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Teacher urges board to protect Trozone and disclose conflicts as Lifewise seeks middle-school access
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Summary
During public comment, teacher and parent Nikki Witt urged the board to restrict Lifewise programming to non-instructional periods per Policy 2270 and asked board members with connections to Lifewise to follow Policy 0144.3 on abstention; the superintendent said he would follow up with speakers.
Nikki Witt, a Page teacher and parent, used the board's public comment period on April 20 to urge the Thornapple Kellogg Board of Education to protect Trozone — the district's dedicated academic support period — from organizations that would remove students during instructional time.
Witt said Lifewise currently operates at second through fifth grade and she understands the organization has requested permission to work in the middle school and to pull students from Trozone. "Trozone is certainly not a period when students are free to associate," she said, describing Trozone as a charged academic block used for interventions, make-up work and accommodations for students with additional time on assessments.
Witt asked the board to remember Policy 2270, which she said allows release time for religious instruction only during lunch or other non-instructional periods, and to observe Policy 0144.3 on conflicts of interest, asking that board members with personal ties to Lifewise abstain from any discussion or vote on the matter. The superintendent told the speaker he would follow up and work with appropriate staff.
Board members later referenced Michigan statutes and parental rights during their comments and asked staff to document and follow up on the concerns raised.
