Gladstone Area Schools Board of Education

GLADSTONE — Slight shuffling of school board member designations and officerships took place at the regular and organizational meeting of the Gladstone Area Schools Board of Education on Monday evening. Another change that will persist throughout the year is that of the setting for meetings; historically, the location has rotated among the various school buildings, but for the remainder of 2025, the school board will meet at the Gladstone Public Library at 6 p.m. on the third Monday of each month — except when moved with at least 18 hours notice.

The meeting, incidentally on inauguration day, began with the swearing in of board members who are beginning new terms after retaining their seats in November’s election. Steve Tackman and Phil DeMay took their oaths of office. Jesse Seger will also be entering a new term, but he was absent on Monday, as was Nathan Neumeier.

Business kicked off with officer elections. The office of President remains with Steve Tackman; other board members expressed belief that his tenure and knowledge have been beneficial. Joanna Wilbee-Amis also continues to hold the position of Vice President.

Seger had previously expressed a desire to serve as secretary, an office held by Henry Knoch in 2024. The vote was unanimous to give Seger the role.

As for the final officer role of treasurer, it had been held by Neumeier, but after some discussion, the board members present decided to appoint Knoch, primarily because of Neumeier’s attendance record.

“I think Nate has struggled to be here, and I think that should be a reflection … especially if you are filling the role of one of the officers,” said Wilbee-Amis. “And I would say that to him if he were here.”

Upon being nominated, Knoch said that he had served as treasurer in the past, accepted the post, and was voted in for 2025.

Sub-committees of the school board and other councils saw some changes, including DeMay to building and grounds, Seger to finance and DeMay to the Delta-Schoolcraft County School Board. Wilbee-Amis announced that she had a scheduling conflict but enjoyed serving on the scholarship committee, so discussions will be had about moving the time of those meetings.

When the time came for cash flow reports, Business Manager Lisa Boudreau reported the school district had $1.035 million in the general fund and was beginning to get state aid and property tax revenue in. She mentioned that some repair work has been done and that the school district has “been trying to accommodate teachers’ needs.”

One thing that’s been difficult to figure out, Boudreau remarked, was funding toward transportation costs.

Overall, she and Superintendent Jay Kulbertis agreed, Gladstone schools seem to be sitting in a good position financially, but a clearer picture will be seen soon.

Kulbertis elaborated to say that details on state funding sometimes changes from what is expected, and for that reason, the school district has been budgeting and spending conservatively.

“It’s starting to become more clear as the state has finally had to figure out what the mechanisms were going to be for us to get that funding,” Kulbertis explained. “So we’ve been operating largely on faith not knowing exactly how they were going to get us the increase they told us we were getting. Now we can kind of see how that’s going in. … So things are a little bit wonky, but in terms of actual dollar amounts, it does look close. And you know, we’re conservative when we create that budget.”

Boudreau said that she hopes to plan for a budget amendment in March based upon finalized numbers from the state that come in before then.

Reports from administration were mostly positive. Jones Elementary Principal Holly Howes relayed that some midyear benchmarks showed good student performance so far. When asked about attendance by the board, the consensus was that it had been good until waves of prolonged illnesses — sometimes a week or two long — hit around December.

“Coming up on Wednesday, our truancy officer is meeting with families at Cameron for four hours,” Cameron Elementary Principal Katee Inghram shared. “She’s calling (them) in just to speak with them about what’s going on with attendance. Even at the young ages, we really do try to nip that, like that habit … to establish the good habit of — you got to get your kids to school.”

At the high school, “we have a policy right now that we put in place a couple years ago where you’re allowed 10 absences in a semester,” said Principal Andy Jacques. “After 10 absences, you have to make up time. If you don’t make up time in that class period, then you won’t get credit for that class.” He said that this has on occasion proved problematic and the school is considering alternative measures.

Several letters of resignation were accepted for various positions: Dale Hongisto as athletic director, Rick Pepin as softball coach, and Samantha Seaman as freshman volleyball coach. Cheryl Nelson, secretary at Cameron Elementary, submitted a letter of intent to retire by Dec. 31.

Two hires were approved: that of Brooke LaPlant as the eighth grade girls’ basketball coach and Katina Demers as the middle school girls’ track coach.

The next regular meeting of the Gladstone Board of Education will be Feb. 17.