School Board, SaveMIHeart group focuses on those who saved Rupnow’s life

Those who were in the “chain of survival” were honored for saving the life of Brian Rupnow who suffered a cardiac arrest on Dec. 13 at Belleville High School where he worked.
At the March 13 regular meeting of the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education Jennifer Fowler, a nurse at the University of Michigan, honored those for SaveMIHeart, a nonprofit advocate for sudden cardiac arrest survivors.
Also present was Dr. Gwen Foss of the U of M who is project administrator and represented MIHeart Safe Schools.
Fowler said Rupnow’s heart stopped abruptly and if this is not corrected immediately it results in sudden death.
Fowler said having standard CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) is critical and Rupnow received immediate bystander CPR, which is unusual.
“Because they had a plan, they were ready,” she said, referring to school nurse Dionisia Munoz’s ongoing training of rescuers.
Also at the March 13 meeting, the school board:
• Honored K-8 Music Students: Aurora Seal, Jersey Brooks, Ava’Lynn Colon, Walter Dent, Gabriella James, Saige Hunter, Aavion Marcus, Mari Ross, Noah Caldwell, Adalynn Vick, Kaleb Plumb, Ashton Whitely, Haley Dyda, Shakira Mickles, Aiden Allred, Quinten Miah, Kenzee Jones, Celia Nicks, Miriam Peterson, Caleb Carnahan, Jada Eldridge, Janelle Finfrock, Daerian Lindsey, Seth Campbell, Alford Smith, Josephina Gardner, and Hannah Lind;
• Heard a quarterly update on the $38 million in 2019 bonds from Rob Kakoczki of Plante Moran Cresa. He said Series I was mainly the Early Childhood Center and Series II was Owen Intermediate. Series III will be sold next February and was to include work on Tyler, McBride, Savage, and Rawsonville schools, but, “It’s probably not all going to happen” because there won’t be enough money to include Rawsonville work. He said they are working on schematic designs which will be developed in the summer. This includes adding a new addition at the front of McBride to provide a secure entry vestibule. IT work will still be districtwide, he said. When Treasurer Simone Pinter asked if they will be able to get bleachers for the band, School Supt. Peter Kudlak said they will have 300-some band members and they haven’t figured it out yet;
• Unanimously approved contract renewal/extension for Plante Moran Cresa for the bond and sinking fund work. The compensation is based on approximately 2% of the remaining 2019 bond projects and the 2022 sinking fund projects with the Plante Moran Cresa fee calculated at $21,500 per month through December 2024. In January 2025, PMC’s fee will decrease to $7,000 per month for the remaining sinking fund projects through 2026;
• Discussed the two bids for the Critical Incident Maps for all schools in the district that will be on the next board agenda for a vote. Supt. Kudlak said the state has been trying to get the districts to get maps for what the public safety people need and finally put the money in the state budget, so there is a grant for this. He said the two bids are close, but one has an annual fee;
• Approved the retirement of Rawsonville Elementary teacher Karen Stipe as of March 1 after 27 years of service and the resignation of Belleville High School teacher Sarah Culver as of March 3 after one year of service;
• Approved the resignations of McBride secretary Janice Eaton after 6.5 years as of July 7 and IT employee Ian Simmons after less than a year as of Feb. 27. They also approved termination of Selina Stillwagon from Food Service as of Feb. 24 after less than a year of service and bus aide Daviena Kindell as of March 6 after a year of service;
• Heard Van Buren Township resident Reg Ion say he still hasn’t had a report on what the district is doing with the money from the pop machines. He also asked Kudlak if the district ever suspended a student for bringing a firearm to school and then let him back in the school. He said he was not asking for a name. Just a yes or no. Supt. Kudlak said he can call Ion in the morning. Ion said he would take that as a yes. Ion told the board members to look at what they are supporting. He said the district says it is all about safety;
• Heard Human Resource Director John Leroy report on the success of the health clinic at McBride. Board vice chairperson Susan Featheringill, who was presiding in the absence of chairperson Amy Pearce, asked if the clinic was closed for snow days and holidays and she was told it is. It will be open during the summer and they are looking at having it open until 7 p.m. on some days, Leroy said; and
• Heard James Williams say Head Start has moved from Haggerty School to Owen and it is a long process to getting relicensed in a new location. They had a planned shutdown of a couple of weeks, he said.