The East Lansing Public Schools new central administration building hosted a school board meeting for the first time on Monday, March 9. (Dustin DuFort Petty for ELi)

School Board Roundup: Central Admin Building Debuts, Student Athletes Honored

For the first time, the East Lansing school board met at the district’s new central administration building at 6160 Towar Ave. The short meeting was dominated by recognition of individual achievements, approval of district expenditures, and concerns from Whitehills Elementary School parents about their child’s classroom.

Trustee Chris Martin gave tributes to students who had excelled in statewide athletics.

ELHS junior Taliyah Andrews was named all-around champion in gymnastics in the Capital Area Activities Conference. She also earned first place in bars, floor and beam contests.

Senior KJ Torbert was named Mr. Basketball by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan. The guard has signed to play for Bowling Green State University next year, and his win of the Mr. Basketball award, given to the state’s top senior, comes 25 years after his father won the same honor.

Continuing the work of the 2024 Safety and Security Bond, the board awarded bids totaling nearly $3 million for work at the high school and middle school.

East Lansing Public Schools Board of Education members and Superintendent Dori Leyko at the March 9 meeting. (Dustin DuFort Petty for ELi)

Doors, frames and hardware at the high school will be completed by William Reichenbach Company for $326,950, and the same work will be done at the middle school by Integrity Interiors Inc. for $238,392. Middle school floors will also be replaced for $357,777 by Omega Floors. HVAC systems at both schools will also be repaired by Trane for a total of $1,799,980.

During her report, Superintendent Dori Leyko shared her appreciation to the community for its support of the 2024 Safety and Security Bond, noting that construction at the high school should be done by the end of summer.

Sarah Wilson and Forest Tate, parents of a fifth-grade student at Whitehills Elementary raised concerns about special education staffing during public comment. The couple said the sudden departure of the teacher who managed the classroom for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, caused disruption to their child’s engagement in both the ASD classroom and the general education classroom.

Tate asked why their child has had two teachers quit midway through the year over the last few school years and why it took a month to get a long-term substitute teacher for the ASD classroom. 

East Lansing Info has reached out to Wilson and Tate to learn more about the situation in their child’s classroom and Leyko to learn more about ASD classroom turnover.

The next board meeting is Monday, March 23, at the new administration building.