Wayland school officials think they’ve come up with a solution to traffic congestion problems at the high school and middle school.
Though they were unsuccessful in securing bids for electric traffic signal devices, they were able to get a cost estimate of $52,196 to purchase solar-powered devices for six locations near the schools. They’ve been hearing complaints about the difficulty for motorists in turning left onto East Superior Street from Wildcat Drive and from the main entrance to the high school.
Leslie Wagner, director of finances and operations, said “everybody wants (work done on) crosswalks.”
She said officials went for bids on purchase and installation, but received none. So she was pleased with the alternative to get the job done.
When asked about whether the signals would flash lights, she answered there would be indications that pedestrians were crossing, but not a continuous display of flashing lights.
Supt. Tim Reeves said he was pleased with the development, noting, “It’s been a topic we’ve talked about for a long time.”
Wagner also offered praise to students, staff and parents for accepting the challenge of dropping off and loading up students in the high school parking to accommodate the construction zone for the new swimming pool.
In other business at Monday night’s meeting the board:
- Was told by Director of Instruction Theresa Fulk that four new courses are being recommended for inclusion at the middle school, including leadership launch pad, creative writing, future foundation careers and computer science.
- Agreed to change the location of the regular board meeting for April 14 from Dorr Elementary to the high school media center.
- Continued to discuss the current freeze on spending. They noted that money for bond projects must be used only for those projects and can’t be absorbed into the general fund budget. Wagner said the situation shouldn’t be cause for alarm, that the freeze “pauses essential vs. non-essential expenses… We’re looking at all the opportunities.”
- Welcomed and congratulated five Wayland Odyssey of the Mind teams and their coaches from the high school, middle school and Pine Street Elementary. Two of the teams will be competing next weekend in the state tourney at Middleville Thornapple Kellogg High School.
