Morrice school board buys Senior Center for $1, OKs $950,000 note
Minutes from the June 24 meeting show the Morrice Area Schools board approved two budgets, a teachers' contract, a curriculum purchase and baseball field work on a 4-1 vote.
The Morrice Area Schools Board of Education approved a slate of end-of-year financial and personnel resolutions at its June 24 regular meeting, according to the board's minutes.
President Jerry Dennis called the meeting to order at 6:07 p.m. at Morrice Jr./Sr. High School. Trustees Hower and Moncur were absent; Dennis, Wyzga, Iler, Hovis and Binkley were present. The board adjourned at 7:35 p.m.
Among the actions, the board approved the purchase of the property commonly known as the "Senior Center" from the Village of Morrice for $1, subject to terms and conditions deemed necessary by legal counsel and administration. The resolution authorized the superintendent or a designee to negotiate and execute the deeds, closing statements and other documents needed to complete the acquisition. In a companion vote, the board authorized leasing the same property to the Shiawassee Council on Aging under terms determined by the superintendent and legal counsel, and gave the superintendent authority to administer and enforce the lease.
Budgets and borrowing
The board approved the final 2025-2026 general fund budget and the 2026-2027 budget as presented at a special budget hearing held the same day. It also authorized borrowing an amount not to exceed $950,000 from the Michigan Municipal Bond Authority through a state aid note.
For the special revenue school activities account, the board approved a final 2025-2026 budget with revenues of $88,500 and expenditures of $92,000, and a 2026-2027 budget with revenues and expenditures each set at $40,000. The board also approved the MSEA contract, the consent agenda including May 28 minutes and financial reports dated May 31, and an amendment to Policy 5460. All of those votes were 5-0.
Tenure, curriculum and the baseball field
The board approved continuing Year One probationary periods for Megan Mack, Nicholas Megnadorff, Ramsey Lukaskik, Caleb Shelton and Amy Menke; a two-year probationary period for Sophie Turner; and three-year probationary periods for Jarroed Moore and Gayle Yarick. It granted tenure to Joseph Schaefer, Jason Canze, Katherine Caraway, Melissa Palazzolo, Gayle Walton, Morgan Gage, Erin Kidd and Jodi Rusk.
Trustees approved the purchase of HMH curriculum with grant funds not to exceed $150,000. The only split vote of the night came on a quote from Foxscapes for construction and installation of drainage and seating area improvements at the baseball field, not to exceed $150,000. Dennis, Wyzga, Iler and Hovis voted yes; Binkley voted no.
What happens next
The agenda listed a bond update as a discussion item, with no action recorded in the minutes. The superintendent's office is handling the Senior Center closing and the lease with the Shiawassee Council on Aging under the authority the board granted on June 24.
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