Tim Zeeman named Principal at Lapeer West

Tim Zeeman was named the new Principal of Lapeer West High School on Friday. Mr. Zeeman had been serving as acting principal of Lapeer West High School since August.

“Tim Zeeman has done a wonderful job at Lapeer West and I am pleased to remove the ‘acting’ title from his position,” said Superintendent Debbie Thompson. “Tim has a wealth of experience in the District, in the community and at Lapeer West High School.”

Zeeman joined the District in 1996, taught English at Lapeer East until 2005 when he was appointed assistant principal and athletic director at Lapeer West. He has a Bachelor’s degree from Albion College and a Master’s degree from Marygrove College.

“I am very humbled and honored to be named Principal at Lapeer West High School. I feel very fortunate to be a part of the Lapeer West family, and I look forward to leading our school toward excellence despite the economic turmoil our state is facing. I am very proud to be a Panther.”

2010-2011 Budget cuts subject of discussion at Board of Education meeting Thursday

School budget cuts were once again the focus of a January Board of Education discussion.

A projected State foundation grant cut for school year 2010-2011 of $268 per student, will result in a loss of $1.7 million to the District based on the current student population. That cut is added to a $165 per student reduction, a $1 million loss in the current 2009-2010 school year.

With mandatory increases in retirement and health care costs for 2010-2011, the District is facing a $3.6 million shortfall even without the additional $1.7 million loss. The District faces further cuts if a new All-Day, Every-Day kindergarten program is started. The additional cost for that program is $500,000.

The discussion at the Thursday, January 21, Board meeting was led by Kevin Rose, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance. Information was presented, that led to questions and a productive dialogue at the meeting.

“While extremely unfortunate, Michigan’s economic woes continue and we are faced again with trimming a budget that frankly is already cut to the bone,” said Mr. Rose. “Our efforts, and I include the many sacrifices made by all our employee groups, have positioned us in many ways better than most, but it still leaves us with some hard decisions this year.”

The District has worked ahead of the downward curve to make cuts and preserve a fund balance of about $6.6 million, or about 13 percent of the District’s $52 million budget. The prospects for Michigan’s economy remain bleak for one or more years in the future and the District must continue to guard those funds, while using them carefully to preserve vital academic programs.

Potential retirements and possible federal stimulus funds could lessen the impact on the budget shortfall, but those decisions have not yet been made.

As in past years, the District will review all expenditures and prioritize all its options to trim as much as possible outside the classroom for the 2010-2011 school year.

“Everything is on the table and we will work together with all our employee groups,” said Board President William Laidlaw. “We are going to do this as a team.”

The administration will again meet with all principals, department heads and union groups, who will then work with their respective staff to decide where belts can be tightened to realize savings.

Lapeer East High School Wrestling Team hosts "Meet and Greet" spaghetti dinner

The Lapeer East High School Wrestling Team will hold its 2nd Annual “Meet and Greet the Wrestlers” spaghetti dinner at 6 p.m. Wednesday, February 3, at the National Guard Armory, 2140 W. Genesee Street.

Tickets for the dinner are $5, which includes chances at prize drawaings. Children 5 and younger are free and families of more than 4 people are a maximum $20.

“We hope to see everyone there,” said Lapeer East Wrestling coach Al Lalonde.

Lynch Elementary fourth-graders visit Suncrest

Lynch Elementary School fourth-graders in Mrs. Jewett's class paid a visit Thursday, January 21st, to residents at Lapeer County Medical Care Facility. The students sang songs and played games with the residents.

Lapeer East yearbook students help promote new individualized high school yearbooks

Yearbook students at Lapeer East High School will become part of the national face of a new program for personalized high school yearbooks in a commercial that was shot Wednesday, January 20, at the school.

A camera crew begins filmed Ms. Laura Grieco Matthews, Lapeer East teacher and yearbook advisor, and several yearbook students for the commercial.

Jostens, a national yearbook publishing company, chose Lapeer East as one of five schools nationwide currently participating in the "Yearbookthis.com" program.

Photo above: Shelby Saelens waits for her turn to be interviewed about the new yearbook program. For more photos go to the District photo gallery.

Lapeer East Financial Aid night provided college info

About 100 parents and students attended a Financial Aid Workshop presented by Ms. Lori Vedder, Director of Financial Aid at the University of Michigan-Flint Tuesday night, January 19, 2010 in the Lapeer East High School Auditorium. Ms. Vedder is at the far left, an associate from UM-Flint is in the center and Mrs. Susan Wilmers introduced the two women at the opening of the session.

Mayfield Elementary School first-graders turn weather lesson into snowman building

Mayfield Elementary School first-grade teacher Mrs. Debbie Daley turned a weather and science lesson into a little fun.

After learning about winter weather, Mrs. Daley took the students outside for a little snowman building. Only a certain kind of snow works for building find snow figures.

Several photos are available on the District's photo gallery.

Rolling art makes debut at GLTA bus garage

Two Lapeer Community Schools students, Cameron Myers, a Lapeer East student, and Mya Bates, a Lynch Elementary School student, won a Greater Lapeer Transportation Authority art contest.

The students’ designs were chosen as two of the four designs that will be painted on four new GLTA buses due for delivery this month. This is the second year Lapeer students have had winning designs in the contest.

Last week the two students posed with their rolling handiwork at the GLTA bus garage.

Frosty makes lawn appearance at Lapeer West

This 7-foot-tall Frosty showed up on the lawn near the north parking lot of Lapeer West High School today. The creators of this fine example of frozen art remain unknown. To see larger photos of the snowman head to the photo gallery.

African Drum and Dance performs for Lapeer East and Lapeer West students

Kevin Collins, of Flint, brought his African Drum group and two dancers to the Lapeer East High School auditorium stage last week to perform for Lapeer East and Lapeer West High School students.
Mr. Collins and his drum group and dancers will be heading to perform in Washington, D.C. this spring.

African drums are used for communications between villages in remote parts of Africa and students from both schools had the opportunity to experience playing the drums. A number of female students had the chance to learn an African dance.

Several photos are available at the District's photo gallery.

Walk-in Census job testing slated for tomorrow

All-day, walk-in testing is available on Wednesday, January 20, 2010, for census jobs. There are a number of sites available for that testing, including Lapeer.

Lapeer's testing site is at the Mott Community College campus, 550 Lake Drive, in Lapeer.

Tests will be given at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and the final test will be at 4 p.m. No appointments are necessary, but tests will start exactly on time.

There are several jobs that are open. Enumerators, those who will follow-up on residents who didn't send in Census forms, will make in the range of $10.75 to $16.50 per hour. Crew leaders will make from $12.25 - $18 an hour, Crew Leader Assistants will make $10.75-$16.50 an hour and Field Operations Supervisors will make $13.75 - $19.50 an hour.

Not exactly school related, but we understand that many people are looking for jobs and we want to help get the word out.

Lapeer East High School Travel Club plans Mexican dinner fundraiser for Valentine's Day

A Valentine’s Day Mexican dinner, a fundraiser for the Lapeer East High School Travel Club trip to France and Spain during spring break 2010, will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, February 13, in the Lapeer East cafeteria.

Tickets are $10 a person and include a taco dinner, coffee or punch, dessert and entertainment provided by the Lapeer High School Drama Club and Lapeer East Jazz Band. A prize drawing will also be held.

To purchase tickets see Mr. Duane Machesney or Miss Jennifer DeWitt at Lapeer East.

Walking Program off for two nights next week

The Walking Program at Lapeer West will not be held on Monday, January 18th, due to employee in-service training and again on Thursday, January 21st, due to Parent-Teacher conferences at the school that night.

Letter to elementary parents on suspicious incident

The following letter is being sent home to parents today with elementary school students.

January 13, 2010

Dear Parent/Guardian:

Today the Lapeer County Sheriff’s Department made us aware of a suspicious incident involving students shortly after they were dropped off by their bus at Pratt Lane and Five Lakes Road in Attica Township about 4:20 p.m. Tuesday, January 12th.

After the children got off the bus, a medium-sized turquoise pick-up truck, possibly a Ford F150, with one white man about 40 years old, approached the children as they walked down Pratt Lane and yelled, “Hey, come here.” After their attention was drawn to the truck, the children took off running and the truck left.

If you have information regarding this incident, or any other suspicious event, contact the Lapeer County Central Dispatch Center at (810) 667-0292.

We are committed to protecting our students and know that you, as parents, will continue to teach your children how to best protect themselves and seek assistance if necessary. Please reinforce with your children the lessons about interacting with strangers and, of course, immediately notify the police or sheriff’s deputies if you see or hear anything out of the ordinary.

Sincerely,

Debbie Thompson
Superintendent

Lynch Elementary student Scott Hilgendorf selected for leadership forum

A Lynch Elementary School sixth-grader , Scott Hilgendorf, was accepted into the People to People World Leadership Forum that will be held from June 21-26, 2010 in Washington, D.C.

Scott is one of a select group of students nationwide to be accepted to participate in the program that was conceived by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 when he founded People to People International.

Students will visit area historic sites that include Gettysburg, the National Museum of American History and Capitol Hill. Students will also examine the characteristics of American leadership during times of national challenge and prosperity.

Small group discussions and hands-on exercises will provide examples of how successful leaders develop strategies, make decisions, build consensus and foster change.

Scott was selected based on his outstanding scholastic merit, civic involvement and leadership potential.

“We are proud of Scott’s accomplishments and enjoy having him as a student at Lynch,” said Mr. William Slater, Lynch principal.

He is the son of Kristin Colpetzer, a teacher at Lynch. Kristen and her husband, Mike Colpetzer, live in Mayfield Township. Scott’s father is Jeff Hilgendorf.

Lapeer East Boys' and Girls' Basketball games versus Oxford High School tonight are cancelled

The Lapeer East High School Boys' and Girls' basketball games (all levels, varsity, freshman and junior varsity) scheduled for tonight at both schools have been cancelled at the request of Oxford High School.

Lapeer East freshman takes first place in regional art poster contest, second in State

Lapeer East freshman Colin Robertson, who took first place in the 7th to 9th grade division for his “Dig It!, The Secrets of Soil” poster in November, won second place in Statewide judging by the Michigan Conservation Districts state organization.

Several other Lapeer students were honored for their work at the District level.

Turrill first-grader Hannah Hundt, who entered the kindergarten to first grade category and Maple Grove fifth-grader Mason Wnuk also won first place prizes in the contest at the local level.

The first place posters all went to the State judging, with Colin receiving his second place award.

Student artists were required to use the “Dig It! The Secrets of Soil” and design artwork around the subject for the poster.

Lapeer East students recognized for their artwork were Julian Hicks (10th grade, Honorable Mention); Payton Holden (8th grade, Honorable Mention); Whitney Lee (10th grade, Honorable Mention); Jennifer Mausolf (9th grade, Honorable Mention); Colin Robertson (9th grade, First Place); and Ryan Shoults (12th grade, Third Place).

Also honored were six District elementary students. In addition to Hannah Hundt at Turrill, other Turrill students honored were: First-grader Auston Kornacki, Second Place; first-grader Morgan Putnam, Third Place and third-grader Marshall Umsted, Third Place; in addition to Mason Wnuk at Maple Grove, sixth-grader Clay Smith, Second Place, was honored.

Judging was based on the conservation message, visual effectiveness, originality and universal appeal.

Custodians and Maintenance employees agree to wage concession to help District

At the request of the Lapeer Community Schools Board of Education, the AFSCME Unit, which represents the District’s 35 custodial and maintenance employees, reopened their current Master Agreement and agreed to wage concessions that will save the District $31,000 this school year.

The revised agreement was ratified by the union on December 22 and approved by the Board of Education at a meeting Thursday, January 7.

The Unit agreed to a two percent wage reduction applied retroactive to July 1, 2009. The agreement also extends the current contract through June 30, 2011. The contract was set to expire this June.

A formula in the contract addresses any potential wage adjustments for the next school year, but most likely will result in a pay freeze due to Michigan’s current economic climate.

“Once again, one of our bargaining units has stepped up and made a sacrifice during these difficult economic times,” said Superintendent Debbie Thompson. “The AFSCME Unit had a choice whether or not to reopen the contract, but did so to help the District and the children serves. This is another positive step in helping us address this year’s tough budget.”

Board of Education passes "Intent," but final decision on 'Race To The Top' is Monday

With several open questions about the local impact of approving a Memorandum of Understanding with the State on new Race ToThe Top legislation, Lapeer Board of Education members Thursday night, January 7, decided to wait on voting on the issue.

Instead, as allowed by the State, Board members approved a motion to signal the “intent” to approve the Memorandum of Understanding at a special meeting next Monday. The “intent” motion will be sent to the Lapeer County Intermediate School District today, Friday, January 8th.

“It’s still a moving target,” said Superintendent Debbie Thompson.

Recent legal opinions received by the District indicate that approving the Memorandum of Understanding could encumber the District with additional, long term financial commitments.

The action provides the District more time to get further opinions on the full impact of the Memorandum of Understanding before taking a final vote at the special meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, January 11, at the Administration & Services Center, 250 Second Street in Lapeer.

Elementary realignment plan approved by Lapeer Board of Education

New elementary school boundaries were approved by the Lapeer Board of Education at its regular meeting Thursday night.

Board members, as they did when the plan was presented in December, praised the administration for designing a plan that affected only three percent of the District’s 2,900 elementary school students.

State funding cuts, the previous closings of Attica, Irwin and Hadley Elementary Schools, and the upcoming closing of Elba Elementary School in June, coupled with the opening of two new sixth, seventh and eighth grade middles schools made the realignment a necessity.

The plan includes the option for parents of the small number of students scheduled for new schools to remain in their current building through the In-District Schools of Choice program. There also will be room for Out-of-District Schools of Choice. Both In-District and Out-of-District Schools of Choice parents must provide their own transportation.

Re-balancing the student populations, closing a building and designing more efficient bus routes all save money for the District which can be used for academics.

With the board’s approval Thursday night, all elementary parents will receive a letter about the changes and will be invited to meetings where the changes will be discussed. The In-District Schools of Choice will open in February and close in March. Staffing for each school will be determined in March and tentative teaching assignments announced in April.