Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Board Meeting Summary topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kalkaska Public Schools board re-elects president, approves handbook and post‑fact trip; rejects naming of softball complex
Summary
At its Jan. 26 organizational and regular meeting, the Kalkaska Public Schools Board of Education re-elected Rachael Birgy president, approved consent items and hires, approved a post-facto overnight wrestling trip and middle school handbook changes, and rejected a motion to name the softball complex; the board entered closed session for the superintendent's evaluation with no action taken.
Rachael Birgy, board president, called the Kalkaska Public Schools Board of Education meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 26, 2026, at Kalkaska Public School and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
At the organizational portion of the meeting the board re-elected Rachael Birgy as president after a motion by Steve Ordway, supported by Mary Scobey. The board also confirmed Steve Ordway as vice president, Wendy Watson as secretary and Mary Scobey as treasurer after a motion by Dr. Richard Hodgman, supported by Chase Stevenson. The slate of officers was approved by voice vote, 7-0.
The board approved the consent agenda, moved by Wendy Watson and supported by Mary Scobey. The consent items included designation of depositories, account signatories, authority to sign contracts and purchase orders, meeting dates and posting, appointment of a member to the county election scheduling board, assignment of a Legislative Relations Network representative, retention of legal counsel (Thrun Lawn Firm, P.C. and Delaporte Lynch, PLLC), approval of the Dec. 15, 2025 minutes, payment of general, bond and athletic fund bills, and conditional hires pending cleared background checks for Kim Pendock (Rapid City Elementary head cook), Allyson Schuster (Early Childhood Learning Center paraprofessional) and Sierra Harris (special education teacher). The motion carried 7-0; the minutes record the ayes as Wendy Watson, Mary Scobey, Chase Stevenson, Mitch Saxton, Dr. Richard Hodgman, Steve Ordway and Rachael Birgy.
The board recorded recognition of kindergarten student Cashus Richey, honored by Birch Street Elementary Principal Arica Zenner, and then heard a superintendent's report from Superintendent Rick Heitmeyer covering board member appreciation month, recent staff professional development, an upcoming Teach!Michigan trip, DSIC instructional vision items and bond-related matters summarized in the report.
Under action items the board approved, by motion of Steve Ordway with support from Mitch Saxton, a post-approval authorization for an overnight athletic trip: the Ray Mariucci Wrestling Invitational in Kingsford, Michigan, noting the team departed Jan. 9 and returned Jan. 10, 2026; the trip had been requested by Dean Amos, the head wrestling coach. The motion carried 7-0.
A motion by Chase Stevenson, supported by Steve Ordway, to support naming the Kalkaska Softball Complex was considered and failed 0-7; the minutes list all seven trustees as nays.
The board recorded several resignations and retirements in the minutes: Loren Schwab (middle school softball), David Schneider (middle school and Rapid City Elementary special education), Tony Baldwin (JV baseball coach), Christal Czaplicki (head cook at Rapid City), and Jake Sutton (JV football coach). These personnel items were entered in the minutes and not recorded as separate votes in the public portion of the meeting.
The board approved middle school handbook changes on a motion by Wendy Watson, supported by Mary Scobey; the motion carried 7-0.
Later the board moved into a closed session, on a motion by Mary Scobey supported by Mitch Saxton, to discuss Superintendent Rick Heitmeyer's evaluation at his request. The minutes record the time into closed session at 6:17 p.m. and out at 7:22 p.m.; no action resulted from the closed session. The meeting adjourned at 7:22 p.m. after a motion by Wendy Watson, supported by Chase Stevenson, which carried 7-0.
What happens next: the minutes record the appointments, hires pending background checks, personnel changes and committee assignments; no formal follow-up actions or deadlines were specified in the minutes for the failed naming motion or the resignations.
