Oak Park board approves interior school upgrades, band trip and CPAC appointments

The Oak Park Board of Education on Nov. 10 voted unanimously to move forward on several routine but material items, approving architecture contracts for interior improvements at Einstein and Pepper elementary schools, authorizing an Oak Park High School band trip to Memphis and appointing two parents to the Oakland County Special Education Parent Advisory Committee.

Trustees approved a design-and-construction-administration engagement with Partners in Architecture PLC for interior work at Einstein Elementary, including new flooring, ceilings, lighting and emergency exit lighting, at an estimated design fee of $31,800–$34,300 to be funded from the district sinking fund. Board members discussed that additional reimbursable expenses — for example, large-format presentation materials or extra renderings — would be billed separately and would require district approval before payment. “They would send an invoice. So we would have to approve that before they start that work,” a district presenter said when trustees asked how reimbursables would be handled.

The board also approved a combined engagement with Partners in Architecture for interior improvements at Einstein and Pepper schools at a total not-to-exceed amount of $68,600, and authorized the superintendent or designee to execute the necessary agreements. A trustee asked whether the district solicited other bidders; staff said the work is a professional service not subject to competitive bidding and that the firm has been used previously.

On student activities, the board approved an overnight out-of-state band trip for Oak Park High School to a competition in Memphis, Tennessee, Nov. 22–25, 2025. The Office of Teaching and Learning described the trip as a showcase that could provide scholarship and college-exposure opportunities. “Be it resolved that the Board of Education approves the Oak Park High School band trip as presented,” a representative of the office read into the record. The board discussed cost-sharing and was told students are being assessed $250 each and that the district will work to assist students with financial need and confirm chaperone arrangements before the trip.

Trustees also approved appointments of Kendra Hughes and Tiara Gibbs to the Oakland County Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (CPAC), which staff described as an advisory body that meets monthly to share resources and provide recommendations to districts about special-education planning and services.

The board reviewed these items in a single session and took roll-call votes for each motion; all recorded votes on these agenda items were affirmative. The board recessed at the end of the business agenda to hold a scheduled workshop.