Board to revisit West Jay work

The problem isn’t going to go away.
Jay School Board president Greg Wellman said Monday he has been revisiting the needs of the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system at West Jay Middle School and wants to board to set a clear course toward solving the problem.
“We have a building that has to be fixed, and we have to figure out how to pay for it,” Wellman said, placing the West Jay HVAC issue on the agenda for the board’s Feb. 27 meeting.
Board members voted 6-0 in October to move forward with the project but also voted 5-1 to defer the work for up to two years when retirement of a bond issue would reduce the school corporation’s overall indebtedness.
Board member Mike Shannon was the lone vote against deferring the work, and board member Larry Paxson was absent at that meeting.
Wellman said Monday he expects the work at West Jay to cost between $1 million and $1.6 million and that it can no longer be put off. “We’ll move forward with that project in 2012,” he said. “I don’t think a ‘no’ vote is acceptable anymore.”
Wellman also called on board members to step up to the plate when it comes to adopting a new teacher evaluation system in compliance with Senate Bill 1, a state-directed move in the direction of merit pay.
“From here forward, we (the board) really need to be involved in where this process is going,” Wellman said. “We have to put a program in place that covers everybody.”
Board member Beth Krieg has already stepped forward to become involved in reviewing the school corporation’s options.
Assistant superintendent Wood Barwick invited board members to a meeting Feb. 1 at 3:30 p.m. at the administrative offices to discuss evaluation systems, including one known as RISE.
“We haven’t adopted an evaluation system yet,” Barwick said. Three systems are currently under review.
Board member Ron Laux noted the evaluation question has prompted some anxiety among teachers. “There’s probably a lot of fear in people,” he said.
Barwick acknowledged that the evaluation systems under consideration will result in a new standard.
“You’re going to get a rating every year (as a teacher),” he said. “And it may be ‘ineffective.’ It’s going to reflect your performance.”
Senate Bill 1 calls for student performance on standardized tests to be a factor in teacher evaluations for the first time. Under prior law, those test schools could not be used as part of teacher evaluations.
The shift has led the school corporation to put greater emphasis on tracking data on individual student performance on a constant basis.
Superintendent Tim Long invited board members to attend a meeting with teachers and administrators on the state of those student data-tracking efforts Feb. 8 at 3:45 p.m. at Jay County High School.
Board members gave unanimous approval Monday to plans to build an FFA storage barn to be constructed north of the building trades storage building at the high school.
Retired vocational agriculture teacher Bob Lyons told the board the estimated cost for the 40x60x14 pole barn is $21,000, and a significant portion of that amount has been raised. The school corporation’s share of the project is $10,000. Much of the work will be done by FFA students, building trades students, and former FFA students who are now in the construction business.
Board member Mike Masters urged that Lyons consider insulating the building and said he would pledge a couple of thousand dollars to the project if that addition is made.
Lyons said he has held off fund-raising until receiving board approval. “I can’t start until you say ‘go,’” he said. “I don’t want to start (on construction) until the money’s all there.”
Lyons will work with Long and business manager Brad DeRome, who is responsible for buildings and grounds, as the project moves forward.
DeRome gave the board his final report on calendar year 2011, noting that the ending cash balance in the general fund increased by $7,529, giving that fund an ending cash balance of more than $3.1 million.
He noted that the retirement incentive program had brought payroll down by $233,000 and the school corporation saw increases in revenues from a number of sources, including state support for full-day kindergarten.
“I think we’ve weathered the storm,” said Long, praising DeRome’s efforts.
Wellman added, “There aren’t very many districts that are in our (financial) condition.”
In other business:
•Several board members indicated their intent to attend an Indiana School Boards Association seminar on collective bargaining in Carmel on Feb. 17.
•The board hired Barbara Mullins as a part-time cook at Bloomfield Elementary School, Julie Barlow as a morning crossing guard and instructional assistant at General Shanks Elementary School, Kris Woodbury as an afternoon crossing guard and instructional assistant at General Shanks, and Mike Foreman as a technology instructional assistant at General Shanks and Judge Haynes Elementary School.
•Donations were accepted from SDP Manufacturing and CenturyLink. SDP’s $3,000 donation is in support of the Westlawn Elementary School backpack program, the archery program, and the high school robotics program. CenturyLink’s $300 donation is in support of Red Ribbon Week.
•The board accepted the resignations of crossing guard Phoebe Robinette and instructional assistant John McFarland, approved a leave of absence for Judge Haynes kindergarten teacher Erin Homan, and approved the retirement of Westlawn special education teacher Sherry Hilliard.
•The board approved a spring break trip to Costa Rica by JCHS Spanish students and a trip by the JCHS robotics team to the VEX World Finals in Anaheim, Calif.
•An extra-curricular assignment of Joshua Shatto as assistant baseball coach at JCHS was approved.[[In-content Ad]]