November school board meeting update: propane buses, interactive gym, and STEM field trip to New Orleans
by Melissa Yekulis
The monthly Manchester Community Schools board meeting took place the evening of Monday, November 17. All board members were present at the meeting.
The meeting opened with a brief review of Robert’s Rules.
A review of meeting minutes of the board operating procedures meeting, regular board of education meeting, capital improvement meeting, policy committee meeting, finance committee meeting, and board operating procedures committee took place and was unanimously approved. The treasurer’s report was also approved as received.
Under old business, discussions resumed around the topic of utilizing Bank of America for housing Food Services funds. After discussion, the board voted on authorizing Bank of America for the Food Services funds. One board member opposed the motion. The others were in favor and the motion passed.
Chief Financial Officer Shannon Cajic presented the audited statement from end of year, June 2025. The original general fund equity budget started last year at 7.10%. The final fund equity budget was 7.87%. The actual audited fund equity budget was 8.44%. Cajic shared that the increase was due to an increase in revenue. Sources for revenue last year came from state aid, property tax revenue, Medicaid Reimbursement, state grants, federal grants, transportation, rentals, admissions, gates, dues and fees, and miscellaneous local support. There were four minor adjustments requested by the auditors at the end of the report.
The second half of Cajic’s presentation focused on history, trends, and data. A review of the fund balance history demonstrated the curve hit its peak during COVID with the support of COVID funds. Funding has returned to the same level as 2017. Full-time enrollment numbers are currently lower in student projections. The district currently has 680+ students enrolled. An overview of the Series 1 Bond Arbitrage and the process of how the district can accrue interest from the bond funds took place. Cajic explained how those funds can only be used on bond-related purchases. An update on funds will take place in January as state funding and student population numbers solidify.
Finally, an update was presented based on the Section 74B Clean Bus Grant. Due to the closing of the original EV bus company, the purchases have to shift from EV buses to propane-based buses. Instead of three EV buses, four propane buses will be acquired. MDE has approved the change within the grant request. The buses will be fueled at Wackers. A representative from the new company will come to the December board meeting. At the end of the presentation, the board voted to accept the audit as presented. It passed unanimously.
Technology director Ben Bruursema presented the opportunity for Luther C. Elementary School to acquire a Lu Interactive Gym. The Lu would be acquired with the remaining technology funds from Klager’s share of the bond. The Lu is projector based with motion tracking and would be installed in the gym. The cost includes the projector, speaker, and preliminary apps. The projector should last 10–15 years. A recommendation was made to accept the proposed interactive gym as presented. The motion passed unanimously.
Joe Walsh presented on Career Day and the upcoming Entrepreneurial STEM trip. Career Day had 43 presenters who interacted with the students on the indoor high school track. Surveys were shared with all participants after the event. Students expressed a desire for another Career Day. Teachers appreciated the event. Presenters indicated they all wished to return. A spring career fair is now in the works, with a focus on offering opportunities for hiring students for summer job positions.
Walsh also shared plans for an upcoming Entrepreneurial STEM field trip to New Orleans in February. The field trip will be paid for with fundraising. The board unanimously approved the field trip.
A review of the Capital Improvement Committee (CIC) bond report was shared about Riverside’s upcoming bond upgrades. The 90% plan was approved by the board last month. The goal this month was to acquire board approval for 100% of the plans. All information pertaining to the bond updates for Riverside was included in the board packet. A recommendation to approve the 100% plan for Riverside’s bond updates was made. The motion passed with one board member opposing the report.
A series of board policies are under consideration for updates in the December board meeting. A first-look list of these policies was shared with the board. Discussion and approval will take place around the updates in December.
The personnel report was presented and accepted. The motion to accept the personnel report was passed unanimously.
Building and department reports were submitted to the board in advance. Reports were not shared publicly. The principals and department chairs present were invited to publicly share updates.
Superintendent Steve Head’s report was focused on progress with the CTE program in Washtenaw County and district school improvement initiatives in the district. Gratitude was expressed for the passing of the CTE millage that will support Washtenaw County schools, including Manchester. At this time, the county is still learning more from the state about what can be done with the funds. Head shared that this will help provide more opportunities for student participation within the countywide consortium program. It will potentially allow Manchester to offer welding classes and more to the county consortium program, as well as summer camp opportunities for local students.
The district will have their first Michigan Integrated Continuous Improvement Process meeting after school this month. There are two goals the district team is working on to advance within the district: student achievement and climate and culture. The team will work to build strategies and activities around these goals at the building level. There is also a future goal of collecting stakeholder input from teachers, students, and the community at large as the district works to meet their goals. These district meetings will take place throughout the school year, in addition to the monthly building level meetings. It should be noted that data from the end of last year shows that students are improving within NWEA, MSTEP, and SAT scores.
The board is working on developing protocols. They hope to have first looks for updates available in December.
School Board member Jennifer Caszatt recently attended the Michigan Association of School Boards leadership conference as a representative for the board. During her time there, she represented the board to vote on state-level board issues. While there she participated in two clinics and was able to develop connections with other board members around the state.
There was one participant in Public Participation.
The meeting adjourned at 7:57pm. The next board meeting will take place on Monday, December 15, in the Jr/Sr High School Media Center at 6pm.
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