Schools

Glen Oaks Community College Board of Trustees voted last week to increase tuition and fees for the 2019-20 year Bruce Zakrzewski, dean of finance, said a 3 percent tuition increase and a $1 increase on the student activity fee will be imposed beginning in the fall. There will be some changes to course fees, particularly in nursing, he added. With …

Trine University is enhancing and expanding its online degree programs with the launch of TrineOnline, a new approach designed to be convenient and cost-effective for students seeking to complete an associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s degree. The launch comes a month after Trine was recognized by US News and World Report in its annual listing of Best Online Programs. TrineOnline will …

Michigan lawmakers are considering whether to cut schools some slack after frigid temperatures and other weather caused a high number of snow days. State law forgives schools from making up six days that have been canceled, and schools can get a waiver for three additional days. Some legislators from both parties say the wintry weather has been so extreme that …

Chris Gerbers has been selected as principal at Sturgis Middle School. Gerbers has served 16 years as an administrator, teacher and coach for the past 16 years in Indiana. He had been a school administrator the past 11 years and comes to Sturgis from Hamilton, Ind., where he served as junior and senior high school principal the past three years. Gerbers …

A project at Glen Oaks Community College has turned into an award-winning undertaking. College president David Devier said Jones and Henry Engineers, Frederick Construction, and Glen Oaks Community College received the “Public Works Project of the Year — Environmental” award by the American Public Works Association, Southwestern Michigan Branch. Supplying and treating water for the new Devier Student Suites became …

The St. Joseph County Intermediate School District board last week approved two new positions. The first is a support specialist to work in the human resources and business office. The other is a braillist to translate and transcribe activities to support the vision team and programs for visually impaired students are both needed. The board also approved revised budgets for …

A man in charge of transportation at a southwestern Michigan school district has died while shoveling snow. Portage district officials say Mike Westbrook died Saturday from a heart attack. Superintendent Mark Bielang told families that Westbrook’s “work impacted every student who rides a bus.” He says Westbrook was “masterful” at bus logistics in the Kalamazoo-area district. More than 5,000 Portage …

Glen Oaks students wanting to dress their professional best now have an option through the college’s Career Closet. Operated by Glen Oaks employees, the Career Closet provides currently enrolled students with free professional attire appropriate for career fairs, interviews, classroom presentations and the workplace. The project was funded in part through a $500 grant from Meemic Foundation, coordinated through the …

Glen Oaks Community College will have to consider its options after a half-mill increase request was defeated Tuesday by a margin of 51 to 49 percent. College officials said security improvements, energy-efficiency upgrades, renovations of classrooms and laboratories, and other capital-improvement projects were planned for the seven-year life of the proposed millage. The half mill would have generated about $970,000 …

Voters in the Nottawa Community School District agreed to support a sinking-fund mill in the amount of one-and-a-half mills. The request, approved by a margin of 255 in favor to 174 opposed, is for a 10-year period and in its first year will generate more than $90,000. Superintendent Jerome Wolff said the funds will be used for improvements in school …