Wayland Union Board of Education

The Wayland Union School Board met on Monday, April 8th, for their regular meeting.

All consent agenda items were approved.

Recognition of Dorr Elementary, National Blue Ribbon School

• Robin Seniura began by introducing Dorr Elementary staff who were able to attend the meeting. Afterwards, she played a video showing students and the different learning experiences they get at Dorr Elementary.

Recognition of Outstanding People in Education Award Nominees

• 47 individuals were nominated and recognized during the board meeting.

Report for Fine Arts Committee Meeting

• Becky Hohnke shared that the Fine Arts programs all have really exciting events in the works. One of the most exciting advancements for Winter Guard is that they were able to have 2 teams, both JV and Varsity, with about 20 people in each group. Band Boosters is looking to add more members. Wayland band students are also performing at the Balloon Festival this Fall.

Report from Athletics and Extracurricular Activities Committee Meeting

• Norman Taylor shared that Adam Valk shared both the MS and HS winter recaps, including recognition of state champions. The OK-Conference was realigned twice this year. A report for the Odyssey of the Mind and Robotics was shared as well. Lastly, they discussed athletic upgrades including the soccer stadium.

Report from the Facilities & Finance Committee Meeting

• Jeff Koon shared the discussion on the options of how to invest taxpayer dollars. He also mentioned they discussed potential funding sources for Steeby's parking lot and HVAC work.

Governance Team Good News

• Becky Hohnke shared that she enrolled her students for the 2024-2025 school year. Dan Cassini shared that he had a great spring break.

Student Board Members Report

• Ava Makowski and Matthew Chubb shared that testing season is beginning and spring sports are in full swing. NHS participated in March Reading Month by reading to elementary classrooms. Robotics team finished as district finalists this past week and qualified for World Finals in Houston, Texas. LOC club is working on planning a kickball fundraiser. ECO club is planning their Earth Week celebration. PALs are preparing for their wellness week in May. Girl's Track and Field had their first meet. Girl's Tennis has 2 meets coming up. Band is getting ready for their 2024 spring concert, they will also be playing at graduation and participating in the Wayland Memorial Day parade. Student Council is planning a kindness week which will feature a color run on May 17th, details are still in the works.

No public comment.

Assistant Superintendent of Finance & Operations

• Leslie Wagner shared that for our year to date we have expended 63.71% of our amended budget. The district received over $19,000 in rebates through the district purchase cards. This month, a large expenditure was roof repairs from the hail storm last year. Food Service served over 33,000 lunches in the month of March. The business office is working on getting a new software system in place starting this summer. Transportation has recently added more substitute bus drivers and added WiFi to 17 buses, 4 more buses are expected to receive WiFi.

Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services

• Teresa Fulk shared that staff and students had a lot of fun checking out the solar eclipse. April 9th starts all of the spring testing. This summer, the district will have the opportunity to run 3 different summer programs, including traditional, experience based learning, and the HS credit recovery program.

Superintendent

• Tim Reeves shared that it was nice to recognize all of our outstanding educators tonight. He also shared that our robotics teams excelled at the state level, and now they have the opportunity to excel at worlds. Leslie Wagner also recently received her Chief Financial Officer certification from MSBO. Lastly, he shared that all the traditional spring activities are underway. There are only about 8 weeks of school left for the 2023-2024 school year.

GRBS Contract Extension

• Our current three-year contract will expire as of June 30th, 2024. The contract is eligible for two years of renewal, this would be the first of the two renewals.

Athletic Trainer Contract

• Corewell Health has presented a 3-year contract renewal for athletic trainer services with a $5,000 increase each year within that contract. The rate would at least double if we hired someone directly inhouse.

Casino Budget for 2024-2025

• The budget would cover the final science wing cost, turf for the soccer field, transportation support, and technology support as needed.

Flooring for MS cafeteria and serving areas

• Bentley's offered the lowest bid for the MS Cafeteria floor renovation. The renovations will take place this summer, a bulk of the funding is coming from the food service fund.

Request for High School Robotics team to attend out of state competition

• All groups are required to get permission from the school board to travel out of state.

High School Course Proposals for 2024-2025 School Year

• Approved

• Approved

Maintenance Vehicle

• Approved

Bus Wash

• Approved

Request for High School Robotics team to attend out of state competition

• Approved

Janel Hott wanted to thank all the staff nominated for the Outstanding People for Education Award for going above and beyond. She also loved the Dorr Blue Ribbon video. She is also very proud of the robotics team and how much they have grown in their few years as a team.

Jeff Koon would like to thank the Dorr Elementary for hosting the meeting. He also congratulates the Outstanding People Nominees and Leslie Wagner.

Dan Cassini shared that he loves this time of the year because we get to celebrate all of the achievements made throughout the school year and the end of Wayland school careers for our seniors. He is excited to take part in all the end of year celebrations.

Becky Hohnke shared that we had 2 students competing at a national level in individual sports outside of the district. She feels fortunate for all the opportunities we have within our community. She also gives her congratulations to all the Outstanding People in our district.

Pete Zondervan echoed the congratulations everyone shared. He is excited to see how the robotics team progresses in their world championship. He is also excited that the HS course proposal is finally approved, it's been a long time coming.

Norman Taylor gives his congratulations to the Dorr Staff and he thanks them for inviting them into the building. He also congratulates the robotics team, all-conference athletes, Outstanding People Nominations, and Leslie Wagner.

Theresa Dobry stated that tonight showcased why it's good to be a Wildcat. She enjoyed hearing all the positive things happening throughout the district

Meeting adjourned at 7:12 pm.

*Please note: This is a summary of the meeting. Official board minutes will be approved at the next regular board meeting on Monday, May 13, 2024 at 6pm. The meeting will be held at the Administration Office.