School Board names Keith Johnston president on 4-3 vote

In the Jan. 9 organizational meeting of the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education there were four officers to elect and all votes were on secret, 4-3 votes.
School Supt. Peter Kudlak asked board members to nominate candidates for office and then he passed out pieces of paper for each to write down a choice. He then collected the ballots, tallied the votes, and announced the winners.
Trustee Sherry Frazier voiced opposition to the procedure, saying votes have always been open in the past, with board members voicing their preferences openly. But Supt. Kudlak continued.
For president, Bennett nominated Johnston and Pinter nominated Featheringill. Kudlak announced four votes for Johnston and three for Featheringill.
For vice president, Pinter nominated Featheringill and English nominated Bennett. The tally was 4-3 for Bennett.
For secretary, Frazier nominated Featheringill and Owen nominated English. The tally was 4-3 for English.
For treasurer, Bennett nominated Owen and Pinter again nominated Featheringill. The vote was 4-3 for Bennett.
The board then approved Kudlak’s recommendation for two regular meetings a month on the second and fourth Mondays at 7 p.m., at the BHS Commons or Administration Building, with work/study sessions set on an as-needed basis. The May 3 meeting will be at 1:30 p.m. at the Administration Building for exit reviews from an accreditation team.
The board also approved the unchanged depository for school funds and authorized investments for school funds for the 2016-17 school year.
The regular meeting followed the organizational meeting and the board:
• Approved hiring Joelle Laginess as a BHS Spanish teacher, starting Dec. 19, and Zachery Murray as a BHS chemistry teacher as of Jan. 9. Laginess was salutatorian of the BHS class of 2012;
• Approved terminations of two teachers with less than one year service: Nicole Karabouyas left her MMS position for other employment on Nov. 23 and Charles Nabring, left BHS, as of Dec. 23 for relocation;
• Approved hiring Andrea Hayre as a custodian as of Dec. 12;
• Volunteered for standing committees being appointed by Kudlak. On the Policy committee are Featheringill, Bennett, and English. On the Health Advisory committee are Frazier and Johnston. On the School Improvement committee are Owen and Pinter;
• Heard Human Resources Director Abdul Madyun read in full a Family Rights to Privacy and Freedom of Information Act statement. Any parent/guardian wishing to deny the release of directory information concerning their child should contact the superintendent’s office for the proper forms required;
• Heard new Trustee Featheringill say she had questions on check payments and had sent her questions to the superintendent, who got the answers for her. Trustee Frazier said in the spirit of transparency Featheringill should share the information. Featheringill then launched into a lengthy report on more than 15 checks, including two to individuals whose vehicles were hit by school buses;
• Held a discussion on legal costs after Financial Director Shareen Barker announced the district had finally received the invoices from Collins & Blaha attorneys for September and October, about $20,000. She said that makes about $50,000 total for this fiscal year. Frazier said before June 30 it was $150,000 just on the Savage situation. Frazier said someone got a settlement from Van Buren Public Schools and she would like to know about all lawsuits. President Johnston said they will get a report in closed session later that evening;
• Heard Secretary Kevin English read a letter to the editor he wrote questioning the President-elect’s appointment of Betsy Devos as Secretary of Education. He invited others to sign the letter with him; and
• Went into closed-door session to discuss pending litigation and attorney / client privilege items.
The next meeting will be at 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 23 at the BHS Commons.