QUINCY, MI (WTVB) – The Quincy Board of Education Monday night voted to refer the proposed High School Student Handbook back to its Student Relations Committee for further review. In making the motion, Board Vice President Donna Hines stated that the Committee wanted to look it over and make sure everything is how they want it before distributing the handbook to students at the start of the school year.
Among the items in the handbook to be looked at: the controversial closed-campus policy that was approved in June. The Board heard 20 minutes of comments by the public against the policy, with most of the comments centering on the apparent unfairness of punishing all students for the actions of a few.
In other action, the Board approved the appointment of retired Branch Area Careers Center Principal Mike Hoffner as the Interim High School Dean of Students, performing all the functions of the Principal while David Spalding remains on paid administrative leave. And the retirement resignation of Superintendent Craig Artist was approved. Treasurer Tom Bean told the Board and the audience in attendance at the Jennings Elementary Commons that he was sorry to see Artist go.
It was also revealed, in the process of naming Bean and Interim Superintendent Marty Chard as the district’s check signatories, that Business Manager Cheryl Globke was placed on administrative leave. Globke, Artist, and Spalding are the subjects of an ongoing investigation by the Branch County Sheriff’s Department stemming from the actions of former teacher Jason Ferrell, who is facing criminal sexual conduct charges in Branch and Calhoun Counties.
