ZEELAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS

BOARD OF EDUCATION

REGULAR MEETING MINUTES

October 19, 2020

Admin Building

183 W Roosevelt

6:00 PM

ZPS Board meets in person

Virtual Link for all others is:   https://zoom.us/j/99581434466

PRESENT:           Board of Education: Todd Brennan, Rick Dernberger, April DeWitt, Tom DenHerder, Ron Scott, Mark Snyder (virtual)

Administrators:  Cal De Kuiper, Holly Boehle (virtual), Brandi-Lyn Mendham (virtual), Lynn VanKampen, Jon Voss

ABSENT:             Board of Education:  Linda Bush

GUESTS:             Representative Brad Slagh - virtual

I.          CALL TO ORDER:      6:00PM                                Tom Den Herder

1.  PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:                                Cal De Kuiper

B.   RECOGNITION:

C.   ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF VISITORS:   

Representative Brad Slagh spoke to the Board virtually about the budget in Lansing and student funding; things are looking positive.   Working on the ISD millage replacement bill (5059) trying to push it through to make sure our ISD ends up with money they were supposed to get.  Comeback Roadmap being worked on in the House and the Senate to replace EO with laws and make sure there isn’t a significant loss in the transition.    Bills that have gone thru this week to open up SS office and Unemployment office.                          

II.       SUPERINTENDENT COMMENTS

1. National Principals Month - Cal De Kuiper recognized ZPS Principals and their efforts during this time; he will put out communication on behalf of the board to thank them..

III.      AGENDA MODIFICATIONS

IV.           CONSENT AGENDA

A.          Minutes of the September 21, 2020 regular board meeting were approved.

B.     Approved bills paid as of September 2020.  Checks #132437-132760

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE:                      $1,418,041.06

PAYROLL:                                             $4,633,332.59

TOTAL:                                                 $6,051,373.65

C.   2020-2021 Overnight/Out of State Field Trip Requests - None at this time; field trips have been cancelled pending future COVID updates.

D.        New Teacher Approval

      Erica Eding (Hope/GVSU)        CtyTemp Resource        MA-5        1.0 FTE

Ron Scott moved and Mark Snyder supported the motion to accept the Consent Calendar as presented.

VOTE: All Yes (6)

V.         DISCUSSION

1.  Neola Update Vol 35 No 1 - Second Reading/Policy Approval  -  Cal DeKuiper

asked if there were any questions from the review of policies in September.  This update has also been reviewed by the Policy and Goals Committee and is recommended for approval this evening.

B.        2021-22 Chromebooks   Lynn VanKampen reviewed the bid recommendation with the Board; this was previously reviewed by the Finance Committee and recommended for approval.  Current back orders for devices are about five months out, Technology  would like to start the order process for the new devices for next year.  This purchase will come from the voter approved Enhancement funds  that ZPS advised voters if approved, these funds would be used for technology, mental health needs, and school buses.  The REMC quote is from CDWG for 4500 Lenovo 300e and related Google licensing in the amount of $1,323,000; current device budget for 20-21 is $1,550,000.

C.        Farm Lease Bid  Recommendation

These two ZPS properties are leased for farming on a two-year contract.  The Finance Committee reviewed the bids on October 6, and in the best interest of the district , recommends:

• 128 Acre parcel to Hidden View Farms, $236.51 per acre / $30,273.28 for each of 2021 and 2022.  
• 30 acre parcel to New Heights Farms, $252.00 per acre / $7560 for each of 2021 and 2022.

D.         ZPS Extended COVID Learning Plan  -   Dr. Brandi Mendham and Holly Boehle reviewed the district’s plan that is required per House Bill 5913 in order to receive state aid for 2020-2021.  The Plan does not replace the District’s COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan, it is an additional plan that includes new assurances and sections on educational goals, instructional delivery, grading, and equitable access.  The district is required to re-approve this plan every month during a meeting that has a public comment opportunity.

VI.           ACTION

A.          NEOLA POLICY UPDATE APPROVAL        

Rick Dernberger moved and Ron Scott supported the motion to approve Neola Policy Update Vol 35, No1 discussed in detail at the September 2020 board meeting.

VOTE: All yes (6)

B.        CHROMEBOOK BID APPROVAL

Todd Brennan moved and April DeWitt supported the motion to approve the bids per discussion above.

VOTE: All yes (6)

C.        FARM LEASE BID APPROVAL

April DeWitt moved and Mark Snyder supported the motion to approve the farm lease bids as previously discussed.

VOTE: All yes (6)

D.          ECOL RECONFIRMATION

Ron Scott moved and April DeWitt supported the motion to approve the Extended COVID OL Reconfirmation document.

VOTE: All yes (6)

VII.          SUPERINTENDENT & REPORTS  

A.  OASBA Annual Fall Meeting – Rick Dernberger, President of OASBA, advised the meeting will not be November 10, please stay tuned for more information on when a virtual meeting will be held.

VIII.        CLOSED SESSION 6:42PM

Rick Dernberger moved and Ron Scott supported the motion to convene in closed session to discuss negotiations per Section 8(c) of the Open Meetings Act.

VOTE:  All yes (6)

The regular meeting of October 19, 2020 returned to open session and adjourned at 7:50 P.M.