WHITEHALL — The Whitehall school board unanimously approved an expenditure of up to $120,000 to replace four substitute school buses totaled by damage in the June 25 storm at its monthly meeting Monday.
The district’s permanent buses were all in protected parking areas and were not damaged, but the four usually used as “overload buses,” in case another bus is unavailable, were not protected and suffered enough damage that they are no longer usable. Superintendent Jerry McDowell said the buses’ cumulative value after having taken the damage was $59,630, according to an insurance adjuster. That money will defray the cost of purchasing three new buses - two regular education buses and one lift bus.
“It will be an upgrade, even though we didn’t really want to make it,” McDowell said of purchasing the new buses.
Although the district’s outlay will be well south of $120,000 - with the insurance money coming in, the actual cost to the district is likely to fall somewhere between $44,000 and $45,000 - the board had to approve the expenditure at purchase price. Hoekstra Transportation, McDowell said, will place a hold on the buses Whitehall is buying to ensure they are available when the district makes the purchase.
The board also unanimously approved two other purchases. The district will pay Racquet Sports, a tennis court construction company in Comstock Park, $51,530 to resurface the Whitehall courts. The district said the courts have not been resurfaced since first being built in 2010, and cracks in them have become a safety concern. Unfortunately, plans to resurface the courts prior to the season fell through due to scheduling issues, but the Racquet Sports timeline for resurfacing is only about a week, from Aug. 27-Sept. 3, which the board believes will provide minimal disruption to the tennis season. A scheduled home meet has already been moved to account for the resurfacing and coaches have made arrangements to practice at Reeths-Puffer while it is in progress. Treasurer Jimmy TenBrink joked that he would vote yes only if the courts were colored red and green instead of the original blue and green, which would better line up with Whitehall’s school colors, but McDowell noted red and green is a potential alternative and the school could request it.
Another approval came down for a $21,152 expenditure to contract with CrowdStrike, a company that counters cyberattacks. The district elected to enact such a service before facing an issue rather than waiting until after. It was noted that the district will be able to pay 20% under list price for the services because it is partnering with the nine other school districts in the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District who are using the service as well.
The board also unanimously approved the wording of a resolution for this November’s ballot for its operating millage renewal. The 10-year millage expires after 2025 and needs to be renewed. As before, the millage will levy 18 mills ($18 per $1,000 of taxable value) on non-homestead properties, which yields an expected 2026 tax revenue of just under $4.18 million to the district. The operations millage generally passes by a wide margin, McDowell said, but the district plans to enact communications emphasizing that this millage does not apply to primary residences and that it is vital to funding the school district.
