A day after the Jan. 14 Beecher 200U school board meeting, Superintendent Jack Gaham created a video that summarized the meeting.
But he also added some commentary on an incident that was not brought up at the meeting and had some stern warnings for those not following the rules.
Those drivers who do not adhere to the traffic rules when leaving the elementary school will be dealt with by the police.
He said that on Jan. 14, two drivers ignored the stop sign held by a traffic guard and he said that is a safety hazard.
“That’s unacceptable,” Gaham said, adding that the guard had a body camera during the incidents.
“We were able to identify those vehicles and get those plate numbers,” Gaham said. “There’s a good chance that our (School Resource Officer) Jim Hancock will be making a visit to those families and those parents.
“We’re very serious about this. There are little kids at the elementary school…you need to stop your vehicle. If you don’t, you are on body cam and we will get your license plate and we will ask SRO Hancock and the Beecher police to assist in that matter.”
Gaham said he realizes that people are in a hurry and have to get to places, but safety comes first.
He said that there are people who are in one lane, who try to change lanes at the last second while heading into the street and that also causes problems.
“This is my last plea and my last request,” Gaham said. “From here on out, we will make sure the police department is involved with vehicles that aren’t following that specific direction.”
New windows, new bus
Meanwhile, at the meeting, the board gave the green light to purchase new windows for the elementary school and a new bus for the district.
The windows project will cost $283,560.
The payment will come out of the health, life and safety funds of the budget and will be partially funded by a $50,000 grant.
The board also approved the purchase of a 2020, 71-passenger bus for $79,868.
“With the new driver, we have a new route and that took another big bus off the road,” Gaham said. “It’s more beneficial to us to get another big bus instead of buying vans.”
Coming and going
The board approved the hiring of Charlotte Farrar as a volunteer high school cheerleading assistant coach and acknowledged the resignation of Dawn Miller as an elementary school teacher at the end of the 2026 school year.