VB School Board elects Amy Pearce as new president

Amy Pearce, who was sworn in to her new seat on the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education just a year ago, was unanimously elected board president at Monday’s organizational meeting.
This was her first elective office.
Former board president Keith Johnston said he was not running for reelection and he nominated Pearce for the position. He said he wanted to step down and be on the board for the rest of his term to offer his experience to new leadership.
The other officers elected were the same as last year: Vice President Susan Featheringill, Secretary Darlene Loyer Gerick, and Treasurer Simone Pinter.
During the organizational meeting the board also approved regular meeting dates, approved resolutions to establish depositories for school funds for 2020 and to authorize investments for 2020.
Board members were reappointed to the same committees as last year:
• Facilities Committee: Pinter, Johnston, and Gerick;
• Finance Committee: Featheringill, Pinter, and Pearce;
• Health Advisory Committee: Johnston, Owen, and Pinter;
• Policy Committee: Featheringill, Pearce, and Hawkins; and
• School Improvement Committee: Gerick, Owen, and Hawkins.
During the organizational meeting, the board also received certificates of appreciation from the Michigan Association of School Boards and bright yellow bags of gifts from the local school district.
The district was celebrating January as School Board Member Recognition Month and there were sweet treats and soft drinks for the board and public present.
School Supt. Pete Kudlak thanked board members for all the work they do, as he handed out the certificates and the bags. He also thanked a long list of local organizations and individuals for their gifts to students during the holiday season.
The regular meeting began at 7:20 p.m. and the board:
• Approved the resignation of teacher Kelly Zmudczynski from Edgemont Elementary School as of Dec. 20, 2019 with less than a year of service, for personal reasons, and Rodney Fisher from McBride Middle School after 33 years of service for retirement as of Dec. 19, 2019. He was an assistant principal and will be replaced by a counselor;
• Approved resignations of non-instructional staff members Stefanie Steffes from Edgemont as of Jan. 10 for personal reasons after two years of service; and Phil Shanks, head custodian at Rawsonville, as of Jan. 31, after 19 years of service;
• Heard Rob Kakoczki of Plante Moran CRESA give a bond update presentation and then passed a resolution to sell the first series of bonds for $13 million. This first series will build the Early Childhood Development Center on the property purchased from St. Anthony and redo Davis Street. Series 2 bonds will be sold in 2022 and Series 3 bonds in 2024. The bonds were approved by voters in the Nov. 5 election;
• Approved the second reading and adoption of seven board policies. The policies were discussed at the last meeting of the board in December; and
• Learned the Jr. ROTC at the high school was inspected and did drills for a military officer, who also looked at each student’s uniform, hair, and the number enrolled at the school, and this will determine the future status of the group. The school currently pays to have the group and, in the future, if the local group passes the inspections, the Navy could pay to have it at BHS.