Meeting Minutes: CV Board OKs Teacher Layoffs, Praises Great Teachers

Chippewa Valley's school board both praised teachers in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week on Monday and gave the OK to the interim superintendent to issue pink slips.

The irony of the situation during Teacher Appreciation Week was not lost on members of the Chippewa Valley Board of Education, many of whom expressed their disappointment that budget issues should force such an action.

"Hopefully, it will work out that we don’t end up with any layoffs at all," said George Sobah, board vice president.

By passing this item, the board has authorized interim Superintendent Ron Roberts to issue layoff notices as warranted by budget constraints to "affected employees in the teacher's unit pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement."

The teacher collective bargaining agreement requires a 45-calendar-day notice to all employees who could be laid off. The notices must be received no later than May 16.

"This is preliminary at this point," said Michael Reeber, assistant superintendent of Human Resources. "We have a lot of work to do to determine how many, if any, layoffs are needed."

Recognizing Award-Winning Students

Monday's board meeting also recognized two teams of award-winning students, whose efforts in science and technology have put Chippewa Valley on the state and national map.

Led by Paul Morici, the Tech Ed instructor at , Seneca students placed first place in the Michigan leg of the School of the Future competition and went on to compete in Washington D.C., where they won the Award of Excellence and $2,000. 

The competition encourages student teams to plan and design a school that will improve the learning environment for students, feature an energy-efficient facility and play an integral role in the surrounding community.

Seneca students created a boarding school to be built on the former site of Tiger Stadium in Detroit. From building models to selecting the heating and cooling technology in the buildings, students researched every detail and built the concept school from the ground up.

The future school would contain an organic urban farm and a virtual reality room, and would use a variety of "green" technology such as smart bricks to control temperature, wind turbines and solar panels to produce electricity and LED lighting. Students even chose the type of produce they would grow on the organic farm.

More than one audience member was seen mouthing "wow" during the students' presentation to the board, and Roberts said if ever a vacancy becomes available in Educational Services, he encourages members of the team to apply.

Students from Chippewa Valley High School were also recognized for their first place win in the third annual Square One Mini-IVD (Innovative Vehicle Design) challenge.

A first-time participant in the competition, the CVHS team tied for first place in vehicle performance and won second in design innovation for the remote-controlled racecar they converted to electric power and raced.

The students were also asked to present their findings and demonstrate the performance capabilities of their re-engineered vehicle.

The team received first place overall for the best overall combination of innovation, engineering, vehicle performance and team dynamics to produce an exemplary device and outcome for the competition.

Mural-Painting Art Teacher Retires

Jeannie Seck, an art teacher at CVHS, will retire at the end of the school year.

Seck has taught at CVHS for six years and for 42 years overall. She has lived in the district for more than 30 years and has had two children graduate from Chippewa Valley.

Seck was instrumental in organizing the painting of the murals in CVHS.

A Plea for Books

Sixth grade Seneca student and Troop 97 Boy Scout Alec Rinaldi addressed the board with a special plea Monday night on behalf of his sixth and seventh grade peers.

"There are not enough (social studies books) for every student in the sixth grade seventh grade (at Seneca)," Rinaldi said.

While students without texts are given access to online books, Rinaldi said he is worried that not all students have a reliable Internet connection to access their books.

"It concerns me for kids that don't have Internet or ones with a bad connection, that they won't be able to do their homework at home," he said.

Roberts said Rinaldi's concerns are valid and he is well aware of the lack of books–the district used a proposal to purchase the first half of books last year and ran out of money before the second set could be purchased.

School Board Elections

Just a reminder, Chippewa Valley School Board elections are tomorrow. Current members and are running for re-election along with second-time candidate for two six-term board seats.

A list of precincts can be found . Macomb Patch will keep you updated throughout the day as election results come in.