The Schoolcraft Community Schools Board of Education has begun a search for a new superintendent of schools.
The board had planned to appoint an interim superintendent and conduct a full superintendent search beginning in late November. However, several qualified candidates have already shown interest in the role, so the board decided to move forward now with the superintendent search. Board president Jennifer Gottschalk said, “We believe this is the right move for our district to minimize disruption and start the 2024-25 school year off right.”
The position was posted May 9 and was to close May 27th. At that time, the board will examine the applications and narrow the field. Applicants will then complete a Humanex interview. The community can attend public interviews of the final candidates.
“Our goal is to close the search by the end of May and conduct background checks and perform interviews in June,” said Gottschalk. “We would like to finalize the process, select a candidate, and negotiate the contract in July in time to onboard the new superintendent before the school year begins.
“SCS is a unique and special district focused on excellence in academic and extra-curricular performance,” Gottschalk said. “We are excited to find a superintendent who will maintain the values of our small and tight-knit community while helping us to aim higher.”
Evan Feller. Photo by Stephanie Blentlinger, Lingering Memories Photography.
By Mark Blentlinger
May 17th the Golden Eagles arrived at Bangor High School with one thing in mind: earning the Regional Championship trophy. Goal set, goal completed. The girls scored 103 points, finishing 31 points ahead of Kalamazoo Christian, the 2nd place finisher.
Hayden Demaso. Photo by Stephanie Blentlinger, Lingering Memories Photography.
By Mark Blentlinger
On May 20, 2024, Golden Eagles baseball hosted their seniors while they faced the Centreville Bulldogs. During the first game of their double header, Schoolcraft mercied the visitors, 15-0 in 3 innings. The seniors honored that night with their parents were Ryan Ling, Jayden VanderWiere, Slater Endres, Carsten Svoboda, Bennett Ellison, Fischer Holmes, Easton Poulsen and Thomas Rutkoskie.
In late May, the team record was 16-8-1 with a conference record of 3-2 and 2nd place, with wins over Parchment, Wayland, Lawton, Gobles, Penfield, Hackett, Buchanan, Hamilton, Centreville and Laingsburg. The team’s losses were to Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, Vicksburg, Constantine, Watervliet, Brandywine and Kalamazoo Christian. The Golden Eagles beat Hartford 15-1, and were scheduled to advance to the district semi-finals to play Coloma on June 1 in Coloma.
Hope Storm and Savannah Mozola. Photos by Stephanie Blentlinger, Lingering Memories Photography.
By Mark Blentlinger
Most of the Golden Eagles softball players this season were underclassman, with just two seniors on the roster, Jossalin Mann and Lauren Evens. The team struggled putting some things together, and they finished the season with a 9-25 record. During the early part of the season, the young Eagles faced some larger Division 1 or 2 schools: Gull Lake, Kalamazoo Central, Mattawan, and Portage Northern. These opponents with larger rosters didn’t seem to break spirits though, as the girls always fought hard and never gave up. On senior night, May 20, 2024, the team faced the Bulldogs from Centreville, who jumped out to an early 5-0 after their first at bat. The Eagles stayed focused and fought back, scoring runs in every inning. Junior Brenna McDonald had a big at bat when she took the first pitch just foul over the left field fence! With a grunt of frustration, she stepped back into the batter’s box and took the next pitch straight away over the fence into center field to add 2 runs to the score.
With the score tied at 8-8, Paige Metzger was the Eagles last at bat with a runner on base. Metzger placed the ball into center field, scoring the winning run, 9-8. The seniors were then recognized and walked the bases with their parents, stopping at each base to hug their teammates. The freshman waited at first, sophomores at second, juniors at third and coaches were at home to thank their seniors. The team headed to Constantine on May 28 to start off the post season, where they lost to Constantine, 2-10.
Members of the South County Sewer and Water Authority in a late-May meeting reviewed alternatives for modernizing and perhaps enlarging a 20-year-old sewer which carries sewage from Vicksburg and the authority on its way to Kalamazoo’s wastewater treatment plant.
The alternatives, prepared by the engineering firm of Prein & Newhof, steer a course for combining sewage with a new system being built by Vicksburg. This would provide modernization of the system and offer shared operating and maintenance costs for the village and the authority while creating capacity for anticipated increases in users in Pavilion and Brady Townships.
The village serves about 1,500 users, but anticipates expansion at The Mill as well as new residential and commercial development. The authority, serves 630, mostly on or near Indian and Pickerel Lake in Brady and Pavilion Townships and anticipates new users west of those areas on both sides of Sprinkle Road. Schoolcraft Township is also a member of the authority.
The preferred alternative recommended by the engineers calls for expansion of the current combination of gravity sewers ranging from 8 to 30 inches in diameter and 9,500 feet of force main – a pipe carrying pumped sewage, discharging into a Portage sewage interceptor.
An estimated $12 million cost is divided between the authority and the village according to the number of current users in each. It’s estimated at $ 1.5 million for the authority, $10.5 million for the village.
A municipal finance consultant recommended the authority project be financed with limited tax general obligation or revenue bonds. Andy Campbell, director of Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors, made the recommendation, noting that traditional alternatives including USDA Rural Development and state revolving fund loans would not provide funds soon enough. If approved, limited tax general obligation bonds would be backed equally by the three member Townships; revenue bonds would be guaranteed by the sanitary rates. Either would make the money available in 2025 in time for the EDA funding.
The authority’s township members acknowledged that their boards may need some persuasion for financing through limited tax general obligation bonds.
On another infrastructure project, LaPierre said Lockport Township water officials have found that a test of water on a site south of the Kalamazoo county line shows it might meet high quality standards for expanding the Lockport water system to provide distribution to new users along the US-131 corridor, perhaps including the Village of Schoolcraft. The village has been seeking a second well source, and area planners have said pressure is growing for the location of a secondary water source.
Lockport’s water board has secured a first right of refusal to purchase the property.
Schoolcraft’s Fourth of July fireworks have been cancelled in a unanimous “No” vote by the Schoolcraft Township Board at its May 14 meeting. The decision was fueled by safety concerns surrounding the event.
At the meeting, Toni Rafferty from the Fourth of July committee presented paperwork the Board had previously requested for the planned fireworks which were to be held within the Township at Dome Sports Center, 12733 N. US 131.
Board members questioned Rafferty and Lieutenant James VanZile from the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office about safety at the event, mostly dealing with traffic issues due to the ongoing construction on US-131 through Schoolcraft village.
Concerns were expressed about getting emergency vehicles into the area if needed, about people turning left from the highway into the fireworks site, and possible damage to adjacent fields, which reportedly happened last year.
Township supervisor Don Ulsh said, “Personally, I think it’s going to be a disaster.”
Clerk Virginia Mongrieg added, “I don’t want to have it. It’s an accident waiting to happen.”
In the end, the Board wasn’t sure if it had the authority to prevent the fireworks display. Members voted with the proviso that they would check with their lawyers.
Two days after the vote, Ulsh reported that the lawyers indicated the fireworks committee needed the Township’s authority to proceed. Without that, the fireworks have been cancelled.
Informed by the Township Board of the lawyer’s decision, Rafferty confirmed that the fireworks have been cancelled due to the safety concerns because of construction on U.S. 131. The location for the planned fireworks this year was in the Township just outside the Schoolcraft Village limits so that’s why they had to ask for the Township’s approval, she said.
Despite this year’s cancellation, fundraising plans for next year’s fireworks are going ahead as planned, said Rafferty. There’s the Fall Fest at the beginning of October and the Christmas Walk with a craft show at the beginning of December.
The Schoolcraft Community Schools have already given their approval for the fireworks to be held at the high school next year since the construction of the football field will be completed by then, she said.
The fireworks have traditionally been staged at the high school.
