Meeting Notes: December 8, 2025

Pool Options Presented, Strategic Planning, New Business Services Director Announced

Hello!

Let me introduce myself. My name is Anthony Alaniz, and I’ll be stewarding Educate Tecumseh. I’ve lived here for most of my life, and professionally, I’m a journalist reporting on the automotive industry. I’m a fierce advocate for government transparency and accountability, and I take tremendous joy in digging through documents, filing FOIA requests, and highlighting important aspects of how our government works.

But enough about that—here’s what you really came for: a Gemini AI summary of the Monday, December 8, 2025, Tecumseh Public Schools board meeting. Board members heard three potential options for the community pool, with the cost to fix the current building estimated at $15 million.

You can read an in-depth recap of the presentation and discussion on my personal website.

1. Good News and Introductions

• Holiday Concerts The Superintendent shared information about the upcoming holiday concert series featuring the orchestras, choirs, and bands [01:42].

• New Staff Darci Francoeur was introduced as the district’s new Director of Business Services [02:22].

• Fall Sports Report The Athletic Director reported on the fall season, noting strong academic performance with an overall student GPA of 3.38 (High School) and 3.42 (Middle School) [04:51]. Key achievements included:

  • Football, volleyball, and girls’ golf teams earning Academic All-State status [05:13].

  • A total of 356 student-athletes participating in the fall season [05:24].

  • Volleyball winning an SEC, District, and Regional Championship. Coach Morgan Scoutton was named Regional, County, and back-to-back SEC Coach of the Year [05:39].

2. Community Pool Discussion and Options

Two community members spoke during public comment to express support for the swim program and the need for a community pool, urging the board to be creative in finding solutions like partnering with other organizations [08:57].

The administration presented three high-level concept options for the community pool after a structural report indicated the current building should remain closed due to degradation:

Option 1: [39:42], Option 2: [44:16], Option 3: [50:04]

The board agreed that options requiring new construction would require significant community engagement and buy-in for new financing due to the substantial costs [01:00:25].

3. Action Items and Votes

The board took action on the following items:

• Section 31A Funding (Attorney-Client Privilege Waiver): The board ratified the Superintendent’s conditional opt-in to secure 31A funds (for school safety and mental health). The resolution directs the Superintendent to rescind the application if the courts rule unfavorably and the requirement to waive attorney-client privilege in the event of a mass casualty remains in effect past the December 30th deadline [01:14:48].

• MASB Strategic Planning Proposal: The board approved the $10,000 proposal to hire the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) to conduct a 3-4 month strategic planning process [01:15:15].

• Donation Accepted: The board accepted a $1,000 donation from Midwest Energy and Communications (MEC) to the high school esports team [01:15:41].

• Superintendent Evaluation: Following a closed session, the board voted to approve the Superintendent’s evaluation with a rating of Effective [01:20:13], which was noted as the highest rating possible under the updated MASB scoring system [01:20:56].

4. Board Member Comments

• Board members discussed the need for clear communication to students and parents regarding the various pathways to earn early college credit (such as dual enrollment, middle college, and CTE programs) [01:22:15].

• The outgoing Board President recommended that the board move quickly to discuss and approve a three-year contract extension for Superintendent Matt Hilton, starting in July 2026, along with a competitive salary increase, citing the shortage of strong leaders and the Superintendent’s exceptional performance [01:25:40].

Data, Documents, and FOIA Requests

If you haven’t noticed, the Tecumseh school district does not share board packets with the public. This makes accessing information difficult and costly, effectively putting public information behind a paywall.

In the past, I’ve filed FOIA requests with the district (not for the packets, but other things) that have cost up to $2,700. That’s well beyond my resources, but I wanted to share the hurdles to reporting clear, concise information about the district and the potential slowness in sharing relevant information.

If it did share board packets, the public would likely already have copies of the pool presentation, and so much more.

I’m setting up a Proton email account for encrypted communications and plan to create a Signal account soon. In the meantime, if you have information or tips to share, you can email me at contact@anthonyalaniz.com.

And finally, thank you for sticking around through this transition—I hope I can fill the shoes left by Jacob.

More to come.

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