Keystone board elects new president: Christine Mahaly of Van Buren Twp.

Christine Mahaly of Van Buren Township was unanimously elected the new president of the Keystone Academy Board of Directors and she will take over her duties on July 1.
Keystone president Steven Harsant said that he and Mahaly agreed last year that Harsant would serve a year and then Mahaly, who was vice-president, would step into the president’s role and he would become vice president.
He said when the former president, Vesta Losen, retired she had served on the board since the school was formed and was president for many years. When she left there was a gap in the experience on the board.
By spreading the experience around the board will “deepen the base of tribal knowledge,” he said at the May 8 regular meeting of the board.
The new board will be president Mahaly, vice president Harsant, treasurer Charlene Derrick and secretary Kimberly Kowalski. That will be it unless Kowalski, who was not at the meeting, turns down another term as secretary.
In other business at the 56-minute annual meeting on May 8, the board:
• Held a budget hearing with no comments from the public on the proposed 2025-26 budget as prepared by National Heritage Academies, who manages the school. Later in the agenda the proposed budget was unanimously adopted;
• As part of the annual meeting action items, approved the new FOIA officer, attorney Ruth Skidmore; the same board legal counsel; the AHERA contact; the Title VI, Title IX, and Section 504 contact; and the school safety commission liaison;
• Approved the 2025-26 Parent and Student Handbook with the addition of a policy for screening threats;
• Ratified the 2024-25 audit letter of engagement;
• Approved the board analysis to be presented to Bay Mills Community College which is considering renewing the school’s charter;
• Approved spending $3,000 in board funds to help fund the Summer Learning Check-ins, where students get to go free to Rolling Hills in Ypsilanti when half-way done with the summer’s lesson book and then BIG Best in Games in Ypsilanti is open to them after finishing the summer’s lesson book;
• Tabled approval of board funds for the 2025 NHA Board Symposium in Grand Rapids on July 14-16 because some of the board members are unsure if they will be able to go. It is the NHA’s celebration of its 30th anniversary. The cost is $1,800 each with one night of lodging;
• Approved the minutes of a one-hour-20-minute special meeting on May 6 that was mainly held in closed-door session. After coming back into open-session, a motion was made to long-term suspend Student #659104 for the remainder of the 2024-25 school year for possession of a banned item at school. The board voted for suspendsion because fewer than 60 school days remain in the 2024-25 academic year
• Heard the Independent complain that the paper was not informed of the special May 6 meeting and there will be an ongoing FOIA filed with NHA for advisement of any special meetings in the future;
• Was informed of all the special food and activities being held May 5-9 which is school staff appreciation week;
• Heard Principal Jorvanna Drain announce that their scholastic book fair gave each student four free books they had selected. The students also enjoyed the annual carnival and silent dance party, where they danced to music in earphones. She also told of a new garden club launched after school at no charge where students planted a garden;
• Heard Principal Drain tell of the school raising $357 to symbolically adopts a bobcat and coyote through the Howell Nature Cetner. The money goes towards providing their care including x-rays, surgeries, antibiotics, housing and food. Stuffed animals that look like the two they adopted will be transferred from classroom to classroom to cement the relationship. No animals in the school, Drain said; and
• Learned Keystone now has 112 registered new students. There are only 37 available seats until it is fully enrolled. There are no seats available in Kindergarten, first, second, third, fifth, and sixth grades. For the 2026-27 school year, they will go back to spring open enrollment which be held from the first day of school until the last business day in February.