Wayland Union Board of Education

The Wayland Union School Board met on Monday, October 14th, at Wayland Union Middle School for their Regular Meeting.

All consent agenda items were approved.

Report on the Annual Audit

• Josh Gill from Plante Moran attended the meeting to present the audit report. There were no difficulties in making the audit or disagreements with management and no significant findings.

Wayland Middle School Building Report

• Rachel Cimek began her report by sharing good things from her staff. Mrs. Cimek touched on topics such as the newly upgraded cafeteria, assessment data, adding a 7th grade student council, piloting a no cellphone policy and putting the focus back on educational and behavioral supports.

Committee Meeting Report - Athletics & Extracurricular Activities Committee

• Norm Taylor shared that they had a great report from the high school and middle school athletic directors. Mr. Braginton is looking to increase video game offerings for the high school e-sports team. Lastly, Odyssey of the Mind is still looking for some coaches as the season will be starting soon.

Report from Behind the Scenes at the Capital, Fall 2024 - Norm Taylor

• Norm Taylor shared that he found the meeting to be informative but felt the focus shifted away from a state and local level.

Student Board Members Report

• Teagan Robinson shared that student council is getting ready for Harvest Hop and the Family Friends and Heroes fundraiser game. SADD and LOC Club are working together to plan Hallowed Halls. Theater recently performed their first play of the season, "9 Worst Breakups of all Time". ECO Club is currently running a sock-tober fundraiser. Fall sports are nearing the end of their season. Lastly, Marching Band will be competing at Grandville this Saturday.

Governance Team Good News

• Norm Taylor gave a shout out to our Marching Band for hosting the MSBOA competition where they received a Division 1 rating. Tim Reeves shared that Wayland has a new City Manager and he is excited to have the opportunity to work with him.

Assistant Superintendent of Finance & Operations

• Leslie Wagner shared the year to date budget report as of October 1st. The two new buses the district received in September are almost ready to hit the road. Our central office recently had two new members join their team, there is still one spot looking to be filled.

Casino Revenue Sharing Report for 2023-2024

• Leslie Wagner gave a big thank you to the Gun Lake Tribe for their contributions to our district. These funds helped with employee recognitions, our drama department, the fitness center revamp, providing classroom supplies, purchasing a new school van, high school science wing payments, turf maintenance for both fields, Dorr Elementary's roof and more.

MESSA Insurance Rates for 2025

• Leslie Wagner shared that the district received the MESSA proposal for the next calendar year which had a 13% rate increase for our district employees.

Assistant Superintendent of Instruction

• Teresa Fulk highlighted information current regarding reading achievement and initiatives. Fifty-nine students started the 2024-2025 school year with an individual reading improvement plan, this number is lower than average. Legislation will be requiring dyslexia screening by the 2027-2028 school year. Mrs. Fulk explained that we have a little bit of work to do ahead of this but overall we are in good shape to address this.

• Tim Reeves shared that our business department is transitioning from School Finance to Schools Open, it's been a lot of trial and error to make this switch but he wants to share his appreciation of their hard work to make this change possible. Mr. Reeves also wanted to highlight the new middle school cafeteria, they have a brand new serving layout, new equipment, new flooring, and new windows. Lastly, he wanted to thank Andrew Augustin and Rachel Cimek for being willing to transition to the middle school and make impactful changes.

Summer Tax Resolution

• Leslie Wagner shared that this is the standard 50/50 tax levy, it helps keep the cash flow spread throughout the year.

80/20 Insurance Resolution

• Leslie Wagner shared that this is something Wayland Union Schools district likes to keep as a perk for our staff members. It is not common for districts to offer this benefit to their staff members.

Janel Hott thanked Rachel Cimek and Andrew Augustin for hosting the meeting and jumping in feet first. She also wanted to say how thankful she is to the Gun Lake Casino for all their support. Mrs. Hott also congratulated Leslie Wagner on a clean audit.

Dan Cassini shared that this Friday night the football team is hosting a charity event with a program that supports veterans families. He also thanked the principals for all they have done at the middle school.

Pete Zondervan gave a thank you to Mr. Augustin and Mrs. Cimek, he has enjoyed seeing the transition at the middle school directly through his own son. Pete Zondervan is very appreciative of our partnership with the Gun Lake Casino, he thinks the field trip to Jijak was well received and a great experience for our students.

Jeff Koon would like to recognize the major improvements at the middle school, he is glad to see that change is being embraced. He also thanked the business department on their hard work.

Norm Taylor gave thanks to Rachel Cimek and Andrew Augustin, and to the Gun Lake Tribe. He also thanked Leslie Wagner and Teresa Fulk for their hard work on applying to grants to help support the district.

Theresa Dobry followed suit with similar gratitude towards Mrs. Cimek and Mr. Augustin. She hopes everyone continues to have a good school year.

Becky Hohnke was absent for the meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 7:03pm.

*Please note: This is a summary of the meeting. Official board minutes will be approved at the next regular board meeting being held on November 11th, 2024 at 6pm. The meeting will be held at Pine Street Elementary.