VBPS School Board approves five-year strategic plan

Dr. Rod Green, consultant from the Michigan Association of School Boards, was present at Monday’s meeting of the Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education to close up the work on the district’s five-year strategic plan.
Dr. Green said they have been working on this for six months, since the Jan. 17 meeting when he came to outline the process.
He showed all the different aspects of the plan and reminded them of the Saturday meeting on April 15 when almost 40 people attended to work on it. Before that they got 933 responses on what was needed from teachers, students, senior citizens, and others.
Dr. Green said all the things he presented were part of the plan, and School Supt. Pete Kudlak and the administration is responsible for enacting the plan.
Supt. Kudlak said these items in the plan are his goals and he will be evaluated on how they are completed.
“Pete is to report on the gaols as they go along,” Dr. Green said.
The board unanimously approved the Strategic Plan. Absent from the meeting were treasurer Simone Pinter and trustee Calvin Hawkins.
In other business at Monday’s meeting, the school board:
• Approved the purchase of equipment for the Belleville High School cafeteria from Stafford Smith, Inc. for the amount of $100,315. Installers are working on costs. This is from the fund balance of food services and the balance needs to be spent down. James Williams, director of plant operations, said he will have other contracts for approval in August. The first amount will pay for upgrades to be in place by the time school starts. The August contract will be for more upgrades to be put in over winter break. Upgrades for McBride Middle School will be put in place next year during the middle school renovation, he said;
• Heard Supt. Kudlak explain how the free lunches will work once they start this school year. He said before school starts, the students will get an explanation of what’s free and what they will have to pay for. They can’t have both spaghetti and pizza, for example. He said there also will be signs put up. “They’ll figure it out,” Supt. Kudlak said, referring to the rules;
• Approved cancellation of the July 31 school board meeting because it was not needed. The next regular meeting will be Aug. 14;
• Accepted the resignations of teachers Sabrina Carlin from Rawsonville Elementary after two years of service as of Aug. 14 and Jessica Justice from McBride Middle School after two years of service as of Aug. 15;
• Approved hiring teachers Cheri Whitner for Rawsonville Elementary, Kathleen Hiner for Edgemont / Rawsonville elementaries, and Jarrett Rice for McBride Middle School, all as of Aug. 23;
• Approved termination of Antoinette Streater from Buildings & Grounds after less than a year of service as of June 22;
• Approved hiring Deborah Mitchell as Belleville High School secretary as of Aug. 1;
• Heard Supt. Kudlak announce that four years ago when they were making cuts, they did not replace James Williams’ administrative assistant, but now they are replacing the position and also hiring an accounts payable position;
• Heard Supt. Kudlak explain how the district needs a new phone system, since the one that is failing is 15 years old, and had a lifespan of 10 years. He said a new system will cost from $400,000 to $500,000 and it will be brought for approval by IT Director Sean Garland at the Aug. 14 meeting;
• Heard president Pearce report that the BHS Marching Band’s three new drum majors were sent to Ball State University for a week to train, sent by the band boosters. She said she will be at band camp Aug. 14-18 and on Aug. 18, when they return to town, the band will give a performance on the football field at 5 p.m. She said there are 187 marchers; and
• Heard trustee Dionne Falconer report that the football team’s car wash starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Loranger’s Chiropractic Clinic and the Black and Orange game, where team members scrimmage each other, is Aug. 12.