Governor Rick Snyder proclaimed February 9 – 15 as Principal’s Week. The Board of Education and Superintendent Denney recognized our hard working, committed principals for the wonderful job that they do for our students and district.
Also this evening, Coach Johnnie Stewart was recognized for being named Jackson Citizen Patriot’s Football Coach of the Year and JTV’s Coach of the Year. Coach Stewart’s commitment and desire has brought our football program around to a very successful season.
The board has approved the annual field trips of the fifth graders to take an out-of-state field trip to Sauder Village in Archbold, OH and the seventh grade students to their overnight field trip to Mackinac Island and Wilderness State Park.
The Michigan Association of School Boards is divided into regions whereas each region can elect a person to represent their area on the MASB Board of Directors. Our district is represented by Region 7. Our Board of Education has cast their ballot to Lillian Fields from Jackson County. Lillian was one of two candidates running for this position. The other person was Heidi Pfannes of Saline area.
The Board approved the resolution to bring the Sinking Fund Renewal and the Operational Millage Renewal to the voters at the August elections.
An update on the Balanced Calendar is and will continue to be presented at each month’s board meeting until some direction is determined as to where our district stands with this issue. The district hosted their first forum last evening about this initiative. The Board of Education was very impressed that members of the community and some educators attended to voice their opinions and concerns. Phone surveys will be conducted to seek additional input from the community. The surveys will be evaluated by an outside source and the findings will be presented to our district. The county school districts will continue to keep the public posted via various media outlets as things develop. The superintendents are open for comments via their emails. Any decisions down the road will be decided as to what would be the best for our students.
Thanks to the availability of the Sinking Fund, the roof and entryway of the elementary will be replaced by the end of summer. Last year’s harsh winter and this year’s heavy snow has shortened the life expectancy of the elementary roof. The board has approved Moran Engineering Services to develop the prints for a new roof, new entryway, and new drainage system for the main parking lot at the elementary building. The district would like to be able to secure bids from contractors in time for the contractors to have the project completed prior to the start of school in the fall.
Mrs. Bergstrom, Middle School Principal, informed the Board of a very important guest that will be presented to our students in grades 6-12 tomorrow morning. Marion Blumenthal Lazan is a Holocaust survivor that also has written a book about her experiences. There have been a few schools in Jackson County that had made arrangements for her to speak to their student body.
