May 3, 2021 By Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com
An arbitration hearing was held last week over a level IV grievance by teachers in the Brighton Area Schools district involving a claim that they have been working in a hazardous environment because proper social distancing could not be assured.
The grievance was filed by the Brighton Education Association, which represents the districtâs approximately 325 teachers. The teachers are in the second year of a 3-year contract that expires on Aug. 30, 2022. BEA President Barry Goode says the grievance was filed at the beginning of the school year because, according to the state, proper social distancing â even with a mask on â is a minimum of six feet. He maintains that the âReturn to Schoolâ plan, as it was called, is unsafe because proper social distancing cannot be maintained due to the physical dimensions of classrooms, school hallways, and school buses.
April 30, 2021 By Jon King / jking@whmi.com
A public hearing has been delayed on a plan to tear down an abandoned school in Brighton and replace it with a townhome development.
The City of Brighton Planning Commission on Monday had been set to consider a site plan approval for the project that would be called the West Village of Brighton. It would also rezone the 10.5-acre property from R-1, or single-family residential, to a planned unit development, or PUD. S.R. Jacobson Development Corp. of Bingham Farms wants to build 140 townhomes on the former Lindbom School site at 1010 State St., between N. 6th and N. 7th streets.
April 13, 2021 By Tom Tolen & Jon King / jking@whmi.com
At Monday nightâs Brighton Board of Education meeting, the board reached an informal consensus that future meetings will involve a hybrid format, in which board members will attend the meeting in person and the public will be able to participate in the meeting virtually.
Since last fall, the hybrid procedure has been the practice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But prior to this Mondayâs meeting, it was announced that those wishing to address the board for that meeting needed to fill out a form on the districtâs website and comment in person. School Board President Roger Meyers explained at the beginning of the meeting that the district had been advised to go to that format after the state orders allowing online public meetings expired on March 31st, while capacity requirements for indoor gatherings remain in effect until April 19th. Superintendent Outlaw said that they had since
April 8, 2021 By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com
Efforts are again underway in the City of Brighton that encourages people to shop and eat local during the month of April.
The City of Brighton may be a small town, but it is supported by a broader community full of big hearts â which organizers say is the mantra of the Small Town, Big Hearts Initiative Round 2. After last yearâs success in providing the community a forum to allow individuals to have a direct and very personal impact on helping their favorite Brighton business survive the economic impacts of the pandemic, the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is making the resource available again.
April 8, 2021 By Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com
Ford - one of the Brighton Area School Districtâs 12 social-emotional-learning dogs â is resting at home after surgery last month for a torn ligament, which is equivalent to an ACL tear in his knee. The surgery was performed by Oakland Veterinary Referral Services in Bloomfield Twp., which donated the surgical procedure and waived all related charges.
It was for that reason that the Brighton Board of Education named the veterinary practice a âShining Starâ at its March 22nd meeting and accepted the donation of $3,900 in veterinary services. Karen Storey, whose idea it was to start the âPack of Dogsâ program and who is its founder, says, âThey jumped right on board to help Ford out. They knew first-hand the value that our dogs bring to the childrenâs and staffâs social and emotional well-being.â Storey adds that Dr. Kristin Wilson of the Arbor Hills Anima