Wayland Union Board of Education

The Wayland Union School Board met on Monday, August 14, 2023 at the Administration Office for their regular meeting.

All consent agenda items were approved.

Governance Team Good News

• Becky Hohnke shared that she is getting ready to move her freshman into college next week. She also wished Jeff Koon a happy birthday. Janel Hott announced that she welcomed her foreign exchange student a week ago and she was able to bring her to register at the high school. Theresa Dobry noted that one of her sons is moving back up to Michigan Tech next weekend. Pete Zondervan mentioned that his son is going to middle school and he got his picture taken today. Tim Reeves shared his excitement that in one week, students will be back in the buildings.

None

Assistant Superintendent of Finance & Operations

• Leslie Wagner shared that the audit is going very well so far, and there are only a few things to wrap up in the next few weeks. Tim Reeves shared the budget versus actual report as of August 14, 2023, including the final numbers from the 22-23 school year.

Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services

• Tim Reeves shared that new teacher orientation is taking place on August 15th. He mentioned that we are seeing some growth in the elementary buildings' student numbers, particularly in kindergarten, which allowed for an additional kindergarten classroom to be added at Baker to help even out the numbers. August 16th and 17th are all-day professional development days for all staff. Tim Reeves then mentioned that Teresa Fulk and all staff members are getting ready for the new school year, starting next week.

Superintendent

• Tim Reeves shared that he attended the revenue sharing event with the Gun Lake Tribe, he stated that it's always a wonderful opportunity to say thank you and explain how their funds are helping our students and families. He also mentioned that at the end of July, the district got word that the Free Meals for All program will be in full swing starting on the first day of school. Mr. Reeves also shared that he met with the bus drivers on August 14th to remind them of how important they are to our school system. Next board meeting, they will have the new student board member joining the team. He also thanked the board for scheduling individual meetings with him throughout their summer.

High School Gym roofing has been looked at, and the plan is to begin that project after Labor Day. The designing of the high school parking lot is just about done, and that project is expected to begin before Thanksgiving. On Friday, August 19th, a committee group is going to look at 3 different pools including Kalamazoo College and Otsego High School. On Friday, August 25th, the committee will go look at a few different pools including Jackson High School. Lastly, Mr. Reeves shared that the soccer field is also being redesigned to reduce flooding issues.

Schedule of Rates

• The board discussed that the rates were not changed, only verbiage. A discussion has started about changing the rates of the FAC rentals.

High School Gym Roof Bid

• Scott Jernberg from Triangle shared that they have been pushing to get bond projects started, the first being the high school gym roof. Bidding occurred last week and was very active with 5 participants. Bidders were aggressive and gave numbers for fixing the E Wing roof of the high school as well as the gym roof under 1 bid. Jernberg shared that the current timeline is to begin working on the Gym Roof this fall and the E Wing roof next spring. With both locations included in the bid, it came in under budget. The total bid being brought to the board is about $1.1 million offered by Versatile.

Fencing Bid for High School Baseball and Softball Fields

• John Huyck shared that through the use of the public improvement fund, they would like to update the varsity baseball and varsity softball fencing around the fields. They are looking to start this project this fall to have it completed for the spring. The best bid was offered by Ross Construction Company.

Athletic Trainer Services

• Tim Reeves shared that this is the regular contract for our athletic trainer. The contract is for all services she has previously provided to the district to continue into the next academic year. Pete Zondervan would like to look at directly hiring an athletic trainer in the future, however there are some benefits to having contacts if extra trainers are needed on evenings the district hosts multiple games.

Change of Meeting Time for Regular Board Meetings

• Tim Reeves shared that administrators had an idea to see if regular meetings, not work session meetings, could be moved to 6pm as opposed to 7pm.

Extra Duty Contract for John Huyck - Owner's Representative related to the May 2023 Bond Issue

• Approved

Schedule of Rates

• Approved

High School Gym Roof Bid

• Approved

Fencing for High School Baseball and Softball Fields

• Approved

Closed Session

• Approved

2023-2024 School Year Focus

• Dan Cassini shared that the 2023-2024 School Year Focus topic in the meeting is a way for the board to share ideas they would like to see implemented within the strategic plan. Becky Hohnke would like the board to get more involved in the buildings whether that be reading a book for a classroom or sharing lunch with staff members. She also mentioned making an effort to get out to more events, including fine arts and elementary events. Janel Hott would like to include more staff appreciation events throughout the whole school year, not just at the ends of the year. Dan Cassini shared that he is going to share lunch with Dorr Staff members on September 11th. Pete Zondervan would like the middle school and high school Student Council members to collaborate on a project to help bridge that gap, as he feels that it will help with the awkward transition between buildings. Dan Cassini also mentioned that he would love to see a job fair at some point in the school year for middle and/or high school.

Board Member Comments

Jeff Koon shared that he is excited for school to get back in session, he is enjoying already seeing kids active within the district.

Janel Hott echoed Jeff by stating that back-to-school is her favorite time of the year. She noticed a lot of staff were back in their buildings already when they aren't required to be, she loves seeing how dedicated our staff is to ensuring our students have the best first week back.

Dan Cassini thanked Dawn Stein for working on all the enrollments to get as many kids as possible in school for the first day.

Peter Zondervan shared that he got to work in his wife's classroom, which he always enjoys being involved in. He is looking forward to how this school year is going to turn out.

Becky Hohnke shared that she loved seeing the community come out to the downtown Wayland block party and her heart was warmed seeing the participation with stuffing the bus. She is really excited for the school year to start. She would also like to meet the new SARO officer, an idea is to have a social hour with him and all the new staff members.

Theresa Dobry had no comment.

Norman Taylor was absent for the meeting.

The meeting went into closed session at 8:31pm.

*Please note: This is a summary of the meeting. Official board minutes will be approved at the next regular board meeting on Monday, September 11, 2023 at 7pm. The meeting will be held at Dorr Elementary.