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

There are two opportunities for public comment: Citizens who wish to address agenda or non-agenda items will have an opportunity at the beginning of the meeting, as well as near the end of the meeting. In-person individuals who wish to address the board must complete a blue form, located with the agendas near the room entrance, and present it to the board’s secretary prior to the start of the agenda item. Virtual participants must submit their name and address in a message through the chat box located in Zoom’s meeting controls prior to the start of the agenda item.  

At the appropriate point in the agenda, the board president will call upon individuals who have submitted a blue card or chat message and that individual’s microphone will be un-muted for their comments.

Pursuant to Section 8 (c) of the Open Meetings Act, the Board of Education may adjourn to executive session for the purpose of discussing contract negotiations. 

An opportunity for individual board members to highlight events, activities, and other items of interest.

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

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

The board will acknowledge receipt of correspondence.
Individual board members may request follow-up on other matters of concern.
Board sub-committees may present their reports or deliver updates.

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

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

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

The board of education reviewed the recommendation from the district’s Parent Council for three appointments to the district’s Personal Health and Sexuality Education Advisory (PHASE) Board.

The District experiences timing differences between the receipt of State School Aid revenues and the payment of operating expenditures. Issuance of Notes will provide short-term financing to meet cash flow needs until anticipated State Aid payments are received. The notes will be repaid from future State School Aid revenues.

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

At this time in the meeting, citizens have an opportunity to address the board regarding any item(s) of interest. Individual comments at this time will be limited to three minutes but may be extended at the discretion of the board president.  A designated timekeeper will communicate to the individual who is addressing the board at three minutes.  The board highly values public comment; however, our meeting format does not allow the board to engage in conversation with speakers.  Questions or concerns may be assigned for follow-up by the board or the administration at a later date.