Trustees at a special meeting used a formal protocol to review proposed 2025‑26 budget reductions and asked administrators to prepare a draft budget for board review on June 9.

Superintendent Hood and Executive Director Lentz presented a spreadsheet of proposed reductions and a consensus protocol. Trustees ranked each item as level 1 (ready for reduction), level 2 or level 3. Administration identified items where a majority (4+) of trustees already rated an item as a level 1 and highlighted those with narrower margins for discussion.

Following discussion and straw tallies, the board instructed staff to include in the June 9 draft those items that reached a majority of “level‑1” tallies (five or more trustees). Items the board directed administration to include in the draft budget were:

- Reduce one student information system coordinator (straw tally: majority level‑1)
- Eliminate the learning disabled teacher consultant position at Okemos High School (straw tally: majority level‑1)
- Reduce funded extracurricular clubs to a district target (1 club/elementary, 2/middle, 10/high; straw tally: majority level‑1)
- Reduce library media center specialist hours by 1 hour per day (straw tally: majority level‑1)
- Discontinue the district’s beginner‑garden program for next year (administration provided a revised, lower savings estimate after accounting for required classroom aides and enrollment impacts; straw tally: majority level‑1)
- Eliminate one counseling clerk position at Okemos High School (revote of straw tally passed at level‑1)

Administrators said some proposed line‑item savings are estimates and could change after more analysis; for example, moving beginner‑garden students back into kindergarten may require additional classroom aides or, in a worst‑case scenario, an added kindergarten classroom that would reduce or erase the projected savings.

Trustees deferred final action on three higher‑impact staffing items: delaying the hire of one MTSS coach, eliminating the gifted‑and‑talented coordinator, and delaying hiring a high‑school counselor. The board used consensus checks and discussion and asked administration to return with implementation details, alternative options, and updated cost estimates before the June 9 presentation.

On several agenda items earlier in the meeting the board took formal roll‑call votes: it voted 7‑0 to move into executive session under the Open Meetings Act, approved the 2024‑25 amended budget 7‑0, and adopted the Ingham ISD budget resolution 5‑2. The board also designated representation to the Ingham ISD electoral body, 7‑0.

Trustees emphasized that many of the cuts would not affect services required by written IEPs and that staff would prioritize legally required services. Administration said certain contingency costs (for example, contracting with the ISD for specialist support) are possible and must be accounted for in the final draft. The board will reconvene June 9 for the draft presentation and is scheduled to vote on adoption on June 16.

The board asked executive leadership to supply more detailed estimates on substitute‑day usage and the effects of family medical leave on past substitute counts; staff estimated a single proposed reduction (500 substitute days) could save about $74,100 but asked for a more rigorous analysis before finalizing that line item.