School Board meets to redo vote on VBEST contract provisions

The Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education held a special meeting at 8 p.m., Feb. 11, for the rescission of an invalid board ratification vote on Feb. 9 and reconsideration of approval of the Van Buren Education Support Team (VBEST) contract.
Board President Brent Mikulsi was unable to attend the meeting and Trustee Sherry Frazier abstained from the vote, with the other five board members voting to ratify the contract.
The board voted to ratify the contract on Feb. 9, but School Supt. Michael Van Tassel determined that approval was invalid because Trustee Frazier made the motion to approve the contract, which covered her son, who is a paraprofessional. She abstained from that vote, but her participation in the approval made the vote invalid.
No other action was taken or discussed at the Feb. 11 meeting, according to Pam Johnson, Assistant to the Superintendent, who takes the official minutes for board meetings.