June 16th 2026 Study Session
PAACT Board Recap
June 16, 2026 Study Session
Read the full June 16 agenda packet →
A study session is a working meeting. The board hears presentations and discusses, but takes no formal action. Every item below is scheduled for a vote at the regular meeting on Tuesday, June 23. Study sessions are not recorded, so this recap is drawn from the published 123-page agenda packet and from notes taken in the room. The official figures come from the packet.
Trustees Luke Joseph and Omar Odeh were absent.
Superintendent's report
The superintendent reported on the district's commencement ceremonies, which had just finished, and described the experience as a great one. She also recognized the Seaholm High School tennis team for winning a state championship.
Wireless device policy update
The deputy superintendent gave an update on the district's personal wireless device policy. The existing restrictions for elementary and middle school students stay in place. At the high school, the policy counts passing time as instructional time, so devices are restricted during passing time as well. The deputy superintendent said the only question still being decided is how to handle the lunch period. No decision was made.
Public comment
Two speakers addressed the board, both on the device policy. Dr. Margaret Murray, of Mothers Against Media Addiction (MAMA), urged the district to adopt a true bell-to-bell phone restriction rather than an "away for the day" approach, arguing that a full restriction removes the burden of constant enforcement from teachers and the burden of resisting the phone from students, and pointing to states that have moved in that direction. Melissa Hayes, also of MAMA, raised concerns that the current restriction is not consistently enforced at the elementary and middle school levels, described phone-related cyberbullying in middle school, and supported lockable phone pouches and extending a consistent restriction to the high school.
Social studies instructional materials (grades 9-12)
Administration and the social studies curriculum design team presented a recommendation for new core high school materials, the result of a year-long review. The recommendation is McGraw Hill for World History and US History, and Traverse by Imagine Learning for Economics and Government. The estimated six-year cost is $305,743, about $50,912 per year. If approved, the materials would be implemented in fall 2026. AP courses are on a later timeline, with a review next year and implementation targeted for 2027-28, and middle school materials are on a separate track.
The team described its process: initial surveys of students, teachers, and caregivers; a 33-criterion evaluation tool built around standards alignment, social studies practices, representation and diverse perspectives, source quality, instructor supports, and usability; and review by the Curriculum Design Team, the Instructional Leadership Council, and the District Curriculum Council, each of which recommended the materials unanimously.
Trustee Lori Ajlouny raised the question of balance and perspective in the recommended history texts, asked specifically whether Indigenous and other perspectives were well represented, and asked to review the materials directly and possibly sit in on the teacher planning that follows adoption. Administration explained that teachers will meet by content area to read ahead, identify where a resource may need supplementing for balance, and build a shared guide. Ajlouny, who said she is a social studies teacher and that this issue is very important to her, referenced three checks she has long used in reviewing curriculum for representation: women, Indigenous populations of the Americas, and African Americans. Professional learning on teaching sensitive topics was described as part of the rollout, including work funded under the Teaching Diverse Histories grant and a state Social Studies Council "rapid response" resource for explaining how and why topics are taught. The materials are scheduled for a vote June 23.
School Facilities and Safety Improvement Bond proposal
The district's bond team, which Chief Finance and Operations Officer Kyle Jen introduced as the bond "dream team," presented the plan for a facilities bond headed to voters this November, with the certifying resolution scheduled for the June 23 meeting. The ballot proposal asks voters to approve borrowing not to exceed $240 million in general obligation bonds, issued in up to three series, for school safety and security, district-wide heating and cooling and playground accessibility work, instructional technology, building additions and site improvements, and school buses. The single largest building project named is the upgrade and expansion of the Midvale Early Childhood Center.
Key figures from the official ballot language
$240,000,000 borrowing limit · election November 3, 2026Debt millage expected to remain at or below 3.80 mills, a 0.00 mill increase from 2026
First-year estimated levy 0.84 mills · estimated average 1.30 mills · up to 20 years
The facilities consultant, Plante Moran Realpoint, presented a ten-year capital plan totaling about $470 million across the district's 18 buildings, which average roughly 1.96 million square feet and a 1966 build year, and explained how that plan was narrowed to the $240 million bond. For cost context, the presentation put the 2015 bond at about $33 per square foot, the 2020 bond at about $99, and the proposed 2026 bond at about $120. Most of the work was described as behind-the-walls systems, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing, along with roofs, parking lots, security technology, and the Midvale project.
The district's municipal financial advisor described the financing as extending the existing 3.8 mill debt levy rather than adding new millage, issued in three series, with the bonds structured over twenty years and assumptions of 3.75 percent taxable value growth for the first five years and 3.5 percent after. The advisor noted the district's tax base now exceeds $8 billion.
Bond counsel from Miller Canfield reviewed the ballot language and flagged one point on how the proposal is described to the public. Because the disclosure states a 0.00 mill increase, counsel cautioned against describing the bond as having no cost, since the millage would otherwise decline as old debt falls off. The accurate framing, counsel advised, is that the levy would be held flat at 3.8 mills. Administration also noted it has been pursuing state legislation to expand what bond money can pay for in the technology category, and that any change would only apply to this bond if enacted before the board certifies the ballot language. The board must submit certified ballot language to the Oakland County Clerk no later than 4:00 p.m. on August 11, 2026.
Administration also told the board it plans to begin a facility utilization study, with the committee starting to come together in August. Administration acknowledged that some of the buildings in the bond plan are under-utilized. A prior utilization study in the 2022-23 school year produced recommendations, but the district chose not to act on them because it was seeing a slight uptick in enrollment at the time, and administration said it is revisiting the question now. The stated reason for starting the committee before the November bond vote was to be "transparent" with the community that facility utilization is a topic under review. Administration noted that even if a building were taken offline, the needs at the remaining buildings would still stand, so in its view the facilities require updating regardless, and the district is seeking the bond.
FY 2026 budget amendment
Finance staff walked through the second amendment to the current-year general fund budget, now projecting about $154.4 million in revenue and $154.7 million in expenditures, with a projected fund balance at June 30 of about $15.96 million, or 10.3 percent of expenditures. The amendment includes a transfer from the general fund to resolve a prior-year deficit in the early childhood fund, and a larger transfer into the general fund from the community education fund's surplus. Adoption is scheduled for June 23.
FY 2027 budget
Staff presented the recommended budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The total budget across all funds is about $213.6 million, with a general fund of about $153 million. The general fund is projected to run a surplus of about $792,000, which staff identified as the district's first general fund surplus since FY 2020, lifting the projected fund balance to 11 percent of expenditures. The budget assumes a $250 increase in the state per-pupil foundation allowance, to $10,300, and a projected enrollment decline of 34 students to about 7,226. It does not assume any revenue from the countywide enhancement millage on the August ballot.
The budget includes a reduction of about 47 positions for roughly $4.6 million in savings, most achieved through retirements and attrition, with 9 layoffs.
Position reductions by employee group (FY 2027)
Teaching and instructional (BEA): 22.1 positions, $2,525,905Paraprofessional (BAP): 16.0 positions, $745,662
School administrator / supervisor (ABSASP): 2.0 positions, $364,604
Secretarial (BAEOP): 3.0 positions, $234,291
Central administrative / operational (NAFCONT): 3.0 positions, $316,654
The remainder of the roughly $4.6 million comes from operational savings: transportation routing and district-owned bus discounts ($253,058) and an assumed first-year energy audit savings ($120,000), plus a community education position.
Staff noted that without these and prior rightsizing steps, the structural shortfall would be about $7.4 million rather than the current $2.7 million. Among the smaller changes, the food service fund adds a dietician position and a one-dollar-per-hour wage increase. Adoption is scheduled for June 23.
Oakland County School Boards Association items
Proposed resolution. The board reviewed an OCSBA member ballot on a proposed resolution opposing the practice of tying any school funding to a waiver of attorney-client privilege. The issue stems from the state's Section 31aa school safety and mental health funding, which this year required districts that opted in to agree to waive privilege and cooperate following a mass-casualty incident. Board members noted state legislation that would remove the waiver requirement, and noted that Oakland Schools promoted the survey on this issue to the district. The OCSBA ballot is due June 26.
Proposed bylaw amendments. The board also reviewed two proposed OCSBA bylaw changes: one allowing Oakland Schools, as a dues-paying member, to appoint a director to the association board when a seat is vacant or unfilled by election, and one requiring that either the chair or vice-chair of each OCSBA committee be a member of the association board.
Coming up
The board meets next for its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 23 at the Education & Administration Center, where votes are expected on the social studies instructional materials, the resolution certifying the November bond proposal, the FY 2026 budget amendment, the FY 2027 budget, and the OCSBA resolution and bylaw ballots. On the bond timeline, certified ballot language is due to the Oakland County Clerk by August 11, with the election on November 3. The June 23 meeting is recorded, and every regular meeting and study session includes public comment.
