CASSOPOLIS — Concerned residents, including police officers, parents and students, packed the boardroom at Squires Education Center at the Cassopolis Board of Education meeting on Monday, May 14. They leaned against the walls, sat on shelves and filled most of the seats.

Many of them were there to share their thoughts and opinions with the school board on the potential restructuring of the administration at both the Ross Beatty Jr.-Sr High School and Sam Adams Elementary School, namely, principals David VanLue and DeeAnn Melville-Voss, whose contracts are being considered for non-renewal. VanLue was present at the meeting.

Some were in tears as they shared their support for these administrators, including Kelly Martin-Sanchez, a junior at Ross Beatty Jr.-Sr. High School.

“A lot of my friends and fellow students, in grades younger and higher, they have voiced their opinions too, that it’s pretty close to mine,” Martin-Sanchez said after the meeting. “None of them are happy about VanLue leaving. I’ve heard a lot of them talking about moving schools or being homeschooled if VanLue is not around next year. I have made it clear that I don’t want to come back to this school, or I want to be homeschooled because VanLue makes the place a lot better. He’s the happy face around there all the time. He makes everything a lot better. Everybody loves him. He knows everybody’s name.”

Others were not as concerned with what could happen to the principals, but were upset with the handling of the situation.

“I’m not [here to] disagree,” said Carol Bealor, a local attorney with a child who is student in the school system. “They have to do what they have to do. They’re the ones who know the behind the scenes. Whether there’s been discipline. Whether there’s been issues. My complaint is it could have been much more transparent, and being a lawyer, I understand confidentiality, but there could have been reassurance offered to our children along the way that things might be changing, but [that they’re] taking into consideration your needs.”

Before expressing their concerns, first those in attendance had to patiently wait  more than an hour, as the public comment portion of the meeting was not until the end.

Visitors sat in silence as the meeting began with several presentations on the district’s plan to create a New Tech program, curriculum development, a literacy program and the budget for the 2018-19 school year. Next came several proposals for new positions and updated job descriptions for current positions. They are as follows:

• Act on proposal for new position — Reading Specialist

• Act on proposal for new position — Coordinator of Special Programs

• Act on proposal for new position — K-12 Literacy Coordinator

• Act on updated job description — Elementary Principal

• Act on updated job description — Secondary Principal

• Act on updated job description — Elementary Assistant Principal

• Act on updated job description — Secondary Assistant Principal

• Act on updated job description — Teacher/Athletic Director

• Act on updated job description — Music Teacher

Each was unanimously approved by the board. This means that going forward, each position, whether currently held by someone or not, can potentially be filled with someone new. Any such proposals will be made at the upcoming special board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 29, at the Squires Education Center. A proposal to open a job search for any of these positions could also be made that meeting.

That does not mean that those positions will necessarily change.

“We will be updating the elementary school principal position job description, as well as the Jr.-Sr. High school principal position,” said Superintendent Angela Piazza during the meeting when she introduced the updated job descriptions to the board. “That’s just updating our job descriptions. Ours were a little bit outdated and, as you know, the responsibilities of a principal now are instructional leadership, which is really important in order for us to grow. So those components have been added.”

At the time of press, the only positions with updated job descriptions that are posted to be filled online are a secondary assistant principal and general music teacher for the elementary school. Currently, neither position is filled. Also posted is the position for a K-12 literacy coordinator and reading specialist/RTI building coach.

After all of the presentations and votes, people were still ready to speak. In total, nine people spoke on the topic of restructuring, a couple of whom were able to speak for more than their alluded five minutes.

They were concerned parents:

“I’ve been a resident of this town all my life, and my concern right now is this reconstruction or whatever it is that we’re talking about,” said Lora Martin, the mother of Kelly Martin-Sanchez. “There’s been a lot of secrecy [around it]. Not getting any answers. Not feeling any better about it. I have a child at the high school who will be a senior next year. In the last two years, since Mr. VanLue’s been around, and when she was [sic] with Ms. Voss, my daughter has started to come out of her shell.”

They were concerned students:

“I love everything about the New Tech, but I don’t agree with principals being gone,” said Terryn Williams, a junior at Ross Beatty Jr.-Sr. High School, during the public comment portion of the meeting. “I live in Niles, I could go to Niles schools, but I choose to stay because of the people that I go to school with, the people that teach me and a principal who talks to me when I am in a bad mood and something’s going wrong. I feel like we’re all scared. We don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s all coming at us at the last minute, and I just feel like it’s overwhelming.”

They were concerned faculty members:

“[VanLue] knows every students’ name,” said Shelly Johnson, the art teacher at Ross Beatty Jr.-Sr. High School. “He spends time to [talk to] the students he sees in the morning. These kids depend on him. … I can work for anybody. I’m 59 years old. I have never been able to work with a boss [before], and that doesn’t mean we roll over him. I’ve learned so much from him.”

Per bylaws, board members and the superintendent are not allowed to respond to questions during the meeting, but they said that they were happy that residents had the opportunity to speak.

“Public comment is for people to speak their mind and that’s what we want them to do,” Piazza said after the meeting. “It’s always difficult because you can’t respond when you want to respond, but we’re glad that they had the opportunity to share what they’re feeling and their concerns.”

Piazza says that what happens next will be determined by what goes on from the day after the meeting, until the next meeting on May 29. She will make proposals at that time for restructuring. It is still unclear if that will include new principals or not. Ultimately, it will be up to the board to approve or deny any of the proposals that she brings forward.