School Board again rates Supt. Kudlak as ‘effective’ in his job

At Monday’s regular meeting, the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education met in closed-door session to discuss the annual evaluation of School Supt. Pete Kudlak and then came back into open session to rate him “effective” through December 2018.
This is the second year the board has rated him as “effective” instead of the “highly effective” top rating given to the former School Supt. Michael Van Tassel who left the district under pressure in February 2016.
The proposed categories in the evaluation procedure were: ineffective, minimally effective, effective, or highly effective.
Van Tassel was hired as superintendent in July 2012 and every spring during the annual evaluation was labeled “highly effective” by the school board.
The school board had met in several closed-door sessions this year as part of the evaluation process and wound up the process on Monday. The superintendent’s evaluation period will be January through December of each year.
In another closed-door session on Monday, the board met to discuss an attorney’s recommendation and then came into regular session to pass the following motion.
“I move the Board approve the agreement as presented by legal counsel to resolve a special education student dispute known as Docket Number 18-021751 and that the student who is subject to that dispute be permitted to return to school on Jan. 28, 2019, notwithstanding any prior contrary action of this Board.”
The parents of the special education student involved waited outside the closed-door session and said they hoped the school board would reverse its previous decision to remove their son from the district.
In other business at Monday’s meeting, the board:
• Approved purchase of 11 acres of the back property of St. Anthony Catholic Church, adjoining the high school property, from Mooney Real Estate Holdings (the Archdiocese of Detroit) for $250,000, plus the cost of the inspection, survey, and land divisions. According to the contract, the district will have 90 days to confirm the purchase. Supt. Kudlak said the purchase discussions have taken place over the last six months. When asked what the district will do with the property, Supt. Kudlak said that has not been determined, but it could be for another practice field, parking, or a robotic building, among other potential uses;
• Approved holding the 2019 Organizational Meeting of the school board at 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 14, at the Belleville High School Commons. At this meeting the board will elect officers and set the board meeting dates for the year, among other decisions;
• Approved offering Schools of Choice for the second semester of the school year for an unlimited number of openings. Completed application forms are due by Jan. 28;
• Approved $29,975 worth of student desks and chairs for McBride Middle School from the Great Lakes Furniture Supply Company. A couple of years ago, it was decided that each building could replace furniture in two classrooms per year. This is the same classroom furniture purchased when the new high school was built and has proven to be very flexible, according to McBride Principal John Leroy;
• Held the second reading and approved board policy updates as presented at the last meeting by Treasurer Susan Featheringill. She said also serving on the policy committee were Secretary Kevin English and Trustee Alison Bennett;
• Thanked English and Bennett for their time on the school board, since this was their last meeting. Kudlak presented framed certificates from the Michigan Association of School Boards. A reception with cake and punch was held before the meeting to honor the two;
• Thanked the Belleville Rotary Club for all its help over the years, including $500,000 worth of student scholarships, plus the most recent collection of 101 coats for students in need. Kudlak presented an armload of thank-you cards made by the students who received the coats;
• Honored members of the BHS football team for a season that left them KLAA East Division Champions, KLAA League Champions, and MHSAA Division 1 District Champion (first in school history) and Regional Champions (Final Four – first in school history). Athletic Director Joseph Brodie presented “Final Four” t-shirts for members of the board;
• Heard Tonya Porzondek praise at length her son-in-law Kevin English for his nine years on the school board. “You are one of a kind,” she concluded, adding, “We’ll always call you ‘our little politician’”;
• Heard Director of Plant Operations James Williamson report all the safety “boots” are on the doors and there will be a final walk-through to make everything is complete. He gave updates on the bids for Owen and McBride media center construction and the Tyler boiler project;
• Heard Human Resources Director Abdul Madyun report the Michigan State Police audited the district security files and the MSP trooper told him it was one of the best audits he’d received. There is some follow-up work there. Also, Madjun said he sent a Proposal One memo to all of the staff, telling them the new state law on marijuana changes nothing in how the district operates;
• Heard Supt. Kudlak report the district is somber because it lost a student last week, apparently referring to the recent suicide. He said the district is offering services to the students who need support. He said the student was well-known and well-liked; and
• Heard Kudlak say the logo committee has been meeting and has selected a tiger it likes and will be meeting with a graphic artist. The committee also is deciding on a color and fonts for the letters and, “Any time you use a tiger, it’s this tiger, this paw, this letter, and this color orange.” He said there will be a presentation to the board at the end of January or beginning of February. He said this logo will be used as things need to be replaced.