School Board agrees it’s too early for sinking fund renewal election

At the March 22 regular meeting of the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education, the first in-person meeting for several months, the board informally decided that this November was too early to hold the proposed sinking fund renewal election.
At the last meeting of the board, School Supt. Pete Kudlak explained why the election needed to be this November, to give the board a chance to run another election if the first one failed.
On Monday, Supt. Kudlak said they were supposed to decide what language to put on the ballot at that meeting, but the district’s law firm questioned why he wanted it so early. The election could be held in November 2022 or even the spring of 2023 without losing anything, since the millage runs through the end of 2022.
Kudlak said it was noted that they would have two sinking funds at once, if the renewal passed, but they could only levy the highest millage.
“If we wait for another year, we would still have two chances,” Kudlak said. “I was a little over-eager.”
Board president Amy Pearce said nothing else is on the November election at this point and the school district would have to pay for the election.
“We need to stick to the half-mill for seven years that we promised the voters,” she said.
“We could collect the larger sum earlier,” Kudlak said, presuming the board would vote to levy more than the half-mill.
Secretary Darlene Gerick said people have been suffering through the pandemic and she would like them to wait until the economy is better before voting for a millage.
“No need to do anything,” said Kudlak, replying to boardmembers who asked if they should vote on this decision.
In other business at Monday’s hour-long public meeting, the board:
• Reinstated a policy that board members have to be present to vote, which was rescinded during the time the board held virtual meetings;
• Held a Pre-Labor Day Waiver Hearing and then heard the state representative on-line grant the three-year waiver to allow the district to start classes before Labor Day, if desired. Curriculum Director Jeff Moore had explained that the district takes part in Early College programs at Eastern Michigan University, Wayne County Community College, and Washtenaw Community College, as well as classes at William D. Ford Career and Technical Education Center, and all those classes generally begin before Labor Day. Students in those programs – about 222 in all — would miss out on the first days of classes, putting them at a disadvantage, if the VBPS district started after Labor Day. Kudlak said they are considering starting local classes on Aug. 30 or 31;
• Heard Robert Kokoczki of Plante Moran CRESA give an overview of the bids that came in for 77 different kinds of pieces of furniture for the new Early Childhood Development Center. A vote will be taken at the next meeting. Two companies – NBS and ISCG – are both recommended to supply what is needed. Kokoczki said the original budget for furniture was $422,500 and the prices came in just shy of $360,000, so voluntary alternates could be added that brings the total to $396,000, still $27,000 under budget;
• Heard Kokoczki also recommend Capricorn Diversified Systems as the lowest responsible bidder at $59,997, for the Structural Cabling purchase for the new Early Childhood Development Center. The cabling is for all the data drops in the center, including computers, phones, etc. and cameras and other things outside of the classrooms. “It’s everything we need to provide up-to-date services,” said Sean Garland, district IT person;
• Approved accepting the bid of $42,633 from Sentinel Technologies as part of the E-rate grant application. This is to cover a portion of the costs to purchase Cisco switches, a voice router and wireless access points along with configuration and installation for the Early Childhood Development Center. Garland said the grant could cover up to 80% of the project, except for equipment that would support tuition-based programs in the building. Once there is a determination it will come back to the board;
• Approved the 2021-22 purchase of six school buses for a total of $669,566, as presented by Financial Director Sara Cortese. The buses will be delivered this fall. Two are special-education, lift buses and four are regular buses. These are being ordered now because there is an expected price increase with orders placed after April 1, Cortese said;
• Approved the employment of Meagan Nystrom as a GSRP teacher at Haggerty ECDC as of April 5; and approved the termination of plant operations employee Dawn Linton on March 9 after less than one year of service;
• Was introduced to new board student representative Olivia Sylvester;
• Heard Kudlak announce that the Belleville City Council approved BHS graduate banners to be hung from its light poles downtown, 160 at a time, for May, June, and July. He also said the CDC reduced social distancing in the schools to three feet, but Wayne County still requires six feet, so that’s where the schools will stay; and
• Went into closed-door session, “To consider material exempt from discussion or disclosure by state or federal statute” and went back into regular session only to adjourn.