Employees thank school board for free classes at Pryde Athletics

Five school employees thanked the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education for the wellness program they have been given since January 2016.
At Monday’s school board meeting Abdul Madyun, Director of Human Resources, explained the district has been offering a few programs to employees to promote wellness and safety.
He said all employees have the option of attending two classes per week at Pryde Athletics in Belleville and it has been very well received. He said the district pays for the sessions.
He said 60 employees have signed up.
Five employees got up at various times throughout the board meeting to expand on how the exercise programs at Pryde have improved their lives and given them more energy. A paraprofessional said she lost more than 50 pounds.
“It’s been a positive influence,” Madyun said.
He also said 50 staff members have been trained so far in Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) in a program in conjunction with Van Buren Township Recreation Department. Any employee interested may sign up and the daylong, Saturday training session is paid for by the school district.
In other business at Monday’s meeting the school board:
• Heard a presentation by Savage Elementary School Principal Lisa Preuss and four teachers on new programs at the school to build a positive environment. She said the school now averages 95% monthly attendance rates. There was a long presentation and a video show on Class DoJo, a computer program free to teachers that includes students taking pictures of each other, teachers sending pictures of students home to their parents, and a focus on several moral teachings, such as persistence. Preuss said every grade and all the staff is involved in DoJo;
• Heard the first reading of about 60 pages of board policy updates. Most were changes mandated by changes in state law;
• Heard School Supt. Pete Kudlak announce that James Williams, director of building and grounds, has two more bids to get for work to demolish the ECDC building and build a parking lot. Once the costs are in, the board can decide what it wants to do there;
• Heard Supt. Kudlak list his six goals, a part of the abbreviated evaluation process he is undergoing;
• Approved the hiring of Nicole Beckham as a Human Resources Specialist in the Administration Building as of March 15; Lynda Kime for Payroll in the Administration Building as of March 27; and Jane Stalmack as Special Projects Coordinator at the Administration Building as of March 13;
• Heard Trustee Sherry Frazier state that attorney bills for January have come in and they are $30,691.75. She said taking this much away from the educational budget to pay attorneys is “shameful;”
• Heard a report from board member Kelly Owen on the BHS band that went to Indianapolis to perform with 59 other bands from across the country. Trustee Frazier noted that two of the BHS band members were named to the 2017 Honor Band of America;
• Heard a report from teacher Aaron Lange about the BHS Robotics Team that competed in St. Joseph, MI, the team’s first competition since organizing. The rookie team was among the top 12 of the 40 teams competing. BHS won the Highest Rookie Seed Award and the Rookie Inspiration Award. “I never cheered for an inanimate object before,” Lange said. The team’s next competition is April 7-8 at Churchill High School in Livonia;
• Heard Supt. Kudlak announce that district individuals won medals in the recent Science Olympiad; and
• Heard the boys’ basketball team won the district game on Friday and made it to the regionals where they lost to Romulus, 72-55. Also, the girls’ team won the district title on March 3 and made it to regionals, where they lost in the regional final to Ann Arbor Huron.
Although it was noted on the agenda, a closed-door session to discuss lawsuit # 16-cv-11805 (Savage teachers vs. district) was not held.