The Lowell Area Schools Board of Education met Monday for their monthly work session. All board members were present for the meeting.
Public Comments
Ostensibly in response to comments by citizens and board members at the last board meeting, Schools of Choice parent Stefanie Boone said that as a “concerned citizen” who has been speaking monthly at board meetings for the past four years, she has been “…vilified, doxxed by board members, publicly shamed and harassed…” She went on to say directly to the board, “…you hide from your duty to the public, and you use your board meetings to play politics and stand on your proverbial soapboxes with little to no facts to back the claims you make.”
Boone said she still had concerns that “…Lowell Area Schools is harboring adult-rated books…” and asked for transparency, saying, “…give us a list, put (the books) in a section in the library, and let the parents be in charge.”
The Lowell Area Schools library policy notes parents of students are always able to limit what types of books they want their child to read by reaching out to District Librarian Christine Beachler.
Next to speak was a Lowell High School student who started her public comments by stating that she did not wish to be recorded or for anyone to take her picture or use her name on social media. Boone, who frequently records meetings on her phone, picked up her phone and pointed it at the student.
At this point, the student’s mother spoke out from the audience and requested that Boone turn off her phone and not record her minor daughter. Boone continued to record, saying that because it was a public meeting, she had the right to do so. Boone said “out of respect” she would face her phone down and added that “this is a great lesson.” Boone later posted the video on social media.
Retired LAS teacher Kim Lum said that April is National Poetry Month, and read the poem “On Children” by Kahlil Gibran. Lum said she felt the poem pertained to “…what public education is about, and it’s about what being a parent is about, too.” After reading the poem, she urged the board to “…continue educating all children in Lowell. Continue providing opportunities for all children to find themselves in our schools.”
Kent ISD Enhancement Millage Presentation
Superintendent of Kent Intermediate School District, Ron Gorman, was at Monday’s meeting to present some information to the board about a proposed upcoming millage renewal for all of the schools in the KISD.
Gorman said that a similar enhancement millage was passed in 2017 for .9 mills and is set to expire at the end of the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The new proposed enhancement millage would generate about $1 million per year for LAS and other schools districts in the county, and the ask to voters would be for the same amount (.9 mills). Gorman explained that since the last millage in 2017, legislative changes mean that charter schools in Kent County will now also receive a part of the funds raised.
This year, the enhancement millage renewal will include a Headlee rollback and override. A Headlee rollback occurs when the tax rate grows faster than inflation. Even though the proposed millage for 2026-27 is asking for the same amount with no increase to voters, because the tax rate grew faster than inflation, the ballot will include the renewal amount of .8578 mills plus a Headlee override for .0422 mills, for a grand total of the same .9 mills.
Last year, the millage funds were used for initiatives like adding extra kindergarten classes in the district to ensure smaller class sizes, hiring and implementing literacy coaches and enhancing the district’s technology, such as the purchase of enough Chromebooks for all Lowell students.
If approved, the renewal would be included on the November 2025 ballot for a vote. The board will need to approve the millage proposal in April or May for it to be included on the ballot.
Academic Achievement
A three-part series of parent education meetings was offered in the Lowell Middle School media center. Parents participating in the series heard speakers present information about online safety and its ramifications for minors in the first session and then coping with anxiety in elementary age students at the second session. The last session in the series occurred on Wednesday and was intended to help parents navigate worry and anxiety in teens.
Testing season for the majority of students in the district will begin after spring break and will include tests like MAP and Acadience testing, M-Step and the PSAT.
March is National Reading Month and activities centered around reading will soon give way to fun math activities for Math Awareness Month in April, which is organized by Math Coordinator Carmen Tawney.
Facilities and Operations
Bids were opened last week for summer projects, including the replacement of the Wittenbach Wege Center’s roof and also of Murray Lake Elementary’s carpeting. At the April meeting, more information will be given to the board about the bids received. A vote to approve funds for the projects is expected at that time.
Personnel
In February, the Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA) was passed, establishing changes to Michigan’s earned sick time laws. Currently, any applicable board policies are being updated to reflect those changes, and the human resources department is communicating with district employees who are not part of a collective bargaining agreement to inform them of the changes and what it may mean for them.
Job postings will start to go out in the next few months to plan for any open positions in the upcoming school year.
Finance: Federal Funding Breakdown
District Chief Financial Officer Sonia Hodge said that because of discussions in Washington D.C. about possible funding cuts, the finance department is taking a “prepare, not panic” approach. The finance department is taking the threat of losses in federal funding seriously and ensuring preparedness so that if and when any changes occur, the district will be ready.
Federal funding LAS receives includes funding for Titles I, II, III and IV, with money going toward: low-income students and students who are struggling academically, professional learning for educators and ensuring teachers can effectively teach children with disabilities, support for students learning English, student grants and work-study programs. One of the largest funds that the district receives, about $800,000, is for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to help fund special education programming.
LAS also receives federal funds from the Health Resource Advocate Program grant, which funds district nurses, and through Medicaid, with special education staff submitting claims to Medicaid for services provided for reimbursement.
The total federal funding the district will receive this year is projected to be $1,673,548. Hodge said this is a significant part of the district’s budget and contains funds that go towards some of the district’s most vulnerable students.
Hodge added that if there were to be cuts to federal funding, the most immediate impact would be to school nutrition funding because that is ongoing and current funding, whereas some of the other funding lags a year behind. In other words, what LAS is receiving this year was approved last year. For those funds, the impact of cuts wouldn’t be felt until the following school year, and the district would have some time to plan for that.
Policies
Numerous proposed changes to board policies were reviewed and discussed by the board, including policies regarding how technical errors can be amended in policies, handling leaves of absence, district field trips, exemptions to immunizations, medications at school for students, student mental health, and food services. The board will review these proposed changes several times and discuss before taking a vote to accept them into board policy.
The board also discussed looking at board policy regarding public comments at board meetings and whether there are any changes they’d like to see. Among the issues raised was that of minors speaking in public comment and if there is any wording about whether they or their parents can choose for them to be exempt from any recordings.
Marsha Wilcox Award
The board is considering two candidates for the Marsha Wilcox Award, an award given annually to someone who goes above and beyond to not only support public education in Lowell but supports the greater community as well. The board plans to have some more discussion about the two possible candidates and whether they would choose to give the award to one of those candidates, to both candidates, or if there are any new contenders that members think should be considered.
The board went into closed session for negotiations at 7:05 pm. The next board meeting will be held on Monday, April 14, at 7 pm in the administration building, and the public is welcome to attend.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated at 8:27am on March 28, 2025, to correct the expected date of the KISD millage request. It is expected to be on the November 2025 ballot, not the 2026 ballot as initially reported.
Why do I suspect that all of this unhinged vitriol from our own Harper Valley PTA, over Stephanie Boone, can be traced back to when she called out the pocket tyrants for their draconian policies over the Whu Flu?
Kim Lum is wasting time almost as bad as Stephanie Boone. No reason for public comment to include reading of a poem. Stay home and enjoy your retirement or seek counseling.
Restrict public comment if need be or show true leadership and engage Boone in a public forum.
Kim Lum is a longtime elementary teacher who cares so much about children that she still attends the Board meetings of the district she spent her entire 40-year career in, nurturing generations of our children. And you came here just to insult her? And call yourself “The Catholic?” Now you have wasted MY time. How about you have some respect?