Superintendent Denney brought the meeting to order until the election of the 2018 School Board President was established. All offices of the Board will remain the same as they were in 2017: President, Gary Schuette; Vice-President, Christine Vincent; Secretary, Joseph Childs; Treasurer, Leon Densmore.
Superintendent Denney and the Board of Education were pleased to honor the Junior Medal of Honor award recipients for November.
Superintendent Denney presented Board members with certificates of appreciation and a gift in honor of January being School Board Recognition month. Members’ many hours and dedication to the district are very much appreciated.
Discussion was held regarding the upcoming special board meeting on Monday, January 22nd. The Board would like to collaborate on the district goals that were identified during their special meeting last October, and ways to focus on and realize those goals.
The Board approved a proposal by the Athletic Boosters to purchase and install a “bleacher wrap” on the visitor side bleachers at the athletic complex. This will be a large banner that says “Welcome to Comet Country,” or something similar. It will also contain the logo of the business who is donating a share of the cost to have this made.
Superintendent Denney brought the Board up to date on the 3% settlement funds being returned to the district by the State of Michigan after the State Supreme Court ruled against the State for illegally withholding money from employee paychecks during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years. Districts are waiting on a judge to give them some guidelines as to how the district will pay back their employees/former employees. This could take some time, as the judge hasn’t held a hearing yet. Once we know more, we will communicate updates to employees and get the money distributed to them as soon as possible, but we want to make sure we do it right.
The Michigan Department of Education has established a new Transparency Dashboard for everyone to use to evaluate school buildings. This data can be found at MiSchoolData.org. Superintendent Denney explained how Hanover-Horton’s school performance can be compared with other schools in the state, as well as geographically to the 30 closest schools in the area.
The Board tabled the proposed athletic eligibility changes until their next meeting on January 22nd. They felt that some questions need to be answered by PowerSchool, as well as by the MHSAA, before making any changes to the athletic eligibility policy.
Superintendent Denney reported to the Board members on the following:
- Superintendent Denney thanked staff for the work put in to the professional development day meetings held on Monday, January 15th.
- He also thanked the Board again for their dedication to the district and the number of behind-the-scenes hours they put in.
The Board members commented on the following:
- They expressed how much they enjoy seeing the Jr. Medal of Honor winners at the board meetings.
- The Board thanked our building principals for the great jobs they do.
- Board members are glad that school employees will be receiving the 3% settlement fund returned to them.
- They enjoyed the discussions amongst each other at tonight’s meeting.
- They also thanked fellow board members for serving on the board and appreciate the opportunity to serve.
Mrs. Bergstrom informed the Board that the Athletic Boosters will be holding a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for long-time Comet supporter Larry Dailey, who underwent brain surgery recently. The dinner will be held on February 9th, before the Snowfest game, from 4:00-6:00 p.m. in the high school cafeteria. All are encouraged to attend and/or donate to this important fundraiser to help with Larry’s future medical expenses.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:18 p.m.
