Bedford board member plans to step down at Aug. 2 session

TEMPERANCE -- Kim Hooper is to step down from the Bedford Board of Education after the Aug. 2 meeting.

He told the board last week that he and his wife plan to move to Lenawee County, where they have owned a home near Onsted two years.

Mr. Hooper was elected to a four-year term in May, 2008, and took office July 1 of that year. His term expired June 30 but was extended to Dec. 31 when the Michigan Legislature changed the law so school board elections would take place in the fall. He said his decision to step down was made before the law changed.

He said he chose the Aug. 2 date to give the board time to appoint a replacement and to give the replacement time to decide on seeking a full term.

In other action, the board approved a preliminary budget for the 2012-13 year that leaves the district with a $1.5 million operating deficit at the end of the year. The district has been coping with declining enrollment and reduced state support and has two deficit-elimination plans pending with the Michigan Department of Education that call for further, significant spending cuts, including more than $900,000 in concessions from teachers, who have been without a contract for two years. The board has scheduled a special meeting for July 12, at which time it may act on pay cuts for the teachers.

At its end-of-the-year meeting last week, the board accepted a $20,000 check from Amy Driehorst and Regina Whalen, who have been raising money to retain a school resource officer. The goal is to raise $80,000 annually over three years to pay for a Monroe County sheriff's deputy assigned to the schools.