by
Nathan
Landheer
YOUT 350-D01
Campus Ministry
“School Board Meeting Reaction”
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Submitted to Dr. Vandegriff
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
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For this paper, I attended the virtual school board meeting of the main school systems in
my community. Spring Lake Public Schools (SLPS) educates nearly 2,500 students, spanning
from Pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade. There was around 200 other people watching and
participating along with me in the virtual audience.
My very first reaction to this school board meeting was that I was so grateful that the
individuals in my community take the education of their children so seriously. While there we
jokes cracked from time to time, most of the meeting was to the point and very business-like.
The board did a great job at including the online audience when the time came for audience
questions/participation.
Items Discussed
After the roll-call, approval of last meeting’s minutes, and general financial items, the
board began to dive into the current agenda items. They announced some new hires for assistant
principal in the high school and a food service assistant in one of the elementary schools. They
also announced the retirements of a special education teacher and a middle school math teacher.
While some of these staff changes could have an impact on my ministry in the future
(specifically the assistant high school principal), they do not pose any major changes to my
current reality.
They then moved to discussing selling and refunding of the SLPS bonds. With current
interest rates, this refunding would save hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayers money.
The vote to refund was approved unanimously.
Once again, this doesn’t have a direct impact on my ministry, but will have some residual
impact on the community and the way that the school uses their finances.
The next vote brought to the board was in regards to the student 1:1 program, giving
every student 6th-12th grade access to a personal laptop. The vote was to purchase new laptops
for those entering middle school and those entering high school. The total cost presented was not
to exceed $88,620. This vote was also approved unanimously.
This decision (and past decisions on the student 1:1 program) has a hidden impact on
ministry. This isn’t a paper on the way that technology use is impacting our students, but it is worth
spending a few moments talking about. I am a full supporter of technological literacy, but I think
there is a balance to be aware of. From their waking hour to the time they get done with their
homework at night, these students are connected to some sort of screen. Very little is done
through “traditional” reading from a book and handwriting on paper. I’m not saying that computers
are evil, and we should go back to quill and paper, but it is worth acknowledging that, as a youth
pastor, trying to “sell” students on a paper Bible is harder than it has been. It is against the norm is
so many different ways.
In regards to the current COVID update, the superintendent gave an update. Using many
large words and over-explaining, he basically said that there is no-change in sight for the rest of
the year. Students will still be required to mask, distance, and quarantine if in contact with a
positive case. He also gave an update that around half of the staff has been fully vaccinated at this
point.
Out of the entire meeting, this conversation has the most impact on my ministry. While
there is only a month or so left in the school year, it is still hard to hear that there is no way for me
to be physically present in the schools. The restrictions they have in place limit any non-staff
entrance into the buildings during school. The news about the vaccinations is good news, however,
that things may look different in the coming year!
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The meeting was close with the superintendent speaking on several updates regarding
summer school, testing, different summer recreational programs. All of which did not have any
major impact on my ministry.
Reaction
Being my first ever school board meeting, everything about this experience was new to
me. As I was trying to take notes, think about this paper, think about the school, think about my
students who attend the school, all while trying to participate in the meeting itself, I found myself
a bit overwhelmed. I know that much of this is due to unique setting and time of this meeting. I
can see how meetings can be very beneficial for not just parents, but anyone who works with
students, to attend regularly. Having access to the agenda beforehand was a helpful tool to follow
along with.
Overall, I’m grateful for the opportunity to still be able to attend a meeting like this
through virtual means. It gave me a deeper understanding of what goes on behind the doors of
the school and how deep the parent’s investment is in the education of their students!
