November 17, 2004 work session of the Bangor Township Board of Education

communications/expressions from the public

Mr. Greg Demers, 380 Ricoma Beach, expressed his concern regarding a movie that was being shown to eighth graders on November 19. Mr. Demers did not think that this movie, “The Patriot”, which is rated “R” was appropriate for viewing by students. He stated that his wife had questioned the teacher about this and was told that parents were asked to sign an approval slip for their child to watch the movie. If the parent did not want their child to view the movie, that student would wait in the cafeteria while the movie was being shown. Mr. Demers said that the middle school principal had also called and told his wife that the movie was still going to be shown because it was in the teacher’s lesson plans.

Mr. Andress told Mr. Demers that this was a concern, but there was no Board policy regarding this issue. He felt this should be addressed by the Board. Mr. Demers was told by the middle school principal that it was too late to stop the movie from being shown this semester and other arrangements should be made for his daughter. Mr. Demers also stated that a high school teacher had not shown this film to high school students last year because it was “too gory.”

Mr. Kowalski thanked Mr. Demers for coming to the Board about this. Mr. Andress said that a Board policy would be able to challenge movies that should not be shown. Mr. Kowalski said that Mr. Demers was doing his job as a parent and, obviously, the school has not done their job. Mr. Andress said that he would prepare some revisions of the current policy to bring to the Board for review.

Mr. Kowalski asked when the movie was going to be shown. Mr. Andress informed him that it was scheduled to be shown tomorrow, November 18. Mr. Kowalski asked the Board for consensus not to allow this movie to be shown and asked Mr. Andress to have this stopped. It was a consensus of the entire Board that this be done. Mr. Andress was also directed to check the curriculum and make sure that this movie is not approved for showing.

Mr. Kowalski reported that a Food Service Committee had been held earlier this month. Mr. Andress reported that there was a need for food service staff to be trained in food safety. Discussion had also taken place at the committee meeting regarding advancement opportunities for staff members and the ability of the Food Service Director to cut hours when needed.

Director of Buildings and Grounds:

Mr. Balash reported that Phase 4 of the bond project will be going out for bid, and he plans on bringing the bids to the December work session for approval. He stated that another notice of compliance regarding prevailing wages had been received. He is following up on this. Mr. Balash also reported that bids are being requested for carpeting at Bangor Central.

Assistant Superintendent/Director of Special Education/Federal Programs:

Mr. Heinrich welcomed Dawn Klida back. He reported that all grants had been approved, and the district can begin requesting grant funds. Special education is being monitored at the state level. Mr. Heinrich stated that all after-school programs are up and running with attendance growing year after year. He said that the new copy machines have been fully implemented and everyone has been trained. Mr. Heinrich said that there have been many bus stop complaints this year that he has been dealing with.

Mr. Kowalski asked Mr. Heinrich to give his compliments to the bus driver who picks up children on Sequin by his home. Mrs. Skowronski suggested the possibility of children on Killarney Beach coming out to the end of the road to be picked up as a solution to one of the bus stop problems. Mr. Heinrich stated that he is trying to talk to the county and other individuals about the road right of way. He said he will probably have to send a letter to the parents to have the students come out to the end of the road.

Superintendent:

Mr. Andress reported on the following items:

a) The audit has been completed before the deadline. The audit shows a fund equity of $1.3 million at the end of June 2004.

b) News from Lansing indicates that the district should figure a $100 per pupil cut in state aid.

c) An article in the Bay City Times regarding the Chapman School has raised the question of ownership of the building. Mr. Mayes, Township Supervisor, is investigating this with the township’s attorney. The township assessor states that the building belongs to the school district. Mr. Andress has a meeting with Mr. Janka, the realtor, tomorrow. Mr. Janka may have some information about how to proceed.

d) Mr. Andress has received a letter from Mr. Bellor, Fire Marshal, informing him that the district will have to install an additional water line at Bangor Central. Mr. Andress has contacted Supervisor Mayes who is forwarding the letter to the township’s attorney.

Mr. Balash said that Mr. Bellor’s concerns are valid, but he does not have final say. This needs to go to the state who has final jurisdiction over such matters. Mr. Kowalski stated that Wakely had originally said the district met fire and safety requirements. The Board was under the assumption the district did not have to install this line. He asked if Wakely did say this, and also said that if anybody was responsible for funding this it should be Wakely.

Mr. Balash agreed with Mr. Kowalski and stated further that the State of Michigan also indicated we did not need this water line. He also pointed out that Mr. Bellor had included on the last page a copy of the new law that was effective February 9, 2004, that needs to be investigated. The state will review the locals requested changes if there is justification to enforce it. Discussion then took place about the egress situation which has stayed the same for many years.

e) Mr. Andress distributed copies of various charts depicting area MEAP scores and reviewed the comparisons.

f) He also reported that he had received a bid from Mr. Allsopp today regarding Board policy review. Mr. Allsopp suggested that it would take approximately fifty hours with a cost of $3,200 for policy revision. Mr. Andress stated that he had recently become a member of ERIN (MASB based) that has many resources for Board policy revision, but the cost would be up to $6,000. He felt this cost could not be justified. Mr. Andress recommended that the policies be reviewed by Mr. Allsopp.

Mr. Kowalski asked about a firm, NEOLA, that had been used in the past. Mr. Andress will research NEOLA to see what the cost will be. Mr. Kowalski stated that the Board needed to look at where they are with the policies and how long it has been since they have been revised. He suggested that the Personnel, Policy, and Finance Committee review the policies to see where they are, i.e., candy fund raisers and movie criteria. He said that it may cost the district more than $6,000. He asked that the Personnel Committee get the information to review and then bring it back to the Board.

g) Mr. Andress reported that he had a conversation with Mr. Begin from Consumers Energy regarding the fibre optic project. Mr. Andress suggested that Board members might be interested in calling people on a contact list that had been given to him to help get this project expedited. Mr. Kowalski asked that the contact list be put in Friday’s packet. Mr. Loop said that the new heating and ventilation systems cannot be properly used until this situation is resolved. Mrs. Klida suggested that Mr. Andress may want to remind the contacts that the taxpayers may not be very happy because they are failing to act on this problem.

consent agenda

Mr. Kowalski requested that the following coaches be removed from the Consent Agenda and placed as separate items under Action Items: Mandy Klida, Sharon O’Hare, and Shannon O’Hare. These were placed as items 6A and 6B with the recommendation on the School Readiness Resolution being changed to item 6C.

A motion was made by Dawn Klida, supported by Barbara Skowronski, to approve the Consent Agenda as follows:

a. Approval of Minutes: October 25, 2004 (special and regular meetings)

b. Personnel: Appropval of Coaches: Dale Clyde - Varsity Boys’ Basketball; Mike Debo (JG), Aaron Jurek (JG), Trista Franklin (CMMS), Sara Doyle (CMMS), Kyle Wallaker (CMMS) - Assistant Boys’ Basketball; Kristin Zagorski - Varsity Girls’ Volleyball; Annmarie Diener and Staci Burns - Assistant Girls’ Volleyball; Charles Villano - Varsity Wrestling; Jack Dora (JG) and Don Middleton (CMMS) - Assistant Wrestling; Mike Darbee - Varsity Boys’ Swimming; Tony Bacigalupo - Assistant Boys’ Swimming. Approval to Hire: Amanda Voss - Michigan School Readiness Aide. Approval of Leave of Absence: Casondra Luck - Central Elementary Teacher.

Motion carried unanimously.

other items for discussion

Mrs. Skowronski presented the Board of Education with a certificate of recognition from John Glenn High School in appreciation of the contributions they have made to John Glenn and the many programs.

Mr. Andress reviewed goal items that he has been working on as established by the Board.

Mr. Kowalski suggested that Patti Smith received a “Fish” Award for getting the Professional Learning Communities started at the high school. He asked if this program would be established throughout the district. Mr. Andress stated that there is a real interest with the teachers to do this K-12. This is an item that will probably become a part of the Living Agreement.

Mr. O’Hare stated that he wanted to voice his own opinion about high school traditions. He recently read an article in the Bobcat Roar regarding the name change for the National Honors Society chapter. He said that other people who were in the Neva Freeman chapter have concerns. Mr. O’Hare was also concerned about the color of uniforms he had seen recently which were royal blue and not the traditional navy blue. Mrs. Klida said that the National Honors Society had their own by laws, and she did not think that the name change was something the Board could control. Mr. Kowalski asked Mr. Andress to report back on this item at the meeting Monday.

Mr. Andress thought that this should be checked with the NHS. He was not sure if the students or the teachers had brought this up. Mrs. Skowronski thought that the students who worked with Mr. Wemple had brought this forward. She suggested that both names be used, i.e., Wemple/Freeman. Mr. Andress thought this had already been approved by the national group.

Mrs. Klida said that she would like the uniform color to be checked into. Mr. Andress is to follow up on this.