School Board approves resignations, new hires

At the one-hour-and-25-minute meeting on Jan. 24, the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education:
• Approved the resignations of teachers Marcia Newman from the ECC after four years of service as of Jan. 13, Jaime Elgas from Rawsonville Elementary after five years of service as of Jan. 14, and Fatima Thompson from Rawsonville Elementary after six years of service as of Jan. 17;
• Approved the employment of Renee Taylor as Great Start Readiness Program Lead Teacher at the Early Childhood Development Center as of Jan. 14 and Jordan Webb as a teacher at McBride Middle School as of Jan. 25;
• Approved the resignation of Jacqueline Steele from the Transportation after less than one year of year as of Jan. 21;
• Approved employment of Priscilla Jordan as a bus aide in the Transportation Department as of Jan. 14 and Michael Signorelli for part-time maintenance in the Building and Grounds Department as of Jan. 11. It was pointed out Signorelli retired after 35 years and is coming back to help; and
• Had the first reading of five proposed policy changes, led by Dionne Falconer. She said the committee recommended not adopting #3409 Face Mask Requirement or #3119 Experimental or Pilot Programs because neither one is necessary as a policy. The committee recommended revisions to #2201 Board Powers/General Powers, #4205, Hiring and Background Checks and #4601 General. She said two of those allow the superintendent to do his job and the other is to follow the law. The policies will be considered for their second readings and final approval at an upcoming meeting.