VBPS board takes step to replace football field turf, update track

At Monday’s regular, in-person meeting of the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education, the board approved a $37,500 agreement with Foresite Design of Berkley for athletic design services for turf replacement and track reconditioning at Belleville High School.
Information was presented in detail at the regular meeting on Aug. 23 and the board voted unanimously on Monday to approve the agreement.
Board president Amy Pearce said this is just the design part of the project and the project will come back to the board for construction approval.
School Supt. Pete Kudlak said besides design development, Foresite will also deal with construction documents and bidding and construction administration.
Foresite estimates total construction project costs at $665,000 and if the district wishes to incorporate a pad under the new turf system it would add $100,000 to the costs.
The work is intended for construction in the spring/summer of 2022, with bidding in October/November 2021. The football field and track originally were constructed in 2012.
At the beginning of the meeting, during public comment, parent Todd Mears said the field is in good condition and he wonders if the district couldn’t defer these expenses for a year to save money because of COVID.
Supt. Kudlak said the field is in good shape, but not great shape, and consultants recommended it be replaced. He pointed out the district has been putting money aside every year to save up for the replacement, but they have not saved enough for the project, so other funds will be added.
Also in Monday’s regular meeting, the board:
• Heard president Pearce summarize 176 pages of policy updates proposed by the board’s law firm, Thrun Law. This is considered the first reading of the changes. At the next meeting the final reading and approval is expected on these and a new group of changes presented for its first reading;
• Approved resignations of the following teachers for other job opportunities: Sarah Brown, Edgemont Elementary, after six years of service; Andrew Goins, McBride Middle School, after five-and-a-half years of service; and Megan Holmes after three years of service, Yolanda Curtis, after seven years of service, and Amy Watkins, after 21 years of service, all from Belleville High School; Janeen Mendal, Haggerty, after two years of service; and Gabrielle Johnson, after four years of service, and Christina Kramer, after five years of service, both of Owen Intermediate. Emily Mills, BHS, resigned after one year of service with no reason given;
• Approved hiring of the following teachers: Myla Bennett, Owen Intermediate; Carmen Orlich, Edgemont Elementary; Anitress Gray, McBride Middle School; Coblie Wakeley and Maureen Sullivan, Tyler Elementary; Karl Neff, Donna Wizinsky, Heba Ghanem, Misty Foster, and Megan Harple, all BHS;
• Approved resignations for the following non-instructional staff: Laurence Williams, BHS, for a job opportunity after zero years of service; Diana Ramsey, retiring after 26 years in Transportation; Louis Moore and Timothy Smith, after one year each in Transportation, for personal reasons; Brenda Clark and Marcia Jones after zero years of service each in Transportation, for personal reasons; Rachel Murdock, Rawsonville Elementary, after less than one year of service because she is moving; and Amanda Kolawole, Owen Intermediate, after three years of service, for personal reasons;
• Approved hiring the following non-instructional employees: paraprofessionals Danika Cavins-Mason, Tyler Elementary; Mariha Campbell and Johanna Hanson, Edgemont Elementary; and Toni Suggs, Owen Intermediate. BHS Food Service Workers Melissa Meimaridis and Edith Jenkins were hired, along with bus driver Emily Calvert, and BHS student safety liaison Jermain Crowell;
• Heard Supt. Kudlak say a lot of employees are leaving this district but for it to be done at this time of year is unusual. He said there used to be a very clear etiquette on what time of year to resign. He said because of the teacher shortage, that is all out the window;
• Heard Mears ask about the foundation allowance and how it has changed since the state approved the education budget. Kudlak said they had set the allowance at $8,228 for the district budget, but it now is $8,700 and they will have a budget amendment in November. He said 43 districts in the state make more than $8,700 because they tax themselves more. Mears also asked about the federal ESSER funds and Pearce said the district has three years to spend ESSER. Kudlak said they have hired teachers for three years and some of the construction improvements, such as for cleaner air, qualifies for these funds;
• Also heard Mears ask about COVID and whether Kudlak is going to close the schools because BHS has the highest rate of COVID of the high schools in this area. [The district listed 12 cases for the short holiday week of Sept. 7-10.] Kudlak said he is not closing the school and they found that the cases were isolated events that didn’t happen in the school. He said the whole area of Belleville, Van Buren Township, and Sumpter Township all went up. When asked how many are vaccinated in the high school, Kudlak said the Wayne County estimate for the district was 45-50%;
• Heard Human Resources Director Abdul Madyun say there is a lot of mobility in the teaching staff and BHS has a couple of places left to fill. Kudlak said they were also short on parapros. Madyun noted they were very good in transportation and Kudlak pointed out they never went to third-party contractors. Madyun said the changes to the contract also helped. Madyun said the district put out a call for proposals for security and ended up hiring the same company as last year, which was the lowest bidder. Kudlak said the district also hired a couple of security people for the district to use to oversee the other security people;
• Heard Financial Director Sara Cortese say the budget is on the website and it includes ESSER and federal funds. She said $3 million in ESSER funds are spent in 2021 and there is $14 million budgeted for 2022 and some will continue through 2024;
• Heard Kudlak thank the Salvation Army, Messiah Church, and Autokiniton (the former L&W Engineering) for donating truckloads of school supplies. The district was able to pack 130 backpacks for students, along with 70 bags of school supplies and three more boxes of supplies. He said Moving the Mitten brought an ice cream truck to all the schools during the first few days the teachers were there and that was greatly appreciated. He thanked the Transportation Department for working though the times that were “crazy for them” because some plans look good on computer and then in person don’t work out. He said also some parents didn’t sign up for transportation and that made problems. He also thanked the kindergarten teachers who work with a wide array of new children, from some non-verbal to those with high skills. He said they get the children to line up and be orderly;
• Heard treasurer Simone Pinter remind everyone that the Education Foundation is having a fund-raising party at The Garage on Saturday and all the money raised goes to the schools;
• Heard president Pearce say that the students say masks are not an issue and they are just happy to be together again. All they need is something over their mouth and they can have all this again, she said. She also thanked the staff at the high school, with some giving up their prep time to cover other classes without teachers. She said she wears a mask because she thinks it’s for the greater good; and
• Went into closed-door session to consider attorney-client information.