Meeting Notes: November 10, 2025

Members Absent: none

AI Used: Entire meeting notes portion summarized by Grok

***Note***

Apologies for the video quality on the livestream. I couldn’t get closer to the speakers as last time I tried, I was told to get back. If you’re wondering why it was so quiet, it was quiet for me too. It’s like they don’t even have the speakers turned on. I also didn’t realize viewers needed the substack app to view the stream. Next time, I’ll use our YouTube channel so you won’t need an app or subscription.

Critical Summary of Tecumseh Public Schools Board Meeting (written by Grok)

The meeting opened with Superintendent Hilton’s saccharine “good news” segment, lavishing praise on counselor Deb Fallowell for a community award, middle schoolers raking leaves or cleaning veteran headstones in Kiwanis partnerships, and seventh-graders’ music compositions under consideration for a January conference. While these feel-good anecdotes aim to showcase “Community Pride in Action,” they smack of curated PR fluff.

Public comment exposed raw frustration: Anthony Alaniz eviscerated the board for opacity around a prior closed-session controversy, accusing them of starting rumors through evasive summaries, silencing Trustee McGee (the lone voice pushing transparency), and forcing bloggers to do the district’s accountability work. His demand for press-table seating underscored a credibility crisis—valid questions linger unanswered, with the board’s non-response (per Open Meetings Act) coming off as dismissive arrogance rather than procedural neutrality.

Agenda approval was perfunctory, leading to the curriculum committee’s push for a new AP Research course to complement existing AP Seminar, enabling an AP Capstone Diploma. Presenter Rebecca Keebler highlighted its prestige (only ~0.1% of U.S. students earn it), zero added costs (she’s already certified), and high pass rates (~87%). Board discussion lauded teacher-driven initiatives and diverse pathways (AP for elite-bound kids, dual enrollment/CTE for practical ones), but skepticism abounds: Is this truly cost-neutral amid budget woes, or another elective shuffling resources from core needs? Promoting it for trades/engineering feels like lip service—colleges may “stand out” resumes, but credit acceptance varies, and gauging interest from just 20+ students risks low enrollment justifying the hype.

The MASB strategic planning proposal ($10,000 for facilitated stakeholder input, data analysis, and retreat) drew mixed reactions. Proponents cited past success in boiling community input into actionable goals; detractors questioned the expense given financial strain, suggesting in-house facilitation by experienced board members. At ~$2,500/year over four years, it’s defensible for unbiased process, but reeks of consultancy bloat—why pay outsiders when internal expertise exists, especially as fund balance teeters?

Herrick Park property offer ($125,000 from Family Counseling for a domestic violence shelter) sparked enthusiasm for its social good (safe housing, community loyalty cycles) but exposed negotiation weaknesses: a 365-day due diligence window risks tying up the asset (appraised at $340,000 but with teardown caveats), with buyers able to walk refund-free. Board urged non-refundable deposits and shorter timelines, noting city rezoning delays (up to a year). Noble cause, but fiscally reckless—prioritizing charity over maximum value ignores enrollment declines and revenue shortfalls.

Fund balance discussion revealed chaos: Policy targets 12% of expenditures (~$3M absolute, fourth-worst in county despite second-highest enrollment), but calculations mismatch (unrestricted revenues vs. expenditures; state flags <5%). Last three years saw expenses exceed revenues until a $200K add this year, yet borrowing for payroll persists. Board floated ranges (min: 1-2 months’ expenses; max: reinvest excess), KPIs, three-year forecasts, and benchmarks (MSBO recommends two months; state risks intervention <5%). Blame flew—past raises, unchecked staffing variances, declining per-pupil funding ($5K below Adrian), no sinking funds/bonds in peers. Confidence in new finance director Lennar (two days/week) is tepid; promises of internal controls and visualizations ring hollow without enforceable board guardrails. This isn’t “tough but fixable”—it’s chronic mismanagement risking deficits, with no clear glide path beyond vague workshops.

Quarterly strategic plan updates were rote: career courses in early talks, math interventions via schedule tweaks, student leadership groups, sinking fund RFPs (pool report imminent; tennis courts grant-chasing despite priorities), job description overhauls, and branding (#OneTribe logo). Pool delays and website transparency pledges feel reactive; off-boarding/exit interviews aim to stem turnover but ignore root causes like pay stagnation.

Board comments urged unity amid “tone” concerns post-prior meeting, praising programs (veterans’ breakfast emotion, volleyball champs) but admitting reactive leadership. Motion to adjourn passed unanimously.

Overall Critique: This board meeting was a masterclass in superficial positivity masking fiscal rot and governance dysfunction. PR-heavy “pride” segments and teacher-praised initiatives can’t paper over transparency failures, budget inconsistencies, and over-reliance on external facilitators/grants. Meaningful reform demands enforceable KPIs, unified metrics, and bold cuts—else Tecumseh risks state oversight in a declining enrollment spiral. Unity rhetoric is cheap; actionable accountability is absent.

***End AI Summary***

Trustee Miller Quotes

I also asked Grok to pull quotes by Darin Miller from the transcript. I feel these are important for the community to read as Miller calls out systemic problems while also taking personal responsibility, unlike some of his peers. The transcription is a little spotty, but you get the picture.

Here are all direct quotes from Trustee Miller in the transcript (in order spoken, with context for clarity):

1 On fund balance policy and calculation:“So we need to figure out what formula we’re going to use first and then come up with the number that we want.”

2 On MSBO recommendation and county comparison:“One of the things in the sentence, and I can send it to everyone, is the board realizes responsibilities under law to maintain a balanced, non-deficit financial condition for the district so that the district does not find itself in a serious financial problem.”

3 On board responsibility and deficit:“So I do feel that you’ve got to have these tough discussions. I do have all the confidence in the world in Matt, but I also feel bad that Matt is facing this situation on the fund balance.”

4 On educating oneself and board duty:“I would recommend also to take some time to go and read and educate. If you haven’t or if you’ve done it a long time ago, it’s always helpful to go back. I went to the finance class twice now just to try to make sure I didn’t miss anything...”

5 On historical revenue vs. expenses:“But that isn’t, I’m saying the last three years before this, that result hasn’t been posted yet. So I’m just, the 24, 23, and 22 year, we had three years of expenses more than our revenue.”

The last point from Miller was in response to Simpson/Brooks running through excuses for poor fiscal management during their tenure. Simpson reminds everyone that we did add to the fund balance this year.

The Final Word

Grok’s Summary

Whenever I have AI summarize these meetings, it copies the tone of the administration which is understandably positive. I didn’t have time this week to type out the whole meeting, so this time I asked Grok to take an objectively critical tone. Grok did not disappoint. Keep in mind, Grok is only going off of the transcription from the meeting. There was no input from me. I’ll add some notes for clarification, but the financial info in particular was captured perfectly.

I would also add that McGee isn’t the only one pushing for transparency. Miller is doing a fine job as well. They have different styles, different tactics, but their commitment to transparency has been evident in their comments and their votes.

Anthony’s Public Comment

The clip of Anthony’s comment is at the top of this article. What you can’t see in the video is at the end of his comment, Anthony immediately walked to the press area and sat in front of David Panian, the Tecumseh Herald reporter.

Trustee Brooks then asked to clarify if Anthony was referring to the information discussed in the closed session, to which Anthony replied that we don’t know what information came from where. Brooks likely feels she has an ace up her sleeve with some legitimate reason they went into closed session. All we know is that it was optional, because it was put to a vote. Trustees Miller and McGee voted to leave the session open for transparency.

The Excuses

Trustee Miller makes the point that our fund balance has decreased over the last few years, and that we need to be aware of that and be more responsible. Trustee Simpson then corrects him to state that TPS is paid less per-pupil than our surrounding districts. All Lenawee County districts, including Tecumseh’s neighbors, receive the same foundation allowance of $10,050 per pupil. I do seem to recall what Simpson is referring to, but I do not see how it is accurate to make this statement.

Furthermore, former board president Roger Hart managed to increase the fund balance every year. Simpson bankrolled a recall effort to oust Hart, and succeeded. Every year since, with exception of an influx of COVID funds, we’ve lost money as a district. It’s in the data, I’ve posted it many times before. It can be done, just not with Transparent Tim in charge. For reference, here’s a list of our surrounding districts and how well they’re doing financially:

Source: Munetrix

Trustee Brooks, always ready with an excuse for her dismal performance, suggests that our district loses money because all the other districts pass bonds / sinking funds. I would remind Brooks that when I went door-to-door campaigning, the feedback I received from townsfolk voting against the sinking fund was a lack of trust in the board. The board includes Becky Brooks. I’ve never seen a more appropriate use for this meme.

“The Board”

Trustee Davis points out that folks always direct anger toward “the board” without taking into account that the board has changed members many times, or even knowing who is on the board when the comments are made. I agree with Lynn, and I’ve seen it myself. Still, this community is not wrong. Rebottarro, Simpson, Lewis, Brooks, Tommelein, the names change but the incompetence and complete tone-deafness remains the same. Davis ran on the Brooks/Simpson imaginary “slate” in the election, so it should not come as a surprise that she is being lumped in with them. I heard no protest when Brooks ran a website called, “Meet the Candidates” that deceptively excluded candidates not on their make-believe “slate”.

Strategic Planning

I couldn’t help but notice Trustee Miller’s comment (paraphrasing here) that maybe there’s someone in the community that would like to help with things like strategic planning. Hi. I’m a strategic planner with consulting work for the Montgomery, AL school district on my resume. Let me tell you how this went the one time I offered what Trustee Miller is suggesting. I’m paraphrasing here, but not by much:

Me: Good evening Trustees, My professors at the university of Auburn (two licensed psychologists, one a department head) and I would like to offer our services (strategic planning, candidate sourcing, several were offered) free of charge to TPS. This service would serve as my practicum for completion of my master’s program, and would be done with weekly oversight from my professors.

Trustee Simpson (spontaneously): You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re not a doctor. You don’t even have your masters. You’re not qualified.

I would add, for context, that I just returned from Japan where I presented the US Air Force with… a strategic plan for integrating a modern weapons system. If you stalk me on LinkedIn (and some of you do), you’ll see that it is my title, after all.

A Little Fun

Last year, we called for live-streamed meetings. Mr. Tim “Make Tecumseh Great Again” Simpson insisted that it was impossible. Among other claims, he said we had no way of ensuring closed captioning, something Anthony Alaniz covered at the time. One of my running mates, Michelle Malewitz, worked in Hollywood post production and had already offered to help but… you guessed it… they didn’t want community input. So I found this video and did some of my own closed captioning to prove a point. Not sure if this guy is from Tecumseh, but he sure seems to know how things work around here. Also note that Substack provides closed captioning automatically, as seen in the clip at the top of this article.

Gator Country

We’ve decided to move back to Florida. Most of you know this already. Folks have been asking me why, and what happens to the blog when I leave. My friends, I would never leave you hanging. If you’d like to know more about my reasons and who’s taking over, check out my latest opinion here:

Thanks for reading!