Board Meeting Highlights – June 23rd
Jun 29th, 2009 by Scot Graden
SALINE AREA SCHOOLS
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
6:30 PM
Items of Interest
Superintendent Graden announced several administrative adjustments effective July 1st.
Mr. Steve Laatsch will be the Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services. Steve has been with Saline Area Schools since 1997. He has served as a Teacher, Assistant Principal, and Principal at Heritage School. Prior to coming to Saline, Mr. Laatsch taught in Maryland for 4 years. He holds a Bachelor’s from Michigan State University and a Masters from Johns Hopkins University. He is currently pursing an Educational Specialist degree from Eastern Michigan University.
Ms. Betty Rosen-Leacher will be the Heritage School Principal for the 2009-2010 school year.
Betty has been with Saline Area Schools for the past four years as the Assistant Superintendent of
Instructional Services.
Ms. Patti Henes has been named the Director of Transportation. Ms. Henes has been Saline
Area Schools since 1984 as a Bus Driver and Transportation Coordinator.
As part of a department reorganization, Ms. Heather Kellstrom has been named the Director
of Instructional Technology. Ms. Kellstrom has served the district as a Media Specialist and
most recently as a Technology Integration Specialist. The position will report to the Assistant
Superintendent of Instructional Services.
Assistant Superintendent Wall spoke about House Bill 4447 and the possible $110 per pupil
reduction for 2009-2010.
To date 33 School of Choice Students have been extended the offer to enroll. Twenty-eight of the
students are kindergartners. Of those 13 are siblings of current School of Choice Students.
Saline Middle School, led by Ms. Staci Nazareth the Media Specialist, is now on iTunesU. We are the first Middle School in Michigan and one of the first in the country to have some of our lessons and content on this worldwide platform.
Construction is moving along well on the Middle School Parking Lot.
Congratulations to the Varsity Girls Water Polo Team and the Boys Varsity Baseball team on their State Runner-Up finishes this spring.
Board President Slawson and Secretary Hynek thanked Vice President Driscoll and Trustee Livsey for 13 combined years of service to the Board.
Scheduled Reports – Energy Program Report
Facilities Director Bacon gave a presentation on ways that the District is saving money on lighting and HVAC costs. They are currently 30% complete with the energy-recommissioning program that has been put into place. Preliminary results indicate a 22% KWH savings and a 20% cost savings for the month of April 2009 compared with that of April 2008 at the Middle School.
Action Items
The Board unanimously ratified the Superintendent’s Contract.
The Board approved revisions to the following policies:
- Policy 7463 – Use of Commercially Produced Video Recordings
- Policy 1950 – Board Member Conflict of Interest, Ethics, and Responsibilities
- Policy 5250 – Employee Use of Electronic Communication or Entertainment Devices
- Policy 8280 – Electronic Communication Devices – Students
- Policy 4750 – Naming of District Resources
- Policy 5175 – Criminal History and Background Checks
- Policy 3295 – Recreation Millage Program
Discussion Items
A discussion was held and it was decided that the Board Retreat would be held on Tuesday, August 18 beginning at 5:00 PM.
The Organization Meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 7th at 6:30 PM in the Union School Boardroom.
The meeting adjourned at 7:10 PM.