Retirement incentive is approved

Early retirement incentive plans for support staff and administrators were approved Monday as the Jay School Board continued to address long-term personnel and benefit costs.
An earlier plan for teachers saw 22 take early retirement at the end of this school year, resulting in significant savings.
Up to 30 full-time support staff who are at least 55 and have been with the school corporation for at least 10 consecutive years will be eligible for the plan. Up to five full-time administrators at least 55 years old with at least 6 consecutive years with Jay Schools will qualify.
If more than that seek to take advantage of the early retirement incentive, seniority will determine who qualifies.
For support staff, the plan would provide an incentive of $15,000 for those earning $40,000 and above, $12,000 for those earning $30,000 to $40,000, $9,000 to those earning $20,000 to $30,000, $6,000 to those earning $10,000 to $20,000, and $3,000 to those earning less than $10,000 a year.
For administrators, the incentive is $15,000.
Because of an administrative miscue, an early draft of an incentive plan was circulated in April, leading a number of support staff to submit letters of resignation.
“In order to be eligible for this award, all eligible staff who submitted a resignation on or after April 11, 2011, must withdraw that resignation in writing and must submit a new resignation,” the plan states. The deadline for the new resignation is June 9. “All such resignations which are not withdrawn will be accepted and there will be no incentive award for those employees,” the plan says.
“If you want the incentive, you have to sign the new form,” stressed board attorney Phil Frantz.
The incentive awards will be paid by Aug. 1. The board approved the plans unanimously.
Board members were also unanimous in granting business director Brad DeRome authority to advertise for a bus to replace one seriously damaged in a May 5 traffic accident.
“I do not know the final insurance payoff that we will receive,” DeRome said, noting that the loss will be covered by the insurance company for a trucking company whose driver was at fault. He said he hopes to come back to the board in June with details of a settlement and the cost of a replacement bus.
School lunch prices and a number of fees and pay rates were established for the next school year.
School lunches will rise 5 percent, making elementary lunches $1.90, middle school and high school lunches $2.15, student breakfasts $1.35, adult breakfasts $1.65, and adult lunches $2.65. Milk will remain at 35 cents. The reduced prices for qualifying students will remain at 40 cents for lunch and 30 cents for breakfast, as set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
After-school tutors will be paid $20 per hour, after-school detention teachers will be paid $50 for a three-hour period, Thursday night school teachers will be paid $15 per hour, credit recovery teachers will be paid $24 per hour, substitute bus drivers and substitute teachers will be paid $60 per day. None of those rates represents a change from this year.
Latch-key prices will be increased 25 cents an hour, while pre-school fees will remain unchanged at $30 per semester for the two-day program and $40 per semester for the three-day program.
Superintendent Tim Long and Redkey Elementary School principal Tom Jerles reported to the board on a recent exchange visit by a group of 18 educators from Taiwan.
Long also provided board members with a list of donors and fund-raisers that supported a Jay Schools exchange group that traveled to Anshan, China, earlier this year. No school corporation funds were involved in that exchange. The Taiwan group’s visit was funded by the government of Taiwan.
“These exchanges are wonderful for our kids,” said teacher Jesse Mangas, president of the Jay Classroom Teachers Association, noting that more students from China will be visiting Jay County in August.
In other business, the board:
•Hired Christopher Overholt as an alternative education teacher at Jay County High School and John Jay Center for Learning, Nicole Myers as a family and consumer science teacher at JCHS, Megan Byard as an English teacher at JCHS, Amy Cadwallader as a math teacher at JCHS, Whitney Freeman as an English teacher at JCHS, Whitney Whitehair as a resource special education teacher at Westlawn Elementary School, Rachel Arnold as an music teacher at East Elementary School and Judge Haynes Elementary School, Shalee Myron as a speech and language pathologist, James Roberts as a math teacher at Westlawn, Lauren Budde as a fourth grade teacher at General Shanks Elementary School, Michelle Concannon as a second grade teacher at General Shanks, Lisa Wietzel as a second grade teacher at Judge Haynes, Holly Patz as a math teacher at East Jay Middle School, Hilarie Thomas as a reading recovery teacher at Bloomfield Elementary School and Pennville Elementary School, Russell Hartman as a custodian at JCHS, Dennis Dwiggins as a driver education teacher at JCHS, Donna Chenoweth as a secretary, Gladys Mitchel as a second grade teacher at Bloomfield, Chandra Dawson as a first grade teacher at Bloomfield, Aaron Vaughn as a fifth grade teacher at General Shanks, Kelly Bricker as an art teacher at Redkey and Westlawn, Christa Robinson as a reading recovery teacher at Westlawn, Abby Champ as a physical education teacher at West Jay Middle School, Cody Linville as a vocational teacher at JCHS, Robert Phelps as an English teacher at West Jay, Fred Medler as assistant principal at East Jay, Kristen Gibson as a fifth grade teaecher at Redkey, Brandi Champ as a kindergarten teacher at Redkey, Larry Fifer as a custodian at Bloomfield, Sarah Cook as a special education teacher at Bloomfield, and Guo Li as a Chinese language teacher at West Jay.
•Accepted the resignations of Anita Homan as custodian at Bloomfield and He Yan Xin as Chinese teacher at West Jay.
•Approved medical leave for food service director Bill Bussear, special education teacher Jan McGalliard, and health teacher Mike Mertz.
•Accepted the extra-curricular resignations of Annemarie McClung as French Club sponsor, Kelly Bricker as cross country coach at West Jay, Chelsee Brunswick as assistant girls track coach at JCHS, William Saxman as freshman football coach, Laura McCollum as eighth grade girls basketball coach at West Jay, Susan Lechlitner as student council sponsor at General Shanks, and Sherri McIntire as eighth grade girls basketball coach at East Jay.
•Approved extra-curricular assignments for Carletta Sue Brunson as French Club sponsor, Timothy Antrim as assistant football coach at JCHS, and Amy Bergman as eighth grade girls basketball coach at East Jay.
•Approved bus requests from the Jay County Summer Swim Team, Jay Community Center, and Jay County Public Library.
•Approved field trips by FFA and the boys basketball team.
•Approved early graduation with academic honors for Derek Smith at the end of the sixth semester.[[In-content Ad]]