I. The Regular meeting of the Board of Education was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Board President, Dave Hazekamp.
II. The PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was recited.
III. ROLL CALL: Present –Elroy Buckner, Tim Burgess, Kris Cole, Susan Franklin, Dave Hazekamp, and JB Meeuwenberg. Absent – Steve Kelly.
IV. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Item 21-165. MOTION by Buckner, SECOND by Cole to approve the agenda as presented. MOTION CARRIED 6-0
V. PRESENTATIONS
Board President, Dave Hazekamp was presented with an Above and Beyond award for his leadership efforts in the superintendent hiring process.
Rehmann Robson, LLC representative, Paul Matz presented the 2020-21 audit report. He stated the audit was performed in accordance with Government Auditing Standards. Fruitport Community Schools received a clean audit with no concerns or findings. Paul commended Mark Mesbergen and his staff for a job well done!
VI. COMMUNICATIONS
None.
VII. REMARKS FROM THE PUBLIC
Community member, Linda Corinti asked the Board for their opinion on the following topics: BLM, Critical Race Theory, Sex Ed in Kindergarten, and Transgender Students. Dave Hazekamp and Jason Kennedy addressed her concerns,
Parent, Liza Baldwin spoke about a survey sent to students in the Whitehall district. She also thanked the Board for not masking students and changing the Contract Tracing policy.
VIII. SUPERINTENDENT/ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
Superintendent, Jason Kennedy gave the dates and time of the upcoming choir and band concerts. He mentioned these are the first student events in the new Performing Arts Center. Jason spoke about Personal Growth Plans and Administrative Guidelines.
IX. CONSENT AGENDA
Item 21-166. MOTION by Cole, SECOND by Buckner to approve the Consent Agenda as listed below:
- Approval of Special Meeting Minutes of October 4, 2021
- Acceptance of Bills, Monthly Financial Report, and ACH Transactions
- Acceptance of Student Activity Summary Report
- Acceptance of Credit Card and Utilities Report
- Approval of Capital Projects Progress Report
- Approval of 2021 Bond Report
- Approval of the Personnel Report
X. GENERAL BOARD BUSINESS
- Fall 2021 Pupil Membership Count Update. Jason Kennedy gave an update on the district’s student count. He is optimistically projecting an increase of 87 students.
XI. BUSINESS AND FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORTS & RECOMMENDATIONS
- Report of a committee meeting held October 11, 2021. Elroy Buckner reported on a Business and Finance Committee meeting held in the Board Room on October 11, 2021. Dave Hazekamp, Kris Cole, Elroy Buckner, Jason Kennedy, Jessica Wiseman, Jeff Grossenbacher, Paul Matz and Mark Mesbergen were present. The committee discussed the audit, negotiations, a School Resource Officer contract, a superintendent mentoring agreement, a property agreement, the Performing Arts Center rental, student count, a marketing proposal and the purchase of a tractor.
- 2020-2021 Annual Audit Report. Item 21-167. MOTION by Buckner, SECOND by Cole to approve the 2020-2021 financial audit report as presented.
MOTION CARRIED 6-0 - School Resource Officer Contract. Item 21-168. MOTION by Buckner, SECOND by Cole to approve a three-year contract with Fruitport Township to have a School Resource Officer onsite as presented.
MOTION CARRIED 6-0. - Tractor Purchase. Item 21-169. MOTION by Buckner, SECOND by Cole to approve a Kubota tractor purchase as presented.
MOTION CARRIED 6-0.
XII. PERSONNEL COMMITTEE REPORTS & RECOMMENDATIONS
- Report of a committee meeting held October 11, 2021. JB Meeuwenberg reported on a Personnel Committee meeting held in the Superintendent’s Office on October 11, 2021. Dave Hazekamp, JB Meeuwenberg, and Jason Kennedy were present. The committee welcomed JB to the Board, discussed negotiations, and provided new member information to JB.
XIII. STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REPORTS & RECOMMENDATIONS
- Report of a committee meeting held October 13, 2021. Susan Franklin reported on a Student Affairs Committee meeting held in the Superintendent’s Office on October 13, 2021. Dave Hazekamp, Susan Franklin, Tim Burgess, Allison Camp, and Jason Kennedy were present. The committee discussed a collaborative agreement between the MAISD and Fruitport for the Muskegon County Virtual Academy, a course list, two new club sports. Items from the Business and Finance and Personnel committee were discussed.
- 2021-22 MCVA Collaborative Agreement and Course Catalog. Item 21-170. MOTION by Franklin, SECOND by Burgess to approve the MCVA collaborative agreement and authorize the superintendent to sign and execute the agreement between MAISD and Fruitport Community Schools and to approve the MCVA Course Catalog for the 2021-2022 school year as presented.
MOTION CARRIED 6-0 - High School Student Activities/Club Sports. Item 21-171. MOTION by Franklin, SECOND by Burgess to approve boys’ club volleyball and a trapping club for Fruitport High school and as presented.
MOTION CARRIED 6-0 - Overnight Trip Request. Item 21-172. MOTION by Franklin, SECOND by Burgess to approve the girls’ basketball overnight trip to Grace Adventures November 19-21, 2021 as presented.
MOTION CARRIED 6-0
XIV. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Kris Cole mentioned the upcoming Middle School Robotics competition. He is looking for volunteers to help November 13th . He also announced the Band State Competition will be held at Ford Field on November 6th .
Dave Hazekamp spoke about a recent tour of the high school he had with Cindy Larson, President of the Muskegon Chamber of Commerce. He stated that she was quite impressed with the new facilities.
XV. AGENDA ITEMS for FUTURE MEETINGS & SCHEDULING OF ANY SPECIAL MEETINGS
- Business and Finance Committee will meet the Monday prior to the Regular Board Meeting at 11:30 a.m.
- Personnel Committee will meet the Monday prior to the Regular Board Meeting at 4:30 p.m.
- Student Affairs Committee will meet the Wednesday prior to the Regular Board Meeting at 12:00 p.m.
- The Regular December 13, 2021 Board Meeting will be relocated to Fruitport High School located at 357 N. Sixth Street at 7:00 p.m.
XVI. REMARKS FROM THE PUBLIC
Media Clerk, Pam Gustafson expressed her appreciation of the School Resource Officer contract renewal approved previously. She stated that Officer Butler is doing a fantastic job in the district. She also stated that she is glad to have students back in the library.
Parent, Tabitha Glenn addressed the Board regarding the staff screening process and classroom cleanliness.
Parent, Kendra Robinson stated she would be happy to be a Robotics volunteer on November 13th .
XVII. CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS NEGOTIATIONS
Item 21-173. MOTION by Franklin, SECOND by Buckner to enter Closed Session to discuss negotiations. Roll call: Buckner, Yes; Burgess, Yes; Cole, Yes; Franklin, Yes; Hazekamp, Yes; Meeuwenberg, Yes.
Absent: Kelly.
MOTION CARRIED 6-0
The Board of Education entered Closed Session at 7:56 p.m.
Item 21-174. MOTION by Franklin, SECOND by Buckner to move back into Open Session.
MOTION CARRIED 6-0
The Board of Education came out of Closed Session at 8:19 p.m.
XVIII. ADJOURNMENT
Item 21-175. MOTION by Franklin, SECOND by Buckner to adjourn.
MOTION CARRIED 6-0
The meeting adjourned at 8:19 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Franklin
Acting Board Secretary
Maribeth Clarke
Recording Secretary