Taed Price, Former School Board Trustee

01/29/2026

01/28/2026

As of this evening, I have voluntarily resigned and am no longer serving as a member of the Onaway Schools Board of Education. This was a difficult decision that ultimately came down to the application of the Michigan Incompatible Public Offices Act. Under that law, I could not continue to serve in an oversight role on the Board while also providing certain services to the district—such as football PA announcing, serving as pianist for elementary programs, or acting as a Solo & Ensemble accompanist or contractor—which are treated as conflicts of interest under state law. There are no hard feelings on any side that I am aware of.

I want to sincerely thank everyone who has supported me personally, and I ask that you continue to support the Onaway Schools Board of Education and our school district as they work to strengthen our schools, maintain high curricular standards, thoughtfully introduce new curriculum, and—above all—prepare our students for life beyond the classroom. I was honoured to serve, however brief my term, and I remain confident in the current Board’s ability to continue making sound decisions for the district.

This page will be shut down around February 28, 2026.

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01/28/2026

The following is my personal summary of tonight's Onaway Schools Board of Education January committee-of-the-whole workshop. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀; 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. This summary reflects the information publicly discussed during the meeting, as I personally heard and understood it. Any errors in wording, detail, or interpretation are solely my own, and should not be attributed to the Board of Education.

𝟭. 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿. Onaway Area Community Schools Board of Education Committee-of-the-Whole workshop was called to order on January 27 at 6:30pm by President Annette Porter.

𝟮. 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. Attendees stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

𝟯. 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹. Roll call showed that the following were present at the start of the meeting: Annette Porter, Tom Moran, Mitch Winfield, Stacey Porter, John Kaszonyi, Taed Price, Superintendent Shaun Jordan.

𝟰. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿/𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀
𝗮. Motion was made by S. Porter to approve the minutes of the January 13th organizational meeting, seconded by Price. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝟱. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮. Motion was made by Price to amend the agenda to add item 7.c. “Election of Board Secretary” under Action Items. Motion was made by S. Porter to approve the agenda as amended, seconded by Kaszonyi.
Discussion ensued about timing of appointment of Board Secretary; the specific position of Secretary is needed to sign on diplomas, in addition to President, Superintendent, and Principal. Question was asked whether Price should sit in on the closed session and fulfill the obligations of Secretary through the conclusion of this meeting as originally intended; Price stated that he did not feel it appropriate for an outgoing/resigning board member to sit in on closed session, and intended to move up his resignation to be effective as of Action Item 7.b. immediately.
Back to the motion on the table: all in favour, motion carried.

𝟲. 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲
No citizens asked to speak prior to the meeting.

A. Porter calls a brief recess at 6:35pm for administrative documents to be retrieved for the board seat vacancy interviews. Meeting resumed at 6:38pm.

𝟳. 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀.
𝗮. 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗩𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀.
i. Wayne Vermilya interviewed by current board members.
ii. Collin Hoffmeyer interviewed by current board members.
Discussion ensued. Motion was made by Moran to appoint Hoffmeyer to the Board, seconded by Kaszonyi. By roll call: Moran aye, Kaszonyi aye, Price aye, Winfield aye, S. Porter aye, A. Porter aye. Motion carried.

𝗯. 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Taed Price is resigning (originally effective 11:59pm tonight) per an email to Jordan and A. Porter on Monday morning. “Legal counsel has advised that the services for which I have long volunteered in the school district […] may be incompatible with service on the Board. While I respect this guidance, my skills and capacity to serve this community are strongest through direct, hands-on support of students.” To prevent unnecessary involvement in closed session tonight, Price is moving up his resignation to be effective immediately.
Motion was made by Moran to accept the resignation of Taed Price, seconded by S. Porter. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.
There are 30 days for the Board to appoint a replacement, or the COP will appoint for us – that is February 26th.

Recess called at 7:05pm to administer oath of office to Colin Hoffmeyer.
Meeting resumed at 7:08:59pm.

𝗰. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆.
Hoffmeyer was nominated to the position of Secretary by Moran, seconded by Kaszonyi. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝟴. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.
𝗮. 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲. Jordan is sitting down tomorrow with Dani Chapman as this is the part of the year we go over our budget. Some things to provide to the board as update, some talking points: a reminder that we did not take the 31aa funds, but we did get approved the OST grant which helps to supplement everything else. We are updating the State Aid population versus what was projected and guessed. There is a line item still in the budget for a new bus but if we don’t purchase it, it will remain on our budget. We’re showing a projected budget deficit of 550,000 versus the original 750,000 that was predicted.

𝗯. 𝗖𝗧𝗘 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁. As we all know, what was voted on in November did not pass. However, the state came through and offered those of us in the “CTE desert” an opportunity called the 61b Michigan CTE Expansion Grant. This grant would provide funding to ISDs to expand student access to CTE programs, strictly coming from MTE. An overview of the funding shows that the grant would be applied over a three year time period. It accumulates to be a 400,000 grant for every program that you apply to get certified under the grant: the first year provides 200,000 (to find the educator, get the materials, and start at ground zero), second year 120,000, and third year 80,000. Jordan has until February 11 to apply for this grant, and has been in connection with Laura Percival who does the CTE programming with our summer programs. Due to our recent resignation of Mark Grant who was our woodshop guy, we’d like to look at getting a CTE program under the construction trades umbrella. So we’re holding off on posting for Grant’s position in case this grant comes in successfully and we can align the posting to go with that grant.
Moran reminds the board in his experience with CTE work and programs that many of these grants do not fully fund the programs right away and asks Jordan to inquire on further details. Hoffmeyer mentions in 2027, schools will all be required to offer one Computer Science class, and is wondering if we can be creative and check that box as well with the CTE grant/funding. Jordan says that often yes, these programs check multiple boxes at once. Winfield asks after the grant expires, are we responsible for continuing those CTE classes? Jordan says that is often how these grants work but it is a question that needs to be asked. Kaszonyi says that is a desired expectation often, with the state only offering “seed money” in the hopes that the district can acquire the resources to carry it forward from that point.

𝟵. 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
𝗮. 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. Motion was made by Moran to go into Closed Board Session, seconded by Kaszonyi. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

The gallery was dismissed from the media center at 7:20pm for the Board of Education to resume in closed session.

At this time the note-taker (Taed Price) left the facilities. The following events presumably took place afterwards:

𝟭𝟬. 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. The gallery was invited to return to the media center as the Board of Education returned to open session.
𝟭𝟭. 𝗔𝗱𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Motion was made to adjourn, seconded. A. Porter adjourned meeting.

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01/21/2026

We currently have another vacancy on the school board and are seeking community members who are passionate about supporting our school and students. If you're interested in making a meaningful impact and working together to shape the future of our district, we encourage you to apply. Go Cards!

01/14/2026

The following is my personal summary of tonight's Onaway Schools Board of Education organizational January meeting. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀; 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. This summary reflects the information publicly discussed during the meeting, as I personally heard and understood it. Any errors in wording, detail, or interpretation are solely my own, and should not be attributed to the Board of Education.

𝟭. 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿. Onaway Area Community Schools Board of Education Organizational Meeting was called to order on January 13 at 7:00pm by Acting President Annette Porter.

𝟮. 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. Attendees stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

𝟯. 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹. Roll call showed that the following were present at the start of the meeting: Annette Porter, Tom Moran, Mitch Winfield, Stacey Porter, John Kaszonyi, Taed Price, Superintendent Shaun Jordan.

𝟰. 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘀.
a. Kaszonyi was nominated to the position of President by Moran, seconded by Winfield. A. Porter was nominated to the position of President by S. Porter, seconded by Price. Motion was made by S. Porter to elect A. Porter as President of the Board of Education, seconded by (?). By roll call: A. Porter aye, Moran aye, Kaszonyi aye, Price aye, Winfield aye, S. Porter aye.
b. Moran was nominated to the position of Vice President by S. Porter, seconded by A. Porter. Kaszonyi was nominated to the position of Vice President by Moran, seconded by Price. Motion was made by Winfield to elect Moran as Vice President of the Board of Education, seconded by S. Porter. By roll call: Price aye, Winfield aye, S. Porter aye, Kaszonyi aye, Moran aye, A. Porter.
c. Price was nominated to the position of Secretary, seconded by Moran. Motion was made to close the nomination by Moran, seconded by S. Porter. By roll call: Kaszonyi aye, Price aye, Winfield aye, S. Porter aye, A. Porter aye, Moran aye.
d. S. Porter was nominated to the position of Treasurer by Price, seconded by Moran. Motion was made to close the nominations by Moran, seconded by S. Porter. By roll call: Price aye, Winfield aye, S. Porter aye, A. Porter aye, Moran aye, Kaszonyi aye.

𝟱. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿/𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀
𝗮. Motion was made by Kaszonyi to approve the minutes of the December 30th special meeting, seconded by Moran. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝟲. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮. Motion was made by Moran to approve the agenda as presented, seconded by Price. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝟳. 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲
𓅚 Sterling LaPratt. I live in Cheboygan, I’ve worked up here 3 years for Sunrise and I fell in love with the community. I want the board to be aware I’m around, I am a technology consultant and provide business to other businesses. I could provide consulting at no charge, I provide phone service to Moran Iron Works, Auto Value, the Lumber Store, etc. I did the residential service part of Sunrise. I know that I could save the schools money and upgrade their communication systems, and I can beat any deal that any other provider would offer the school. I’d like to ask what the proper communication channel might be to talk about other options that might save the school some money and upgrade the systems. Superintendent Jordan is the avenue of communication.
𓅚 Wayne Vermilya. Resident of Allis Township and frequently attend these meetings. I don’t know how you to intend to fill the vacancy, you’ll perhaps discuss this evening, but I previously indicated that I would be interested in serving, and I have not rescinded that interest. Just so you’re all aware, I will not decline a nomination to serve on the board.

𝟴. 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀.
𝗮. 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘯. Over the break, the district installed four new GPS tracking units and four additional camera systems on select buses, providing real‑time bus location data, providing more accurate arrival information, and improving operational tracking such as mileage, drive time, and idling, it helps promote efficiency and reduce downtime and helps communicate to parents. Real time viewing systems include forward facing for traffic conditions and aisle facing for student safety and driver accountability. 𓅚 In November, the district applied for several grants, and we received great news regarding grants, with Onaway being awarded $56,700 through the Out‑of‑School Time (OST) Grant—an opportunity made available to ten districts in the region, of which only three districts were selected including us—funding programs that occur outside regular school hours. Huge shoutout to Dani and Tathy. 𓅚 Following previously shared updates, the district received generous athletic donations supporting multiple sports including football, basketball, cross country, volleyball, and now wrestling, reflecting continued community support for student‑athletes 𓅚 Discipline and appeal procedures—assigned to the Superintendent under board policy—have now been formally developed and implemented 𓅚 New Board members (Mitch) must complete MASB training on Superintendent evaluation, with the next available session scheduled for February 4, and registration information provided 𓅚 An agreement has been finalized with the MYWAY youth wrestling program, with both parties ready to sign the Letter of Agreement 𓅚 The sale of the Tower property is now in pending status, with closing expected at the end of the month; the District will receive $1,200 from the seller’s proceeds to cover half of the survey cost (no charge to district). 𓅚 The Winter NWEA testing window is now open through February 6, and the district anticipates reviewing growth data across grade levels once testing is complete. 𓅚 At the December 9 meeting, the LEGO Robotics team shared their robot and announced advancement to the State competition. We now know that on December 20th, they placed in the top 100 of roughly 900 teams statewide, achieving their highest robot score of the season and representing the district exceptionally well. We had 11 team members in total but only seven were able to attend the State competition, and they reported a VERY positive experience. 𓅚 A part‑time custodial position has been temporarily filled by Isaiah Zampich, until May when he begins an electrical apprenticeship; he will support weather coverage, evening activities, and daytime maintenance. Primarily considered a floor specialist for the high school wing. 𓅚 A new Staff Spotlight initiative will begin at each Board meeting to highlight exceptional staff contributions, starting with Kym Wregglesworth.

𝗶. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. Kym Wregglesworth could not attend tonight because in all her spare time she likes to teach college and has a class tonight. She has been with the district since 1999 serving as high school social studies teacher, going above and beyond in her entire career and working to connect her students with experiences. She currently sits on a Council for Social Studies, recently attended the National Convention for Social Studies conference. One example of her leadership is working with iCivics, an initiative she intentionally expanded throughout Onaway classrooms. She’s part of a National Educator Network and written lessons using this platform. Her approach emphasizes project based learning and collaboration. She has taken the lead in advancing career exploration at the secondary level and beginning conversations in middle school. Beyond her role in the district, Kym is also an online college instructor, teaching future educators how to teach social studies effectively, and helping them access resources through Donors’ Choice. Kym has been nominated as Donors’ Choice ambassador. Her leadership, passion, and dedication continue to positively shape our school culture.

𝗯. 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘯. The Christmas Program was reported as a major success with an excellent turnout, strong performances from every classroom, and then after that fast and furious hour Katie Doud did a phenomenal job with band concert 𓅚 I had to abandon Brian in the Robotics state competition but super glad they were able to attend. 𓅚 The end of the marking period falls on 1/16, with Quarter 2 report cards scheduled to go home on Friday, 1/23 𓅚 Parent‑teacher conferences are set for 2/26 and 2/27 𓅚 NWEA MOY testing actually started earlier than originally planned (1/19-2/6) with the unusual circumstance of two back-to-back half days this week. Acadience testing is already underway. 𓅚 Reading Month in March will feature a full slate of activities, with calendars heading home in February 𓅚 December Community outreach highlights include generous support from multiple local organizations and families: Millersburg Eagles, a private family, Ocqueoc Lutheran; Karnak Lodge 442, St. Dominic’s of Metz, and the Methodist Church providing a substantial amount of winter gear including hats, gloves, and boots 𓅚 MSU Extension coming back with Katie Parr, started Mindful Mondays yesterday and the kids love having her in the building, she’s going to be here for fourteen weeks every Monday.

𝗰. 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝘉𝘳𝘺𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘺𝘭𝘦. Seven Lego Robotics students traveled to Mason High School for the Michigan State Championships, competing against 49 other teams; the students performed well, learned a great deal! 𓅚 End of Semester 1 will occur on Friday, January 16, with exams held on January 15 and 16, both of which are scheduled as half days 𓅚 Second‑semester classes have been finalized, and the window for schedule changes closed on January 9, meanwhile second‑semester Early Middle College and dual‑enrollment courses already begin this week (exact numbers for next board meeting) 𓅚 Snowcoming Spirit Week is planned for February 2–6 and will conclude with the varsity boys’ basketball game on February 6 and the dance on February 7 in the cafeteria 𓅚 Ski Club has officially begun, with the first trip taking place on Saturday, January 10 (second trip this Saturday) 𓅚 The high school robotics team attended the season kickoff on January 10 at Boyne City High School (took 11 out of 16 kids on our team) and immediately returned to begin strategy planning and design work, with some team members preparing to work seven days a week in pursuit of returning to the world championships in Houston. Planning to have a working robot by week 2!

𝟵. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁.
𝗮. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀. Motion was made by S. Porter to approve the December bills, seconded by Kaszonyi. Discussion – comment from Moran, still don’t think this format is adequate for our review, mostly because we could use a wider/longer description. All in favour, motion carried.
𝗯. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀. Motion was made by S. Porter to approve the December financial report, seconded by Price. Discussion – comment from Price, transportation fee revenue being so high compared to budget is explained by the bus camera/GPS purchases mentioned by Jordan. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝟭𝟬. 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.
𝗮. 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀. The following 2026 dates are proposed: Committee of the Whole January 30, Regular February 10, CotW February 24, Regular March 10, CotW March 24, Regular April 14, CotW April 28, Regular May 12, CotW May 26, Regular June 9, Budget Workshop June 23, Regular July 14, CotW July 28, Regular August 11, CotW August 25, Regular September 8, CotW September 22, Regular October 13, CotW October 27, Regular November 10, CotW November 24, Regular December 8, CotW December 22. Regular meetings still scheduled at 7:00pm and Committee of the Whole meetings still scheduled at 6:30pm. Motion was made by Price to approve all of the proposed 2026 regular and committee of the whole meeting dates, seconded by Moran. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝗯. 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀. Motion was made by Moran to authorize the Superintendent and Business Manager to be listed on the MILAF General and Capital Funds accounts; the Superintendent, Business Manager, and Board Treasurer to be listed on and sign checks from all Citizens National Bank accounts (General Checking, IMMA, Payroll, Aflac, School Lunch, Debt Service, Elementary Activities, High School Activities); and the Elementary and Secondary Principals to be listed on and sign checks for their respective activity accounts. Seconded by Winfield. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝗰. 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿. Motion was made by Moran to add the Board Treasurer, Stacey Porter, as an authorized signer on the Elementary Activities, High School Activities, Aflac, Debt Service, and IMMA accounts, seconded by Kaszonyi. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝗱. 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀. Motion was made by S. Porter to retain board salaries at $40 per month for the 2026 year payable the second pay cycle of December, seconded by Price. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝗲. 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆𝘀. Motion was made by Price to designate Thrun Law Firm P.C. as the school district attorney, seconded by S. Porter. In discussion, Moran has made clear his dissatisfaction with this law firm in the past (from Dan Martin in particular), but also recognizes the value of their experience, and wants to know if we can pick (different) certain attorneys out of this firm. Kaszonyi says from experience you can request a different attorney with the same areas of expertise/litigation, if you’ve had a bad experience. By roll call: Moran no, Kaszonyi yes, Price yes, Winfield yes, S. Porter yes, A. Porter yes. Motion carried.

𝗳. 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗹. In discussion, it was clarified Motion was made by S. Porter to designate Thrun Law Firm P.C. as the board counsel, seconded by Price.Kaszonyi yes, Price yes, Winfield yes, S. Porter yes, A. Porter yes, Moran yes. Motion carried.

𝗴. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗦𝗗 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱. Motion was made by S. Porter to appoint Kaszonyi as a representative on the ISD board, seconded by Moran. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝗵. 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀. Motion was made by Price to designate the Superintendent’s Secretary as the employee authorized to post Board meeting notices in compliance with the Open Meetings Act, seconded by Moran. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝗶. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. As anticipated, Mark Grant submitted his official resignation last week. With board approval, the position will be posted immediately to provide time to find a suitable replacement. Motion was made by Kaszonyi to accept the resignation of Mark Grant effective the last day of school, seconded by Moran. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝟭𝟭. 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀/𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.
Price: We all had an email forwarded to us from the director of Up North Advocacy. They have come to our district before at various times and they are interested in helping us find solutions to our current HVAC situation which continues to be a problem. Noted in the email, they are nonprofit and not consultants, do not take fees or receive kickbacks – I would like us to authorize Superintendent Jordan to have them come in and present funding solutions to us. Kaszonyi mentions that they are advocates of the green energy movement. S. Porter says that a portion of their solutions are required to have a green energy component for their nonprofit funding.
Kaszonyi: While we’re on this topic, we’ve kicked these talks of HVAC around for two years, and some of the questions we need answered are: Do we still have to pass millage to fund a total cost of the project in the hope that we may get reimbursed for whatever percentage? Who’s going to underwrite the cost of whatever survey needs to be done to see if the geology is suitable for geothermal/solar/whatever the system is? There’s a lot of variables that I personally as a board member would really like to find, because there’s a lot of misunderstanding about how this can flow. So if you dialog with these people ahead of time, you may want to share some of the questions we need to be able to take a good look at. I’ve discovered the district still has to fund and you hope to be reimbursed – we know that Trump has cancelled a lot of green energy projects but there are also a lot of private foundations that are green-minded and have the capacity to underwrite the costs.
S. Porter: In previous conversations I’ve had with this group, they have different areas and they have the areas that you need. They had all the different private people that wanted to fund, and they had people that were just on grant writing, so they have a lot of connections all over the state and out of state.
In answer to Winfield’s questions about whether we’d had surveys done, we rehashed the citizen committee that Kaszonyi previously served on twice that hosted SiteLogiq and a second company, both of whom did an analysis of the grounds and facilities and the necessary requirements for a healthy air exchange system.

𝟭𝟮. 𝗔𝗱𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Motion was made by 8:04 to adjourn, seconded by Winfield and Kaszonyi. A. Porter adjourned meeting at 8:05pm.

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01/05/2026

Note this is a NEW vacancy as of January 1 (not the vacancy as of December 9 that was filled on December 30).

Please consider applying if you want to serve our school district and commit to preparing students for life!

12/30/2025

The following is my personal summary of tonight's Onaway Schools Board of Education special meeting. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀; 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. This summary reflects the information publicly discussed during the meeting, as I personally heard and understood it. Any errors in wording, detail, or interpretation are solely my own, and should not be attributed to the Board of Education.

𝟭. 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿. Onaway Area Community Schools Board of Education Special Meeting was called to order on December 30 at 6:00pm by Mike Hart.

𝟮. 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. Attendees stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

𝟯. 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹. Roll call showed that the following were present at the start of the meeting: Mike Hart, Annette Porter, Thomas Moran, Stacey Porter, John Kaszonyi, Taed Price.

𝟰. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿/𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀
𝗮. Motion was made by Moran to approve the minutes of the December 9th 2025 regular meeting, seconded by S. Porter. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝟱. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮. Motion was made by Price to approve the agenda as presented, seconded by Kaszonyi. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝟲. 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲
No citizens submitted forms to make public comment.

𝟳. 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀.
𝗮. 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗩𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀.
i. Mitch Winfield interviewed by current board members.
Discussion ensued. Motion was made by A. Porter to appoint Mitch Winfield to the Board, seconded by Price. By roll call: Kasonyi aye, Moran aye, Price aye, S. Porter aye, A. Porter aye, Hart aye. Motion carried.

𝟴. 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀/𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.
𓅚 Mike Hart. As I gave warning, I would last until the end of this month, and I do think it’s best for me to go ahead and step down. It’s been a long time, I really love my school and my community, but it’s time for me to go and for different and younger people to represent. And the last few years took a lot out of me. So with that, I would like to thank the community for putting your trust in me and voting for me so many times; I’d like to thank the board members I’ve served with in this district. So effective midnight January 1, 2026, I will tender my resignation. It has been an experience and a blessing. And I would not resign if I did not trust this board to continue to keep this district on the right path.
𓅚 John Kaszonyi. I want to publicly thank you for your commitment, your leadership, the scar tissue that developed. 16 years is commendable; you’ve done a great job, and you’ve laid the groundwork for this district to continue to improve. Thank you.

𝟵. 𝗔𝗱𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Motion was made by Hart to adjourn, seconded by Moran. Hart adjourned meeting at 6:24pm.

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12/10/2025

If you are interested in serving on the school board until the November elections, submit a letter of interest by December 19th, or email by 8:00 a.m. on December 30th. We will be holding a special meeting on Tuesday December 30th at 6:00 p.m. to appoint someone.

12/10/2025

The following is my personal summary of tonight's Onaway Schools Board of Education December meeting. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀; 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. This summary reflects the information publicly discussed during the meeting, as I personally heard and understood it. Any errors in wording, detail, or interpretation are solely my own, and should not be attributed to the Board of Education.

𝟭. 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿. Onaway Area Community Schools Board of Education Regular Meeting was called to order on December 9 at 7:00pm by Mike Hart.

𝟮. 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. Attendees stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

𝟯. 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹. Roll call showed that the following were present at the start of the meeting: Mike Hart, Annette Porter, Thomas Moran, Stacey Porter, John Kaszonyi, Taed Price, Superintendent Shaun Jordan. Absent: Lain Veihl (but he had resigned before the meeting began in an earlier email).

𝟰. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿/𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀
𝗮. Motion was made by Moran to approve the minutes of the November 25th 2025 committee-of-the-whole workshop, seconded by Kaszonyi. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.
𝗯. Motion was made by Moran to approve the minutes of the November 25th 2025 closed meeting, seconded by Price. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝟱. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮. Motion was made by Kaszonyi to approve the agenda as presented, seconded by Moran. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝟲. 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲
𓅚 Kaye Schnabel. I’m disappointed in this board that I was hoping would making things better. Youth wrestling team were told they couldn’t use the gym – coach, athletic director, superintendent, board, only to be told it was an admin problem. Youth wrestling is important for the development of the varsity. Why is there suddenly going to be a need to pay rent? Is there going to be a new policy or policy change that the use of the school requires a rental fee? It seems you are unable to work together to support students; how will you work together for the bigger issue of preparing students for life? Be aware that students are watching what you do. We are wasting tax dollars as adults are asking for lawyers to speak.
𓅚 Veronica Norman. I just want to say I’m disgusted right now with Onaway Schools. First the football kids get hurt, then the volleyball kids get hurt, youth wrestling. Now there’s a rumour going around that a staff member stole money from the youth wrestling program. Why are our children, my grandchildren, their children, having to be affected by a bunch of adults that are hurting them? Some of their kids, that’s their rewards, playing sports – just to go “nope it’s cancelled” because adults are arguing. The athletic director should plan months in advance to make sure that the finances are in place. I’m just tired of the kids getting hurt and the adults going “we gotta follow that” instead of working for the children.
𓅚 Travis Horrocks. I have resided in Onaway my entire life since 1983. I want to express my deepest disappointment with the decision of the board and their admin team to ruin 30-40 students K through 12 and take their wrestling season away from them. It’s flat out unacceptable. It’s money driven, greed, small-mindedness. We’re building small minds to become future leaders of our community. We got 40 kids that are not going to be able to wrestle this year because of actions taken by the superintendent, the varsity wrestling coach, possibly the athletic director but I’m not sure who’s involved. We were separated two years ago by a previous board and we became a non-for-profit. It’s unacceptable that we’re being taken advantage of this way and I’m disgraced to be a part of this organization. Me, my wife, my parents, my grandparents, all Onaway graduates, but I’m this close to taking my kids out of the system. It’s been going on for years, let’s correct it.
𓅚 Bryan Leach. I’d just like to say there’s a lot of rumours going around and questions being asked. I want to give info about MYWAY and how it got this far. Five years ago I coached youth wrestling with Anthony Splan and Kenner Splan because we were having problems. Halfway through the season, we realized we were a club having trouble finding people to wrestle. MYWAY requires you to weigh in because otherwise kids were lying about their experience. We adapted MYWAY halfway through the season, it also gives them a chance to wrestle for regionals and states, and that year I had almost 40-50 wrestlers in the program, and we took 19 kids to state that year. We thought it was awesome. The following year we started with MYWAY completely, everyone wanted to wrestle that way and go to state, work hard ethic. Brought that same ethic to middle school football, some people said it’s too much emphasis to put on those kids, but we were building leaders. I stepped away from the wrestling program because my kid was playing basketball. What happened in between there, I just know there’s a lot of rumours going around and the community wants to know why they can’t wrestle up here. Heard they offered $3000 to the varsity wrestling program and were told they needed to donate another $6000 – why so much money? Why can’t they do it? How come just the wrestling’s being charged? Did you charge PIBA, did you charge Community Choir? As another graduate of Onaway and voted most spirited, I take a lot of pride in this school. We just want answers, that’s all.

Hart speaks to all wrestling questions. We’ve heard that you believe there’s rent going to be charged to the program for using the school, that coaches have stolen money, that kids are being hurt because of the actions of adults, and that the MYWAY was started several years ago and it’s good and it’s been helpful, but also multiple rumours and wanting information to make those rumours go away or if they are true.
As it stands right now because I talked with Jordan about these things after fielding some calls, the school has no intention of charging rent to the youth wrestling program, nor any of the organizations that use our building. The stolen money, I haven’t heard anything about that. Kids being hurt by adults, Hart totally understands what you’re saying and understands the trepidation that this is happening again. Hart’s perspective from what he knows: one thing that is different from all these other situations, the superintendent has been earnestly doing her utmost to come to a resolution. She’s not from here natively and has to work to learn what is appropriate and protects the District. There was a version of a way of getting the youth wrestling to start practices which was presented to the youth wrestling program, and the superintendent has not yet heard back from the youth wrestling board on whether that was acceptable or not.
Price asked for clarification, asked when Jordan got the pending agreement to the youth wrestling board, meeting was last Tuesday and presented to youth wrestling board Wednesday, received an email response from that board’s president Thursday that he would be taking it back to the board to discuss, and have not received any correspondence. Secondly, Price asked members of the youth wrestling board present about the exact nature of the relationship between the local club and the MYWAY program – the local club is itself organizing as a 501c but will still be under the MYWAY umbrella.
Kaszonyi asks if the board members present had seen the document sent by the superintendent, Vanessa Dean confirms that they saw it through their president, there were language problems that were disagreed with, and other questions such as 30 days notice and decided the season would be too far gone for the children to start practices – they will continue to work on this for future years, but currently it’s too late to hold the season this year. Continued discussions with Kaszonyi requesting clarifications about the percentage of profits. Hart clarifies that the administration is trying in good faith to get things rolling. Further question arise and are clarified regarding the 30 days. All in all, want to clarify that there is no “rental” agreement, and the administration is doing its best to get an agreement that will get the kids on the mat.

𓅚 Wayne Vermilya. One man, one vote, is very different. Each of you have a responsibility to solve the problems of the school district. There were a couple of students at the previous meeting that brought up the HVAC, and all of you have the responsibility to look up solutions to this issue. Have you invited the superintendent from Pellston Schools, have you invited UP North Advocacy, have you invited green energy options? The energy savings in the long run, even the short run, can pay for these education programs. I’ve said this many times, you can’t continue to go to the voters and ask them for money. The taxpayers don’t want to pay for public schools, so find alternative ways to finance them. Energy costs are going to go through the roof and you need to find the savings. I heard a presentation a year ago in January – there are billions of dollars available to public schools because you’re a major energy user. There are vocational aspects as well. And each of you on this board have a responsibility to solve these problems. This HVAC thing has been on the ballot or the table for years now, and nothing but bond proposals that don’t address the future of where the world’s going. So my question is, where does that stand? Has anyone done anything? I thought when you started these workshops that would be an excellent time to go over this.
𓅚 Les Nixon. Just want to thank the board, for your patience in finding common ground, clarifying things for the people listening and for those in the audience.

𝟳. 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀.
𝗮. 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Dan Betke – high school has had robotics team for many years, and Mr. Pyle asked me about a middle school robotics team. My first year, all these kids’ first year though some were in Lego last year. Team did a presentation of their bot with autons demonstrating shooting balls into a cardboard container. Then each member of the team present talked about their part in the performance, such as running the board or being “human player.”

𝗯. 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗼 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 "𝗢𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀" 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Travelled to LSS on November 27th, scored in four different areas: creating a Lego innovation project as an answer to a problem, compete in robot design, robot competition, and core values (“gracious professionalism”). They got three awards that day: Coaches’ Award, Robot Design, and qualified for state! They’re going to go to the state qualification in Mason on December 20th. Today they’re going to do their innovation project. Team 69406 Onablocks introduced themselves. Archaeologist challenges were the engineering problem that were presented to the First Robotics teams this year.

𝗰. 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘯. Over Thanksgiving weekend, the district faced major equipment failures: both the pickup truck and dump truck became inoperable, threatening school opening (and neighboring districts were already closed due to weather). Our Facilities Director got a plow on loan from the City of Onaway, enabling campus clearing and school opening on time. Repairs revealed a front differential failure in the pickup (due to a long-standing crack), and the dump truck required internal cleaning and a regeneration drive. We even had to have a bus driver (Karen McDonald) go to Grand Rapids for a part. The incident highlighted the need to shift from reactive to proactive maintenance, with new emphasis on routine inspections and preventive care. Appreciation was extended to the City of Onaway, staff, and drivers for their quick response and flexibility, ensuring no disruption to student learning. 𓅚 Positive developments in the secondary building include creative student engagement initiatives led by Ms. Linda Craig, such as a holiday door-decorating contest. Sixteen secondary students had their 100-word scary stories selected for publication in the 2025 Fright Club – Behind Closed Doors anthology (Young Writers organization). These efforts are building momentum around school culture, creativity, and student voice. 𓅚 The Knights of Columbus made an annual donation, raised through the Tootsie Roll campaign, to support special education needs at Onaway. 𓅚 CNC had a Manufacturing Class Open House and lunch at the Industrial Arts Institute, highlighting the value of career and trade education. Jordan attended, and had a chance to meet Jeff Montgomercy (NCMC professor). Jeff is expanding the program, offering more advanced classes and additional cohorts, providing students with opportunities to further develop their skills. 𓅚 The region’s new Emergency Manager, Tim Pritchard, met with school officials to discuss emergency preparedness and toured the building, sharing collaboration already under way with local authorities. 𓅚 A recent parent appeal regarding discipline revealed confusion about the appeals process – not clearly defined at each level. The superintendent is developing a clear, level-by-level appeals procedure aligned with the chain of command, to be added to the student handbook pending Board approval. 𓅚 Upcoming events include the Elementary Christmas Program and Holiday Band Concert on December 17th, and a busy basketball season is already in full swing.

𝗱. 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘯. Clark Lewis, a juggler, performed for students and emphasized patience and persistence. He reached out afterward and praised the students as an excellent audience. 𓅚 Veronica Norman and Lynn Street Manor donated 15 family dinners; the Eagles of Millersburg donated 2 large baskets; 2 families also donated meals. 𓅚 The Knights of Columbus donated $951.19 for special education needs. 𓅚 Northeast Michigan Community Mental Health Authority donated 10 Carter Kits (autism sensory bags). There are plans to partner with them in the future for professional development (e.g. su***de awareness) and student assemblies. 𓅚 The fall book fair was well attended. Thanks to Shannon Furst and Tina Robbins for organizing. COPESD’s Great Start Collaborative funded $2,400, allowing every Kindergarten and 1st graders to take home 5–6 books each. 𓅚 Christmas Program scheduled for December 17 at 5:30pm. Extra parking is available at the back of the school. The after-school program will end at 4:00pm that day, doors will open at 4:30pm. A band concert will follow at 7:00pm. 𓅚 C.A.R.D.S. Program has been knocking it out of the park – they call me out if I haven’t gotten their pictures on the wall! But so far we’ve handed out 160 books this year.

𝗲. 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝘉𝘳𝘺𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘺𝘭𝘦. Ms. Craig’s creative writing class is judging a holiday-themed door decorating contest that got extended to elementary, adding a festive atmosphere to the hallways. The winning FLEX class in secondary will receive an ice cream float party. 𓅚 Finals for EMC and Dual Enrollment programs will take place this week. 𓅚 Scheduling for next semester is ongoing, with early class schedule changes already started. The window for schedule changes closes on January 9. 𓅚 Due to last year’s success, a holiday-themed fun day is planned for December 19 (a half-day before Christmas break). Students can sign up for various holiday activities as an incentive to attend school before the break. 𓅚 The High School Robotics team will attend the season kickoff at Boyne City High School on January 10. 𓅚 Middle school is going to watch Zootopia 2 on the 17th as part of their reward, and on the following Monday the high school gym classes are going bowling at Nautical Lanes.

Technical difficulties caused President Hart to skip over 𝟳.𝗳.

𝟴. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁.
𝗮. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀. Motion was made by Kaszonyi to approve the November bills, seconded by S. Porter. Discussion, the new layout does not tell what the bills are for. All in favour, motion carried.
𝗯. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀. Motion was made by Price to approve the November financial report, seconded by Kaszonyi. No discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

Returned to 𝟳.𝗳. 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
Elementary data – fall data is the first three weeks of school, so we’re looking at students as though they are brand-new – i.e. a brand new third-grader is like a completed second-grader. First testing metric: reading growth for NWEA, shows how many students were tested, the school average, the national normal, and the difference between those latter two, as well as the percentage of students at-risk. We also are shown strengths and areas for targeted support. Next testing metric: Acadience Reading Screener. Again, it refers to only the beginning of the year – nonsense words, phonemes, word mazes, etc. 53% of our students were at or above grade level, but that means 47% are “at risk” (below or well below benchmark). The next snapshot for this is January. Again, we also see strengths and areas for targeted support. Last testing metric: math growth for NWEA.
Elementary Intervention – 3 tiers of support. Tier 1, core classroom instruction, everyone gets it. Tier 2 is targeted small group instruction, and tier 3 is intensive individual intervention. We are intentionally strengthening our Tier 1 at the lower grade levels by intentionally embedding more critical early literacy and numerical skills. We are currently restricting Tier 2 at the emergent grade levels (K-2) to ensure greater consistency, improved use of data, and more precise skill-based grouping (designed to be flexible and responsive to student progress). Students can receive Tier 3 services based on a data-identified need, even if they do not have an IEP.
Middle school data – everything changes at this end of the building – 6th graders are not only just-finished 5th grade math, but also learning the new class schedule. First metric NWEA math growth. We’ve been using this score to look at different ways to do interventions. Unfortunately we don’t have a screener at our end – we only have NWEA and Michigan Standardized Tests.
Middle school intervention: NWEA data drives remediation. In-house summer school used to work in strengthening core skills – our first one (30 students, 10 a piece from each grade) this past summer. Those who opted out of that, emediation during Academic Success class as a quarterly “elective.” This year was also our first schedule with a flex period where students are performing grade tracking every Monday and Friday. We have some Tier 3 intensive individual instruction, students are still receiving this service even without being identified with an IEP, Chrissy Cross (HS Special Education) has opened up her office to this.
High school data – somewhat of a surprise because some students never took the NWEA tests. But all four grades across the board are above the national mean in math. NWEA is based off Common Core, and so are the SATs. But, the SAT Math Benchmark did not match that, so where’s the disconnect? Pyle is looking at root causes. Keep in mind this is the first time we switched from semester long 5 classes to 5 classes, *and* we also no longer have an SAT Prep class. NWEA ELA, we are still across the board above the national mean; SAT Benchmark, less red but still a lot of red.
High school intervention: we’re doing our data dives, seeing these disconnects and working on closing those gaps. Flex is going through the same way high school as middle school (Monday and Friday they are performing grade tracking). Again, the new full year class schedule gives teachers the ability to slow down instruction and provide extra time for student mastery of the core skills. And also again, this was the first year we had an in-house summer school for credit recovery – 10 students earned 14 credits.
Learning targets: We sat down with our staff and went over “Visible Learning” for teacher clarity. If you know what you are supposed to learn, you are three times more likely to learn it. Our teacher clarity d = 0.75, which means it’s in the zone of desired effects. So teachers should be able to answer for students “What am I learning today?” “Why am I learning this?” and “How will I know that I have learned it?”

Recess called at 9:23pm. Meeting resumed at 9:28pm.

𝟵. 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.
𝗮. 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀. Brief discussion ensued, in which it was determined we would like a single motion for all of the policies together, rather than individual motions for each individual policy. All policies were already reviewed at our previous committee-of-the-whole meeting or subsequently sent from Jordan to all board members for review. Motion was made by Kaszonyi to approve all policy changes, seconded by Moran. No further discussion. All in favour, motion carried.

𝗯. 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆. This property encompasses 20 acres of which 2 belong to the Onaway Schools. The real estate agent has been communicated with – the district is in a position to move forward with the sale. Historically, on June 23, 1970 the District deeded one acre to a family for $1 but by June 26 (3 days later) the family deeded back two acres. The person who’s been on that property has pretty much lived on it to the point that the property that has been occupied includes a septic system that’s on the school property, and half the trailer (which is abandoned and in terrible shape) is on the school’s property and littered with debris. Real estate agent and title company are working with District so that this parcel can eventually be sold. What they are proposing is we would get the two acres, sign it over to the heirs so they can take it, clean it up, and sell it, leaving us with 19 acres and them with 21 acres. Opinion of Hart and Kaszonyi is that we would gain nothing by paying any of the costs or a surveyor’s fee – we could agree to transfer the property to them correctly if they would assume the full costs and any liabilities in the transfer. Opinion of Moran and A. Porter is that we sell them the acre back. S. Porter asks if the cost to clean up the acre if we retained it, is worth the legal costs.
Motion was made by Kaszonyi to offer the two acres to the heirs if they assume all costs associated with the transfer of the property and assume all liabilities, seconded by Moran. S. Porter asks what an acre goes for, Hart says you’d have to have a surveyor come out. By roll call: Kaszonyi aye, Price aye, S. Porter aye, Moran aye, A. Porter aye, Hart aye.

𝗰. 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻(𝘀). Lain Veihl resigned by email to Jordan earlier today. “Unfortunately as things develop at my job and personal life it is clear I cannot give the Onaway Area Schools the attention it both demands and deserves. It was a honor serving my community but effective immediately I am resigning from the Onaway Area School Board.” Motion was made by Moran to accept the resignation of Lain Veihl, seconded by Price. No discussion. All in favour with regrets, motion carried.
We have 30 days to appoint a replacement, or the COP will appoint for us – that is January 8th. The Board determines to meet December 30th at 6:00pm.
It is still the intent of Hart to resign as of the stroke of midnight at the end of the night December 31st, but he has not formally given anything to the Board or Superintendent.

𝟭𝟬. 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀/𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.
𓅚 A. Porter. I had people emailing me objecting to Mike Hart’s resignation; I will forward them to you.
𓅚 Hart. I want to thank the community for the time I’ve been allowed to serve you. I hope we’re able to find good and qualified people to serve in my place and in Lain’s place. It’s been an incredible experience over 16 years – not always peachy keen and wonderful but that’s okay. I’ve learned a lot about how people are, how the public works, I’ve completely changed my viewpoint on public education, teachers, administrators. I have a much greater respect for those people than I did when I came here. I guess I’ve got one more meeting to go.

𝟭𝟭. 𝗔𝗱𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Motion was made by A. Porter to adjourn, seconded by S. Porter. Hart adjourned meeting at 10:05pm.

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