After-school Program Restored at St. Ignace; Administrative Salaries Set
School To Hire Bus Aide To Quell Problems
By Paul Gingras

After-school and summer school tutoring and educational programs at St. Ignace Area Schools have been restored, reported Superintendent Mike Springsteen at the school board meeting Monday, April 9. The board raised the superintendent's salary 5.84 percent, suspended two LaSalle High School students, agreed to hire a new aide, and accepted the resignation of Special Education Teacher Donna Hardin.

Funding for the after-school program was cut in March, but before it could be dismantled, the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grant was restored. It will fund before and after school programs throughout the state.

The program, now funded through August 30, provides afterschool academic support and a safe place to go for 70 kindergarten through-eighth-grade students at St. Ignace Area Schools.

Students struggling in school will continue to work with program coordinator Monica Ellis, her assistant, two aides, and seven tutors.

The all-day summer school program will begin in mid-June. It is similar to the after-school program, Mr. Springsteen said, and employs the same staff. It is open to any kindergarten-througheighth grade student who wants to take part and provides academic support and educational field trips.

Such programs next school year will depend on continued funding, Mr. Springsteen said. The programs originally had been funded through August 2008.

In other business, the school board extended Mr. Springsteen's contract for two years and agreed to pay him $89,961 (5.84 percent) this year and $94,494 (5.04 percent) next year. While teacher contracts were being negotiated, he was paid under his old contract, which was $85,000, but his new wage is retroactive to the start of this school year.

He receives the same benefit package as the support staff, which is SET-SEG U.P. Flexible Blue from Blue Cross/Blue Shield.

Teacher salary increases range from zero to six percent.

The board went into closed session to discuss 2007/2008 salaries for LaSalle High School Principal Don Gustafson, Elementary and Middle School Principal Bonnie Ledy, and Business Manager Kathy McLeod, but no action was taken when the board reconvened.

Under their 2007/2007 contracts, Mr. Gustafson makes $83,636, Mrs. Ledy makes $69,923, and Mrs. McLeod makes $52,250. The administrators health insurance is School Employees Trust (SET).

The school board hired Harris Group accounting firm of Traverse City for its annual audit. The company bid $8,250, a substantial savings over the firm the district has used since 1986, Hill Schroderus & Co., LLP, which was charging $17,000. Hill had informed the board that internal problems forced it to reduce its work load this year.

The board authorized Mr. Springsteen to hire a part-time bus aide for the remainder of the school year. The aide will work three to four hours a day, mostly chaperoning students who are bussed to special education programs at Rudyard Area Schools. Students have a variety of special needs, Mr. Springsteen said, and recent problems among students on the bus have agitated several students. The school puts an aide on the bus if the student dynamics warrant it, Mr. Springsteen said.

There have been several applicants, and, most likely, he said, the position will be filled by someone who has worked as a substitute teacher for the district.

The board suspended two LaSalle High School students for the remainder of the school year. If they decide to return in the fall, the parents and students will have to meet with Mr. Gustafson and Mr. Springsteen.

One student was suspended for frequent misbehavior in class, the other for possession of illegal substances.