By Linda Lane
Vicksburg Community School’s administration and staff honored the Board of Education at the January meeting, presenting each member with a Bulldog sweatshirt for service to the community. Two board members, Skip (Virgil) Knowles and Carol Lohman, have served since 1984. Will Emmert has served since 1993, Tina Forsyth since 1999, David Schriemer since 2005, Rudy Callen since 2010 and Deborah Harsha since 2014. “That’s a total of 137 years of experience!” said an audience member.
“This School Board has been such a pleasure to work with over the years,” Superintendent Charlie Glaes said, “with not one board member having a single-issue agenda or an axe to grind. Every board member comes to the table with the best interests of all the students at heart.”
Skip Knowles agreed, “It takes a team to make things happen, and we’ve really got a great team between administration, teachers, and the school board. Having everyone working together makes the job easier.”
Warren Lawrence presented the Vicksburg Community Schools Foundation’s Annual Report. With 20 various endowment funds and scholarship funds, the VCSF will distribute nearly $71,000 in scholarships and educational grants to Vicksburg students.
Glaes noted two pieces of legislation currently being considered by the Michigan Legislature as House bill 5393 and Senate bill 746, dealing with athletes transferring to another district to play sports. The current ruling is that athletes must wait 180 days to be eligible to play in the new district; the bills would remove the delay. Both bills are in committee discussion and it is unclear if they will make it to a Legislature vote.
Held at Vicksburg High School, Principal Keevin O’Neill gave an extensive presentation outlining the school’s performance. Some noteworthy items included being named an AP Honor Roll School, one of only 23 districts in Michigan. It was the third time for the school; this year was the second in a row.