October School Board meeting: bidding on HS renovations to go ahead, transportation director to take on facilities & grounds
by Melissa Yekulis
The monthly School Board meeting for Manchester Community Schools was called to order at 6pm on Monday, October 19. One board member was absent.
The meeting began with the approval of the agenda. A request was made to make an addition to the agenda. The approval of the addition to the agenda, and the agenda, were both approved unanimously.
There were no participants in Public Participation.
A recommendation was made to accept the Consent Agenda as it was presented. The consent agenda was approved with one dissenting vote.
Under Old Business, the board voted to approve each school building’s curriculum and course descriptions for the 2026-2027 school year. Each was accepted and approved unanimously.
Under New Business, there were two topics of discussion for consideration.
Discussion was brought to the table about hiring an additional bus aid for the transportation team through contracted services. A new bus driver has just been trained. With the addition of a new driver and additional aid, Transportation Director Joe Prestia would no longer need to drive bus. The district currently has a one-year contract with LOA METS to acquire drivers and bus aids. The motion passed unanimously to authorize an additional bus aid.
A bond update was presented for the Junior/Senior High School. The latest CIC meeting took place the previous Thursday. The 100% CD estimate for the Junior Senior High School bond updates was presented. Currently, the estimate is 1.66% over budget, before actively getting pricing from vendors. Each year, after pricing, the buildings have come in within their budget. A full presentation was made of the new gym, storage spaces, and the mezzanine level. Contracts will be presented at the next board meeting. A board member voiced concern about moving forward with the construction and spending of funds when the district has low enrollment numbers. The rough estimate of the district count is 594-605 students. The board voted to approve the estimates and move forward with bidding, with one nay vote.
Building department reports have been posted and made available for viewing on the district website. Superintendent Johns gave department heads who were present an opportunity to share additional information about their reports to the board.
A brief update was shared around the school board’s continued research into professional development. School Board President Sandra Wiitala reached out to Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) for guidance on how to move forward, with a new board team starting in January. The recommendation from MASB was to proceed with completing a mid-year superintendent review in December. The end of year evaluation should take place in June. They also recommended short term goal setting should begin now, with a full strategic plan coming together in the 2027-2028 school year. An open meeting will be set for the board to begin setting goals soon.
Superintendent Johns had six points of discussion in his superintendent report.
Superintendent Johns continued his discussion around Career Technical Education (CTE) Millage. The millage will help to cut the per pupil costs for attending the program from the general education fund. A portion of CTE teacher funds will be covered by the millage. There are also additional funds being made available to the districts for hands-on learning, equipment and facility upgrades, and transportation. There are twelve additional recommendations that have been made by the superintendents for more CTE programming.
An update was presented around interior door security. The district may be switching back to classroom keys, from the card readers due to the cost of batteries. Funding for the card readers was initially secured through 31AA safety funding. It is possible a consultant could be brought in to make recommendations for upgrades, and residual bond funds could be utilized to make those updates.
A shout out was given to the band programs. The middle school recently completed a solo competition. The Marching Band performance at Home Coming was awesome and seniors were honored during the event.
The recent Walk to School Day, Fun Run, and walking field trips were recognized.
Manchester will be hosting competitions for soccer and football. Seniors are being recognized at their events.
Finally, Joe Prestia, the current Transportation Director, will be taking on the additional role of Facility and Grounds Director. He had two years of experience in building and grounds before coming to Manchester and is currently going through updated training for the program. Building leads will be assigned to allow for more efficient ordering. The FMX ticketing system for requesting maintenance is being cleaned out and old or expired tickets are being cleared. They are currently exploring hiring an administrative assistant for Prestia so he can manage both jobs.
There was no Public Participation.
A public reminder was made of Upcoming Events:
- October 24: End of the First Marking Period
- October 28 and 29: Fall Conferences in PM
- October 29 and October 30: ½ Days for Students
- October 30: Professional Development Day for Teachers in PM
The meeting was unanimously adjourned at 7:04pm.
The next public board meeting will take place on Monday, November 16 at 6pm in the Junior/Senior High School Media Center.
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