July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Board splits on contract vote (4/29/03)
3-3 vote on pact with teachers
After having negotiated a contract since July of 2002, the Jay Schools’ negotiating committee and the Jay Classroom Teachers Association finally reached an agreement early Monday. The only problem was the school board didn’t approve it. Negotiations will resume later this week.
The Jay School Board was split 3-3 on the vote, with board president Ted Champ unable to attend because he was attending a funeral in Kentucky. Board members Bryan Alexander, Doug Inman and Duane Starr cast the opposing votes.
Jay Schools Supt. Barbara Downing said during the meeting that she “had never heard of or experienced a board turning down a contract that three members of the board helped negotiate.”
Champ, Inman and Mike Shannon were members of the negotiating committee. Inman also said an impasse might have to be declared if the teachers did not want to return to negotiations.
Following the meeting, Downing had no comment regarding the board’s vote on the contract. During the meeting she said she would try to schedule an executive session sometime within the next 10 days to determine a future course of action.
That session was scheduled today for Friday, May 2, at 5 p.m.
Board members stated the problem with the contract was its vague language in regards to health insurance. Inman said the contract did not have fixed dollar amounts regarding what the school corporation would have to pay for health insurance.
“In the language, it says now, ‘the Jay School Corporation will pay all but $1 for a single plan,’ and it’s hard to balance the budget when one of your major pieces is just conjecture,” Inman said this morning. “When you’re basing your health insurance numbers on a mere guess, you’re not going to balance the budget.”
During the meeting, Alexander said the contract was “fiscally irresponsible” regarding the health insurance language.
In other news, the board voted 5-1 to build a wheelchair lift in the Jay County High School gymnasium. Shannon cast the lone dissenting vote.
The lift will cost about $34,000 and will put the school up to state standards on handicapped access. Jay Schools building and grounds coordinator Ron Krieg said the lift “is a state-of-the-art piece of equipment” and that it will be installed sometime this August.
The approval didn’t come easy, as several board members were reluctant to OK the lift. Shannon was adamant about the lift being a waste of money. He argued that Americans with Disabilities Act standards could be met by having students carry all second-floor gymnasium equipment downstairs for disabled students to use, and then carrying it back upstairs when the student was finished.
Shannon also said the money would be wasted because the chair would rarely be used, but then closed by saying he could foresee a problem with “three wheelchairs lined up waiting to go upstairs.”
Starr agreed in part, saying, “I’m willing to vote to buy this thing, but I think it’s going to sit and collect dust 98 percent of the time.”
In other action Monday, the board
•Unanimously approved Trent Paxson as the new principal at Judge Haynes Elementary School starting next school year. Paxson is currently working as the assistant principal/dean of students at the JCHS.
•Approved Jeremy Gulley by a 6-0 vote to fill the assistant principal/dean of students position at JCHS. At present, Gulley is an administrator’s assistant at East Jay Middle School.
•Voted 6-0 to hire Janet Dunmoyer as a bus driver in the Jay School Corporation. This position was left vacant recently by a bus driver retirement.
•Accepted the following personnel items: Kay Baldwin, retirement, teacher, JCHS; Julia Schwomeyer, retirement, teacher, Judge Haynes; Stacy Campbell, Redkey Elementary School, maternity leave through the end of the 2002-2003 school year; Melanie Stockton, English teacher, JCHS, maternity leave; Carol Storie, food service, Redkey, medical leave, April 14 through April 29; Nancy Cline, bus driver, medical leave, from April 12 until May 20; and Connie Roberts, East Elementary School, medical leave, for six weeks, starting on April 24.
•Unanimously accepted recommendations appointing the following coaches: Tina O’Dell, seventh grade girls’ track coach, West Jay Middle School; Billy Meacham, volunteer track coach, WJMS; and Nancy Monroe, intramural coach, Bloomfield Elementary School.
•Voted to cancel the semi-permanent contract of Jennifer Crum, music teacher, WJMS
•Approved with a 6-0 vote an energy savings contract with Old National Bank. This contract is a restructuring of the lease payments. The school currently has four Guaranteed Energy Savings Contracts (Honeywell Inc.) with Old National Bank.
•Unanimously appointed Brad DeRome as the HIPAA Privacy Officer for the Jay School Corporation. There is a new federal law regarding health insurance/health issues of individuals. Jay Schools was required to designate an officer to deal with health issues of employees and dependents.
•Voted 6-0 to re-appoint Roy Sneed to the Dunkirk Public Library Board.
•Accepted the request for social studies textbook adoption from the district Social Studies Textbook Adoption Committee for textbooks for the 2003-2009 school years.
•Voted unanimously to accept a curriculum waiver for Westlawn Elementary School regarding its handwriting program. The school currently uses the D’Nealian handwriting curriculum and wanted to use the handwriting curriculum outlined in a “Handwriting Without Tears” program.
•Accepted a $520 donation from Renate Baush, the mother of Susanne Bausch, a German foreign exchange student at JCHS in the fall of 2001. The donation will be used for landscaping expenses at the high school and will include planting a tree in honor of Susanne.
•Granted the following requests to use the school corporation’s bus for: Jay County Community Center “R.O.C.K. Program,” Winchester, EJMS on May 1 and East Elementary students on May 15 to go bowling; Jay County Community Center “R.O.C.K. Program,” Brown Bowl, Portland, May 1 for East students and May 15 for EJMS students to go bowling; summer program for middle school and high school students to Earlham College, June 4 until July 27; Jay County 4-H Horse and Pony Club, Indiana Beach, Monticello, June 9; and Jay County Girl Scout Council, Upland, June 17 until June 20.[[In-content Ad]]
The Jay School Board was split 3-3 on the vote, with board president Ted Champ unable to attend because he was attending a funeral in Kentucky. Board members Bryan Alexander, Doug Inman and Duane Starr cast the opposing votes.
Jay Schools Supt. Barbara Downing said during the meeting that she “had never heard of or experienced a board turning down a contract that three members of the board helped negotiate.”
Champ, Inman and Mike Shannon were members of the negotiating committee. Inman also said an impasse might have to be declared if the teachers did not want to return to negotiations.
Following the meeting, Downing had no comment regarding the board’s vote on the contract. During the meeting she said she would try to schedule an executive session sometime within the next 10 days to determine a future course of action.
That session was scheduled today for Friday, May 2, at 5 p.m.
Board members stated the problem with the contract was its vague language in regards to health insurance. Inman said the contract did not have fixed dollar amounts regarding what the school corporation would have to pay for health insurance.
“In the language, it says now, ‘the Jay School Corporation will pay all but $1 for a single plan,’ and it’s hard to balance the budget when one of your major pieces is just conjecture,” Inman said this morning. “When you’re basing your health insurance numbers on a mere guess, you’re not going to balance the budget.”
During the meeting, Alexander said the contract was “fiscally irresponsible” regarding the health insurance language.
In other news, the board voted 5-1 to build a wheelchair lift in the Jay County High School gymnasium. Shannon cast the lone dissenting vote.
The lift will cost about $34,000 and will put the school up to state standards on handicapped access. Jay Schools building and grounds coordinator Ron Krieg said the lift “is a state-of-the-art piece of equipment” and that it will be installed sometime this August.
The approval didn’t come easy, as several board members were reluctant to OK the lift. Shannon was adamant about the lift being a waste of money. He argued that Americans with Disabilities Act standards could be met by having students carry all second-floor gymnasium equipment downstairs for disabled students to use, and then carrying it back upstairs when the student was finished.
Shannon also said the money would be wasted because the chair would rarely be used, but then closed by saying he could foresee a problem with “three wheelchairs lined up waiting to go upstairs.”
Starr agreed in part, saying, “I’m willing to vote to buy this thing, but I think it’s going to sit and collect dust 98 percent of the time.”
In other action Monday, the board
•Unanimously approved Trent Paxson as the new principal at Judge Haynes Elementary School starting next school year. Paxson is currently working as the assistant principal/dean of students at the JCHS.
•Approved Jeremy Gulley by a 6-0 vote to fill the assistant principal/dean of students position at JCHS. At present, Gulley is an administrator’s assistant at East Jay Middle School.
•Voted 6-0 to hire Janet Dunmoyer as a bus driver in the Jay School Corporation. This position was left vacant recently by a bus driver retirement.
•Accepted the following personnel items: Kay Baldwin, retirement, teacher, JCHS; Julia Schwomeyer, retirement, teacher, Judge Haynes; Stacy Campbell, Redkey Elementary School, maternity leave through the end of the 2002-2003 school year; Melanie Stockton, English teacher, JCHS, maternity leave; Carol Storie, food service, Redkey, medical leave, April 14 through April 29; Nancy Cline, bus driver, medical leave, from April 12 until May 20; and Connie Roberts, East Elementary School, medical leave, for six weeks, starting on April 24.
•Unanimously accepted recommendations appointing the following coaches: Tina O’Dell, seventh grade girls’ track coach, West Jay Middle School; Billy Meacham, volunteer track coach, WJMS; and Nancy Monroe, intramural coach, Bloomfield Elementary School.
•Voted to cancel the semi-permanent contract of Jennifer Crum, music teacher, WJMS
•Approved with a 6-0 vote an energy savings contract with Old National Bank. This contract is a restructuring of the lease payments. The school currently has four Guaranteed Energy Savings Contracts (Honeywell Inc.) with Old National Bank.
•Unanimously appointed Brad DeRome as the HIPAA Privacy Officer for the Jay School Corporation. There is a new federal law regarding health insurance/health issues of individuals. Jay Schools was required to designate an officer to deal with health issues of employees and dependents.
•Voted 6-0 to re-appoint Roy Sneed to the Dunkirk Public Library Board.
•Accepted the request for social studies textbook adoption from the district Social Studies Textbook Adoption Committee for textbooks for the 2003-2009 school years.
•Voted unanimously to accept a curriculum waiver for Westlawn Elementary School regarding its handwriting program. The school currently uses the D’Nealian handwriting curriculum and wanted to use the handwriting curriculum outlined in a “Handwriting Without Tears” program.
•Accepted a $520 donation from Renate Baush, the mother of Susanne Bausch, a German foreign exchange student at JCHS in the fall of 2001. The donation will be used for landscaping expenses at the high school and will include planting a tree in honor of Susanne.
•Granted the following requests to use the school corporation’s bus for: Jay County Community Center “R.O.C.K. Program,” Winchester, EJMS on May 1 and East Elementary students on May 15 to go bowling; Jay County Community Center “R.O.C.K. Program,” Brown Bowl, Portland, May 1 for East students and May 15 for EJMS students to go bowling; summer program for middle school and high school students to Earlham College, June 4 until July 27; Jay County 4-H Horse and Pony Club, Indiana Beach, Monticello, June 9; and Jay County Girl Scout Council, Upland, June 17 until June 20.[[In-content Ad]]
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