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Dearborn Heights School District #7 approves routine financial, legal and scheduling actions; declines to name Media News Group as newspaper of record
Summary
The board approved bank depositories, investment authority, credit-card usage rules, appointment of legal and architectural firms, committee structure and meeting dates. A separate motion to designate Media News Group as the district's paper of record failed following trustees' concerns about local relevance.
At its organizational meeting the Dearborn Heights School District #7 Board of Education approved a slate of routine administrative and financial authorizations and appointments and set its 2026 meeting and superintendent-evaluation schedules.
The board adopted a resolution naming JP Morgan Chase, Comerica Bank and the Michigan School District Liquid Asset Fund Plus (MLAF) as official depositories and set signature-authority rules for general, debt-retirement, sinking, payroll and school activity accounts. Trustees also extended authorization for the same institutions to serve as depositories for invested funds and authorized the superintendent and/or business manager to invest surplus funds consistent with board policy and Michigan school law.
The board authorized district credit/debit card usage for identified offices and departments (Bank of Montreal/PMO Mastercard; Comerica), and trustees asked for clarification about whether the word "department" implied that everyone in that department would have unlimited access; staff clarified that cards are limited and issued by a director as needed.
The board designated the superintendent and/or business manager as the district's electronic transfer officer (ETO) per board policy 6144 and authorized the superintendent/business manager to temporarily assume treasurer responsibilities in the event of a vacancy. The board retained legal counsel (Collins & Blaha PC and Miller Canfield) and selected Aiersman Architects and ID Architectural & Engineering Services as district architectural firms.
Trustee Derek Wall was appointed the board's liaison to the Michigan Association of School Boards. The board reviewed and approved four standing committees (Building & Site; Board Policy; Finance; Student Reinstatement) and deferred committee membership and chair appointments to a future meeting.
On communications, the board considered a motion to designate Media News Group as the district's official newspaper of record. Several trustees questioned whether that publisher adequately serves the district area given the dissolution of other local print outlets; the motion failed on a 3–4 roll call vote.
The board also approved a revised 2026 meeting calendar (adjusted June/July dates to avoid graduation conflicts and holidays), approved superintendent-evaluation dates for June and December 2026, and selected the Collins & Blaha PC superintendent-evaluation tool.
Votes at a glance: - Elect president (Tanya Sterlin): approved, 5–2. - Elect vice president (Leslie Windless): approved (recorded roll call shows majority). - Elect secretary (Mary Beth Belttowski): approved (roll call recorded). - Elect treasurer (Derek Wall): approved (roll call recorded). - Bank depositories resolution (Item 7): approved (roll call recorded as yes on record). - Bank investing authorization (Item 8): approved (roll call recorded). - District credit/debit card usage (Item 9): approved (roll call recorded). - Authority to invest surplus funds (Item 10): approved (roll call recorded). - Electronic transfer officer (Item 11): approved (roll call recorded). - Administrator to assume treasurer duties if vacancy (Item 12): approved (roll call recorded). - District attorneys appointment (Item 13): approved (Collins & Blaha PC; Miller Canfield). - Architectural firms appointment (Item 14): approved (Aiersman Architects; ID Architectural & Engineering Services). - MASB liaison (Item 15): Derek Wall appointed; approved. - Newspaper of record (Item 16): failed, 3–4. - Committee structure (Item 17): approved; membership to be decided at the next meeting. - 2026 meeting schedule (Item 18): approved (dates adjusted for June/July). - Superintendent evaluation timeline & tool (Items 19–20): approved (dates and tool selected).
What to watch next: the board will name committee members and chairs at a future meeting and may revisit the newspaper-of-record question if trustees identify an alternative local publication.
The meeting adjourned at 7:37 p.m.
