WHITEHALL — Whitehall District Schools Superintendent CJ Van Wieren said at Monday's regular school board meeting that the district hosted a recent engagement workshop with Whitehall Middle School students to gather feedback about what they wanted to see from the school's cafeteria.
The cafeteria is among the district's facilities that will soon see changes due to last fall's approval of a bond proposal by district voters that will fund improvements to each school building.
Van Wieren said middle school students discussed the layout of the cafeteria, as well as furniture and even the color scheme. He said the district's goal is to make it a welcoming space, and current students have used words like "mundane" and "dirty" to describe the current cafeteria, adding that students are looking forward to the updates being completed.
The school board unanimously approved the district's participation in next year's School of Choice program within the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District. Van Wieren said the Whitehall district had about 15 more students in it this year as a result of the School of Choice program, and the district is historically "in the positive" due to the program.
Board secretary Paula Martin shared that she made another of her periodic trips to the high school cafeteria "with a big bag of candy" to gather feedback from students on their experience in the high school. She shared that the condition of the restrooms was a discussion point again, as it was the first time she made her visit. Other topics discussed included the school's HVAC system and a secure entrance, each of which are slated to be addressed in the improvements funded by the school bond.
"I love talking to the students," Martin said. "They are really forthcoming."
Board treasurer Jimmy TenBrink was unanimously appointed as the board representative to attend the MAISD's spring annual budget review.
