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Lowell board approves $486,877 K–5 Open Court Reading adoption after pilot review
Summary
The Lowell Board of Education voted to purchase the Open Court Reading K–5 English language arts curriculum for $486,876.71 after a multi‑year pilot and state grant funding; a public commenter raised concerns about McGraw Hill materials and the district's gender support plan.
The Lowell Board of Education on Feb. 10 approved the purchase of the Open Court Reading K–5 English language arts curriculum for $486,876.71, using state grant funds to cover most of the cost and about $23,000 from the district's general fund.
Board member Patrick moved to adopt the recommendation and Jim provided the support; the board approved the purchase by voice vote.
District staff and pilot teachers said the decision followed an extensive pilot and review process. "We even got into the quantities of certain things, to really, from a teacher's perspective, understand what it was that they were using and what worked for them," said Dan, district staff, summarizing the pilot work and budget comparisons.
Why it matters: the adoption aligns the district with Michigan's recent emphasis on the "science of reading" and qualifies the district for a related state grant that subsidizes most material costs. Dan told the board a competing product piloted by teachers, Amplify's CKLA, produced a five‑year quote of about $558,000 and that Open Court's proposal covers six years, making Open Court the lower‑cost option for the district.
Teachers who piloted the curriculum and district staff described how the materials and accompanying online platform would be deployed. "We did apply for and receive a grant through the state, which would pay for all but about $23,000 of that amount," Dan said.
Public comment referenced the vendor. Stephanie Boone, a resident who identified her address, urged caution before the board spent nearly a half‑million dollars on McGraw Hill content and said she found references to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on McGraw Hill materials. She also said she had previously raised concerns about the district's gender support plan and said she would file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights if the district did not respond in writing within 24 hours. Boone framed her remarks as a request for clarification and did not present a district policy change; the district did not take immediate action in response to that public comment during the meeting.
District leaders reminded the board the adoption process included 18 pilot teachers and multiple internal reviews. "A big thank you really to all 18 of our pilot teachers," Dan said. Trustees also noted the district must comply with state requirements tied to the grant and the science of reading standards.
The board discussed implementation logistics: materials and consumables are to be purchased up front, delivered by September 2025, and some consumables will be auto‑shipped in later years; the purchase includes online licenses for the platform for the contract term.
The board did not set any additional conditions in its motion; implementation, staff training and rollout were described as next steps to occur through spring and summer professional development.
Notes: The board's voice vote was recorded as "motion carries." The transcript does not include a roll‑call tally of individual yes/no votes.
