Parents question Van Buren School Board

On Monday, after completion of a month’s worth of business, the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education listened to representatives of about 35 parents and others in their audience.
One of the issues was the recent announcement by School Supt. Michael Van Tassel that he was investigating the high MSTEP scores of Savage Elementary School after an alleged inquiry from the state.
Parent Michael Gentz began the questions, saying he was offended on behalf of the staff. He said his own students took those tests and he was surprised to see Van Tassel’s letter in the paper and on the district website. He said a similar incident happened at Haggerty Elementary a few years back and there was never a word about it from the district.
He said in the recent MSTEP results, Tyler Elementary doubled its proficiency rate from 32 to 62 and nothing was said about it.
Gentz said students at Savage, eight or nine years of age, were questioned about the tests that were taken months earlier. Faculty members were questioned without union representation.
“They are trying to find something bad,” he said, asking if the letter from the state that brought on this investigation could be made public.
“The staff of Savage is being thrown under the bus,” Gentz said. He said his son had sheer exhaustion over taking several days of testing and, “My own child’s test score is being called into question.”
School Board president Brent Mikulski said the district received a communication from the state on Friday and the district will have a discussion with the parents, “once we understand” what it says.
Gentz asked for a report on the progress of the investigation that included questioning of students and faculty plus the results of other schools and why they are singling out Savage.
Gentz said, “These are discussions that parents should be involved in.”
The second parent speaking was Richard Rytman, who congratulated the new principal at Savage, Amy Gee, on the recent birth of her fifth child and applauded Curriculum Director Jeff Moore for immediately improving the math program when he took over.
Then Rytman reminded board members that he was the parent who was before them six months ago questioning teacher morale. He said he didn’t know if the number of teachers leaving was an inordinate number and he offered to help fund a climate survey. He said for businesses — and the district is run like a business — it’s crucial to have a survey like this every two years.
[The Independent counted the number of teachers/administrators leaving the district during the 2014-15 school year and it was 54, higher than any year in the last five and a half years. This included resignations and retirements.] He recalled that the board obviously wasn’t interested in a climate survey.
He said with former Savage Principal Kelley Villa resigning last summer there was no follow-up with the board for why she left.
“It left a perception and the rumor mills started,” he said, noting the rumors are what the public perceives as the truth.
“When we talked about exit interviews, did anyone reach out to find out why she left?” Rytman said. “Not to give any response looks like the board is trying to do a cover-up.”
Rytman asked, “Did anyone look…” and president Mikulski said Rytman’s three minutes were up.
Mikulski said the district has done a work culture survey.
Van Tassle they will discuss the National Climate Survey that was done at the Jan. 25 work/study meeting of the board, among other topics.
Rytman asked if they will explain how the test was handed out and how it was done.
Moore said last summer there was a lot of discussion, and really, even before the summer there were discussions about a survey. He said they rolled out the process. He said it was an on-line survey and he just received the results in early December. He said every building principal has those results.
Trustee Sherry Frazier questioned if the survey asked how the staff perceives the administration.
Moore said there wasn’t the ability to identify individuals taking the test.
Rytman, a former FBI agent, said one of his former occupations was as a prosecutor. He said he knows that if they were interviewing a child a lot of time the way a child answers a question is based on how the question is asked.
“I don’t want to have the board involved in a class-action law suit,” he said, noting, “Scores shoot up and you look for wrong-doing. A kneejerk reaction.”
Mikulski said the investigation will be wrapped up this week and shared with the public.
When attorney Barbara Miller asked from the audience if the letter from the state was very long, Mikulski said it was the “content not the length” that delayed information being released.
Miller stated the letter should be made public. She stated she is starting a local chapter of the League of Women Voters which will be able to disseminate information on the millage election in May to help the district. New state law says the school board must not give information on a millage election 60 days before the election.
Rytman asked how many teachers and administrators had left the district and Mikulski said there had been no follow-up on that.
Rytman insisted that the first thing a Human Resources officer does when someone resigns is to have an exit interview. The HR person asks why the employee is leaving. For example, is it for better pay?
“When we have a high level of employees leaving … We’d like to unravel why they are leaving.”
“I’m still very concerned,” said Trustee Frazier. “They are not going to do exit interviews,” she said to Rytman, referring to fellow board members, who have stated they will not vote for exit interviews.
Frazier said she talked to an employee who left in the middle of the school year, and Mikulski interrupted her and tried to get her to stop talking. She said there were three teachers at Owen that left.
Mikulski kept trying to shut her up and Frazier called out, “This needs to be discussed!”
Mikulski shut down the meeting.
No other board members spoke out about the parents’ concerns.