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Community Meetings Set to Address
7th & 8th Grade Consolidation
The students may be on vacation for the summer but it's a very busy time of the year for the school administration and the school board. At their June 13 meeting the board once again addressed questions about consolidation of the seventh and eighth grades from Mt. Carmel and Laurel Schools to Brookville. They also approved a long list of personnel changes and appointments, got an update on the effectiveness of the new attendance policy, celebrated the careers of two retiring teachers, and dealt with a variety of financial and policy matters
CELEBRATING RETIRING TEACHERS
L-R: Superintendent Dr. Debbie Howell, Anne Thackery and Bynum Henson.
The board celebrated the careers of two long-time Franklin County teachers who retired at the end of this school year.
Music teacher Bynum Henson has been with the Franklin County Schools for forty-five years. During this time, he has taught music to students in every grade of every Franklin County school, including St. Michael. Over the years, he has developed many programs to enhance students' music education opportunities. Dr. Howell noted that his keyboard program is both effective and popular with the students.
Anne Thackery is retiring after a 36-year career with the Franklin County Schools. In contrast to the peripatetic Mr. Henson, she spent her entire career in Laurel school. She began as the Special Education teacher. Then, in 1991, Ms. Thackery became the teacher for the special needs pre-school program at Laurel and has served in that position since. Dr. Howell described her as "the first, the one and only" in that position.
7th & 8th GRADE CONSOLIDATION
During the public comment portion of the meeting, several parents had follow-up questions about the possible consolidation of seventh and eighth grade students from Laurel and Mt. Carmel Schools to Brookville.
(At the May school board meeting Dr. Howell had explained that decreasing enrollment is leading to financial constraints. Among other things, this limits the ability of some specialized programs like the Wildcat Academy and is leading to unequal educational opportunities for the students.)
Before opening the floor to public comment Matt Siedling, who was presiding in the absence of board president Kim Simonson, assured the audience that the board will be open about this process and announced that there will be public meetings at the schools before any decision is made. At these meetings, the issues will be explained in full, options will be discussed and comments and suggestions from the public will be considered. The community meetings will be at 6pm on September 7 at Mt. Carmel and on September 14 at Laurel.
Cindy Wurzelbacher spoke first. She was primarily concerned with communication about this issue, saying that rumors are circulating in the community and there is no information available from the administration or the board. She asked Dr. Howell, "What's the best way to communicate with you?" She said she "keeps hearing that this is a done deal" and wanted to get a process for reliable communication.
Several board member said that they could be contacted via email and Dr. Howell said that information from Ms. Wurzelbacher could be distributed in her weekly notes to the board members.
Board member Rick Gill said, "This is not a done deal...I don't know where you're getting your information" but he assured her that the school board has not even discussed this issue much less made any decisions about it.
Ms. Wurzelbacher said she has heard from other parents that teachers, a school board member and ever a school principal have said that the decision has already been made - and that the lack of timely communication from the administration and the board makes it difficult to believe otherwise.
Next to speak was Jennifer Raab, mother of two Laurel School students. She first asked if a decision about consolidation would be made before the public meetings in September. Dr. Howell assured her that it would not.
Ms. Raab is opposed to the consolidation. She cited the loss of special events like the Laurel School graduation dinner and the loss of opportunities to participate in local athletic teams as reasons for her opposition. She said that she will be meeting with other parents to coordinate their questions and comments for the public meetings.
BIG IMPROVEMENTS IN ATTENDANCE
Pam Gutzwiller, guidance counselor at Laurel School, provided the board with a detailed update on the impact of the new attendance policy implemented for the 2015-2016 school year. The policy set a firm limit of nine days for allowable absences, increased communication with parents regarding attendance issues and developed in the community to discourage truancy.
She said that all but one school improved and that one stayed the same. Overall, attendance improved from 95.3% to 96.2%, which means that on any given day there were about 25 more students in school this year compared to the previous year. Of special note is the dramatic decrease in the percentage of students with excessive absences (more than 9 days) in grades K-8. The total decreased from 28% with excessive absences in the 2014-2015 school year to 11% in the 2015-2016 school year. Tardiness has also been reduced.
In a separate discussion, the board heard about recommended changes in the student handbooks to enable students to make up homework assignments when they have excessive absences. This is so that their grades are not automatically lowered, because they didn't do the homework.
PAY RAISES & CONTRACTS
The board approved a four-year contract for Superintendent Howell at a salary of $116,789. They also approved 2% raises for principals and school administrators plus the same amount of performance pay that FCCSC teachers received from the state. All of these contracts will be posted on the FCCSC website after the meeting.
After no increases last year, bus drivers received a raise in their "per run" rates of various amounts depending on the type of run and CDL requirements. Effective July 1, CDL drivers' "per run" rate increased from $36 to $37.51.
A contract for actuarial services with Educational Services, Inc. was approved at a rate of $240 per hour to conduct the required annual review of unpaid retiree liability.
The board renewed the snow removal contract with Whitetail Acres at the same rates as last winter.
HANDBOOK & POLICY CHANGES
During summer recess, the school administration and the school board review policies and handbooks for required updates to comply with state law and also for improvements. The board approved changes to the high school student and academic handbooks, to the Chromebook policy and to the bus driver's handbook. They received two more handbooks for review that covered students in grades k-4 and 5-8.
The board set up new guidelines for applying for donations, for adopting grants and for requesting reimbursements of expenses. They adopted new internal control standards as required by recent legislation.
FINANCIAL DATA & 2017 BUDGET
The board approved expenditures of $846,417. Treasurer Sharon Pohlman reported a general fund balance of $5.7 million and an improving cafeteria balance of $59,646. She presented the 2017 budget timeline. The public budget work session will be August 22. The public hearing on the budget will be September 12. The board will vote on the 2017 budget on October 12.
RAINY DAY MONEY, GRANTS & DONATIONS
The board established a rainy day fund as required to receive $68,713 of Local Option Income Tax (LOIT) as part of Senate Bill 67. This LOIT money was previously collected from Franklin County residents and was held in reserve by the state.
Librarian Laura Frondorf was authorized to accept donations totaling $2,000 from Whitewater Valley REMC and Walmart. Principal Chis Bundy was authorized to accept donations of $4,511 from local businesses, churches, individuals and fundraising projects. The money will be used to buy equipment for the Life Skills Sensory Room at Brookville Middle School.
The board authorized Assistant Superintendent Tammy Chavis to apply again this year for the Jobs for America's Graduates grant in collaboration with Indiana's Work Force One program.
PERSONNEL
The school board appointed John Palmer to represent them on the Franklin County Public Library District board. The board also dealt with a long list of personnel actions including retirements, resignations, hiring new teachers and designating high school club sponsors and department chairs. Coaches for the fall sports season were approved.
HIGH ACHIEVERS
The board congratulated valedictorian Cara Moore and Salutatorian Cole McCreary and recognized 28 Franklin County students for their achievements in track, unified track, softball, baseball, golf, or tennis.
TRAINING NOTES
Board member Sara Duffy presented a brief summary of recent Indiana School Board Association training regarding the new law on background checks, the board's role in personnel matters, the Public Access Law and the Open Door Law.
Reported by Terry Duffy | 
