Do you ever wish that there was a neat event for mothers and sons to share together, the same way fathers and daughters share the daddy-daughter dance? There is and it is being held this Friday, April 30, at the Cedar Springs Middle School from 6-9pm. This Mother-Son event is special because it’s held one week before Mothers Day. The event allows the moms to share an evening of fun while playing games, watching the movie “Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs.” snacking on pizza and popcorn, and having the son make a card and gift special for Mothers Day .

This is the third year of the event and it is continuing to see growth. We hope that that this event will provide moms a chance to spend some quality time with their sons and start the Mother’s Day celebration a little earlier. The event was created because Amanda Gerhardt, Director of Cedar Springs Parks and Recreation has sons and thought it would be special to share a night with them like what she sees in the eyes of the girls and fathers that attend the Daddy-Daughter Dance each year.

Tickets are on sale now during normal daytime office hours at Hilltop and at the Middle School and on Thursday evening from 6-9pm.  Tickets in advance are $12 for two people, or $15 for three or more. Tickets can be purchased at the door for an additional fee, $15 for two people, or $20 for three or more.

For more information call 696-7320 or email director@csaparksandrec.com.

By Judy Reed

How do you make cuts, and keep them away from kids, when there is no fat left? That’s the dilemma facing the Cedar Springs Board of Education as they wrestle with dwindling revenue and escalating costs.

“I understand the state’s situation,” said Cedar Springs Superintendent Ron McDermed. “But we’ve been doing this the last 7 or 8 years. It’s like having your home budget. First you cut out the fun stuff, then you stop going out to dinner, and you cut it until there’s not much left, just bills to pay. Right now there’s no extra to trim off.”

Based on current information from the state, McDermed said that they expect $268 less per student next year than they received at the beginning of this year.

Between cuts made earlier this year, and those announced Monday evening, they have cut about $1 million, and will need to cut $700,000 more.

Changes announced Monday evening at the board meeting had to do with a restructuring of administration at the district level. Changes include eliminating the human resources position; eliminating an administrative assistant in the business office; reviewing current contracts and investigating additional possible contracting. They also will be juggling principals at the secondary level due to a need for another principal at the high school level. When Dean of Students Mike Annerino retired last year, he wasn’t replaced. “We had hoped we could get by, but we couldn’t,” noted McDermed. He said that currently the high school has two principals for 1,000 students. “Our focus is to make sure we support the instructional model in a building and build student achievement. Building principals need to have time to see and work with teachers. It’s just not workable with 50 staff, 1,000 kids and two principals. They also need to be able to get back to the community in a timely manner on issues.”

With that in mind, middle school principal Ken See will be moving to the high school, to work with main principal Ron Behrenwald and assistant principal April Stevens. Cedar Trails Elementary co-principal Sue Spahr will be main principal at the middle school (7th and 8th grade), and Anne Kostus will be the main principal at Red Hawk (6th grade) but will also share duties at the middle school with Spahr.

McDermed said that removing Spahr from Cedar Trails doesn’t mean they think it’s overstaffed. “It’s a huge building (600 kids). But we needed stronger support for the middle school. We’ll look to see how we can better support Cedar Trails,” he said.

Other changes include the reduction in hours of an intervention coach position, which reduces one special education teacher position; the elimination of a part-time mentoring position; and the elimination of a middle school counseling position, which reduces one special education worker social worker position. All those reductions will save about $315,000 to $400,000. Other cuts made earlier this year included three people indicating they would retire (and will not be replaced), pausing bus replacements, and other one-time fixes. That makes up the $1 million already saved.

“The board sent a message that they wanted to keep cuts away from kids and that’s what we tried to do,” explained McDermed. “But there’s not much left.”

To reach the additional $700,000, he said they may have to cut seven certified teachers. “We really don’t want to impact kids with class sizes,” explained McDermed. “But everything is on the board.”

He said the next phase of cuts should be announced at the first board meeting in May.

Joe Marckini, Vice President of the Cedar Springs Public Schools board of education, was one of 16 Kent County school board members honored recently by the Michigan Association of School boards for the extra classes and training they take to be a better board member.

Marckini received awards for level one certification, an award of merit, award of distinction, and an advocacy skill specialty.

“School districts are facing exceptional challenges, and new opportunities challenge our thinking every day. In this environment, it’s more important than ever that our school leaders are informed and have the most up-to-date information available,” said MASB Executive Director Kathy Hayes. “Training equips them with the tools necessary to make the best decisions for the kids of our state.”

To achieve Level One and become “certified,” board members receive 30 hours of classroom training in subjects ranging from school law and finance to community relations. Higher levels of recognition require even more coursework, service and leadership responsibilities.

Marckini took the following training to earn the awards:

Certified Boardmember Award: Nine 100-level CBA classes
Award of Merit: Level 1 plus 45 education credits
Award of Distinction: Levels 1 and 2, four advanced level CBA classes and 208 education credits.
Advocacy Skills Specialty: Level 1 and six advanced level communications classes.

Excitement. Apprehension. New clothes, new faces, new friends. All could be used to describe the first day back at school this week for students, parents, teachers, and administrators all across the area. Cedar Springs Public was one of the districts that returned to school Tuesday, and the new superintendent thought it went great.

Cedar Trails Co-principal Jennifer Harper helps new kindergarteners get where they need to on the first day of school. Photo by J. Reed

“It was fabulous, a great start to the new year,” said Superintendent Ron McDermed. “I thought it was one of the smoothest openings we’ve ever had.”

Principals, teachers, parents and other volunteers were on hand to make sure all the new kindergarteners and other students got where they needed to be. “Everyone pitches in,” he said.

McDermed remarked that there was noticeably less congestion on the campus due to moving the sixth grade from the elementary to the secondary bus run. “There were less buses on the elementary run, and less parents at any location at any given time,” he said.

The high school also implemented a new drop off and pick up point for students that parents need to get used to. Parents must drive by the circle drive entrance, then take a quick right turn along the sidewalk that leads from the parking lot. A row of student parking was eliminated to make room for the new drop off.  The new route was created to allow space for the pickup and dropoff of disabled and special education students in the circular drive.