School board discusses budget, maintenance, and continuity of learning

At last Monday’s school board virtual meeting, new interim superintendent Scot Graden helped the board weave through a tightly-packed agenda, including budget adjustments for the current fiscal year, the ongoing search for a permanent superintendent, and the continuity of learning plan for the district.

“The continuity of learning plan was approved by the WISD and sent to the State of Michigan on Thursday, April 16,” Graden reported. “It is posted on the MCS website (along with our other COVID-19 resources) – here.

“It was a smooth roll out to the extent it can be,” he added. “Staff has a good pulse on their students, and are doing well with the processes they are using to share. There will be some tweaking as we go along. It’s not ideal—none of it is—but don’t want to put additional stress on parents or students—mostly, we want kids have the opportunity to learn.”

Graden described the budget amendments as “natural” albeit a little later than would normally be considered. “There were no real fundamental shifts from where we were,” he said. “It’s a balanced budget at this point; we amended it knowing a little bit about the impact of the (COVID-19) crisis, but there are things we still don’t know. It’s tight, but good.”

Graden also discussed the elimination of the two administrative positions—the Athletic Director and the Preschool Coordinator, noting that there will be restructuring in both positions and that it is “a good thing in terms of flexibility,” particularly with a new superintendent coming on board in June. 

The search for a new superintendent is being “targeted” to fast-track the process, with the search firm bringing 4-6 solid candidates to the board on or about May 1. A special (again, virtual) board meeting is set for 6 pm on May 11 to review candidates and select 2-4 for interviews. “The idea is that they’d like to be able to act at the June 15 meeting to hire the permanent superintendent,” Graden explained. “That’s a good timeline. Whoever walks in here will have some big, but manageable, decisions as they look toward next fall.”

Two teacher retirements tendered at the board meeting. The retirements of Lois Bohl and Kathy O’Mara were accepted by the board.

Graden added that the district has distributed 150 Chromebook Laptops to families in need of devices to support student learning. Mike Maisano worked with Principals Charney and McCalla to accomplish the distribution of devices.

There also is an exterior wifi hotspot up and running for student and public internet access at the Jr/Sr High School main parking lot. For all public use, use the “MCS_Guest” network. No password needed. Students and staff will be able to use the “MCS_Secure” network. MCS Chromebooks will automatically connect when in range. During the Stay home, Stay safe order, the district asks that you please stay in your vehicle while using the MCS WiFi, and use the parking lot only–not the bus loop–for WiFi access.

“I am pleased that we are able to provide this to the community and our families,” Graden said. “I’d like to give a special shout out to Mike Maisano and Kendra Leib for their help to get this done quickly and work through a couple of challenges.”

Finally, Graden and the board dealt with a few maintenance issues. Thanks to the success of the meal program during this time, and full reimbursement on the meals and staff salaries, the district has been able to replace a non-functioning freezer at the high school. And the district is starting outdoor maintenance around the facilities. Athletic areas and vacant/adjacent properties have not been maintained, but should begin around May 1.

The next scheduled school board meeting is the May 11 special meeting to discuss the superintendent search.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.