Van Buren School Board introduced to new Director of Finance

At the beginning of the Oct. 24 regular meeting of the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education, Human Resources Director John Leroy introduced Pryia Nayak as the new director of finance as of Nov. 1.
She replaces Sarah Cortese who resigned to take a position with the Dearborn Public Schools.
Nayak served a chief financial officer for the Ypsilanti Community Schools from July 2020 until the present. Before that she was director of business and finance in that district from July 2019 to July 2020.
She also has worked at the Wayne-Westland Community Schools, Fitzgerald Public Schools, OneWorld Global HCM Solution in Canton and H&R Block in Canton.
She earned her bachelor of computer science degree at the University of Pune in Pune, India, and is certified as a Business Office Specialist and a Chief Finance Officer.
Also, in the two-hour meeting, the school board:
• After discussion, approved changing the way public comment is recorded in the minutes by giving the first initial and last name of the speaker and then the topic of the comment as written on the required card that must be turned in before speaking. This was after the Independent spoke to say the way the Sept. 26 minutes had recorded the comments of a mother was incorrect. They decided not to record comments altogether. The Sept. 26 minutes were approved as amended with the addition of “She felt the school did not protect her son so she took him to another school”;
• Approved the McBride Middle Schools’ eighth grade bus trip to Washington, D.C. May 18-20, 2023. Approximate cost to student is $750;
• Heard Director of Instruction Jeffrey Moore give a presentation on an application for some of the $52 million in federal funding available in Michigan to address learning loss. As part of the application process, a presentation must be made at a public board meeting that shares how funding received will be used to address learning loss;
• Heard Principal Fred Abel of McBride Middle School, Principal Aleisa Pitt of Tyler Elementary, and Principal Becky Ross of the Early Childhood Center give fall presentations on improvement initiatives they will be working on this year. Ross announced that the Early Childhood Center is full and there is a waiting list;
• Approved the second, final reading of proposed board policy updates as recommended by Thrun Law Firm. The first reading was at the last board meeting. Resident Reg Ion asked that the police concerning guns in school be discussed. Policy #5206 was briefly discussed and he was told it’s what was always was the policy, that a student with a gun has mandatory expulsion, with three exceptions. It’s almost word for word what is in the state statute, said School Supt. Pete Kudlak. The only change is that the “superintendent” was added to the “board” as making the expulsions. “We make it very clear to students that weapons are not allowed on the premises,” said board president Amy Pearce;
• Approved the resignation of Colleen Kaliseski as of Oct. 21 after less than a year as a teacher at Belleville High School;
• Approved the hiring of Raquel Searles as of Nov. 1 as BHS music/vocal teacher. She currently is high school/middle school choir teacher at Grosse Ile;
• Approved the resignation of Francine Tate from the Building Department as of Oct. 10 after less than one year of service;
• Approved hiring the following non-instructional employees: Amanda Ellis as a bus driver as of Oct. 6; Tosha Suggs, for food service at Owen as of Oct. 10; Michael Maus, as custodian as of Oct. 17; and Pryia Nayak as director of finance in the Administration Building, as of Nov. 1;
• Heard parent Kristine Hickman again complain that her 10-year-old black son was removed from a safe place on the bus next to the driver where he was placed to keep him from being bullied by a student who chased him home. She said the bus driver’s white daughter took over that front seat and he was told to sit next to the bully. Hickman said she has the bus rules that say students not assigned to the bus couldn’t ride on it and the white girl was not assigned to the bus. It was a baby-sitting situation, she said. She said she is purchasing her home in West Willow and that makes her paying school taxes and being part owner of the district. Her son took the microphone and told of the incident and being chased home. She said she had been unable to get the videos inside the bus for that incident and others. Her daughter also spoke about being told to talk to the family of the bully and she did and got hit in the face with a gun. She said Washtenaw County Sheriff’s deputies did nothing about it. Hickman said these are Civil Rights offenses. Board President Pearce said Hickman had been talking for 19 minutes and the limit was 3 minutes so she was ending her comment. Hickman said she would be back;
• Heard parent Kevin Farr ask what “Tiger Time” is. He said his son hates it and several other students dislike the program. He said it takes away from learning regular subjects. Supt. Kudlak said he would talk to him about it and the principal would call him;
• Heard Supt. Kudlak say the big football helmet in the Commons (cafeteria) was dedicated before the Homecoming football game. He said the BYC donated quite a bit of money to get it made. He said they thought it might stay outside at the stadium, but it wouldn’t last long outside. It is a permanent fixture in the Commons now, except for times it might be used for rallies; and
• Heard Kudlak say the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s deputies who were at the parents’ meeting after the gun incident at BHS said that kids were getting guns by trying door handles of cars. Kudlak said they were told by the police that leaving a gun on your dashboard in an unlocked car is not a crime and there are no repercussions to the gun owner if it’s stolen. Whoever takes it is liable, he said. But, he said they were told, the gun can be unsecured anywhere and the owner is not liable for it. He said everyone was surprised to hear that was the law.