Livonia Public Schools seeks continued cooperative agreements for Career Tech Center and transition program

The Livonia Public Schools curriculum committee reviewed the district's annual 2025-26 cooperative agreements, recommending continued authorization for neighboring districts and private schools to send students to the Livonia Career Technical Center and the Livonia Transition Program.

Committee chair Mrs. Acosta said the agreements are "an authorization to have a partnership with local or neighboring school districts or schools, students who may come from those school districts or schools to our facilities," noting the agreements are an annual practice. Mr. Etoo reported the Career Technical Center typically enrolls about 30 non-Livonia students but that number has fallen as more Livonia students select Career Center programs. "We're projecting about 20 students for next year outside Livonia Public Schools, servicing 4 different school districts or schools at this point in time," he said.

The board also heard an extended report on the Livonia Transition Program for students aged 18 to 26 who completed a certificate-of-completion pathway. Program lead Miss Sprow called the program a "real point of pride for Livonia Public Schools," saying staff focus on work skills, independence and community involvement. She reported 33 Livonia students currently enrolled and 28 cooperative agreements with partner programs and employers. "When we open it up as a cooperative agreement, when we have a larger program we're able to offer more opportunities that really individually meet students' needs," she said.

Miss Sprow described employer partnerships and work sites added in the past 18 months including Laurel Park, Olga's, Marriott, Garfield Co-op Preschool (returned to Garfield Community School), Oratex (an auto-supplier doing plastic injection manufacturing), Catherine Drew Salon, Victory Toyota in Canton and Victory Honda in Plymouth. She said the program has 17 current job sites and about 17 additional potential sites on a "back burner" list. She also said the transition program operates partly at Schoolcraft College, where three classrooms are located and students use a district shuttle to community job sites.

Board members pressed for transparency and community recognition: Mrs. Jarvis asked Miss Sprow to provide and post a current list of community partners on the district website so the district can "thank them and support them." Miss Sprow said the district provides plaques or signs to business partners and would circulate the list. Mrs. Burton clarified transportation and site logistics, and Miss Sprow confirmed all students start the morning at Schoolcraft and then may remain or use the shuttle to community partners.

The committee requested the cooperative agreements be placed on the consent agenda for the regular board meeting next week for final action.

Clarifying details included a district explanation of an $8,000 additional transfer associated with the transition program; Miss Smith, the district finance staff referenced in the meeting, said the amount is intended to offset higher per-student costs from small class sizes, higher paraprofessional staffing, rent and transportation costs rather than being a straight pass-through of a state per-student line item. The committee also noted the presence of private institutions on cooperative lists (Plymouth Christian Academy), which the district said occurs when private schools request access to services they cannot provide on their own.

The committee did not vote on the cooperative agreements during the study session; staff said the item will appear on the regular meeting consent agenda for board approval next week.