School Board approves three-year contract for transportation mgmt.

The Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education on Monday unanimously approve funds for a three-year contract with Transfinder/Zonar for a computerized bus management and fleet routing system.
Treasurer Simone Pinter was absent from the meeting.
Cost for the system is $115,616 for initialization and the first year, $38,826 for the second year, and $41,928 for the third year.
The system was discussed in detail at the board’s previous meeting with action being delayed until the Feb. 12 meeting to give time for questions.
“This is going to make a lot of parents happy,” said board president Amy Pearce. “It will enable parents to get information directly … sub-drivers, as well.”
James Williamson, director of plant operations, said it will take six months to get it up and operating, so it should be up by the beginning of next school year or shortly thereafter.
Parents will be able to check on apps where their children’s buses are to determine how soon the students have to be outside for pickup, along with when the buses are delayed and other details.
Williams said the district has spent the past year or so looking into updating its bus routing and fleet management systems with the hope to find a system that is more user-friendly and includes additional features like GPS, turn-by-turn navigation, enhanced parent communication with access to a parent app, and reporting/tracking options.
The district had a free system that was not as helpful through RESA, but there is going to be a charge soon so it looked into better options.
In other business at the Feb. 12 meeting, the board:
• Was provided with information on candidates for a seat on the Michigan Association of School Boards’ board of directors for Region 8. Each district in the region gets one vote in by March 6. School Supt. Pete Kudlak told board members to look over the candidates, reach out to them for more information, and they can decide at the next meeting;
• Approved the retirement of Owen Intermediate principal Jason Salhaney on June 30 after five years as of June 30;
• Approved the resignation of Belleville High School teacher Cary Phillips after 26 years of service as of Feb. 15;
• Approved the resignations of paraprofessional Jessika Tuddles as of Jan. 25 after more than a year of service and Rachel Dobbins as of Feb. 9 after more than a year of service;
• Approved the employment of Madison Waldroop as a paraprofessional at Rawsonville Elementary School as of Feb. 5 and the employment of Sarah Charlton as a custodian as of Feb. 7;
• Approved the employment of teacher Jennifer Wolf for Edgemont Elementary School as of Feb. 20 and Derrick Graves for Owen Intermediate School as of Feb. 12;
• Heard parent Racqel Bean, who had been at a school board meeting in November to tell about her daughter being sexually assaulted at Belleville High School, again complain about the sexualization of school children with the content and grooming in its sex education program. She said her daughter was made out to be a criminal when she was a victim. She read from the Revised School Code and noted those under the age of 16 don’t have the legal right to consent to sex. She said the charge of statutory rape never expires and penalties include prison time and 25 years on the sex offender list. The district’s current method of teaching sex education is illegal, she said, and, “You can’t do it.” She replied to the board president and board with “f- – k you” after president Pearce thanked her for her comments, and repeated that as she left, calling out, “Are you going to call the FBI about all the rapes that take place under your roof?” There were no replies to her comments; and
• Heard parent Angela Mears list the upcoming fund raisers at local restaurants that will raise money for the BHS senior class, Rawsonville, Tyler and Savage.