The five teachers who were suspended
fromSavage Elementary School following
allegations of impropriety on state-man-
dated testswill apparently be reinstated.
Van Buren Public Schools Board of
Education President Brent Mikulski read
a formal statement at the beginning of a
meeting last week stating, “District legal
representatives and MEA (Michigan
Education Association) representatives
met today to negotiate a global resolution
to the Savage M-STEP issues and have
conceptually agreed to a resolution that
brings closure to this issue including rein-
stating the teachers. The details of this
agreement are being reviewed and the
parties remain hopeful that a resolution
will be forthcoming as soon as possible.”
The teachers were suspended by for-
mer Superintendent of Schools Michael
VanTassel, whowas subsequently fired by
the board. the Michigan State
Department of Education disallowed the
test scores from the school on the basis of
the alleged improprieties in administer-
ing the tests by the teachers.
Parents have been questioning the
members of the board for several weeks
regarding the status of the teachers who
were forcibly removed from the school in
full view of students. Many parents
protested the action and claimed the
independent investigation performed by
an outside firm was upsetting to children
whowere asked sometimes vague or lead-
ing questions.
The board members were closeted
with the attorney for the schools for about
an hour in a closed session prior to the
meeting during which Mikulski read his
statement.
Parents in attendance at the meeting
last week demanded to be heard and
accused the board members of withhold-
ing information and refusing to answer
their questions regarding the issue.
Questions regarding the date and condi-
tions for reinstatement of the teachers
were not answered by the board mem-
bers.
A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
2
April 7, 2016
B
ELLEVILLE
- R
OMULUS
Earth Day activities planned in city
Suspended teachers may be reinstated by board
Grief recovery seminar offered
The City of Romulus will celebrate
Earth Day with several free events open to
the public.
Family Story TimewithMother Nature
This will be the third year “Mother
Nature” will host a story and craft time at
Romulus Public Library located at 11121
WayneRoad inRomulus.
This Earth Day themed story time is
open to families with children of all ages
and will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 19.
Those interested in participating must pre-
register by calling the Romulus Public
Library at (734) 942-7589. “Mother Nature”
will be played by City of Romulus Director
of Community Outreach JazmineDanci, pic-
tured at right.
Danci is a life-long resident of Romulus
and has masters and bachelors degrees in
environment and sustainability and also
coordinated the other Earth Day events in
the city.
“Earth Day is my favorite holiday and I
am so happy to share that passion with the
children at this story time event,” Danci
said
FamilyMovieNight: Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
Romulus Public Library will be showing
Dr. Seuss' classic The Lorax, based on the
Dr. Seuss classic first published in 1971. The
Lorax chronicles the plight of the environ-
ment and the Lorax who speaks for the
trees against theOnce-ler.
18thAnnual CitywideClean Sweep
The City of Romulus Annual Clean
Sweep Day will take place Saturday, April
23. This annual event was created by Mayor
LeRoy D. Burcroff in 1999 while he was
serving on the city council as a way to
encourage residents to take pride and own-
ership in their city. Waste Management co-
sponsors the event.
Volunteers are welcome from all around
the community to clean up litter and spruce
uppublic spaces around the city.
No pre registration is necessary, volun-
teers need only show up at 9 a.m. at
Romulus CityHall.
These event takes place rain or shine so
volunteers should dress appropriately for
theweather. Allmaterialswill be provided.
Eco-Fair
The second Eco-Fair in the city will also
take place April 23. The exhibit will take
place from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the
Romulus Athletic Center, 35765 Northline
Road.
Local organizations will be on hand to
distribute environmental information and
giveaways. Groups present will include
Waste Management, Huron-Clinton
Metroparks, MSU Extension Office and oth-
ers.
FreeDumping and Tire Take-Back
In response to the Citywide Clean Sweep
and spring cleaning season, there will be
free dumping days for residents. Large
quantities of unwanted or bulky items can
be disposed of from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. April
28 and 29 and from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. April
30 at the Romulus DPW building, 12600
WayneRoad.
This year, the city has partnered with
Wayne County to accept unwanted tires.
Bulky items are limited to three per house-
hold and tires are limited to seven per vehi-
cle. No commercial waste is accepted and
visitors must bring proof of Romulus resi-
dency.
Only non-hazardous materials will be
accepted.
For more information on the Free
DumpingDays, call (734) 942-7579.
Community flower and vegetable
seed collection and exchange
All month, the Romulus Public Library
will be hosting a flower and vegetable seed
exchange.
Anyone that brings in three packets of
seeds for the seed library will receive a
prize, while supplies last.
“Earth Day is an important reminder of
all the actions we should be taking to pro-
tect our environment year round. I hope our
residents are able to attend some of the fun
and informational events we have planned
for this year,” saidBurcroff.
A grief-recovery seminar and support
group will meet at Romulus Wesleyan
Church in Romulus at 6 p.m. each
Thursday. The church is located at 37300
Goddard atHuronRiverDrive.
GriefShare features nationally recog-
nized experts on grief and recovery top-
ics. The 13 video sessions include
“When Your Dreams Fall Apart,” “The
Seasons of Grief,” “Emotions of Grief,”
“WhenYour SpouseDies,” “Your Family
and Grief,” “Growing Through Grief,”
andmore.
Participants can attend any or all ses-
sions.
The $15 registration includes a work-
book/journal andweekly handouts.
More information is available by call-
ing the church at (734) 941-1511 or on the
web at
.
