Ironwood looks to more normal graduation

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Ironwood — The Ironwood Area Schools has begun the preparation for this year’s graduation festivities, with the district’s board of education approving the list of graduates Monday.

The list featured 36 seniors anticipated to graduate, assuming they continue to meet all the district’s graduation requirements. The board also approved four graduates in the alternative education program.

“We’re looking forward to graduation this year. It’s always an exciting time, but this year will be extra special because we’re planning to have an in-person ceremony that will be very familiar to our community and it will be one of the first significant gatherings for our staff, students and families since the start of the pandemic last year,” Ironwood Superintendent Travis Powell told the Daily Globe.

Powell said during the meeting that the district would be releasing details on the ceremony in the coming weeks.

In other action, the board:

—Met with Jack Temsey, with the Michigan Association of School Boards, regarding the development of the district’s strategic plan. Temsey asked the board members to answer four questions — what they thought the district’s strengths or points of pride were, areas the district could improve, barriers that may exist to the implementation of the strategic plan and where they see the district in three to five years in a perfect world. No formal action was taken, and meetings with other stakeholders are planned as part of the process of developing the strategic plan.

—Heard Monday was expected to be the last meeting where audience members could participate remotely following changes to Michigan’s Open Meetings Act. The board didn’t act on whether the meetings should still be broadcast while those wanting to actually participate in the meeting’s comment periods were required to attend in-person.

—Approved Nasi Construction’s quote of $19,950 to repair a leak in the section of the Luther L. Wright K-12 School’s roof where the new addition meets the main structure. The board did ask the district to seek an estimated completion date for the project.

—Renewed the district’s student accident insurance that covers the district’s student athletes for approximately $9,500.

—Heard the first reading of a change to the district’s purchasing policy. The change is designed to streamline the policy and reduce internal inconsistencies in the present policy. Under the proposed change, Powell would be able to approve purchases up to $1,500 without board approval or multiple quotes and could approve purchases between $1,500 and $5,000 without board approval if multiple quotes were obtained prior to the purchase. Purchases between $5,000 and the fluctuating federal limit would require board approval, according to Powell, and any purchases above the federal limit would require a formal bidding process prior to board approval.

—Approved having Lauchette Byrne and Stephanie Binz represent the district on the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District’s parent advisory committee. Each ISD in the state is required to have a parent advisory committee comprised of parents who have children with a disability to provide input on special education issues and serve as a resource to other parents. Several other Ironwood parents may be interested in joining the committee, according to information at the meeting, and can be added as district representatives in the future.