WHITEHALL — The Whitehall school board voted to remove the interim
tag from CJ Van Wieren Monday night at its regular board meeting, making
him full-time superintendent after steering the ship for the fall
semester. The vote was 5-0, with trustees Tim Cross and Melissa Moore
absent.
Van Wieren, who took over everyday duties as
predecessor Jerry McDowell transitioned into retirement, drew rave
reviews from the board as it installed him as the full-time
superintendent, a decision that was due by the end of March pursuant to
Van Wieren's original contract. With the move, Van Wieren's contract has
been extended through the 2027-28 school year. He thanked the board
towards the end of the meeting for its decision.
"It's just a tremendous opportunity in a
great community with a great school district and the opportunity to
lead it," Van Wieren said. "I couldn't be happier or more thankful for
the opportunity. I'm just looking forward to what's to come."
Van
Wieren, a district veteran, said he's been thankful to receive a lot of
public feedback about things people want to see from the district, and
it's emboldened him further in his goals to make Whitehall the best it
can be.
"I'm just excited every day to come and try to do
things that are going to better the opportunities for our children," Van
Wieren said. "Beyond anything, that's what we all want. That's the
common
goal. The opportunity to do that, to look for ways of how
we can provide a safer environment, to provide a better culture and a
better climate, and to put the best educators possible in front of
them, it's a tremendous opportunity."
Board members Chris
Mahoney, Paula Martin, Jimmy TenBrink, Shannon McGoran and Rachel Fekken
each made remarks in support of Van Wieren during board discussion.
Martin,
who worked with Van Wieren back when he was a teacher at Ealy
Elementary, said, "He was made for this job.... He listens and he wants
to learn. He
says, 'What can I do to make it better? What can I do to help?'"
The
new superintendent was quickly given the task of helping to pitch the
public to approve the district's second attempt at passing its
operations millage renewal, as the board approved its placement on the
ballot for a May 6 special election. The millage, which allows the
collection of up to 20 mills on non-homestead properties and businesses
(in practice the plan is to collect 18, with the wording set to account
for Headlee amendment tax rollbacks), must be approved in order for the
district to receive its full allotment of state funding, which the board
stated is $4 million per year. A previous attempt was voted down last
November.
"It would drastically impact every kid in this
district," TenBrink said, if that state funding were taken away, noting
it would be impossible to deduct that much from the budget without
adverse consequences.
Van Wieren said it will be the
district's job to ensure accurate public communication about the
millage, which can only be used for operations and is separate from the
bond issue that was also voted down in November 2023.
The
board also unanimously approved the reinstatement of a second public
comment period during monthly meetings, the details of which will be
worked out over the next month. The second public comment period has
been a subject of debate among district stakeholders since it was
removed in 2021. Several board members expressed support for the idea
during discussion, including Shannon McGoran, who said she hoped the
move would help regain public trust in the board. Board president Rachel
Fekken added that the decision to add the second period back seemed
fitting given Van Wieren's stated emphasis on gaining public feedback in
his superintendent position.
Fekken was one of the four
officers who was reappointed to their positions on the board. Mahoney
will continue as vice-president, TenBrink as treasurer and Martin as
secretary.
New to the board is student representative
Tyler Van Antwerp, who introduced himself during the meeting. Van
Antwerp, a Whitehall senior, will serve as representative the remainder
of the school year. In addition to several other extracurricular
activities, he is class vice-president, and stated his long-term plans
include attending Michigan State University and studying pre-law. As
student rep, he will sit in on future board meetings and offer a
student's perspective. Van Wieren noted the district has had student
representatives in the past.
During superintendent comments,
Van Wieren noted that a security camera upgrade has been completed at
the high school and "Ii's
made a world of difference." A similar project is now underway at the
middle school. He also reported that the school bus garage roof was
repaired during winter break and is likely to come in under budget.
