Walled Lake board approves technology subscriptions, literacy partnerships, equipment purchases and emergency pool repair

The Walled Lake Consolidated Schools Board of Education voted unanimously on a series of purchases, grant-funded assessments and program renewals at the meeting. Highlights:

Votes at a glance

- Microsoft 365 faculty one-year subscription: Approved, $114,750.70 (general fund). Motion made by Mr. Libet; vote 7–0.

- Google Workspace for Education Plus annual license (year 2 of 2): Approved, $54,751.50 (general fund). Motion made by Mrs. West; vote 7–0.

- MDE site-assessment contract (Safe Schools 97c program): Approved, Secure Environment Consultants to perform facility assessments districtwide, $62,000 (funded through MDE 97c grant). Motion made by Mrs. Kemp; vote 7–0. Board discussion confirmed this is a pass-through grant-funded procurement.

- Teachers College Advancing Literacy partner-school work (four elementary schools: Wixom, Oakley Park, Hickory Woods, Walled Lake Elle): Approved, $118,800 (paid from the 35j literacy grant). Motion made by Mrs. Glansky; vote 7–0. Administration said partner-school coaching will rotate to other elementaries in future years and that literacy leaders from other schools will participate in full-day training sessions.

- iReady diagnostic renewal (Curriculum Associates): Approved, $382,078.50 (general fund with state reimbursement and at-risk funding offsets). Motion made by Ms. Grafton; vote 7–0. Administration said state reimbursement is expected to offset roughly $100,000; additional offsets come from at-risk funding.

- Musical instrument purchases (multiple vendors) from 2024 bond funds: Approved, $99,488.56 (2024 bond). Motion made by Mrs. West; vote 7–0. Administration said instruments were prioritized by the music department and fund availability.

- Emergency pool boiler heat-exchanger replacement at Walled Lake Western High School: Approved emergency change order, $159,476 (2019 bond contingency). Motion made by Mrs. Kaplan; vote 7–0. Administration described the replacement as an end-of-life failure and said a provisional repair is in place until the new heat exchanger is installed.

- Head Start budget narrative and permission to pursue continuation application: Approved. Motion made by Mrs. Kaplan (mover noted in transcript); vote 7–0.

- MHSAA cooperative gymnastics team (combine Walled Lake Central, Northern, Western girls JV and varsity gymnastics for 2025–26): Approved. Motion made by Mrs. Kaplan; vote 7–0. Administration said participation has fallen at individual schools and the cooperative model preserves access.

- Board meeting date change (move December 4, 2025 regular meeting to December 18, 2025): Approved; vote 7–0.

Why it matters

The approvals preserve district access to commercially supplied curriculum, assessment and productivity software; bring a state-funded safety assessment to athletic and event facilities; maintain literacy coaching for select elementary schools; fund instrument replacement in music programs; and authorize an emergency repair to a high-school pool that district staff said was no longer serviceable. Several purchases were paid from the general fund; others used state or bond funding.

Details and next steps

Administration said partner-school literacy coaching will continue to be rotated among schools and that literacy leaders from non-host schools will attend training days. For iReady, administration noted the product is an adaptive benchmark and diagnostic tool used k–8 and that the district expects partial reimbursement from state funds and at-risk allocations. For the pool repair the administration said vendors estimate weeks to months for full replacement but that a temporary heating workaround is in place.

All recorded votes listed above were unanimous (7–0) according to the meeting transcript.