VBPS Board of Education reelects Amy Pearce as president

At the Jan. 10 organizational meeting, the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education reelected Amy Pearce as president for another year.
Board members also reelected Susan Featheringill as vice president, Darlene Loyer Gerick as secretary and Simone Pinter as treasurer. Pinter was absent from the meeting, but Pearce said she had spoken to her and she agreed to serve again.
At the end of the meeting, president Pearce said it is an honor to serve on the board and, “I appreciate the staff who works with us and the people who come to the meetings to support us.”
The board also approved the regular meeting dates, established the depository for school funds for the 2022 year (PNC Bank, Huntington Bank, and Michigan Class) and authorized investment authority for the 2022 year (superintendent and finance director).
Pearce appointed the following board members to committees for the year:
• Policy: Dionne Falconer, Pearce, and Featheringill;
• School Improvement: Kelly Owen, Gerick and Falconer;
• Health Advisory: Calvin Hawkins, Owen and Pinter;
• Facilities: Gerick, Pinter, Hawkins; and
• Finance: Pearce, Featheringill, Pinter.
Pearce pointed out that two board members are necessary for the reinstatement committee, but attendance rotates throughout the board members so there are no appointments.
At the organizational meeting, School Supt. Pete Kudlak presented folders to board members with pictures and a resolution from RESA as part of School Board Recognition Month. A certificate from the Michigan Association of School Boards also was included.
At the Jan. 10 regular meeting that followed the organizational meeting, the board:
• Approved hiring teachers Chavella Knight at Edgemont Elementary School starting Dec. 17 and Joshua Stokes at McBride Middle School as of Jan. 3;
• Approved hiring the following non-instructional employees: Ayana Terry for Food Service at McBride Middle School as of Jan. 3; Stephanie Holmes for Food Service at Owen Intermediate School as of Dec. 14; Marcia Borgdorff as a paraprofessional at Rawsonville Elementary School as of Jan. 3; and Joumana Kadri for administrative assistant to the curriculum director. Curriculum Director Jeff Moore said Kadri came from Romulus and starts next week;
• Heard parent Joe Flange comment on a suggestion that the school might be closed for two weeks because of high COVID levels. He said they’ve all seen videos of school board meetings with chaos, but that has not happened here because the board members and the superintendent listen to the parents. He said they’ve tried school closings before and they failed because COVID is just like the flu, no one can stop it and closing schools doesn’t stop it. He said being away from school causes students to suffer socially, educationally, and induces stress and parents who have to work are caused financial burdens. He said the community has lived through 90-plus weeks of trying to stop COVID, with a recovery rate of 99.97%. He quoted a saying that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over, expecting a different response;
• Heard Moore explain a flyer he distributed to board members that lists all the special programs for college and career readiness. Board members suggested it be made available at the district library, Van Buren Township Hall, and on the website;
• Heard Finance Director Sarah Cortese said the school district’s bond rating remains at an A rating and the district’s bond sale is Jan. 13;
• Heard Director of Special Education Karen Johnston report that the Early Childhood Development Center opened Jan. 6 and, “The kiddos are in there.” Kudlak said Becky Ross supervised the moving from Haggerty School and “did a fantastic job”;
• Heard Human Resource Director Abdul Madyun say he is spending a lot of time explaining the numbers on the new pay raises which are for the calendar year not the school year as in the past. It’s confusing;
• Heard Supt. Kudlak report the COVID numbers are still rising and the staff checks many times throughout the day by building. He said if they don’t have enough staff, they will have to close a building, but not the whole district. He said positive tests are increasing with students everywhere. He said the 75 cases last week were from those exposed over the holiday vacation and so they are waiting to see what happens this week. He said if they do need to “pause” it will be building-specific and in two-week chunks to cool off. “It might not happen at all,” he said. He said they have three substitutes showing up at each elementary school, three each at Owen and McBride, and five at the high school. He said the district raised substitute pay at the beginning of the year and it pays more than other districts; and
• Heard Kudlak say he went to a military ball at the BHS Commons on the Saturday after holiday break. He said the Junior Navy Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (NJROTC) put it all together following a strict structure they learned and renting dress uniforms. “It was a lot of fun,” Kudlak said.