School Board OKs Textbooks, AP Course Proposal

The West Bloomfield School Board approved 11 new textbook sets for possible use beginning in the 2011-12 school year.

The books covering grammar, poetry, literature and composition for all grade levels would cost nearly $170,000 and update “outdated, worn-out materials that we currently use,” according to an enclosure by the West Bloomfield School District Curriculum Council. 

The discussion took place at the board's meeting at , which saw sparse attendance compared to recent meetings, including the  when the board imposed a collective bargaining agreement on its teachers union.

Trustee Matt Chase initially asked that Assistant Superintendent Robert Martin’s textbooks recommendation be tabled for a time later in the school year when the district would have a better understanding of its financial situation. Martin explained he was asking the board to adopt the texts as curriculum, rather than purchase them.

“The pricing seems a little high. Is that common for that particular book? Did we seek out competitive bids?” Trustee Melanie Torbert asked.

“This is a text that our high schoolers used for years — they’re using an outdated version," Martin explained. "When you get into upper-level classes, you have a more select group of students who are using fewer books.

“I really like the breadth and the depth of the multicultural and global aspect of these authors, and I think that our students would benefit from them.”

The receiving of the books would occur when 20 percent of the funds could be accounted for, Martin said. The recommendation passed with a unanimous 7-0 vote.

Also at the meeting:

• Martin explained results of the West Bloomfield School District’s 2010 MEAP (Michigan Educational Assessment Program), in which every grade level scored above the state average in every subject tested. Martin broke down the scores by grade level and race, among other factors, and said there was an eight-point gap between black and Latino students and white and Asian students. “When you get between a 10-point differentiation, it becomes more significant. We’re not satisfied, but we’re moving in the right direction,” he said.
• WBHS journalism teacher Robin Nadler commented on the school board’s decision to impose a 10 percent pay cut upon its teachers union March 31: “I wonder what it was exactly I had done wrong for the past four months," Nadler said. "Obviously, there were concerns or my pay would not have been cut. … If these cuts continue, I won’t go to another district. I will leave teaching and that breaks my heart."
• The board unanimously OK'd an advanced-placement (AP) studio art course to begin in the 2011-12 school year. The one-credit course, which would bump the AP offerings of West Bloomfield High School to 22, would “no doubt strengthen the school’s AP International Diploma status” and “prove cost-neutral,” thanks to resources already in place, Martin said. The course would be taught by WBHS art teacher Margaret Squires. 
• Five out of the 45 district's high school students who earned State Finalist awards at the State Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) Competition March 18-20 in Grand Rapids were honored by the board: Matthew Seiss, Zachary Kottler, Alexander Finkelstein, Justin Ku and Carly Krainen.