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Votes at a glance: PCCS board adopts organizational officers, bylaws, contracts and appointments (July 15, 2025)
Summary
Plymouth-Canton Community Schools’ Board of Education completed its annual organizational business on July 15, electing officers and approving bylaws, banking and legal appointments and routine administrative resolutions by unanimous votes.
The Plymouth-Canton Community Schools Board of Education approved several organizational motions and routine resolutions during its July 15 meeting. All recorded votes shown below passed unanimously (6-0).
Summary of votes and key details
- Adoption of organizational meeting agenda — Motion to adopt the agenda for the organizational meeting (mover: Patrick Kehoe; second: Jennifer Voss). Motion carries, 6-0.
- Officer elections for 2025–26 school year — The board elected its officers by voice vote with the following outcomes: Lauren Christiansen elected board president (nominated by Patrick Kehoe; voice vote carries 6-0); vice president (motion and vote carried 6-0, nomination from the floor); Judy Westra elected board secretary (nominated by Patrick Kehoe; voice vote carries 6-0); Patrick Kehoe elected treasurer (motion carried 6-0).
- Bylaws 0164.1 and 0164.2 (time, place and notification of meetings) — Moved by Patrick Kehoe, seconded by Cheryl Picard; motion to adopt bylaws 0164.1 and 0164.2 carries 6-0. The bylaws specify regular board meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, with exceptions noted (one meeting in July — 07/15/2025 — and one in December — 12/09/2025) beginning at 7 p.m. at the EJ McClendon Educational Center, 454 South Harvey St., Plymouth, MI.
- Direct executive assistant to advertise adopted bylaws (Detroit Newspaper Agency newspapers) — Moved by Patrick Kehoe, seconded by Cheryl Picard; motion carries 6-0.
- Authorize signatures for school district business — Motion to adopt authorized signature authorities for various document types (administrator contracts, teacher contracts, motor vehicle titles, land contracts, deeds, leases/easements, deposits/investments, vendor contracts). Moved by Patrick Kehoe, seconded by Jennifer Voss; motion carries 6-0.
- Naming depositories and investment authorization under Section 1223 of the Michigan School Code of 1976 — Moved by Patrick Kehoe, seconded by Judy Westra; motion carries 6-0. Named institutions included Community Financial Credit Union; Flagstar Bank; Huntington National Bank; JPMorgan Chase Bank and NA; Michigan Liquid Asset Fund Plus; PNC Bank and PNC Capital Markets LLC; Public Trust Advisors LLC; Bank of New York Mellon Trust NA; U.S. Bank NA; UMB Bank NA; and related investing authorities. The board also required a blanket position bond for all district employees in the amount of $100,000, cost to be paid by the district.
- Naming general counsel — Motion to appoint Collins & Blaha Law Firm, P.C., as general counsel for 2025–26. Moved by Patrick Kehoe, seconded by Judy Westra; motion carries 6-0.
- Naming other specific legal counsel as appointed by the board — Approved identifying Clark Hill PLC; Lacey & Jones LLP; Lapointe & Associates P.C.; Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone PLC; Thrun Law Firm P.C. as firms the board may appoint as needed. Moved by Patrick Kehoe, seconded by Cheryl Picard; motion carries 6-0.
- Appoint school district auditor — Motion to appoint Plante Moran, LLC as district auditors for 2025–26. Moved by Patrick Kehoe, seconded by Jennifer Voss; motion carries 6-0.
- Appoint bond financial advisor — Motion to appoint PFM Financial Advisors LLC as the district’s bond financial advisor for 2025–26. Moved by Patrick Kehoe, seconded by Cheryl Picard; motion carries 6-0.
- Designate routine advertisement channels — Motion to designate Detroit Newspaper Agency (or Michigan Chronicle) for routine advertisements (budget hearings, invitations for bids, RFPs) and The Bond Buyer/Detroit Legal News for bond-related notices; motion moved by Patrick Kehoe, seconded by Cheryl Picard; motion carries 6-0.
- Adoption of agenda and approval of the consent agenda (action item 260701) — Motion to adopt the agenda and approve the consent agenda (includes human-resources transactions and meeting minutes) moved by Patrick Kehoe, seconded by Judy Westra; motion carries 6-0.
- Approval of resolution for crossing guard services agreement (action item 260702) — See separate article for full discussion; motion carried 6-0.
- Approval of PSAP pilot furniture purchase (action item 260703) — Final reading; motion moved by Patrick Kehoe, seconded by Judy Westra; motion carries 6-0.
Context and notes
These organizational items reflect routine governance housekeeping that the board completes each year at its organizational meeting: officers, bylaws defining meeting times and notices, designation of financial institutions and legal advisors, and authority for signature and procurement processes. Several items included citations to the Michigan School Code (investments authorized under section 1223) and specified the EJ McClendon Educational Center as the default meeting location unless otherwise directed by majority vote.
The board handled several items as first-and-final readings to allow administrative contracts and procurement actions to proceed before the start of the school year. Where the record included detailed figures (for example, bank and vendor lists or bond-authorization designations), those are reported here as read into the record by district staff.
