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Buchanan Community Schools board meeting, Jul 20, 2026

1 h 02 min · 0 public speakers

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Buchanan school board hears Puerto Rico trip report, takes up contracts and policies 6:58

  • A teacher and several trip participants presented a report on a student trip to Puerto Rico that took place at the end of June. 6:58
  • The board took up motions on the consent agenda, a transportation contract amendment and administrative contracts. 25:37

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Item by item (15)
  1. Opening and agenda adoption 2:31
    • Katie Berry opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and called for roll call. 3:37
    • A motion was made to adopt the agenda for the July 20th, 2026 regular meeting as written. 4:26
  2. Superintendent and department reports 4:50
    • The new director of business services addressed the board and reported starting in the role last week Monday. 5:19
    • A staff member said facilities work was underway, including the outside track, tennis courts and window screens. 5:52
  3. Student trip to Puerto Rico 6:33
    • A teacher described the trip, including a tour of Old San Juan, a service project with students from a school in Utuado, a tour of Ponce and a visit to a bioluminescent bay. 6:58
    • The teacher thanked the Buchanan Scarecrow Charities for helping sponsor the trip and said the goal is a trip every other year alternating with the band program. 9:58
    • Several trip participants described activities including cliff jumping, exploring caves and seeing wildlife. 12:47
  4. Bond oversight update 21:16
    • A staff member said the district would interview 3 architectural and engineering firms the next day and update the board on later steps. 21:28
  5. Committee reports 21:55
    • Jennie Brackett said the Human Resources Committee met July 1st and discussed recent resignations, a new hire, onboarding and open positions. 22:02
    • Katie Berry said the Facilities and Finance Committee discussed the track project, an RFP for irrigation, an upcoming asbestos inspection done every 3 years and a grant for which the district was not a recipient. 22:54
    • Harvey Burnett and Jennie Brackett said the Board Policy Committee reviewed policy updates, which they said come from the district's legal team. 24:26
  6. Public comment and consent agenda 25:21
    • Katie Berry said no one was present for public comment. ~25:21
    • Dr. Harvey Burnett moved to approve the consent agenda, including minutes, warrants, employment contracts and hiring and coaching recommendations for 2026⁠-⁠2027. 25:37
    • One board member said they would abstain based on a relative conflict. 26:41
  7. Authorized banking users 26:41
    • A motion was made to approve authorized users on district accounts at United Federal Credit Union and Honor Credit Union effective July 20th, 2026. 26:55
    • Katie Berry said the board knew the item was coming. 27:26
  8. Virtual academy course offerings 27:47
    • Jennie Brackett moved to approve courses for the 2026⁠-⁠2027 school year to be offered through Buchanan Virtual Academy as submitted. 27:53
    • A speaker noted that new classes had been added. ~28:09
  9. Transportation association contract amendment 28:25
    • Dr. Harvey Burnett moved to ratify an amendment to the agreement with the Buchanan Transportation Association effective through June 30th, 2021. 28:33
    • A staff member said the amendment clarifies the definition of a bus driver by adding what a full-time driver is. 28:49
  10. Administrative contracts 29:41
    • Jennie Brackett moved to approve annual district administrative contracts from July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2027 for directors, principals and other administrators. 29:47
  11. Donation approval 30:52
    • Jennie Brackett moved to approve a $2,200 donation from Niesgodski Plumbing for repairs at the school farm and $5,173 from the Buchanan Community Schools Foundation toward the BHS wall wrap project. 30:59
  12. Board policy update 31:46
    • Dr. Harvey Burnett moved to approve policy updates, including district updates to policy 3303 on gifts and donations. 31:49
    • A staff member said the district would make sure boosters and principals are aware of the $1,000 or less provision and that the board may see more donation approvals. 32:10
    • The staff member said donations involving physical changes to facilities, grounds, structures, tree planting or signage must come to the board. 32:51
  13. Closed session and superintendent salary 33:37
    • Dr. Harvey Burnett moved to approve a salary amendment agreement for the superintendent. 57:44
    • Katie Berry said the amendment follows the mid-year evaluation and the budget, which includes a placeholder for such amendments. 57:50
  14. BVA graduation certification 58:30
    • Jennie Brackett moved to approve a student for graduation upon satisfactory completion of district requirements. 58:36
  15. Board member comments and adjournment 59:04
    • Jake Brown said they attended a quarterly joint meeting of Cass County and Berrien County school boards that discussed advocacy with representatives in Lansing. 59:25
    • Dr. Harvey Burnett invited board members to National Night Out on Tuesday, August 4th, from 6 to 9 at McCoy Creek. 1:01:39
    • Katie Berry said the next meeting is August 17th at 6 PM and adjourned the meeting at 7 PM. 1:01:58

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Other meetings

Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “BCS BOE - Regular Board Meeting (July 20, 2026)”