Clarkston board approves personnel and construction items, moves into closed session on bargaining

The Clarkston Community School District Board of Education approved a series of routine personnel and procurement motions at its Jan. 12 meeting, then moved into closed session to discuss collective bargaining.

A motion to approve the consent agenda passed by voice vote. The board then approved personnel changes submitted as attachments to the agenda; during discussion board member Mister McNaught questioned an apparent FTE subtotaling error in the personnel attachment, and district staff (Mister Lucido) agreed the reporting box is unused and can be removed. The personnel motion passed by voice vote.

The board approved a construction change order for Clarkston High School described in the motion as a contract with 'FedEx Corporation' in the attached schedule for $3,750,049, plus a 7.5% construction contingency of $281,198, for a stated total of $4,030,398. The motion carried by voice vote.

The board also approved a furniture purchase described as part of a shared-services agreement with another school; district staff said those agreements are negotiated on a per-contract basis and that the furniture purchase is included in that arrangement. The motion carried by voice vote.

On a separate motion to authorize Clarkson Transportation Building Improvements contracts, the motion text in the meeting cited a contracts subtotal of $1,235,889 and a 7.5% contingency of $92,692 but also gave a conflicting 'total of $11,328,581' in the same motion text. Staff explained part of the bid was moved forward to meet lead-time constraints and that remaining bids will return for approval on Feb. 9. The board approved the motion by voice vote.

Before adjourning to closed session for collective bargaining, the presiding officer said, 'We do expect no action during the closed session or after the closed session.' The motion to move into closed session was decided by roll-call; members recorded in the transcript voting yes were Missus Degan, Missus McGinnis, Mister Hyer, Missus Love, Mister Clark, Mister Need and Missus Crane (roll-call yielded eight recorded yes responses). The board then went into closed session.

What happens next: district staff said several remaining bids and financial workshop items related to the Transportation Building Improvements will be brought to an upcoming workshop meeting on Feb. 9 and the board will reconvene for scheduled meetings on Jan. 26 (workshop at Independence Elementary) and Feb. 9 (regular meeting).

Votes at a glance - Consent agenda: approved (voice vote; tally not recorded in minutes). - Personnel changes (Item 6.1): approved (voice vote). - Superintendent/administration evaluation acknowledgment (Item 6.2): approved (voice vote). - Clarkston High School construction change order (Item 6.3): approved; motion listed contract $3,750,049 + $281,198 contingency (total $4,030,398) (voice vote). - Furniture purchase (Item 6.4): approved (voice vote). - Transportation Building Improvements (Item 6.5): approved (voice vote); motion text contains conflicting totals—see article text. - Motion to move to closed session for collective bargaining: approved by roll-call (recorded yes votes in transcript: Missus Degan; Missus McGinnis; Mister Hyer; Missus Love; Mister Clark; Mister Need; Missus Crane; additional yes — eight yes recorded).

Context and caveats Members repeatedly used voice votes for motions; the minutes record 'Aye' and 'Motion carries' rather than numerical tallies for most items. Several numeric and naming inconsistencies appear in the meeting record: the CHS contract was identified in the motion as 'FedEx Corporation' (as written in the attached schedule in the motion), and the Transportation Building Improvements motion text included two differing totals ($1,235,889 and $11,328,581). The district will need to clarify the vendor naming and the correct contract totals in post-meeting materials or agenda attachments.

Quoted - On moving to closed session: the presiding officer said, 'We do expect no action during the closed session or after the closed session.' (Unidentified speaker, presiding officer).