At its regular meeting on Monday, the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education unanimously re-elected Martha Toth as president for the coming year.
During the annual organizational meeting, Brenda McClanahan was elected vice president; Kevin English, secretary; and Toni Hunt, treasurer.
Before anything could happen, however, 34th District Court Judge David Parrott gave the oath of office to Toth and board newcomer Brent Mukulski.
The board established the regular meeting dates as the second and fourth Mondays of the month at 7 p.m., except for no meetings on April 9 during Spring Break and May 28, Memorial Day.
The meeting place was agreed to be at Rawsonville Elementary School, except for the Employee Retirement Recognition meeting on June 4 at the Belleville High School Auditorium.
President Toth said the meetings are all scheduled for Rawsonville and once they know for sure when they can start meeting in the new BHS, the meeting place will be changed.
The board also unanimously approved the recommendations of Director of Finance Karen Moffitt on the Depository for School Funds (PNC Bank) and investments for the 2011-12 school year.
In the regular meeting that followed the organizational meeting, the board:
• Approved work/study sessions for the year at 7 p.m. at the Administration Building on the third Mondays of each month. But, there will be no work/study session this month;
• Set a special Board meeting at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 17, at the Administration Building to pay current bills and start review of the draft of the update of the 2005 policy manual that they have been working on for a year with a consultant from NEOLA. Toth asked that the board spend at least an hour during the special meeting to review the first part of the 6” thick draft. Also, Bill Blaha from Collins & Blaha law firm will be in attendance to update the board on the status of its EEOC complaint;
• Agreed to discuss the “term limits” of board members as set by the state. Mikulski said under the new law he and Toth had an extra year added since school board elections will be every two years. Toth said it will be three years before the act goes into effect, but it could be discussed. “Why are they getting involved in this?” Toth said of the state. “It’s so aggravating”;
• Approved the employment of Patricia Wauford as a bus driver starting Nov. 28; and the recall from layoff of two teachers, Jennifer Runyan at South Middle School and Lisa Myers at North Middle School, as of Jan. 30;
• Discussed information on the Student Directory and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. The information is in all the district’s handbooks, said BHS Principal Michael Van Tassel; and
• Heard Toth praise the late husband of School Board member Sherry Frazier, who was absent from the meeting. Toth said Wayne Frazier was a teacher in the school district for decades and students came in great numbers to the visitation and funeral, saying he changed their lives. Toth pointed out that Wayne Frazier had been an elementary school teacher and still students came to honor him. The principal who hired Wayne years ago even flew in to attend the funeral, Toth said.