Supt. Kudlak: Plan is to be in-person for all students this fall

At the end of a long, in-person meeting on Monday, June 14, School Supt. Pete Kudlak told the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education that the “plan is to be in person for all this fall.”
He said he “can’t see the future, but as August rolls around, we’ll set the rules.”
Supt. Kudlak said he doesn’t know yet about whether everyone will be wearing masks because that will be decided on a state level.
A mother in the audience at the in-person meeting at the high school cafeteria asked about whether Belleville Online classes will still be offered and Kudlak said it will, but that is a very small group of people.
Board members and staff members thanked the students and parents and staff for getting through this year of COVID. The next day, Tuesday, was the last half-day of school.
In other business at the two-hour-and-43-minute meeting, the board:
• Honored spring athletes and district retirees in a celebration that took almost an hour at the beginning of the meeting. Athletic Director Joseph Brodie said he has determined that there is a 3.1 overall grade point average for all the student athletes at Belleville High School;
• Approved the resignation of Stefanie Halliday after 16 years of non-instructional service in the district as of June 30 and approved hiring Michael Wakefield for maintenance work in Plant Operations as of June 7;
• Approved the resignation of Belleville High School teacher Erica Boulas after six years of service as of June 30 for a job opportunity;
• Approved the hiring of teachers for the 2021-22 school year: Amanda Wright, Tyler Elementary; Jessica Pendo, elementary school to be determined; Taylor Carroll and Lauren Szafranski, Savage Elementary; Kelly Watson, Melanie Prince, Eyonna Tredway, and Shannon Brown, Owen Intermediate; Kevin Wroblewski, McBride Middle School; and Kareen Dillard-Biggs, BHS;
• Approved the resolution authorizing membership in the Michigan High School Athletic Association for the 2021-22 school year;
• Heard Gary Kent of Plante Morgan CRESA report on the bidding process for paving contractor for Savage Elementary parking lot. Recommendation is to give the contract to Al’s Asphalt & Paving at $141,241, the lowest of four bids, with a construction contingency budget of $14,124. The recommendation will be on the agenda of the June 28 meeting for a vote;
• Discussed the Robotics Arm Programming class planned for next school year at BHS using the donated robotic arm. A formal bid package was put out for hardware, software, and training of teachers. There was one bidder, Watkins-FANUC, at a total cost of $49,297.19. This bid will be on the agenda of the June 28 meeting for a vote;
• Heard reports from Savage Elementary, Tyler Elementary, and BHS on school initiatives and an update on their COVID-19 School Safety Plan, as requested by Kudlak;
• Heard Director of Instruction Jeff Moore give a state-required report on the reconfirmation of the extended COVID-19 plan, noting it would be the last one he would have to do this school year since school would be out for the summer the next day;
• Discussed results of progress in Mathematics and Reading through tests that he said were not reliable because of the pandemic and some students were at school, some at home, and some not signing up for the tests;
• Approved Mary Beth Voigt to a three-year term as the district’s representative to Wayne RESA’s Parent Advisory Committee;
• Approved the two-year contract with the Van Buren Association of Educational Secretaries, which includes six Act of God days, steps for all eligible employees beginning at $15.29 and topping at $23, a note that current longevity language in the collective bargaining agreement sunsets at the end of the contract, all members eligible for dental and vision benefits, and other mutually agreed upon contract changes;
• Approved a one-year contract with the Van Buren Food Service Association, which includes a 20-cent raise for all members with a starting wage of $11.34 and end of third semester, $13.72. Cook-manager classification gets $16.15 at BHS and $16 at the other schools. There were other mutually agreed upon contract changes. Human Resource Director Abdul Madyun explained that the budget was low this year because of COVID, so they will look at this again after a year;
• Signed a one-year agreement for the 2021-22 school year with Wayne Westland Community Schools for vocational education services for certain VBPS students. VBPS pays 25% FTE (full-time equivalent) of the Wayne-Westland Foundation Grant per student plus an additional amount of $50 per student for administrative cost;
• Heard Mr. Ramsey ask the board about bus transportation for his GT child. He said that the district informed him they would no longer pick up children at the childcare center he runs. Kudlak said he will talk to him about it in person, but the way they are doing it now is that students sign up for transportation and then group stops are set up to accommodate those students. Board president Amy Pearce said it changes each year and pointed out bus transportation is not a state requirement; and
• Heard James Williams, director of plant operations, announce they had been waiting for work by DTE but now he expects the demolition of the Sumpter Road property to begin on June 23.