The regular meeting of the Cass City Board of Education was called to order on January 26, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. in the Cass City High School Cafeteria by President Douglas Lautner. The Red Hawk Award of Excellence was held prior to the regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the Cass City High School Library.
The members present were Craig Bellew, Michelle Biddinger, Danny Haag, Douglas Lautner, Randy Severance and Jim Veneziano. Absent was James Turner. Also present was Superintendent Wilson, Principal Daniels, Principal Hartel, Principal Fernald, Ass’t. Principal Markel and Food Service Director Bock.
It was moved by Randy Severance, seconded by Danny Haag, that the minutes of the regular meeting held December 22, 2008, be approved as written. The motion carried unanimously.
It was moved by Danny Haag, seconded by Michelle Biddinger, that the bills in the amount of $59,697.32 be approved in their entirety. The motion carried unanimously.
A copy of the approved bills are in the Secretary’s book.
Public Participation – Sloane Stimpfel gave a report on the P.T.O. A copy of the handout she gave the Board is in the Secretary’s book.
January is School Board Recognition Month. Superintendent Wilson read a letter from Governor Granholm and presented each Board member with a plaque and a book entitled “Results Now”. He also stated the number of years each Board member has served which are as follows: James Turner – 24, Randy Severance – 15, Danny Haag – 12, Michelle Biddinger – 8, Douglas Lautner – 5, Craig Bellew – 2 and Jim Veneziano – 1. Emily Martin on behalf of the Student Council and the Student Body gave a nice presentation ending with the comment we are “nuts about you” and presented each Board member with a can of Planters peanuts.
Principal Hartel introduced Erica Martin and shared the following information: A Veteran’s Day Essay Contest was held with four grades at the Middle School participating, 15 essays were chosen and sent to the State, Erica’s (who is a sixth grader) was chosen third in the State and she received a $100.00 scholarship, a medal and a certificate. Erica read her essay to the Board and the people attending the meeting and received a round of applause when she finished.
Food Service Director Shari Bock told about the staff training that will be held on February 16, 2009, from 10:00 am. to 12:00 noon in the Cass City High School Cafeteria regarding Teen Suicide Prevention. She stated a $700.00 donation has been received from the Cass City Rotary Club to help cover the cost. She welcomed everyone to attend.
Principal Hartel gave an update on the “Results Now” book study. He gave each Board member a copy of the chapter summaries. A copy is in the Secretary’s book.
Superintendent Wilson presented the budget report. It was moved by Danny Haag, seconded by Craig Bellew, to adopt the amended budget as presented. The motion carried unanimously.
Superintendent Wilson gave a bond construction report update. He stated Dave Barnes and Bill Pearson will be working with the contractors and that the work is scheduled to start on June 11 and will be completed the 2nd Wednesday in August. Lyle Severance gave an update on the technology upgrades. He stated they will be replacing the PC’s at Campbell and will be rewiring.
Superintendent Wilson gave an update on the Honeywell project. He passed out a book to each Board member on the Honeywell energy cost avoidance report. He mentioned how energy saving lights, toilets and sinks were installed and the heating system at the High School was replaced. A copy is in the Secretary’s book.
Superintendent Wilson stated there will be a SAM (Student Achievement Model) Instructional Leadership meeting on February 9, 2009, at 3:30 p.m. in the High School Library.
It was moved by Michelle Biddinger, seconded by Jim Veneziano, to adopt the resolution for the certification of ballot proposition and provision of ballot summary.
The motion carried unanimously.
School Board evaluations and the Superintendent evaluation were discussed. The evaluations will be emailed to each Board member and the Board member is to return them to Secretary Ets Terbush by February 16th. The results will be reviewed at the February meeting.
A policy change was presented for building use fees and policies and a new policy was presented for automated external defibrillation. These policies are first readings and will be presented again at the February meeting. A copy of both policies is in the Secretary’s book.
It was moved by Randy Severance, seconded by Michelle Biddinger, to approve the low bid of $87,861.72 for the structured cabling portion of the bond project from Digital Age Technologies, Inc. The motion carried unanimously.
It was moved by Jim Veneziano, seconded by Craig Bellew, to approve the low bid of $115,571.00 for the network electronics portion of the bond project from Hi-Tech System Service, Inc. The motion carried unanimously.
Superintendent Wilson mentioned to the Board and the people attending the meeting the passing of Dan McClorey. He had been an employee (bus driver) since 1975. He said he was an excellent employee with a great deal of knowledge regarding bus routes, etc. He will be truly missed.
It was moved by Douglas Lautner, seconded by Michelle Biddinger, to adjourn the regular meeting and go into closed session to discuss contract negotiations. A roll call vote was called with the following results: Yes – Craig Bellew, Michelle Biddinger, Danny Haag, Dougas Lautner, Randy Severance and Jim Veneziano. No – None.
At 9:36 p.m. the Board returned to open session. It was moved by Craig Bellew,
seconded by Randy Severance, to adjourn the regular meeting. The motion carried unanimously.