[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6653294,"mediaKeyId","2484133-40cb1cb493d633da5a447185eef3c5a7","parentId",2484133,"title","Williamston board approves construction, tech cabling, hires special-education teacher; several policies revised or removed","audioSeconds",6052,"startMs",50000,"endMs",6102000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2484133-40cb1cb493d633da5a447185eef3c5a7&start=50&end=6102","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2484133-40cb1cb493d633da5a447185eef3c5a7/thumbnail_50000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6653294/Michigan/Williamston-board-approves-construction-tech-cabling-hires-special-education-teacher-several-policies-revised-or-removed","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6653294-5b2bea3217bf481e99f14af84a5e3c51/orig.mp4?Expires=1771209915&Signature=JdeRBoOrcCJ-nfMgEpw68KqXUmlC9Dukf8XUVRaRfKnkfZNxrLlyE4EnJEpajh~G9DjD6GKAAjwMOnSm1OkHbHZr2a92Fcrv9NtYvLix7T4yQ8SMVk~T1NMsqU-y9YMco~X5NbZGAu-SjYaUxJkZ5V2VnFCuT179nC~k6WFNgWx0J3AJEHQTFIoGesz9l9yBJZrwG0mjxG778R2X6iQGdzzGRGJZ-Q1pETpN~aCjC68aejLv-cZoqrxOBwQY~1w2xZ3fPHb-ISGxxhWOnhte5VK4GzwiJ8QEBt49DX12S9k--qLuB-UGO0dAm57~aUYjSpTmpmjePGtseSq4dhyNgg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Williamston Community Schools","date","2025-03-04T07:17:48.263Z","article","The Williamston Community Schools Board of Education approved multiple contracts and personnel items during its meeting, including hiring a special-education teacher and awarding a construction management contract, and amended the district’s 2024–25 budget.

The board unanimously approved the hire of Grace Norman as a special-education teacher after Dr. Cook introduced her qualifications. Dr. Cook said Norman earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education with a special-education emphasis in emotional impairment and a minor in speech, language and hearing sciences from Northern Michigan University, and that the interview committee unanimously recommended her for hire. A motion to hire Norman was made by Deb (surname not specified in the transcript) and seconded by Dave; the board voted in favor.

In separate roll-call votes the board approved a construction management contract with the Christman Company and a structured-cabling contract with Amcon Telecommunication for the middle and high schools. The Amcon contract was described by the board as “no more than $222,000,” with funds to come from the federal E-rate program and district sources. Roll-call responses recorded named board members voting \"yes\" (Amanda, Chris, Dave, Deborah, Heather and Sarah) on those items.

The board also approved the 2024–25 amended budget as presented, granted a maternity-leave extension through March 31, 2025 for a staff member (Louis Merrill), and cast the district’s vote for the Michigan Association of School Boards Board of Directors for Guillermo Z. Lopez.

On board policies, discussion produced mixed results. A motion to add policy 5355 (Michigan Earned Sick Time Act / ESTA) and accompanying forms was considered; the superintendent advised the board that recent legislative changes had made the draft out of date and recommended bringing a revised policy back for action at the board’s next meeting. The motion to add the 5355 policy did not pass at this meeting. The board approved several other policy actions during the meeting: revisions to administrative professional development policy, and removals of a set of older staff and orientation policies, among others; motions and seconds for those items were recorded and approved by voice or roll call as shown in the meeting record.

Votes at a glance

- Hire: Grace Norman, special-education teacher. Motion by Deb; second by Dave. Vote: in favor (voice vote). Evidence: introductory remarks by Dr. Cook and the board’s recorded \"Aye\" responses.

- Contract: Christman Company, construction management contract. Motion recorded and approved by roll call; named board members recorded as \"Yes\" (Amanda, Chris, Dave, Deborah, Heather, Sarah).

- Contract: Amcon Telecommunication, structured cabling for middle and high schools. Motion stated cost \"no more than 222,000\" and funding from the E-rate program and district funds; approved by roll call with named \"Yes\" votes (Amanda, Chris, Dave, Deborah, Heather, Sarah).

- Vote: Michigan Association of School Boards Board of Directors — cast district vote for Guillermo Z. Lopez. Motion by Dave; second by Heather. Vote: approved (voice vote).

- Leave: Maternity-leave extension for Louis Merrill through 03/31/2025. Motion by Dave; second recorded. Vote: motion carries (voice vote).

- Budget: 2024–25 amended budget approved as presented. Motion by Chris; second by Doug. Vote: approved (voice vote).

- Policies: Motion to add policy 5355 (Michigan Earned Sick Time Act / ESTA) — motion did not pass; superintendent indicated a revised policy will be brought to the next meeting. Several other policy revisions and removals were approved by the board as recorded.

District staff provided routine reports and updates on professional development, bond projects (lockers, tennis courts, Explorer Elementary layout and pool HVAC concerns), and the district’s RTAC (enhanced stop-the-bleed) kits training for transportation staff. The board received a semester report on the district’s detection dog team (Zebra K9) and committee updates.

The board adjourned after taking the recorded actions; no public personnel actions related to the athletic-director controversy were taken at this meeting.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Williamston Board Of Education - Regular Meeting - 3/3/2025","oneSentenceSummary","At the meeting the board approved a construction management contract, a structured-cabling contract funded in part by E-rate, an amended 2024–25 budget, a maternity-leave extension and hired a special-education teacher; some proposed new sick-leave policy language failed and several policies were revised or removed.","taxTitle","Williamston Community Schools, School Boards, Michigan","taxId",60285,"location","Michigan","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6653298,"Williamston parents, athletes demand accountability after wrestling team forfeited regional title",4171,1843000,6014000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2484133-40cb1cb493d633da5a447185eef3c5a7&start=1843&end=6014","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2484133-40cb1cb493d633da5a447185eef3c5a7/thumbnail_1843000.jpg","/articles/6653298/Michigan/Williamston-parents-athletes-demand-accountability-after-wrestling-team-forfeited-regional-title","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6653298-34cb2efa830f689fc9377cd0bb147088/orig.mp4?Expires=1771209915&Signature=JKXWFz2heh7BFBmtHHs8F7~7Aun0DrCfE-1tMTlwOg4pvLLZhzv0reOk2bEEj~p-7DQpssDe5cZ5-kgl-YPoi-08rhQUPUo8Z0quf49l2XsUf-~71QRZUzpGVUXkeuH528K90Rk18MFRLCpntwJeOzwYVb~UCY9eipzuf0ofnO7eysxVN9W-l-763dH4OXR0S~6lttlhqCl8chqoE97CXAfxrvtIiiuXDzxH7HCvIBvMaFiJAWvUhUDHcwiwefVmZPWK78eQlzhCm~ShfnIaAC~137G67o0wp57tBEBwOpc8Gz7iWVpLan2yKcG7IL2AgoouaygUVw6vA4z-apaRLw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Dozens of parents, athletes and coaches addressed the Williamston Community Schools Board of Education during the public-comment section, demanding accountability and system changes after an administrative error led the high school wrestling team to forfeit a regional victory and the team’s opportunity to advance to the MHSAA team-states competition.

The wrestling-related public comments consumed the bulk of the meeting. Speakers described a sequence in which the district’s athletic director sent a roster to the host AD that contained 14 names rather than the full team roster of roughly 27–28 wrestlers; after the error was detected, speakers said, one athlete was found to be missing a required physical and the district informed the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), which resulted in a forfeiture. Parents and athletes said they learned of the outcome after the event and that coaches or players were not given timely, transparent explanations.

\"Our wrestlers were forced to watch their hard-earned opportunity slip away,\" Misty Miller told the board, attributing the loss to what she called the athletic director’s \"incompetence.\" Emily Young, who identified herself as a parent, told the board the athletic director \"contacted MHSAA and forfeited for the team,\" and that coaches and parents learned of the decision only after it was finalized.

Speakers recounted the team’s season-long work and trophies and said the squad had earned its regional win on the mat. Several parents and community members, including long-time coaches and boosters, said the program’s reputation and athletes’ recruiting opportunities were damaged by public accounts of the incident. \"They were regional champs for the first time since 1999,\" one parent said. \"They earned victory. Their earned victory was erased.\"

Multiple speakers pressed the board to remove or accept the resignation of athletic director Paige Paulson; others sought procedural remedies: mandatory early-season audits of eligibility and paperwork, an appeals process before irreversible forfeiture decisions, involvement of coaching staff in eligibility determinations, and formal documentation and communication requirements when eligibility issues arise. Emily Young proposed a set of reforms that included an immediate resignation of the AD, a mandatory appeals process, paperwork oversight and a forfeiture-approval process requiring broader review.

Several speakers also acknowledged that responsibility for eligibility is shared across parents, coaches and administrators. A parent who said he failed to submit his son’s physical said he had not been directly contacted by the athletic director and that a brief phone call could have resolved the missing paperwork before it affected postseason eligibility. \"If he called me, maybe we could've figured out that I had something that would have worked,\" Murphy Gardner said.

Board members and the superintendent (referred to in public comments as Dr. Spina) heard more than an hour of testimony. The board president closed public comment by saying the administration is \"working to make sure that all athletic programs know the processes and how they will be followed\" and that further discussion will continue; the remarks did not announce any immediate personnel action or formal vote on the AD’s status during the meeting.

The meeting record shows no motion to discipline or remove the athletic director was taken that night. Parents and athletes said they will pursue follow-up with the superintendent and the board. Several speakers asked that reforms include clearer role definitions and checks so that clerical errors or missing forms do not strip athletes of postseason opportunities.

Board and community members repeatedly framed the matter as both a procedural failure and a reputational injury to the district’s wrestling program, which speakers described as a long-standing community institution. The board president thanked speakers for addressing the board and indicated the administration would follow up with more information and next steps outside the public-comment period.

The board meeting continued with scheduled business after public comment, and no formal action on personnel or policy changes related to the athletic department was recorded in the minutes for this meeting.","Dozens of parents, students and coaches told the Williamston Community Schools Board of Education they want accountability and procedural changes after an administrative roster error led to the wrestling team’s forfeiture of its regional victory and loss of a team-states opportunity.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Williamston board approves construction, tech cabling, hires special-education teacher; several policies revised or removed

Williamston parents, athletes demand accountability after wrestling team forfeited regional title