Bridgeport Spaulding School Board Meeting December 12th, 2016

On the agenda:
- Consent Agenda - payment of bills etc... begins at 1:33
- Organizational Meeting Date Discussion begins at 5:10
- Board And Superintendent Comments begin at 5:41
© 2016 Carla Citizen All Rights Reserved

The meeting was short and there were no speakers during the public comment period.  There were only a handful of members in the audience like usual.  They were either staff members, myself, a reporter for the Herald.  I am always disappointed when I don't see members of the community show up at these meetings.

The longest part of the meeting was the comment period by the board members and Superintendent.  Dempsey Allen talked about his disappointment with the performance of the dance team at the seasons first basketball games.  He felt there was too much gyrating going on.  I wasn't able to attend those games so I don't have any first hand knowledge of what went on but I do sympathize with Mr. Allen's feelings on the matter.   For years I have read about others complaining countrywide or watched videos of other high school age performances like this one and was slightly shocked at some of the performances myself.  I was like WOW, things are sure different than back in my day!!  I won't tell you how long ago that was.  I think there are things that are acceptable based on age level or the forum it is performed in.  I agree with Mr. Allen that there are things that are acceptable at a Beyonce performance but should not be acceptable at a high school performance.  Does anyone out there have any thoughts on this?  Feel free to share them in the comment section.

Two of Bridgeport's football players have been honored by being nominated to the Michigan High School All Star Game. They are Javaris Jackson and Kody Burton. Congratulations to these two young men!!

They discussed repairs that will be made to the playground at Thomas White School.  Sounds like this project will be done by this coming spring.

There was some discussion about taxes for the school district.  There had been talk that Bridgeport would get some of the non-homestead taxes from Buena Vista but it sounds like that will not be happening.  So the Saginaw school district and Bridgeport are looking at having a 18 mil non-homestead tax put on the ballot in May 2017.  They will be meeting with the Saginaw ISD and working on this plan more.  Not much information available now, but they will be sharing more in the future.


Monday night was the last meeting for board member Larry Long.  He chose not to run for re-election.  I am sorry to see him go.  He did talk about some of the reasons he chose not to run again.  I understand his feeling that it was a waste of time but I am sorry he feels that way.  I don't feel his time spent on the board was a waste of time.  I know he is someone that truly cares about the Bridgeport community and tried to do what he could to help. I hope that the Bridgeport community understands that his leaving the school board is a loss for this community and that they appreciate the time he spent on this board and the work he tried to do.  Mr. Long was the Treasurer and also the Chairman of the Buildings & Grounds/Finance Committee.  Melissa Cabine shared her thoughts during the comment period about how she felt working with him on the Finance Committee and that she will miss him.  Mr. Long brought years and years of business experience to his roles as Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee and his expertise and dedication will be hard to replace.

 Monday night would have also been the last meeting for Marti Sageman.  She was not at the meeting.  Superintendent Selby talked about how many years Mrs. Sageman has served on the school board.  She said that Mrs. Sageman started in 1997 but I believe it was actually 1987.  I first became familiar with Mrs. Sageman when she was a member of the committee that worked to save the Little Red Schoolhouse.  That was back in 1986/1987. I believe that she had been involved in other community activities and organizations for years already before that.  I think it was in 1987 when she first started on the school board.   Mrs. Selby also talked about how Mrs. Sageman had over 1,000 hours of credits earned through the Michigan Association Of School Boards.  The MASB offers the Certified Board Member Awards Program which offers training on everything that a board member could possibly ever need to know to be an effective board member.  Mrs. Sageman is probably the longest tenured board member to ever serve here in Bridgeport.  She is also probably the most qualified of any of the current board members.  She was the person that did the outreach to parents, organized the phone calls to voters for things like school millage's, worked towards getting new softball diamonds.  Her love for the students and her involvement with them has touched many lives.  Her love for and her dedication to the students is maybe her greatest legacy.  I don't know everything that she has done for the Bridgeport schools and the community and I suspect that if I did, the list would be too long to list it all here.  Her dedication to this school district and to this community can never be denied by anyone.  The loss of Mrs. Sageman with her knowledge and her dedication, is a loss that will be felt in many ways and probably for many years to come.  I don't believe that Mrs. Sageman can ever truly be replaced or her shoes ever filled.

Facebook "Friends" And Your Privacy

How many of you have hundreds of people on your Facebook "Friends" list?  Are they really all your friends, real friends?  Are some of them just acquaintances, some maybe even enemies?  How much personal information do you share on your Facebook page and do you expect it to be private?  It is not private!
I will share with you one example of why it is not private and then discuss how to keep some things more private on Facebook.

In July of 2015, I had sent someone a email asking for information about events that were going on in Bridgeport with the Bridgeport School Board.  In this persons response to me they shared this photo.  This person is not friends with Marti Sageman on Facebook but my understanding is that someone they knew is or was at that time.  That person that was friends with Mrs. Sageman took a screenshot of something that Mrs. Sageman had posted on her Facebook page. This post was not made "public" by Mrs. Sageman, it was shared only with her Facebook "friends".

I can't speak to why this person took a screenshot of Mrs. Sageman's private post and thought to share it with others.  I don't have a smartphone so I can't be sure but this looks like it was taken by a smartphone?  This photo was sent to me along with some comments by the sender of the email.  In those comments they said "..... Thought you might get a kick out of it..... Made me laugh".
This was probably a very trying time for Mrs. Sageman, probably very stressful and emotional time for her.  This was the time when there were accusations made against her and a lawsuit filed that was later thrown out by the courts.  Most people would post something like this and expect their "friends" to be supportive and not expect anyone to share that with others that may find it funny or use it in hurtful ways.

So how do you protect yourself and your posts on Facebook from being shared with others?
My first bit of advice would be to choose wisely who you accept as your friends on Facebook!
But you will never really know for sure who you can trust and who you can't so the next best bet is to learn how to use you privacy settings.  If you use Facebook here is what you need to know about all your privacy settings:  https://www.facebook.com/help/325807937506242

On every individual post you make you can choose the audience you want to allow to see it.   You can set it to "public" or just "friends" or choose other custom options.  With the public option, everyone in the world can see it.  With the friends option, only the people that are supposed friends with you on Facebook can see it.  Under the custom option, you can select just a few friends to see it or specifically exclude certain people from seeing it.  You can also set up "lists" to sort the people into that are on your Facebook friends list.  Examples could be "Family" for your real family members.  Others could be "Close Personal Friends" or "Work Associates",  "Church Group" etc....  The list is as endless as your imagination.  Say you wanted to share a somewhat naughty joke on Facebook, it would probably be best to go to the options setting for that post and choose to exclude your church group from seeing it.  Sharing family photos of children or very personal events etc.... choose only your family and maybe close personal friends.  When ever you update your profile photo or your Facebook cover photo, those photos are automatically set for "public" and there is nothing you can do about that.  With all the weirdo's in this world nowadays, I cringe every time I see people setting very personal photos and especially photos of their children as their profile or cover photos on Facebook.  There are many security and privacy settings you can tweak on Facebook to provide you with more privacy and everyone should learn how to use them.  You can set it so no one other than your supposed Facebook friends can see your photos or even who your other friends are on Facebook.  If you ever want to see just how much of your personal information is visible to the public, just go to your personal timeline page on Facebook and up in the right hand corner next to the "view activity log" tab or box you will see another little box.  In that box, you can click on that and you will see the options of "view as" and "timeline settings".  If you click on the "view as" option, that will show you what anyone else in the world can see on your Facebook profile.

So choose very carefully who you are friends with on Facebook and learn how to use your privacy and security settings.

** Edited 6:48 pm Sunday December 11th, 2016
Further thoughts on this topic:  I had to come back here and add my message to whoever took that screenshot of Mrs. Sageman's very private post and shared it with others:

You should have the decency to either fess up and apologize to Mrs. Sageman or at least remove yourself from her "friends" on Facebook.  You are not her friend!

Mrs. Sageman was put through hell and back over the past year because of one persons speculations and accusations.  I admit that I was a part of that due to my ignorance and believing the wrong people, and I have apologized to Mrs. Sageman for what harm I may have caused her.  An apology though will never really undue what harm was done but it is the best I had to offer.  To anyone  out there that may have either intentionally lied about Mrs. Sageman or done things with ill intent in your actions, I think there is a special place in hell for people like you.  If someone did those things - I hope that you go through hell and back too, a thousand times worse than what Mrs. Sageman was put through!

Bridgeport Township Board Meeting December 6th, 2016

On the agenda:
Unfinished Business -
- 2nd Reading of the Zoning Ordinance 16-02 begins at 4:25
New Business -
- Resolution R16-16 WWTP Rates and Fees begins at 5:03
- Resolution R16-17 Dixie Highway Road Improvements begins at 7:48
- Resolution R16-18 Storm Water Management Plan begins at 9:22
- Zoning Ordinance 16-02 begins at 13:52
- Fiscal Year 2017 Water Budget begins at 14:56
- Fiscal Year 2017 Waste Water Treatment Plant Budget begins at 16:21
- SPU16-03 - 6595 Dixie Highway - Speedway begins at 17:09
- SPU16-04 - 5959 Dixie Highway - Gales begins at 24:03
- PA495 Policy 16-01 begins at 25:45
- Detective and Sergeant Job Description begins at 27:33
- Job Description/Police Sergeant Policy 10.10.04 begins at 28:46
- McAllister vs. Bridgeport Township discussion begins at 30:08
Board Member Comments begin at 38:05
© 2016 Carla Citizen All Rights Reserved

There were no speakers during the public comment period in tonight's meeting.
The updated Zoning Ordinance 16-02 was approved at tonight's meeting.  It was first discussed in more detail at the November 1st meeting.  Now that it has been approved it will at some point in the future be posted on their website. http://www.bridgeportmi.org/
Dan Billingsley the plant superintendent from the waste water treatment plant discussed the cost study they did.  It will result in about a 10% increase in the rates to consumers.  It will become effective at the 1st of the new year.  If anyone has any questions about it or would like to see the study, contact the township offices.  I think some people just take our water and sewerage facilities and the handling of these for granted.  I don't.  I think there is a lot of hard work by the employees and technology that goes into the critically important job of safe handling of our water, sewage and even storm water management.
There was discussion of the Dixie Highway Road Improvements.  This was discussed at one of the DDA Board meetings that I missed.  It sounds exciting!  It would involve the section of Dixie Highway from Airport Rd. to Junction Rd. and include a center turn lane.  For anyone that has been in an accident or near accident on this section of road, this is going to be a big improvement. They are working on funding for this project right now and hopefully it will be discussed more at the DDA Board Meeting on December 14th. 
There was a presentation by Speedway of their plans for expansion and updating of their location here in Bridgeport by I-75.  It will include the removal of the abandoned facility located next to the station.  The plans sound really nice!  And anytime you talk about having more green space, I am all for it.  I believe work on this project will start in the spring of 2017.  Another step towards making Bridgeport more beautiful.
Gales Auto Repair will be expanding to include another location here on the Dixie for larger vehicle repairs.  Gales has a Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/GalesAuto/
There was discussion about and approval of PA495 Policy 16-01.  It is also referred to as the "Fire Insurance Withholding Program".  It is a statewide program.  The Libertarian in me automatically bristles at something like this, but I understand why they participate in this program.  You can find more information on this program on the Michigan State Government website  http://www.michigan.gov/difs/0,5269,7-303-13648-260234--,00.html
Lastly there was a detailed discussion about the township settling the McAllister vs Bridgeport Township lawsuit.  I don't know any details about the actual lawsuit so I can't speak on that but I will say that I agree with their decision to settle the lawsuit. I have only been selected once for jury duty and it was for a criminal case.  That trial left a bad impression on me of our jury system and my opinion now is never have any kind of trial by jury.  In today's society common sense seems to be a thing of the past, ethics and morals also seem to be long gone.  Too often when I read about the results of court cases my reaction is something like WTH?  Were these jurors on drugs?  Illiterate?  Have a personal bias?  Having a trial by jury is kind of like going to a casino, the odds are not in your favor and the risk of loss is too high to gamble on.  Settling this lawsuit was probably the safest bet for Bridgeport.
During the board member comments Rose Licht gave some updates.  Always informative like usual.
There will be another Township Trustee Board Meeting on Tuesday December 20th.
Sadly I learned that one of our police officers will be leaving us.  Officer Brent Green will be taking a position in Bay City.  He is a great guy and Bay City is lucky to be getting him.  I wish him all the best in his new position!
Rose also talked about how someone cut down four of the pine trees in the MDOT Park & Ride parking lot located next to I-75.  Really?  How low do you have to be to steal those pine trees?  And did they steal them to sell for Christmas Trees?  Do they even understand the true meaning of Christmas?

This Christmas song is dedicated to the lowlife that stole the pine trees:

Poll - Removing Public Officials From Office

I created a poll and would love to get some feedback on it.  So take the poll, and you can leave your comments here on the blog or on the results page for the poll.

If there is information that came out about an elected public official that showed a pattern of behavior that would be considered misconduct of their public position, or something like a crime they committed in their personal life, should that official be removed from office? 

Click here to go to poll -  https://goo.gl/MVaL8u

Results page - https://goo.gl/G4kPvZ

Secrets - Can You Keep Them?

The Pierces - Secret

OneRepublic - Secrets 

 

 

Toxic People

We have all had to deal with those toxic people in our lives at one time or another.  How do you recognize them, how do you deal with them?  When I think of someone that is a toxic person, all I think of is a cancer.  Toxic people are like a cancer, they will destroy everything and everyone they touch unless they are cut out, cut off so they can not spread their destruction.

Some of the most common types of a toxic person are:

- The Straight Jacket
The straight jacket is someone who wants to control everything and everyone around them. They want to be in charge of what you do, what you say and even what you think. You know the person I am talking about–they freak out when you disagree with them and won’t stop trying to convince you that they are right and you should do what they say.

- A JJ
 A JJ is a jealous-judgmental person. Jealous people are incredibly toxic because they have so much internal self-hate that they can’t be happy for anyone around them. And typically, their jealousy comes out as judgment, criticism or gossip. According to them, everyone else is awful, uncool or lacking in some way.

- The Fibber
 Liars, fibbers, exaggerators… it’s exhausting to have a toxic deceiver in your life. Whether they tell little falsehoods or major lies, it’s impossible to trust a liar

- A Tank
A tank crushes everything in its wake. A human tank is always right, doesn’t take anyone else’s feelings or ideas into account and constantly puts themselves first. .... tanks are incredibly arrogant and see their personal opinions as facts. This is because they often think they are the smartest person in the room and so they see every conversation and person as a challenge that must be won over. They rarely see others as equals....

http://www.scienceofpeople.com/2015/11/how-to-spot-a-toxic-person/


And a few more examples of toxic people. 

-  The Manipulator
Manipulators suck time and energy out of your life under the façade of friendship. They can be tricky to deal with because they treat you like a friend. They know what you like, what makes you happy, and what you think is funny, but the difference is that they use this information as part of a hidden agenda. ... They’ll do anything to win you over just so they can work you over.

-  The Dementor
In J. K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series, Dementors are evil creatures that suck people’s souls out of their bodies, leaving them merely as shells of humans.
Dementors suck the life out of the room by imposing their negativity and pessimism upon everyone they encounter. Their viewpoints are always glass half empty, and they can inject fear and concern into even the most benign situations.

-  The Twisted
There are certain toxic people who have bad intentions, deriving deep satisfaction from the pain and misery of others. They are either out to hurt you, to make you feel bad, or to get something from you; otherwise, they have no interest in you.

-  The Arrogant
Arrogant people are a waste of your time because they see everything you do as a personal challenge. Arrogance is false confidence, and it always masks major insecurities.

http://www.talentsmart.com/articles/10-Toxic-People-You-Should-Avoid-At-All-Costs-1858605350-p-1.html

The $5,000 Cost Of John Rhines To The Bridgeport Spaulding School District

I am referring to the costs incurred by the Bridgeport Spaulding School District due to the lawsuits that were filed by John Rhines against members of the school board.  In case there is anyone out there that is not familiar with what I am talking about, you can view information about the dismissal of the lawsuits by the courts in this previous post -
http://bridgeportmusings.blogspot.com/2016/08/dismissal-of-john-rhines-lawsuit.html
and you can view all the incidents leading up to and including the filing of these lawsuits by going to the "LABELS" section on the right hand side of my blog and clicking on the label "Lawsuit Bridgeport School District".
http://bridgeportmusings.blogspot.com/search/label/Lawsuit%20Bridgeport%20School%20District

How much did these lawsuits cost the Bridgeport School District?  Luckily only $5,000 of the total costs had to be paid for out of the school district funds.  The school district was required to pay the schools insurance company that $5,000 as a deductible for the "incident".  The rest of the legal costs were covered by the insurance company.  I don't have the exact figure right now of how much these legal proceedings cost the insurance company but I suspect it would be safe to assume it was into the tens of thousands of dollars?  A lot of money was paid out by others to defend against one man's "speculations".
That is $5,000 that our school district could have used for more important things, like maybe towards the students education.  That is $5,000 that I don't feel that our school district should have ever had to of payed out because these legal actions by John Rhines never should have taken place.  Our school district is still working under the Deficit Elimination Plan, having to work closely with the State Treasury Department.  How did this $5,000 affect the DEP?
What is the true cost to our school district?  The cost is more than money.  The reputation of individual board members were smeared, the reputation of the entire school board and our school district was smeared.  Why?  Because one person, John Rhines, based on nothing but his own speculations, chose to file lawsuits that were thrown out by the courts for having no merit.  There were no facts or witnesses to back up his accusations.  All this drama went on for at least a year before the courts threw it out in May 2016.  It garnered lots of local press coverage.  It caused a lot of division in this community.  The costs of John Rhines actions in my opinion far exceeded just the $5,000 from the school districts funds.

Over and over again during John Rhines speeches during the public comment period at the school board meetings he carried on about the costs of other lawsuits filed against the school district, how it was hurting the students, how it was hurting the Deficit Elimination Plan, etc... etc...   His basis for the lawsuits was to recover money he felt had been inappropriately spent by the school board.  He claimed that the money he hoped to recover by his lawsuit was going to be returned to the schools.  He didn't mention anything that I can remember about the cost of his lawsuits to the Bridgeport School District.  Was he planning on also covering those costs?  Has he at any time since the court threw out his lawsuits offered to pay that $5,000 back to the school district?  Maybe the residents of Bridgeport should hold him accountable for the money he cost this school district and demand he pay that $5,000 back to the school district.  He was so concerned about the other legal costs hurting the school district and mostly the students, is he also concerned about his costs to the district?  In my opinion, if he hasn't offered to pay that $5,000 back to the school district, then maybe he never really did care about the school district and the students that were being hurt.  Did his legal actions ever really have anything to do with that?  Who knows?

Sadly John Rhines won a seat on the Bridgeport School Board in the November 2016 election.  Why do I say sadly?  In my personal opinion, his actions have not been in the best interest of the school board and the district, of the students.  Did his lawsuits actually benefit our school district?  Certainly not the $5,000 it cost and not the damage done to the reputation of our school district.
He claimed that he was going to hold all board members accountable for their actions!  Does he hold himself accountable for his own actions?  Does he feel that the residents of this community should hold him accountable for his actions?  How will he react if they do?
He claimed that the board members did not understand their own policies and did not follow them!  Does he feel that board policies don't apply to him?  Some of the board policies that I have seen him disregard concern the policy for public comment during the board meetings.  The Bridgeport School District policy is that members of the public have 3 minutes to speak.  It also states that speakers must observe the rules of common courtesy.  The common courtesy part I guess is up to individual interpretation to some people.  On multiple occasions he has gone way over the 3 minute policy and when the school board members tried to tell him his time was up, he responded in ways that I felt was sarcastic?  Snarky?  Arrogant?  I am not sure what others might define them as, it just appeared to me that he felt he didn't have to follow the policy himself.  Wonder how he will respond to members of this community if they go over the 3 minute policy during public comment?

I am sharing some of the older school board meeting videos here where the public can view all his remarks about the lawsuits, the DEP etc...  Some of his remarks I find kind of ironic now.  If there are any residents in Bridgeport that have not heard John Rhines speak at the school board meetings, then maybe you should listen to these.  I feel that he does a lot of posturing, threatening, makes lots of accusations,  claims he is a "fact finder" even though he had no facts of wrongdoing when he took this school district to court.  His behavior during some of his comments, especially toward the school board and certain members of the school board, give me concern of how he will behave once he is actually sitting on this school board.  How will he get along with the other members of this school board?  Can we expect more lawsuits from John Rhines in the future?  Can we expect more threats of lawsuits in the future?  Can we expect more threats of him filing complaints with everyone from the State Attorney General to the local media in the future?  Will he threaten to sue members of the public that speak out against him or the school board?  Can we expect the members of the media to conveniently be there again every time there is going to be some kind of incident between him and other board members?  Can we expect more of his "fact finding" failures?  What will the cost of John Rhines being a member of this school board be in the long run?

There may be some people that view John Rhines behavior, his tactics or antics during these school board meetings as a form of bullying.

What do I not expect to see in the future at these school board meetings?
I don't ever expect to see John Rhines get up and admit that his "fact finding" concerning the accusations he made in his lawsuits was wrong.  That it was nothing but his speculation.
I don't ever expect to see John Rhines get up and apologize to Marti Sageman, to other board members, to the school district, to the students, for the damage he caused due to his accusations or the money he cost this school district.
I don't expect to see John Rhines pay this school district back the $5,000 he cost them.


The February 9th, 2015 school board meeting.  John Rhines public comments begin at  about 1:14 in the video and goes on until about 8:34. 

The February 23rd, 2015 school board meeting.  His comments begin at about 7:30 in the video and go on until about 13:32.

The March 9th, 2015 school board meeting.  His comments begin at about 4:56 in the video and go on until about 9:46.

The April 13th, 2015 school board meeting.  His comments begin at about 20:35 in the video and go on until about 26:22.

The June 8th, 2015 school board meeting.  His comments begin at about 8:28 in the video and go on until about 13:50.

The June 22nd, 2015 school board meeting.  His comments begin at about 32:00 in the video and go on until about 34:30.

The June 29th, 2015 school board meeting.  His comments begin at about 1:00 in the video and go on until about 4:09.

The August 10th, 2015 school board meeting.  His comments begin at about 1:24:50 in the video and go on until about 1:29:24.

The August 24th, 2015 school board meeting.  His comments begin at about 5:07 in the video and go on until about 7:34.

The September 14th, 2015 school board meeting.  His comments begin at about 3:25 in the video and go on until about 8:25.

The Scorpion And The Frog

Time Change For Bridgeport Spaulding School Board Meeting November 14, 2016

The meeting time has been changed from 6pm to 4:30pm.

Indicators Of Effective School Boards And Board Members

The Michigan Association of School Boards has guidelines for effective boards and board members.

Their guidelines look like a good solid foundation for boards and members to follow.  Probably is a successful plan, if it is followed.  The "if" and "when" they are followed are usually the problems that result in ineffective boards.  Lack of communication  is one of the biggest obstacles to any of these plans being successful.  Communication is an issue I still see as a major problem with the Bridgeport School Board.

The Ethics guidelines part could be expanded more in my opinion. It should include personal behavior and interactions between board members and especially between board members and members of the community.  I have seen or have heard of things between board members and members of the community that I would consider serious ethic violations.

The Culture and Conduct at Board Meetings should include board members behavior not just during the board meetings but also outside of the board meetings, the interactions behind the scenes. 
The first part about "value difference of opinions and don't let differences degenerate into personality conflicts" and also the last part "seek to build consensus and an environment of trust and respect among their fellow board members" are not things that I see happening here with the Bridgeport School Board.  In the almost two years that I have been attending the meetings these two items have been the biggest problems that I have seen.    There have been several occasions where the board meetings have turned into shouting matches  and accusations being yelled at other board members, but they happened at meetings I was not in attendance with my camera.   I am glad I missed those meetings but maybe they are things that the public should see so they understand what goes on at these meetings and where the problems lie.
In my opinion, or maybe more accurately my fear, is that these items will not get better, they will be getting significantly worse in the future.

Bridgeport Township DDA Board Meetings

There was a board meeting on November 9th but I totally forgot about it.  Sorry again!!  I can blame it on either the election coverage overload or just my aging memory.

Just Laugh

When you screw up, when you get too serious, remember to just laugh at yourself.

Bridgeport Township Board Meeting November 1st, 2016

On the agenda:
Special Orders -
1. Public Hearing for 2017 General Fund Budget begins at 5:54
Public Comment begins at 7:17
New Business -
1. 1st Reading of the Zoning Ordinance 16-02 begins at 8:55
2. Schedule Second Reading of the Zoning Ordinance 16-02 begins at 22:37
3. Fiscal Year 2017 Budgets begins at 23:46
4. Resolution R16-09 General Fund Appropriation Act 2017 begins at 25:22
5. Resolution R16-10 Police Protection Special Assessment begins at 27:22
6. Resolution R16-11 Fire Protection Special Assessment begins at 31:32
7. Resolution R16-12 MMWA Appoint constituent Member & Alternate Member begins at 32:40
8. Resolution R16-13 SASWA Appropriation Act 2017 begins at 34:31
9. Resolution R16-14 Saginaw County Tax Reverted Properties begins at 36:15
10. Resolution R16-15 Mossner Partial PA116T Termination Parcel #09-11-5-01-4001-000 begins at 37:43
11. America Recycles Day begins at 39:43
Board Member Comments begin at 45:00
© 2016 Carla Citizen All Rights Reserved

It was a longer meeting focusing on all the business that they need to do each year like passing the resolutions.  The Township Supervisor Augie Tausend does explain after each resolution what it is about.  There was a question from an audience member about the police and fire protection assessments.  There has been No Increase in the amount of the assessments, they will be the same per household as they were.
They have updated the zoning ordinance and have some discussion about the types of changes that have been made.  They will also discuss it at the next Trustee Board Meeting on December 6th.  The changes will be reflected on the website in the future and I believe they will send out a email when that is done.
During the public comment period Pastor Hessler from Faith Lutheran Church here in Bridgeport spoke.  On Tuesday November 22nd the Bridgeport Clergy Association will hold their annual Thanksgiving Community Celebration.  From Noon until 3pm the McNally Chapel in the Bridgeport Historical Village will be open and then at 6pm Faith Lutheran Church will be holding a community dessert potluck.  Faith and Sweets are an excellent combination!

Being A Social Media Princess

Someone made a comment to me today saying that I was a social media princess.  It made me laugh a little.  If I didn't have so much going on in my life I would be sharing so much more here about all the wonderful things happening in our community.  If I only had the time I could be the Social Media Queen!!

I suspect there are some that may refer to me as a social media wicked witch of the west!!  Oh Well you can't please everybody!  All I can say is if you don't like the things I post here, my suggestion is to not do anything that would give me a reason to post about you or the things you do.  There are things I have never shared here and hopefully I never will have to.  I would like to keep this blog just about the positive and good things happening here in our community.

photo credit - social media princess  by jigginess found on Deviantart

Candidates For Bridgeport Spaulding School Board Seats This November 8th, 2016

MLive has a voters guide out for the November election.  They have a listing of each of the candidates for the Bridgeport Spaulding School Board, including their answers to questions about why they are running etc...  There are four seats open and five candidates running.  Please choose wisely Bridgeport - The future of our district depends on it.

There is only one candidate that I know that I and my family members will be voting for.  That is Marti Sageman.  Mrs. Sageman has dedicated decades to this school district and the future of our children, and also the community of Bridgeport.  I know that Mrs. Sageman is NOT in it for self glorification or power, but is in it for her love for our children and the future of our community.

Bridgeport Spaulding School Board Candidates - MLive

Being A Team Player

Most people think of sports teams when you talk about a team player but it also applies to any work setting, organizations, families, and society as a whole.  What is teamwork?  In the words of Vince Lombardi: "Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work."

What behaviors or characteristics make for a bad team player?  Here are a few that I can think of.

- A team member that shares confidential or sensitive information about other members of their team or situations going on within the team with someone that is not part of the team.  Especially if the goal for doing so is to undermine another member of the team.
- A team member that either cannot or makes no effort to hide their dislike of or frustrations with other members of the team.  When the disharmony becomes obvious to the public, perhaps it is time for that team member to step aside.
- A team member that would rather push aside, ignore, or drive out other team members instead of making the effort to get all members working together as a whole for the betterment of the organization.  Working together as a team requires dedication to the cause, if you can't step up to the task or are not willing to, then maybe you should not be a member of that team.

When looking for new members of a team, these are some characteristics in people that you may want to avoid.

- A person that thinks they are better or smarter than others. A braggart.  Know it all's and braggarts tend to never make good team players, they are a one man show, grandstanders.  If they do become part of a team, they most likely will never be content until they are the top dog, the one running the show.  And they tend to step on anyone who stands in their way.  Know it all's also tend to be some of the dumbest people in the world.  Braggarts also tend to exaggerate the truth especially about themselves.
- A person that says things about others like "We can't control him" or "He doesn't see things our way".  Also things like "I think we have him under control now" and "I think he is seeing things our way now".   Those are not the words of a team player, they are the words of a controlling person that will never be able to work together as a equal with others in a team setting.  It will always be their way or the highway.
-  A person that makes accusations against other people with no facts to back up the accusations, only speculation.  Maybe the basis for the allegations lies within their own goals?  What was their true goal?  If they are willing to make accusations against others with no proof, what will happen when they become part of a team?  Will they continue their ranting, grandstanding, accusation slinging ways within the team?
- A person that inflicts harm on others and then revels in watching their suffering.  Revels to the point that they brag about it to others and want others to join in the revelry in watching another suffer. 
- A person that will not admit when they are wrong or apologize for their actions that harmed others.
- A person that wants to be a team player, part of an organization, should be happy for any successes or benefits that come to the organization.  If they belittle or ignore any good events that benefit the entire organization, then it would appear that they don't really care about the betterment of the organization.  Is it  due to petty dislikes or petty jealousies? Is it because they are not the ones who will get the credit? 
- A person that belittles another's accomplishments or successes in any situation.  Petty shallow people never make good team players.
- A person that will participate in underhanded, backstabbing, backdoor dealing, ethic violating ways with a goal to undermine and destroy others that are members of a team. If they are willing to do those things from outside the team, imagine what they will do if they ever actually become part of the team?  Team members should be very wary of people like this!!
- A person that sees their own glory, their imaginary fame, rather than the truth about a situation as the main goal or result of their actions.  EX: "My video will go viral"  "I'm going to be on all the national news shows"
- A person that is dishonest.  A person that lacks morals and conscience.  A person that shows no remorse whatsoever for wrongs they have committed.  A person that shows no understanding, no empathy, no compassion towards others.

Bridgeport Spaulding School Board Meeting October 24th, 2016

There was another Bridgeport School Board meeting tonight but I only stayed for part of it. There were no speakers during the public comment period. There was an update/presentation by the schools accounting firm of Yeo & Yeo. They also held a workshop for the school board members with a member of the MASB. I only stayed for part of that. I didn't include it with this very brief video because it was only part of the workshop, also probably is of no interest to the public and the audio is too low to hear for most of it. It was going to be a long workshop and the longer videos take too long to upload etc...
There was nothing else on the agenda for the evening after the workshop.

**updated February 3rd, 2017 - I did add the video that includes the part of the workshop from the MASB.  It is the second video below**

Bridgeport Spaulding School Board Meeting October 10th, 2016

On the agenda:
- Blueprint for Rapid Turnaround Overview begins at 2:26
- Priority School Quarterly Report begins at 19:40
- Curriculum Committee Report begins at 33:41
- Consent Agenda: Payment of bills etc... begins at 49:25
- Personnel Report & Hiring of new Athletic Director begins at 50:20
- Board and Superintendent Comments begin at 54:08
© 2016 Carla Citizen All Rights Reserved

Sorry I am two weeks late in sharing this video here.

Don't Be A Tool

Are you a tool or just being used as a tool by another?  What is the definition of tool?  There are so many definitions and usage for the word because it is a slang term.  Here are a few:

- an offensive comment, mainly aimed towards the male of the species, when one is being particularly nasty, stupid, or facetious.
- A tool is a dick, both in the literal sense (genitalia) and in describing someone who's unpleasant or full of themselves.
 - ...being a tool means being pompous or infatuated with oneself, whereas the urban dictionary and wiktionary write that it means one is being used without knowing it.
- When someone is called a tool, it indicates that they lack personal convictions, and generally go along with what they believe is expected of them without bothering to question the higher purpose. 
- One who lacks the mental capacity to know he is being used. A fool. A cretin. Characterized by low intelligence and/or self-esteem. 


A few hypothetical situations that might involve being a tool:

-  Perhaps someone like a public official, lets call them Person A, wants to smear another person.  They can't do that publicly without making themselves look bad, petty, so they enlist the help of another person, lets call them Person B.  So Person A and Person B devise a plan where A will make a brief reference to something that was said but doesn't follow through on it any further in their remarks.  Then Person B reacts to that slight reference by asking for a little more information and then they plan on requesting something like maybe a copy of a letter or email that may contain the information or remarks or whatever that was "briefly" referenced by A.  Now the plan is that B will then try to enlist another person, lets call them Person C, to use as an accomplice to help A and B publicly smear another person.  The plan is for C to share the "information" on something like a public forum.
So in this hypothetical situation, Persons A and B are "the tools" and Person C is the one being used as the tool.  But if Person C wises up and gets tired of being used as a tool by others just to achieve their dirty little deeds, then the plan fails and Person C is no longer a tool.

- Person A comes in contact with Person B in some kind of situation and sees that B is in a desperate state and needs some help.  This provides an opportunity for A to offer assistance to B and thus they ingratiate themselves to B.  And maybe there is even a Person C.  In both cases A will ingratiate themselves with only a goal of self enrichment in the end.  Maybe their goal is financial enrichment through a crime like insurance fraud, or maybe even theft from one of the desperate persons needing help.
So in this hypothetical situation, Person A is "the tool" and persons B and C are the unwitting tools being used by A.

So are you "The Tool" or are you the one being used as the "Tool".  My advice is to open your eyes and wise up, don't be used as the tool.  Once you wake up and quit being used as a tool by others, they will turn on you.  So anyone who joins in and helps the user, don't cry when they turn on you too.  That is what users do.  And if you are a willing participant in the dirty deeds of a user, you deserve what happens.
 

Thieves and Liars, Liars and Thieves

What makes people steal?  

You can read all kinds of research where they try to explain the psychological reasons for stealing.  Some of it is interesting and may be right:  

"Stealing becomes an issue when the person doing the stealing is old enough to know better. Sometimes children under the age of five take objects that interest them, not yet understanding that stealing is wrong. They might not have enough self-control to resist taking something they want.
For those old enough to know better, there are several reasons for stealing. Stealing may be caused by jealousy, low self-esteem, or peer-pressure. Social issues like feeling excluded or overlooked can also cause stealing. People may steal to prove their independence, to act out against family or friends, or because they do not respect others or themselves,
Sometimes, stealing is a compulsive disorder. This is called kleptomania. In other cases, a person may have come to believe that stealing is socially acceptable. Some people steal as a means to survive due to economic hardship. Others simply enjoy the rush of stealing, or steal to fill an emotional or physical void in their lives."
http://www.healthline.com/health/stealing#Overview1 

 There is an interesting article on Forbes about stealing:
"The research suggests something telling about how we rationalize behavior given changing circumstances: moral behavior shifts when moral standards shift, and we’re chronically unaware of how frequently we shift our moral standards.  Even brief financial deprivation—or the perception of it—can trigger a shift in moral standards.
Alter calls this a shift to “transient ‘new’ moral standards,” and we’re lighting fast at coming up with reasons to justify the shift, even while we’re likely to criticize someone else for doing the same thing.
It’s this human proneness to shifting moral standards that makes deciphering the motivations of questionable behavior less than crystal clear.  Very seldom do regular people—those not sporting a criminal rap sheet—do something “just because they could.” Our justifying brains are busy working out a skewed calculus to rationalize our behavior even if we’re not consciously thinking it through."
Whether Rich Or Poor, Feeling Deprived Makes Us Steal More

What do I think causes a person to steal?  I think some people are just outright low life scum with no morals or conscience.  And from some recent personal experience, that Thieves and Liars tend to go hand in hand.

Thursday Truths

 

Bridgeport Spaulding School Board Meeting September 12th, 2016

On the agenda:
- Citizen Participation begins at 0:40
- Agenda Adjustments begins at 2:47
- Consent Agenda- payment of bills, approval of minutes begins at 4:11
- Tax Rate Request begins at 11:14
- Draft Participation Policy? begins at 13:57
- Board Member Comments begin at 15:10
- Comments by Mr. Lagalo concerning the actions of several players on the varsity football team begins at 32:47
© 2016 Carla Citizen All Rights Reserved

During the citizen participation period Bridgeport resident Heather McLeod introduced herself to the board.  She is running for for Saginaw County Treasurer office this year.  She had some nice things to say about Bridgeport Schools and the impact they had on her life.

They discussed some business items like payment of bills etc..   There was also a discussion about the tax rate request.  It is hard to hear and hard to follow the discussion.  Basically the millage rate  on the winter tax bill will go from 5.02 to 6.0 for one year.  There was also some discussion about other items that may end up on the ballot in the future.

Again I would like to encourage everyone to listen to the board member comments.  They usually share good information about things going on.  Several of the members did share their views on an incident that happened before the September 9th football game.  There has been a lot of discussion online about the incident, some good and some kind of ugly.  I understand the various views on the matter.  The board members had some good comments about it, shared some valid concerns about it.  Mr. Lagalo did address how it has been handled by the school and how the students will behave in the future.  I just hope that people remember that these are kids/young adults and they will make some good decisions and some not so good decisions.  I remember life at their age and though it is a wonderful time in their lives, it is also a struggle.  So glad I survived that period of my life despite some of the bad decisions I made.  For the record - I disagree with the action they took but I also understand where they were coming from, and I fully support their right to do what they did.

Mr. Allen also shared some information about a upcoming contest that will be held by Independent Bank.  It is called Investing In Youth.  Schools can be nominated right now and then voting for the winner will be held during October.  The winners will be awarded a $5,000 grant.  Hope to see all of Bridgeport rally behind our school in October and vote for the Bearcats!!

Bridgeport Township Board Meeting September 6th, 2016

On the agenda:
Cheryl Hadsall presentation begins at 3:10
Special Orders -
1. Public Hearing - Flint River Dike Special Assessment District Roll begins at 7:20
Public Comment  begins at 12:11
Unfinished Business -
1. Resolution R16-08 Flint River Dike Special Assessment District Roll begins at 17:35
Board Member Comments begin at 19:59
© 2016 Carla Citizen All Rights Reserved

I will try to write a blog post about the meeting in a day or two.  Lots of good information shared by Cheryl Hadsall, Larry Ford from the Birch Run/Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce during the public comment period.  Also by the Township Manager Rose Licht in the closing board member comments.

Racism In Bridgeport - Yes, No?

This is a follow up to something that was brought up at the Monday August 22nd school board meeting.  I saw a discussion online over the weekend that made me think more about the subject of racism and specifically pertaining to it here in Bridgeport and from our school board.  I could list the official definition of racism or all the incidents of it throughout history in our world, but instead I will share my view of it.  I believe it is born of ignorance and empty hearts by people that are not "color blind" but instead are "blinded by color".  It is real and has been in existence in our world throughout our long history and used against many ethnic groups, not just one group.

This weekend I saw a discussion on the Facebook page for the Bridgeport Alumni.  The football coach had shared a photo to promote the calendar used for fundraising for the football team.  In the photo you can see that all the players are black.  Let me also add that I don't like the term black or African American or colored -- They are labels, and I don't feel that any person should be identified by a label.  Labels I feel minimize the uniqueness and humanity of an individual.  The only label I do like is "my fellow man".
A Bridgeport alumni made a remark on that photo/post that I think most people would automatically perceive as a racist remark.  I perceived it as a racist remark which is why I took several screenshots of the conversation.  I do not know this person that made the original remark so I do not know what is truly in his heart. Maybe he did not mean it in a racist way or did not believe it was racist.  I heard there was more conversation on this post after I took these screenshots but it was deleted before I saw it all.  I will share here what I did see.  I will say that this is not the first time I have seen a comment on the alumni page that I perceived as racist.  There have been a couple remarks in the past but I will add that it was only a couple.  But to see them, and see them used against children, is heartbreaking.  To see those remarks made by Bridgeport Alumni or parents makes me sad.  Here are the two screenshots that I took of the conversation: click on the photos to see the conversation

I have always viewed Bridgeport as a open and welcoming community.  I suspect that racism does exist here more than I would like to believe.  I don't personally see it because I don't associate with people that are racist.  This year I have not been able to attend a single community event, have not been out and about speaking with people in this community.  Just because I or other people don't see it doesn't mean racism does not exist.  I am sorry for anyone in our community that has had to suffer because of the ignorance of small minds and hearts.

So yes racism is real and no acts of racism should ever be allowed to stand unchallenged.  Racism should never be minimized either.  The word racist is a very very powerful word and it also should never be used lightly. That word has the power to permanently tarnish or destroy a person. To call a person or an act racist when it may not be the true case, I feel just succeeds in marginalizing the true and serious acts of racism.

Now back to racism and our school board.  There were several meetings that I was not able to attend and the terms "race based"and "racism" where used there. One of the meetings I heard even had the term "racist" used towards other board members.  I have had to ask around about these incidents and so the information I am sharing here is second hand.

First there was a regular school board meeting that I was not able to attend.  I don't know for sure what date this meeting was held because I have missed several.  I believe it involved the hiring of the new assistant principal for the high school.  My understanding is that this woman is black.  I don't know the whole backstory to who all may have applied, what their qualifications were, why this woman was chosen.  What I have heard is that she was hired by a vote of 4 to 3.  One or more of the  3 members that voted no were then accused of being racist by another of the school board members.  This was done publicly during this meeting.  I feel that it was a highly inappropriate and irresponsible thing to do!!  I suspect the lack of communication and the division that I see as a real problem with this board plays a part in all of this.  If one or more of our school board members request more information, wants to know what an applicants qualifications are, and those board members just happen to be white -- That does not make their request or decision to vote no a racist act!!  That is ignorance to assume it is automatically racist because those board members were white!!   I would expect all of our board members to make sure that they are well informed and are making the best decision possible for the future of our school district.  If they are going to be accused of being racist every time they do something that another board member does not agree with, that will make this board nonfunctional.  One or more of these board members may have felt that way personally but it never should have been said publicly during that meeting.  I would ask that board member to truly check their heart and think long and hard before they ever make that kind of accusation again.
I have also heard that a board member said something along the line of "we should be hiring more blacks" or "we should be hiring only blacks".  I don't know the exact words spoken or the context of the statement.  I agree that diversity is a good thing.  But what if the minority person being hired is not the best person for the job?  What good is achieved in the long run then?  Bridgeport schools are at a critical point in their future and they need the most qualified people that will have the most positive impact.  Every applicant should be hired based on their qualifications only, not the color of their skin. We are right back to being blinded by color.  I believe that we are all human, brothers and sisters, all God's children.  I judge people by their heart and soul, not the color of their skin.  Until all of mankind can view their fellow man color blind, we will not make any progress.

There was also the workshop/retreat that the school board members participated in back in July of this year.  Four of the board members were able to attend, Pat Nelson, Robert Lange, Dempsey Allen, Tedi Morris.  Three members were unable to attend, Marti Sagemanm Larry Long, Jay Bruns.  Some of the things discussed at this retreat were their concerns about and plans for the future of  the school board.  At the August 22nd school board meeting Deb Macon from the MASB gave a presentation and shared many excellent things and also the "concerns" expressed by those board members in attendance at the retreat.  The concerns expressed by some of the attending board members were their own opinions and perceptions.  Once they share those thoughts publicly and especially once those thoughts were shared by the MASB member during the meeting on the 22nd, they are then being perceived as accusations.  When it is shared and becomes an accusation, and being made by someone that is a person of authority, or someone held in esteem, like our school board members, then that accusation will more likely be assumed to be true by the public.  I don't feel that those thoughts about "race based" or "racism" should have been shared publicly during that meeting on the 22nd.  That was perceived by me and others in this community as accusations being made against some of our board members and whoever those comments may have been directed towards were unable to defend themselves against it during that board meeting.
JUST BECAUSE AN ACCUSATION IS MADE DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MAKE THAT ACCUSATION TRUE!!  All you have to do is look at recent events over the last year involving our school board and even in our sad national politics to understand that an accusation is not the same as the truth!!

I would like to remind every one of our school board members that your words and acts are setting an example for our children here, so choose your words wisely and set an example that will be good for them to follow.

Sunday Morning Musings

The Power Of Words

Bridgeport Spaulding School Board Meeting August 22nd, 2016

On the agenda:
- There were no speakers for the citizen participation segment.
- MASB Governance Team Discussion begins at 1:00
- Middle School Student Handbook Presentation & Approval begins at 28:45
- Personnel Committee  Report & Special Education Supervisor Contract Approval begins at 43:13
- Building & Grounds/Finance Committee Report begins at 53:04
- Board & Superintendent Comments begin at 1:12:48
© 2016 Carla Citizen All Rights Reserved

The first speaker was Deb Macon from MASB.  The discussion was about the school board and what their role is and how to effectively govern.  I was impressed with the speaker Deb Macon.  She seems very competent and passionate about the work she does.  The school board has already had one day long session workshop and will have several more in the future. I agree with most everything said here especially like the plan to be more proactive rather than reactive.  Moving forward out of crisis mode and looking toward the future.  I agree that there are two districts here.  There is still division within our school board.  That is a complicated issue and has I believe multiple factors causing it.  I believe that lack of good communication, and a lack of understanding, contribute to the division.  Every school board member needs to work hard at making their thoughts and feelings understood to the other board members and secondly to the public as well.  Perception is everything here.  If you vote no or vote yes on something, then you need to say why you do so.  Be as clear as possible.  If others understand exactly why you take a stand on something, there can be no misperceptions about the reason.  If I understand why you vote yes or no on something, even if I don't agree with you, I will respect your decision. If someone just votes no or votes yes with no explanation, then their reason is now totally up to their fellow board members and the public's own interpretation or perception, and worse it will be up to their imaginations.
The one thing I hope is never the cause of any division among our school board members is influence from outside the board members.  If anyone else whose goal is not unity and understanding, cooperation between our board members, then their voice needs to be shut out. The answer to building a stronger school board and working for the future of this district is never to shut out your fellow board members and try to drive them away, to remove them from the board!!  That is never the answer.  If our board members have problems working together, it is not the fault of any one board member, I feel it is the fault of ALL the board members.  Here is where we go back to better communication and understanding, respect for each other and their voices.  Some may feel that I try to influence the board.  If I harp on them to work in unity, for better communication and understanding, for transparency, to remind them that they have only one goal and that is the future of the children and this school district - That is fine.  But anything other than that, then this school board needs to tell me to shut up and to go jump in the river!
Now onto the subject of racism and this school board. I think I have mentioned on this blog before that I have seen true racism in the deep south 40+ years ago.  It was real and it was scary.  Racism is not a term I take lightly and would never use lightly.  It was stated that some actions on this board are perceived to be race based and that the community believes that there is racism in this community and on our school board.  I disagree with this.  Back when I was a child and the first black students came to our school they were welcomed with open arms in our schools and our community.  I will admit that I have seen what I would call racism in our community nowadays but I do not believe it is from our community as a whole, only from some ignorant individuals.  There is ignorance and ignorant individuals all over the world, not just in Bridgeport.  As for our school board, I have gone over and over several incidents in my mind that I believe were interpreted by others as racism, but I am not willing to call it racism, not by any of our school board members.  Here again we need to go back to a need for better communication and understanding.  I believe that some of the perceptions of racism may come from the hiring of individuals from the Buena Vista and Saginaw School Districts.  I will admit that I heard some comments made in the past after school board meetings by members of the public, not by any school board members, that I personally perceived as race based.
Hiring individuals from these two school districts is kind of a double edged sword.  No matter what decision is made it will be perceived by one side or the other as a race based decision.  I have heard both sides of the argument.  I have heard from members of this community that our Superintendent and some members of the school board just want to hire from these two districts because they are black and they worked in those districts.  The public's perception is that both Buena Vista, which is no longer in existence because it had become so dysfunctional, and the Saginaw School District which is also failing according to the state, may not be the best place to be recruiting new hires from. If those school districts were failing, it must be because all the staff and administrators were failures.  It is way more complicated than that!!  Let me play devils advocate here and present the case of my uncle.  He was a teacher in the Saginaw and Buena Vista School Districts.  He loved teaching and he loved his students.  He was a teacher at Brunkow Elementary when he passed away much too young.  He was beloved by the students and his fellow staff.  He was a great teacher and co-worker.  If he was alive today and he applied for a position in Bridgeport, would some not want to hire him because he came from a failing school district?  That would be Bridgeport's mistake for only looking at him as coming from a failing district as a disqualification.  But at least no one could call that racism since he was caucasian. I believe that the actions of our administration or school board members concerning the hiring of staff from either of these school districts are not a race based decision, but is being based on their perceptions of these individuals qualifications or lack thereof.  It is not right to just throw out an accusation of racism, either way, towards any members of our school district without a complete understanding of their reasons for the decisions they made.

Next up was a presentation by Mr. Baker of the new Middle School Student Handbook, the board approved it.  There were also several new hires approved  by the board.

Next up was a report and recommendations from the finance committee meeting.  There had been discussion about outsourcing some janitorial services for just one of the school buildings but that will not happen right now because the financial numbers show it is not the best decision right now.  The best thing from the nights meeting was the presentation by board member Larry Long of new advertising signs that will be sold as a means of fundraising for the athletic programs.  It is a great idea!!  It is a good way to raise funds for the programs, good way to get the community involved and rally the support needed for our school athletic programs.  I see it as a win-win all the way around.  Kudos to Larry Long and others for the great idea and for the work he has put into making it happen!!

Also during the board member comments Marti Sageman discussed plans for this years homecoming parade.  She is doing a great job on that so Kudos to her also!!  Superintendent Selby talked about some new advertising  and marketing they have been doing for the school district. Board President also spoke about the meeting they had with the Michigan State School Reform Office.  His comments I think will be reassuring to residents of this school district that have been concerned about the future of our district and especially Atkins School.