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Dowagiac Union superintendent outlines plans for welding program, facilities review and recruitment drive
Summary
The superintendent reported that a committee is exploring restarting a welding class with outside partners, Ignite conducted a facilities walkthrough to inform a multi-year plan, the district will embed personal-finance standards into economics, and officials said they are intensifying recruitment for bus drivers.
During the board's informational period, the superintendent described several near-term operational priorities and program plans.
On career and technical education, the superintendent said a committee including district staff and outside partners met to explore bringing back a welding class and to identify options for where the classroom might be located and how to partner with area technical providers. The committee aims to develop an action plan by the end of the year.
The district is also conducting a facilities assessment. The superintendent said an engineering firm (identified in the transcript as Ignite) visited for a walk-through and will help produce a multi-year facilities action plan that ties to past bond work and identifies prioritized "bucket list" items.
On curriculum, district staff explained a compliance step for incoming ninth-graders: Michigan requires a personal-finance half-credit. The district’s approach is to embed personal-finance standards into an economics course and change the course title to “Economics with Personal Finance” so students receive the required credit on their transcripts while preserving course interest.
Staffing and extracurricular updates: the superintendent said the district needs bus drivers and has tasked the communications director with weekly recruitment outreach and incentives to attract candidates. He also praised the band director for program growth, noting increased participation and competition awards.
Why it matters: the initiatives affect future course options, long-term capital planning and day-to-day operations such as transportation. Restarting a vocational program, clarifying curriculum credits and addressing driver shortages have budget and implementation implications and may require future board action.
