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Superintendent warns sudden federal cut ends districtwide nurse; parents press board on adaptive programs and equity in athletics
Summary
Dr. Roberson told the board a federal COVID‑era grant for a district nurse was cut retroactively with 48 hours' notice; public commenters urged transparency on junior‑kindergarten enrollment and pressed the district to expand adaptive extracurriculars for special education students and to address a discrimination complaint at Groves High School.
During her superintendent’s report, Dr. Roberson informed the Birmingham Board of Education that federal funding for a district‑wide nurse was cut retroactively. "We received a memo dated April 2 saying that federal funding would be cut for our nurse effective March 24... The last day we would receive funding was April 4, so a 48 hour notice," she said, and added Oakland County ISD has temporarily paid for the nurse through the end of the month.
Roberson characterized the cut as a decision from the Department of Health and Human Services tied to funding that began during the COVID pandemic; she said the district’s concern was the retroactive timing and the district’s limited ability to plan during the current budget year.
Roberson also briefed the board on a state request for a DEI certification letter and subsequent clarification: the state extended the deadline for districts; Michigan’s Department of Education said it would not sign an additional letter because existing assurances were in place.
Public comment included two sustained appeals about services for students with disabilities and one parent complaint regarding a high school athletic program.
Ann Roberts asked for transparency on junior‑kindergarten capacity at Greenfield: she requested numbers on how many Greenfield children are currently enrolled in junior kindergarten, the district wait list totals, and thresholds for when an aide is required in a junior‑kindergarten classroom.
Stephanie L. Jones, a special‑education parent and organizer of the advocacy group ItCan'tBeZero, said district extracurricular offerings for special‑needs students were effectively absent this year. “In 2024–25 winter break, 0. 2025 mid winter break, 0. 2025 spring break, 0. Out of 180 camps offered this coming summer, there's 1 adaptive course,” she told trustees, and added, “The money is there. The money is here.” Jones said parents brought vendor lists and survey data and urged the district to provide adaptive programming.
A Groves High School parent (first‑time commenter) described an ongoing complaint alleging racial bias and retaliation in the boys’ varsity basketball program. The parent said she followed school protocols and sought responses from administrators without timely follow‑up. “I expressed that I felt like it was discrimination... he cut him from the team,” she told trustees and asked for the district to investigate and follow up with parents.
Board members acknowledged the comments. Dr. Roberson said the special education team will present more information on adaptive classes and community education offerings at a future meeting when special education leadership appears; she also said the district would follow up on public‑comment complaints according to district procedures.
Separately, a public commenter and district advisory member warned the board that federal IMLS funding that supports Michigan’s MELCAT/mel.org databases is at risk. “We're looking at $4,000,000 that we are trying to find in our state funding to make up the loss of federal funds ... We would know by September 30 if the state of Michigan is fully funding mel.org and Melcat,” she said and encouraged contacting legislators.
