Board to look at bonus structure

BERNE — How do you reward good teachers? And how do you do it fairly?
Superintendent Scott Litwiller told the South Adams School Board on Tuesday that the Indiana General Assembly has made further changes in the school performance awards now in their second year.
Last year, South Adams received $54,760 as a school performance stipend based upon ISTEP scores and schools’ letter grades. That money was divided equally between teachers who had been evaluated as “highly effective” or “effective,” with each teacher receiving a bonus of $544.
But this year, the legislature wants school boards to make a distinction between “highly effective” and “effective” teachers when it comes to the performance stipend.
“I think the goal of doing this is to reward high performance teachers,” said Litwiller.
But it’s not clear how to do that without jeopardizing the sense of teamwork that South Adams has built.
On top of that, Litwiller said, the teacher evaluation process involves a number of variables that can make teacher ratings sometimes appear arbitrary.
He’s interested in having the board discuss the matter in November in advance of any school performance stipend distribution.
Meanwhile, those state rewards are in limbo since they depend upon ISTEP scores, which are not available, and school letter grades, which are also in doubt.
Board members gave 6-0 approval Tuesday, with board member Julie Mansfield absent, to a 2016 budget totaling $15,109,619.
The budget, which will be reviewed by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance before receiving state approval, calls for a general fund of $8,999,127, a debt service fund of $1,902,753, a capital projects fund of $2,078,739, a transportation fund of $1,519,000, a bus replacement fund of $110,000, and a rainy day fund of $500,000. Local property taxes would account for $5,543,506 of the total budget, with an estimated tax rate of $1.6351 per $100 of assessed valuation.
Board members also gave 6-0 approval to two-year contracts for five administrators and set their salaries.
High school principal Trent Lehman will receive an annual salary of $88,017, middle school principal Jeff Rich $81,017, elementary school principal Shellie Miller $81,017, curriculum director Michelle Clouser $77,167 and athletics director Jason Arnold $69,424.
Litwiller told the board the School Employees’ Benefit Trust, which involves 12 school corporations, has approved increasing health insurance premiums by an average of 13.3 percent in 2016. Some plan changes, such as higher deductibles, have also been approved that will shift cost-sharing to employees.
“We’ve had … a surge of claims, large claims,” said Litwiller.
Classified employees will receive a 10-cent per hour longevity raise as a result of board action Tuesday. Those who qualify for health insurance benefits will receive the same benefit provided for teachers last year, with employees paying for any premium increase.
In other business, the board:
•Heard Clouser report on the continuing study of eLearning, both for “flex” days and for times of inclement weather. Rules at the state level have been “beefed up,” she said, and the South Adams tech council is moving cautiously to find a system that works for the school corporation. “We don’t just want something thrown together,” she said.
•Heard Litwiller say that work continues on the 2016-17 school calendar, with emphasis on coordinating with other Adams County schools and Jay Schools.
•Granted Litwiller authority to pay teachers and administrators based upon their anticipated raises prior to the completion of the evaluation process. When that process is complete, pay will be adjusted accordingly.
•Appointed Linda Steury to the Berne Public Library Board.
•Approved field trip requests by the FFA and the Global Opportunities Club.
•Approved the use of the high school gym at no charge for a memorial service for longtime football coach Kirk Sorg on Oct. 25.
•Accepted the resignation of Amalia Miller as a migrant program recruiter.
•Hired Miryah Boxell as a part-time special education aide and Laura Dailey as a special education teacher.
•Set the next board meeting for Nov. 17.
•Approved a leave of absence for Sarah Wright.
•Approved a list of recommended winter sports coaches including wrestling head coach Jesse Gaskill, varsity assistant wrestling coaches Robert Loshe and Josh Gaskill, middle school wrestling coach Isaac Werst, middle school assistant wrestling coach Drew Taylor, head basketball coach Andy Brown, junior varsity basketball coach Josh Hendrixson, freshman basketball coach Josh Roby, high school basketball volunteer Larry Patterson, eighth grade basketball coach Corey LeMaster, seventh grade basketball coach Don Foust, middle school basketball volunteer Kyle Glidewell, head girls basketball coach Brett Freeman, junior varsity girls basketball coach Mandi Mata, eighth grade girls basketball coach Morgan Mitchell, seventh grade girls basketball coach Trevor Sprunger, middle school girls basketball volunteer Chad Grabau, head swimming coach Andy Lehman, assistant varsity swimming coach Jeannine Wurster and middle school swimming coach Ashley Fosnaugh.