Wayland schools citizens avoid forums

Citizens of the Wayland Union school district continue to show signs of having little or no interest in community forums. Sparse attendance struck for the third time in three years Monday, March 31.

Wayland Schools Supt. Tim Reeves told members of the Wayland Board of Education Monday evening the input forum at the Ebersole Center last month had a “very small, very lean showing, much smaller than what we had hoped for.”

The same kinds of public indifference surfaced a couple of years ago at a similar event at the Lumberyard Event Center in Wayland, which lured only about a dozen people and a year later in Dorr with only three visitors.

Nonetheless, Reeves pointed out attendance and enthusiasm was terrific Monday afternoon at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new high school poll.

In other business Monday evening, the school board:

• Applauded 70 people nominated for this year’s county-wide Outstanding People in Education award and noted the selections of Deb Wagner, kitchen manager at the high school; Karri Bailey, principal at Steeby Elementary, and Jamie Berens, clerical aide at Dorr Elementary. All three will be honored later this spring at a special dinner in Allegan.

• Fielded a request from the Wayland High School Orchestra to take a field trip to Nashville, Tenn. in March 2026 with stops in Cincinnati and Indianapolis.
• Was told by Director of Finance and Operations Leslie Wagner that a new bus driver has started on the job this week. She added that the district is still taking applications.
• Listened to a reminder from the superintendent that the board generally has two meetings each month, one a regular session on the second Monday of the month and another a work session on the last Monday of the month. The latter meeting almost always at the administration building.
• Approved a request from the middle choir to take a trip May 26 to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.
• Approved the expenditure of $79,894 for the purchase of crosswalks safety equipment with plans to have in all installed before the start of the 2025-26 academic year.