School Board ranks Supt. Kudlak as ‘Highly Effective,’ raises his pay

After a closed-door session near the end of the Dec. 13 regular meeting of the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education, the board reconvened to give the school superintendent the top grade in his annual evaluation.
The board voted unanimously to rate School Supt. Pete Kudlak as “Highly Effective” for the calendar year of January-December 2021. That rating is at the top of the chart on the multi-page Michigan Association of School Boards’ evaluation form.
The board also gave him the top rating in its 2019 and 2020 evaluations.
In addition, the board extended Supt. Kudlak’s contract for another year, to conclude June 30, 2025, and set his 2022-23 salary to begin in July at $159,000. This is up from his present 2021-22 salary of $154,000 which was the same as his 2020-21 salary.
In other business at the Dec. 13 meeting, the board:
• Honored members of the high school football team that won top honors in the state, along with members of the volleyball team. Haile Brown from Congresswoman Debbie Dingell’s office presented a framed proclamation honoring the football champs that she said would be put into the Congressional Record. State Rep. Ranjeev Puri presented a resolution honoring the success of the district’s fall sports program, signed by him, the governor, and the lieutenant governor. He said he is working on a plan to bring the football team to Lansing to be honored;
• Approved an agreement between owner and vendor for furniture, furnishings, and equipment with NBS Commercial Interiors for an amount not to exceed $430,000 pending final review of terms by district legal counsel for Owen Intermediate School. The exact cost should be ready after the holidays;
• Approved the Schools of Choice program for the second semester of the 2021-22 school year for classes K-12;
• Approved a resolution that states the district will continue to collect 100% summer taxes. The district’s legal consultant, Thrun, advises this resolution should be adopted annually. Director of Finance Sara Cortese said if the district does not levy summer taxes, it does not have enough fund balance to operate without revenue until the first state aid payment of the school year in October;
• Set the 2022 organizational board meeting for Monday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. in person in the Belleville High School Commons;
• Approved hiring Marissa Moore as a teacher at Savage Elementary School as of Nov. 29;
• Approved the terminations of Elizabeth Varner as a food service employee at McBride Middle School as of Dec. 7; Emily MacBlain as a bus aide as of Dec. 7; and NyBionna Lewis as a bus aide as of Dec. 8. All served less than one year;
• Approved the resignation of Stephanie Holmes from food service at Owen Intermediate School as of Dec. 13 after four years of service; the resignation of Lilla Lamas a paraprofessional at Edgemont Elementary as of Dec. 17 after less than one year of service; and the resignation of Crisandra Welch as a bus aide as of Nov. 3 after less than one year of service;
• Approved the employment of Daviena Kindell as a bus aide as of Dec. 1; Vandella Hubbard as a paraprofessional at Rawsonville Elementary as of Dec. 3; Lindsey Tregenza as a BHS social worker as of Dec. 13; Brenda Houghtaling as a bus aide as of Dec. 15; and LaToyra Weston as Student Services Administrative Assistant at the Administration Building as of Jan. 3;
• Heard parent Joe Flange protest the mask mandate for school district students, giving his reasons and then saying it was child abuse to require the masks on children. He asked twice, “If masks work, why are masks not working?” He referred to the rise in positive tests despite masks. [On Tuesday morning, Flange contacted the Independent with this message: Mr. Kudlak contacted me this morning and thanked me for addressing the board. He said the board has no intention of lifting the mask mandate until the Wayne County Health Dept suggests to lift it. I appreciate his reaching out to me. It was unexpected and is deserving of respect.];
• Heard parent Angela Mears announce that McBride Middle School will get 10% of the sales at Hungry Howie’s on Belleville Road on Monday, Dec. 20, if there are 50 orders where the customer mentions McBride. The orders also can be online, if they mention McBride in the area provided, or by phone, if McBride is mentioned. She said they narrowly missed getting 50 orders in the program last month;
• Heard student board member Morgan Stuckey report the student council is finishing its toy drive for children and getting ready to participate in Holiday Spirit Week;
• Heard reports that the McBride Robotics team did well in weekend competition and has been invited to participate in state competition. Also, the JROTC program is advancing in national academic competition;
• Heard Supt. Kudlak announce that quarterback Bryce Underwood, a BHS freshman, was named AP Player of the Year for Divisions 1 and 2 for leading his team to its state football championship; and
• Heard Director of Instruction Jeff Moore announce they are starting a new Esports program that includes marketing and design.