Caledonia board approves bond contracts, budget amendment, policies and superintendent rating of 'effective'

The Caledonia Community Schools Board of Education on Dec. 16 approved a series of motions that authorized construction contracts from the 2020 bond, purchased office furnishings, adopted a 2024–25 budget amendment, authorized the district to proceed with a 2025 bond issuance and refunding process, adopted multiple policy revisions and accepted the superintendent’s 2024 evaluation rating of "effective." All votes recorded on these items were carried by roll call.

Key approvals and votes at the meeting included:

- Consent agenda: The board approved meeting minutes (Nov. 13, Nov. 18, Dec. 11, 2024), November 2024 payables and the December 2024 personnel report. Roll-call votes on the consent agenda recorded Barbara Garcia, Brando, Morris, Jason Seydoux and Marcy White voting "yes."

- Bond 2020, Caledonia Elementary remodel (Item 9a): The board approved Christmann Company to initiate contracts for renovation work funded by the 2020 bond and accepted vendor bid categories and amounts presented on the record, including ceilings (Shepherds Brothers Co., $136,139), flooring (Rydissma Associates, $149,695), painting (Eckhoff & De Vries, $78,995) and electrical (Excel Electric, $208,880). Roll-call votes recorded all five board members voting "yes."

- Bond 2020, transportation bus covering (Item 9b): The board approved Christmann Company to initiate contracts for construction of a bus-cover structure from bond funds and accepted multiple bid categories, including site work (Belting Contractors Inc., $134,000), paving (Michigan Paving & Materials, $69,585), concrete (Choice Concrete Construction, $217,700), steel (Bennett Steel LLC, $384,640), roofing (Action Custom Roofing Inc., $99,260), general trades (D & D Building Inc., $25,115), painting (BlasTech LLC, $31,825) and electrical (Excel Electrical Inc., $280,400). The board voted unanimously in favor.

- Community Resource Center furnishings (Item 9c): The board approved the purchase and installation of office furnishings from Custer Office Furniture for $35,318.49. Vote: unanimous approval.

- 2024–25 budget amendment (Item 9d): The board adopted the proposed budget amendment. Finance staff presented a summary showing total revenues of approximately $70,700,000 and total expenditures of about $72,000,000 in the updated December estimate, with an estimated ending fund balance of $10,700,000 (14.9% of expenditures). The board voted to adopt the amendment by roll call.

- Authorization to issue 2025 school building and site bonds, series 2, and to refund 2014 bonds (Item 9e): The board adopted a resolution authorizing the district to proceed with bond issuance and potential refunding. Staff explained that the refunding portion will proceed only if market pricing realizes at least a 1.5 percentage-point savings; final pricing and a confirmatory vote will follow in May. Roll-call votes were recorded as unanimous "yes."

- Policy revisions (second reading and adoption): The board conducted a second reading and adopted numerous policies and deletions on the record, including policies numbered 10151, 1130, 3110, 3120.08, 4110, 5136, 5340, 5510, 6110, 6111, 6112, 6114, 6325, 6550, 7310, 7440.03, 7450, 7530.02 and 8321; the board also approved deletions for student accident insurance and telephone communications policies identified on the agenda. The board voted to adopt the revisions by roll call.

- Superintendent evaluation (Item 21.3): Following a closed session for the superintendent’s evaluation conducted under Michigan Compiled Laws 15.268d, the board returned to open session and voted to accept the superintendent’s 2024 evaluation rating of "effective." Roll-call votes recorded Barbara Garcia, Brando, Morris, Jason Seydoux and Marcy White voting "yes."

Board members and staff noted that action items had been discussed in committee prior to being presented for approval and that several items (notably the bond refunding) will return for final action pending market pricing and additional confirmations.

Notes: The motions recorded in the meeting were procedural approvals to initiate contracts, adopt budget amendments and authorize bond issuance steps; specific contractor agreements, final pricing for bonds and detailed implementation steps will follow separate procurement or financing actions as required.