Bucks Blast!

Bucks in Action is our way to showcase the wonderful activities happening in and around our district with students and staff. You can also find more photos on our Facebook page.

As we continue with our goal of transparency, please see below a variety of documents that validate the process we used to meet the educational needs of our students. We appreciate the support and input our community stakeholders provided us throughout the process that guided our decision-making.

The school district posted the ESSER funds budget summary on the website at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. This budget summary will be updated at the end of each year until the funds have been expended. Linked below is the district’s budget summary.

ESSER Grant Summary

In December 2021, families participated in a survey where input was given about the use of the funds. The link below will provide you with the survey results. This link has been accessible on our website since the survey closed in 2021.

Survey Results

The district has until September 30, 2024, to obligate the ARP ESSER funds it receives. This includes the 12-month Tydings Amendment period. Although funds must be obligated by September 30, 2024, grant activities carried out through a valid obligation of funds may continue beyond that date. Under 2 CFR § 200.344(a), ESSER funds must be liquidated within 120 calendar days after the end of the performance period (September 30, 2024).

Our district summary sheet outlines our budget.

Additional information regarding ESSER and GEER funds can be found at the link below:

Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Programs Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Programs

You can also see percentages of what districts have spent of their total allocations at the link below:

COVID-19 Spend Dashboard

The link below shows the compiled list of plans for districts across the state:

District Plans

Unfortunately, federal grants are more complex than an individual checkbook. Whereas we can look at our money in our account and see what we have to spend, federal grants have specific strings attached. Buchanan has (along with all school districts) budgets that have to be approved by the State for this money according to the limitations put upon it. Fortunately for us, the Administration and Board were able to get approved $1,2999 million worth of air quality updates that were identified as needs in the bond and use the ESSER III funds to address those. By doing this, the school freed up money to address other needs that were also targeted as high priorities. For comparison, this would be like needing a roof, plumbing work, and electrical work done at our home and our parents offering to pay for the roof to be completed. The other two needs are still high priorities to be addressed. If not for the ESSER III funding, the needs addressed in the bond would be $1.2999 million higher.

March 20th was the First Day of Spring. The picture below is linked to some general safety tips as we begin to spend more time outside.

Buchanan Community - BHS Color Guard students are collecting returnable cans and bottles to help offset color guard costs! Help our color guard by bringing your returnable cans and bottles to Buchanan High School! Donations can be dropped off at the High School office on weekdays from 7:30 am-3:30 pm.

Thanks for all the support and LET’S GO BUCKS!!!!!

A number of updates are part of the bond projects at both Moccasin and Buchanan High School as we continue to keep the safety of our students and staff as our highest priority. In addition to previous updates such as securing the main entrances to our buildings, we will be installing security film to our exterior entrances. This will be one more level of security designed to keep the glass in place even when glass is broken and not allow intruders to enter. All classrooms will be equipped with door hardware to allow teachers to lock down their classrooms without entering the hallway and thus keeping intruders from entering the classroom. All staff members will wear mobile panic buttons that integrate with a notification system aimed at alerting school safety teams when an issue arises in classrooms or in the hallways. At Buchanan High School, we will have a new building addition that will create an additional secure entrance for our students. Finally, at Moccasin, the administration area will be moved to a more prominent location and allowing office staff a more secure viewpoint as visitors enter the building.

Please know that in addition to ongoing infrastructure security upgrades, on a daily basis, we follow best practices to ensure a safe and enriching educational environment for our children. Among those practices are:

• We work closely with our local law enforcement and have a county-approved operations plan that guides us in our school safety practices. This is reviewed and updated on a regular basis

• We have a full-time resource officer that is present in our buildings every day

• We participate in school emergency drills on a regular basis

• We continually reinforce to our staff and students those daily practices that enhance the safety of our buildings

• And finally, as you know, we place a strong focus on our staff being present in hallways, supervising, and building relationships with students that lays a foundation that provides a supportive and nurturing environment that supports our student's social and emotional needs.
  
  

Thank you for your continued support as we keep the safety and security of our students at the forefront of all we do.

On May 2, 2023, the Buchanan Community Schools residents will have an opportunity to vote on a bond proposal. Linked is the website where you will find detailed information about the proposal. https://www.buchananschools.com/bond-2023/

Email bond questions to bond@buchananschools.com - responses are usually submitted within a 24-hour time frame.

We pledge our best efforts to make Buchanan Community Schools a premier school district, and we strive to create safe, welcoming, engaging, and innovative schools that develop all students’ academic, athletic, artistic, and social growth. We take pride in our community and we appreciate the support of our stakeholders! Thank you!

But we do realize that sometimes something might not go right, or you might have a question about what we do or how we do it. We welcome that communication, and we will work to solve your issue for you as efficiently as we can.

In order to do that, we ask that you follow our Chain of Command process shown in the diagram. On the left side of the process chart, you will see the common areas of district programming, and then following to the right would be the next step(s) in the Chain of Command for that district program area. Please start by contacting the staff member listed in the second box of each program area. The contact information for our leadership staff members with responsibility for addressing concerns is listed at the top of the diagram. Other contact information for building staff is available on our website in the “Staff Directory” section of each building’s web page. It is expected that most issues should be able to be resolved at these initial steps in the Chain of Command.

Buchanan Community Schools is a school district located in Buchanan, Michigan. In 2020, Buchanan was named the Nicest City in America and is known for its community concerts and parades. Buchanan Community Schools has over 1500 students and over 200 employees. The school district has four schools based on grade bands, Ottawa- PreK-1, Moccasin-2-4, Buchanan Middle School 5-7, and Buchanan High School 8-12.

Email: probinson@buchananschools.com
Website: https://www.buchananschools.com/
Location: 401 West Chicago Street, Buchanan, MI, USA
Phone: 269-695-8401
Facebook: facebook.com/BuchananCommunitySchools

To develop responsible, resilient, creative citizens capable of succeeding in a global society.