School district prepares for passage of bond

At the Oct. 27 meeting of the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education, the board received information on upcoming decisions they will have to move forward on spending the $77 million in bonds it hopes will pass in the Nov. 4 election.
Plante Moran Realpoint consultant Rob Kakoczki said they recommended C.M. Granger for the construction management firm to provide construction manager services at a cost of $321,484 from the bond money for pre-construction services for each phase over the next six years, plus 2.0% of the project for work as it progresses. Project manager is Bryan Darling. Kakocski said it will be six to 10 months before starting the first project.
Kakoczki was giving information only at this point and said the vote on the agreements would be held at the next school board meeting.
He also presented information on architectural and engineering contracts recommended. Out of seven firms bidding, The Collaborative+Acock was recommended at a lump sum fee of $3,249,481 and reimbursable costs of $150,000.
He said this information is to “get a jump start with the first projects” after the election approves the bond.
School board president Amy Pearce asked if this agreement would roll over to spring, implying the board would put the bonds up at another election if the question failed on Nov. 4. Kakoczki said if the district has to go to voters again in the May election, the district would have to start over with bidding and costs on the projects and these proposed agreements would not hold.
In other business at the two-and-a-half-hour meeting on Oct. 27, the board:
• Heard a presentation by Laura Payne of Taylor & Morgan PC on the district’s financial audit of the 2024-25 school year. She said the auditors have announced an unmodified audit, the highest level possible. She said the federal audit is not complete because the district – and every other district in the state – is waiting for word from the federal government that has been delayed. She said the local audit before them would be filed with the state and once word comes from the federal government, the state and federal audits will be put together and refiled with the state. She said the district has substantially completed projects for bonds 1, 2, and 3;
• Heard fall building presentations from administrators of McBride Middle School, Savage Elementary School, and Belleville High School. The low test scores at each school were shown in charts and details given on how they were working to raise the academic scores. BHS principal Nicole Crockett introduced the newly hired ninth grade principal Rebecca Lazarean. The new ninth grade Tiger Academy is aimed at keeping the ninth-grade students together on the third floor so there can be early intervention for those with problems. Crockett said she saw a student doing cartwheels on the third floor which she had never seen done before in a hallway;
• Accepted the termination of Tyler Elementary School teacher Ashley Bishop as of Oct. 17 after serving less than a year, and accepted the resignation of Belleville High School counselor Likina Turner as of Oct. 31 after a year of service;
• Accepted the resignation of McBride paraprofessional Madison Able as of Oct. 20 after a year or service and the resignation of bus driver Elyon Israel as of Oct. 20 after less than a year of service;
• Approved hiring Kenneth Powell as a school bus driver trainee as of Oct. 15 and hiring Nicole O’Keefe as administrative assistant in the Community Education Department at a time to be determined; and
• Heard parent Angela Mears report that the recent dine to donate event at Hungry Howie’s raised $465 for the BHS class of 2026 and the fundraiser at Chipotle raised $810. She thanked everyone for participating. She announced an upcoming event in Washtenaw County and another Hungry Howie’s event on Nov. 19;
• Heard director of student services Julien Frazier say the Belleville Fire Department came and gave information on fire safety and the Secretary of State mobile unit is coming to show what it can do for students and give them state ID cards. He talked about the Peer to Peer program and the Unified program, including basketball tournaments;
• Heard building and grounds director James Williams said the heating project at Rawsonville Elementary that was supposed to be done under the sinking fund needs to be done and it will be brought before the board in December. He said the McBride HVAC project will be brought to the board in January;
• Heard finance director Priya Nayak say she is glad the audit is over. She said she made the $5.3 million bond payment on Oct. 24. Payments are due in October and April;
• Heard curriculum director Jill Marvaso say she is looking at a new math program for the high school and she will make sure it’s “green,” which means aligned with everything it needs to be, including SAT and PSAT testing. She said she attended a Special Population convention in Lansing recently;
• Heard superintendent Kudlak say after COVID there was a grant for mental health and safety. He said now available is $150,000 more, a total of $600,000. To get this money, the school board has to waive its attorney/client privilege in emergency situations and make everything public. Also, an external investigation from the state is required. He said the board can decide at the next meeting on Nov. 10. He said the board could decide not to take the money;
• Heard trustee Wade Fields say the robotics Lego meet for elementary students will be Nov. 8 at Belleville High School; and
• Heard board president Amy Pearce announce the Van Buren Public Schools Foundation is hosting a fund-raising Trivia Night on Nov. 14 at $25 per person and $200 per team. Also, on Dec. 6 the Jingle Bell Run will support the foundation.
The Non-Affiliated Pay Approval item that had been on the agenda for approval was removed before the meeting without comment. When questioned before the meeting, Kudlak said someone asked for more comparables that afternoon and he didn’t have time to get the information before the meeting. The agenda item that gave large raises to several administrators who just got raises last spring had been discussed at the last two meetings.