After extensive discussion at the March 14 meeting of the Keystone Academy board of directors meeting, the board agreed to wait until later in the school year to name a replacement for board president Vesta Losen, who retired after 20 years on the board as of March 1.
National Heritage Academy representative Andrew Roth said there had been preliminary plans for JC Huizinga, who organized NHA, and new NHA CEO Jason Pater to be at that evening’s meeting to honor Losen. But he said she had retired as of March 1, so they decided she shouldn’t come. He said Losen said she had a busy week and so he contacted the two and told them not to come.
The board voted to officially accept Losen’s retirement and decided informally to continue with four board members, instead of five, for a while.
Two educators, recommended by Losen, had been interviewed at the February meeting and Roth said he would call them to ask if they are still interested and tell them the board will be interviewing others, as well.
The process to fill the board seat is to have a recommendation from the local board, which is then sent on to Bay Mills Community College, the authorizer of the Keystone Charter. After Bay Mills approves the recommendation, Keystone swears in the person as a board member.
The seat occupied by Losen was designated to be filled by an educator and so the board hopes to find another educator to fill the position. Since educators are difficult to find for school boards, Roth said Bay Mills probably would approve someone who wasn’t an educator for an empty seat.
At the April 11 meeting of the board Princial Jorvanna Drain responded to the board’s suggestion at a previous meeting that someone from the PTO be interviewed for a board position. Principal Drain said Christine Dare, who is a very active parent at the school, would be a good board member. Drain said Dare told her she was interested in serving on the board.
Dare was invited to come to the next board meeting at 5 p.m. May 9.
In other business at the 50-minute meeting on April 11, the board:
• Heard board vice-president Steven Harsant, who was chairing the meeting since there presently is no president, say he would like Drain to see how the board can help at the next level. He said he knows there are a lot of resources at the National Heritage Academies offices. NHA representative Roth suggested he could bring government-relations people to speak to the board, about contacting local officials and state legislators. Harsant said, “We had a person with 25 years of experience retire and we have to learn more about what is possible for us to do. “She knew everything and we have to learn,” he said of Losen;
• Filled out Conflict of Interest Disclosure forms and the 2023-24 Board Satisfaction Surveys;
• Voted to close out four items on the board budget that have been completed, including the 2023 NHA Board Symposium, 20th Anniversary Celebration, and Christmas Marketing and Staff Luncheon;
• Reviewed the ARP-ESSER Safe Return to School Plan Spring 2024 Update. Roth said nothing has changed since the last report and this report goes away in the fall;
• Reviewed the monthly and year-to-date Discipline Report and the Truancy Report. There were no incidents of student assault staff member for the entire school year. The Attendance Report for 2023-24 shows average daily attendance of 93% and percent chronically absent (10% or more of enrolled days) of 27%;
• Was advised that Darius C placed third and Caleb Ujeniuc placed seventh in NHA’s regional spelling bee;
• Learned new certified hires are a seventh grade ELA teacher and a seventh grade math teacher, who will be in place next school year; and
• Was informed open enrollment has started for the 2024-25 school year and Keystone has 42 more applications in comparison to last year at this time. With current re-enrolling and registered students, Keystone has 737 students projected to enroll for the 2024-25 school year.
March 14 Board Meeting
At the one-hour-and-34-minute meeting on March 14, the board:
• Approved the school calendar for the 2024-25 school year. The first day of school for students is Aug. 26 and the last day is a half day on June 6. This amounts to 180 school days;
• Approved spending $150 total for the two in the office for Office Staff Appreciation Week, April 22-26;
• Approved spending up to $375 for the Administrative Staff Appreciation Week, which includes Principal Jorvonna Drain and four deans;
• Approved spending up to $2,000 for the Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week, May 6-10, which would allow for one food truck and one dessert truck for the 65 staff members;
• Approved the contract with auditor Alan C. Young and Associates for the upcoming audit;
• Approved joining the PTO in sponsoring the two, $1,000 each Perseverance Scholarships being offered to Keystone graduates who were now graduating from a high school or home school. The Keystone board will pay $1,000 and the PTO $1,000;
• Reviewed the ESSER III report on use of the $1,140,232 received in federal funds. The money has to all be spent by Sept. 30. Roth said, “When the money is gone, we don’t know how it will effect staff.” The ESSER grants have paid for grants to employees that may have kept them in the Keystone jobs;
• Heard reports from Drain on school performance, discipline, and other details;
• Heard Keystone vice president Steve Harsant, who was chairing the meeting, ask for marked shirts for board members so they could be identified by parents at public events. Roth said he would look into a proposal;
• Heard Harsant ask Principal Drain to bring her wish list for money from the board budget for the rest of the school year, so the board could determine the best ways to allocate the funds. Drain said at the April 11 meeting that she would have her list at the May meeting;
• Watched a brief video explaining NHA operation to board members. Roth said he will show a new video each month from NHA;
• Reviewed the 100-page 2023-24 Annual Education Report written by Drain and her administrative staff. When asked by a board member what “Rigor” meant exactly, Drain replied it had to do with challenging each student enough;
• Learned Caleb U won the Keystone 3rd and 4th grade spelling bee and will advance to the NHA Regional Spelling Bee in March; and
• Heard Drain say the Young 5s through 5th graders enjoyed an assembly with Deb Pilutti, a local author, who kept the students engaged while she read one of her books and did activities with them. Keystone was able to purchase each of the students attending one of Pilutti’s books.