LAS Board of Education Recap: Recognition of Retirees, Support for Staff

The Lowell Area Schools Board of Education met Monday evening for their regularly scheduled May meeting. All board members were present.

Student Council President Conner Casarez gave his last Lowell High School update of the year. Casarez, a graduating senior, thanked the board specifically, saying:

“You all do so much to ensure every student feels safe and at home in this district. I’ll be honest, I didn’t know much about the board until I started paying attention to what I would eventually have to do as class president. While being here every month, I get a glance at the work you all do, the time you put in and the dedication all of you have to students like me. I couldn’t thank you all enough for everything you’ve done to help each student succeed.

Lowell is truly a special place. Nowhere else could I have received the care and dedication that you, my teachers and all the supporting faculty have put into making me and my peers the best students and people that we can be. I’m excited to go on to this next stage of my life knowing I am the person Lowell has shaped me to be. I’m so thankful to be a Red Arrow for life.”

Reports

Recognition of Retirees

Superintendent Nate Fowler recognized the LAS 2025 retirees with the following comments:

“Each year, I have the honor of…recognizing the retirees for their years of service and the impact that they’ve had on the lives of not only their students but also their colleagues. I can say from personal experience with this group, I have either worked in a building with each one of these retirees or they’ve been one of my own kids’ teachers…just a distinguished group of educators who have been great friends, been great mentors, been great leaders…and have also had a huge impact on the lives of their students…”.

The retirees are as follows:

• Heather DeJonge (LHS Science)
• Diane Heikkila (LMS Resource Room)
• Burt Breuker (LMS Science)
• Becky Smiggen (LHS Science)
• Jennifer Cole (LMS English)
• Rochelle Cummings (Bushnell 1st Grade)
• Dan VanderMeulen (Director of Curriculum)

Recognition of Student Council Representative

Casarez was also recognized with a plaque, applause, and words of appreciation. To Casarez, Fowler said, “…(I) appreciate the monthly updates…appreciate the person that you are, the athlete that you are, the student that you are, the actor that you are; all of those things that you’ve done to make our school community a stronger place.”

Alto Elementary

Paul Papes, principal of Alto Elementary School, was at the board meeting to share about the school’s participation in the Kids Hope USA mentor program.

Kids Hope USA is a national nonprofit that is faith-based and began in 1995 in Zeeland, Michigan. The program pairs one volunteer mentor from a local church with one student mentee who meet for an hour every week for at least a year, though many mentors and their mentees choose to continue their relationship for much longer than that. The mentor is there to give the student their undivided attention for the time they spend together, to be a nonjudgmental ear and a caring presence.

Alto Elementary has been working with mentors from Ada Bible Church for the past seven years and currently has 18 mentors paired with students. Seven mentors that started at Alto have now followed their mentee to the middle school, where they’ve continued their mentorship.

Other schools in the district also work with Kids Hope USA. Bushnell and Cherry Creek Elementary Schools work with mentors from Impact Church while Murray Lake Elementary has partnered with Lowell United Methodist Church. There are currently a total of 45 elementary students and 16 middle school students across the district who are enrolled in the program.

Phil Dougherty, program director of the Ada Bible Church’s Kids Hope program, interviews potential volunteers interested in becoming a mentor in the program. Mentors must complete training and pass a background check as well as be prepared to commit to consistently showing up for their mentee.

Cheryl Swift, a mentor with the program, began her mentorship in 2018 with an Alto kindergarten student who is now a 5th grader. Of the relationship she has with her mentee, she said, “…I get to see my mentee grow in so many ways. Not just physically, because he’s getting taller, but in his learning, his social skills, his hopes, his dreams. This one hour that I spend every week truly does make a difference in both of our lives, and for that I’m thankful.”

Action Items

Second Reading of Revised/New Bylaws/Policies

Following the second reading of several new and revised bylaws and board policies, the board voted unanimously to approve them. The board has discussed the policies at the last several meetings, including policies concerning the state’s new Earned Sick Time Act (ESTA), field trips, immunization changes, use of medications at school and the district’s food service, among others.

Resolution of Support

An addition to the meeting’s agenda was a “resolution of support.” The decree written by the board was read as follows:

“To the Lowell Area Schools Community: as members of the Lowell Area Schools Board of Education, we want to express our sincere appreciation for all district employees, including our teachers, support staff, bus drivers and administrators. Your dedication to educating our students and supporting our community is deeply valued. Thank you for your continued commitment to excellence.

The Board of Education is responsible for establishing and approving the policies that guide our school district. While we set the policies, we entrust our administrators, teachers and staff to carry them out through procedures and daily operations that support a high-quality learning environment. If you have questions or concerns about a policy or its implementation, we encourage you to bring that to the attention of your building or district administration. These concerns will be reviewed and elevated to the board as appropriate.

We want to be clear: bullying, harassing or threatening our district employees who are fulfilling their responsibilities in accordance with board-approved policies is not acceptable.

If you have concerns, we respectfully ask that you direct them to the elected members of the board of education. Our staff deserve a safe and respectful workplace as they carry out the important work of serving our students. Thank you for your ongoing support of our schools and community.”

The board voted unanimously to approve this resolution.

Discussion: Kent ISD Biennial Election

The Kent Intermediate School District (Kent ISD) elects its board by allowing each of the 20 public schools in Kent County to send a representative from their board of education to go to the Kent ISD and cast a vote on behalf of the rest of the board.

There are two open seats on the Kent ISD board and two current candidates for those seats. Board Secretary Pat Nugent said he is willing to serve as the representative for the board to cast a vote. The board will pass a resolution at a special meeting before the May work session next week to allow him to do so.

Human Resources Update

Director of Human Resources Dustin Cichocki said that he has been meeting informally with LEA and LESPA (Lowell Educational Support Personnel Association) to negotiate new contracts.

He also said that with the retirees recognized at the meeting comes new hires, including two new employees that will be introduced to the board at the June meeting. Interviews for five additional positions are currently ongoing.

The district continues to look for new ways to recruit bus drivers because of a driver shortage.

Budget Update

The Governor’s budget proposes a $392 per pupil increase to the foundation allowance, which would bring the foundation allowance to a total of $10,000 per student.

Meanwhile, the Senate proposes an increase of $400 per pupil for a total foundation allowance of $10,008 per student. The Senate, however, wants to restrict how districts are able to spend the per pupil dollars, which is out of the ordinary for unrestricted funds.

Both budget proposals would reduce retirement funding in slightly different ways while the Senate proposal would increase the at-risk funding the district receives.

A reduction in the retirement rate could save LAS a projected $700,000 while a bill pending in the House could increase what the district pays for health insurance by 7%. It’s not yet clear whether this bill will go through.

More information will be coming later this week and next, after the Revenue Estimating Conference occurs and the House budget is released.

Curriculum Update

Director of Curriculum Dan VanderMeulen emphasized that there are lots of exciting things happening at the high school as the school year comes to a close. Senior “Give Back” day is Tuesday, May 13, where seniors volunteer their time and energy helping with various tasks throughout the community.

Next week Wednesday, May 21, is graduation rehearsal for seniors. It is also the day the seniors walk the halls of the elementary schools in their caps and gowns, much to the delight of the elementary students in the district. Finally, graduation will be on Thursday, May 22.

For elementary teachers, an upcoming half day for students will mean professional development for them, as they prepare to look over the new K-5 reading curriculum. A new district-wide K-12 Belonging Committee will launch towards the end of the month. That will focus on the school improvement goal of ensuring all students feel that they belong at LAS.

Public Comments

David Kapolka, a retired longtime teacher and resident of Alto, took to the podium to talk about a time nearly 40 years ago when he worked at the high school. He said that, at that time, there were only about 2-3 girls at a time enrolled in AP math and science courses. First-time female hires in leadership positions led to more female math and science teachers being hired on, which eventually led to female students making up half of the AP science and math classes.

Kapolka said that, “…inclusive actions are a win-win for all students and teachers. When I hear someone wanting to eliminate DEI programs, I worry about the impact. Are we really going to support the opposition of DEI? No diversity, no equity, no inclusion. We need to stay vigilant when such programs are under attack.”

Longtime Lowell resident and retired LAS teacher Kim Lum thanked the presenters who came to speak about Kids Hope USA. She said she remembered a student for whom the Kids Hope mentorship program made a huge difference. She said, “I want to encourage all of us that interact with kids, whether we’re the teacher, the mentor…to take a moment and just give a smile to those kids…they need to know that we all care, and a lot of times, that makes a difference.”

Retired LAS teacher Tom Stahr said that he taught in the district for 34 years and said he thought that banning books from school libraries because they contain certain words seemed like “folly” to him. He added, “…I think the board policy regarding removing books from our school libraries is a very good policy. I can’t imagine a policy being more parent-friendly…”.

Stahr seemed to agree with Kapolka regarding DEI policies, stating, “…those who would eliminate DEI are doing a disservice to our students and society. Without a DEI policy, our students are in for a big surprise when they graduate and they join a diverse society where their employer, their instructor, their roommate, their neighbor, their coworker, their commanding officer does not look like them or believe the same way that they have been brought up.”

LHS senior Ben VonderHeide said that he wanted to highlight some of the excellent extracurriculars that LAS has to offer its students, including theater, the Model UN program, and the sailing team. VonderHeide said that when he approached staff about restarting the nonexistent sailing team, he was met with, “…if you want it, you’ve got it type attitude, and then we had a sailing team again. Just like that; the staff works it out.”

VonderHeide also mentioned that he and many of his friends were preparing to attend college in the fall, saying, “…we have ambitious students, but our teachers also share that ambitious attitude and our counselors push us to achieve things, and I just think, overall…districts like these are what make our country beautiful and great. And I think that if every school district in America were run like ours, I think things would be just darn near perfect in this country.”

Superintendent’s Report

Fowler thanked Lum for her comments at the last meeting in remembrance of Betty Yeiter, a beloved former teacher and community member who passed away last month. Fowler said he wanted to express his gratitude to Yeiter and her family.

In response to some of the public comments about DEI, Fowler said that LAS has disbanded their DEI committee because of political happenings. He went on to explain that as part of the district’s school improvement goal of ensuring all LAS students feel that they belong at school, the district does have a “belonging team” that will kick off next year.

The belonging team will focus on making sure “…each one of our students, when they come to school, feel like they have a sense of belonging; and we know that when students feel like they belong at school, they learn at higher levels…,” according to Fowler.

Addressing comments from the last meeting concerning teachers’ classroom libraries, Fowler said that while there are no specific board policies addressing them, “…what we do have is trained teachers, we have qualified teachers who are expert in that field, and they’re expert in engaging readers of all levels…what our practice has been is that if there are concerns about the contents of those books, there’s a conversation that happens between the teachers and between those families to ensure that that teacher is challenging that student to be a better reader and, at the same time, meeting the wish of those families…”.

Fowler also expressed condolences to the family of Jim Turner, a long-serving Board of Education member and former Board President whose wife recently passed away.

Fowler ended with thanks to all LAS staff for Staff Appreciation Week last week and thanked the parents and businesses who helped to make staff feel appreciated. Fowler said that in particular, he wanted to express gratitude to Impact Church, who brought treats to staff in every single building in the district.

Board Communications

Several board members thanked the retirees, Casarez for his energetic and informative monthly reports, and the Kids Hope USA mentors and facilitators.

Board Vice President Laurie Kuna mentioned an art exhibit at Lowell Arts that featured the work of LHS seniors. She said how impressed she was with the quality of the artists’ work on display. Kuna thanked the art teachers who helped facilitate the exhibit: Emma Bandos and Christine Cosgrove. Kuna said that if the community missed the exhibit, to stay tuned for next year, because there are plans for the senior art exhibit to happen again in 2026.

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm to go into closed session for negotiations. There will be a special meeting and work session next Monday, May 19 at 6 pm. The meeting is happening one week early because of Memorial Day.

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