Welcome to the first issue of School Pointes, a newsletter on education in Grosse Pointe and Harper Woods. As a resident and independent journalist, I am providing this to the community as a service. This online publication has no affiliation with the Grosse Pointe Public School System or any other school in the area. I welcome your thoughts, contributions and story ideas. Feel free to comment below, subscribe to receive future issues in an email and share on your social networks!
Saying goodbye
With the addition to the schedule of a special meeting Monday, Dec. 21, the regular meeting of the Grosse Pointe Public School System Board of Education was not the final one for departing trustees Kathleen Abke, Judy Gafa, Cindy Pangborn and Christopher Profeta.
Nevertheless, Superintendent Gary Niehaus thanked all four for their service, individually recognizing Gafa and Profeta, who did not seek re-election, and Abke and Pangborn, who lost their bids for election on Nov. 3.
Niehaus traced their contributions back to the strategic plan to help move the district forward “in a direction that makes a difference.
“I think we accomplished a lot and I give a lot of credit to all four of you,” he said.
Because the meeting was held virtually, there was no formal recognition, but a certificate and gift of a Pewabic tile were delivered in advance to each of their homes.
Trustee Joseph Herd, the newest member who won his bid for election to a two-year term after he was appointed in January, spoke about how helpful each trustee was to him during his transition.
“I’ve been accustomed to dealing with difficult issues — I did that with my last job a lot — but I never felt as much support as I felt from you four,” Herd said. “… Mrs. Abke, I don’t know how many times I’ve called you and said: ‘What about this, what about that?’ Mr. Profeta, in terms of just his quiet way of problem-solving and coming up with solutions at the end, that's really helped me and … I value that.”
He also credited Gafa for her “experience and knowing how things are supposed to work. Sometimes having a gauge of where to start helps you to know where you’re going.”
Abke thanked Herd and others for their comments.
“It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve with you all,” she said.
Pangborn and President Margaret Weertz were not in attendance. The meeting was led by Vice President Abke.
GPFPE gifts
A highlight of the meeting was the presentation of $30,269 in gifts from the Grosse Pointe Foundation for Public Education by grant committee co-chair Kathy Fisk.
Of 10 gifts in this grant cycle, the largest was $8,000 for a partial grant to fund the purchase of two sousaphones for Brownell and Parcells Middle and Grosse Pointe North High schools, replacing instruments purchased in 1968. This grant, submitted by band director Tom Torrento, will be especially beneficial for the marching band, Fisk said.
The next largest gift of $6,808 was for iPads to interact with the new SMART Board software at Parcells, Brownell and Pierce middle schools. These iPads will allow better social distancing within the classroom during in-person instruction as well as accommodate virtual sharing of the SMART Board through a screen mirroring feature. The grant was submitted by Parcells math teacher Ashley Golitko.
Contributing to the band and orchestra program at Grosse Pointe South High School is a new vibraphone for $3,993. This instrument replaces a currently unrepairable vibraphone that is central to festival preparation and performances. The grant was submitted by band and orchestra director Christopher Takis.
Reflective of the times was a request for air purifiers for every instrumental music practice room in the district’s middle and high schools, at a cost of $2,400. Submitted by Torrento, these purifiers will protect band and orchestra musicians during indoor practice sessions.
Three gifts were funded through the Lois J. Warden Fund established for elementary programs within the school system: dramatic play equipment for kindergarten students at Monteith Elementary School for $3,731, submitted by kindergarten teachers Natalie Bruveris, Theresa Comilla and Diane Richards; $406 in math manipulatives for Mason Elementary School students submitted by third-grade teacher Caitlin Haigh; and a literacy grant to complement hands-on learning and critical thinking skills in the STEAM/Makerspace area at Maire Elementary School, a $750 gift submitted by computer lab assistant Michelle Kramer.
A partial grant for $3,179 funds the purchase of 10 Chromebooks and a cart for use in the GPPSS Community School, allowing developmentally disabled students to use technology to engage in exploring and researching potential jobs and careers, practice data entry and learn e-commerce as a microbusiness. This was submitted by Ann Marie Bokatzian.
Smaller gifts include wire and equipment for $402 to allow instruction in 3D manipulation in art class at Parcells, submitted by art teacher Courtney Hughes, and $600 in six impairment goggles allowing North students to virtually experience the effect of drugs and alcohol on their systems while being instructed in possible legal ramifications from their use, submitted by social studies teacher Sean McCarroll and to be used as part of a new American Legal Systems class.
“One of the highlights of being on the board is being able to be the grateful recipient for the school district of all these wonderful awards,” Gafa said.
Action items
On the agenda for approval along with the GPFPE gifts was the addition of a new sixth-grade art course, purchase of Chromebook devices and cart for 2021 summer bond construction, renewed lease on Elworthy field, Plante Moran CRESA Amendment No. 1 and the superintendent’s evaluation.
The PMC amendment was discussed at the Nov. 23 meeting. The administration identified the largest gap in planning to be the coordination of sinking fund projects, bond construction and information technology, and requested board approval to expand PMC’s consulting services to overseeing all three at a cost of $3,000 per month for information technology, funded by the bond, and $9,000 per month for sinking fund projects, funded by the sinking fund.
Board members met two times over the past month to conduct the superintendent’s evaluation, according to Abke. The final score on average was 92 percent, which is highly effective.
The board unanimously approved all action items except for the Elworthy field lease, which passed 4-1. Gafa said she would prefer the school district to charge more than $1 for the renewed lease.
Special meeting
On the agenda for a special meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21, to be held virtually, is the approval of Maire Elementary School 2021 project costs, bid packages on Brownell Middle School 2021 specific trades, and a change in environmental consultants for the 2021 summer bond projects with the engagement of Nova Environmental, Inc.
The approval of laptops for Grosse Pointe North and South’s TV production and North’s computer graphics programs, originally on the agenda for the Jan. 11 meeting, was added to the special meeting agenda at the request of board members. A total of $175,596.48 for 96 laptops and $3,087 for three carts will be paid for by state funding generated by the Career and Technical Education programs.
The district generated $341,102.55 in 61a funds for the 2020-21 school year. Ninety percent of this funding must be spent on program improvement.
Superintendent search update
A board subcommittee will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, to review bids from search firms to help with the selection of a new superintendent. Finalists will be notified of their selection Thursday, Jan. 7, and onsite interviews will be conducted with the Board of Education Tuesday, Jan. 19, with the selection to be voted on at the regular meeting Monday, Jan. 25. The firm will be notified of the award the following day.
Under Michigan’s Sunshine Law Open Meetings Act, all meetings will be open to the public, Niehaus said.
Parting words
While Herd said he would save his “flowery” speech for the special meeting on Dec. 21, Abke, Gafa and Profeta shared parting thoughts at the close of the meeting.
Profeta recognized his family for their sacrifice during his tenure and fellow board members and administration for their commitment to students and staff.
While he believes what he learned from the experience will serve him well in the future, he acknowledged there were frustrations.
“There’s a lot of things I think our community could do a better job at,” Profeta said. “I think we could do a little bit better job of being a community. We could do a better job of compromising, of recognizing no one person has all the answers. We need to work with each other and … see where our values line up.”
Profeta added one of the reasons he chose not to run for re-election was that he realized he could do a better job as a community member than as a board member.
“I used to think that change came from board tables and city halls and capital buildings, but I was wrong,” he said. “I think change comes from the community. If I want this community to stop fighting with itself all the time, then I’ve got to go out there and I’ve got to do that too.
“I’ve also learned — and I’m not afraid to say it — that I was also wrong about just how powerful the forces that want us divided really are,” he added.
Profeta recommended “showing grace, showing love” as “the weapons that should be used to beat that division.”
Change, he concluded, is “not going to come from this board or any board, and if people keep looking to boards for these solutions, they’re going to continue to be disappointed. It’s going to come from the community.”
Gafa shared her perspective after 12 years of serving on the board through “great times” and “hard times.”
Throughout those years, criticism was a common refrain.
“I’ve sat through three superintendents,” Gafa said. “I’ve heard community members say every single one of them is ruining our school system. ‘We used to be great; we’re terrible. We’re awful.’ I sit here and I think: No, we’re not. We’re not a bad school system. We don’t have bad people working here. I don’t think anybody goes into one of these jobs thinking, ‘Boy, I really want to destroy the school system.’ I think everybody here does what they can do to do the best they can for the situation we’re in.
“Imagine what we could do if we put our energy toward (building up) instead of tearing down,” she added “… If we didn’t take to social media to say how awful everything is. If we really tried to find and seek a way to work together.”
Gafa concluded by saying what she learned in her years on the board is that “trying to find a way to work together works better. I’ve always found when we reach these difficult positions, when we as a community do come together, we come up with better solutions.”
“I want to thank the community for the opportunity to serve these past four and a half years,” Abke said. “It has been truly an honor to do that. What I learned on day one … is that as a school board member we do not represent our own kid, our own family, our own school. We have to represent the entire district and there is a whole lot of diversity and different opinions in the entire district. We need to be careful, I learned, to be objective and listen to all sides of debates. When we say ‘do what’s best for the kids,’ it’s not just what’s best for the kids in my house or subdivision or my particular school.”
Abke closed the meeting by wishing the best to the new board.
Coming up
Newly elected trustees David Brumbaugh, Ahmed Ismail, Lisa Papas and Colleen Worden will join Herd, Weertz and Trustee Chris Lee on the stage — whether in person at the Brownell multipurpose room or virtually is yet to be determined — for their first regular meeting 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 11. On the agenda is the election of officers, declaration of board member compensation, and approval of the regular board meeting calendar for 2021 and regular and special meeting minutes for Dec. 14 and 21.
copyright 2020 Mary Anne Brush
Way to go, Mary Anne! I read every word and thank you for keeping us informed about news so important to our community, especially in regard to the perspectives of the outgoing board members!
I agree - a positive, straightforward and informative article; a service to those board members departing and the community.