Downtown Oxford was awarded the Spirit of Main Street Award during the 25th Anniversary Main Event celebration of Main Street Oakland County (MSOC), held in Rochester.

The event honored outstanding achievements in downtown revitalization.

“For 25 years, Main Street Oakland County has been a shining example of progress and partnership between the county and its thriving communities,” said Oakland County Executive David Coulter. “Congratulations to Oxford for the Spirit of Main Street Award and to all the downtowns that continuously strive for excellence and the vibrancy that make our communities distinct.”

Established in 2000, Main Street Oakland County is the first and only county-wide Coordinating Main Street program in the United States.

The Michigan Manufacturers Association is partnering with LIFT, the Department of Defense-supported national manufacturing innovation institute, to launch the IGNITE: Mastering Manufacturing curriculum in two high schools: Troy Athens and Delton Kellogg.

The program will debut during the 2025–26 school year.

Funded through a $1 million appropriation from the state Legislature in 2024, the pilot program brings curriculum and equipment to students in an effort to strengthen talent in high-demand technical careers.

“The IGNITE curriculum allows students to learn by doing, and that hands-on approach makes learning more meaningful and impactful,” said Mike Munaco, career and technical education director at Troy Public Schools. “We are proud to be among the first in the state to offer it.”

The curriculum is made up of three courses: Materials Science, Advanced Manufacturing Systems and Processes and Capstone Projects.

For more information visit https://lift.technology

 

Every high school senior takes a different path to graduation.

For some, adjusting to life as freshmen in a new social setting comes easy and leads to four years of smooth transition to the next chapter of their lives.

For others, challenges in academic life slow the process and make four years seem much longer.

There are hundreds of stories among the Oakland County students named as Top Scholars of the 2024-2054 graduating class.

Two students who took opposite paths to earning a diploma are among those stories.

THE ELECTRICIAN

DeAngelo Pierfelice wrapped up his senior year at Durant High School in Waterford by taking freshman Algebra as one of his courses.

He did not take the typical path to graduation, but will earn his diploma in four years just like the majority of students who have walked across a stage this spring.

Pierfelice began his high school career at Chippewa Valley High School in Macomb County. He struggled in all of his classes. During his sophomore year his mother, Particia Dubley-Pierfelice, died.

He moved in with his father, Dominic, an automotive machine operator, and started taking classes at Waterford Kettering High School.

His grades did not improve during the second half of his sophomore year and junior year at Kettering.

“His grades were all over the place when he came here,” said Anne Kruse, principal at Durant.

“My mom passing away took a big toll on me and I did not feel like doing much,” Pierfelice admitted. “School was just hard for me and I was failing a lot of my classes and I was really not focused.”

He moved to Durant for his senior year.

The school specializes in providing credit recovery options for students through accelerated 10-week terms. The majority of students are juniors and seniors looking to make up credits for failed classes in a setting with smaller class sizes and more personalized learning. Students are allowed to take classes in any order they choose.

“Somewhere along their educational route they become credit deficient and they need to make it up at an accelerated rate,” Kruse said of the students attending Durant. “So kids here have to work twice as hard and twice as fast to cover the same material as kids at Mott and Kettering (high schools).”

Pierfelice knew what it would take to graduate on time, if at all, and he began putting in the work.

“My ultimate mission was graduating and making sure I got enough credits to get that done and making sure I can find a career for myself after high school,” Pierfelice said.

Kruse saw the changes immediately.

“When he came to Durant, he just started to blossom,” she said. “You could see his body language and demeanor change. He started getting all A’s and he became an honor roll student.”

“When I came to Durant, the teachers seemed like they cared more about me and focused on what I needed to do,” Pierfelice said. “We are a family here and we all have a connection with each other.”

He achieved his goals of finishing high school and choosing a career. In the fall, Pierfelice will be heading to Oakland Community College and wants to be an electrician.

“When he came here in September he had a plan to graduate and did not know what he was going to do,” said Kruse. “Now he has a career plan, some money through Michigan Works! to get started and a scholarship to OCC.”

Michigan Works! assists people with job support, training and services to find employment and obtain needed credentials. They work with school districts, colleges and community colleges throughout the state.

“It feels great knowing I put in the work and the effort and now I am graduating and going to college this fall,” said Pierfelice. “Durant is a place to get an education, but it is also like a second home to me now.”

Pierfelice is one of 67 students graduating from Durant this year.

THE EXPLORER

To say that Benjamin Guettler leads a busy life would be an understatement. He will graduate from Bloomfield Hills High School this year with a 4.45 grade point average, was a three-sport athlete for four years and president of Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA). He plays piano, was a member of the student advisory council and became an  Eagle Scout as a member of Scouting America.

He runs an auto detailing business, which he classifies as a “summer venture,” and is a DJ playing music at gatherings.

But the line that jumps off his resume is the title of co-founder and chief sales officer for JointCoach, described as a “medical startup replacing traditional triage with Artificial Intelligence (AI), improving access to healthcare.”

A pilot program is up and running and working with local surgical groups.

Guettler explained how it works.

“The platform will not give a diagnosis, but a triage and then whether you need to be set up with a doctor or not, it tells you. Then it actually integrates with surgical systems and hooks up directly to their scheduling,” Guettler said. “If somebody needs an appointment, they will talk to the AI, the AI schedules it and on the surgeon’s end they will see a new appointment. We are able to assess these conditions with a lot of accuracy. It is literally for anyone.”

A person can get in front of their computer camera and the platform tracks range of motion, sees where joints are not doing their best and also allows you to interact with an AI chatbot to answer questions. It can then connect the patient with the nearest doctor, who receives notification of an appointment.

Guettler is teamed with orthopedic surgeon Blaine Warkentine, whom he met at a medical conference, to create the platform with a focus on musculoskeletal complaints.

“We both had a passion for AI and he introduced the idea of replacing triage,” said Guettler.

They were able to secure $30,000 in seed funding dedicated to development and marketing as they modify the platform and possibly branch out to other areas of medicine.

“We have our prototypes and our initial product and we are just going to keep iterating that and making it better and then expanding,” said Guettler.

His father, Joseph, is a surgeon and described how his son could have such a broad variety of interests for a teenager.

“He is a unique little cat. He is an explorer at heart,” said Joseph. “He said he wants to take some time off this summer and go explore Europe and see the sights. His mind is always exploring something.”

“He has always loved diving into something and finding out how it works,” said his mother Debbie, a nurse. “He has found this niche (JointCoach) that he enjoys working in and finding people that he can connect with and has similar goals with.”

Being able to explore is one of the reasons he chose to go to Duke University in the fall.

He said the university is more suited to participating in programs and activities outside his major, which in Benjamin’s case will be economics.

“I like exploring other things outside of academia and there is more of a social scene there, so I think it is going to be the right fit for me. I fell in love with Duke early on,” said Guettler. “I have an interest in philosophy, which is obviously outside of the business realm, but it is something I would be interested in and I would be able to pursue something like that while I’m there.”

Guettler said he has spent part of his senior year at Bloomfield Hills giving advice and trying to mentor other students in all aspects of high school life.

“I love giving back and setting these kids up so they can have the same opportunities that I had, but also helping them not make the same mistakes I did and I want them to ultimately do better than I could do,” he said. “I really want to see people do better than I did.”

“He has been a great leader and an instigator in helping his sister and her friends get involved in a variety of things at school,” said Debbie. “He has done a good job of stopping sometimes and thinking things through, even though he is constantly moving. It does your heart good knowing he has all the tools.”

 

Shortly after the Hazel Park school board formally reinstated Superintendent Amy Kruppe, President Beverly Hinton explained why she was put on administrative leave in January for violation of board policies.

At a May 27 special meeting, Hinton read a statement on “how it all started” and Kruppe’s attorney, Heidi Sharp, immediately rebuked the allegations.

“We are shocked and disappointed that Ms. Hinton would make such a public statement insinuating that the district had financial troubles which were the fault of Dr. Kruppe following the four-month long investigation which cleared Dr. Kruppe of any wrongdoing regarding the district’s finances,” Sharp said in a statement. “Ms. Hinton knows that the investigation absolved Dr. Kruppe of any of these allegations or claimed ‘lack of financial oversight’ because as she admitted, as the Board President, she has been privy to the entire investigation report.”

UHY Professional Services, a national firm with offices in Detroit, was paid $55,000 by the district last summer to conduct an audit.  Hinton said the fee rose to $130,000 due to poor financial record keeping and explained the impact it would later have.

“UHY was scheduled to begin the audit in September, but the audit was delayed five times because the business office had not prepared the required work,” said Hinton. “This resulted in missing the required audit due date of November 1. The audit officially began Oct. 21, 2024 and completed in February 2025.”

Sharp said the district’s business manager at the time, Jason Zirnis, explained to the board in both June and August 2024 that the audit would be submitted late due to Plante Moran resigning as district auditor earlier in the year and Zirnis leaving his position.

Hinton said the delay led to the district having to take out a $12 million loan to cover payroll and operating expenses because state aid could not be distributed to the district until the audit was complete. She said $8 million has been repaid, with $4 million and the remaining interest due this August.

Sharp said those numbers were incorrect.

“$8.9 million (has been) repaid as of Feb. 19,” she said. “This included $97,900 in interest. Currently $3.1 million in principal remains to be repaid. This includes $120,000 interest expense.”

She added, “This loan is a common practice in the district, with loans obtained by the district from 2015-2023 while awaiting state funds.”

Hinton said the final audit revealed Hazel Park had overspent by $6 million, claiming it dropped their fund balance from 11% to 1%. Since the fund balance was below the state mandated 5%, the district was put on a Michigan Treasury watchlist and is now required to submit monthly financial reports to the state. Hinton did not say what the parameters were to be taken off of the watchlist.

“During the February (budget) amendment after the audit the fund balance was projected to be $1.39 million as of June 2025,” said Sharp. “Thereafter at the next amendment provided to the board in April the fund balance was projected at $1.43 million.”

She added, “Revenue that should have been received by September 2024 was not and would be actualized in the 2024-2025 budget. Meaning the funds are not missing but being reported in subsequent years.”

“The cumulative financial mismanagement led to over $755,000 in additional unplanned expenses ….. largely stemming from improperly maintained financial records,” said Hinton. “And that’s why it all began, because the books were not in order and it cost us $755,000 of money for students because everything was in disarray.”

At the opening of the meeting, a board vote to immediately reinstate Kruppe was approved 4-3. Secretary Darrin Fox and Trustees April Beato, Nathon Becker and Monica Ratte voted in favor. Hinton, Treasurer Heidi Fortress, Vice President Deborah LaFramboise voted against.

The Oakland Press has requested final report on Kruppe and the audit submitted in February.

Sharp said Kruppe is looking forward to putting this chapter behind her.

The Abigail’s Pride LGBTQ+ festival returns to Brandon Township park this year with more activities to bring people together.

This year’s festival will be Saturday, June 7, from 4 to 8 p.m.

Last year, the Ortonville village council voted 4-2 against approving an event permit for the annual festival.

Soon after Abigail Rowe, founder of Abigail’s Pride and co-organizer of the festival, met with Brandon Township Supervisor Jayson Rumball and received approval to move the event to the township’s 12-acre park where there was more room for activities.

“Knowing where we are going to be and how to put things together has made it much simpler,” said Rowe. “I think that we have found a good place to settle so that we can continue to have the festival and continue to do this event.”

In Rowe’s eyes, the shift to the park changed the tenor of the festival from past years.

“The inclusiveness and the openness felt more like other pride festivals that I have been to. It felt safer and more comfortable at the park,” she said. “But it still maintained that more family-friendly, family-oriented aspect that we strive for with Abigail’s Pride.”

During last year’s event, Oakland County Parks brought out three bounce houses, Michigan Entertainment and Talent Company had several interactive stations and children were flying kites all around the park.

As with last year, Rowe said they will have around 50 vendors, non-profit booths and sponsor displays, three food trucks and an ice cream truck set up throughout the four hour festival. This year they will also add a live DJ for the event.

She said the process of organizing the event has become more streamlined and knowing they have a permanent venue has made life easier for her and her team.

“The team has been great and I have been able to help with the festival, but still lead a normal life as a college student knowing what we have in place now,” said Rowe,who just completed her freshman at Saginaw Valley State University. “Things have come together very well again this year and I hope it will stay like this for years to come.”

For more information go to the Abigail’s Pride facebook page or https://abigailspride.godaddysites.com.

The Waterford school board voted unanimously to approve a superintendent contract with Adam Martin.

He will officially take over as district superintendent July 1.

Martin and the district came to an agreement on a three-year contract at a salary of $227,500. The board voted at a May 19 special meeting.

Martin is the current executive director of student achievement at Dearborn Public Schools.

“We are thrilled to welcome Adam Martin as our new superintendent,” said Kristen Wagner, school board president. “His extensive experience and proven track record in student achievement make him the ideal leader to guide Waterford School District into the future. We are confident that under his leadership, our students, staff, and community will continue to thrive.”

Lisa Eldredge, who was assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, is the current interim superintendent.

Thomas Ahart, former superintendent of the Des Moines, Iowa, public school system, was chosen October 2024 to take over for Scott Lindberg, who retired after five years as superintendent. The two sides could not reach a contract agreement forcing the board to reopen their search for a new superintendent.

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More than 120 teachers in 43 school districts are receiving $796,000 in grants from the Michigan Department of Education for earning National Board Certification.

“National Board Certification benefits students by increasing the effectiveness of teachers,” said State Superintendent Michael F. Rice. “Certification is particularly beneficial to students in high-poverty school districts. I congratulate the teachers who are receiving grants for achieving this certification.”

Districts and intermediate school districts applied on behalf of 124 Michigan teachers with the certification. Teachers receive grants of at least $4,000, with a $10,000 grant if they work for a high-poverty school that receives building-wide federal Title 1 funding.

 

The goal of the grant program is to acknowledge the professional learning, growth, and achievement of Michigan teachers who have obtained National Board Certification.

By promoting the recognition and retention of teachers, this grant supports Goal 7 of Michigan’s Top 10 Strategic Education Plan, to increase the numbers of certified teachers in areas of shortage.

The National Board-Certified Teachers receiving grants in Oakland County:

– Bloomfield Hills schools $8,000

– Ferndale public schools  $4,000

– Lake Orion community schools $4,000

– Novi community schools $28,000

– Rochester community schools $88,000

– Royal Oak schools $4,000

– Southfield public schools $14,000

– West Bloomfield schools $4,000

 

 

 

Kathy Abela, executive director of finance and operations for Royal Oak Schools, has been named the 2024-2025 Oakland County School Business Administrator of the Year by the Oakland County School Business Officials (OCSBO).

“Kathy brings more than two decades of school district accounting experience and an unwavering commitment to excellence,” said OCSBO President Matthew McDaniel. “ Her oversight of bond dollars, sinking funds, grant allocations, and the annual audit process reflects her deep expertise and dedication to responsible stewardship of public resources.”

“Our Board of Education and I trust and respect her in managing our funds, district operations, bond programs, and daily operations,” said Royal Oak Schools Superintendent Mary Beth Fitzpatrick. “She has brought innovative ideas, established best practices, and holds all team members to high standards.”

Abela has been a member of the Michigan School Business Office since 2016.

“Being named the Oakland County School Business Administrator of the Year is an incredible honor,” Abela said. “This recognition reflects my dedication and the collective efforts of the team I’ve had the privilege to work with. I deeply thank the Oakland County School Business Officials for this acknowledgment.”

Since 1998, the OCSBO has recognized one outstanding education leader annually for their accomplishments, years of service, and dedication to advancing the field of school business management.

A report released this week by Oakland University shows its economic impact on the state has reached almost $2 billion dollars.

The report from the Anderson Economic Group for fiscal year 2024 shows OU generated more than $1.9 billion in new economic impact and supported nearly 6,500 jobs in Michigan.

The final figure represents direct and indirect economic activity and employment.

Direct impacts are driven by investments from the university, while indirect impacts reflect how spending circulates through the economy.

“At Oakland (University) we are making a profound difference in the lives of our students and in the enterprises of businesses,” said OU President Ora Pescovitz. “Small business, medium-size business and large businesses and in our communities from urban to suburban to rural.”

For comparison, a study done by Anderson  at Central Michigan University for fiscal year 2016, its economic impact on Michigan contributed $1.2 billion and created nearly 12,000 jobs.

And a 2018 report done on economic impacts at Western Michigan University showed a $1.6 billion of economic output in the Kalamazoo 3-county region of Kalamazoo, Van Buren, and Calhoun counties and economic activity supporting 16,690 jobs.

The OU jobs figure includes 3,569 new faculty and staff positions directly employed by OU and 2,848 indirectly generated jobs in other industries in the state due to expenditures by university faculty, staff and students.

“This is just our baseline, our vision is that by 2030 we are going to markedly increase these statistics,” said Pescovitz. “I am proud of these numbers, but frankly they are nowhere near enough.”

The report compiled in 2019 showed OU generated an economic impact of $957 with $51 million in state appropriations through the State School Aid Act. The new AEG report shows $1.9 billion with $72.8 million in state appropriations.

OU ranks 8th out of 15 state public universities in annual appropriations.

In 2024, Oakland University had 98,093 alumni living in Michigan and collectively they earned nearly $5.8 billion.

“A greater percent of our graduates remain in Michigan than from any other public university,” said Pescovitz.

The university also generated $76 million dollars from $37.3 million local, state and federal funds invested in research.

“The analysis shows that OU is a driver of regional economic activity, with alumni contributions and earnings extending their positive influence across Michigan,” said Patrick Anderson, CEO of AEG.

Farmington Public Schools is accepting applications for an anticipated board opening.

David Turner, who was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Zach Rich after he moved out of the district, agreed to serve through June 2025.

The individual selected will serve the remainder of his term through December 2026.

“We encourage all individuals with a passion for children and a commitment to community service to apply,” said Terri Weems, board president. “In addition, this applicant pool may be considered for any other vacancies that may arise through the end of 2025, allowing the board to act swiftly in identifying successors if needed due to life events or other transitions.”

Applications will be accepted until Friday, May 16.

Application link: https://bit.ly/BoardApplication2025

Interviews are expected to take place between June 2-16, with the exact schedule announced following the close of the application window.

“Thank you for your interest in serving our community and supporting the future of our students,” added Weems.

All inquiries regarding the process should be directed to Weems at terri.weems@fpsk12.net .

An Oakland School administrator has been elected to the Michigan School Business Officials board of directors.

The three-year term for Teri Les, assistant superintendent of finance and operations at Oakland Schools, began May 1.

“I am truly honored to be elected to the MSBO Board of Directors,” said Teri Les. “It’s a privilege to serve alongside such dedicated colleagues across the state. I look forward to working together to support Michigan’s school business professionals and help ensure our students have the resources and opportunities they need to succeed.”

The organization provides professional development, leadership, and advocacy for school business officials statewide.

Rochester Christian University and Pepperdine University will use a $400,000 grant  to help rural church congregations to grow.

The money will help RCU identify, recruit and partner with Church of Christ congregations in the Great Lakes region.

Teams of  ministers and lay leaders will learn how to support small congregations through professional, networking and spiritual development. The curriculum includes sessions taught by Keith Huey, grant program director.

Pepperdine is one of 20 U.S. organizations receiving grants through the initiative.

“Ministers are tired, concerned about long-term congregational vitality, and convinced that the future of most congregations will include a significant reliance on volunteers to teach, preach and engage in other practices of ministry,” said Naomi Walters, dean of RCU’s theology and ministry school, who will oversee the initiative.  “The grant activities are structured to equip persons other than the minister to share in the work that has traditionally been assigned to the minister.”

The Lilly Endowment is a private philanthropic organization founded in 1937 and headquartered in Indianapolis. The three-year project will begin in August.

For more information, email churchrelations@rcu.edu.