Wayland Union Board of Education

The Wayland Union Board of Education met on Monday, January 12th at the Administration Office for their regular meeting.

Meeting Presentation

• President: Jeff Koon
• Vice President: Peter Zondervan
• Secretary: Becky Hohnke
• Treasurer: Theresa Dobry

All consent agenda items were approved.

• Baker Elementary's Principal, Amanda Nast, began by sharing Good News shared by her staff members. Some examples included the well attended Literacy and Family Nights, and the addition of a designated sensory room.
• A few of Baker's Students of the Month recipients for September, October, and November were invited to present a skit on their monthly character trait. Traits included empathy, self-direct, and teamwork.
• Mrs. Nast presented on Baker's behavioral data, which includes 89% of Baker's students only having 0-1 behavioral incidents for the school year.
• Baker Elementary is currently completing their Winter NWEA testing, with reading occurring last week and math occurring this week. In the fall for reading, Baker scored in the 66th percentile and in the winter they earned 75th percentile, which is the highest growth in years. In the fall for math, Baker score in the 68th percentile.
• Specific goals for the 2025-2026 school year include addressing staff conflicts, empowering students, building efficacy in curriculum, effectively integrating tier two supports, establishing tier 1 practices, and building tier 2 behavior map. Baker is also focusing on celebrating their staff this school year, because they are the reason these students are thriving academically.
• Lastly, Mrs. Nast ended with Baker's school launch which is said by students at the end of every school day.
• Baker's Presentation

Board Member Appreciation Month Recognition

• Keeping with the tradition, for BOE Appreciation Month students from each school presented the board members with a book donated back to the respective school library in the name of the board member.

Report from Wayland Leisure Life group

• Lisa Gulch and her two coordinators, along with some of their attendees, thanked the BOE for their commitment to the group, including keeping them in mind when creating the community room at the Administration Building. Since Leisure Life has had access to the larger space, they have been able to increase their participation numbers. Mrs. Gulch also thanked the transportation department for their support in driving the group to different activities, along with several other staff members who have helped support the organization along the way.

Presentation from Apex Clean Energy

• Brian O'Shea a representative from Blazing Star Solar, shared that his company is working on a solar project in Gun Lake, which will generate enough energy to power approximately 23,000 homes. Blazing Star Solar anticipates this project to boost the local economy and generate approximately $8 million bond dollars and $2 million operating dollars for Wayland Union Schools over the course of 30 years. The next step for the company is a public hearing in the township of Wayland, and they welcome the support of the WUS BOE.

Student Board Members Report

• Macy Schwartz and Teagan Robinson shared that the high school is busy with their annual Coaches vs Cancer event this week, with the goal of raising $20,000. Theatre is busy preparing for their winter show. LOC club is hosting a school dance this Saturday with a Swan Lake theme. Eco Club is collecting plastic bottles for a project. The girls varsity basketball team is undefeated as of Friday, January 9th. The Varsity Bowling team is hosting their their CVC game next week. The Varsity Dance team competed over the weekend and has been performing at all home Friday night basketball games. The boys Varsity Wrestling team won the Tyner Memorial Invitational over the weekend.

Governance Team Good News

• Becky Hohnke achieved the status of Summit Club within her job, and is currently ranked 1st in the region and is ranked in the top 5 overall.

No public comment.

Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations

• Leslie Wagner shared the year to date revenue versus expenditure report. In December, the district attended a dinner with the Gun Lake Tribe for their revenue sharing program. The facilities department is starting to plan the public improvement projects for the summer, ensuring projects begin the first week of summer break. All bond work is progressing as planned. District safety procedures have been improved, and will continue to improve as drills occur. Transportation is looking to hire more substitute and route bus drivers. Food service is busy with their yearly on site review. The business office is continuing to work through budget amendments, and the payroll team is wrapping up W2s and 1099s.

Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services

• Teresa Fulk shared that the high school is proposing two new courses for next school year. The next professional development day is scheduled for Monday, January 19th, and will address behavioral supports, explicit instruction, and time to work with PLC teams. NWEA Reading assessment were completed last week with all schools scoring above average. The Student Device Committee is coming to the end of their process and will be making a recommendation to present to the District's Technology Committee, Guiding Coalition, and then School Board.
  

Superintendent

• Tim Reeves shared that the Allegan County Superintendents had their second meeting with a state representative, Senator Albert, to discuss their frustrations with 31aa funding and the lack of clarity around 27L funding. Both of these state accounts had stipulations that caught districts by surprise. He also wanted to remind the board that in two weeks they will have the annual review of the board operating processes.

2026-27 School Bus Purchase

• Leslie Wagner shared that the district is looking at purchasing one new bus through MidWest for the next school year, but they are looking to lock in the price now before the cost increases in March. Mrs. Wagner would like to save the remaining funds from the Gun Lake Revenue Sharing Program originally allocated for the purchase of a second bus into the PA177 account to eventually redo the transportation parking lot and add a cover to help reduce the amount of time spent shoveling/cleaning off the busses.

Series II Bond Contracts

• Nick Ballou from Triangle presented series II bid contracts to the board. Overall, the district is underbudget including the voluntary alternates that were included in the contracts. Bids included several contractors who are already working on bond projects within the district.

Board Member Comments

• Becky Hohnke thanked Baker for presenting, she thought the skits were adorable. She also thanked Leisure Life for giving the board an update. She would like to open up the discussion on fundraising, specifically regarding what the district's policy states.
• Pete Zondervan enjoyed Leisure Life's presentation. He also thanked Mrs. Nast and her team for empowering their students. Lastly, he thanked Baker Elementary's parents for investing in their students' education.
• Erin Stepek thanked the district for going above and beyond to acknowledge the board during BOE appreciation month.
• Jeff Koon would like to thank Mrs. Nast and all the Baker students who presented. He was glad to hear that Leisure Life is enjoying the new community space, it's exactly what the board was envisioning when the district set out to create this space.
• Theresa Dobry shared that a Baker Elementary student held the door open for her on the way into the meeting, which she thought was so sweet.

The meeting adjourned at 7:46pm.

*Please note: This is a summary of the meeting. Official board minutes will be approved at the next regular board meeting being held on February 9th at 6pm. The meeting will be held at the Administration Office.