School enrollment up (8/24/04)

Enrollment numbers are up in the Jay School Corporation according to preliminary numbers given to Jay School Board members Monday.

Jay Schools superintendent Barbara Downing reported that as of 3 p.m. Monday there were 3,889 students enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade. This number is the highest since 2000, Downing added.

“We are growing. We have large high school classes,” Downing told Jay School Board members.

An official student enrollment count will be taken later this school year.

Enrollment numbers for the last school year were unavailable this morning.

Also Monday, there was no public comment during a public hearing on the 2005 school corporation budget of $29,340,398. This budget is down $102,429 from this year’s budget of $29,442,827.

According to information previously presented by Jay Schools business manager Brad DeRome, the 2005 general fund is balanced, and revenues are expected to exceed expenses by $5,965.

The budget covers all expenses for the school corporation including salaries, benefits, contract services, supplies, equipment and other costs.

Board members are set to adopt the budget on Monday, Sept. 20.

In other business, Downing reported that a $21,000 paving project of the track at Jay County High School should be completed in about a month.

This track will be covered with a running surface in the near future, Downing said Monday.

Board members also approved the first reading of several updates and additions to the school board policies.

Downing highlighted the additions of a homeless student policy and revisions to the corporation’s mission statement, the family and medical leave of absence policy for support and professional staff and the drug and alcohol testing of Commercial Driver’s License holders.

The policy was reviewed, and changes were recommended by Northeast Ohio Legal Association.

Also Monday, board members:

•Acknowledged Portland residents Rob and Mindy Weaver for their $597 donation towards a new gymnastics mat for the JCHS cheerleaders and gymnastics team.

•Approved recommendations to hire Sarah Davidson as East Elementary School extended day kindergarten teacher; Bart Brandenburg as a Pennville Elementary School teacher; Jennifer Blackford as Redkey Elementary School fourth grade temporary teacher; Emily Ritchie as Redkey Elementary extended day kindergarten teacher; Amy Dillon as Judge Haynes Elementary and East Jay Middle School teacher; Andrew Schmit as EJMS part-time geography teacher; and Devon Lykins as West Jay Middle School part-time teacher.

Also, Chandra Bettinger as Westlawn Elementary School teacher; Pat Cowan as East Elementary health clerk; Terry Minor as East Elementary crossing guard; Tiffany Mathias as General Shanks Elementary School instructional assistant; Alice Carlock as General Shanks Elementary instructional assistant; Becky Billington as JCHS instructional assistant; Stacy Newton as JCHS instructional assistant; Lisa Tobe as a half-day instructional assistant at Judge Haynes; Amie Billington as a part-time instructional assistant at JCHS; and Dana Brown as EJMS special education life skills teacher.

•Voted to rehire Kim Hyatt as a General Shanks third grade teacher, James Cox as a EJMS special education teacher, Kelly Brandenburg as a teacher at Westlawn Elementary and Amy Myers as a kindergarten teacher.

•Accepted extracurricular recommendations including Carla Johnson as EJMS assistant cross country coach; Jack Houck as EJMS assistant seventh grade football coach; Amy Dillon as EJMS eighth grade volleyball coach; Samantha Murdock as WJMS seventh grade volleyball coach; James S. Myers II as WJMS assistant eighth grade football coach; and Rick Locke as WJMS assistant seventh grade football coach.

•Accepted extracurricular resignations from Brenda Bergman as Jay County High School high school and swing choir director.

•Approved leave requests for Jan Crump, Judge Haynes and EJMS special education teacher; Shirley Rogers, elementary physical education teacher; Karen Rose, Bloomfield Elementary School food service; and Mary Jane Smith, speech and hearing teacher.

•Accepted resignations from Connie Laux as JCHS instructional assistant; James Moeschberger as WJMS industrial technology teacher; Pat Schwartzkopf as JCHS instructional assistant; Joyce Hamner as General Shanks instructional assistant; Carey Brunswick as Bloomfield custodian; Amy Taylor as East Elementary crossing guard; William Lykins as Jay School Corporation bus driver; and Claudia May as health clerk at East and Bloomfield Elementary schools.

•Approved ABE/GED Adult Education teaching contracts with Dana McClung, Gary Tarr, John Ferguson and Jessie Mangus.[[In-content Ad]]