Top of the class

Northville High School principal is named best in state

Wendy Zdeb, executive director of the Michigan Association
of Secondary School Principals, presented the Principal of the
Year award to Northville High School principal Tony Koski
during a student pep assembly last week. Koski will now
represent Michigan in the national principal of the year competition. 

Northville High School principal Tony Koski received quite a surprise during a school student pep rally last week.

Along with the assembled students and teachers, Wendy Zdeb, executive director of the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals, was on hand to present Koski with the award as Michigan 2023 Principal of the Year.

Koski was visibly surprised at the award which designates him as the state representative in the National Association of Secondary School Principals competition set for October in Washington, D.C

Bond funding to save school district $140,000

A bond refunding by the Northville Public Schools is expected to save district taxpayers $140,000 in interest costs during the next two years.

In a prepared announcement, district officials said the savings will be generated by selling bonds at a low interest rate and using the proceeds to pay down bonds with a higher interest rate. “The savings are net of all bond issuance costs and directly benefit district taxpayers,” the statement noted. 

Superintendent of Northville Schools Mary K. Gallagher explained the decision to pursue this transaction was financial.

Northville schools will continue current learning plan

Northville Public Schools will continue in-session classes at Northville High School as scheduled, despite a recommendation from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer suggesting schools utilize virtual instruction for a two-week period as COVID cases continue to spike.

In a communication to parents, Superintendent of Schools Mary Kay Gallagher explained that the district would “continue to carefully monitor COVID-19 cases and follow safety protocols.”

“This is not a decision we take lightly.  Throughout the pandemic, we have carefully considered the recommendations of our public health officials, including the CDC and MDHHS, in implementing safety protocols, mitigation measures, and learning plan options,” she explained.

Spring cleaning should include expired, unused medications

The Northville Township Police Department has a tip for spring cleaning: Do not forget the medicine cabinet.

Police recommend disposal of all expired or unused medications and have partnered with the Drug Enforcement Agency for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. this Saturday, April 24.  

Too often unwanted prescription drugs are misused in the wrong hands, officials advised and urged residents to bring expired, unused prescription pills - safely and anonymously - for disposal to Public Safety Headquarters, 41600 Six Mile Road.  Liquids, needles or sharps, however, cannot be accepted, only pills or patches. 

Northville schools pledge full return to classrooms this fall

Northville Public Schools will return to full, in-person classroom instruction in all programs this fall.

Members of the Northville district board of education unanimously adopted a resolution during the March 9 meeting to return to the full, in-person instruction beginning with the first day of school this fall.

“As a district, we want our community to be clear that we are actively planning for a full return in 2021-22. While no one can accurately forecast precisely what the circumstances will be in September, we are committed to getting our students back to in-person school 5 days per week with the necessary protocols in place,” noted a prepared statement from the school district.

Back to school?

School districts, families, educators 
facing difficult decisions this year

Back to school preparations this year have been put on hold for K-12 schools in Michigan since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit in March. As COVID-19 cases in the state increased at a rapid pace again in July and into August, members of local boards of education and district administrators are deciding how -- and if -- they will resume in-person classes in the fall. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials issued new coronavirus guidelines for schools on July 23, but as administrators agree, the situation remains fluid and changing every day.
The process for reopening schools amid the pandemic has been widely debated, and currently, the responsibility is with individual school districts to determine what the upcoming school year will look like.

School board president stripped of office

Matthew Wilk 

Matthew Wilk is no longer the president of the Northville Public Schools Board of Education.
Members of the board voted last week to remove him from that office and to censure him in response to Facebook posts he made downplaying the coronavirus and claiming the COVID-10 pandemic is a hoax. In one of those posts, Wilk said the coronavirus “only exists in falsified statistics shouted on the news without context.” That post was removed when rampant criticism of Wilk and correction of the misinformation was posted by numerous Northville school district parents. In another post, Wilk said, “Why don't we allow schools to reopen and grandma can take the extreme precautions? She can wear a spacesuit when she 'need' to go out and shop and the rest of the world can go on about the lives…”

School district offers 5 Schools of Choice openings

Applications for the Northville Public Schools of Choice for the 2020-21 school will be accepted through 4 p.m. June 5.
Availability of the school of choice classes, under Section 105 and 105c of the Michigan School Aid Act, is limited to five incoming juniors applying for the full diploma program, according to a prepared statement from the district.

Northville hosts first responder virus testing

Four hundred first responders, police officers and firefighters of Northville Township and 16 surrounding area communities participated in an all-day testing initiative last Thursday at Ward Memorial Presbyterian Church under the direction of human services non-profit ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services) of Dearborn. 
Northville Township officials and board of trustees members sponsored the serology testing at the church facility to identify first responders who had COVID-19 and now have developed antibodies against the disease.

Schools continue to distribute meals for area students

Food service meals, including breakfast and lunch, will continue for all enrolled and non-enrolled students in the Northville Public Schools through the Michigan Department of Education waiver period, officials said last week.
These meals, served under the Unanticipated School Closure - School Food Service Program (SFSP) are made available at no cost to anyone (18) and under, or up to age (26) if they receive special education services.

Voters approve school millage requests

Plymouth-Canton schools 
Voters in the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools District approved the $275 million bond proposal on the March 10 ballot by 26,017 yes to 11,997 no votes.
According to school officials, the bond funding will be used for facility and site improvements at several buildings, to enhance safety and security features throughout the district, to purchase furniture and playground upgrades, purchase school buses and address infrastructure and technology needs at most school buildings.
Officials stressed that the approval of the $275 million bond issue will mean no increase in the current tax rate paid by property owners. Currently, the school debt levy in the district is 4.02 mills.
District officials said the funding will be used to construct a third outdoor athletic stadium at the Plymouth-Canton Education-al park and a total renovation of the performing arts center at Salem High School.

Jason William Dean

A teacher at Northville High School was arrested last week and now faces five charges of sexual misconduct with a middle school student at his former job in Springfield Township.
The alleged misconduct took place in 2010 at Cedar Crest Academy in Springfield where Jason William Dean, 36, of Livonia, also coached soccer and basketball. He also formerly worked as a girls' soccer coach for the Michigan Hawks, and at both Wayne Memorial and Garden City high schools.
According to Oakland County Sheriff's reports, the student was14-years-old at the time of the sexual relationship. She came forward in January and reported the conduct and deputies were able to corroborate her allegations. She said the sexual assaults took place on the school grounds, at after-school events and in other locations including her home in White Lake Township, in a van parked outside a dance, in the school classroom, at a hotel, on an airplane and at the teacher's apartment.  Dean was her eighth-grade teacher, according to authorities, when he became fixated on the student.

School district plans millage informational meetings

Property owners in the Northville Public Schools district will be asked to approve a new Sinking Fund millage on the March 10 ballot.
Voters will be asked to extend the current .9519-mill levy from 2021 to 2025 and provide for broader uses of the proceeds, including instructional technology and security equipment.
The current levy expires Dec. 31, 2020.
The .9519-mill, five-year request is a replacement of the existing sinking fund millage and would not result in an increase over the current millage rate, school officials stressed in a press release regarding the issue.