Board actions: school‑of‑choice expansion approved; roofing, consent items and closed session also passed

The L'Anse Creuse Public Schools Board of Education took several formal votes on Jan. 27 that advanced district programs and authorized routine business. Key actions and outcomes are below.

Votes at a glance

1) Approval of the Jan. 27 agenda — Motion by Shane Sellers; second by Al Doss; outcome: approved (voice vote). No dissent was recorded on the agenda approval.

2) Consent agenda — Motion and roll call approval (motion moved and supported during the meeting); outcome: approved (voice/roll call indicated as carried).

3) School of Choice participation — Motion by Al Doss, support by Sharon Ross. The motion approved continued participation in the Michigan School of Choice program with these seat limits: elementary K–5 unlimited; middle school grades 6–8 unlimited; limited for high school grades 9–10 at 40 seats total; and limited, criterion‑based seats for performing arts/other programs (10 seats per specified grade as read into the record). Outcome: approved (tally reported as 6–1). Board discussion included a note from a trustee that school‑of‑choice students had a higher suspension rate in the referenced year than in‑district students.

4) Graham and L'Anse Creuse High School North roofing projects — Motion by Shane Sellers; support by Sharon Ross. Outcome: approved (voice vote). Board comments noted roofing is a major bond‑funded item and thanked community voters for supporting the bond.

5) Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) membership — Motion by Al Doss; support by John De Villa. After extended discussion the motion passed by roll call, 4–3. The debate included disagreement about MASB's national affiliations, value to the board and cost (membership amount cited during discussion as approximately $10,200). Several trustees spoke in favor of membership for training, networking and advocacy; others opposed based on cost and concerns about national associations' actions and positions.

6) Enter closed session — Motion by Al Doss; support by Sharon Ross. The board voted by roll call to enter closed session pursuant to the Open Meetings Act (negotiations/strategy, OMA §8(1)(c)). Vote: unanimous (7–0) to convene closed session. The board later voted to return to open session at 10:16 p.m.

How this was recorded in the meeting record

- Motions and seconder names are recorded in the official meeting minutes and were read into the record during roll calls and item motions. - When a full roll call took place, the clerk recorded individual yes/no votes; when the transcript recorded only tallies or a voice vote, the meeting minutes reflect the official outcome as announced by the chair.

What the board instructed staff to do

- For the school‑of‑choice approval, administration was authorized to continue participation and to execute the specified seat allocations. - For roofing and bond items, staff were cleared to proceed with procurement steps subject to bid results and fund availability.

Notes and limits of this summary

- Vote tallies are reported as stated on the record. Where the transcript recorded only a roll‑call result in summary form (tally) rather than a fully spelled‑out recorded list of each member's vote, this summary uses the reported tallies and the motion/second attribution that appears in the official record. If the meeting minutes provide different roll‑call mappings of individual votes, the official minutes control.