it a tuition-only option. Together, these three account for just under $1.5 million of the $8.6 million in cuts. Do these cuts, in particular, have a disparate impact on any groups?

High School Transportation

One of the still-pending proposals is to cut all transportation for high school students, unless it’s related to special education. That would affect all students outside of the walk zones, including students who take school buses and those who ride Ann Arbor Transportation Authority buses using school-provided bus passes. In this year’s one-day spring “ride count,” just 29% of the students who could take school buses did take them. But remember, not all kids take the bus every day. If the counting were done over the course of a couple of weeks, the number might be closer to 40%.

AAPS districts for its three comprehensive high schools.

Whatever the exact percentage, it doesn’t appear that ridership is distributed evenly across the grades. My own daughter’s experience is probably not unusual. In ninth and tenth grades, she took the school bus to Skyline nearly every day. In eleventh grade, she didn’t have a first hour class, so she generally took the AATA bus (which frequently ran late, to her great consternation). In twelfth grade, though she didn’t have a car, a couple of her friends did – and she got rides to school almost every day.

The district doesn’t collect data on or analyze the school bus riders based on income. But it’s plausible that a higher proportion of students on the free and reduced price lunch program take school buses compared to students from families with higher incomes, who are much more likely to have an extra car.

So cutting high school transportation will affect younger students more than older students. The transportation cut will affect people employed with less flexible jobs more than it will impact people who have more flexible jobs. Families with no car or one car will be impacted more than two- or three-car families. For those students who can ride an AATA bus (or two, or three, after transfers), it will cost them money – because the district will not be able to provide any bus passes if it cuts general transportation. That’s $1.50/day x $180/year, or $270 per student.

AAPS is a very large district! Think about the student who lives at the low/moderate-income Arrowwood Hills Housing Cooperative, off Pontiac Trail. Students there are districted for Skyline High School. It’s possible to arrive at school on an AATA bus. The #1 bus leaves Arrowwood at 6:26 a.m., and after a transfer downtown to the #18, that student would arrive at Skyline at 7:06 a.m. (a little early for a scheduled school start of 7:30). So for less than $300 per year per student, an Arrowwood Hills resident can get transportation to Skyline.

Transfers required to get from Arrowwood to Skyline High School, if a student takes AATA buses. Some students, however, live in areas that don’t get AATA service, making it even more difficult if the school system eliminates transportation to high schools.

But what if that same low/moderate-income student lives in a manufactured home community out on Jackson or South Wagner roads? No AATA routes serve that area. Directions on Google Maps suggest that you first drive to the nearest bus stop! What if your parent has to be at work at 7 a.m. and there are no “extra” cars? What if you are too young to drive? What if you live on a busy street without a sidewalk or shoulder, three miles from school? As a parent, do you want your teenager walking on that street in the dark?

I live in a two-parent, two-car household, and we both have some flexibility with our schedules. And as my son was looking at high schools this winter, we were very intrigued by the Washtenaw International High School. Yet I was worried about the question, “How would I get him there, and back?” (WiHi is located at the former East Middle School in Ypsilanti.) I knew it would be much easier for me if he could walk, bike, or take the bus to an in-district school.

But what if transportation is cut? I can tell you that if I lived in a corner of the district (say, a rural area near South Lyon, or Dexter, or Saline), and I was going to have to drive my child either way, I would think differently about WiHi, or about the South Lyon Schools. In that case, I wouldn’t be comparing a school with transportation to a school without transportation. I would be comparing two schools without transportation – and the second school might be more convenient.

Unfortunately, this is an all-or-nothing decision. The district can’t choose a few areas (say, those with low-income housing) and only provide transportation there. The district stands to save $466,000 by cutting transportation. However, every student who doesn’t show up on count day, or who attends a different school, costs the district around $9,000 in the state’s per-pupil funding allowance. So if even 50 students were lost because of a decision to cut transportation, the district would lose all of the projected savings.

But I digress.

The crucial point is that cutting high school transportation will have a disparate impact on younger high school students. And because of the ways that income and race are so closely intertwined in today’s America, cutting transportation will certainly have a disparate impact on students of color and on poor students. Assessed in relation to the achievement gap, it is clear: If students can’t, or don’t, arrive at school, they are going to fall further behind.

Reading Intervention

Today, the district employs the equivalent of 10 reading intervention (RI) teachers in the Ann Arbor elementary schools – a half position at each elementary school. The current proposal is to cut that in half. RI teachers would be retained in just the schools “with the highest need.” This year, 460 students qualified for RI services.

Who were these students? Were they low-income? Were they students of color? The best indicator available to the district for a student’s household income is the qualification for free and reduced price lunch. I asked Liz Margolis, director of communications for AAPS, if the district identified students in the RI program by income or race. The answer is no. The district says it can’t share information about students in the Free and Reduced Price Lunch program – because it’s considered private. And the district doesn’t keep track of students in the RI program by race/ethnicity. If the district did track that information and share those aggregated numbers, it might yield a revelation that makes everyone uncomfortable.

It’s possible at least to make an educated guess. In 2007-2008, nearly half of the students who were identified as cognitively impaired were African-American – even though at the time just 16% of Ann Arbor students were African American. One of the key identifying statistics of the achievement gap is MEAP test scores, and if there is one thing that the MEAP is good at testing, it’s reading. On the 2010-2011 MEAP tests, for instance, 96% of the district’s white third graders achieved “proficient” status while 80% of African-American third graders, 84% of the Hispanic/Latino students, and 76% of “economically disadvantaged students” achieved “proficient” status. (You can find more data on the AAPS website.)

So we can be fairly confident – even though the district doesn’t officially track it – that cutting the Reading Intervention program, which serves the too-young-for-MEAP population of K-2 students, would have a disparate impact on students of color and low-income students. Of course, that prompts the question: Does the RI program work? If it doesn’t work, then it’s not helping to reduce the achievement gap, even if there are disparities in enrollment. But if it does work, then eliminating RI could diminish the district’s ability to address the achievement gap. Per student, RI is the most expensive program proposed for elimination (approximately $2,175/student). But, if the elimination of the program causes students to fall even further behind in reading, they could wind up qualifying for mandated special education services. And those costs would be far greater.

Seventh Hour

Another possible cut would affect seventh hour – the opportunity to take a seventh class during a semester, rather than the more standard six classes. One possibility is to cut the seventh hour option altogether. Another possibility is to convert seventh hour to a tuition-only option.

Cutting seventh hour completely would have different impacts at the district’s three comprehensive high schools. If seventh hour is completely cut at Pioneer and Huron high schools, then students could only take six credits (12 courses) a year. That has a couple of implications.

Currently, Skyline High School uses a trimester system, and there are five hours/trimester (5 x 3 = 15 classes or 7.5 credit hours), compared to seven hours/semester at the other schools (7 x 2 = 14 classes or 7.0 credit hours). They are not exactly comparable, because some classes that are taught in two semesters at Pioneer and Huron are taught in three trimesters at Skyline – for example, advanced placement (AP) classes and some math classes. And in practice, lots of students at Pioneer and Huron only take six classes, while most students at Skyline take five classes every term. But if seventh hour is cut, and Skyline stays with the trimester system, to maintain parity, should only four classes be offered per trimester (because 6 x 2 = 12 and 4 x 3 = 12)? Now that would affect a lot of people.

How many students take seventh hour? At any given time, it’s less than a quarter of the enrolled student body. But many students take a seventh hour only every second or third semester, so the impact would affect closer to half of the district’s students. Students who are most likely to take a seventh hour include: students who take orchestra, band, or choir; students who take a lot of AP classes; students who need to make up classes (credit recovery); and students in career/technical education. The Pioneer music department, for instance, estimates that 43% of the students in the music department take a seventh hour at least some of the time in order to get their necessary (non-music) credits.

I don’t have any idea how many students in the music program are African American or Hispanic/Latino. I don’t have any idea what percentage of students in the music program qualify for free and reduced price lunch. (The percentage of high school students who qualify for free/reduced price lunch in Ann Arbor is around 15%, much lower than in the middle and elementary schools. Families have to submit a separate application for each student, and in many cases the ones for older students are not submitted.) I don’t have any idea how many students would have difficulty actually earning enough credit hours in four years without seventh hour (and still be able to take music, or technical education). I don’t have any idea how many students are just barely above the free and reduced price lunch cutoff, but whose parents don’t have the disposable income to pay for a seventh hour. But the district probably does know, or could know.

I do know that if Skyline keeps a trimester system, then cutting the fifth hour would affect more students than cutting the seventh hour at Pioneer or Huron.

Cutting seventh hour compared to conversion to tuition could turn out to have quite different impacts, depending on how it’s handled. If seventh hour becomes a tuition-only option, should the fifth hour at Skyline be made tuition only? And if the district makes a seventh hour available with tuition only, would students who qualify for free and reduced price lunch have the fees waived? How would that affect the cost savings? Who would do the billing? What happens if parents say they’ll pay, but then don’t?

So is there a disparate impact to the proposals affecting seventh hour? Probably, but I can’t quantify it. What is interesting to me is that, if used correctly, seventh hour could potentially be a tool for reducing the achievement gap. I have talked to African-American parents and immigrant parents who have told me they believe that by keeping their children enrolled in music programs, their children have an opportunity to do better overall in school. That’s in part because being in orchestra or band affects your other scheduling options. And it makes it more likely that you will be scheduled with more serious students.

Conclusion

In the end, we do have budget cuts to make. It seems to me that high school transportation affects the largest number of students. It also has the greatest potential to create a disparate impact and undermine efforts to reduce the achievement gap.

If these are the wrong cuts, then we need to find other items to cut – at least until we can convince the state legislature to improve school funding. To my mind, avoiding any or all of these cuts might involve increasing district-wide class sizes just slightly by reducing general teaching numbers. I admit, that is a tough pill to swallow, but to me it is a better alternative than cutting high school transportation.

Ruth Kraut is an Ann Arbor resident and parent of three children who have all attended the Ann Arbor Public Schools. She writes at Ann Arbor Schools Musings (a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com) about education issues in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, and Michigan.

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Before the meeting started, Robert Allen, deputy superintendent Ann Arbor Public Schools, distributed spiral bound copies of the report from a transportation working group.

The board received two informational reports — one from a cross-governmental working group charged with assessing the viability of continuing to provide non-mandated school transportation, and another one on the district’s partnership with the University of Michigan Depression Center (UMDC).

The transportation report generated significant discussion, as the board examined the working group’s recommendations and considered the impact of making significant reductions to transportation. Even if the district were to eliminate all except mandated transportation for students, that would save only about $5.5 million of the roughly $17 million gap projected in next year’s budget.

A key element of the transportation discussion was a suggestion to consider redistricting – that is, reassigning some students to different school buildings based on where they live. Trustees discussed redistricting in the context of possible steps like eliminating some or all busing and closing schools.

The board directed administration to begin looking into a redistricting process.

Transportation Working Group Report and Discussion

AAPS Superintendent Patricia Green introduced the transportation report by saying that the working group was formed as a result of a significant fiscal crisis. She described it as a broad-based group including representatives from the city government, the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA), AAPS administration, the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD), and community activists. She said it had been a huge undertaking, and that the group had done a lot of research and information-gathering in a short amount of time.

AAPS deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen presented a summary of the working group’s conclusions, and noted that a full report of their work had also been presented in spiral-bound form to each board member, including maps of each bus route by school and the set of laws applicable to transportation. [.pdf of working group report] Allen said the overall goal of the working group was to study and report on the financial sustainability of student transportation. The group’s objectives were to identify and analyze the options.

Allen reported that total transportation costs for the district are $6.96 million. But that amount falls to $5.59 million after subsidies for special education are applied. He noted that the law requires AAPS to transport special education students as well as homeless students.

Allen reported that the working group had evaluated nine main options:

1. contracting or privatizing transportation;
2. improving pedestrian infrastructure;
3. re-routing;
4. changing school start times to consolidate levels on buses;
5. using more common stops;
6. using more AATA routes;
7. increasing walk zones;
8. eliminating all choice busing;
9. eliminating all transportation except that which is legally required.

Allen reported that the group had concluded that privatization would not save much – because contract rates are rising, as more and more districts outsource transportation services.  Walk zones could not be increased due to state law, Allen said.

But parts of all other options were recommended, except for complete elimination of all busing, an option the working group recommended keeping open for the next five years.

Transportation: Working Group Recommendations

Ultimately, Allen reported, the transportation working group suggested the following:

• Requesting that the city improve sidewalks, and place additional crossing guards in order to reduce required safety busing of students who live within the 1.5-mile walk zones;
• Re-routing buses, possibly as part of increased common stops;
• Increasing use of AATA bus routes;
• Eliminating all 60 routes of choice busing, including those for Ann Arbor Open, Skyline lottery students, and Roberto Clemente.

Allen added that other options that had been reviewed but considered not feasible were: using University of Michigan buses (would not match with student needs); creating vanpools (would not be less expensive); and facilitating subscriptions for private transportation services (would need to be organized by parents, since the district is legally prohibited from charging for transportation).

Finally, Allen closed the presentation of the working group’s recommendations by noting that the working group members felt that substantial savings could not be gained by eliminating just pieces of the school transportation system, but that transportation in its entirety may need to be gradually eliminated. At the same time, they acknowledged that eliminating transportation is not good for education, and could increase the achievement gap. They also felt the process would require open communication with the community regardless of what the board decided.

Transportation: Clarifying Questions

Trustee Irene Patalan asked whether the committee had considered combining students from different levels (elementary, middle, and high school) on the same bus. Allen explained that the working group had not considered that, because it would require purchasing more buses. Lightfoot added that the committee also considered the safety issues that might arise if six-year-olds and 16-year-olds rode the same bus. Lightfoot also mentioned as a concern the reduction in the number of hours driven per day, saying it would affect the quality of the available drivers, because a schedule with fewer working hours provides lower benefits.

Allen noted that an important factor to consider – for any reduction in transportation service – is the possibility the district would lose students to other schools. The district would lose the state funding associated with those students, so it’s important to weigh the costs savings in transportation against the potential loss in revenue.

AAPS trustee Simone Lightfoot

The board requested more information on how the elimination of busing could impact student achievement and attendance. Trustees asked what the experience of other districts had been. Trustees also asked if AAPS had studied the effect of the transportation changes the district had implemented two years ago (such as enforcing walk zones, increasing common stops, etc.).

Allen explained that other districts reviewed by the working group had reversed their decisions to eliminate transportation. Green added that in other jurisdictions where a private group had tried to contract buses, the approach didn’t tend to be feasible in the end, and also raised equity issues regarding affordability of the service.

Lightfoot questioned whether buildings in AAPS had adequate infrastructure to handle additional traffic if busing in the district is eliminated.

Transportation: Board Discussion — Redistricting

Baskett asked if the working group had considered redistricting, which means changing the schools to which some students are assigned. She noted that children from west of Clark road are bused past four closer elementary schools to attend Burns Park elementary. She suggested that redistricting could increase efficiency, and thereby decrease costs.

Allen said that redistricting was outside the purview of the working group. But Green responded that the topic was “skirted all around as a reasonable option” and that “the words rerouting and redistricting were being used somewhat interchangeably.” Green said redistricting would need to be approached with caution. She noted the importance of looking at the history of past choices about how school boundaries have been set. She said any redistricting would need to be done in a committee specifically charged with that purpose, and would need much longer than the six months the transportation group had taken to do its work.

Nelson and Lightfoot, who had served on the transportation working group, weighed in with their opinions on the working group’s view of redistricting. Nelson said, “If the committee had gone into redistricting, it might have been a case of the tail wagging the dog.” Lightfoot stated: “There was a willingness to look at redistricting on the committee.” Baskett responded that she was pleased to have the route maps provided, and that there was no loud opposition to redistricting.

Mexicotte asked if redistricting would be done for transportation savings, or for other goals as well. Green responded that school closures and transportation could both be part of the redistricting process, and that she recommended the board look at opening a discussion on redistricting sooner rather than later.

Transportation: Board Discussion — General

Allen thanked the trustees who were part of the working group — Nelson and Lightfoot. Nelson thanked the other participants, and encouraged everyone to look at the appendices of the full report, which he said contained a lot of useful information that could inform the trade-offs between different options. Lightfoot said the process of working with the group had been phenomenal. She noted that this process could be used to engage community members on other issues as well.

Board vice president Christine Stead responded to the idea that eliminating transportation is not consistent with the district’s educational goals. She pointed out that none of the cuts the district has had to make are consistent with educational goals. That’s because education in the state of Michigan is not viable right now, she said. “We have been talking about this item [transportation] for three years, not because we want to, but because we have really horrible tradeoffs that we have to make,” she said.

Trustee Andy Thomas expressed his appreciation to the committee for their hard work, but also indicated lack of complete satisfaction with the results. He stated two concerns. First, he said that the recommendations were not very creative, and seemed to dismiss some items he saw as worthy of more consideration (i.e. contractual busing and vanpools). Second, the report does not address the primary question of whether transportation is financially sustainable. Thomas asked, “Are we saying we would rather spend $5 million on transportation rather than have 50 teachers?”

Nelson took issue with the question, saying that it was not within the scope of the working group to compare transportation to other budget elements. Nelson said the question of which jurisdiction pays for crossing guards came up during the working group meetings. Currently, the city does, but they would like to move it out of their budget, he said.

Lightfoot stressed how the working group’s conversation about sidewalk improvements was a great example of working cross-governmentally for solutions.

A few board members expressed interest in the idea that the AAPS Educational Foundation could be used as an entity to help secure funding for transportation. Allen responded that he would consult with AAPS deputy superintendent for human resources and legal services Dave Comsa regarding the possibility of working through the foundation on transportation.

Mexicotte asked, “What if we just decide to do something that violates state law because we think it’s best for kids?” She expressed frustration at the legal constraints that would prevent the district from charging for transportation offset by a scholarship fund, or from providing transportation only to areas of the district most in need. Thomas responded that he assumed Mexicotte had “her tongue at least partially in her cheek,” and pointed out that being sued by even one parent would cost the district too much in legal fees.

Transportation: Next Steps

Board members wondered what next steps they should take and what the timeframe for those steps should be. Thomas told his board colleagues that his interpretation of the report is that the board basically needs to choose between the status quo and eliminating all transportation. Nelson disagreed, saying that there were intermediate steps that could be taken to save the district significant chunks of money – such as eliminating choice busing and working with the city to reduce the need for safety busing. Mexicotte suggested bringing a list of necessary sidewalk replacements and locations for crossing guards to the transportation safety committee, a joint committee of school and city officials that already meets quarterly.

Mexicotte pointed out that everything is interconnected — high school transportation, choice busing, redistricting — and that everything is on the table as the board moves to plug the $17 million budget deficit it faces for next year. She suggested that the administration should come up with their best thinking on the issues and questions raised by trustees during this discussion by mid-winter, including the redistricting possibility.

AAPS superintendent Patricia Green

Green agreed that AAPS administration should continue internally the research of the larger working group, so that the board’s remaining questions could be answered, but noted that “this is only one piece of a jigsaw.”

Redistricting, Green said, will take time — at least a year, if not more — to do it justice. That would include outsourcing a feasibility and demography study to a third party, and ensuring significant community involvement. Though the recommendation for how to redistrict can come quickly, she said, it’s a hugely emotional issue for those who are affected. To illustrate her point, Green noted how many people had addressed the board regarding the possible movement of the Roberto Clemente program into another building last year. “The community has to come along with it — it cannot just be by fiat,” she said.

Stead argued that the fiscal realities facing AAPS might mean the district has to make decisions about redistricting faster than it would like. Mexicotte agreed that many of the budget decisions will need to be made quicker than the board feels comfortable with, but that redistricting cannot be rushed. “I would like to see us do this, but we are looking at a year and a half cycle,” she said. “It can’t be done for fall 2013.”

Stead countered that allowing the redistricting process to take a year and a half would cause unappealing consequences. Doing it faster, she said, could help save class sizes and programs. Mexicotte pointed out that the question is ancillary costs. For example, she said, “If we stop transportation to an area, do we lose enrollment? … There are things we can do, but thinking of the unforeseen costs is also very important.”

Mexicotte closed the discussion by thanking the transportation working group for putting the presentation together, saying it had given the board a lot to think about.

UM Depression Center Partnership Report and Discussion

Green introduced this report, by saying that AAPS has a very significant partnership with the University of Michigan Depression Center (UMDC) that helps with recognizing depression in adolescents.

Trustees Susan Baskett and Andy Thomas share a laugh before the meeting started.

Assistant superintendent for secondary education Robyne Thompson reviewed the history and scope of the partnership, explaining that it began in 2007 to provide training systematically to AAPS administration and staff  –  to raise awareness of depression and prevent suicide among adolescents. Since the program’s inception, Thompson said, over 750 administration and staff members have been trained, and 150 students have become peer-to-peer mentors.

Thompson explained that the peer-to-peer work focuses on students referring peers to school counselors, not providing any sort of counseling themselves. She reviewed some of the slogans used in anti-depression campaigns at each of the high schools, and introduced three students who had worked as peer mentors in the program to speak. The students who addressed the board shared how their focus is to reduce the stigma of depression, educate their peers, and be a resource to peers in need.

Trish Meier of the UMDC then thanked the board for the district’s continued support. After this first five years of successful training, she said the partnership is now looking at how to improve in the future.

Trustee Andy Thomas thanked the presenters, and the peer-to-peer mentors especially, saying their role was very valuable in the schools. He also noted how the presentation was very timely given the recent events in Sandy Hook, which have created an awareness and concern about how mental health is handled in our schools. He asked how the district is ensuring that students identified by the program as possibly experiencing depression are connected with appropriate resources, and what follow up there is to be sure they are receiving the services they need. Thompson told Thomas that longitudinal tracking of students’ interactions with school counselors is done in Power School, a student information management computer software system.

Nelson noted that the UMDC programs are important to families as well as students.

Patalan asked how the peer-to-peer element of the program keeps going. The students explained that their health teacher was the staff person who coordinated it, and that so far, peer mentors have simply volunteered.

Mexicotte asked the students what they have learned by volunteering as peer-to-peer mentors. They said they have learned about depression, and have found a way to give back for the help they have received in their own lives. Mexicotte thanked them for stepping up to the plate and for the work they have done in their schools.

Sound Field Purchase

AAPS executive director of physical properties Randy Trent presented a proposal to purchase 35 mobile sound field amplification systems through REMC, a regional purchasing consortium. The total cost of the purchase would be $27,405, just over the limit requiring board approval, Trent explained. He added that these systems will replace systems purchased as part of the 2004 Comprehensive School Improvement Program, which are now failing to maintain their battery charge. Sound amplification, Trent said, helps teachers not to lose their voices, and allows any child in the room to hear in the same way.

Baskett requested to see the REMC bid as part of the second briefing. Thomas asked how the systems that would be purchased differ from those used by teachers in the classroom, and what the expected life of the equipment would be. Trent clarified that these systems would be mobile rather than having speakers in the ceiling, and could be expected to last from three to five years, depending on the battery life.

The purchase of the sound systems will be brought back to the board for a second briefing and vote at the board’s next regular meeting.

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shootings

Mexicotte began by saying that there are no words that will adequately address the Sandy Hook shootings, but that the incident deserves reflection.

AAPS board president Deb Mexicotte

On behalf of the district, she expressed deep and abiding sorrow for the loss of the 20 young students and six dedicated educators, and said that none of us will ever be the same. Mexicotte then said when hearing the news coming out of Connecticut, she was struck by the stories of bravery among teachers and first responders. “The teacher-student bond is foundation to who we are as a people and as a species,” she said. “I want to thank those teachers who lost their lives protecting their students … Their heroism is an affirmation of what we know in our hearts — every one of our teachers would do the same … It is my hope that they will never have to.”

During her superintendent’s report, Green also reflected on the Sandy Hook shootings, saying it was hard to witness, but also acknowledging the acts of bravery during the crisis by fellow educators and first responders. Green said she also wanted to acknowledge the very dedicated staff here in Ann Arbor, who supported AAPS students as they came back to school on Monday while grappling with their own emotions about the tragedy. She also expressed gratitude to Ann Arbor’s police chief John Seto for reaching out to her and meeting with the AAPS cabinet to continue planning jointly for the safety and security of all AAPS schools.

During the agenda planning section of the Dec. 19 meeting, Christine Stead requested a review of the district’s emergency plans. Green said that she has already embarked on that process, and that Seto had been involved. Green explained that the plans have been reviewed and practiced, and that some amendments were made. She invited Liz Margolis, AAPS director of communications and head of the district’s crisis team, to speak to the issue.

Margolis explained that the AAPS had secured two REMS (Readiness Emergency Management for Schools) grants over the past ten years, allowing the district to perform risk assessments of all buildings, and train hundreds of staff. She expressed confidence in the district’s preparedness, but said there are always ways to improve. Stead asked if the district should consider video surveillance or keeping the front doors of all buildings locked. Green indicated that AAPS executive director of physical properties Randy Trent has already been authorized to study the cost of such improvements. She also said that there are opportunities being considered for additional AAPS staff to be trained in incident management systems. Seto had pointed out that having everyone using the same terminology is very helpful.

Communication and Comment

Board meetings include a number of agenda slots when trustees can highlight issues they feel are important. Every meeting also invites public commentary on subjects not necessarily on the formal agenda or that are not covered elsewhere in The Chronicle’s meeting report.

Comm/Comm: Celebration of Excellence

The board honored Katie Lewit, a physical education teacher at Allen Elementary School.

Katie Lewit received an award for her work as  a physical education teacher at Allen Elementary School.

Trustee Irene Patalan introduced the award, noting that Lewit had been nominated by one of Patalan’s own former students, Shawn Ricoy, who is now a district parent herself. Ricoy and her husband Mark nominated Lewit for her significant influence on the development of Allen Elementary students’ physical, emotional, and social well-being.

Lewit thanked the Ricoy family, her nephews, and her students, for making every day special. She also expressed appreciation for her former principal Jeanette Jackson and her current principal Joan Fitzgibbon, who she said have been amazingly helpful in steering her to be the best teacher she can be.

Comm/Comm: Association Report – AAPAC

The board invites regular reports from a set of community and school groups, but only one was present to speak to the board at the Dec 19 meeting. The co-chair of the Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee (AAPAC) read a statement written by an AAPAC member who could not attend the meeting. The statement spoke to the transition from preschool to kindergarten for special education students, and suggested that parents could benefit from receiving more information about elementary school options for their students. The letter also thanked Green and her cabinet for the time they have spent addressing special education issues. Finally, the report asked that the district educate the public regarding the budget offsets to special education made by the federal government and the county, as well as publishing the actual number of students who receive special education services rather than the Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) calculation often presented in budget documents.

Comm/Comm: Superintendent’s Report

In addition to her comments on the Sandy Hook shootings noted above, Green’s superintendent report included several examples of successes achieved by students, staff, and schools across the district.

She included accolades for students who received perfect ACT scores, successful music programs, Skyline High School’s design, technology, and environmental planning magnet program, the student building industries program, Forsythe’s knowledge master open participants, and various elementary programs and fundraisers.

Comm/Comm: Board President’s Report

Mexicotte reviewed the board’s work at its recent committee of the whole meeting. She noted the board’s discussion about potential budget reductions, community outreach, and a series of items unique to the high school environment. She said that the board would continue dialogue on these issues. About the board’s goals, Mexicotte said the trustees have been moving forward on their financial goal. But for its trust-building goal, the board is still looking for avenues other than a facilitated dialogue to achieve better trust among board members. Finally, she noted that the board’s next meeting on Jan. 16 would be its organizational meeting, and will be used to set up the board’s work for the next year.

Comm/Comm: Consent Agenda and Canvassing Votes Approved

With no discussion, trustees unanimously approved conference reimbursements, meeting minutes, and donations. The board also voted unanimously to accept the board of canvassers report of the Nov. 6, 2012 election, certifying that Deb Mexicotte won re-election to the board.

Comm/Comm: Agenda Planning

Glenn Nelson requested trustees’ input on topics that he and Christine Stead should take to the Washtenaw Alliance for Education to consider. He suggested the School Aid Act rewrite and preschool programming throughout the county as possible topics for countywide networking. Trustees suggested superintendent evaluation, teacher evaluation, transportation, and upcoming legislation as well as the ramifications of what gets signed into law as possible topics for the WAE to address. Nelson added that at recent WAE meetings, Stead was mentioned explicitly as someone who has provided very constructive leadership, and the entire county was very grateful for the that work.

Comm/Comm: Items from the Board

Stead thanked her colleagues from across the county who worked with AAPS during the lame duck session to advocate against the expansion of the Educational Achievement Authority (EAA). She complimented the hard work that people did to review materials and put their name on them quickly, and said she anticipated the WAE would continue to build on that.

Lightfoot thanked Nelson and Stead for their leadership on the advocacy work being done, and added that it has been challenging to separate her hats as a trustee from someone who does public policy. She urged her colleagues to be ready to “hit the ground running back up to Lansing as soon as the school year begins again.”

Patalan said she hoped district families would take the winter break as an opportunity to slow down, take a breath, and connect with each other.

Nelson and Baskett complimented the teachers’ union on holding a very nice holiday luncheon. Baskett also reported on her recent trip to a rap session at Roberto Clemente Student Development Center about student profiles. She said Clemente principal Ben Edmondson “really gave it to students” about how these profiles were a reflection of who they are, and staff talked about what it meant to earn high school and college degrees. Baskett called her visit to Clemente “food for the soul,” and noted how all Clemente students have all their teachers’ phone numbers in case they have a stressful period over the holidays.

Thomas thanked Governor Snyder for doing the right thing and vetoing the law passed by Michigan legislators last week which would have allowed concealed weapons to be carried in schools, among other currently prohibited locations. Thomas said the veto required “a good deal of courage and integrity to go against the mainstream of [the Republican] party in doing that.” He also thanked the thousands of people across the state who let the governor know what they thought.

Mexicotte closed the meeting by wishing the AAPS community a happy, healthy, and safe holiday. She also thanked voters again for her re-election to the board.

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

Absent: None.

Next meeting (the AAPS board’s annual organizational meeting): Jan. 16, 2013, at 7 p.m. at the fourth-floor boardroom of the Ann Arbor District Library’s downtown branch, 343 S. Fifth Ave.

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AAPS board president Deb Mexicotte. (Photos by the writer.)

The board’s committee discussion centered on four main topics: vision; revenue enhancement; action needed by the state legislature; and communication.

Discussion of revenue enhancement was highlighted by the possibility of asking voters to approve an enhancement millage through the Washtenaw Intermediate School District – which would entail a countywide vote. Voters in 2009 rejected such a proposal, which would have resulted in a 2 mill tax for five years, starting in 2010. It was projected to raise $30 million annually, to be divided among the 10 school districts in Washtenaw County. The AAPS share would have been a bit over $11 million. Board discussion at the Oct. 3 committee meeting acknowledged the need to generate support for such a proposal in other districts in the county besides AAPS.

Discussion of possible lobbying efforts directed at the state legislature was highlighted by the possibility of amending Proposal A, passed in 1994, which limits the ability of local communities to levy increased taxes to support schools.

Preliminaries: Outlining the Conversation

Board president Deb Mexicotte began the committee of the whole (COTW) meeting by outlining the objectives for the evening’s discussion. She acknowledged the board has a large number of responsibilities over the course of the year, which include labor negotiations, the budget, student achievement, maintaining buildings and facilities, and strategic planning. She characterized the board’s work as “ongoing, omnipresent, and focused on getting the best outcomes for students.”

The evening’s COTW objective was to focus on an additional goal of working to create opportunities for additional financial support for the district. That goal was adopted by the board, based on discussion at a retreat held in August. Mexicotte asked trustees to think about the work they might do on that issue, what tasks it might give to the administration, and how that might be distributed over the course of the year.

Andy Thomas clarified that the discussion was separate from, and in addition to, any discussion about the annaul budget and how the budget will be structured in the upcoming year. Mexicotte concurred with Thomas, saying it was in no way a budget conversation.

Mexicotte opened up the floor for initial thoughts. As four headings to think through, she offered: legislation, revenue enhancement, communication, and policy. Christine Stead asked that vision and advocacy be added. The board ultimately focused its conversation on four areas: vision, revenue enhancement, legislative action [including advocacy], and communication.

Vision

Stead pushed for talking about a vision first, saying that it was a good way to get everyone on the same page. She wanted to focus on identifying something specific so they could use that to frame everything else they did.

Vision: General Discussion

Irene Patalan said that for many citizens, education is the reason why they come to Ann Arbor She cited many of the “best of” lists that Ann Arbor lands on, saying that people make the choice to live here – and that it means the district is on the right track.

When Glenn Nelson asked how the strategic plan fit into the overall vision, Stead identified Strategic Plan Goal #8: “We will ensure adequate resources to accomplish our mission and goal” as possibly being enough to encompass the vision statement. Mexicotte wondered if that statement was aspirational enough. She then highlighted the word “adequate” in the goal and asked if the district’s resources are adequate. Several trustees said no.

Nelson cited recent reports on the Achievement Gap Elimination Plan, discipline gap reports, and emotional and social learning, saying that the district is tightly constricted by resources. He said that it was hard to treat students as individuals in the context of larger class sizes.

Stead said she would like to flesh out exactly what “adequate” or “inadequate” means – based on a cost analysis. Mexicotte replied that the meeting was the board’s session and the goals was the board’s goal. If the trustees believed the district didn’t have the resources, then that was what they believed, Mexicotte said. She focused the board’s attention on the question of what it would take to conclude that the district has adequate resources. She said that at some point, trustees had decided that the district has crossed a threshold – that makes them believe the district doesn’t have adequate resources.

Patalan mentioned that class size could be a focus. Class sizes are bigger than they feel comfortable with, she said. Mexicotte replied that if the board agreed that one of the sticking points is class size, then direction needs to be given to the administration to increase hiring, or the board needs to decide what else might be done.

While Nelson said he agreed with Patalan that class size is important, he also didn’t think that should be the main focus. To him, building a world class education should be first and foremost. He compared the tuition of Greenhills School [$19,290 for middle school; $19,680 for high school] to the AAPS foundation allowance of $9,020 per student. While he was careful to say that the difference between the numbers should not be the focus, he said the magnitude of the issue was not just an additional $1,000 per student.

Simone Lightfoot advocated for thinking “outside the box” when talking about “what it takes.” Restoring positions was one approach, but there were other innovative ways of dealing with large class sizes – or increasing test scores, no matter the class size. She wanted to think “radically different” and go to the teachers, students, and principals to ask them how to tackle the issue of class size.

The trustees talked over some of the districts that could serve as benchmarks. Mexicotte said there were some comparable districts in Illinois and New York that receive $16,000 to $17,000 per student. Nelson said he believed that benchmarking the district to other excellent districts around the nation, such as Brookline Public Schools in Massachusetts, might be useful – to give the community a better idea of what can be done, instead of appealing to the abstraction of “we need another $9,000 to do a good job.”

About district achievement, Mexicotte said, AAPS scores were better than other Michigan districts that receive the same or a greater amount of money. If the district could somehow get an additional $7,000 per student, that would “feel great,” and the district could do amazing things. Even with strangled funding, the district was maintaining high excellence, she said.

Stead offered her Christmas list: target classroom sizes set by grade level; increased time in school for all students; and a globally competitive curriculum. For Stead, a globally competitive curriculum means a robust arts program, IT and business courses, as well as rigorous math, language, and science courses. She would also like to see adequate counseling and behavioral support, adequate professional development time for staff, and rewards for top performers.

AAPS trustee Susan Baskett

Mexicotte’s frequent rejoinder was “What would it take?” She asked trustees to identify the steps they needed to implement, if they identified a list similar to Stead’s. Mexicotte listed several options: hiring a consultant to do a cost-based analysis; tasking deputy superintendent for operations Robert Allen with an analysis; or choosing a trustee to lead the work.

Nelson argued for a more incremental approach. He cautioned against suggesting too big of an increase per pupil – so that the public doesn’t think the board is being unrealistic. If board members defined two or three things they identified as the highest priorities, then it would give them more focus, he said.

Mexicotte reaffirmed that the key was to think aspirationally. She noted that they had asked the administration to support a zero-based budget, to work from the ground up. She said that would give the opportunity to shake the budget out and have the aspirational goals meet the budget on top. Quiet through the discussion, Susan Baskett said she would like to get past the vision discussion. Mexicotte replied that, to her, vision was the “silken cord.”

Vision: Next Steps

Trustees determined that strategic goal #8 would suffice as a vision statement. To help them better define what “adequate” means for student education, the trustees asked that the administration analyze the cost associated with target class sizes. They also determined they would direct the administration to ask for feedback from staff on class size and resources.

Revenue Enhancement

The second area of focus was on revenue enhancement. Mexicotte led the discussion, asking for ideas to increase revenue. Several possibilities were identified: passing a countywide educational millage; increasing and maintaining enrollment by focusing on schools of choice; competing with charter schools; emphasizing customer service; renewing the sinking fund set to expire in 2014; and exploring the district’s real estate assets.

Revenue Enhancement: Countywide Millage

In terms of dollars, a countywide educational millage would impact the district most, Stead said. She noted that if the previous countywide 2-mill tax increase had been approved by voters in November 2009, over $11 million would have been generated for the district. She acknowledged that because an enhancement millage had to be approved by voters countywide, generating support of the other communities in the county would be essential. She estimated that it would take more than a year to create a compelling enough story – a story that drew upon benefits to the economy, increased property values, and better educational attainment for the community – to garner enough support throughout the county. Anything short of that would not be successful, Stead said.

Thomas said that they could expect some opposition to a countywide effort. Based on the outcome of the millage vote in 2009, he said, it’s apparent that a plurality in Ann Arbor is not sufficient to carry a countywide millage. So the district would need to start making contact with the surrounding school districts. He suggested reaching out to the boards, PTAs and PTOs, and area chambers of commerce to “tip the balance a little bit.”

Mexicotte followed up on the remarks made by Thomas, saying that it sounded to her that he was recommending the board take some kind of leadership role in doing advocacy outreach to neighboring communities. The trustees agreed that was something they wanted to do. To spread out that work, Mexicotte suggested the board could start by approaching the stakeholders in the county to help build a consortium. Nelson said they should craft a clear position piece that explains in detail why it was a good thing for all communities involved.

Revenue Enhancement: Increasing and Maintaining Enrollment

Thomas said that if the district could enroll 50 students who live in the district but currently attend charter schools, an additional $450,000 in revenue would come to AAPS. Baskett added that they have to remember the surest way to get more revenue is to bring in more students. While acknowledging AAPS was not losing as many students as other area school districts, Baskett said she didn’t believe AAPS is doing an adequate job of keeping the students it already has.

Continuing that thought, Nelson said that customer service needed to be a real focus. Parents and students need to know the district really wants them to come to AAPS. He gave school tours as an example, saying that prospective students need to feel welcomed into a school by all staff. Patalan supported Nelson’s focus on customer service. She suggested asking principals for reasons families have cited for their decision to leave the district. While their evidence may be anecdotal, principals could still provide some insight into the issue. Superintendent Patricia Green also said that principals could be a good source of information about this problem.

Concerned that focusing solely on principal input would be too unreliable, Baskett wanted to know if there was an adequate exit survey for families leaving the district. An exit survey could give an analysis of loss of students in the district, she said. Thomas agreed, adding that he wanted to understand why a family might attend AAPS for the first three years of school, then leave the district. He referenced previous data from Jane Landefeld, director of student accounting and research services, that had indicated a loss of 50 to 60 students per grade cohort. Mexicotte acknowledged that churn of students could be worth targeting.

Echoing the call for feedback from departing families, Lightfoot said that they needed to talk more with the customer – that is, students and families. Although there is currently a climate survey that gathers some of that information, Lightfoot said that with additional questions, they could get better insight into what’s happening in the schools.

From left: Christine Stead and Irene Patalan

Saying she was less interested in a comprehensive entrance and exit survey, Stead wanted to focus on forward-looking initiatives. She contended that AAPS needs to be more competitive to keep students in the district. As some specific actions that could have significant results, Stead suggested: timing the district’s marketing efforts to match other schools in the area; holding more open houses; and communicating district achievements better.

Revenue Enhancement: Sinking-fund Millage

Nelson identified the 1.00 mill sinking-fund millage – set to expire December 2014 – as a source of additional revenue. [A sinking-fund is a limited property tax for addressing building remodeling projects. State law allows a district to levy up to five mills, for no longer than 20 years.] A sinking fund millage is important enough that it can be ignored until just before it expires, Nelson argued. He wanted to focus on providing information to citizens by the fall of 2013.

Revenue Enhancement: Real Estate

Lightfoot suggested looking at all real estate owned by AAPS as possible revenue generators – either through lease or sale. Mexicotte agreed that getting a list of all the district’s property holdings could be useful. She also observed that if the district were to sell off property, it would be a one-time only deal.

Revenue Enhancement: Next Steps

The trustees identified several next steps for revenue enhancement. Nelson and Stead will spearhead the effort to make a case for a countywide education millage, putting together a cohesive description of the case and consequences for other districts in the county. Nelson will also work towards identifying needs for highlighting a renewal of the sinking fund millage in 2014.

To work towards maintaining and increasing enrollment, Baskett will explore timing the district’s marketing to be competitive with other area schools. While Stead said they already knew when schools such as Greenhills were placing advertising inserts into the New York Times, Baskett will formalize that knowledge. Patalan and the administration were tasked with working on an exit survey for students.

AAPS administration will give trustees a comprehensive list of real estate assets and an estimate of their value. The list will be included in the enrollment and demographic information presentation in December. The report may also include information such as easements and maps, to determine if the land is buildable.

Legislative Action

The trustees discussed several areas of legislative reform. They centered around amending Proposal A, working to achieve local levy authority, and working cross-governmentally.

Legislative Action: Amending Proposal A

Stead suggested amending Proposal A as a worthwhile goal for the board. [Proposal A was passed in 1994 to allow for distribution of state school aid fund revenues through a new foundation grant funding system]. She suggested lobbying for local levy authority, where local districts would be allowed to ask their own communities for support. Currently, the local option requires all member districts of a countywide intermediate school district to ask all voters in a group of districts for for an enhancement millage.

According to Stead, since the adoption of Proposal A in 1994, 76% of the 6 mills of revenue raised in Ann Arbor does not come back to AAPS through allocation from the state’s school aid fund. Stead said that back in 1994, sharing about half may have sounded reasonable. But the truth is, she said, is that more than half of what Ann Arbor property owners pay in taxes for schools is not returned to the district. So when people say they pay a lot of taxes in Ann Arbor for the schools, Stead agreed  – and said that it strikes her as an inappropriate amount.

Nelson noted that he has submitted a proposal to the Oxford Foundation-Michigan for a proposed revision of the law that deals with the enhancement millage. In his proposal, Ann Arbor would not keep all the money it raises through taxes. However, Nelson’s proposal would allow voters in local school districts to pass an enhancement millage of no more than 3 mills – with the constraint that no school would receive net revenue per student exceeding the amount consistent with average property wealth in the intermediate school district (ISD). He offered it up as one way of restoring local levy power.

Andy Thomas

Thomas pointed out that they would need to find natural allies around the state to push for any kind of legislative change at the state level. He said that legislators from local districts are supportive, but they would be facing a “stiff headwind” across the state. Nelson suggested that other 20j districts might be those natural allies.

By way of background, Section 20j of the School Aid Act makes calculations for “hold-harmless districts.” At the time of Proposal A’s enactment in 1994, some school districts’ foundation allowances exceeded the established  $6,500 per-pupil base level set by the state. Rather than have their funding lowered, the “hold harmless” districts were allowed to levy an additional millage to make up the gap. AAPS was one of those districts.

There was, however, a section in the revised school code that limited the growth of hold-harmless foundation allowances to the lesser of (1) the increase in the base level and (2) the rate of inflation. In 1999-2000, an inflationary increase of only 1.6% created a scenario in which giving the hold-harmless districts the full increase in the base level would have raised their grants higher than the rate of inflation. So Section 20j was created to provide hold harmless-districts the same foundation increase as other schools. In 2009, Section 20j was line-item vetoed by then-governor Granholm – which meant that districts previously identified as 20j schools saw a greater percentage decrease in school funding than other districts.

Legislative Action: Local Levy Authority

Mexicotte argued that if the district had local levy authority for the sinking fund, it could be used to pay for a broader range of expenses. [Currently the sinking fund can be used only for a limited set of expenditures, including major building renovation and the purchase of property.]

Thomas agreed and said that he took issue with laws that determined what schools could use funds for. As they think through the issues and challenges of transportation, Thomas said, it would be nice to have such a change enacted so charging for transportation could be a possibility. Mexicotte said that having access to such a common sense solution would be ideal, but state law did not allow it.

Baskett said she would like to engage the legislature on mandated costs that don’t make sense – such as paying into Michigan Public Schools Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) for employees who would not likely be able to access the pension. [One example is noon hour supervisors, which were discussed by trustees at the Sept. 19, 2012 board meeting. The board will vote on an outsourcing contract for noon hour supervisors at its Oct. 10 meeting]. Lightfoot suggested that talking about mandates, sinking fund allocation, and transportation might be an easier way of getting allies across the state.

When Mexicotte asked about working to change MPSERS, there was silence in the room – until Nelson said that the problem with MPSERS was that current public employees are paying for the mistakes of people years ago. Stead ventured that as a system, the state is weaker for the changes that have been made.

Legislative Action: Cross-Governmental Cooperation

Lightfoot promoted the idea of talking with the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) and the University of Michigan to develop cross-governmental relationships to improve the district. Baskett said that it would benefit the district to advocate for various initiatives led by other entities like AATA, because their successful initiatives could benefit the district’s students.

Trying to determine how such advocacy would fit into the board’s financial goal, Mexicotte pressed for a connection. Baskett said that if the board advocated for AATA, transportation might not be as great a worry. She specifically mentioned AATA bus routes that now run past the Roberto Clemente Student Development Center, which could help reduce district transportation costs.

Legislative Action: Restoration of K-12 Funding

The trustees briefly discussed pursuing legal action to restore K-12 funding. In 2011, funding for K-12 schools was diverted to support state aid for community colleges and the state’s 15 public universities. While trustees agreed that they would like to see this funding restored, they also decided to wait until there was a better judicial climate to pursue it. Lightfoot, however, said she was not concerned with the opinions of legislators and justices. If restoring K-12 funding was important, then it should be funded.

Legislative Action: Miscellaneous

As the trustees brainstormed, several other suggestions were offered. Baskett said the district should have a presence at various educational workshops around the state – to be more “vocal and visible,” as Mexicotte put it. To target issues that might be worthwhile to pursue, Lightfoot suggested asking Robert Allen and his operations team to identify issues that have state implications.

Legislative Action: Next Steps

Putting together a case for amending Proposal A will be the joint responsibility of Lightfoot, Nelson, and Stead. They will be focusing on restoring local levy authority and local enhancement millages. Because Nelson and Lightfoot are already on the transportation committee, it was agreed that it made sense that they pursue advocacy opportunities with AATA.

Communication

Mexicotte felt that the trustees need to be more communicative with the public about what they’re doing and the goals they’re working towards. She asked the other trustees what steps they needed to take in order to be better communicators.

The board president’s report, Patalan offered, could be a useful tool for communicating with the public. During each regular board meeting, Mexicotte has the opportunity to report out as the board president. She has used that opportunity to update the community on the COTW work being done. Patalan suggested there should be an on-going report on progress towards financial goals.

Communication: Next Steps

Mexicotte said she would use the formalized board report to communicate better with the public. Nelson said that until they narrowed their focus, he wanted the narrative of the evening’s work to be that they had a “really good” meeting on discussing what they were going to do.

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, Oct. 10, 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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David Erik Nelson

Over the last couple years school busing has been drastically altered in most Michigan districts. As a consequence most schools – including my son’s school, Bryant Elementary, which is only K-2nd grade – expanded their “walking zone” (kids that get no busing) to 1.5 miles. Do you know how long it takes a five-year-old to walk 1.5 miles? [1]

If you live at the far edge of the “walking zone,” you aren’t going to be walking – especially once our autumn rains arrive – you’ll be driving your kid to school.

Spoiler alert: Bryant Elementary was built in 1972 and renovated in 1983. So it’s not designed to have dozens of cars drop off individual children each morning – it’s designed for all of the kids to arrive at once in four big buses. An efficient set of buses has been converted to a frustrating, time-gobbling traffic jam.

The Ghost Of Busing Schemes Yet To Come

In other districts (Southgate jumps to mind), busing was effectively eliminated in 2011-2012 [2]. Back in October of last year I talked to a dental hygienist who spent three hours per day ferrying her three kids to their respective schools.

If you’re wondering why there is such a crazy drag on Michigan’s economy, maybe part of the problem is that we make 40 able-bodied adults do, at no pay, the work that we once paid one dude a basically fair salary to do with a big yellow bus. Those are hours spent not making anything anyone can buy, not earning any money to buy anything from anyone else, not creating jobs for another person, not rendering or using services, not being useful to the community.

In other words, reducing bus service shrinks the entire local economy. But whatever shrinkage the economy undergoes, it’s is treated as pretty innocuous, or at least not the school district’s purview. Board of education secretary Andy Thomas went so far as to point out during a 2011 debate that the schools were not in the transportation business [3].

But by offloading these very modest communally amortized expenses to individuals with school-age children, we both reduce the community’s capacity to maintain (let alone expand) all services, and also those individuals’ abilities to spend money locally. This shrinks the community’s tolerance for taxation, which leads to more services being cut, which leads to more citizen hours inefficiently boondoggled . . . ad nauseam.

It’s a negative feedback loop.

If you’re looking to so weaken a society that you can drown it in a bathtub, I suppose you have two options: You can hammer on it with artillery and air raids until it is too shattered and skittish to get out of bed and get anything done, or you can slowly bleed it dry with a million little, seemingly insignificant mosquito bites.

No one flees their homeland over mosquitoes. No one takes up arms against a sea of mosquitoes. We just slap and scratch and kvetch and toss and turn and keep on keeping on.

Until one day we collapse, probably while carrying our kindergartners to school.

The Economics Of Austerity

Maybe you’re basically OK with all this. Maybe you personally don’t need the damn busing anyway; maybe you can afford to spend that extra quality time waiting in a parking lot traffic jam. Maybe you have the good fortune to make your daily bread in a business that’s less responsive to local economic fluctuations.

Hell, maybe you feel a bit heartened, sacrificing your hours and bloating your carbon-footprint in the service of your children’s education – and thus, their futures! Yes, your hours are still squandered, but you have the cold comfort of knowing that these fallow hours are squandered in selfless devotion: It’s for the kids!

But, by the same token, this is a pretty selfish kind of selflessness, isn’t it? ‘cause it isn’t for the kids; it’s for your kids.

Put simply: We each look out for our own at the expense of all looking out for each other.

Are We Getting Busing Wrong?

Here in Washtenaw County we have yet to deploy the Southgate Nuclear Option, but we seem to be sliding that direction: Walking zones were expanded last year, and this year three high school bus lines were eliminated. (Students will instead be issued AATA bus passes – which is actually a pretty good deal, in my humble opinion; those things cost $30 per month!) And bus routes for Bryant (a K-2nd school) and Pattengill (the corresponding 3rd-5th) have been combined, requiring changes to the schoolday schedule. (Pattengill adopting a later start and end time. Ypsi high schools also changed their start times. Because Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, and Willow Run share buses, all that has translated to something around a half-million dollars in savings).

I can’t speak for how things are working in Ypsi or at the high schools in Ann Arbor, but I can say that (predictably) not everyone is happy at Bryant and Pattengill. By the fourth day of school room parents at Bryant had forwarded the rest of us an email under the subject line “Combined Busing/Staggered Start Time Chaos” – which tends to imply that the new routes aren’t super popular in some quarters. The email encouraged us to forward our concerns and testimonials to pretty much everyone in the Bryant/Pattengill administrative universe (i.e., both principals, the board of education, the school superintendent, the assistant superintendent for elementary education, the deputy superintendent of operations, the director of communications, and the PTO).

Four days later the schools’ administrators scheduled a “Town Hall” meeting for Sept. 20 to “discuss the emergent issues that have arisen due to the new staggered school start time and combined busing.” [4] A follow-up email from the PTO, sent a few hours before the meeting, indicated that “The majority of our community has been negatively impacted by the implementation of the staggered start and new bus system” and forebodingly closed, noting that the PTO “can guarantee that at some point in the future you will feel the negative effect.”

Email inquiries as to the source and veracity of these claims went unanswered. The first is especially suspect: Even if they just mean a majority of the families at Bryant and Pattengill, that’s hundreds of families. To my knowledge, there was never any effort to poll families impartially about their perception of the new system. Hundreds of folks independently contacted the PTO to complain about this within the first several days of school? Pardon me for being a little incredulous.

Far be it from me to indulge in a tangent, but just to add my two cents: I think AAPS and transportation are doing well, or certainly well enough, considering the conditions under which they must function.

From what I’ve seen, this new busing arrangement had a few hitches over the first few days, but has since smoothed out admirably (and quickly). Considering the complexity of any school busing system (a point I’ll return to shortly), compounded by the statutory requirements placed on a public school busing system, and the budget limitations under which our system must now function, AAPS/transportation seems to have made some compromises and come out with a system that is different – and clearly not ideal – but functional. [5]

That said, I see a simply monstrous line of cars queued up outside Pattengill at 3:50 every afternoon, and this waste of human hours and fossil fuels still breaks my heart.

The Travails Of The Traveling Salesman

Casual observation: We all think that school transportation is a pretty damned straightforward problem. I base this on two phenomena: (1) Every time board-of-education elections roll around, at least one newcomer’s platform includes his or her “common sense” plan to save a pile of money by “streamlining” the school bus system; (2) Every time our local “news” “paper” blogthing runs an article that mentions school budgets and AAPS transportation, the comment threads are choked with anonymous locals more than happy to step forward and tell us how simple and obvious it is to solve this whole busing thing.

But the simple truth is this: Plotting bus routes is hard. In fact, mathematically speaking, plotting bus routes is among the hardest possible problems. I know that sounds stupid, because the problem is so easy to formulate – it’s even easy to take a stab at solving it via guess-and-check. The challenge arises when you take all your guesses and try to sort out which is the best route.

This is a real-world example of one of computational science’s most vexing problems, the Traveling Salesman Problem. [6] The Traveling Salesman Problem can be described like so: “Given a list of cities he must visit, and knowing the distance between any of these points, can the salesman plot a path that hits each city only once while traveling the minimum roundtrip distance?”

The obvious answer is “Well, duh, yeah; there must be a shortest route!” And, in fact, it’s super-easy to check a proposed route and see if it’s shorter than some other route. But, it’s super hard to check all possible routes, because every time you add a new stop that must be visited, the time it takes to calculate and evaluate all possible routes takes a big jump – even with the best-known software implementations of the best-known algorithms for tackling this task, that time doubles for every individual additional stop.

For example, if you have four points to visit and it takes you 10 seconds to figure out the shortest route [7], then if you bump it up to five stops [8], it will take you 20 seconds to run the same calculation. Six stops [9]? You’ll need 40 seconds. Ten stops [10]? You’ll need more than 10 minutes. Twenty stops [11]? You’ll need 182 hours to calculate the most efficient route. That’s for one bus [12].

Now, I’m not claiming that a school bus system is a pure instance of the Traveling Salesman Problem – because some routes are no-brainers, others are hairy tangles of one-way streets and construction. But even as a savagely reduced instance of the Traveling Salesman Problem, this is a brain-buster. Math – which is to say, the universe itself – is against us when it comes to streamlining a bus system. I want to surface this, because one of the special intellectual hazards of the post-Google age is the pernicious sense that if we can clearly formulate a problem, then we can just as easily track down the answer in a negligible amount of time.

Some problems are very hard – not because they are morally ambiguous, or because we have to balance this need and that cost, but just simply computationally difficult, even in our Age of the Ubiquitous Hive-mind Pocket Supercomputer.

When honest, intelligent, well-intentioned public servants fail to find the perfect, optimal solution, it isn’t necessarily because of a nefarious conspiracy, or because they lacked the smarts or will, or because government is a nanny-state scam to steal money from the hardworking makers-of-stuff and captains of industry. Possibly, it’s just because it would take 1.5 years of 12-hour work days (with no vacations) to find that perfect solution, and by then we’d need a new answer, because conditions will have changed.

Greasing The Squeaky Wheel

But, you know what, I’m not really worried about the math – even though the math is interesting, and helps illustrate how fundamentally difficult resource management is, even in a purely theoretical model.

What I’m worried about is the wheels. We grease the squeaky ones, because when I’m hearing creaking or groaning in my bike’s drivetrain, it means metal is rubbing metal. That’s sub-optimal, and needs to be addressed. But, all too often, in systems composed of humans, the wheel that squeaks is the one that can afford to squeak.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but I was alerted to the purported catastrophic folly of the new busing system via email – although I know that not all the families at my son’s school can necessarily afford regular email access in the home.

Those emails were sent in English; I know for a fact that English is not the home language for many of my son’s peers. That Town Hall meeting ran from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on a school night. Those can be hard hours depending on your work (my wife couldn’t attend because, as a teacher in a different district, she was at her school’s curriculum night that evening, holding our newborn so that the boy and I could pass out in a chair in the basement with X-MEN cartoons on Netflix). How the hell could a parent conceivably show up and squeak at that meeting without a partner to watch the kid or kids on whose behalf he or she is squeaking?

It’s a bummer that the budget for everything is shrinking, and that belts need to be tightened. And, you know what, I don’t discard the possibility that the new busing system really is a catastrophe, that 300+ families really have independently emailed the PTO in English and Spanish and French and Hindi to register their alarm. That might be the case and, dammit, then it means that out of the quadrillions of solutions to this version of the Traveling Salesman Problem, we landed at one of the bottom-half solutions. We need to roll the dice again and aim for the top half, ASAP. I support that.

But, on the other hand, as a dude who has a firm handle on written and spoken English, a flexible schedule, and solidly middle-class levels of income, wealth, and security, I wouldn’t be OK with looking my boy in the eye and saying “Don’t worry, son; when they fucked with the busing system I went to bat and made sure that someone other than you got the short end of the stick.”

We each tend to look out for our own at the expense of all looking out for each other. So I’d like this to be the takeaway:

It isn’t that my kid is in this system with your kid.
Our kids are in it together.

Notes.

[1] I don’t live in Bryant’s walking zone, but I’ve hiked with my son since he was still in his baby carriage. He’s lean and long-legged, and the summer before he started kindergarten it was not unusual for it to take him nearly two hours to hike a 1.5 mile trail.

[2] Disclosure: I originally drafted the nut of this section a year ago, in an email to Ann Arbor Chronicle editor Dave Askins. Revising it on September 18, 2012, I was suddenly incredulous: No busing at all? That seems pretty far-fetched. Southgate isn’t a small town with a one-room schoolhouse; there’re at least a half-dozen schools there. They must have busing. So I Googled the Southgate Schools Transportation website. Check out the bus schedules for their schools (you’ll need to click through for each separate school – and I strongly urge you to take the 30 seconds to do so). Absolutely astounding. They didn’t even bother updating it from last year. I called the dispatcher’s office, just to confirm that there’d been no change. The phone rang and rang with no answer, then kicked me into an inscrutable voicemail system. On the second attempt I ended up talking to a very pleasant maintenance worker who happened to be standing near the ringing phone. She confirmed that there was no general education busing again this year in Southgate, although they still maintained (and had never interrupted) their special ed busing (which, presumably, is why they still have a dispatcher at all; he was away from his desk, because I’d called during lunch).

[3] Source: [link]

[4] Disclosure: I missed the meeting, because my son and I were both sick with something that I’m told could not conceivable be monkeypox, despite fitting the bill. I’ve yet to get any feedback on what transpired there.

[5] My son goes to Bryant, and most days is picked up/dropped off in front of Pattengill – the closest bus stop to our house. In other words, we’re likely the least affected by the change in busing. On the other days I drop him off for beforecare, and he rides a different bus to aftercare at the local JCC. This is clearly an off-label use of the service. Consequently, over the last year and some change, we’ve hit a snag now and again. Nonetheless, I’ve found all of the parts that AAPS plays in this process to be functional – in fact, considering the cost of our other educational options compared to the small portion of our tax bill that goes to pay for this entire system, I find this to be an astoundingly good value for all of us. It’s not perfect, but it sure is good and affordable.

[6] I hate to be tediously mathematical [6a], but just in case you want some Google fodder: Brainteasers like the Traveling Salesman Problem are part of a class of problems mathematicians call “NP-complete.” Briefly, this means that any given answer to the problem can be easily verified, but that the total number of possible answers that must be sorted out in order to find the best one grows exponentially. Other known NP-Complete problems include brainteaserish things like the “Knapsack Problem” and the game Minesweeper, and a lot of nitty-gritty biological, economic, and comp sci situations – about 3,000 problems have been identified as NP-Complete. Also – and this will sound weird – but any NP-Complete problem can be converted into any other NP-Complete problem, so solving one in a practical amount of time means being able to solve them all. Finding ways to efficiently crack NP-complete problems is the Holy Grail of computer science.

[6a] Disclosure: I clearly sorta delight in being tediously anything! Thank you for joining me down here in the footnotes!

[7] Under the stated conditions the total number of routes can be calculated as (n-1)! (which you can actually plug straight into Google – for example, this example would be “(4-1)!” – if you don’t get what the exclamation point means and just want to see some damn numbers). Since this formula gives you every route twice (once forward, once backward), folks working on Traveling Salesman Problem algorithms often choose to use (n-1)!/2 to represent the total number of paths they’ll consider. But the direction a path flows can be significant in a bus route (i.e., it can be more desirable to hit some points first or last, because of the way aftercare and enrichment programs are distributed among AAPS facilities), I’ve chosen to go with (n-1)! So, if you have a route with four points, then there are (4-1)!, or six, possible paths the bus might travel. Plot them all on a map (or, really, have a computer do so), measure the distance/travel time, consider limitations (do you have to hit a specific point earlier or later in the run?), and see which is best.

[8] Which means 24 possible routes.

[9] 120 possible routes. In case it seems germane, Bus 85 (serving Bryant/Pattengill) has six stops on its route.

[10] 362,880 possible routes (!!!).

[11] Oh damn: 121,645,100,000,000,000 possible routes. I am not making up this number. Bus 75 – which serves Slauson – has 19 stops. Does that mean there are six quadrillion possible paths that bus could drive? No; lots of those ideal routes are through houses and lawns and trees and what have you.

[12] A quick sifting of the 2012-2013 Bus Transportation Routes for AAPS makes it look like they’re running about 60 routes.

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The board is expected to vote on the FY 2012-13 budget at its June 13 meeting.

In addition to the budget discussion, trustees moved quickly through a number of other items of business at the May 23 meeting: (1) directing administration to create a transportation committee; (2) approving the sale of tech bonds; (3) supporting the Washtenaw Intermediate School District budget with some suggested reporting improvements; (4) the approval of two property easements with the city of Ann Arbor; and (5) the approval of a number of policies, including an anti-bullying policy as newly mandated by state law.

Trustees also heard from 20 people, most of them speaking during general public commentary in support of the Roberto Clemente Student Development Center, which had originally been proposed to be closed or restructured as part of the budget. Many thanked the board for taking Clemente “off the chopping block” for this coming year, but expressed concerns about the board’s process, the district-wide achievement gap faced by African-American students, and the board’s “lack of respect” for Clemente students.  

2012-13 Budget

AAPS superintendent Patricia Green introduced the first formal briefing on the AAPS proposed 2012-13 budget by asserting, “The district is hemorrhaging… The pain is real.” She reiterated the position shared at earlier meetings, saying that her administration does not want to make any of these cuts at all, and that what has been in the budget is valued and has made the district great.

The budget elements of the May 23 meeting are reported below. First, there was a presentation by AAPS deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen on the background and assumptions informing the proposed budget; a review by Allen of the suggested budget reductions; board discussion on the proposed budget; and a public hearing on the proposed budget. Public commentary, as well as this meeting’s student report, are described following these items, as they were each primarily related to the proposed budget reductions.

2012-13 Budget: Background and Assumptions

Robert Allen said that his PowerPoint presentation was “pretty much the same” as the board had already seen multiple times. He reviewed it again briefly, stressing how rising pension costs are not under the control of local districts.

Trustee Christine Stead asked what the foundation allowance would be if adjusted for inflation, and Allen said he did not know, but as far as he had heard, there was no plan to increase the $9,020 per pupil allowance. Board president Deb Mexicotte said that the figure she had seen before, if the foundation allowance had risen only by the rate of inflation, was near $11,000, and Allen said that sounded right.

Allen said the projected deficit for 2012-13 was $17.8 million, which includes the shift to providing all-day kindergarten. He also said that he feels fairly confident that the projected deficit can be lowered $1 million due to health care cost savings, but that he has not yet incorporated that into the plan.

Allen described the health care cost savings in more detail, explaining that the benefits of offering a self-funded health care plan to employees is starting to pay off, but that he is still being conservative in estimating the savings to the district. As more employees move to the self-funded plan, those savings continue to increase, Allen said. He noted that a health care consultant paid for by the health care corporations had advised him regarding making a $1.7 million budget adjustment to the base expenditures. Trustee Glenn Nelson, who had asked about the shift in base expenditure numbers at the last meeting, said he appreciated the way Allen keeps the board well-informed.

Allen then put up a slide with three-year projections, which shows that if the district does nothing to reduce expenditures, the fund balance will be depleted within two years. Stead expressed concern that with the special education reimbursement rate decreasing, the mandated retirement contribution rate increasing, and less guarantee of state offsets and incentives, the cuts that AAPS will need to make for 2013-14 will be even higher than this year.

Trustee Andy Thomas disagreed, saying that the state offsets are likely to continue, and that the board isn’t going to “sit on our hands and do nothing.” He noted that the $4 million in reductions the board is planning to pass will be put into the base expenditures for 2013-14 and for subsequent years. He suggested that the future projections are not representative of what is likely to occur.

2012-13 Budget: Proposed Budget Reduction Plan

At the May 23 meeting, Allen reviewed the proposed budget reductions by category. See The Chronicle’s coverage of the board’s May 16 committee of the whole meeting for more discussion of the proposed reductions.

2012-13 Budget: Proposed Budget Reduction Plan – Instructional Services

Allen reviewed that the consolidation of the Clemente summer school into the district-wide Pioneer High program would save $80,000, but Green said Clemente has asked the board to reconsider this piece. She said that much of what Clemente is doing is more like orientation than credit recovery, and that they feel the structure is important to their entire program.

Stead said she could argue against every single one of these cuts, and asked where the $80,000 would come from if the Clemente summer school program were to stay intact. Green said her administration is still looking into it, and that for now, the reduction is still on the list.

Allen also noted that the site-based budgets, which fund individual building’s school improvement plans, will be eliminated for $250,750, and that a reduction of four FTEs (full-time equivalents) in counseling positions will save $400,000.

2012-13 Budget: Proposed Budget Reduction Plan – Operations

Allen reiterated the list of transportation cuts included in the plan, and commented on them:

• Changing the Skyline High start time by 15 minutes, which would entail a memorandum of agreement with the teachers’ union ($266,400);
• Eliminating midday shuttles at Community High ($230,184);
• Reducing costs for transportation to Ann Arbor Open by using middle school common stops ($98,800);
• Eliminating the 4 p.m. middle school bus, which significantly impacts after-school programs ($85,284);
• Combining the bus routes of Bryant-Pattengill elementary schools($16,560).

Regarding the 4 p.m. middle school bus, Allen said the district is looking at other ways to be able to fund that.

Regarding the combining of bus routes to Bryant and Pattengill, Allen noted that it could impact start times at those schools, which would lead to another memorandum of agreement with the teachers’ union. He said the idea of combining these routes has been discussed for a couple of years, and that Pattengill’s start time might have to shift by 15 minutes because there will be fewer stops. Allen said the consolidation could allow for the elimination of up to two of the nine busses that are dedicated to those schools’ routes. The worst case scenario, he said, would be the addition of 10 minutes to the length of some students’ bus rides.

Andy Thomas clarified that a student going to Bryant would not experience any additional time in the morning, but would in the afternoon because the driving time from Bryant to Pattengill in the morning or from Pattengill to Bryant in the afternoon would add 10 minutes. Allen said yes, 10 minutes would be the maximum addition.

Allen listed three additional reductions in operations: ITD (information technology department) restructuring ($200,000); the elimination of the early notification incentive ($40,000); and energy savings ($500,000 in 2012-13, and $700,000 in the future).

2012-13 Budget: Proposed Budget Reduction Plan – District-wide Reductions

Allen reviewed the following district-wide reductions that are proposed:

• Moving the Rec & Ed director and support staff positions to the Rec & Ed budget ($205,000);
• Reducing districtwide departmental budgets by 10% ($500,000);
• Reducing healthcare costs ($100,000);
• Eliminating police liaisons ($350,000);
• Outsourcing noon-hour supervisors ($75,000);
• Eliminating the district contribution to music camps ($60,000);
• Reducing the budget for substitute teachers by placing the management of substitute budgets in the schools ($200,000);
• Reducing middle school athletics ($37,500);
• Eliminating funding for athletic entry fees ($58,000);
• Moving lacrosse to a club sport ($93,000);
• Replacing 32 FTEs of instructional staff (retirements) with less expensive staff ($900,000).

Regarding the police liaisons, Allen said he had talked with the Ann Arbor Police Department and confirmed that reducing the liaisons would not mean a loss of employment for any of the officers. The biggest thing AAPS will lose, Allen said, is the relationships it has with these particular officers. Christine Stead asked how they could be absorbed by the city if there was no budget for them, and Allen said there are retirements that would allow the shifts to occur. Allen also noted that AAPS will still contract with the AAPD for extra-curricular events such as football games.

Andy Thomas asked for clarification on what the $60,000 of music camp funding represents. Allen explained that it is entirely supplemental teacher pay, including fringes. The district will adjust its supplemental pay amount by $60,000, and that is a hard number, Allen said, even though the exact amount spent on this pay may be higher or lower in a given year. He also noted that there is an option to fundraise the $60,000 outside of the district budget, and that the band directors are working with the central office on this issue.

The Ann Arbor Education Association (AAEA) – the teachers’ union –has asked for two weeks to look at the entire middle school budget, Allen said, to see if there is a way to keep the middle school athletic directors but still reduce the overall middle school athletics budget by $37,500. He said there have been conversations about how Rec & Ed provides the same functions, and that perhaps middle school athletics could be done more efficiently.

Stead asked how confident Allen was about the savings anticipated by hiring less expensive teachers, and asked him to walk through the logic one more time. Allen said the district is currently expecting 24 retirements, and that retiring teachers are more than likely at the top of the pay scale. If you bring in new teachers to replace the retiring ones, he said, there is about a $25,000 to $30,000 differential in pay. Allen pointed out that there is a risk the savings will be lower if the district does not have additional retirements. Thomas said that if there are only 24 retirements, the savings will be $720,000 instead of $900,000.

2012-13 Budget: Proposed Budget Reduction Plan – Revenue Enhancement

Allen reviewed the four sources of revenue enhancement that are part of this budget: (1) School of Choice students ($1 million); (2) Medicaid reimbursement ($500,000); (3) best practices funding ($2.6 million); and (4) MPSERS offset ($1.8 million). MPSERS is the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System.

Allen noted that there are currently state Senate and House bills being entertained on MPSERS reform, and that it is not known at this time how the outcome of those discussions will affect the MPSERS offset in the future. Stead asked if the projected 31.2% employer contribution rate would increase if there were substantial layoffs across the state for FY 2012-13. Allen said he did not think AAPS would be adversely affected by the MPSERS reform bills.

2012-13 Budget: Proposed Budget Reduction Plan – Fund Equity

Allen then summarized that AAPS needs $10.7 million of reductions after the revenue enhancements are applied, but that at this point, the district will need to use $ 7 million of fund equity to reach that target. He added that the $7 million figure does not include the additional $1 million adjustment in health care savings he reported that night, so it’s really more like using $6 million of fund equity.

Stead asked if Allen anticipated an additional deficit in the fourth quarter, and Allen said very conservatively, he would estimate an additional deficit of $500,000, depending on what happens with additional retirements. Nelson said he usually thinks of increased retirements as saving money, and asked, “Why would something that accelerates retirements hurt the budget?” Allen answered that some retirees qualify for a payout bonus based on their number of years of service. AAPS, he explained, keeps those payouts held in the balance sheet, and the expense of distributing them has to be recognized in the year during which they are actually paid out.

2012-13 Budget: Board Discussion

Board discussion on the proposed budget is grouped here into the following categories: administrative process, Roberto Clemente, busing, police liaisons, other cuts, fund equity, and revenue enhancement. The budget was brought to the May 23 meeting as a first briefing item. The final 2012-13 budget will be approved at the next regular board meeting on June 13.

2012-13 Budget: Board Discussion – Administrative Process

Trustee Glenn Nelson complimented the administration and board president Deb Mexicotte for guiding the board through the budget process over the last few months, saying he “appreciated the spirit” with which the board whittled down an $18 million deficit to what he called “a budget which I can live with – it’s painful, but it’s a rational kind of thing.”

Trustee Simone Lightfoot said she liked that the middle school administration was weighing in on how to best cut middle school athletics, and asked “How much of that do we do?” Robert Allen replied that there are always ways to improve the process, and that input from all stakeholders is a good thing. “We do present these proposed reductions to our administration, and each year we ask for suggestions when we start the process,” he said, pointing out that some of the district-wide cuts proposed this year came from building administrators’ suggestions.

2012-13 Budget: Board Discussion – Roberto Clemente

Lightfoot asked how many students attend Roberto Clemente’s summer school program, and noted that she has received many e-mails about the hardships those students will face if the summer school program is merged with the district-wide summer school held at Pioneer. Allen said the Clemente summer school program could be as many as 80 or 90 students, and Thomas pointed out that absorbing the Clemente students into the main summer school program will increase summer school class sizes.

Trustee Irene Patalan asked how many students who begin the school year at Clemente are still there at the end of the year. Jane Landefeld, AAPS director of student accounting, answered that 15 students left between October and February this school year. Nelson asked if the 15 who left Clemente returned to other AAPS schools. Landefeld said some left AAPS to attend other schools out of the district, some transferred to other AAPS schools, and some dropped out of school entirely.

Thomas asked where exactly the projected $80,000 in savings from consolidating Clemente’s summer school program would come from. Mostly from staffing costs, Allen replied. Trustee Susan Baskett suggested breaking out the cost of the transition/orientation part of the Clemente summer school program from the classes part.

Mexicotte said she wants the academic focus to be the driver of summer school programming, and that summer school has always been about closing gaps and academic recovery. She argued that the orientation pieces need to be accomplished during the regular school year – individually or in cohorts.

2012-13 Budget: Board Discussion – Busing

Lightfoot asked if there was any concern about the mixing of ages of students on the Bryant and Pattengill buses, if they are consolidated. No, Allen said – all of the other elementary school buses mixed children from grades K-5.

Trustee Irene Patalan noted that there are a group of students who primarily attend classes at the comprehensive high schools but who come to Community High for part of the day – for those students, eliminating the mid-day shuttles will hurt. These students do not have organized advocacy, she said, but they do believe that coming to Community each day keeps their day intact as they are given support, self-esteem, or other help there.

Nelson said he would like reassurance at the second briefing that funding for the 4 p.m. middle school bus will be replaced, as it adds enough to the educational experience for enough students to be worth it. If at the second briefing on the budget on June 13, the board cannot be assured the money will be coming from elsewhere, Nelson said, he would like to explore not cutting the 4 p.m. middle school bus.

Stead requested data on high school bus ridership, particularly if there were changes to ridership this year.

2012-13 Budget: Board Discussion – Other Cuts

Lightfoot asked if, in light of the cuts to police liaisons, there was a way to have some sort of arrangement with the city so that the city could be sensitive to the idea of sending AAPS officers who are already familiar with the district. Allen said he could have that discussion with the acting chief [John Seto], who has been very responsive. Lightfoot also asked what the cost is for AAPD coverage at individual, separate events, and Allen said that in the past it has been treated as overtime pay for the three dedicated officers. If those positions are no longer funded by AAPS, the AAPD would be paid an hourly rate for event coverage, said Allen. Baskett said, “AAPD are a good police force, but they are not cheap.” She asked Allen to look for other ways of providing security at events, or work to negotiate a lower rate with AAPD.

Mexicotte noted that cutting 4 FTEs from counseling staff concerns her because of the effect it could have on the district’s work closing the achievement and discipline gaps. “While it is an attractive cut because it’s large, and because it’s based on attrition, this is an area of particular distress for me,” she said. Mexicotte also noted that she had been sitting next to AAPS deputy superintendent of operations Alesia Flye at the May 16 committee meeting, and that she wanted to acknowledge Flye’s distress at the reduction in departmental budgets. “[Flye] said, very professionally under her breath,” Mexicotte reported, ” ‘Ouch – that’s really going to hurt our professional development.’”

2012-13 Budget: Board Discussion – Fund Equity

Nelson said he was concerned about losing teachers in 2013-14 if the district digs too deep into fund equity this year to cover projected expenditures. He suggested bringing the idea of moving Clemente this year back to the table for discussion. “As we talk about the expenses related to [Clemente], and the performance as we know it, … I am not completely sure that investment is worth it,” Nelson argued.

Nelson said that for every teacher cut, roughly 300 students are affected by larger class sizes. By this logic, he explained, the $200,000 that would be saved by moving Clemente this year would save three teachers in 2013-14, affecting 900 students directly. “I am hoping we look really hard at this program because I think we need to,” Nelson said.

Stead responded that shifting academic programs warrants more planning time, and that she sees looking at effective program supports and results as the work of next year. “This is not about a move – this is about a thorough review from a program perspective,” she argued. She also pointed out that the achievement gap and discipline gap are not just Clemente problems, but district-wide issues, and that the program review needs to be comprehensive.

Stead explained her fear that without deeper cuts this year, AAPS could face the situation of not having enough fund equity to make payroll next summer, when the state aid payments are suspended. She noted that her concerns are based on the fact that the district ended up using $2.3 million out of fund equity this year to cover unanticipated spending, and that the MPSERS offset and best practices funding are not guaranteed to continue.

Stead said she is very concerned that using $8 million of fund equity this year does not position the district for financial sustainability next year, and suggested again that the board consider cutting all transportation out of the 2012-13 budget for a savings of $3.5 million. She argued that cutting transportation will require a “concerted effort from the entire community, city, carpools, everything you can think of,” but that so far, efforts at working on transportation have been “piecemeal.”

Thomas disagreed, pointing out that for the last three years, AAPS has been spending down fund equity at the rate of only $1.7 million a year, and that using $7 million this year is a reasonable and conservative way to address the current deficit. He said he had been present at the last AAPS Educational Foundation (AAPSEF) meeting, and that there was some discussion there of how the AAPSEF could offset some of the cuts. He also noted that the PTO thrift shop might be willing to make some kind of contribution, and that University Bank has come forward with $5,000 to help with the music camps. “What this illustrates,” Thomas said, “is that there is some willingness in the community to use private funding to help offset some of these cuts.”

Thomas said he would like to be able to sit down in October (2012), not April (2013) and hear the administration’s plan to eliminate another $14 to $18 million in 2013-14. He said he’d like to hear the plan in detail, similar to what was presented at this first formal budget briefing. It’s important to start the conversation in October [of 2012, for planning the 2013-14 budget], he said, because “we don’t have very many bullets left in our gun. What we are left with for next year is transportation as a whole, our contracts with bargaining units, reducing teachers by a truly drastic number, closing schools, and redistricting. And, closing schools has a ripple effect on transportation. These will all require a great deal of thought.”

Mexicotte asked Allen how much the district needed to keep in fund equity to be able to make payroll over the summer, and Allen said $9 million. “Then that’s the magical number – $9 million,” Mexicotte said. “It is the number after which we give money to the state to lend us money they should be giving us in the first place.” She argued that the difference between leaving $9 million, $10 million, or $11 million in fund equity “hardly makes a difference” because the district is facing $14 million more in cuts next year.

Mexicotte said that one of the visions she has kept in her mind all these years as a trustee is to keep AAPS above the line of solvency, and that she is comfortable spending $6-$7 million from fund equity this year.

Lightfoot agreed that she is comfortable with spending $6 million from fund equity if “we do nothing next year but plan, plan, plan.”

Patalan said that over the past six years, AAPS has made approximately $70 million in reductions – that’s just huge. “Of course, we’re all feeling fairly depressed,” she said. She added it also frightens her to allow fund equity to get so low, and that doing so was “truly a gamble. … You almost feel naked without something [to protect] against the future, and what the future could be.” The district’s ending fund equity balance for the current fiscal year is projected to be $18.73 million.

2012-13 Budget: Board Discussion – Revenue Enhancement

Nelson said the community does have other options – one is to keep pushing for legislative change at the state level, and another is to try again to pass a countywide schools enhancement millage. Passing such a millage, Nelson said, will require a very strong effort by citizens who care about education, “but one doesn’t get it done without starting. I urge the citizens out there who feel that education of the children in Washtenaw County is being threatened to not be as excellent as they deserve and need for the world they are going to live in, that we start talking about the enhancement millage.” [A countywide enhancement millage was on the November 2009 ballot and defeated, with 57.4% of voters voting against it, though it was supported by a majority of Ann Arbor voters.]

Stead said passing a revenue enhancement millage at the county level would be difficult, and that while she would support such efforts, AAPS also needs to keep working for a statewide solution. “There is a real structural issue,” she said. “Education should not be so subject to partisan politics that we compromise our entire future as a result… I would hope people would work with us… to focus on revoking Proposal A.” [Passed in 1994, Proposal A was a ballot initiative that aimed to create more equitable funding across all districts and to keep property taxes from escalating dramatically. Proposal A took away, to a significant degree, local control over school funding, though districts can still request voter approval to levy local millages for building construction, repairs, and maintenance.]

This was the first briefing on the 2012-13 budget. The budget will come before the board again for a second briefing and vote at the next regular board meeting on June 13.

2012-13 Budget: Public Hearing

Deb Mexicotte noted that the proposed budget has been posted on the district’s website, and invited anyone in the room to speak on the budget.

A parent in the Georgetown neighborhood spoke about the suggested consolidation of bus runs to Bryant and Pattengill schools. She pointed out that while adding 10 minutes to a bus route does not seem that long, it makes the run 40 minutes long at the end of the day for a 6-year-old. She also noted that the buses currently serving the students in her neighborhood are really full, and that it might not be realistic to think about eliminating a bus when you factor in fifth grade instruments needing space too.

A Clemente parent offered some perspective on the Clemente summer school program. She said that when Clemente first started in 1974, it was a 12-month program, and that the Clemente philosophy addresses the belief that students lose a lot over the summer. Students do take academic classes, and Clemente does offer Read 180 and credit recovery, she said, but it also orients students to the way classes will be conducted in the fall. Incoming 9th graders are offered an “intro to biology” class to prepare them to take biology in the fall and be successful. Also, students are given help with basic math, she said, to prepare them for the concepts they will be learning in the regular school year.

2012-13 Budget: Public Commentary

Eighteen people addressed the board during the regular public commentary period at the beginning of the meeting. Sixteen discussed Roberto Clemente Student Development Center, which had originally been proposed to be closed or restructured as part of the budget. Two other speakers discussed transportation services, which are slated for further reduction under the proposed budget as well.

2012-13 Budget: Public Commentary – Roberto Clemente

Members of the Clemente community thanked the board for taking Clemente “off the chopping block” for this coming year, but expressed concerns about board process, the district-wide achievement gap faced by African-American students, and the board’s “lack of respect” for Clemente students. Many students gave testimonials about how Clemente had changed their lives, and how it was stressful to live with the fear that their school would be taken away in the future.

Kathleen Ardon said she has not felt the board was listening during public commentary. She cited sidebar conversations, superintendent Patricia Green getting up to talk to another administrator, and the limited speaking time allowed. She suggested to trustees that they “try limiting your comments to 90 seconds each, as we have been made to do.” Lexanna Marie Lyons echoed Ardon, noting that at the May 9 board meeting, “a young white girl got to speak about her experiences at A2 Tech and read a letter.” Lyons noted that while that girl got to speak as long as she wanted, Clemente students were limited to a minute and a half each, and “they did not receive the praise this white girl received.”

Lyons said that as an African-American female, she has experienced many forms of racism and that she feels racism right now. Student Corey McDonald added, “Why set a time limit for speech when you stay here for…I don’t know how [long], but… a very long time.”

Student Mackenzie Caddell said she was “terribly embarrassed” and “mortified” when she saw the Clemente achievement data shared at the May 16 board committee meeting. However, Caddell continued, after reviewing data on African-American achievement district-wide, she “concluded that AAPS is only exceptional for students that are not of color…It isn’t black students’ failure – it’s a shared failure.” She noted that the positive impact that Clemente has had on students’ attitudes and behavior “cannot be seen on paper.”

Clemente teacher Mike Smith also addressed the achievement data discussed on May 16, and presented comparable data for African-American students at the three comprehensive high schools. Saying that he agreed that Clemente’s test scores were “abominable” and “damnable,” he noted that the achievement data for African-Americans students are very concerning across the district. Smith noted that only 53% of African-American 11th graders at the comprehensive high schools scored proficient in reading on the Michigan Merit Exam (MME), compared to 88% of their Caucasian counterparts. In math, the MME proficiency numbers are similar – Caucasian 86%, African-American 43%, Smith said.

Cierra Reese asserted that the achievement gap starts in elementary school, and Charlae Davis added that closing the achievement gap requires looking at “the big picture,” including the study of qualitative data, such as the information presented by students and their families.

Regarding a perceived lack of respect, parent Tara Cole referenced how a board member said she had felt threatened at the last meeting and that there had been a lack of respect shown for the board. Cole said the Clemente community feels the same way. Cassandra Parks said she is not convinced the board is concerned about these students, and reminded the students gathered, “You have to exercise our right and make sure the people in power really care about us.” After finishing her own comments, Parks also interrupted public commentary later in the meeting to call out teachers’ union president Brit Satchwell for distracting the board by typing loudly while people were speaking. Mexicotte asked Parks to be seated. Satchwell apologized for the perceived disrespect and closed his laptop.

Student Tyler Sheldon said students “feel that we have been kicked aside as lower-income minorities, so unfortunately, it makes us wonder, if we came from upper middle class two-parent households, would this have been considered?”

Public commentary on Clemente at the May 23 meeting also offered many examples of the qualitative data noted by Davis. Tia Jones and Alexandra Botello argued that the cost of educating Clemente students should not be relevant. Jones said she is finally getting the education she deserves and has been wanting her whole life, and Botello noted that the bullying and assault she faced in other AAPS schools was not present at Clemente.

Harmony Redding, Jermia Castion, and Caleb LeHuray noted the positive effect that Clemente has on students who have struggled elsewhere. “Roberto Clemente has been a gateway to education for many students,” LeHuray asserted. “You need to leave it alone as it is so the future students can see the value of their education and be successful later on.”

David Bullard and Corey McDonald warned that closing or consolidating Clemente will cause many students to drop out or return to their old bad habits. McDonald also pointed out that Clemente students will be looked at as “lower class” by students at other schools if the program is consolidated.

2012-13 Budget: Public Commentary – Busing

Jill Zimmerman thanked the board for allowing modified busing to continue to Ann Arbor Open, and said it will “make a huge difference in the lives of many families.” She also noted that it seems like eliminating busing district-wide is a “very real possibility” in the coming year. She encouraged the board to continue discussion with the community as this is considered. Zimmerman said the budget process in general should start sooner in order to realize the most savings with the least negative impact on families.

Patty Kracht urged the board to keep building administrators involved in the budget planning as it affects individual schools. She noted that when she heard about the consolidation of Bryant and Pattengill busing routes, she called the principal of her child’s school to ask if start times would be staggered. The principal did not know the answer and had not been included in the re-routing planning. “Please,” Kracht said, “if you’re not going to involve parents, at least involve administration.”

2012-13 Budget: Clarification on Public Commentary

Trustee Christine Stead spoke about the board process and structure surrounding public input. She noted that 45 minutes of public commentary is allotted at every meeting, and that the time is divided among all those who sign up to speak. [Each speaker is allotted 4 minutes. In the event that more than 11 people sign up to speak, the 45 minutes is divided equally among all speakers.] Stead also noted that student reports, given on a rotational basis by representatives from each of the high schools, are intended to be more in-depth reports, and that Clemente was on the schedule for the May 23 meeting. “Tonight, that person can take as much time as they would like,” she said, stressing that the trustees “absolutely want to hear students’ voices.”

Board president Deb Mexicotte offered clarification on the building of Skyline High School. She said the $92 million that paid for Skyline was part of a $240 million bond allocated by taxpayers to provide improvements to every building in the district, as well as to build the new school. Mexicotte explained that bond funds cannot be used for operating expenses. She said the district would love to be able to raise operating dollars from its taxpayers, but is legally prohibited from doing so.

Regarding disproportionality in discipline referrals, superintendent Patricia Green said she agrees there are disparities that parallel national trends, but said that it is being addressed. She noted that AAPS has instituted a multi-year plan to eliminate both the achievement and discipline gaps across the district.

2012-13 Budget: Roberto Clemente Student Report

Tia Jones volunteered to give the student report for Clemente, and started by simply saying, “We have said all we have had to say,” and reminding trustees that they are all invited to come see the school. Deb Mexicotte noted the concern expressed during public commentary that Clemente students have not had unlimited time to address the board, and explained that the student report is untimed. Jones asked if other students would also be given a turn to speak, and was told no.

Jones then shared some of her own story, saying that before Clemente, she had attended Dicken for all of elementary, then Slauson, Scarlett, and Eastern Washtenaw Multicultural Academy (a local charter school) for middle school, and finally Huron for 9th grade. “I remember teachers telling me never to try, that I would never be anyone,” Jones said. She said that in 6th grade, she did not know the Pledge of Allegiance, and that she felt out of place during her 8th grade year at EWMA, since the majority of students were of Middle Eastern descent. Finally, Jones recounted, “At Huron, I felt really bad due to an issue outside of school. Counselors did not know what to do with me.”

When she got to Clemente, Jones said, “Dr. E [Clemente principal Ben Edmondson] did not allow [me] to fail.” She told trustees that when the cuts to Clemente were proposed, it got to her because she knows what the school has offered her and her peers. “It shelters us, nurtures us. We spend most of our time at school.”

Board President’s Report

Deb Mexicotte reported on the board’s May 16 committee of the whole. In addition to going through a facilitated discussion to direct administration about board priorities during this trying time, she said, other topics discussed at the meeting were: how personalized learning is approached in AAPS; the possible creation of a transportation working group; and the superintendent evaluation timeline.

For full coverage of the non-budget May 16 committee of the whole agenda items, see Chronicle coverage: ”AAPS Begins Superintendent Evaluation.”

Transportation Study Committee

At the May 16 committee of the whole meeting, trustee Simone Lightfoot had suggested that the board convene a working group to study transportation sustainability in the district. After some discussion, trustees agreed to direct administration to convene such a group, and Deb Mexicotte said she would write up a request to do so, since the board does not take official action during committee meetings.

Transportation Study Committee: Formal Request to Administration

During the information section of the May 23 meeting, Mexicotte read a draft of the administrative request that she had written based on her notes from the May 16 committee meeting. Trustees subsequently approved the creation of an administrative working group “for the purpose of studying and reporting on the sustainability of school bus transportation for AAPS students.”

Mexicotte read the entire formal request into the record of the meeting. In summary, it outlined the board’s reasons for wanting to charge administration with convening such a group, saying it seems “prudent” to study the “short-term and long-term funding, support, partnerships, and solutions for school transportation” in order to understand AAPS’ role in the system, now and in the future.

In the request, the board charged the committee with examining three questions:

(1) Can we create a district-wide plan which includes short-term and long-term strategies, and that maintains district-funded transportation for students in AAPS? If so, under what circumstances (time, partnerships, delivery models, targeted student populations, funding strategies)?

(2) If not, what are the alternatives that might be considered or implemented (partial or complete elimination, privatization, partnerships, needs-based grants or services)? and

(3) What are the general and specific impacts on changing, reducing, or eliminating district-funded transportation as it relates to our strategic and educational outcomes and goals?

The request also asked the superintendent to be sure to include a diverse group of stakeholders on the committee, including administrators, representatives of other public and governmental entities, parents, students, and board members. It also said specifically that the working group could be made up entirely of members from an already existing committee, such as the Transportation Safety Committee or the City/Schools committee, or could be a newly created group, at the superintendent’s discretion.

Finally, it was requested that the board hear progress updates from the group on a regular basis, and that the process of completing the study and offering recommendations come back to the board by January 2013, in time to inform the FY 2013-14 AAPS budget.

Transportation Study Committee: Board Discussion

All of the trustees except for Christine Stead were immediately supportive of the creation of such a committee as outlined by Mexicotte. Stead suggested instead that perhaps a long-term financial planning group be assembled, and said that regarding transportation, she would rather have the district leverage the structure already in place rather than make a new committee. She also questioned the utility of having the committee vet the sustainability of school bus transportation without complete funding information, and asked, “Where does this tie into our strategic plan?”

Andy Thomas said there are specific issues regarding transportation that the board and the district need to address, which would make such a committee useful. He named the following as examples: “What is the impact of any reduction or the complete elimination of transportation to the district – which population will be affected? What is the impact on neighborhoods where schools are located? Will there be a huge increase in auto traffic? What are the environmental safety ramifications of this? What are the ramifications on specific programs; for example, what good does it do to keep Clemente open if there is not transportation to get to that location?”

Irene Patalan said the timeline piece was important to her, so that the committee can offer the board recommendations for the next budget cycle. Simone Lightfoot said it was important to her that the committee includes more than the “same people as usual,” and Susan Baskett added that committee members should feel free to bring their thoughts, comments, and questions without reservation. To Stead, Baskett answered that forming a transportation committee falls under strategic goal number six of the district’s strategic plan, which has to do with earning the public’s trust.

Multiple trustees and superintendent Patricia Green commended Mexicotte for the wording of her request, which noted the flexibility of the committee to define “sustainability” and other metrics. Green said, since she would be leading this effort, that she would “like to go at this not with a road map, but with a compass… All the stakeholders will develop the road map, while the compass sets the direction and keeps [the work] going in that direction.”

Mexicotte wondered whether the questions raised by Thomas would be addressed by the committee within the three study questions she had listed (see above) to define its work. Thomas said he did not think the request needed to be amended, but that it’s important not to lose sight of the interrelationship between transportation and other issues. For example, he said, “If we find that we find it necessary to close one or more buildings, students will be expected to travel longer distances to get to their schools. Are we going to still cut transportation? It’s hard to look at one piece of this without looking at the whole blob.”

Stead said she would like to see this group convene very quickly and meet a couple of times this summer, with the community, city, and police involved. Green said she would also like to move this very quickly, and is planning to dovetail with meetings that AAPS already has on the calendar with the city and Ann Arbor Transportation Authority because “once school ends, the momentum is lost.”

Mexicotte asked the board if it was amenable to placing the creation of this administrative transportation study committee on the consent agenda, and the board agreed. Mexicotte said she appreciated Green’s enthusiasm to move forward quickly, and also that she liked the template she created for making a nice, clear request to administration. “I like how it clarified my thinking when I wrote this up, and if we can do this in the future, that would be great,” she said.

Outcome: The creation of an administrative transportation study committee was approved unanimously by the board as a special briefing item on the May 23 consent agenda.

Sale of Technology Bonds

Superintendent Patricia Green thanked the public again for the passage of the tech bond millage and said the district is now moving on directly to the sale of the bonds.

By way of background, voters approved the millage at a May 8, 2012 election. The technology bond proposal is for AAPS to issue a total of $45,855,000 general obligation bonds to pay for acquiring and installing instructional technology and technology infrastructure. The estimated tax rate that would be required to service the debt on the bonds is 0.48 mill (or $0.48 per $1,000 of a property’s taxable value.) The estimated annual average millage rate required to retire the bonds of this issue is 0.51 mills.

Robert Allen, AAPS deputy superintendent of operations, said that the administration recommends using the same bond counsel, financial advisor, and underwriters as used for the recent 2012 bond refinancing, and noted that the tech bonds need to be sold before July 1. He said the district would like to get started this summer on the work approved by voters with the passage of the bond, and asked the board to consider approving the resolution for the sale of the bonds as a special briefing item.

Trustee Andy Thomas asked what the maturity date was for the first group of bonds. Allen replied that it varied among the $27 million in bonds in the first phase. Thomas also asked if Allen knew what the interest rate would be, and Allen said he did not know, but that market conditions are still good and he expects a favorable rate.

Christine Stead thanked Allen and his team for getting this put together so quickly and having this prepared for the board.

Outcome: The sale of the technology bonds was approved unanimously as a special briefing item as part of the May 23 consent agenda.

Anti-Bullying Policy

Dave Comsa, AAPS deputy superintendent of human resources and general counsel, responded to questions the board had asked during the May 9 first briefing of the district’s new anti-bullying policy.

Regarding the assurance of confidentiality in the bullying investigation, Comsa pointed to regulation 4.4, which indicates that confidentiality will be maintained to the highest degree possible. He noted also that retaliation against a “whistleblower” is explicitly prohibited by the policy, and is also addressed in regulations 4.2 to 4.22.

Regarding training for staff, Comsa noted that regulation 2.2 states there will be such training. He also said the policy would be published beyond the Rights and Responsibilities handbook, as requested by the board.

Comsa reported that in response to a request for a timeline for investigations, regulation 5.4.1 states that the goal will be to complete all bullying investigations within five school days of receiving a complaint.

He noted that cyber-bullying is covered by this policy too, as the definition of bullying it uses includes the phrase “any electronic communication.” And finally, Comsa said that the policy applies to everyone listed under “organizational units affected,” and that it does include parents.

Andy Thomas said he was not completely satisfied that a question he asked at the last meeting had been sufficiently addressed – how far does the policy go when the bullying is off school property? Comsa said that the key point to consider is whether there is a nexus in the school. He noted that “our control only extends so far,” but if the incident substantially impacts or interferes with the operation of the school, it would be covered by the policy. Deb Mexicotte added that if a fight between students outside of school causes intimidation in school, it would fall under the anti-bullying policy.

Thomas confirmed, “So there does have to be some kind of connection with the school?” And Comsa replied, “Yes, we are not a policing force for the entire community.”

Mexicotte opened up a public hearing on the anti-bullying policy but no one spoke to the board on this issue.

Outcome: Policy 5800, Anti-Bullying was approved unanimously as part of the May 23 consent agenda.

Washtenaw Intermediate School District Budget

Christine Stead reported that she had asked the board’s questions from the first briefing on the Washtenaw Intermediate School District budget, and WISD officials had sent a reply. Items included: a list of what is contained in “central services;” the AAPS portion of the transportation budget, totaling $6.9 million; a line-by-line breakdown of all budgets; a 3-year rolling budget table, noting the shift next year from a 67% to a 56% reimbursement rate for special education services; a list of local school improvement expenses; and a copy of their 2009-10 annual services report, which reviews the services they provide by region.

Deb Mexicotte referred to a binder that had been provided to each trustee, and pointed out that Tab 6 lists the teaching and learning initiatives of the WISD and indicates whether AAPS is involved in each one.

Glenn Nelson said that regarding the future, he would like to see the WISD budget provide more detail, particularly as it affects AAPS, and that the board members would like to be informed constituents of the WISD. In the resolution supporting the WISD budget, Nelson suggested adding an amendment to be sure his suggestions were addressed. He noted that the one-time provision of information since the first briefing on May 9 had mostly addressed his concerns for this time, but that he would like to see such information provided regularly in the future as well.

Nelson’s amendment was included in the final resolution, and Mexicotte asked board secretary Amy Osinski to include the amended language in a color other than black and to make the WISD aware of the amendment.

Simone Lightfoot lauded the WISD for providing a detailed breakdown of transportation costs, and Christine Stead added that getting this amount of data together in a week was appreciated.

Outcome: The WISD budget was supported by a resolution included on the May 23 consent agenda.

Consent Agenda

In addition to the items noted above as being contained in the consent agenda (transportation committee formation, sale of tech bonds, anti-bullying policy, and WISD budget), the consent agenda also contained a set of policies, and requests from the city of Ann Arbor for two property easements for the replacement, maintenance, and repair of water mains.

There was virtually no discussion on the easements, or on policies 5160 (Student Classification and Retention), 5170 (Elementary Reclassification and Acceleration), 6120/6100 (Pilot Projects/Curriculum Development), 7800/5200 (Parental Involvement/Progress Reporting), 7810 (Parental Involvement Title I), 5300 (field trips), and 7400 (donations).

Deb Mexicotte thanked superintendent Patricia Green and her administration for looking hard at the policies and said she appreciated in particular the “reinvention” of the Pilot Projects policy in the manner presented. Simone Lightfoot said she had raised concerns about student transportation in the field trip policy, and deputy superintendent Robert Allen said that was addressed in the policy’s regulations.

Outcome: The May 23 consent agenda, including the above-noted items, along with minutes approval, passed unanimously.

First Briefing: Millage Resolution and 3rd Quarter Financial Report

AAPS director of finance Nancy Hoover presented the millage resolution that will allow the district to levy taxes on the AAPS district area property owners. She noted that for the third year in a row, there was no Headlee rollback, so the millage rates will be as follows: homestead – 4.7084 mills; non-homestead – 18 mills; debt service – 2.45 mills; and sinking fund – 1 mill.

Andy Thomas asked how the refinancing of the district’s debt instruments affected the debt service millage. Hoover answered that the district’s debt service millage was $15.8 million before the refinancing, decreased to $15.3 million after refinancing, and then increased to $18.2 million after the recent passage of the tech bond. She stressed that the tech bond affects only the debt service millage, not the other three millages.

Hoover then continued, presenting the board with the third quarter financial report, which showed an overall decrease in expected revenues of $280,000 due primarily to changes in special education reimbursement. Allen added that the staffing and expenditure summaries were similar to last year at this time, and said the revenue adjustment would be made through the use of fund equity. Therefore, the district’s ending fund equity balance for the current fiscal year is projected to be $18.45 million.

Outcome: These items were brought to the board at first briefing, and will be voted on during the next regular meeting on June 13.

Association and Student Reports

Five associations are invited to make regular reports to the school board: 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 Youth Senate is also invited to speak once a month, as are representatives from each of the high schools.

At this meeting, the board heard from a student representative from Roberto Clemente Student Development Center (see budget section above), as well as the AAPAC, PTOC, and AAAA.

Association and Student Reports: AAPAC

Scott White reported for the Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee for Special Education (AAPAC). As the district looks into staffing for next year, he asked that it considers hiring additional Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) to provide support for students with autism and other behavioral issues. He argued that behavioral expertise is integral to implementing Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) for students with autism. White also noted that with the passage of autism insurance coverage in Michigan, AAPS might be able to seek reimbursement for the BCBA services.

Association and Student Reports: PTOC

Amy Pachera reported that the Parent Teacher Organization Council held its last meeting of the year, and had a great celebration. She noted that a larger number of schools have attended PTOC meetings this year, and said the new slate of executive board members reflects a wider representation as well. Pachera also gave “kudos” to all citizens who voted yes on the recent tech bond millage.

Association and Student Reports: AAAA

Haisley Elementary School principal Kathy Scarnecchia reported for the Ann Arbor Administrators Association. She said that as a unit, AAAA members rely significantly on the police liaisons, who support the administrators in many different roles. The liaisons visit homes; talk with younger students about behavior and safety; help at athletic events; and watch over parking lots, among other things, Scarnecchia said. To make up the budget difference of retaining the police liaison positions, Scarnecchia suggested considering refiguring the truant officer, homeless liaison or other community service positions.

Superintendent’s Report

Patricia Green’s report highlighted a documentary she had recently seen: ”Black and Blue: The Story of Gerald Ford, Willis Ward, and the 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech Football Game.” She said it was “timely and poignant” and that she would like each AAPS high school to show it to students before the end of the year. Green said the film depicts the story of a football game between Georgia Tech and the University of Michigan in 1934 when star UM player Willis Ward was benched, and his best friend and then-future president Gerald Ford took a stand against that decision. Green said the movie was a very powerful demonstration of what character is, and of the longstanding impact people can have on society.

For the remainder of Green’s report, she offered numerous commendations of students, staff, and schools across the district, noting that “our students really distinguish themselves.” She noted the dedication of the Pioneer track to two longtime staff members – Don Sleeman and Bryan Westfield – and thanked the supporters who came to honor these educators, noting that “people came from generations.”

Agenda Planning

Andy Thomas suggested that the budget reduction plan for the 2013-14 school year should be brought forward to the board in October of 2012, with as much detail as is possible at that time. Christine Stead also suggested shifting to a longer-term approach to budgeting, and Deb Mexicotte said perhaps the board should discuss it at a committee of the whole. The board’s next committee of the whole meeting is scheduled for July 18.

Susan Baskett said she would like to hear about how possibly redistricting would impact transportation. She also reported hearing concerns about the new graduation requirements disproportionately impacting certain subsets of the AAPS population, especially special education students, and asked how that is being addressed. Mexicotte noted that the possibility of crafting a personal curriculum exists, but Baskett said her concern was that children are not coming out with a diploma at all.

Items from the Board

Simone Lightfoot said she was late to the meeting due to attending her daughter’s spring concert at Skyline High, and she thanked the orchestra director there for a job well done. She also thanked Scarlett Middle School principal Gerald Vasquez for inviting her to participate in Portfolio Day at Scarlett, saying it was nice to interview young people and to “have the opportunity to work with them on firm handshakes and lowering their hemlines.” She also noted that Scarlett had done a good job of calling on retired staff to participate in Portfolio Day, and she urged the district to look into “ways to tap into our retirees.”

Glenn Nelson said he also attended and very much enjoyed Scarlett’s portfolio day. He also noted the AAPS student art exhibit at the University of Michigan Slusser art gallery, and the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber of Commerce’s honoring of two AAPS teachers. Finally, Nelson lauded the homebuilding program, which just purchased 12 new lots for the next 12 houses to be built. He noted that the program’s 2012 house has already sold, and thanked the staff and advisory board who support this program.

Susan Baskett said she can’t believe it’s graduation time – she congratulated all the graduates, especially those at Skyline High, who will graduate its first class this year. “Have fun, but be safe,” Baskett said.

Andy Thomas called attention to the upcoming Ann Arbor Marathon on June 17, as well as to Mainstreet Ventures’ “marathon meal” offer: For $26 from now through race day, you can purchase a marathon meal at Real Seafood, Gratzi, Palio, and a number of other restaurants and $5 of the price of that meal is contributed to the AAPS Educational Foundation.

Deb Mexicotte said graduation season was a “thrilling and joyous” time and that she was looking forward to seeing her fellow trustees at the five graduation ceremonies this year. She also said she had the pleasure of accepting an award on behalf of Baskett from the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB), certifying Baskett as “a master board member in the state of Michigan for continuing to educate herself around boardsmanship.”

Present: President Deb Mexicotte, vice president Christine Stead, secretary Andy Thomas, treasurer Irene Patalan, and trustees Susan Baskett, Simone Lightfoot (arrived at 8 p.m.), and Glenn Nelson.

Next regular meeting: Wednesday, June 13, 2012, at 7 p.m. in the fourth-floor conference room of the downtown Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor.

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AAPS board president Deb Mexicotte led the trustees in their budget discussion at the May 16 committee meeting. The formal budget presentation from the administration will come at the May 23 meeting.

That still leaves a $7 million gap to be addressed as the district faces a $17.8 million deficit for the 2012-13 school year, which begins July 1. There was general agreement on the board to use some amount fund equity to meet the budget targets, but no agreement about how much to use. Hypothetically, the entire $17.8 million shortfall could be covered by drawing on the fund equity the district has to start FY 2013, which is $18.73 million.

But without some cuts and revenue enhancements, that fund equity would be close to just $1 million by the end of the year, which is a half percent of the district’s currently proposed  expenditure budget for FY 2013 – $194 million. In addition, it would leave insufficient reserves to manage cash flow through the summer. And by the end of the following year, fund equity would be projected to be negative $23.5 million.

At the May 16 meeting, most trustees expressed support for leaving Roberto Clemente Student Development Center in place in its current form for at least another year, while evaluating the program’s educational effectiveness. Much of the board sentiment on Clemente was reflected in an exchange between trustees Simone Lightfoot and Glenn Nelson near the end of the three and half hour budget discussion. Lightfoot asserted that Clemente’s parents are “not caught up in test scores – they are just happy that their children want to go to school” and that their students are getting “some basics in place – social and mental.” Nelson responded, “I’m willing to grant that in that part of education, they are doing a good job, but for $18,000 [per-student cost], I’d like both the academic and social/emotional learning.”

The administration’s budget proposal called for the elimination of between 32 and 64 teaching positions, but trustees were in broad agreement that there should be no cuts to teaching positions, if at all possible. Nelson suggested that by hiring less-experienced new teachers to replace retiring teachers, the district would still be able to save roughly $960,000, without incurring any rise in class sizes. Trustees expressed support for that approach, which board president Deb Mexicotte dubbed the ”Nelson model.”

While trustees showed a consensus about maintaining teaching staff levels, they were divided on the issue of transportation. Lightfoot suggested a “hold harmless” approach to transportation this year – as the districts forms an administrative committee with broad stakeholder participation to develop a sustainable transportation plan. Taking almost an opposite view on transportation was trustee Christine Stead, who advocated several times during the meeting that all non-mandated busing should be cut. Based on the board discussion, busing for Ann Arbor Open will likely be preserved via a cost-neutral plan that relies primarily on common stops at the district’s five middle schools. Also likely is that the 4 p.m. middle school bus and the shuttles to and from Community High School will  be cut. Some board members also indicated an interest in “phasing out” busing to the magnet programs at Skyline High School.

The board took no formal votes during their committee-of-the-whole-meeting on May 16. However the board’s consensus on various issues, convey to the AAPS administration, will inform the final budget proposal. That final proposal comes to the board for a first briefing and public hearing on May 23.

In addition to the budget discussion, the May 16 committee meeting included four and a half additional hours of discussion on: discussing gifted and talented programming in the district; outlining the superintendent evaluation review process; and creating a framework for a broad-based committee to study the sustainability of transportation in the district.

Budget Discussion Process

Board president Deb Mexicotte began by outlining an approach to the budget discussion that would first identify areas of consensus on the proposed budget reductions. After that, it focused the board’s conversation on areas where opinions diverged. The idea was to determine “what [the board] will be able to tolerate” as it addresses the $17.8 million budget deficit. AAPS superintendent Patricia Green added that her administration had brought additional information to inform the discussion.

The board held three rounds of discussion. In round one, trustees briefly considered each of the 27 proposed reductions put forth in the administration’s budget proposal , and were encouraged to reach consensus on items that could be eliminated with very little or no discussion.  During this round trustees agreed on cuts to 13 budget items totaling $1.9 million.

In round two, trustees discussed each of the remaining 14 budget items in detail, but did not try to come to consensus about how to balance them against each other. This round ended with an administrative presentation and lengthy board discussion on the Roberto Clemente Student Development Center.

In round three, trustees tried to reach consensus on a subset of the remaining suggested reductions – in the context of the required fund equity that would otherwise be needed to balance the FY 2012-13 budget. In the end, trustees were able to agree on another $2.8 million of cuts.  They disagreed on the question how much of the remaining $7 million deficit to address by using fund equity versus deepening the budget cuts. Almost all the consensus cuts came from the administration’s core budget proposal (Plan A). The exception was a 10% cut to the district-wide discretionary budgets, which was part of the suggested second-tier of additional cuts (Plan B).

The Chronicle has organized this report by first listing the cuts the board adopted with little or no discussion. After that, discussion and general agreement reached by the board on the remaining proposed reductions are grouped into the following categories: Clemente, transportation, teaching staff, and other district-wide cuts. The report concludes at the same point the trustees’ discussion ended – with a brief discussion of next steps in the process, and general agreement that AAPS should pursue revenue enhancement via advertising.

Line Item Cuts – Round One

The board’s first pass at line item reductions yielded $1.9 million in savings. Mexicotte led trustees through a comprehensive list of the 27 proposed budget reduction options one by one and asked if there was consensus to retain each item on the list of cuts. She started a list of any items on which the board wished to have more extensive discussion on chart paper set on an easel at the front of the room.

Via this method, the board agreed to the following 13 reductions with very little or no discussion:

1. Eliminate four high school counselors ($400,000);
2. Eliminate middle school athletic directors ($37,500);
3. Eliminate funding for athletic entry fees ($58,000);
4. Move lacrosse to club sport status ($93,000);
5. Outsource noon-hour supervision ($75,000);
6. Eliminate district subsidy for summer music camps ($60,000);
7. Reduce budget for substitute teachers ($200,000);
8. Combine bus runs for Bryant and Pattengill elementaries ($16,560);
9. ITD restructuring ($200,000);
10. Move Rec & Ed director and office professional positions to Rec & Ed budget ($205,000);
11. Eliminate the early notification incentive for retiring staff ($40,000);
12. Enact Phase V of energy savings capital improvements ($500,000); and
13. Reduce health care costs ($100,000).

Regarding the reduction in counselors, Stead asked for clarification on whether the positions would come from attrition or retirements, and which schools would be affected. AAPS deputy superintendent of instruction Alesia Flye said that three of the four positions would be reduced via retirements – one each at Forsythe and Scarlet middle schools, and Huron High School. Those three schools can reduce one counselor and still meet the contractual counselor-student ratio of 1:325, Flye said, but a staff reassignment would be needed to fill the position left by retirement at Scarlett. The fourth counseling position would be eliminated  at Pioneer High School – a suggestion that came from that school’s administration.

Trustee Susan Baskett questioned whether the reduction in counselors would have an effect on the district’s ability to enact the new counseling and guidance programming, which was presented at the February 2012 committee of the whole meeting.  Flye said it will be a challenge to deliver some of the new plan’s services, and that a reduced number of counselors at each building could be problematic down the road.

Trustees got clarification that the athletic entry fee was beyond the fees associated with regular conference participation for all sports. Baskett asked whether students would have less exposure to recruiters. AAPS deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen answered that recruiters would still be able to come to many events.

Mexicotte tallied up the total amount saved from the above cuts, and it came to $1,985,060. Trustees agreed to employ all four of the revenue enhancement suggestions proposed by the administration (Schools of Choice, Medicaid reimbursement, MPSERS offset, and best practices incentives), totaling $6 million.

That left $9,814,940 as the remaining amount the board was still looking to cut as it moved into the next phase of discussion.  [$17.8 million – $1,985,060 – $6 million = $9,814,940].

Roberto Clemente Student Development Center

At the May 16 meeting, four people addressed the board during public commentary on the topic of the Roberto  Clemente Student Development Center. AAPS administration also presented a new set of information for board review, including a set of options for relocating or restructuring the school, and a large amount of data on achievement, attendance, graduation rates, staffing, course offerings, and cost comparisons between the six district high schools. Additional board discussion on Clemente, including its summer school program, followed the administrative presentation.

Allen introduced the proposed reduction to Clemente as potentially saving $400,000, which included savings related to the building, principal, office professional, custodian, and utility costs. Moving the Clemente summer school to Pioneer would save another $80,000.

Clemente: Public Commentary

Barbara Malcolm, a community liaison at Clemente, asserted that the board members are no longer representing the community that elected them. She said she has been appalled by “actions, lies, and deceit” and that the school board has lost much of its credibility in the community. Malcolm said the district still faces the same level of attacks on blacks, poor people, and disenfranchised students as it did when she was a student at AAPS. She said it was shameful that Mexicotte has called Clemente “racist” and “a one-way street.” Calling superintendent Patricia Green an “outsider” who was “not part of the community, only paid by it,” Malcolm accused Green of dismantling a pillar of the community. Malcolm asked Green at least to “own” a statement Green had made at the beginning of her tenure as superintendent that Clemente was not on the chopping block. She argued that AAPS needs to educate all students, “not just those who do well on standardized, biased tests.”

Charlae Davis said that if the process is sloppy, the outcome will be sloppy, and said she had serious concerns with the budget proposal process. She argued that denying families and students a role in the planning process is a form of oppression and said the process has been “victim-blaming.” She asked board members to consider whether they would be satisfied with this process if their own children were at Clemente.

Georgina LeHuray shared the story of her grandson’s switch to Clemente and the positive effect it has had on him. She argued that test scores are the wrong measurements to use in evaluating Clemente, and asked what will mean the most to these kids in 10 or 15 years – test scores or [the support] they get from these people at Clemente. LeHuray urged the board, “If you save one kid at Clemente, it’s worth every damn tax dollar we put on these kids … Do not fail these kids. Appreciate what you’ve got at Roberto Clemente.”

Clemente staff member Pat Morrow asserted that AAPS has failed the children who attend Clemente. She argued that achieving high test scores is not as relevant as getting a high school diploma, and said that sending Clemente students back to the comprehensive high schools would be setting them up to fail. “We can get kids into colleges, Morrow said, “and they can go onto be productive citizens.” She said the board needed to let the Clemente community know right now what its fate is.

Clemente: Short-Term Focus

Green said the presentation her team brought to share was developed in response to questions from the previous committee of the whole meeting about what the options the district had to make changes to Clemente. Lightfoot noted that she was not comfortable getting this information for the first time at 11:20 p.m.

Flye reviewed how Clemente is made up mostly of 9th and 10th graders, but includes some upperclassmen as well. The goal of the program, she said, is to help students return to their home school by making use of smaller learning environments, among other program features. Flye said that the administration’s short term goal was to maintain the philosophy, initiatives, and structure of the Clemente program, with the long-term of possibly redesigning the program.

Green added that the district has been talking about the possible redesign of alternative programs, and noted that A2 Tech’s name change came out of those talks. She noted that when she had been interviewing for the position in Ann Arbor, she heard that cutting alternative programs had come up during last year’s budget discussions. Green also addressed an accusation made repeatedly at recent board meeting public commentary sessions about a statement she made on Clemente’s future: “When I had visited over there early in the year, at the time I was asked, ‘Are you planning on closing the school?’ I said there had been no conversation about that – it was very early in September. None of these conversations had taken place.”

Clemente: Restructuring Options

Flye described four options for restructuring Clemente:

1. Relocate Clemente to the A2Tech building and run both programs separately;
2. Relocate Clemente to A2Tech and create a blended version of both programs;
3. Relocate Clemente to a dedicated space in either Pioneer or Huron; or
4. Integrate Clemente students into their home high schools, with the Clemente program principal coordinating support of Clemente students in the comprehensive schools.

Flye then explained why (option 1) and (option 2) were not seen as desirable. She briefly touched on how (option 4) was envisioned, and then went into detail about how (option 3) could work.

Flye noted that there might not be enough space to keep the programs fully separate in the same building (option 1). She also said that the principals of A2 Tech and Clemente had said it would not work well to blend the programs (option 2), because the two programs have such different areas of emphasis. Clemente targets mostly 9th and 10th grade students, Flye said, while A2 Tech targets older students.

If Clemente students were integrated into their home high schools (option 4), Flye said that some instruction could be delivered by Clemente staff, that some instruction could consist of “touchpoint” classes delivered with technological enhancements, and that” wraparound services” would be offered.

On the topic of relocating the Clemente program to Pioneer or Huron (option 3), Flye and Green suggested that modified schedules could be used to keep Clemente students totally separate from other students if that was desired. The modified schedules might include separate lunch periods, or alternative starting and ending times. At the comprehensive high schools, Clemente students would benefit from an enhanced set of opportunities, they said, including sports, arts, career and tech education and other electives, while maintaining Clemente’s mentoring approach and weekly “rap sessions.”

AAPS executive director of physical properties Randy Trent led the administration in describing the spaces within Pioneer and Huron that could house Clemente. At Pioneer, he said, there are seven classrooms in the D wing that could be available, along with an eighth room upstairs that could be used if necessary, an administrative area, a separate entrance, and a large lecture facility that could be used for the weekly rap session. Clemente would displace math classes currently using the space, which Pioneer’s administration said would be a good change for the school, Flye added.

At Huron, the available space would be an isolated area with eight classrooms would be on the third floor of the arch, Trent explained, noting that students would have to walk through the entire building to reach the space. Flye allowed that world language and language arts classes would be impacted by the classroom shift at Huron. However, she reported that Huron’s administrative team had indicated it would not be a problem to relocate those classes and provide office space to accommodate the Clemente program.

Stead questioned how much would be saved by relocating the program intact under (option 1) or (option 3) versus blending the program with A2 Tech under (option 2) or integrating Clemente students in to the comprehensive high schools under (option 4). Allen answered that only the blended program in (option 2) would save the targeted $400,000. The other three options would save around $200,000 – because those options preserve Clemente’s administrative costs.

Lightfoot asked if there had been any consideration of ways that $200,000 could be saved while leaving the Clemente family as it is – like marketing the program to bring in more School of Choice students, or opening it up to more 8th graders. No, Flye answered. Lightfoot asked when such alternatives would be considered. Mexicotte responded to Lightfoot by saying that the board would use the meeting to decide whether to move forward with one of the options presented by administration, or make no change to the program.

Clemente: Data

Flye presented the board with data on Clemente’s student achievement, attendance, graduation rates, staffing levels, and course offerings, and comparative data on student achievement, graduation rates, and cost per student for all six AAPS high schools.

Chart 1. Average cost per student at Ann Arbor Public School high schools. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

AAPS director of student accounting Jane Landefeld said that it was challenging to determine the degree of student academic growth at Clemente, because students enter the program at all times of year and stay for different lengths of time. Landefeld said she had reviewed the transcripts at the end of the second trimester for each of the 87 Clemente students enrolled at that time, and determined that 39 of the 87 (45%) then had higher GPAs than they had had when entering the program. However, she also noted that many of Clemente’s classes are slower-paced, and so “it’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges in terms of which classes they are taking.”

Trustee Andy Thomas questioned the relevance of graduation rates – because the goal of Clemente is to return students to their home school for 11th and 12th grades. Landefeld confirmed that students do not graduate from Clemente because “Clemente is a program, not a school.” She explained, however, that “somewhere along the way, the state listed it as a school, so if a student ends at Clemente, they are considered graduating from Clemente.” Stead suggested that AAPS should communicate to the state that Clemente has been misclassified as a school.

Chart 2. Michigan Merit Exam scores by subject by AAPS high school. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Nelson asked about the capacity of Clemente’s building. Trent explained that the building has 18 classrooms, which can fit up to 15 students each, with some larger rooms as well. Nelson noted that many classes at Clemente have fewer than 15 students. Flye added that Clemente strives to keep class sizes averaging 10-12 students. Landefeld stressed that Clemente gains students throughout the year, so the number of students fluctuates. There are  currently 104 students in the Clemente program, according to the analysis of student growth presented by Landefeld.

Mexicotte said that when she was first elected to the board, Clemente’s enrollment was around 170 students. She pointed out that for the purposes of current discussion, the board has been using a population of 100 students.

Clemente: Long-Term Focus

In the long term, Flye said, Clemente and other alternative programs in AAPS could be redesigned to offer expanded distance learning opportunities made possible through digital technology, and additional course offerings. The administration could also continue to explore the implementation of a middle college concept, and more flexible day and evening schedules. Flye concluded by saying that AAPS will continue to develop early interventions for at-risk students.

Clemente: Board Discussion

Baskett asked if there was any discussion of team-building – in a scenario where Clemente students are moved back into the comprehensive high schools in any way. Flye said the schools would welcome them, and that team-building with staff and students was acknowledged to be a very important part of the process.

Thomas said he had a number of concerns, beginning with the fact that decisions about Clemente should take program effectiveness into account, as well as potential cost savings. Regarding the student achievement data presented, Thomas said that on one hand, the fact that 0% of Clemente students are proficient in writing [See Chart 2] seems like “a pretty strong indictment of the Clemente program.” However, he said, the real question is, “At what level are students when they enter the program, and where are they at the end of one year, two years?” Thomas said that student growth is not being clearly measured except by GPA, which he argued was an “imperfect” measure.

Thomas also expressed concern about the timeline of implementing any changes in the Clemente program by fall 2012, and said that the district needs more time to prepare. He suggested that AAPS keep Clemente intact for one year, during which it completes a comprehensive evaluation of the program based on data, not anecdotal evidence. “And if that costs $200,000 or $400,000 plus transportation costs, that’s the price that we pay for not dealing with this earlier in the year,” Thomas said.

Stead said her thoughts on Clemente were similar. She said she was willing to trade off all transportation to preserve education as the district’s primary mission. She said she could support a change to Clemente that is led by a focus on the program, and would be discussed for a year by the principal, parents, families, and students involved. She felt like the district is now “trying to retrofit” a solution.

Directing her comments to two Clemente students still in attendance at the meeting [at 12:30 a.m.], Stead called the Clemente achievement data “extremely concerning,” and said, “You can roll your eyes and say it’s not important, but I can tell you – these numbers are important.” She agreed that Clemente warrants further review and discussion, and that while there is not time to fix it this year, “We need to do right by these students.”

Lightfoot said that she believes Clemente has done a “great job,” and that she is interested in the district considering better marketing of the program so that perhaps AAPS can “get it up to capacity” and bring in new revenue.

Nelson said that how he will vote on preserving Clemente will come down to where the money comes from, saying, “If it comes from the 32 [teaching positions districtwide], I just can’t go there. I really believe in those 32 [teaching positions].” If the money for Clemente would be taken from fund equity, Nelson said, he would “want to be convinced by the evaluation people that in fact there is reason to think there is something different we are going to know eight months from now because I find the achievement data very disturbing.”

Responding to Lightfoot directly, Nelson questioned how AAPS could effectively market this program when the test scores at Clemente are so much worse than at the comprehensive high schools. Nelson questioned whether performance at Clemente was actually decreasing the achievement gap and asserted, “The averages for African-Americans would go up if you took these students out of the mix.”

Lightfoot said that she was also upset by the data, but noted that African-Americans’ scores are low throughout the district, not only at Clemente. She asserted that Clemente’s parents are “not caught up in test scores – they are just happy that their children want to go to school” and that their students are getting “some basics in place – social and mental.” Nelson responded, “I’m willing to grant that in that part of education, they are doing a good job, but for $18,000 [per-student cost], I’d like both the academic and social/emotional learning.”

Trustee Irene Patalan said the test scores as well as the money do concern her, noting that the per-student cost at Clemente is closer to $19,000 than $18,000. She said she feels an urgency to help the students at Clemente be successful as soon as possible, and that she would like a recommendation from the AAPS administration about which option to take.

Patalan also mentioned that her children had been in alternative programs within AAPS, and that she was very much an alternative school supporter. She shared some of the history of the district’s “Middle Years Alternative” program that was housed within Forsythe but had almost complete autonomy. Patalan said she is not afraid of “putting programs together and sharing spaces.”

Baskett said that she was tired and would refrain from commenting. But Mexicotte asked her to please share her thinking now. Baskett obliged, saying that if the district moves to change the status of Clemente now, it will not be done right. “The driver will be money, and not the quality of education for all our children,” she said, “I think, Irene, you are wrong on this one.”

Thanking the administration for the presentation, Baskett suggested that an evaluation of Clemente should include a qualitative element, saying, “When you talk about measuring climate, we need to capture that as well.”

Mexicotte began by clarifying that the comments ascribed to her during public commentary were things that she had reported having heard over the years about Clemente, not comments that she had made personally.

She continued by saying that while she appreciates that Clemente students have positive feelings about their school, the achievement data have troubled her for many years. “Are we going to say that these data points are not going to be what we are judging our achievement gap on across the district?” she asked. Mexicotte said that if the district wanted to decide not to judge “growth to proficiency” with test score data, then it would need to decide what else to use as metrics.

Mexicotte suggested the district needs to set expectations about test scores, and what kind of cost per student figures it would like to see. She suggested that the district study Clemente over a two-year time frame to determine if it should be marketed, moved, or adjusted in some other way, and noted, “If the program is really something we want for our students, we shouldn’t be gatekeeping as hard as we are.” Mexicotte also suggested that art and music should be brought back to Clemente in its current location.

Outcome: The board agreed to leave the Clemente program intact for at least one year while assessing its educational effectiveness. Stead suggested that in terms of the targeted savings in alternative high school programming, AAPS administration should have a conversation with A2 Tech one more time to see if any savings can be found in that program.

Clemente: Summer School

Green explained that the impetus behind moving Clemente’s summer school is to have all the secondary summer school programs located at one site – Pioneer High School.

Baskett noted that part of the transition to Clemente is the summer school program, which is not just academic. Allen said that not all Clemente students attend summer school, and that $20,000 out of the $100,000 Clemente summer school program can be preserved to add services to the traditional summer school program, which focuses on credit recovery. Flye reported that Clemente principal Ben Edmondson has said that Clemente summer school students are also working primarily on credit recovery, and that summer school helps to provide a consistent routine for them.

Thomas said moving the Clemente summer school to Pioneer is an opportunity to achieve some efficiency. Flye noted that moving the program would also give students more opportunities in terms of course selection. Green added that the board should decide as soon as possible what the location will be – because Clemente needs to start preparing its summer program.

Trustees asked for clarification on the costs related to summer school. Landefeld explained that there are only fees for courses that are taken for extra enrichment, as opposed to courses taken for credit recovery, and that scholarships are available. Baskett asked if there is busing for summer school. Allen said there is no busing for summer school in general, but that Clemente students would be transported, and that it would likely cost less to bus them to Pioneer than to the Clemente building.

Outcome: The board agreed to move the Clemente summer school program into Pioneer High School to achieve an $80,000 budget reduction.

Teaching Staff Reductions

The administrative budget proposal includes the elimination of 32 FTEs (full-time equivalent positions) in teaching staff in Plan A, 48 FTEs in Plan B, and 64 FTEs in Plan C. Trustees were in agreement that they are not interested in cutting any teaching positions.

Nelson suggested retaining the number of teachers, but hiring new teachers to replace those who are retiring. He asked for confirmation on comparative salaries, and Allen confirmed that there is roughly a $30,000 spread between retiring teachers (whose salaries and benefits cost nearly $100,000 each) and new teachers (whose total cost to the district is roughly $70,000).  Nelson suggested that 32 FTEs at $70,000 would be $2.24 million, which means that if the number of positions were preserved, but less expensive teachers were hired, the district could save $960,000.

Stead, Thomas, Patalan and Mexicotte all agreed about the importance of retaining teachers. Stead said this is one area where the primary mission of the district is clear, and that she could not justify cutting one more teacher. Thomas said he is willing to compromise on everything else, but that cutting teaching positions would be unacceptable, even if it means dipping into fund equity.

Transportation

Trustees considered a variety of cost-saving measures in transportation services. There was disagreement among trustees about how much transportation they were interested in cutting this coming year – from none to all of it. Two people addressed the board during public commentary on the topic of transportation.

Transportation: Public Commentary on Busing to Ann Arbor Open

Ann Arbor Open Coordinating Council (AAOCC) co-chair Sascha Matish passed out a set of handouts to the board outlining the impact of eliminating busing to Ann Arbor Open on subgroups of the school’s population. She noted that busing is used by 95% of the school’s 22 African-American students, and 68% of the school’s 57 economically disadvantaged students (who receive free or reduced-price lunch). Matish also passed out an aerial map of the Ann Arbor Open area, and requested that the board view a video created by the AAOCC of morning traffic near the school to give trustees a sense of the traffic back-ups already facing families on a daily basis. Again, Matish suggested that cutting busing would severely compromise student safety.

The other co-chair of the Ann Arbor Open Coordinating Council (AAOCC), Jill Zimmerman, also addressed the board. Referring to a set of bar graphs distributed to trustees, she noted that Ann Arbor Open’s MEAP scores are higher than the district averages in math and reading. She also pointed out that districtwide, the percentage of students scoring “proficient” or “advanced proficient” in 8th grade is lower than the percentage of students scoring “proficient” or “advanced proficient” in 3rd grade. However, the gap between 3rd-grade achievement and 8th-grade achievement is smaller among Ann Arbor Open students than it is across the district. “When we are talking about equity and closing the achievement gap, what Ann Arbor Open does matters,” Zimmerman asserted. “Our kids are doing better, and we think it’s because of what we are doing.”

Zimmerman also briefly reviewed an alternate busing proposal created by the AAOCC, which was sent to board members and AAPS administration before the meeting. The alternative proposal relies on common stops at middle schools and would more than halve the cost of busing to Ann Arbor Open.

Transportation: 4 p.m. Middle School Bus

Nelson said that he has consistently heard from middle school parents about the value of the after-school middle school program. Thomas suggested that the middle school principals could use some of their discretionary funds to keep the 4 p.m. bus if they wished.

Stead reiterated her theme that she does “not see transportation as being more important than education.” She noted that transportation is not required, not funded, and is not more valuable than a teacher. She argued that the community could come together and provide transportation, but could not come together and provide teaching. Baskett argued that there are many people in the community who would not be able to come together to provide transportation, saying, “You can call a carpool on your iPhone. Other families do not have phones.”

Mexicotte said she was inclined to leave the 4 p.m. middle school bus in place for another year, because a few years ago the district completely restructured middle school and lost a lot of extras and opportunities.

Transportation: Mid-day Shuttles to/from Community High School

Mexicotte noted that students get themselves to Community High School, and Baskett asked how many students this affected. Stead asked if AATA could be approached to provide shuttles, and Margolis answered that AATA buses don’t run often enough to make it work. Stead asked if Community students could Skype into classes at the comprehensive high schools. Allen allowed that yes, that would be possible.

Thomas said he was in favor of this reduction, and noted that Community shuttles are a “big-ticket item.”

Transportation: Busing to Choice Programs – Ann Arbor Open, Skyline Magnets, Roberto Clemente

Green presented a proposal crafted in the previous week by her staff that offered a cost-neutral alternative to continuing Ann Arbor Open busing – by consolidating routes at middle school common stops. Lightfoot expressed frustration that a new proposal was drafted for the Ann Arbor Open portion of the transportation cuts only, and said that she wants to be sure the district is doing the same for everyone, not just “the squeaky wheel.” Baskett commented that the administration’s proposal was very similar to one crafted by Ann Arbor Open parents and presented by them to the district.

Several trustees expressed discomfort about eliminating busing at Ann Arbor Open – because of the inequity of that would arise from offering busing to all other students of the same grade levels (K-8). Nelson disagreed, saying that he was fine with cutting Ann Arbor Open busing to reach the cost savings goals.

Regarding transportation to Clemente, Thomas said he believes AAPS will have to maintain transportation to the building if it stays open – because there is no other way to get there.

Baskett said that providing busing to the magnet programs that are part of Skyline High School was a promise that the district made to the community, and was meant to ensure better diversity in the magnet programs. Baskett asked how many students in the magnet programs rely on transportation provided by AAPS. Landefeld explained that about 30% of Skyline students are bused, roughly 100 per grade level on average. Thomas said he’d consider eliminating magnet transportation before eliminating all high school busing. Mexicotte pointed out that not everybody who takes a bus to Skyline is in a magnet program, and suggested that the district should keep transportation for the magnet programs for now, but consider phasing it out.

Lightfoot said the she feels like she’s “operating in the dark” when it comes to transportation choices, like she has to “choose now and see the fallout later.”

Transportation: Skyline Starting/Ending Times

Lightfoot said she did not like moving Skyline’s start time up by 15 minutes, because she has a concern about the earliness of high school days in general. Baskett said that as the district makes use of its newly forming, community-wide committee on transportation, the decision about Skyline’s starting and ending times could be revisited and reversed. A change to Skyline’s starting and ending times would require a memorandum of understanding with the teachers’ union, as noted earlier by Allen.

Transportation: High School Busing/All Busing

Almost all the trustees expressed general concern that there was not enough advance time this year to eliminate high school busing or all busing in a responsible way. Stead disagreed, and continued to push for the elimination of all busing as a way to leave more money in the district’s fund balance.

Stead said she would be more inclined to work on creating an entirely new program for transportation, and to begin concerted conversations with the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority to work on that as soon as possible. She added that she wanted to remind the board the district had a “horrible experience” with transportation this year. The district had to adjust transportation spending by $800,000 mid-year, while maintaining a “fragmented” system with “little bits of transportation here and there,” she said.

Outcome: Trustees agreed to maintain busing to Clemente and to the Skyline magnet programs. Busing to Ann Arbor Open will likely continue under a modified plan, which will save the district $98,000. The board plans to cut the 4 p.m. middle school bus ($85,284) and mid-day shuttles to and from Community high ($230,184), as well as achieve $266,400 in savings by moving the Skyline starting and ending times up by 15 minutes.

Other District-Wide Cuts

The board also agreed to cuts to police liaisons, site-based budgets, and district-wide discretionary budgets.

Other District-Wide Cuts: Police Liaisons

Stead suggested that removing the police liaisons would cause increase safety issues. She cited five bomb threats at Forsythe Middle School and two bomb threats at Skyline High School as evidence. Baskett pointed out that the bomb threats were unsubstantiated. But Stead argued that students are staying home from school and getting physically sick with worry because of them.

Thomas said that it is not clear to him that having police liaisons is having any effect on the bomb threats in any way whatsoever. Stead countered that when she has talked to principals, they believe that the sheer presence of the officers helps to reduce disciplinary issues. Nelson stated that he believes five teachers will have a greater impact than three police liaisons for the same cost.

Stead argued that the city will not hire these police officers if AAPS releases them, and that the robberies in her area have gone up as police numbers across Ann Arbor would be decreasing.

Baskett pointed out that overall, crime in Ann Arbor has actually decreased, and that these three police liaisons have seniority in the Ann Arbor police department and would be reassigned within the community. She said that a police officer could arrive any building in the district in less than 10 minutes, and that she would rather have teachers than police officers. Patalan said she agreed with Baskett, Nelson, and Thomas.

Discussion: District-wide Discretionary Budgets

Mexicotte reviewed the administration’s proposal on discretionary budgets. She said that a 5% cut to these budgets – which cover building-level costs such as professional development, paper, and supplies – would save $250,000. A 10% cut would save $500,000. Thomas suggested “bumping that up” to possibly as much as a 15% cut. However, Allen and Flye suggested that would have a dramatic effect on the ability of a building to function effectively.

This was one area in which the board included a reduction from Plan B of the suggested reductions – Plan A of the budget proposal had suggested cutting discretionary budgets by 5%, and Plan B took the reductions to 10%.

Discussion: Site-Based Budgets

Site-based budgets in AAPS fund have been available to school improvement teams (SITs) to use as they see fit. Patalan said that while it was a small amount of money, she appreciated that each SIT was able to decide how to best use it to serve that school locally. Still, she said, she understands the need to cut it.

Outcome: The board agreed to eliminate police liaisons ($350,000) and site-based budgets ($250,750). They agreed to cut district-wide discretionary budgets by 10%, saving $500,000.

FY 2012-13 Budget – Next Steps

After the board worked through the list of possible reductions for the third time, Mexicotte tallied up the cuts tentatively agreed to by the board. The cuts totaled $4,805,678, leaving a $7 million of deficit [$17.8 million deficit, minus $4.8 million in cuts, minus $6 million in revenue enhancements]. She asked the board if they would be willing to use $7 million of fund equity to balance the budget. Their responses were mixed.

Part of the board’s decision about how much fund equity to use will be based on projections of school funding – this year and into the future. One person addressed the board at public commentary on the topic of school funding.

Next Steps: Public Commentary on School Funding

Steve Norton reported that the state of Michigan is currently projecting funding for the School Aid Fund (SAF) to increase, but cautioned that the board should not assume this unexpected revenue will accrue to benefit local districts. Norton pointed out that the state may choose to save the extra SAF funding to reduce the pressure on the state’s general fund, which is forecasted to be lower than expected this year and next.

Norton also suggested that the community begin a conversation about private giving to support schools. He noted that the East Grand Rapids public schools educational foundation has raised $350,000 in one year to offset the budget cuts facing their district. Norton said it’s hard to get people to dig deep, but that “we are at a point that if we can’t get the rest of our citizens to move forward with a countywide enhancement, and can’t convince legislators [to provide adequate school funding], maybe we should move forward to do something ourselves.” Norton suggested as an example that the Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation could launch a campaign to cover the cost of transportation.

Next Steps: Fund Equity

Mexicotte said that Norton had made a very good point during public commentary, and that there is no guarantee based on past history that the SAF would see any increase. At this point, she said, if the board does not give different direction to AAPS administration, a balanced budget would be achieved by taking $7 million coming out of the fund balance.

Thomas said he would be willing to use $7 million of fund equity, but Stead was adamant she would not be. When pressed, Stead said she might find it acceptable to use up to $5 million, and added that it was “poor planning to sit here for six, seven, eight hours.”

At 1:15 a.m., as the board appeared unable to make further progress, Mexicotte responded, “If this is as far as we can get now, it’s as far as we can get.” She explained that the administration would take the board’s input from the meeting, and present a final budget on May 23. After that, she said, the board can have additional discussion and move forward.

Nelson said that starting from a $17.8 million deficit and getting to within $2 million of addressing it is not bad for one evening. He thanked Mexicotte for her facilitation, and said that he was open to staying longer to continue discussion, but also fine with waiting to continue discussion on May 23. “Then the administration can come back and give us … an option with $7 million use of fund equity, and then those of us who want to can argue for $5 million.”

Nelson also noted that Senate Bill 1040 – a retirement reform bill which as of May 17 was passed by Michigan state senators and is moving on to consideration by the state House of Representatives –could be helpful in resolving the budget. “There is a chance that more than $2 million could come out of it, and with luck, we could be done,” Nelson said.

Stead disagreed, saying that part of what’s driving up the mandated employer contribution rate to the state retirement system is that many districts are laying off staff. She said she is very concerned about how things will look a year from now, because current layoffs are not part of the figures being considered.

Lightfoot said that while she would prefer not to use $7 million of fund equity, she could support it if the district committed to make the next year be strictly focused on planning to be more prepared to make cuts in the future.

Next Steps: Advertising

Just before the meeting wrapped up, AAPS superintendent Patricia Green said she had one quick question for trustees, and asked if they would give her and her staff direction on the revenue enhancement ideas that administration had previously presented.

AAPS director of communications Liz Margolis reviewed the suggested advertising possibilities – digital billboards, scoreboard advertising, and website banners. She said she felt the trustees had given clear direction against pursuing the creation of billboards on the properties of Wines, Pioneer, and Huron, but reiterated the suggestion for allowing banner ads across the top of the AAPS website.

Margolis said that the company AAPS would work with has worked with Plymouth-Canton Community Schools (PCCS), and when Margolis had talked to the Plymouth-Canton director of community relations, they spoke positively of the partnership. The first-year revenue from allowing banner advertising would be at least $22,500, said Margolis, and would be projected to increase to $250,000 by the third year. She noted that Plymouth-Canton’s revenue has increased by 30% every month, and that the terms of the agreement will be shifting from a 60/40 revenue share with the advertising company [in favor of AAPS] to a 50/50 split if the district does not commit soon.

Maintaining a commitment to local advertisers had been a concern expressed by trustees at their March 21 meeting, when the advertising proposal had been presented to the board.  Margolis said that it would cost about $500 a month for a rotating ad, which would price it equal to what it costs to run ads locally in other venues. This would give local advertisers another daily advertising spot, she said, and the ad company would also bring in regional and national ads to the AAPS website. Finally, Margolis noted that many community members have suggested the district engage in website advertising, and added that AAPS would have full discretion to have any objectionable ads removed immediately.

Margolis also sought approval to begin the process of re-equipping the high schools with new scoreboards, which would be paid for by an advertising company and would show ads during sporting events. She said the high schools would be eager to receive the new scoreboards. In a follow-up discussion after the meeting, Margolis explained to The Chronicle that the scoreboard equipment, valued at $270,000, would come at no cost to the district. After enough ad revenue is earned to pay back the cost of the equipment, future ad revenue will be split 50/50 between the district and the advertising company, she said.

Outcome: The trustees agreed to pursue website banner ads and the scoreboard advertising.

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, May 23, 2012, 7 p.m., at the downtown branch of the Ann Arbor District Library, 343 South Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor, Mich. 48104. [confirm date]

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The full 45 minutes of public commentary time was used at the meeting, and it was almost exclusively devoted to the transportation. Public commentary was bookended by pleas from administrators to view the transportation cuts as necessary in the context of severe state funding decreases. Ann Arbor Public Schools superintendent Patricia Green warned, “Although we have had a lot of pain, be aware that this is not the end of the budget reduction cycle.”

Later in the meeting, Brit Satchwell, president of the local teachers’ union, jettisoned the remarks he had prepared for his regular report to the board, and instead made an openly partisan, passionate speech echoing the outraged sentiment expressed during public commentary, and imploring the community to unify in opposition to Gov. Rick Snyder instead of blaming each other.

Describing Snyder as “the man whose finger hit the first domino,” Satchwell argued, “The Republicans have taken $1 billion from students and the elderly and turned it into corporate tax breaks … We are dealing with ideologues who will not compromise and will not be moved by facts … We have to step back and look at the source of the problem.”

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the board approved the district’s choice of auditors and financial institutions, and the recently ratified tentative agreement with the AAEA-P, the union representing the district’s paraprofessionals. It also reviewed two bids under consideration – one for the publishing of the Rec & Ed course catalog, and one for the contracting of therapeutic services needed to meet the needs of special education students. Both bids will return to the board for a second briefing and vote at its next meeting.

Busing Changes

As part of the 2011-12 budget, the district significantly reduced bus service by enforcing a 1.5-mile walk zone at all levels, eliminating 7th hour busing at the middle school level, and requiring high school students to meet at “common stops” instead of traditional, neighborhood bus stops.

A revised agenda approved at the beginning of the meeting added two items regarding transportation:  an update by AAPS superintendent Patricia Green, and a review of the budget process by AAPS deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen.

Green, anticipating the public commentary at the meeting, led off on the topic by reviewing some recent history from her perspective.

That was followed by public comment from fourteen people who addressed the board about the busing changes. Their concerns centered on four areas: safety, community engagement in the planning process, equity, and the connection between their tax dollars and services they feel should be provided. Many of them also commented on Green’s salary.

Mexicotte had opened public commentary with a brief review of the ground rules. She noted that the board will not enter into dialogue during public commentary, but will follow up with speakers afterward as needed.

Mexicotte also invited all present to stay after the comments to hear the presentation from Allen on the budget process and why AAPS is cutting services it previously was always able to provide.

After Allen’s presentation, the board discussed among themselves the issue of busing.

Busing Changes: Superintendent Reviews History

At the Sept. 14 meeting, AAPS superintendent Patricia Green opened the transportation discussion by reviewing how the district had gotten to this point. She began by acknowledging that the changes had “created considerable concern and angst,” but that they had been necessitated by serious reduction in state funding. Green also warned that the ongoing budget situation will cause a “continuing cycle of reductions.”

Green said that as the district’s budget was developed last year, there was a series of community meetings to gather input, and that cuts to transportation service were a major part of the discussion. Because of that discussion, she explained, $1.3 million was targeted for reduction, which would have eliminated all high school transportation. Later in the spring, she continued, the board decided to add back $300,000 to develop common stops for high school students, which were “considered to be drop-off and pick-up points, and not necessarily walkable,” she said.

Green then contended that parents may not have realized the implications: “Being so far out, it didn’t register [with parents] as a change of service. What also happened last spring, in June, was that communication went out through School Messenger, but at the end of the school year, we all know we’re not really thinking about September.”

Finally, she explained, “in August, when the stops and schedules came out, a spotlight was placed on [the changes].” She noted that the administration had a process in place to make route adjustments once the school year opened, but that the public was not aware of it.

Green defended the administration’s work, saying that AAPS staff had involved the police department, AATA, WISD supervisors, board members, and that they will continue to monitor the routes and walkways, making any necessary adjustments, such as adding buses or stops, and being sure walk routes get cleared when snow starts falling.

Noting that many people have made adjustments to their regular routines, Green thanked families for trying to “make a very difficult situation work the best that we can.” She asked for continued support, saying, “We are going to see continual changes down the road, and it is going to take the entire community to work together with each other and with us.”

Busing Changes: Public Commentary – Safety

Safety concerns mentioned included: crime rates and sex offenders near designated walk routes; a possible serial rapist currently un-apprehended in Ann Arbor; traffic jams caused by large numbers of parents driving kids to school; students being forced to sit three or four to a seat on buses; the darkness of roads and pathways on designated walk routes; and 1.5 miles being too far of a distance for 6-10 year-olds to walk in Michigan winter weather.

Busing Changes: Public Comment – Decision Process

Multiple speakers noted flaws in the district’s communication regarding the process followed, and requested to be more involved in the decision-making in the future. Patricia Byrd said, “I keep hoping you will understand that your communication was not done well. If it had been done well, people would have been here earlier.” Ahmar Iqbal, an AAPS parent and school board candidate, argued that some of Green’s comments about the district’s decision-making process “seem almost revisionist,” and that “the [community] engagement wasn’t there.”

Parent Patrice Bear concurred, adding, “This process is broken. This is chaos. The communication has numerous gaps. We have been ignored, neglected, and left out of the problem-solving. Until you reach a better solution,” said Bear, “I am requesting that you reinstate last year’s bus routes.”

Busing Changes: Public Comment – Equity

Danielle Thesinger, a Skyline 10th grader and daughter of a single parent, outlined her challenges in getting to her assigned common stop, which is two miles from her house. She noted that for some students without access to a ride to common stops, the new system will mean walking two miles or farther to get a stop, and then walking the same distance home from the common stop after school. Even for those who live near an AATA route, Thesinger said, “75 cents every day [AATA student fare each way] is going to add up.” Finally, Thesinger pointed out that she sometimes needs to get home in time to provide child care for her 7-year-old brother after school and that she is not sure how that will be possible.

The new system widens the gap between the “haves” and the “have nots,” argued AAPS parent Sumi Kailasapathy. Alluding to the fact that school board meetings open with a recitation of the pledge of  allegiance, she said, “We just took the pledge of allegiance and proclaimed one nation,” she said. “My fear is that we are actually creating two nations.”

AAPS grandparent Carol Campaign noted that on severe weather days, parents who are unable to drive their children to school or to their common stops because they have to be at work, or because they don’t have a car, will be breaking the law by letting their children stay home. Witherspoon picked up on this theme too, blaming the district for starting a “domino effect.” Parents who allow truancy can be jailed, she pointed out, causing them to be fired, and the family to be broken up.

Busing Changes: Public Comment – Property Tax, Public Services

Many speakers stressed that they were aware of the budget concerns, but asked the board to reconsider their decisions regarding busing, given the taxes they believe they are paying for this service. “If this is a privilege, why am I paying taxes?” asserted district parent Abiola Arinwumi.

Parent Danny Ignacio pointed out that his neighborhood, which falls just outside of the 1.5 mile walk zone for Logan Elementary and therefore lost its elementary school bus stop, brings $2.5 million to the city in taxes, 26% of which goes to AAPS. Ben Ilozar agreed, “We are working parents … We pay our taxes, but we cannot be given the basic assurance that our kids’ safety will be taken care of.”

Busing Changes: Public Comment – Superintendent’s Salary

A number of speakers also challenged Green directly, arguing that she needs to take a salary cut. Parent Sherry Witherspoon summed up this perspective, saying that she is appalled by Green making more than the president of the United States. “Could the superintendent take $100,000 of that money and give it to transportation, and struggle really hard to live on $144,000?” Witherspoon questioned. “Some of us need to live on less than $10,000.” [Green's base salary is $245,000. The U.S. president earns $400,000 per year.]

Busing Changes: Deputy Superintendent – Budget Process and Timeline

In his remarks following public commentary, deputy superintendent of operations Robert Allen noted that in the past five years, the district has been forced to reduce expenditures in nearly every area, including: instruction, staff reductions, employee concessions, health care savings, early retirement incentives, consolidation, transportation concessions, legal services, and athletics.

This year, 2011-12, he pointed out, was the first year that the cuts caused an increase in class sizes. “These are not necessarily things that are good for kids. Reducing our transportation service is not good for kids, but we have to balance our budget,” Allen said.

He then reviewed the 2011-12 draft budget as presented to the board in April of 2011, and noted that the three main concerns the community expressed at the subsequent community forums were regarding principal-sharing, the elimination of high school transportation, and the increase in class sizes. In response, Allen said, the board reversed its decision on principal-sharing, and added money ($300,000) back into the budget for common bus stops for high school students.

Regarding the locations of common stops, Allen pointed out that one of the challenges in setting routes is that AAPS knows who qualifies to receive bus service, but not how many of those students will actually choose to ride the bus. Traditionally, he said, 35% of possible riders take the bus, and so the first few weeks of the school year are always the time when adjustments are made, once actual ridership is determined.

Saying the district is already talking about what changes it will need to make for next year in terms of transportation, Allen said the district plans to start much earlier in involving the community. “We should be able to come out with proposed budget sooner, and what that implies,” he said. “We do plan on starting earlier. We do plan on looking at the process.”

Busing Changes: Board Response

Trustee Simone Lightfoot, who is up for re-election in November, asserted that the transportation changes, “didn’t sit well with [her] from the very beginning,” and that she did not think the board had thought them through. “I think we have the best constituents,” Lightfoot said. “We should say we were wrong – that would engender more respect. I look forward to parents getting their questions answered, and hope we usher in a whole new paradigm in the way we do things.” She thanked Green for jumping in [as new superitendent] and being “baptized by fire.”

Trustee Christine Stead asserted that the community needs to consider just how broken education funding is, and to decide very carefully together what its highest priorities are. Next year, she warned, the district is anticipating another $14 million in budget cuts, and will have to choose which non-mandated services to fund, and which not to fund.

She also encouraged legislative advocacy at all levels, noting that education funding has dropped to 1995 levels when adjusted for inflation and student count, and saying that only 26% of Ann Arbor school taxes come back to the city while 74% are redistributed across the state.

Trustee Andy Thomas, who is also running for re-election in November, thanked Stead for her clear explanation of the funding challenges the district is facing. He expressed concern about the implementation of the busing changes, and noted that “a lot of the reason [AAPS] has been struggling with implementation is that [the district] is no longer in direct control of the transportation.” AAPS now contracts with the Washtenaw Intermediate School District for bus service.

Thomas asked Allen why there have been continuing problems in areas that seem to be readily solvable, such as too many kids per seat. Allen answered that the district has to be equitable when making changes so there is not a “ripple effect.” He assured trustees that AAPS meets daily with the WISD transportation department, and is working through these issues. Allen also noted there would be a contract review, during which AAPS will have the opportunity to evaluate the service it’s received.

Trustee Susan Baskett registered her frustration, and said that the board had been assured of better communication and better quality service when the budget with these cuts passed. She noted that she and Lightfoot had wanted a special meeting to discuss the transportation cuts once the bus routes came out this August, but that none of the other trustees would agree to meet, falling short of the three trustees needed to hold a such a meeting.

She listed numerous complaints she had heard from parents, and asked Allen how he planned to address them, including: late pick-ups; un-communicated route changes; too many students per seat; the length of routes to Roberto Clemente; middle school and elementary school students intermingling at shared bus stops; and no one answering the phone at the WISD. She also questioned the district’s assumption that ridership will decrease over the year, and asserted that it could increase as the economy continues to falter. Finally, Baskett argued that if the WISD is not providing the quality of service expected, AAPS needs to look elsewhere for transportation service.

Allen responded that he is looking at a number of the issues raised by Baskett, including options to amend the route to Clemente. He said that he believes the published number to the WISD transportation department is functional, but that parents can call him if they cannot reach the WISD. When pressed by Baskett, Allen offered his office number: (734) 994-2250.

Trustee Glenn Nelson reiterated that the transportation cuts to the 2011-12 budget were in lieu of cutting teachers. The state budget cuts, he said, have put enormous stress on the education system statewide. He then said he does accept that the district needs to do a better job of planning and engaging the community in a two-way process. “We want to have a spirit of openness and partnership,” he said, “as we get through these periods of enormous stress.”

Trustee Irene Patalan thanked members of the administration and trustee Thomas for their devotion to the community and for trying to educate the community. She thanked parents for getting their kids to school, and acknowledged that “there is always room for improvement” in terms of district process. Finally, Patalan asked the community to keep up the conversation, and encouraged them to remember that “We are only humans … The board of education is not the enemy. We are regular, normal people who live in the community and love our kids and love AAPS.”

Public Commentary on Split Classes at Thurston

One parent offered non-transportation-related public commentary at the Sept. 14 meeting.

Robin Huhn came to discuss split classes at Thurston. He expressed concern that the district lacked good communication regarding how the decisions were made to reorganize the first and second grade classes. “I have yet to receive a single e-mail from the superintendent – that’s not my understanding of the superintendent’s job.”

Huhn expressed frustration that a group of 15 families were turned away at the board office because Green refused to meet with them. “If this is the $245,000 job we’re getting,” he said, “I’d like a refund.”

On Aug. 26, Huhn said, parents had found out by word-of-mouth that Thurston would be losing 1.5 teachers, causing a split class of nine 1st graders and 15 2nd graders, with no advanced notice to parents or teachers. Huhn closed by sharing a petition signed by 130 Thurston parents requesting the immediate reinstatement of a full-time first grade teacher at Thurston.

Community Education and Recreation Catalog Printing

AAPS director of community education and recreation, Sara Aeschbach, brought a proposal before the board to have the 2011-12 catalogs for her department printed by Grand Blanc Printing. Aeschbach noted that Grand Blanc was the lowest bid, but is also a local company and union shop. She also said that AAPS has worked with them before and that she has been pleased with the quality of their work.

Aeschbah explained that Grand Blanc also gave AAPS pricing for two years, and reminded the board that the printing costs will not come out of the general education budget.

Lightfoot asked Aeschbach a series of questions regarding how the project was bid out, since only three of the eight companies invited to make offers actually submitted bids. “I appreciate the diversity of groups that were reached out to,” Lightfoot said, but she then expressed her concern that a larger number of historically underutilized businesses did not bid on the project.

Aeschbach said she did not know why more companies did not submit bids, except that perhaps the project requirements were too difficult to achieve for smaller presses.

Baskett requested that the vendor put the “union bug” on the catalog so the community knows it was printed in a union shop.

Outcome: The approval of the community education and recreation catalog will be scheduled for a second briefing and vote at the next regular board meeting.

Pediatric Therapy Associates Contract Approvals

Assistant superintendent for student intervention and support services (SISS) Elaine Brown presented a series of bids to the board for approval. The bids are for a set of services provided to the district’s special needs students, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy, and total $673,400.

Brown explained that Pediatric Therapy Associates (PTA) was the same company AAPS worked with last year, and that the total amount needed to fulfill the requirements on students’ individualized education plans (IEPs) has increased by just over $8,000. In addition, she said, the district will need to pay for just over $145,000 of the needed services out of the general fund due to the need to contract for two AAPS elementary speech therapists who are currently on leave ($72,520), as well as for speech therapy at Skyline High School. The remaining $528,360 will be funded by a combination of an IDEA grant and the SISS general fund.

Stead asked if it would be difficult to reduce funding spent on special education once it had been allocated from the district’s general fund. Brown said that AAPS should not be required to maintain the $72,520 in elementary speech therapy funding once the two speech therapists come back from leave.

The board asked Brown whether the number of special education caseloads was increasing or decreasing, and requested that she provide some projections.

Baskett asked if Brown could put out a bid for these services, and Brown said she would consider that, but noted that PTA has some of the lowest prices for ancillary services, and that it’s critical that any potential contractors have highly qualified personnel.

Green also suggested that the administration would like to bring the ancillary services bid to the board earlier next year, perhaps by July, so that any questions could be researched before services need to be started.

Outcome: The approval of a set of special education services to be contracted from Pediatric Therapy Associates in the total amount of $673,400 will be brought to the board for a second briefing and vote at the next regular board meeting.

Association Reports

At each meeting, the board invites reports from six associations: 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 September 14 meeting, the board heard reports from the Youth Senate, the BPSSG, the AAPAC, the PTOC, and the AAEA.

Association Reports: Youth Senate

Priya Menon, a senior from Skyline High School, reported for the Youth Senate. Menon spoke about the development of the Women in Leadership mentoring project, and the reorganization of the Senate’s school board representation. She also argued that the lunch system at Pioneer High School, under which half of the student body eats and one time and the other half eats after them, “leaves few opportunities for … strengthening the bond between a wide diversity of people.”

Finally, Menon asserted that budget cuts should not force the closure of classes a week before registration. Citing an example of 15 students being shut out of an Advanced Placement class in this way, Menon argued that this is a “common phenomenon,” and that the school board has the responsibility to “ensure that each student receives the education they need, not the cheapest education available.”

Association Reports: BPSSG

Bryan Johnson, BPSSG chair, reported being very excited about their plans for the year. He explained the goals of a strategic planning process being undertaken by the BPSSG, and outlined the ways it needs the district’s support. The process has three goals: (1) to increase the percentage of black parents involved in student learning; (2) to reinforce the culture of positive achievement; and (3) to involve staff in collaborations designed to help all students achieve. In the vein of being more data-driven in their efforts, Johnson stated that the BPSSG has asked the district to share data on black student achievement so the group can use it as baseline data to be able to measure the results of their efforts.

Johnson relayed that the BPSSG has been concerned about transportation. He asserted that while people did understand the budget challenges faced by the board and administration, “when you’re dealing with minority populations, and … when you don’t show up, you send a message. It really works against going forward.”

Johnson then deferred to former AAPS parent Charles Lewis, introducing him as “someone from one of our communities who wants to have some words.” Referring to the community meeting that took place at Arrowwood Hills Cooperative on August 25, Lewis said that that administrators who attended were “arrogant, entitled, and condescending.”

He then admonished the five board members who did not attend: “That meeting at Arrowwood that we called and we developed – you did not come. You should have been there.” Finally, Lewis addressed Green, calling her “aloof,” and challenging, “You made us the enemy … Prove it that you want to be partners – I don’t know how you’ll do it, but you have to do it.”

Association Reports: AAPAC

Scott Zeleznik addressed the board on behalf of the AAPAC. He began with accolades, thanking SISS staff for attending their parent orientation and retreat.

This year, Zeleznik said, the AAPAC will continue to push for upgrading assistive technology, and developing the process for creating a personal curriculum. He also expressed some concern that budget cuts would affect special education services, and said the AAPAC “will continue to be vigilant … to be sure that school funding does not affect students’ rights to an open and free public education.”

Zeleznik noted that the AAPAC is hearing reports from parents that therapists’ case loads are being stretched such that teachers and aides lose instruction time by needing to spend their efforts meeting students personal needs. “Please be sure the district is providing a challenging education environment,” he implored, “and not custodial day care.”

Association Reports: PTOC

Amy Pachera reported for the PTOC, and began by explaining the PTOC’s role as a coordinating body for all school-level PTOs and PTSOs. She briefly outlined the PTOC’s plans for the year, including holding forums to help PTOs share funding and enrichment ideas, and offering training sessions in leadership and financial management.

In addition, Pachera invited everyone to the fourth annual PTOC launch party on Monday, Oct. 6 from 6:30 to 8:30 at Slauson Middle School. At the launch party, she said, Green will give an introduction, and the six candidates (including two incumbents) running for the school board in this November’s election will each be invited to “give a short, platform speech.”

As an example of one of the PTOC functions, Pachera highlighted its role in helping families adjust to the busing changes. The PTOC, she said, worked with principals to be sure all families received communication outlining the changes. They also helped parents to set up walking school buses and car pools, drive the old routes on the first day of school to find any students waiting at old bus stops, and advocate for more crossing guards.

“We all know some things fell through during these changes,” Pachera said, requesting that AAPS administration “Keep communication open and frequent.”

Association Reports: AAEA

As described at the start of this board meeting report, AAEA president Brit Satchwell amended his planned comments after hearing the debate unfold about transportation for the first two hours of the meeting. “I had some very unifying welcoming comments,” he began, “but a lot of what I’ve heard here tonight makes me want to grab people and get them focused on the key idea.” Satchwell then reviewed that he has heard a lot of groups come before the board to express outrage and displeasure at the effects of budget cuts, and that while these groups have a right to be angry, they need to have a wider perspective.

Describing the situation as being like “a chain of dominoes, where each domino blames the one next to it for falling,” Satchwell urged everyone to “go back upstream and deal with that first domino.” Calling the actions of Republican leaders “lies, theft, and immoral,” Satchwell argued that the AAPS community needs to “channel some of our outrage to unified action.”  He encouraged everyone to sign the two petitions circulating in the city – one to stop the public act that would allow emergency managers, and one to recall the governor.

He closed by validating the board’s efforts, saying, “I know you’ve been vilified and blamed tonight, and I know it’s really hard to make the decisions you have been forced to make and then take the blame. You have done a yeoman’s work in trying to be fair.”

Board Action Items

The board unanimously approved three action items at its Sept. 14 meeting – the appointment of auditors, the appointment of financial institutions, and the ratification of a contract with the union representing AAPS paraprofessionals.

Action Item: Auditors

Allen requested board approval of Plante Moran as the district’s auditor. He noted that this will be the sixth year in a row that AAPS will have used the same firm, and that usually the district would go out for a bid, but that instead the firm adjusted their price downward by $5,000.

Lightfoot recommended that AAPS revisit all of its contracted services to try to get some budget relief.

Outcome: Plante Moran was approved as the district’s 2010-11 auditor.

Action Item: Financial Institutions

Allen requested board approval of a list of twelve financial institutions for the district’s use during the 2011-12 fiscal year. He explained that AAPS re-certifies its financial institutions every year, requiring them to provide their 2010 audits as well as proof of active FINRA status. FINRA, or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is an independent regulator of investment firms.

Allen noted that these firms are the same as last year, with the exception of Key Bank, which asked to be removed from the list for lack of use. The list represents institutions that AAPS is authorized to use, but AAPS does not use them all each year.

Based on questions from the board, Allen confirmed that FINRA status confirms that these banks are stable and will do well. He also noted that AAPS does not have to keep banks with concerning records, even if they maintain FINRA certification. Allen also said that if any other institutions want to be on the list, they can contact him.

Outcome: The board authorized AAPS to use the following financial institutions during the 2011-12 fiscal year: Bank of America, Bank of Ann Arbor, Citizens Bank, Comerica Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Flagstar Bank, JP Morgan Chase, MBIA of Ann Arbor, Michigan Commerce Bank, Michigan Liquid Asset Fund, TCF Bank, and United Bank & Trust.

Action Items: AAEA-P

Mexicotte moved that the board support the recently ratified tentative agreement with the Ann Arbor Education Association – Paraprofessionals as has been recommended by the superintendent, and reviewed in the confidential meeting packet.

Outcome: The AAEA-P contract was unanimously approved.

Board Committee Reports

The school board has two standing committees. The planning committee consists of: Christine Stead (chair), Susan Baskett, and Irene Patalan; the performance committee consists of: Glenn Nelson (chair), Simone Lightfoot, and Andy Thomas. Board president Deb Mexicotte sits on neither committee.

Committee Reports: Performance

Nelson reported for the performance committee, saying committee members had primarily discussed athletics regulations and teacher evaluation at their recent meeting. Noting that the recent changes in state law will affect teacher evaluations, Nelson said that AAPS is proceeding to develop a new evaluation system at a pace that exceeds state requirements and is better. One issue the performance committee foresees is how to handle teachers whose evaluations fall in the third of four categories – the one just up from the bottom, or unsatisfactory, category. For this reason, Nelson said, there will be a study session for the full board to discuss teacher evaluations on Nov. 2.

Nelson also noted that at its next regular meeting, the performance committee is anticipating discussing school counseling and school climate, as well as meeting with a group of Arab-American parents seeking to form an advisory group.

Thomas added to Nelson’s report, noting that the new laws regarding evaluation and tenure will place a very significant burden on principals and central administration. Thomas noted that there is a general idea out there that there is no value added by what administrators are doing for the district. So Thomas said he wanted to point out that none of the benefits that these changes could bring will be possible without a great deal of time and effort from AAPS administrators.

Committee Reports: Planning

Stead reported for the planning committee, focusing her report on an item that would not be coming to the full board – the Washtenaw County Science Olympiad. Stead explained that her committee had met with the WCSO’s leaders about possibly using the district’s facilities for the event, which is the largest elementary-level science olympiad in the country, with 1,500 participants.

Saying that it only took superintendent Patricia Green “.3 seconds” to say this is a priority, Stead said she was pleased to report that AAPS administration will be working to formalize an arrangement with the WCSO. Finally, Stead noted that the WCSO is a model program, which incorporates community members, corporations, mentors, and students, and that she hopes all of the district’s elementary schools will participate next year.

Superintendent’s Report

Green began her report by introducing the newest member of her cabinet, deputy superintendent of instruction Alesia Flye. In her first days here, Green said, Flye has “jumped right in and taken the lead in instructional services.” Flye comes to AAPS from Rochester Public Schools, and replaces Lee Ann Dickinson-Kelley, who held the position in an interim capacity last year.

Green reported that she was excited about the kickoff event for the UM-Mitchell-Scarlett partnership, a teaching and learning collaboration focused on boosting student achievement, as well as a special event at the UM School of Education at which U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan spoke.

Finally, Green praised the district’s equity team (which will give a presentation on the national level), a few notable teachers who have achieved honors in their fields, and the AAPAC for its work with special education students. She also thanked everyone for a gracious welcome.

Athletics Regulations

Though not required to take any action on them, the board reviewed updated athletics regulations as an information item. Nelson reported that his committee had reviewed the 29 pages of regulations, and summarized the updates into four themes. He explained that the regulations were amended to reflect: (1) trimester as well as semester schedules, because Skyline High School now uses trimesters; (2) substantial changes in pay-to-participate fees and transportation, due to the 2011-12 budget cuts; (3) language to clarify that academics take precedence over athletics, and on how to address conflicts between athletics and the arts; and (4) additional authority for the superintendent to cancel athletic activities in the event of extreme weather.

Neson invited Huron athletic director Dottie Davis and AAPS fine arts coordinator, Robin Bailey to the podium, and welcomed questions or comments from the board.

Trustees clarified wording in a few areas, but had no major changes to suggest. There were brief discussions regarding student eligibility and conference rules regarding seniors playing on junior varisty teams.

Awards and Accolades

Assistant superintendent for student intervention and support services (SISS) Elaine Brown recognized Jen Mamer, outgoing co-chair of the AAPAC, for her hard work and dedication. Mamer, in return, thanked Brown for her collaborative style and commitment.

Mexicotte expressed her gratitude to Mamer as well, saying that the district appreciates and depends on the support of its parent community.

Consent Agenda Approved

The consent agenda is a collection of items on which the board votes as a complete set, instead of voting on each item individually.

Outcome: A consent agenda containing minutes and gift offers was approved unanimously.

Agenda Planning

The board expressed interest in seeing data on 2010-11 suspensions and expulsions, possibly linked to a review of achievement data. Mexicotte said that the executive committee would consider whether such a review should be done as part of a study session or at a regular board meeting.

Nelson added that he might like to review data across a theme of “students who are missing instructional time” for any reason, including suspension and expulsion, but also absenteeism.

Mexicotte said that she wasn’t sure the board had ever looked at absenteeism or truancy, but noted that addressing those issues would likely require different strategies than addressing missing instructional time due to suspension.

Items from the Board

Thomas extended condolences to AAPS executive director of physical properties Randy Trent and his family, noting a few months ago, Trent lost his father, and recently his mother.

Nelson commented that the Mitchell-Scarlett partnership kick-off was really exciting, and the start-of-school gathering at Pioneer High School was very stimulating. He also expressed surprise that the speech recently given by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was so “substantive,” which focused on the idea that education is the civil rights issue of this generation.

Baskett encouraged the administration to make use of a committee called the City-School committee, which includes representatives from AAPS as well as the city of Ann Arbor. She argued that with a new city manager and a new superintendent, it would be useful to re-kindle the committee to look at issues such as transportation to see how the schools and city can work together to achieve maximum efficiency for taxpayers.

Patalan expressed pleasure at the cleanliness of the buildings when she’d stopped in to visit early in the school year. Noting that there are “many voices out there, many ‘publics,’” Patalan also said she was grateful that new superintendent Patricia Green was committed to keeping her eye on the big picture and working to do what’s best for all students.

Present: President Deb Mexicotte, vice-president Susan Baskett, secretary Andy Thomas, treasurer Irene Patalan, and trustees Simone Lightfoot, Glenn Nelson, and Christine Stead. Also present as a non-voting member was Patricia Green, AAPS superintendent.

Next regular meeting: October 12, 2011, 7 p.m., at the fourth-floor conference room of the downtown Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave. [confirm date]

Ann Arbor Public Schools outgoing superintendent Todd Roberts, left, with Robert Allen, right, who'll be interim superintendent. (Photos by the writer.)

The transition to Allen from current superintendent Todd Roberts will occur on a date between Sept. 30 and Oct. 11. This will make the next regular board meeting on Sept. 29 Roberts’ last before he leaves to take his new post in North Carolina.

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, Lee Ann Dickinson-Kelley was named as the next deputy superintendent of instruction, and Ruth Williams, a recently-retired AAPS principal, will be hired to fill Dickinson-Kelley’s current role as administrator of elementary education.

In other business, the board approved offering two alternate paths to a high school diploma: the Early College Alliance or the WAY Washtenaw program. New computers were approved for the district’s food service program. And the board set parameters for the interviews it will hold next Wednesday with five consulting firms it is considering for help with the superintendent search.

Transitions

The August resignation of Todd Roberts has prompted a replacement search process as well as transitions to interim positions for the superintendent and other key administrative posts.

Transitions: Interim Superintendent Appointment

As directed by the board, Roberts brought to the Sept. 15 meeting his recommendations for an interim superintendent, as well as other administrative appointments to fill out the district’s top positions. Roberts recommended that the board appoint Robert Allen as an interim superintendent, noting that “everyone is familiar with [Allen's] talents and capabilities … He is a great leader, and an outstanding fit … He knows as much about the district as I do.”

Pointing out that having Allen step into an interim superintendent role would allow for a seamless transition, Roberts also touted Allen’s leadership style as very compatible with the district’s needs. Roberts mentioned that he had spoken to Allen, and that Allen would be willing and honored to serve this district in the capacity of interim superintendent, though he would not be interested in the position permanently.

Board treasurer Christine Stead pointed out that Allen has represented the district well, and expressed confidence that he would be a great interim superintendent. She noted that she had worked with him on the strategic planning team, as well as on the past two millage campaigns, and highlighted that Allen did a great job last year, in particular, with working out the budget in such a stressful climate. Stead also stated that Allen’s decision not to be considered for the permanent superintendent position was an advantage to the district, as national candidates might not want to compete with an internal candidate.

Trustee Simone Lightfoot stated that she was “extremely supportive” of the recommendation and believed that Allen’s fiscal discipline and management style were a good fit with the board.

Trustee Andy Thomas voiced his support for Allen as well. “He’s taken a great role in preparing the easy online budget, and increasing transparency,” Thomas said, commending Allen for the way he handled the most recent budget process. Thomas also noted that he had not attended the last board meeting, and took the opportunity to thank Roberts publicly, saying he has a huge respect for Roberts and that Roberts was leaving a huge legacy.

Board secretary Glenn Nelson said he felt “really good” about the suggestion, noting that the district was lucky to have someone of Allen’s abilities. He also commended Allen for being direct, honest and innovative. “From the external environment, we’ve had our share of bad news,” Nelson stated. “[Allen] does not shy from telling us what the facts are, while also saying, ‘and this is how we’re going to handle it.’”

Trustee Susan Baskett thanked Roberts for recommending Allen. She mentioned that she had seen Allen’s resume before he came to the district and thought, “Wow, how long can we keep him?” She credited Allen with cultivating a sense of trust, and noted that his appointment as interim superintendent would make things easier for the district.

Board vice-president Irene Patalan said she was actually comforted by this recommendation. Noting that Allen was one of Roberts’ first hires, she pointed out that they have worked well together. “It is because of Robert being with us through thick or thin … that I am comforted by this recommendation, and absolutely support it.”

Asserting, “there is nothing anyone could say that would sway me from wanting to do this,” Baskett suggested appointing Allen at this meeting rather than waiting until Sept. 29, and asked Roberts if an earlier appointment would ease the transition at all. “Not that I want to push you out,” she clarified.

Roberts noted that if the board approved Allen’s appointment at that meeting, that “it would likely be around Sept. 29 or so that he would assume the role, but I would want to talk to him.”

“It’s not that I don’t love you guys,” Roberts continued, “but this school district can only employ one superintendent.” He noted that one great benefit of appointing Allen to this role is that fairly little transition time would be needed for him to assume the superintendent’s duties. “The transition would take no more than two weeks … If you choose to approve him, [Allen] and I would get together to firmly identify an actual date and let you know.”

Board president Deb Mexicotte expressed that she was in full support of this recommendation for all the reasons that had been stated. She questioned, “Having heard no concerns about this recommendation, I’m wondering if the board would like to move forward this evening.”

Stead noted that her one concern is that the transition not take place too soon. “My initial reaction to moving it up further [than October 11] isn’t that positive,” she said.

Nelson said he’d prefer to leave the date out of the motion. “I’d very much like to accept the appointment, but I’m in favor of Roberts and Allen discussing the date … I want it to be when they think it works.” In general, Nelson expressed that it’s good for organizations to move on. “There comes a time, and I’m at it now,” he said.

Thomas agreed that a long, drawn-out transition is not something that works very well, and suggested that the board should not “get hung up” with a specific date but instead trust Roberts and Allen to decide how much lead time is necessary.

Baskett officially asked Roberts to come to the next board meeting to be recognized, even if he’s not seated at the board table. “I’m not expediting this to get you out,” she said. “This may be selfish on my part, but people are very appreciative of your service, and I’d hate for this to be your last board meeting.”

Patalan suggested the board frame the question by asking what is good for the district. “For the good of the district,” she said, “I would trust Allen and Roberts’ decision about the date.”

Mexicotte concluded the discussion by saying, “I can’t believe what I’m hearing here … I am not happy with just getting an e-mail … I’m interested in having that statutory transition that we know we must have – one day Roberts, and the next day Allen. I want something a little more specific.” She said she would like to see the motion state a range of dates from within which Roberts and Allen could choose, and that if the original motion did not contain dates, board members could offer amendments.

The consensus on the board was that a motion be brought on the issue that evening. The actual vote on the selection of Allen as interim superintendent happened later in the meeting.

At that time, Baskett made a motion, with a second from Stead, that Allen take over the duties of superintendent on an interim basis no later than Oct. 11. Mexicotte put forward a friendly amendment that the transition between Roberts and Allen happen no sooner than Sept. 29, which was accepted by Baskett and Stead. [Friendly amendments need only to be supported by the maker of the motion and the seconder, rather than being voted on by the whole board.]

Roberts questioned the timing set out in the motion, and Mexicotte clarified that she wants him to be at the next board meeting. Roberts can step down any time between Sept. 30 and Oct. 11.

Outcome: The motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote to appoint Robert Allen as interim superintendent.

Transitions: Other Administrative Staff Appointments

Roberts pointed out that the board’s approval of Allen as interim superintendent would save the district money, as Allen’s current position as the deputy superintendent of operations would not need to be filled. AAPS director of finance, Nancy Hoover, he said, could fill in for more of the finance duties. This financial savings could be used in part to fund the superintendent search, he said, which was not in the budget when it was set in June. In addition, he suggested that the savings would also be able to fund a replacement for the district’s recently retired math/science coordinator. Noting the district’s goal to have all students ready to take Algebra I in 8th grade, Roberts suggested that the math/science coordinator position was an important position to keep filled.

In addition, Roberts said he wanted to share other appointments he is planning to make before his departure. Next week, he said, he will be appointing Lee Ann Dickinson-Kelley to the position of deputy superintendent of instruction, a position that has been unfilled for two years, but that was included in the 2010-11 budget. Dickinson-Kelley, he said, would serve in that role until the selection of a permanent superintendent, at which time the new superintendent could decide how to fill that role on a permanent basis. The deputy superintendent of instruction is a position in the superintendent’s cabinet, and oversees elementary, secondary, and special education instructional services.  For the past two years, Roberts has assumed the duties of this position as part of his work as superintendent.

Roberts also announced that Ruth Williams, a recently retired principal of Lawton Elementary (and before that Burns Park Elementary) would step into Dickinson-Kelley’s current position as administrator of elementary education. Williams, Roberts said, had served the district for 17 years and will be a great fit.

Finally, Roberts said he is changing the titles of the heads of elementary, secondary and special education services. Currently, the heads of those divisions are called “administrators,” but Roberts said he believes the title of “assistant superintendent” better describes the role they each play. As an additional argument for the change in titles, Roberts pointed out that one of the things that candidates for the superintendent position will look at is the level of support they would have from instructional services and operations.

While expressing full support for the recommendations, a few board members requested that Roberts present them with a document summarizing the appointments and title changes in written form.

Stead complimented Roberts for having a good transition plan. “Those he’s recommended will be successful in these roles,” she said.

Lightfoot noted that she’s not sure the public knows all the work that goes on behind the scenes, and expressed support for all of Roberts’ recommendations. “I love bringing us in line with the titles,” she said. She also requested an outline of what the role of the deputy superintendent of instruction position would be, stating that Dickinson-Kelley was a great fit: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed her straightforward approach.”

Nelson noted that while he is pleased with these appointments, they are all within Roberts’ prerogative, and do not require board approval. He pointed out that Williams was the principal of Burns Park Elementary when his son started there 18 years ago as a kindergartner, and that she made such an impression on Nelson that he attended her retirement celebration last year.

Baskett thanked Roberts for demonstrating good leadership by putting such a capable team in place before leaving. “You’ve set us up to move right along,” she said.

Patalan noted that Roberts’ recommendations put the district in good shape. “I’m proud of us and comforted by these people who are surrounding us,” she said.

Superintendent Search Firm Selection

Mexicotte summarized this item, which had been discussed in a study session before the regular meeting.

In that session, it became evident that the trustees had evaluated the merits of each firm using quite different criteria from one another. Some factors that trustees considered were: specificity of responses; accuracy of cost estimates, particularly travel expenses; cost/benefit ratios; similarity of representative clients to AAPS; ability to understand local community; ability to successfully perform a national search; experience with superintendent (as opposed to other executive) searches; experience with producing a diverse candidate pool; overall quality of the proposals, including use of graphics, layout, clarity of descriptions, etc.; dedication to local community; and the community perception of hiring a local vs. an out-of-town firm.

Without reaching any consensus about which criteria the firms should be evaluated on, Mexicotte led the board in a straw poll in which each trustee listed his or her top four candidates. There was a brief discussion regarding how much time should be set aside for each interview, and what time of day the interviews would begin, as some trustees preferred to interview five instead of four firms. Mexicotte explained that she would summarize their discussion during the regular meeting, and would propose interviewing four firms, at which time trustees could offer amendments should they so desire.

In the regular meeting, Mexicotte simply said that the trustees had discussed whether it would be possible to interview all seven firms, and had decided to rather arbitrarily choose four firms to interview. She recommended that the board interview the four firms that were supported by the majority of trustees: Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, of Rosemont, Illinois; Michigan Association of School Boards, of Lansing, Michigan; McPherson & Jacobson, LLC, of Omaha, Nebraska; and Ray & Associates, Inc., of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Stead publicly thanked every firm that took time to give a response, and motioned to interview the four firms named by Mexicotte. Thomas seconded.

Patalan offered a friendly amendment to add David J. Kinsella & Associates of Ann Arbor to the list of firms to interview. She cited that though Kinsella might not have all the experience of the larger firms, she was impressed with a local person, a member of the community, coming forward to offer the district support.

Nelson and Lightfoot expressed support for the amendment. Mexicotte noted a friendly amendment must be accepted by both the trustee who made the motion, and the one who seconded it. Otherwise, it can be put forth as a formal amendment and voted upon.

Baskett noted that Kinsella has a stake in this community – his children attended AAPS, and his wife was a teacher in the district. Still, she said she wanted to stress the competitiveness of the process, noting that Kinsella has no experience with superintendent searches, and is expensive.

Thomas stated that he would support this friendly amendment, saying, “An extra hour of consideration is a small price to pay to give consideration to a local business.”

Stead also accepted the friendly amendment, with the caveat that she is concerned about the experience level, and wants to be clear about setting expectations. “This is a very important search,” she said, “We have big shoes to fill.” Still, she also noted that the incremental cost to interview Kinsella was negligible.

Patalan responded, “Certainly, this small, local business knows what we’re doing. Certainly, they have looked at these other [search firms]. Small businesses can do things differently and creatively.”

Mexicotte quipped, “I appreciate a trustee who beats it home, even after winning an amendment.”

Outcome: The motion, as amended, to interview the five firms noted above passed unanimously in a roll call vote.

Search Firm Interview Process

At Wednesday’s meeting, the board engaged in a discussion about their expectations of the structure and content of the superintendent search firm interviews. In the end, they decided to hold a meeting just before the interviews to set criteria for the selection, as well as a post-interview meeting to decide which references to check.

Mexicotte announced that in study session, board members had determined that they would prefer to hold the search firm interviews earlier in the afternoon, beginning at 2 p.m. She asked Amy Osinski, executive secretary to the board, to contact the firms to set up a meeting schedule.

Baskett asked whether these presentations would be off-camera, and Mexicotte confirmed they would be off-camera, but open to the public.

The board then began a discussion about the parameters they wanted to set for the interviews. There was discussion about the length of interviews; whether or not they should include presentations or simply answer questions; what questions they wanted to be sure were asked; whether or not the same questions should be asked of each firm; and how the board would choose among the final two candidate firms.

Mexicotte asked, “What are those things, the rubric, by which individual trustees might want to evaluate firms?” She then added that she was comfortable with each trustee having his or her own agenda, because the board “would consense in the end.”

Thomas expressed his desire that the board adopt a more formal process than it had in selecting which firms to interview. “During the study session,” he pointed out, “it became clear that different trustees had totally different priorities…It would be nice if we could get our act together a little more.”

Mexicotte suggested that the executive committee could put together a list of standard questions, but Nelson said he thought the questions asked would need to be tailored to each firm.

Baskett countered that she would like to have a discussion in order to discover “what we are all shooting for.”

Mexicotte suggested adding a working session just before the interviews for trustees to share what they think is important to ask, and Thomas agreed. He added that he would like to have each trustee write a list beforehand of the top five things he or she is looking for and send it to Osinski to consolidate them before the board met. Thomas continued, “My concern is that these firms come in and we listen to their presentations without having a common understanding about what’s important to the board. It would be nice if we could have some consensus about what the most important five or six points are that we are really looking for before we start evaluating them.” The board agreed by general assent to Thomas’ suggestion, and Osinski asked that the trustees get their five points to her by Monday at noon.

Stead and Nelson each mentioned the importance of calling references on the top firms the board is considering. Nelson suggested a post-interview meeting for the board to select which firms’ references to check.

Osinski suggested having all five interviews before dinner and then having a working dinner at 7:30 p.m. to discuss references.

The board informally agreed to the following schedule on Sept. 22: 2-2:30 p.m., pre-meeting to set criteria; 2:30-5:30 7:30 p.m., five interviews of 45 minutes each, with a 15-minute break in between; 7:30-8:30 p.m., working dinner to discuss references.

Recognition for Roberts

Nelson suggested to the executive committee of the board to set a time and place for the community to be able to recognize the work of outgoing superintendent Todd Roberts. Mexicotte noted that she will set up a meeting with the executive committee to do that and a few other things before the next meeting.

Paths to Graduation

At its Aug. 18 meeting, the board heard first briefings on two optional paths to receiving a high school diploma – the Early College Alliance and the Widening Advancement for Youth (WAY) Washtenaw program.

Paths to Graduation: Early College Alliance

Superintendent Todd Roberts stated that the Early College Alliance (ECA) is great for students and great for the district, and asked if the board had any further questions about the program. A detailed description of the ECA can be found in The Chronicle’s coverage of the Aug. 18 board meeting.

Trustee Andy Thomas said it is unclear to him who the intended beneficiaries of the ECA would be, asking, “Which students will be helped by this?” He noted that it looks in part like it’s intended for students who are performing well academically, and just want to avoid the expense of college credits. The other thing that confused him a bit, he said, was the point that ECA director David Dugger made that students who have difficulty acting independently would not be good candidates.

Roberts answered that one of the great things about the ECA is that there’s not one specific intended target group. He noted that a broad goal of ECA is to increase the completion rate of students attending college, and that it really serves a wide variety of students. He lauded the fact that 30% of the spaces in ECA are reserved for students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, since that population is often one that cannot afford to pay for four years of college. Roberts reiterated that students who graduate via the ECA will have two years of college completed by the time they receive their high school diploma. Roberts projected that if the board approved AAPS participation in the ECA, a wide range of students would apply for the program.

Trustee Susan Baskett stated that she thought ECA was a great program that would “add to [the district's] smorgasbord of educational options.” She asked how much thought had been given to communicating this program, and whether AAPS would develop a brochure to let folks know of this option.

Roberts noted that school counselors can target students, and that there will also be parent meetings in different locations. “It will be a multifaceted approach,” he said. Roberts also noted that AAPS could learn from ECA districts that are already in the consortium to learn from them which marketing techniques have been successful in their districts.

Outcome: AAPS participation in the ECA was approved as part of the consent agenda later in the meeting.

Paths to Graduation: Widening Advancement for Youth

Roberts introduced this second briefing of Widening Advancement for Youth (WAY) Washtenaw by recommending the board’s approval of the program. More information on this program can be found in The Chronicle’s coverage of the Aug. 18 board meeting, where this item came for a first briefing.

Monique Uzelac, the district’s director of instructional technology, attended the meeting to give a brief update. She noted that since the last meeting, WAY staff had outlined the process they would use to evaluate the first year of the program, and that the process was included in the board packet. Uzelac said that roughly 125 students were waiting to be enrolled countywide, including 23 students from Ann Arbor. Of the 23 Ann Arbor students, she continued, 21 of them were formerly AAPS students and the other two were Ann Arbor residents who were not enrolled in school. Twelve of the 21 former AAPS students had already dropped out, and nine were significantly behind in credits and would not have been able to graduate. In addition, Uzelac said, there were another 100 students who have dropped out of school countywide whom program coordinators are still contacting.

Trustee Glenn Nelson stated that he was enthusiastic about the program and impressed that WAY was able to find people who might benefit. He asked, “How did you find the students to contact?”

Uzelac answered that Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD) had requested from each district lists of students who had dropped out, and that WAY coordinators have been tracking down those former students. She described how interest in the program has been “snowballing,” and how multiple home visits have revealed not only the student initially being targeted by WAY staff, but also a brother, sister, or cousin living there who is not enrolled in school. Uzelac desrcribed how project leaders are getting calls from friends of students they’ve just enrolled asking to join the program too.

Though she said she did not believe any students have come from counselors, she noted that there is a countywide counselor meeting soon, and that counselors are a new part of the outreach being done by WAY staff.

Thomas appealed to comments made by youth senators at Wednesday’s meeting, who spoke of the obligation to reach out and prevent students from dropping out. In that vein, he said, it is appropriate to be considering the WAY program.

Outcome: AAPS participation in the WAY Washtenaw program was approved unanimously as part of the consent agenda later in the meeting.

Food Service Computers

Robert Allen presented a summary of a proposal that was included in the board packet, requesting that $149,260 of the food service budget be allocated for the replacement of the food service point-of-sale computers. If approved, the 80 units would be purchased from Horizon Software International.

Allen summarized how the new machines would result in cost savings: the all-in-one nature of the new units would save on replacing individual parts that cannot be put under warranty; less staff time would be needed to repair broken machines and install software (the new machines’ software will come pre-loaded); and a more efficient system would cut down on unrecorded reimbursable meals.

Trustee Andy Thomas asked how old the equipment was that is being replaced, and what the expected life of these new machines would be. Allen noted that the current machines are at least five years old, and will need to be replaced again in 3-5 more years. “There’s going to be normal wear and tear,” he said, but in five years, the food service program will have $125,000 in savings from the upgrade.

Thomas also pointed out, “I’m not sure I appreciate the ease of service [of an all-in-one system].” He noted that a system with multiple components would allow broken parts to be replaced without replacing the whole thing, which is, in general, less expensive.

Allen explained that, while he’d normally agree with Thomas, the multiple wires connecting these machines are causing a lot of the trouble. In the planning committee meeting where this proposal was first introduced, David Lahey of Chartwells – the company which holds the food service contract with AAPS – had explained that, at times, the USB and other cables connecting the different system components have been stolen, causing a delay in processing student payments, as students are then asked to write down their student numbers by hand. Allen added that broken machines in the current system lead to inaccurate meal totals. “If you are writing numbers down,” he said, “human error can impact revenue.”

Trustee Glenn Nelson noted that it was his understanding that the new machines will cause real improvements in the student dining experience, in addition to reducing staff costs to repair broken machines, and Allen concurred that the new machines would make the whole process more efficient.

Trustee Susan Baskett asked about the necessity of purchasing 80 units, and whether servicing the units was included in the price. Allen answered that service was included, and that each elementary school would get one unit, each middle school would get five, and each high school would get eight to ten.

Baskett then asked if Allen would like the board to expedite the passage of this proposal so that the new machines could be installed sooner. Allen noted that this was not an emergency, but that if the proposal was approved that night, the implementation would happen two weeks sooner, and certainly be complete this semester. Deb Mexicotte and Christine Stead also supported approving the proposal sooner. Mexicotte asked board secretary Amy Osinski to move the item onto the consent agenda of that night’s meeting.

Outcome: The replacement of food service point-of-sale computers was approved unanimously as part of the consent agenda later in the meeting.

Consent Agenda Approved

In addition to the items already mentioned above – the Early College Alliance, the WAY Washtenaw program, and the food service computer replacement, the extensive consent agenda approved by the board included: the technology refresh first briefed by the board at its regular meeting on Aug. 18; two sets of minutes approvals; and gift offers. The consent agenda was moved by Irene Patalan, seconded by Christine Stead, and approved unanimously on a roll call vote.

Transportation Update

At the performance committee meeting on Sept. 14, Robert Allen had updated the committee on the district’s new consolidated transportation system, run by the Washtenaw Intermediate School District. He reported that the first week of school had gone very well compared to the first weeks of other school years, but acknowledged that some buses were late the first day due to construction.

Committee members shared concerns, including the construction delays not being better anticipated, a perception among some of the public that the WISD hiring process was unfair, and how AAPS and WISD plan to combat negative public comments on the new system. Todd Roberts responded that the new system is going better than expected, and expressed that critical comments made by people who are not users of the system lack credibility. Allen added that he would put together some quantitative metrics comparing this year to past years to present at a future board meeting.

Transportation: Public Commentary

John Riedisser, a former AAPS bus driver, addressed the board regarding not being selected as a bus driver by the WISD under the new consolidated transportation system. He read the letter he had received stating he had not been chosen after “reapplying and re-interviewing” for his job. After 21 years of service to the district, he compared the feeling of not being chosen to feeling like his house had been burned down to the ground. He expressed his “devastation” that this happened to him at 52 years old, which is “too young to retire, and too old to start a new career.” He also stated that other former drivers who were not chosen are equally “disgusted,” and that he and they are “ready and willing to go back to work.”

Transportation: AFSCME and Transportation Employee Contract Closures

Roberts introduced this item, referencing a memo that Allen had submitted to the board outlining a set of proposed payouts to employees who were part of the district’s AFSCME or Teamsters bargaining units, as well as non-union former transportation employees.

Allen explained that the previous Teamsters contract with transportation employees – before the district’s transportation was consolidated with WISD – lists only retirement or resignation as reasons to pay out accumulated sick time. Allen argued that though the wording in the contract did not include payment for other separations, such as being laid off, AAPS should “honor the spirit of the contract” and pay out accumulated sick time for laid-off bus drivers, monitors, and supervisors in the same fashion as it would have for retirements or resignations.

There were two groups of AFSCME employees referenced in the memo – AFSCME transportation employees (bus mechanics), and AFSCME custodial, maintenance, and grounds workers. Allen pointed out that the AFSCME mechanics had already been laid-off, along with the rest of the transportation employees, and that the proposed payout to them was the same accumulated sick time payout being suggested for the Teamsters employees.

Regarding the AFSCME custodial, maintenance, and grounds employees, the memo states, the payouts would be due to the fact that in their new, 2010-11 contract, employees made serious concessions in terms of the number of vacation days allowed to be saved. The old contract allowed a maximum of five weeks of vacation time to roll over, but the new contract allows only three weeks. So, for those employees who had been careful, honest, and judicial in their use of vacation time under the old contract, Allen argued, the days they saved should be paid out as they begin work under their new contract.

Lastly, Allen’s memo noted, there were a number of non-union transportation employees to whom he would like to give payouts for accumulated sick time in the same fashion as for the other transportation employees.

Roberts pointed out that money is already earmarked to make these payments. In a follow-up discussion with The Chronicle, board secretary Nelson explained that making these payouts is “essentially recognizing and taking care of an expense that we anticipated, and that will have zero impact on our fund balance.” Allen pointed out that the funding for “termination pay,” as it’s called, is reserved in the district’s fund equity.

Trustee Susan Baskett asked what the average payout was for employees in each group. Allen did not have the numbers organized to give that answer, but was able to estimate that roughly 140 AFSCME members and 160 Teamsters members would receive payouts.

In his memo, Allen had listed the total cost of all payouts as $249,000, broken down as follows: $119,000 to Teamsters bus drivers, monitors, and supervisors; $55,000 to AFSCME mechanics; $35,000 to AFSCME custodial, maintenance, and grounds workers; and $40,000 to non-union transportation employees.

Trustee Simone Lightfoot noted that she was happy that the district is able to demonstrate this level of fiscal responsibility to have this money already accounted for. She also said she appreciated “the human factor,” and referenced the meeting’s public commentary as evidence that many of these employees are undergoing difficult transitions.

Outcome: The motion to approve the payouts as suggested was approved unanimously on a roll call vote.

Financial Institution Approval

Allen asked the board to approve a list of financial institutions with which AAPS does business. He pointed out that the district primarily does its banking with Chase, and that the other banks are used primarily for investments. In each case, he said, AAPS asked for updated information, 2009 audits, and FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) status, which he described as “a certification that banks get.” Also, each institution has agreed to and approved of AAPS investment procedures.

All but one of the institutions as listed in the board packet are located in Michigan. They are: Bank of America (Troy); Bank of Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor); Citizens Bank (Ann Arbor); Comerica Bank (Ann Arbor); Fifth Third Bank (Southfield); Flagstar Bank (Troy); JP Morgan Chase (Ann Arbor); Key Bank (Ann Arbor); MBIA (Ann Arbor); Michigan Commerce Bank (Ann Arbor); Michigan Liquid Asset Fund (Ronkonkoma, New York); TCF (Ann Arbor); and United Bank & Trust (Ann Arbor).

Nelson asked how a new institution could get on this list, and Allen said that the institution could contact him.

The motion to approve these financial institutions for doing business with AAPS was made by Patalan and seconded by Thomas.

Outcome: The motion to approve AAPS use of the financial institutions listed above passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

Administrative Board Appointments

Trustees of the board of education sit on a variety of committees at the local, county, and state level. At Wednesday’s meeting, after discussing her suggestions with the board during the study session, president Deb Mexicotte made the following appointments:

• Glenn Nelson: Washtenaw Association of School Boards, Recreation Advisory Commission;
• Simone Lightfoot: Michigan Association of School Boards Legislative Relations Network, Student Discipline Hearing/Grade Change/Reinstatement Panel, Youth Senate/Youth Empowerment Project
• Susan Baskett: Washtenaw Association of School Boards Legislative Relations Network, Health Place 101, City/Schools
• Irene Patalan: City/Schools, Celebration of Excellence
• Deb Mexicotte: Transportation Safety Committee
• Andy Thomas: Ann Arbor Public Schools Education Foundation
• Christine Stead: Student Discipline Hearing/Grade Change/Reinstatement Panel

Mexicotte left open the board seat on the equity audit committee, the work of which, she said, “has in large part been taken over by other equity work.” She directed the performance committee to review the role of this committee. Mexicotte also noted that the district-wide School Improvement Team no longer exists.

Mexicotte then directed board secretary Amy Osinski to contact the appropriate committees and let them know who their board representatives are.

Executive Session Added

Mexicotte stated that that board would need to call an executive session for the purpose of attorney-client privileged  communication at 5:30 p.m. before the next regular meeting on Sept. 29. Stead made a motion that such a session be added to the board’s calendar, and Patalan seconded.

Outcome: The motion was approved unanimously by a roll call vote.

Board Committee Reports

The board has two standing committees – the planning committee, which deals with upcoming items, and the performance committee, which reviews and evaluates items that have already occurred. Irene Patalan chairs the planning committee, which also seats Christine Stead and Simone Lightfoot. Susan Baskett chairs the performance committee, which also seats Glenn Nelson and Andy Thomas.

Planning Committee

Patalan reported that her committee had been briefed on the night’s proposal to approve six easements, which would be brought by Randy Trent, AAPS executive director of physical properties, later in the meeting. She also expressed being struck by the good discussion the committee had with food service and technology staff regarding approval of the new food service computers. Lastly, Patalan reported that the committee had also heard from Trent regarding a survey he did of historically underutilized businesses (HUBs). The goal of the survey had been to get ideas from HUBs about how better to encourage them to bid on AAPS jobs. Patalan noted that the survey was done on Zoomerang, and that it included contact information from the district. She also said that Trent would share more survey data once the results had been fully analyzed.

Performance Committee

Baskett reported on a presentation her committee heard on the lab school being created in conjunction with the University of Michigan. She acknowledged the transportation update brought by Allen (see above), and said that AAPS expected all glitches due to construction to be worked out by the end of the week. Baskett also thanked Nelson for suggesting a matrix to organize the work of the committee for this year.

Association Reports

The board invites 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) to offer regular reports at its meetings. At this meeting, the board heard reports from the Youth Senate, the AAPAC, the AAAA, and the BPSSG.

Youth Senate

Nikila Lakshmanan and Priya Menon gave the Youth Senate report. They began by reporting that the Senate was considering ways to increase its focus on local service to the community. This summer, they piloted summer community volunteer teams with much success. They also touted the Senate’s achievement solutions teams (ASTs) as a “youth-led answer to preventing high school failure” and expressed that school districts should not tolerate letting students fail or drop out of school. Noting the district’s relatively high graduation rate of 87%, they challenged the district to refer failing students to ASTs as part of the solution. Lastly, the Senate thanked Todd Roberts for his hard work as superintendent, and asserted that his efforts have led to increased “school and community pride” as well as having inspired the Senate to keep up its own work.

Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee on Special Education

Jen Mamer began the Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee on Special Education (AAPAC) report by thanking Roberts for his “outstanding leadership and dedication,” and wishing him the best. She welcomed Elaine Brown as the new administrator of student intervention and support services (SISS), and noted that AAPAC is looking forward to partnering with her.

Elaine Brown, the new administrator for student intervention and support services.

She noted that Brown shared her vision for the coming year with AAPAC at its annual retreat this past week, including improving the transition process between school levels, the use of Positive Behavior Support, increasing inclusion opportunities, and employing research to improve instruction. Mamer also updated the board on the Disability Awareness Workshops being planned for this year, and encouraged parents to volunteer to help with them in their schools. Finally, she thanked Mary Spence for her update on the M-SMART program at work in the district.

Ann Arbor Administrators Association

Michael Madison, the principal at Dicken Elementary, brought the Ann Arbor Administrators Association report to the board, expressing excitement over the opening of the school year, and inviting the trustees to attend one of more curriculum nights. He pointed out that over the summer, 21 new teachers were hired, transitioned, oriented, and trained. Madison also pointed to Pioneer High seniors coming to many of the district’s elementary schools this week as a example of positive collaboration among grade levels. Finally, Madison offered some updates from selected schools. He mentioned that the Thurston Elementary driveway was indeed finished by the first day of school, and that the school was very grateful to Randy Trent for making good on his promise. He noted the Community High was addressing cyber-bullying and harassment, and that Forsythe Middle School had a successful 6th grade ice cream get-together.

Black Parents Student Support Group

Sylvia Nesmith reported for the Black Parents Student Support Group (BPSSG). She began by noting her appreciation for Todd Roberts’ commitment to the BPSSG, and for making himself available to them. Nesmith also welcomed Elaine Brown to her new position as SISS administrator and noted that the BPSSG has always had an interest in AAPAC, referring to the fact that students of color have historically been overrepresented in special education. Nesmith was pleased with Brown’s appointment, saying she seems to be “concerned and capable,” and that Roberts had “left a footprint” by hiring her. Finally, Nesmith asked the board to comment on the status of the Equity Audit and PEG work.

Easement Recommendations

Randy Trent, AAPS executive director of physical properties, asked the board for approval of six water main and sewer easements at five locations – Burns Park Elementary, Skyline High, Tappan Middle School, Pioneer High (which has two), and Angell Elementary. A memo sent from Trent to the board explained that, if these easements were approved, “the City [of Ann Arbor] will assume all responsibility for any and all costs and liability associated with the maintenance, inspection, repair or replacement of the Water Main Systems located on the property of the schools noted above.”

At the meeting, Trent noted that all of the water mains and sewers, as well as one “water loop” addressed by the easements, were done during AAPS construction. He described the easements as “legalese” to be sure that the city of Ann Arbor maintains the systems.

Thomas clarified that this has to do with transferring responsibility of water mains that AAPS constructed to the city for maintenance, and Trent said that was correct. Thomas also asked why one of the easements was wider than the others, and Trent explained that the width of the easements was related to how deep the systems were, because one needs to dig at an angle to get to them.

Baskett asked Trent to define “water loop.” Trent explained that a water loop, or fire loop, allows water to come from two different directions, and noted that the responsibility for all of the water loops done since the bond project has been transferred to the city.

Baskett then asked bluntly, “Is there any reason why we wouldn’t approve this?” and Trent answered, “No.”

Patalan asked for clarification that agreeing to these easements means the city is responsible for these pieces. Trent explained that the process of transferring responsibility didn’t always happen before, but that as AAPS is learning about it, it is happening more often. “This gets our lawyers together with their lawyers.”

Outcome: No action was taken on this item at the meeting. It will return to the board for second briefing and a vote on Sept. 29.

Planning the Organizational Meeting

Board president Deb Mexicotte noted that the timing of this year’s organizational meeting had been a topic at both the summer board retreat, as well as during the study session earlier that evening. She described the organizational meeting as the meeting at which the board selects its officers, and committee representation. The organizational meeting has usually occurred in July, after board elections in May. Now that the board elections have been moved to November, this school year’s organizational meeting was originally set for January 2011.

Mexicotte summarized the board’s discussion as having centered on the question of whether or not to move the organizational meeting up in the year. She noted that the impetus for considering moving it up was that all five board members on the November ballot are running unopposed, so there is essentially no reason to delay the meeting until after the election.

Mexicotte explained that the board does have a bylaw that states the organizational meeting will take place after the election, so that bylaw would need to be suspended to hold the meeting earlier than that. She then opened the floor to her colleagues.

Stead commented that she thought it made sense to have the organizational meeting in September, noting that the three new trustees that joined the board this year have been placed into open positions as they came onto the board, but that there may be better ways to configure the board so that it works even better. She then moved to hold the organizational meeting during the next regular board meeting on Sept. 29.

Nelson seconded her motion, saying, “We are in a structure which is good, but was arrived at very incrementally.”

Thomas then listed four special circumstances that, for him, justify moving the meeting: 1) the fact that three of the seven current trustees were not elected, but appointed; 2) the unusual nature of having five board members up for election in a single cycle; 3) the surprise that all five are running unopposed, which makes it seem that “the results of the election are relatively certain;” and 4) the importance of getting moving on the superintendent search, which is not the only work the board has to do.

Thomas concluded, “I just want the public to understand that we are not trying to say that the elections are irrelevant, but these four unique situations have come together to make us believe that we need to have the organizational meeting at this time.”

Mexicotte pointed out that, of course, if something unexpected does happen during the election, such as a write-in candidate winning a seat, the board can hold a second organizational meeting.

Outcome: The motion to hold an organizational meeting on Sept. 29 was approved unanimously by roll call vote.

Following the vote, Mexicotte asked Oskinski to place the organizational meeting on the Sept. 29 agenda, as well as adding a vote to suspend the necessary bylaw before that.

Items from the Board

Nelson described a University Musical Society fundraiser he had recently attended at the former Pfizer complex, which is now owned by the University of Michigan.

Baskett acknowledged the local chapter of the NAACP for holding a welcome reception for Elaine Brown, the district’s new administrator of student intervention and support services (SISS), saying it was a wonderful chance for Brown to meet the community, and for them to meet her. Baskett also solicited support for the Ann Arbor NAACP’s Freedom Fund dinner in October, noting that individuals could support a student scholar’s attendance for $35.

Lastly, Baskett thanked Scarlett Middle school for welcoming her visit on the first day of school, and requested that Roberts provide the board with a final list of the 2009-10 retirees, as Baskett had been surprised by some of Scarlett retirements she noticed during her visit.

Mexicotte responded to Baskett, saying that there may be some difficulties in providing that list, and suggested that Baskett follow up with board secretary Amy Osinski.

Awards and Accolades

In late July, superintendent Todd Roberts said he got a call from Gov. Jennifer Granholm congratulating Community High School for its excellent ACT composite scores. She then asked for the phone number for the principal of Community, Roberts said, “so I quickly called the principal and said, ‘If you get a 517 call, take it – it’s the governor.’” [The area code for the Lansing area is 517]

Other notable accomplishments mentioned by Roberts included:

• Ann Arbor was again chosen by Kipplinger’s as one of the ten best places to raise a family, in large part because the public school district ranks among the best in the country;
• Of 57 Huron High School students who took the Advanced Placement (AP) calculus exam – 54 scored a five (the highest score), one scored a four, and two scored threes. This means that all 57 of them earned some measure of college credit for their scores;
• A fourth grade teacher at Haisley Elementary used a grant to take students to the Detroit Institute of Arts during the first week of school;
• 15 of the 59 players drafted by the National Hockey League this year had attended Pioneer as part of the USA Hockey program housed there;
• Huron High English teachers won an award for publishing their book, “Writing Outside Your Comfort Zone”;
• A Pioneer High teacher was chosen to advise the U.S. Department of Education; and
• A counselor at Community High was selected by the Counselors that Change Lives program, for helping students find colleges that provide for each of them the foundation for a successful life.

Roberts also congratulated the AAPS Educational Foundation (EF) and its director Wendy Correll for their successful recent campaign, One Million Reasons. In particular, Roberts thanked three large donors for their contributions: the PTO Thrift Shop ($100,000), the Norton family (matching donations up to $50,000), and local technology company IMRA America ($50,000).

Later in the meeting, trustee Glenn Nelson suggested to the board’s executive committee to invite the AAPS EF to a future meeting, along with a representative from each of the major donors, “to recognize this significant, helpful work” they are doing in this budget climate.

Present: President Deb Mexicotte, vice president Irene Patalan, secretary Glenn Nelson, treasurer Christine Stead, and trustees Susan Baskett, Simone Lightfoot, and Andy Thomas. Also present as a non-voting member was Todd Roberts, AAPS superintendent.

Next regular meeting: Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2010, 7 p.m. at the downtown Ann Arbor District Library, 4th floor board room, 343 S. Fifth Ave. [confirm date]

AAPS board member Christine Stead at the May 26 board meeting. (Photo by the writer.)

Concerns about state school aid funding emerged throughout the budget discussion, as well as during the rest of the meeting.

In its business for the evening, superintendent Todd Roberts sought input from the board on granting 32 retirement extensions. Four sinking fund projects were approved as part of an extensive consent agenda. A new textbook was suggested for AP biology.

And multiple awards were presented to both AAPS staff and students.

2010-11 Budget and Millage Renewal

Robert Allen, deputy superintendent of operations for AAPS, presented a summarized version of the 1/2-inch thick, line-item budget available for public review at the board office. He described it as very similar to what had been presented in draft form to the board in March, with only slight adjustments based on board input and shifts in accounting regarding American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds.

In a review of the March presentation, Allen discussed how AAPS is funded, stressing how frustrating it is to work with such uncertainty in the state budget. “Our next fiscal year begins July 1,” he said, “and today, May 26th, we still don’t have funding set for this year that’s almost over.”

The budget as reviewed on Wednesday included both Part 1, which reduces staff by 82.2 FTEs, and Part 2, which reduces it by an 42 additional FTEs. Together, the two parts of the proposed budget will save the district over $20 million.

Allen noted that Part 2 will only come into play if AAPS is unable to get specific concessions from the teacher’s union, or if the anticipated foundation allowance from the state changes. He held the state specifically accountable for the budget cuts, pointing out the “simple math” that expenditures continue to rise at 5-6% per year, while school funding from the state has grown only 1.3% per year on average since 1994.

2011-11 Budget: Public Commentary

There was one public comment on the budget, which came during general comment time, not during the public hearing on the budget. Priya Menon, a Skyline High School student, expressed concern about the possibility of inconsistent counseling being offered to Skyline students if the pink-slipped counselors there are not called back. She argued that getting all new counselors next year would put this year’s sophomores at a disadvantage when applying for colleges, because the new counselors would not know the students well enough to aid them in finding their “best fit” colleges. Menon asked the board to take that into consideration.

Questions and discussion among board members on the budget centered on two themes – the three-year budget projections that were part of Allen’s report, and budgeting as part of the strategic planning process.

2011-11 Budget: Three-Year Budget Projections

The proposed budget as presented by Allen contained a slide enumerating the three-year projected budget for AAPS. The most notable line was the rapidly diminishing fund equity balance, closing at $20 million in 2010-11, $9 million in 2011-12, and showing a deficit of $4.8 million in 2012-13. Allen noted that these numbers are “very rough.”

Andy Thomas acknowledged that though the numbers were only an estimate, they were “very disturbing.” Saying that in a year, the board would be back in this same room, looking at another $12-15 million budget deficit, he argued, “… we have to look out farther than a year.” Allen concurred, quoting teachers’ union president Brit Satchwell: “You can’t cut your way out of a structural deficit.”

Christine Stead noted that a recent report highlighted the potential for the U.S. to experience a “double dip” recession, which would impact Michigan. Noting that the board could have even bigger challenges ahead, with fund equity becoming  even more important, Stead concluded, “We need to plan for the worst.” She also mentioned that Michigan spends more on prisons than on education. Spending 50% less on education since 1994 cannot ensure sustainability, she said. She suggested that education funding in Michigan needs to shift from supporting manufacturing to supporting a wider knowledge base.

2011-11 Budget: Part of Strategic Planning Process

The board engaged in a somewhat spirited discussion about the ideal timing of the district’s strategic planning process. Trustees Thomas and Susan Baskett were in favor of reconvening the strategic planning teams as soon as possible, but Stead, Irene Patalan, and Glenn Nelson argued that it should not start until fall.

Superintendent Todd Roberts began the discussion by saying the strategic planning process would be reconvened in late August or early September, when “people are back and ready to be engaged.” Baskett suggested that some planning teams start earlier, noting that not everyone goes away for the summer. Thomas added, “How are we going to handle the 2011-12 deficit? … I don’t see how you can separate the strategic plan from the budget plan.”

Baskett also pointed out that the fall is a very busy time for families with school starting, and then soon after that it’s the holiday season. She noted that she thought the strategic planning teams were supposed to reconvene in May, so she was a little surprised by the delay. She agreed with Thomas that the strategic plan and budget plan cannot be “divorced” from each other.

In addition to noting that “July is not a good month in all of our experience,” Roberts based his objection to starting sooner in the practical concerns regarding the extensive workload he and his administrators face this summer regarding staffing. “We have so much to do in June,” he said, “that I don’t think we have the resources to have an effective process.”

Thomas pressed on: “I recognize that this will be a stressful summer. I’m just suggesting that the more of a head start we have, the better.” Roberts eventually assented, saying he would look into the feasibility of starting in July, but that it might not be possible.

Stead mentioned that strategic planning was what led her to join the board, and said she believed there were important reasons to defer to Roberts’ judgment about the available level of staff leadership and engagement. With the large amount of change occurring, Stead argued, she would prefer the administration devote its full attention to staffing over the summer. In addition, she said, by fall, not only will staffing be set, but there will be fewer unknowns coming from the state.

Patalan concurred with Stead, saying, “The community expects the administration to do a good job getting the school year up and running.” Nelson added that he also respected Roberts’ judgment, and that opening the schools in the fall successfully was important to setting the tone for the year.

2011-11 Budget: Public Hearing

Before opening the floor to public comments, a few board members made closing comments on the budget. Patalan commended Roberts and Allen for the work they did on the budget, and noted that the AAPS student count has remained relatively consistent compared to the rest of Michigan.

Thomas also complimented Roberts and Allen, but noted that the budget did contain some “aggressive assumptions,” such as anticipating filling all the School of Choice slots for next year. He suggested maintaining fund equity as high as possible to deal with possible unmet enrollment targets.

Deb Mexicotte and Nelson commented on elements of the budget beyond AAPS control. Mexicotte called the mandated increases in retirement contributions – 3% more by employees, and 2.47% more by employers – costs that were “passed along to districts and state employees.” Nelson mentioned that the state is actively considering moving the community college budget into the K-12 school aid budget. He called this strategy “taking from the right hand and giving to the left.” He urged the public to contact their legislators to tell them not to move other expenses into the school aid fund.

Mexicotte then asked Amy Osinski, the board secretary, to open the public hearing, and she did. But no one from the community was there to speak. After closing the hearing, Mexicotte added that public input was welcome in any other format, and that a public hearing, even if it is required by law, is not always the best venue for the community to offer its voice.

2011-11 Budget: Millage Renewal

There are four active millages currently being levied on AAPS school district residents. Each year, the millage rates are set based on taxable value of homesteads, as well as truth-in-budgeting legislation. They need to be approved by the AAPS board before they can be submitted to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners. Allen requested that the board approve the following 2010 tax millages for AAPS: Homestead, 4.5344 mills; Non-Homestead, 18 mills; Debt Service (from the Bond projects), 2.1226 mills; and Sinking Fund, 0.5 mills.

There were no questions from the board on the millage renewal.

The 2010-11 budget, as well as the millage renewal, were first briefing items, and will come back to the board for a vote at a regular meeting in June.

State Retirement Reform and Extensions

During the budget report, Robert Allen noted that the state retirement reform signed into law May 19 could still have a significant impact on the 2010-11 budget if numerous employees choose to sign up before the June 11 incentive deadline. Employees of the Michigan Public Schools Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) who are eligible and choose to retire before June 11 will receive a significant increase in their monthly pension due to an increase in part of the formula from 1.5% to 1.6%. Another major element of the legislation raises non-retiring employees’ contributions to MPSERS by 3%.

Superintendent Todd Roberts explained in an information item to the board that AAPS has been given 32 extensions by the state, which the district can grant if it chooses to do so. These extensions would allow an employee to commit to retiring, but be able to work for one additional year before doing so. Having received no guidance from the state about how these extensions should be granted, Roberts said, he had requested information from neighboring districts.

The exact process for how the extensions would be selected is still being developed, Roberts said, but the district has decided to allow extensions only for positions which would be difficult to fill if left open at the end of this year. The other restriction will be that no extensions will be granted for positions for which current employees have been given lay-off notices.

Roberts asked if the board had any concerns about moving forward with that plan, since the district would need to get a memo out to employees soon regarding the process. It is being suggested, he said, that teachers would need to express an interest in the extension by June 4, with the district selecting who will be granted a retirement extension by June 7, so that employees would be able to file retirement paperwork by June 11. Roberts noted that the suggested timeline would allow employees to know whether or not they would be granted an extension before they commit to retiring.

Lastly, Roberts noted that knowing these retirements are coming ahead of time would be helpful with next year’s planning and the 2011-12 budgeting process.

Many board members gave statements in support of the AAPS plan regarding the extensions. Irene Patalan called the extensions “our insurance policy,” and appreciated being able to slow the transition of too many employees retiring at once. Glenn Nelson reiterated his concerns about the fiscal year 2012 budget, saying he supports the philosophy of preserving any possible flexibility one year from now. Christine Stead called the plan very fiscally responsible and Simone Lightfoot concurred.

Andy Thomas approved of the fairly restricted use of the retirement extension option, and said that he did not want to give extensions out as a “perk.” Deb Mexicotte confirmed for Roberts that the board seemed to offer “general assent in the direction you’re heading.”

Roberts confirmed that the language in the memo makes clear that the offer is contingent on the restrictions he outlined above.

Lightfoot asked how the retirement legislation has affected the number of retirement applicants in the district, and if this will cause any changes in the number of teachers laid off. Roberts answered that the number of retirements is slowly rising, and that the board will have a good idea by the end of next week how many there will be. He noted that these retirements may help reduce the number of layoffs necessary, but added that not all of the retirees will be teachers, and that if AAPS has many principals retire, it could be problematic to fill those positions quickly.

Thurston Paving Project and Other Second Briefing Items

During public commentary, Kathy Griswold argued that proper process was not followed in terms of including public input in planning for the upgrades to the Thurston Elementary School parking lot. She mentioned how a similar driveway set-up proposed to the community near King Elementary was rejected, and asked why a driveway plan that’s not good enough for King school was good enough for Thurston.

As part of a second briefing on proposed facilities projects, trustee Susan Baskett asked Randy Trent, the district’s executive director of physical properties, how he would address the concerns brought by Griswold during public commentary. Trent reported that a certified traffic engineer had approved the design, and asserted that the design had been reviewed with the public at least four times. Baskett confirmed again, “So, these [designs] were reviewed and supported by the Thurston community?” Trent answered, “Yes.”

Christine Stead added that when the planning committee was briefed on the paving projects, Thurston’s public involvement came across as an asset. Irene Patalan concurred, saying she appreciated how Trent always includes the local community in the projects he leads. Trent added that having a certified traffic engineer approve the plans protects the district, and that he hopes to continue working with each community.

None of the other second briefing items were discussed by the board at this meeting. They included three facilities improvements, in addition to the paving project, to be funded from the 2010 sinking fund: roof replacements, ADA site improvements, and an energy conservation program. Additional second briefing items included: the third quarter financial report, the WISD budget, and updates to board policy, all of which were presented at the last regular board meeting on May 12.

Consent Agenda Approved

In the only vote of the night, trustees approved a lengthy consent agenda. It contained all the second briefing items mentioned above, as well as gift offers, and approvals of minutes. The consent agenda was moved by Stead, and seconded by Patalan.

Outcome: The consent agenda was unanimously approved by trustees Nelson, Mexicotte, Lightfoot, Patalan, Stead, Baskett, and Thomas.

New AP Biology Textbook Sought

Joyce Hunter, administrator for middle and high school education, presented a proposal to purchase new textbooks for high school advanced placement (AP) biology classes, a college course taught in 12th grade. Citing the rationale that the College Board requires textbooks not to be more than eight years old, and noting that the books currently used will be eight years old next year, Hunter recommended purchasing 175 books (and accompanying teacher materials) at a total cost of $23,094. This will be enough, she said, to cover a third AP biology class when materials are redistributed to Skyline High School as 12th grade is added there.

Hunter also explained the process used to select a new textbook, including review and rating of books under consideration by a committee of teachers. In response to a question from Glenn Nelson regarding the necessity of updating materials, Hunter introduced Dolores Kingston, a zoologist who teaches AP biology at Pioneer.

Nelson had asked for comment on whether AAPS would have wanted to purchase a new book for this class soon anyway, even if it was not required by the College Board. Kingston responded, “It’s absolutely necessary that we keep up.” She cited recent advances in molecular biology as having a big impact on that section of the revised book, and noted that, “When the AP Board makes its test, it makes it on current data.” Saying he felt reassured, Nelson said he felt good about spending money on the textbooks.

Christine Stead supported the new book, mentioning that she holds a degree in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Michigan, and can attest to how quickly knowledge changes in that field.

Irene Patalan noted that the recommended textbook is a 2008 edition, and asked when the 2009 edition was expected to come out. Susan Baskett also questioned whether AAPS is required to use a textbook, as opposed to web sites and other resources. Kingston responded that the 2009 edition will not be out until the middle of next school year at the earliest. On a blog she follows written by AP biology teachers, she reported that some of them have tried teaching without textbooks and it has not gone well. Kingston pointed to the stellar illustrations as a large asset of the recommended textbook.

Deb Mexicotte requested that Hunter have a copy of the textbook available for public review at the Balas administration building, 2555 S. State St., if requested. The board will vote on  approving the new AP biology textbook in June.

Transportation: Public Commentary

The district is still in negotiations with the AAPS transportation workers’ union, as well as in discussion with the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD) regarding possible countywide consolidation of transportation services. Two bus drivers spoke out against the WISD consolidation plan during the meeting’s public commentary.

Richard Miller pointed out that consolidation is only possible because workers’ salaries decrease while their health insurance costs increase. He noted that if AAPS joins the WISD plan, workers would be fired and could reapply without regard to seniority. Calling the WISD plan “illogical,” and “a clumsy and doomed design,” Miller concluded: “What a mess we have in store.”

Chai Montgomery echoed Miller’s concerns and argued that consolidation works a lot like privatization, and that drivers and aides have not been included in the consolidation planning. He noted that the drastic reduction in wages, hours, and overall jobs could result in high turnover and unsafe driving. Montgomery also pointed out that it’s not clear if WISD could outsource if they “won the bid.”

He requested that if the board does choose to go through with consolidation, that it be done as a transfer of workers, not a re-hire, and that seniority and accumulated sick time be preserved. Lastly, Montgomery pointed out that if workers are fired and rehired, the recently passed changes to the state retirement system would cause them to be reclassified into a different, and lesser, retirement plan.

Kathy Griswold also addressed the board regarding transportation issues from the perspective of the Transportation Safety Committee (TSC), on which she serves. The TSC is made up of representatives from AAPS, the city of Ann Arbor, nearby townships, and the Washtenaw County Road Commission. In addition to raising questions about the Thurston paving project, discussed above, Griswold advocated for moving the crosswalk in front of King Elementary School from its mid-block location to a four-way stop. She noted that there was broad support for the move from the King community. She posed two specific requests to the board: 1) that the board and superintendent send a letter to the city of Ann Arbor requesting the crosswalk be moved, and 2) that a comprehensive, outside analysis be done of the districts’ school walk zones.

Association Reports

For the first time this calendar year, the board received a report from the Black Parents Student Support Group (BPSSG). It also heard from the Youth Senate, the Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee on Special Education (AAPAC), and the Ann Arbor Education Association (AAEA). The Parent-Teacher-Organization Council (PTOC), and the Ann Arbor Administrators Association (AAAA) did not report at this meeting.

BPSSG Report

Chairperson Sylvia Nesmith reported to the board on the activities of the Black Parents’ Student Support Group (BPSSG). After a brief review of the group’s activities from earlier in the year, Nesmith commented on the recent issues at Dicken Elementary leading to the disbanding of its African-American Lunch Bunch program. She said the BPSSG appreciated the supportive statements that came from the board and the administration, but that everyone needs to take the dignity of children into account when discussing the situation. Nesmith registered BPSSG’s concern at the quality of African-American curricular enhancements, and noted that local Black history was not included in the Ann Arbor local history curriculum used in the district.

Nesmith reported that the BPSSG is also concerned that the cost-sharing of athletic fees (part of the 2010-11 budget proposal) will lead to “elistist” athletics. She told the board that some parents were struggling, even though they do not qualify for free and reduced lunch. Nesmith cited the transportation requirement, which requires families to transport students to and from athletic events instead of using district transportation, as a hardship for many parents.

Lastly, Nesmith said that the problem resolution and group dynamics pieces of the middle school planning centers, as they were originally intended, were very important. The planning centers are set to be cut completely out of next year’s budget, but Nesmith suggested phasing out the centers while instituting the positive behavior support approach. The BPSSG, she said, would be submitting some suggestions on the planning center phase-out, as well as the reconfiguration of the program at Dicken and similar student support groups. Nesmith closed by thanking Susan Baskett and Todd Roberts for their support.

Youth Senate Report

Nikila Lakshmanan gave the district update from the Youth Senate, which ended its year of work on May 16. The Senate thanked everyone who supported its recent walkathon and picnic to raise money for its Fight Poverty in Africa initiative. Following Lakshmanan’s report, two senior youth senators made statements to the board.

Abraham Liddell spoke with gratitude of the Achievement Solutions Team (AST), a project of the Youth Senate sponsored by the Youth Empowerment Project. Saying he could rely on them whenever there was a need, Liddell later became a peer coach for the AST. Though he comes from a family with only a handful of college graduates, Liddell said, he will attend the University of Michigan in the fall.

Keo Robin credited the senate’s opportunities and support with getting him through high school, thanking two teachers in particular – Millicent Fisher, who taught him in third grade, and Susan Washabaugh, who taught his AP chemistry class. However he said, the system isn’t perfect, and argued that, “We do not necessarily lack the academic support resources needed for widespread student success in this district; but rather, we need to work on the methods of implementation we use to make these resources available.” Robin suggested that the board look at research from other schools on closing the achievement gap, as well as seeking solutions through the Youth Senate’s “Leap the Gap” research and pilot of ASTs.

AAPAC Report

Kathy Grijalva reported for the Ann Arbor Parent Advisory Committee on Special Education. She spoke of the services that were offered to her special needs son, including a positive experience with the bus drivers who transported her son for learning in a self-contained classroom. She expressed concern about the consolidation of some self-contained special needs classrooms, but recognized the benefits to the district of moving forward with such plans.

Lastly, Grijalva expressed regret at the retirement of Larry Simpson, administrator for student intervention and support services, noting that there have been five administrators of special education in 13 years, with Larry Simpson’s four-year tenure being the longest. She credited Simpson with establishing the elementary community classrooms, and the core behavior support team, as well as developing the Teaching and Learning Camp for Extended School Year services, a summer program for special needs students. Grijalva thanked Simpson for taking to heart and genuinely championing the interests of students receiving special education services and wished him the best in his retirement.

One public commenter also spoke about inclusion of special needs students. Joanne Darr, of the Washtenaw Association for Community Advocacy, addressed the board about inclusion. She told the board she has a hard time understanding why inclusion of special education students in regular classrooms is not more prevalent in the district. She pointed out that often, at mediations or Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings regarding the placement of special education students, inclusion is often not suggested, and placing students in self-contained classrooms seems to be preferred.

Darr asked her son, Alex, a special needs student in the district, to speak to the board about what he had learned during his school’s “Reality Day.” Alex spoke briefly about the duties of law enforcement officials when performing body searches, and Darr used his comments to illustrate how much more she feels her son is getting out of his education by being mainstreamed instead of taught separately in a self-contained classroom. She closed by saying that she hopes the board looks more thoroughly into “universal design.”

Ann Arbor Education Association Report

Brit Satchwell, president of the teachers’ union, began his report by characterizing anything the district does in terms of budget cuts as nothing more than “coping mechanisms.” He reviewed the speakers who had attended the Michigan Education Association rally earlier that week, and thanked the district for allowing the AAEA to hold the meeting at the Skyline High stadium, as well as Skyline’s administration for its support. Satchwell urged all members of the AAPS community to continue to find “common cause,” and rallied, “If we don’t look to the source of the problem and try to solve it, shame on us.”

Satchwell also encouraged everyone “to have a landslide victory of the millage vote in your own house,” by donating to the AAPS Education Foundation whatever amount they would have been levied had last fall’s millage passed. “You don’t have to take that ‘no’ for an answer,” he challenged. “You have your own ‘yes’ in your pocket – in your wallet.”

Lastly, Satchwell noted that the teaching staff will step up to shoulder the burden, but maintained his goal of rescinding all 191 lay-off notices. Satchwell encouraged everyone to hold out hope, as the teachers’ union and AAPS bargaining teams continue to work out a contract.

Awards and Accolades

The board devotes time at each meeting to reflect on positive accomplishments in the district, and honor those people who go above and beyond their calls of duty.

Pioneer Omega Yearbook Award

The Pioneer High School yearbook, entitled the Omega, won a National Gallery of Excellence award from the Walsworth Publishing Company. Walsworth’s Michigan representative, Nora Guiney, was on hand to present the award to yearbook staff, and described the Omega as representative of the best yearbooks in the country.

Susan Baskett expressed pride that the publishing company recognized the students’ work. “As a former editor-in-chief of the Omega,” she said, “the lessons I learned … are still with me.” Todd Roberts recalled his four years as yearbook advisor while an English teacher in North Carolina, noting, “We never won any awards.” Then, he leaned over and said something to Deb Mexicotte, who reported, “Dr. Roberts just told me that being superintendent is not as hard as being yearbook advisor.”

Glenn Nelson added that he knew right where his yearbook was on his shelf, and commended the Omega staff: “What you are creating … really is something very lasting and meaningful.”

Envision Michigan Scholarships

State Rep. Rebekah Warren presented three students each with a $500 scholarship from her Envision Michigan fund. Warren spoke to the board and public, saying she has maintained her commitment to the strong public education system since taking office in 2006. Students who received awards were: David Shapiro and Sarah Juster from Pioneer Community, and Ramona Mladin from Huron. In the fall, Shapiro will attend UM, Juster will attend Yale, and Mladin will attend Wayne State University.

Celebration of Excellence Awards

The last two Celebration of Excellence awards of the school year were given at this meeting – the first to Sandra Maconochie, a music teacher at Tappan, and the second to Pat Butler, a custodian at Northside.

Andy Thomas presented Maconochie with her award, noting that she started one of the first middle school jazz bands in the district, among many accomplishments during her more than 26 years with the district. Thomas read comments from a parent who touted her child’s experience in Maconochie’s jazz band as “the highlight of [his] school experience.” A former student said that playing in Maconochie’s programs “absolutely laid the foundation for my future as a professional musician.”

Maconochie came to the podium, and accepted the award on behalf of not only herself, but also shared it with AAPS students, families, district music staff, and Tappan music staff. Saying she was grateful for the opportunity to have worked with students and shared her love of music with them, Maconochie said, “I have had the best gig in town!”

After Machonochie received her award, Martine Perreault, co-chair of the PTOC, announced that a scholarship fund had been established in her name through the AAPS Educational Foundation. All are welcome to contribute.

Then, Pat Butler was presented with her award, read by Irene Patalan. Patalan noted that Northside staff commended Butler for having “one of the best work ethics of anyone we know.” She was honored for her positive attitude, cheerfulness, and friendliness. A Northside teacher said of Butler’s work, “She treats it as if it’s a personal mission, and … I don’t think I have ever seen her without a smile.”

Butler spoke briefly after accepting her award, making a “shout out to the 500 wing, and the pretty lady – she rocks!”

Superintendent’s Report

Among many notable accomplishments, Todd Roberts thanked all retirees for their years of service to the district. He also noted many scholarships and individual awards received by AAPS students this year, including the receipt of Kiwanis scholarship money by Stone School for the first time. In addition, he said, 21 Stone students received scholarships to attend Washtenaw Community College. Roberts congratulated the Pioneer Regatta winners, and the Pioneer concert band and director for winning awards.

Clague Orchestra Special Presentation

A subset of the strings orchestra of Clague Middle School performed two pieces at the start of the meeting, under the direction of Abby Alwin. Board members were very supportive and thanked the students for their hard work and stellar performance.

Items from the Board

Christine Stead acknowledged having attended the May 24 MEA-sponsored rally for education funding, and noted that it was good to see the common awareness of the need for securing stable school funding from the state.

Andy Thomas invited everyone to attend the naming ceremony for the Tappan gym for Rob Lillie, to be held on Sunday, June 6 from 2-4 p.m.

Glenn Nelson reflected on attending the Neutral Zone’s Breakin’ Curfew, the Pioneer Grammy concert, and the district’s retirement dinner. He also reiterated that there is still time to attend the district art shows at the Work and Slusser galleries, and commented positively on the scholarships and mentoring Stone School students received from the Rotary Club. Stone School, Nelson said, “literally changes the lives of students.”

Simone Lightfoot invited the public to the follow-up to the College and Career Ready Review, which was held recently at Mitchell Elementary.

Susan Baskett noted that the Senior and Academic Recognition at Roberto Clemente Student Development Center was powerful, and thanked Joyce Hunter for maintaining the homebuilding program. She also expressed thanks on behalf of the grandmothers of Jasmine Thomas, a Pioneer student who died on May 19, for the support they received from the AAPS community at her memorial service on Tuesday. And, lastly, Baskett congratulated this year’s graduates and urged them to celebrate safely.

Irene Patalan commented also on the Pioneer Grammy award ceremony, saying it was just wonderful. Also regarding the rally at Skyline High School earlier in the week, she agreed that “putting vision on securing funding is absolutely worthwhile.” Patalan also expressed satisfaction at having filled the vacant board seat: “It’s nice to be sitting here with seven people on the board.”

Finally, Deb Mexicotte offered her general comments. First, she remarked that it was a honor to be invited to Scarlett Middle School’s Portfolio Day, in which professionals from the community connect with students on a personal level by conducting mock interviews with them for jobs in their respective fields. Mexicotte also thanked Rebekah Warren for coming to the meeting earlier, and commended her support for AAPS students, and for education in general.

Mexicotte continued, noting that though the state has just decided to award $65 per pupil back to the district, it’s only one-sixth of the $398 per pupil that was cut this year. As much as she wants to be happy about the slight funding increase, Mexicotte said, with a $297 cut to per-pupil funding anticipated next year, all representatives need to support education. She noted that, “It is an election year, and politics does play a role into how these funding decisions are made.”

Committee Reports and Agenda Planning

Neither the performance nor the planning committees had reports for this meeting. In planning future board agendas, Deb Mexicotte pointed out that superintendent Todd Roberts will be evaluated in June, and that Irene Patalan and Amy Osinski will be setting up that evaluation. She also repeated her request that board members turn in their summer schedules to the board secretary as soon as possible so that the board retreat can be scheduled, possibly for sometime in July.

Present: President Deb Mexicotte, vice president Irene Patalan, secretary Glenn Nelson, treasurer Christine Stead, and trustees Susan Baskett, Simone Lightfoot, and Andy Thomas. Also present as a non-voting member was Todd Roberts, superintendent of AAPS.

Next Regular Meeting: Friday, June 4, 2010, 5 p.m., at the Balas Administration Building, 2555 S. State St. [confirm date]