School Board holds budget hearing, discusses superintendent contract, and state aid

Brad Bezeau, new MCS Superintendent, will officially start his position July 1.

By Claire Pajka

On June 15, the Manchester Community Schools’ Board of Education held a special budget hearing in addition to its regularly scheduled meeting, with all board members in attendance, and around 15 members of the public present virtually.

During the budget hearing, amendments to the 2019-20 budget resolutions were approved by the board, including the Pleasant Lake Fund, Food Service, Community Services, General Fund, and Student Services. In addition to the approval of the amended 2019-20 budget resolutions, the 2020-21 proposed budget resolutions were also approved. Item 4029 regarding the 2020 tax reform was also accepted and allows the district to levy taxes as written for 2020-21. The full budget resolutions can be found here. The special budget hearing was adjourned at 6:21 pm, and the regularly scheduled meeting began directly after.

There was one resignation from the school district, as well as four new hires: Rachel English as the new Spanish teacher for the JR/SR High, and Karin Villarreal, Sarah McCaffrey, and Monica Kominars for the Summer Reading Program.

Interim Superintendent Scot Graden reported that summer conditioning for sports teams is beginning with new protocols in place, and that the athletic department is in the process of selecting a new soccer coach.

The board accepted the new superintendent contract agreement for Brad Bezeau, who was selected to the position of superintendent on June 1 and will officially begin his contract with Manchester Community Schools on July 1. In reply to the support he received in comments from the board – as well as the public via the chat on Google Meets – Bezeau said that he is still honored to accept the position and is eager to hit the ground running when his contract begins.

The board also approved memberships to both the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) and the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB). New asphalt for the east and west parking lots of the JR/SR High, as well as state aid funding were among the other resolutions approved. This state aid funding was noted to be especially useful in the autumn when the district tends to financially “dip into the negative zone,” as Tom Mann explained.

The meeting adjourned at 6:42 after Mann and Graden expressed their gratitude to the office staff and thanked them for their fantastic work scheduling all of the special meetings throughout COVID-19.

The following dates were brought up by board members as notable school and community events. More information about all of the events below can be found on the Manchester Community Schools Facebook page.

• July 6: Summer camps begin. The initial schedule for sessions will be available soon. Watch for updates on the Facebook page and elsewhere.
• July 21: Board member seat applications due to the Washtenaw County Clerk’s Office at 4:00 p.m. Note: An appointment must be made at the county in order to turn in the application.
• July 27: The next Board of Education meeting.

For as little as $1 a month, you can keep Manchester-focused news coverage alive.

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.