School Board delays opening of school until Sept. 14 to ensure safety

The Van Buren Public Schools will not open on Tuesday, Sept. 1, as announced at its regular board meeting on Aug. 10.
Following a 20-minute special school board meeting via Zoom on Aug. 13, the official beginning of school was delayed until Monday, Sept. 14.
The vote of the seven-member board was five in favor, nobody against, and two abstaining because their family members work under contract for the district and their votes would be conflicts of interest.
Voting in favor were president Amy Pearce, secretary Darlene Gerick, and trustees Calvin Hawkins, Keith Johnston, and Kelly Owen. Abstaining were vice president Susan Featheringill and treasurer Simone Pinter.
School Supt. Pete Kudlak said the board talked about coronavirus precautions at its meeting the previous Monday and he thought all the preparations could be done by Sept. 1.
The board had set a special meeting for Aug. 18 to check on the progress and if they weren’t going to be ready in time, they could start classes remotely and then go in person, Supt. Kudlak said.
He said administrators brainstormed ideas and called in Aaron Lang, president of the Van Buren Education Association.
They came up with a plan to delay the opening until Sept. 14.
“We are very comfortable that everything will be in place by the 14th,” Kudlak said.
He said the protocols will be in place when the kids come in on Day One.
A change in the starting date required an agreement with the union to change the contract. He said all the other contracts follow the contract set with the VBEA.
Kudlak said the end of the school year had been June 11 and now is June 15. He said with the changing of days in between Sept. 14 and June 15, the teachers will have one extra work day.
He said students who were coming in person and remote students will all start on Sept. 14.
Kudlak said a letter of understanding with VBEA was signed by Human Resources Director Abdul Madyan and VBEA president Aaron Lange on Aug. 12. This is what the board approved on Aug. 13.
Kudlak said there were people on the Zoom meeting site that wished to give comments and ask questions and he would hear the statements and give answers to questions later. He said they are required to give their names and note who they are – parent or teacher – along with an email address for an answer.
Some of the entries did not carry identifications. In most local Zoom meetings, those who wished to comment or ask questions could participate orally.
The agenda item called “Questions and Comments from the Audience (on agenda items only)” had no comments at this meeting. The comments are scheduled before the action item was discussed.
After the board voted to delay school, Kudlak mentioned there were two comments and then said, “The rest are on agenda items and I will answer them later.”
He did answer parent Angela Mears’ question about whether the first days will be half days as previously scheduled. He said now they will start with full days not half days.
Board president Pearce said there were 112 people at the Zoom meeting.
Kudlak skipped along over 13 questions, mentioning some of the issues and saying he would answer them all the next day.
He said his Aug. 12 session was via Zoom instead of the Live Facebook he had the previous Wednesday. He said this Zoom session will be posted on the district website.
Kudlak said Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are also posted on the website and, “It’s a great place to check.”