By Tracy Ouellette
Staff Writer
Waterford Graded School District Board President Bob Kastengren issued an apology to the public and fellow School Board members June 24, saying he regretted letting last month’s board meeting get out of control during the public comments.
“I allowed the comments to spiral out of control,” he said. “I’ve learned my lesson and in the future I’m going to curtail this if it gets into a public debate.”
The May meeting of the board deteriorated at times into a back-and-forth shouting match between a couple of board members and citizens.
Kastengren admonished both board members and residents to remember that these meetings were not the place for public debate and he would not allow it to happen again. He also pointed out that just because a citizen made a comment, board members were not bound to answer.
Combining services
The board voted to approve Dousman Transport’s proposal to combine the middle and high school bus routes. If approved by the Waterford Union High School board, the change would result in a savings of nearly $55,000 for the districts.
That savings is in addition to the $32,000 the Graded School District saved by contracting with Dousman instead of S&J Bus Services, which had been serving the district for several decades.
Board members commented on how the nearly $90,000 savings to taxpayers would not have been possible if they had not voted – against the wishes of several vocal residents and S&J employees – to use Dousman.
The vote was not unanimous, 4-0, with board member Dawn Bleimehl abstaining, saying she had concerns about the grade schools’ starting and ending times, which a Dousman representative told the board members at the June 10 Transportation Committee meeting might need to be moved 5 minutes later to accommodate the bus turn-around time.
Board Member Paul Beyerl noted that this would not be the first time the district had modified the school day because of bus service.
Whether the district’s schools will change their start/end times will be determined at a later date as the High School Board still needs to vote on the combined routes.
Dan Jensen, who is a member of both the High School and Graded School boards, said he would not vote on this issue when it comes up for a vote at the High School level. Jensen voted for in favor Monday night as a member of the Graded School Board.
Other business
The board approved raising lunch and milk prices by 5 cents each for the 2013-14 school year, bringing the cost of an elementary school lunch to $2.35 and a middle school lunch to $2.45. Adult lunch prices were also increased by 5 cents.
“That’s the cost for the food,” said Beyerl. “I want people to know that we don’t make any money on this. We don’t make money, and we don’t lose money.”
The board instructed District Administrator Chris Joch to set aside the $200,000 in the 2012-13 budget so work could begin on Evergreen Elementary School’s new roof.
The board also approved the purchase of a new tractor for grounds maintenance.
New assistant administrator
Kathleen Hopp begins her tenure as assistant district administrator for curriculum/instruction on July 1, after the board voted to approve her contract.
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