CARO — Cass City Public Schools is taking a swipe at communicable diseases. The district’s food service director, Shari Bock, recently applied for a grant that resulted in Cass City getting a truck-trailer full of Lysol wipes worth about $130,000.
That’s more wipes than the district’s three buildings – the junior/senior high school, the elementary school and the day care center – can use so Cass City will keep some of them for its own use, and send some of the wipes home with its students for their families to use. Cass City also will share the Lysol wipes with other school districts in the county.
In addition, Superintendent Allison Zimba told the board of education at Monday’s session that she was going downtown on Wednesday to distribute some of the wipes to local businesses for their use.
Zimba also presented the board Monday with plans for reconstructing the elementary school parking lot. That building used to be a middle school and the change has created some traffic and safety issues as a result.
The plan is to add another driveway to give drivers a second option for getting in and out of the parking lot. The district is getting bids, looking for what it can get for the $1.2 million left in proceeds from a bond sale. The focus will be on the elementary and day care parking lots and the bus loop this summer.
“We are going to do as many parking lots as we can,” Zimba said. The work is the final part of multiple phases of repairs and improvements funded by the sale of $8.7 million in bonds approved by voters in 2018. The board also:
• Revised the 2022-23 budget, which now calls for revenues of $13,155,000 while expenses will come in at $13,102,000, so the district can put $53,000 in its savings account. The budget also has the district earmarking $200,000 toward the parking lot project or to other needs within the district.
• Kept Emily Lasceski as its president, Janie Meeker as its vice president, Stacy Bliss as its secretary and George Batty as treasurer.
• Kept its meetings at 7 p.m. on the fourth Monday of each month.
• Gave the first semester Red Hawk Award of Excellence to Gordon O’Connor, Dylan Severance and Lillian Little. Gunner Langley will be honored at the February meeting.
• Expects to come up with a list of goals next month. The goals are the result of the district’s strategic planning process that began at the start of the school year.
• Learned the district will be able to continue its free lunch program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture for all students. The free lunches began during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
• Decided not to pursue involvement in the Juul class-action lawsuit over its alleged targeting of youth for its vaping products.
• Had the first reading of the junior/senior high handbook. The second reading and approval should come next month.
• Appointed Stacy Bliss to represent the district at the Tuscola Intermediate School District board election.
• Received a Rawson Foundation grant of $4,800 for new picnic tables to go around the new elementary playground. They will be installed over the summer.
