The Hastings Banner — Thursday, April 21, 2022 — Page 3Leadership Barry County class
supporting animal shelter
The Leadership Barry County 2022 cohort
has selected supporting the Barry County Ani-
mal Shelter as its “class project.” LBC will be
accepting donations and volunteer signups at
the upcoming Business and Community Expo
Saturday, April 23, at Thornapple Kellogg
High School in Middleville.
In addition, LBC is accepting sponsorships
for pet adoptions. Sponsorships go to families
who wish to adopt a pet, but might not be able
to afford the up-front costs for the shots and
spaying/neutering. Adoption sponsorships help
pets to be taken in to homes.
“The 2022 LBC cohort chose a project that
could be sustainable and long lasting. We
decided to focus on our furry friends this year
and partnered with the Barry County Animal
Shelter,” said Abby Reigler, Thornapple Manor
human resource assistant.
The cost of a sponsorship is $35 for a kitten
and $70 for a cat. The cost for a puppy is $
and $90 for a dog.
The LBC class also volunteered and partici-
pated in a day of cleaning and organizing stor-
age and training space at the animal shelter.
“Kenneth Kirsch assisted the LBC group in
identifying a project that would help make a
short stay at the shelter welcoming to all ani-
mals, and provide the avenue for long-term
solutions for the animals in our community,”
Reigler said. “The love Mr. Kirsch has for the
animals is unmatched, and our goal is to support
these animals in finding their forever family.”
Pet adoption sponsorships can be donated in
person at the April 23 Expo, and at the Barry
Community Foundation at 231 S. Broadway,
Hastings MI 49058. Checks (made out to
Leadership Barry County) may be mailed to
the BCF, as well. Online donations can be
made at the LBC website, barrycf.org/funds/
leadership-barry-county-fund/.
More information can be provided by Jillian
Foster, director of community engagement, by
calling 269-945-0526.Future of CTE education at
center of annual luncheon
Benjamin Simon
Staff Writer
To have a lawn mowed, the process is fairly
simple: A person sits on a lawn mower and cuts
the grass.
But, in the future, Hastings Career and Tech-
nical Education Director Ed Domke said, that
may not be the case.
In the future, that lawn mower might be a
person tucked away in a remote office sur-
rounded by 100 monitors, “watching the robots
cut your lawn,” Domke explained. If something
goes wrong, the person in the office might fix
the issues through an online cloud or replace
the robot with a new, re-programmed version.
“Times are really changing,” Domke said,
“and they’re changing quick.”
This is the reality of 2022. Or as Domke
called it at the Hastings High School annual
CTE luncheon: The fourth industrial revolution.
This year’s speech, “Preparing Students for
4th Industrial Revolution: Industry 4.0,” was
presented by Domke, who filled in for Jenny
Geno, executive director at Saginaw ISD, and
Matt Shoffner, assistant director at the Michi-
gan Manufacturing Technology Center. Both
Geno and Shoffner were scheduled to speak at
the luncheon, but were unable to make it at the
last moment.
The presentation focused on the next step of
CTE – and what the Hastings High School pro-
gram can do to prepare for it.
Industry 4.0, a German term, refers to the
“technology and process that are helping man-
ufacturers understand their operations better
and leverage that information to increase pro-
ductivity and efficiency,” Domke said. “These
technologies are key to increasing revenue,
speed, innovation – using data to make real
time decisions.”
He pointed to six areas of focus within
Industry 4.0, including digitization of manufac-
turing processes, the connected factory, data
analytics, 3D printing, advanced robotics and
cyber security.
According to Michigan-based data where
corporations could give one or more reasons
why they are shifting to Industry 4.0, 69 per-
cent of companies cited cost reduction, 64 per-
cent because of workforce shortage, 49 percent
because of competitive forces and 48 percent
because of lead-time reduction.
But at the same time, 57 percent of employ-
ers said “a lack of training is a major barrier to
implementing Industry 4.0.”
“I know people say, ‘Robots and technology
are eliminating jobs,’” Domke said. “Well,
they’re eliminating maybe one type of job, but
they’re creating jobs in a different arena. And
those jobs are what kind of jobs? Those are jobs
that require some additional schooling. So that
schooling has to happen someplace. And that
needs to start at our level – the K-12 level.”
CTE education must evolve to incorporate
the technology, Domke said. The presentation
listed multiple suggestions for schools, such as
finding a way to “provide funding to grow
robotics and automation training/education,
fund pilot programs for on-site and online
foundational skills training, analyze personnel
gaps in Industry 4.0 education and create a
statewide Industry 4.0 resource center.”
In Hastings, specifically, Domke would like
to see trade skills education within the district
begin earlier.
“There are many opportunities for students,
but if we don’t start them in a unified manner,
in our school system, those programs don’t
really do well,” he said. “The kids don’t know
about them. They are not necessarily as inter-
ested in them. They just don’t have that knowl-
edge base to work with.”
But the preparation doesn’t lie solely on the
schools, Domke said. It relies on everyone in
the community.
“It involves all of our stakeholders, so that
we’re working in a common direction, to give
our youth what they need to be successful out
there,” Domke said. “Not only that, but to be
able to keep our business and industries viable
in our community. We don’t want people leav-
ing this community.”Delton Kellogg honors students, volunteers
Leila Wood
Contributing Writer
Delton Kellogg High School’s Academ-
ic Top 10 Seniors received recognition at
the April 18 board of education meeting.
The top 10 (featured on Page 2 of
today’s Banner) are: Halena Phillips,
Kelsey Campbell, Lydia Chandler, Kayla
Ferris, Morgan Stidham, Natalie Haight,
Caitlin McManus, Alekzander Waller,
Braeden Waller and Owen Harig. Only
seven were able to make it to the meeting,
but written statements from the students
who could not attend were read by their
peers.
The students introduced themselves and
gave a brief overview of the projects and
activities they have been involved with
during high school – sports, NHS, band,
theater and more – as well as their plans
after high school.
Principal Lucas Trierweiler said these
are the first Delton Kellogg students to
participate in Early Middle College, a
five-year program that allows students to
begin college while still in high school.
“They’re doing a great job with it,”
Trierweiler said. “They’re great ambassa-
dors for Delton.”
The students intend to pursue a variety
of career paths.
“We’ve got three going into medical,
one’s going into education, one undecid-
ed, two are doing numbers...,” said Trier-
weiler, “got an engineer, we’ve got music,
we’ve got a historian.”
“That’s kind of where we’re at now
with education,” he said. “It used to be
doctor, doctor, lawyer, doctor ... but it’s
such an open field to what these kids can
do, and I’ll bet you half of them don’t go
into what they say ... two or three of them
would be my guess, will not graduate col-
lege because they’re going to start their
own business. They’re going to be a
Markus [Zuckerberg] or something like
that because these are some really talented
kids.”
“Congratulations to our top 10 academ-
ic students and the parents, and again,thanks to everyone who helped them
along the way,” Interim Superintendent
Carl Schoessel said.
In honor of National Volunteer Week,
Schoessel also took a moment to thank
everyone who volunteers with the school
“All of us in schools probably couldn’t
do nearly what we do without volunteers
...” he said, “so a big thank you for all of
our volunteers.”
Another development at the school is
the ongoing cleanout of the old elementa-
ry building.
Elementary staff have been allowed to
take some items from the upper floor,
Schoessel said. Soon, they plan to open
that up to staff members in the other
buildings, and then to historians and the
public.
While in the building, people will be
supervised, in part, to minimize the risk
posed by asbestos.
Schoessel said they will be finalizing
and publicizing the schedule soon. Demo-
lition of the old elementary building is
expected to begin shortly after the last day
of school, which is June 9.
In other action, the board approved the
acceptance and disposal of a donated
school bus from Barry Intermediate
School District. The bus was in an acci-
dent some time ago and is no longer used.
However, its engine is still good and is
the right engine for one of Delton Kel-
logg’s buses in need of a new engine. The
engine has been salvaged, and the district
plans to sell the bus for the scrap value of
$1,200.
A millage election is planned May 3. A
general informational meeting regarding
the millage will be at 6:30 p.m. on April
27 in the Elementary Media Center.
The district is able to levy a maximum
of 18 mills from its taxpayers, but because
of the rate of inflation this year, and the
Headlee amendment, the amount the dis-
trict could levy in the next tax season
dropped to 17.9281 mills. That drop will
result in the loss of $14,300, but since the
millage rate was not scheduled to be resetfor four years, that number would likely
grow as the Headlee amendment dropped
the millage rate lower each year.
If voters OK the request in May, it
would raise the levy rate by 1.89. The
district still couldn’t levy more than 18
mills from the taxpayers, but the extra rate
increase would give the district a buffer
against further cuts from the Headlee
amendment over the next four years.
School officials noted that five superin-
tendent candidates have been selected and
will be interviewed next week, April 25
and 26, in the high school cafeteria.
Also, the board learned of various
activities in the near future, including:- The spring play “The Iliad, The Odys-
sey And All of Greek Mythology In 99
Minutes or Less” which will be presented
at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. - A construction trades program open
house from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May
17, on Osborne Road. - The awards ceremony and last day of
school for seniors will be Friday, May 20.
The last day of school for the rest of the
district will be June 9.
Summer school will be at the middle
school this year, June 21-Aug. 3.
In other business, the board: - Learned that nine grants, totaling
$15,053, have been approved by the
Delton Kellogg Education Foundation.
The DKEF is preparing to evaluate schol-
arship applications. - Accepted personnel changes. Tiffany
Bever has resigned but will continue
working until the end of the school year.
Sharon Boyle will be retiring June 3, and
Sandra Otis will be retiring June 9. - Approved purchase of property for a
construction trades program house at a
cost of $26,000, which is comparable to
the price of lots in previous years. - Approved funding not to exceed
$1,125 for Mackinac trip chaperones, to
cover higher costs this year due to a
change of ownership of the hotel where
they will stay and the trip being scheduled
later in the season than normal.
Goebel rated ‘effective;’ board amends budget
Hunter McLaren
Staff Writer
The Hastings Area School System Board
of Education unanimously approved the eval-
uation of Superintendent Matt Goebel, with
the evaluation granting him an “effective”
rating.
Following the Michigan Association of
School Boards rubric, board members gave
Goebel a score of 3.346 out of a possible 4,
granting him an 84 percent rating.
Board member Daniel Patton was not pres-
ent at the meeting and did not vote. The eval-
uation was completed in a closed session
during the March 14 school board meeting.
“We are pleased with the performance of
Superintendent Goebel and feel very fortu-
nate that we have been able to keep things
running as smoothly as possible during the
pandemic,” board President Luke Haywood
said. “We feel very blessed to have Matt lead-
ing our district and look forward to sharing
many new successes in the future.”
The board also approved an amendment to
the budget passed in June 2021, reflecting
changes that have been made since the last
amendment took place in November 2021.
Michigan law requires that once a district
knows how much it has deviated from the
original plan, the budget must be amended to
reflect those changes. The amendments
reflect changes to the district’s finances in the
second quarter of the fiscal year, Goebel said.
The biggest changes to the budget came to
the district’s general fund. The district
received an additional $1.81 million in reve-
nue to the general fund overall, for a total of
$29.83 million in revenue. Local revenue
went down slightly by $38,992 to $3.88 mil-
lion, with funding from the state going up by
$347,926 to $22.48 million and federal fund-
ing increasing by $1.5 million to nearly $3.
million.
Tim Berlin, assistant superintendent of
operations for the district, said the big jump
in federal funds was mostly due to the way
Elementary and Secondary School Emergen-
cy Relief, or ESSER, federal funds are
released to schools.
ESSER funds were created by the federal
government to provide financial relief for
schools under strain caused by the COVID-
19 pandemic. The funds are released as a
reimbursement once expenditures have
already been made, Berlin said. The jump in
federal funds was mostly from the district
being reimbursed for expenditures in the last
quarter, he said.
Under the general fund, support services
received a $1.12 million increase and instruc-
tional services received a $589,739 budget
increase when compared to the budget as itwas amended in November.
Under the general fund support services
expenditures budget, pupil services received
an additional $513,114, instructional staff
services received an additional $44,935, gen-
eral administration received an additional
$20,593, school administration received an
additional $58,467, business services received
an additional $45,177, technology received
an additional $72,330, operation and mainte-
nance received an additional $141,985, trans-
portation received an additional $71,759,
athletics received an additional $150,480 and
community services received an additional
$6,729. Debt services expenditures decreased
by $16.
In total, general fund appropriations went
up from $27.9 million to $29.6 million, a $1.
million increase. There is $202,710 in excess
revenue, up from $106,946, that is projected
to be added to the general fund at the end of
the year.
Changes also came to the food service
fund, which received an additional $322,
in total revenue for a total of $1.5 million.
Local funding decreased by $67,265 to
$81,135; state funding was reduced $3,068 to
$43,932; and federal funding increased by
$393,204 to nearly $1.32 million.
In total, food service fund appropriations
went up from $1.05 million to $1.09 million.A $345,231 in excess revenue, up from
$67,920, is projected to be added to the food
service fund at the end of the year.
The Community Education and Recreation
Center and childcare fund also saw minor
changes. Total revenue went up $82,100 to a
total of $690,350. An additional $15,947 was
budgeted for community education and the
CERC, for a total of $217,025. An additional
$66,153 was budgeted for childcare, up to a
total of $473,325.
The entire HASS budget is available to the
public on the HASS website.
The board accepted a personnel report with
six retirements, eight new appointments, two
leaves of absences, and one contract non-re-
newal.
The new appointments include Heather
Coipel, CERC lifeguard; Abe DeVries, mid-
dle school healthcare paraprofessional; Lisa
Iberle, district-wide substitute food service;
Ein O’Brian, middle school track co-coach;
Andre Perez, CERC cardio and weight room
attendant; Megan Bruggink, middle school
track co-coach; Bryce Davis, middle school
assistant tennis coach; and Pierson Tinkler,
high school junior varsity baseball coach.
Third grade teacher Carlton Brynlee and
fifth grade teacher Abigail Nichols at Star
Elementary were granted leaves of absence.
Fifth grade teacher Katie Sanchez at South-eastern Elementary received a contract
non-renewal.
Resignations were received from Tiffany
Hendershot, Northeastern Elementary para-
professional; Laurin Johnson, Central Ele-
mentary Young 5s teacher; Tiffany Moore,
Northeastern Elementary paraprofessional;
and Chloe Palo, Southeastern Elementary
kindergarten teacher.
In other business, the board:- Accepted a $3,115 donation from the
Hastings Education Enrichment Foundation.
The funds will go toward student transporta-
tion for field trips and activities. - Accepted a $5,658 donation from the
Hastings Athletic Boosters to the district’s
athletics department. - Accepted donation of a 2022 Kawasaki
Mule 4010 with a value of $12,806 from the
Hastings Band Boosters. The vehicle will be
used alongside a 2000 Kawasaki Mule the
band already has to tow equipment to and
from band rehearsals and performances. - Accepted a donation of lighting fixtures
from the Friends of the Hastings Performing
Arts Center with a value of $43,094. The
lights will be installed at the Hastings Per-
forming Arts Center in two stages due to
supply-chain issues, with the first set of lights
being installed in the summer and the second
set of lights installed in January 2023.
NOTICE
PRAIRIEVILLE TOWNSHIP
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the
Public Accuracy Test for the May 3, 2022
Special Election, is scheduled for April 28,2022 @ 11:00 a.m. in the Township Hall
Meeting Room, 10115 South Norris Road.The Public Accuracy Test is conducted
to demonstrate that the program and
computer that will be used to tabulate theresults of the election counts the votes in
the manner prescribed by law.Rod Goebel, Clerk
179174 Prairieville Township
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or online at http://www.carvethvillage.comHastings Career and Technical Education Director Ed Domke gives a presentation
titled “Preparing Students for Fourth Industrial Revolution: Industry 4.0" during the
annual CTE luncheon at Hastings High School Friday.