October school board meeting update: board meetings to be recorded again, Klager welcoming therapy dog, state funding in flux
by Melissa Yekulis
The latest public school board meeting came to order on Wednesday, October 20, at the Manchester Jr/Sr High School Library. All board members and the superintendent were present for the meeting.
The first item of business for consideration was recording the meetings and making them available to the public. The board deferred to the district’s Technology Director, Ben Bruursema, for the possibility of making this happen. After discussion, it was decided the meetings would be recorded and posted on the school website until formal minutes have been approved at the following monthly meeting.
Next, Region 8 Michigan Teacher of the Year Deidra LaPointe was recognized for her accomplishment and was invited to speak to the board. LaPointe shared her current responsibilities under her appointment, which include, but are not limited to, participating in the Michigan Teacher Leadership Advisory Council, serving on the Michigan Special Education Advisory Committee, and presenting at a variety of speaking engagements across the state. The Michigan Teacher of the Year, Corey Rosser, will be visiting the district in the spring.
Klager will be welcoming a therapy dog to the building soon. Grant funding has been acquired to help offset the costs of care for the dog. The dog is being paid for through Paws for a Cause. The dog will be going through specialized training to become a school therapy dog to support all students in need in the building. Board policy does allow for therapy dogs in the schools. The dog is covered under liability insurance and will have to follow specific guidelines to maintain coverage.
District CFO Shannon Cajic provided an update on funds from the state. Funds have started to be released for the new school year. However, the funds from the state are in a constant state of fluctuation, making the ability to project funds throughout the school year a challenge. Cajic will be providing updates as new information is released from the state. One guarantee that is benefiting all students across the state is free breakfast and lunch will continue to be funded by the state through the 2025–2026 school year.
Board member Jennifer Caszatt has been appointed as the School Board’s delegate to the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB). She will be representing the School Board and voting on various MASB initiatives throughout the school year.
Cajic returned to the floor to present an update on banking for the district as the banks are currently in transition in the community. The research is ongoing, and she will be providing the board with an update next month.
Bruursema returned to the floor to present an update about the district firewall. The current firewall needs to be updated. After investigating other options, the district will remain with the current firewall company but upgrade to the next generation of their firewall.
An update was provided by the Bond Committee. The CIC team met and approved the 90% construction document for Riverside. This is not the final document. The final document will be presented to the board in November. Bidding on construction will begin in November. 100% of the drawings will be released by November 6. Bids will be due on November 20. The board unanimously agreed to accept the current bond construction document based on the recommendation of the CIC team.
The personnel report was accepted and approved by the team, with four new hires and no exits.
Building and department head reports were presented to and accepted by the board.
A team on the board shared they are in the process of developing internal operating procedures from the board. They will work on developing 1–3 policies at a time and formally present them to the board. They hope to have introductory policies presented to the board in November.
Two additional discussions took place from the board team. One discussion centered on the consideration of publicly posting board member attendance of meetings. A motion was made, and passed, with three members dissenting. A second discussion took place around including letters of resignation in board packets and making them public. After discussion, the board decided to table the topic, perform more research, and vote on a decision in the next meeting.
Superintendent Steve Head shared he will be making another public presentation about the CTE millage in the Jr/Sr High School auditorium on Tuesday, October 28, at 5:30pm. He also shared the first district Michigan Integrated Continuous Improvement Process (MICIP) will be taking place on Monday, October 27. The district team will be reviewing the district goals and how the schools can work together to support those goals. An update will be provided at next month’s meeting.
There were three participants for public participation.
The next meeting will be held at the Manchester Jr/Sr High School library on Monday, November 16, at 6pm.
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