The July 11 school board meeting was mostly routine business but for the third month in a row they had to deal with public comment about a possible consolidation of seventh and eighth grades.

 

CELEBRATION: IMPROVING SCHOOL LUNCHES

 L-R: Jessica McQueen, Food Service Director Courtney Halloran, Aleah Mobley and Superintendent Dr. Howell. Not pictured Samantha DeMoss, Karen Steinmetz and Ramonda Stonestreet.

   After the board approved the monthly expenses and heard the financial reports, they moved to the good news portion of their meeting. Each month, the board recognizes some accomplishment by students or staff in the schools.  This month, they celebrated the dedication of the schools' cafeteria cooks who took a week of their summer to attend the "Cooks for America Boot Camp."  Food Service Director Courtney Halloran, and cooks Jessica McQueen and Aleah Mobley explained that the course covered everything from scratch cooking to menu planning and from knife skills to making better sauces.

    Ms. Halloran commended the cooks for their commitment to providing healthy food for all the students.

 

7th & 8th GRADE CONSOLIDATION - AGAIN

    In the public comment section of the meeting, the board heard from Nick Stringer.  Before he spoke, Board President Kim Simonson reminded everyone that there will be public meetings to discuss problems and possible solutions associated with the decline in student enrollment at local schools. Those meetings will be September 7 at Mt. Carmel School and September 14 at Laurel School. Both will begin at 6pm.

    Mr. Stringer began by asking the board if the schools have a policy on "bathroom gender." Dr. Howell said that the schools strive to provide "equity and safety" for all students. Mr. Stringer then asked the board to make a statement by next month's meeting that no one "can use any bathroom other than the gender that they were created." He then moved on to the possible consolidation of the Laurel and Mt. Carmel seventh and eighth-graders to Brookville claiming, "the entire community is up in arms over talk of consolidation of our schools." 

    Like the speakers from the May and June school board meetings, he cited concerns about transportation times, sports activities and class size.  He said that parents just want their children to stay in the local schools through the eighth grade. He added that there is widespread dissatisfaction with, "this board's lack of communication and transparency" on this issue.

    Clearly frustrated, board member Rick Gill interrupted, saying, "That's wrong." He added that board members have repeatedly said that the board has not discussed this issue and is not making plans - but that the issue had been brought up at a required meeting between the administration and the teachers' union as a possible way of addressing declining enrollment. He said that the board's plan is to discuss options and gather input at the upcoming public meetings and only then will they make a decision.

    When Mr. Stringer returned to his critique of what he sees as the board's failure to be more forthcoming on their plans for this issue, several board members repeated that there is "nothing to disclose." Not willing to accept the statements from the board, Mr. Stringer demanded that the board reveal its plan before or at the August board meeting. Board member Francis Brumback was nonplussed. He said, "We tell you that there has been no discussion and you assume that we are lying... There has been no discussion!" Mr. Stringer finally said that he would take the board's word and started on another question.

    Mr. Simonson reminded him that he was well past his allotted time and moved on to other business.

 

SUMMER UPGRADES, PERSONNEL, ETC.

    Dr. Howell updated the board on the major projects underway this summer. These include upgrading fiber optics for the elementary school and the sports complex, new bleachers and facilities at the football field, flooring, painting and paving. She reported that all are on schedule, including the football facilities, which are on a tight schedule and need to be ready in just a few weeks.

    The board must approve all personnel changes in the schools. Most teachers who change jobs do so in the summer, so there were several resignations approved by the board and a similar number of approvals for hiring new teachers.

    The board also agreed to accept donations for Stayin Alive program activities and from the retired teachers for the Sensory room at the middle school

 

BUDGET, FINANCE, TESTING UPDATE

    Board member Sara Duffy presented information from a school board seminar she attended in June. She explained that there continue to be funding complications due to shifts in property valuations, tax caps and state rules on which funds can be used for particular purposes.  There continues to be a concern about equity of educational opportunity due to funding levels that are determined by differences in the amount of money generated by local property taxes.

    A statewide committee of twenty-three people must find a replacement for the current ISTEP Test. The new test, to be used in the 2017-2018 school year, is intended to take less time and cost less while providing letter grades for schools and ratings for teachers.

    The schools have also begun the annual budget process.  Starting in August, there will be special meetings, public hearings and legal notices leading to a vote on the budget at the October board meeting.

 

The next regular meeting of the school board is August 8 at 7pm.