Van Buren Schools closed to in-person learning until Jan. 19

The Van Buren Public Schools are closed to in-person learning until Jan. 19. The wholesale switch to virtual learning took place Nov. 30, after Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the three-week “pause” in in-person education and other activities.
The official word is the schools are closed until Jan. 15, but that is a Friday and Monday, the 18th is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so schools would not be open again until Jan. 19, according to plans.
At the board of education’s regular meeting on Nov. 23, the first thing on the agenda was to suspend its board policy of requiring voting in person, since after one in-person meeting, the board had to go back to meeting via Zoom.
“We’ve been planning this for a while now, been having conversations about this,” School Supt. Pete Kudlak told the board at its meeting.
He said the previous Sunday, Sean Garland and his team went out to the elementary school buildings to see what equipment was needed and they will be ready to hand out equipment.
Supt. Kudlak said they also have been studying redeploying the staff since now they cannot pay employees for not doing work.
“We’re finding things to be done we usually don’t have time to do,” he said, noting secretaries, too, are being redeployed.
“It’s a big difference this time,” he said. “You have to work to be paid.”
He said the district invited the Wayne County Health Department out to walk some schools and they went through McBride and Savage and, “We picked their brains.” They gave the district a few suggestions and when they get back to school on Jan. 19 they can be used.
“We can’t wait until Jan. 19 when we open the schools for all our students,” Kudlak said. “In-person education is best for students.” He said for the at-risk students the gap is super-wide. “Those kids need that service… They need bus drivers and parapros.”
Kudlak said the order was for high schools to shut down all athletics and for all K-12 in-person learning through Dec. 8. He said the Michigan High School Athletic Association has already rescheduled playoffs, but they don’t know if they will be allowed.
He said the playoff game of Belleville High School against Detroit Cass Tech is tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m., Dec. 16, at the BHS football field.
Human Resources Director Abdul Madyun said he has been having meetings almost daily with representatives of the bargaining units. He said there is a lot of concern about the shutdown and they want to receive checks.
Finance Director Sara Cortese said her office is switching to all remote. Also, the meals for students will be sent out on school buses to areas of the district, like they did in the spring. She said there will be four routes throughout the district, based on elementary bus routes.
She stressed that people have to register for the meals. In the spring they sent out too many meals and some had to be thrown out.
Curriculum Director Jeff Moore said they are preparing for the pause in in-person learning and making sure teachers have what they need. He said they changed what they called “conferences” to provide more flexibility.
Board President Amy Pearce said the changes were very popular with parents. Moore said in the future they plan to continue the practice to give parents more flexibility.
Kudlak read a comment from an observer of the Zoom meeting saying that those were the best parent-teacher conferences ever. Board vice-president Susan Featheringill said the conferences were 10 minutes and then they shut you off. “I thought it worked very well,” Featheringill said.
James Williams, Director of Plant Operations, said during the pause in learning his team will be doing deep cleaning and maintenance without the students here to be ready for in-person education, “when they let us go back.”
Williams also said he is looking to get a new plow truck to replace the 2004 model. Kudlak said it is in the budget.
President Pearce said she wanted to give a shout-out to Dionisia Munoz, the district nurse. She said when the Health Department came out the previous week, they were amazed at the district’s mitigation efforts and a lot of the credit goes to Williams and his group and to Munoz.
Kudlak said she is the best district nurse he has ever been around.
“Some parents are not easy to talk off the ledge.”