Project remains on track

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BERNE — South Adams High School will be ready for students to return Aug. 14.

South Adams School board received an update on the first phase of the high school renovation project at its meeting Monday while also reviewing a timeline for the second phase, which is slated for next summer.

It also OK’d the budget calendar for the coming months and heard details about scores on IREAD and Advanced Placement tests.

With the exception of a handful of offices, the $1.7-million first phase of the high school renovation is expected to be complete by the time students return to school. Because the current offices, including that of principal Trent Lehman, are not yet being repurposed, those employees will likely remain in place until the new construction is complete. That is expected to be sometime around Sept. 1.

As of Monday, most new walls were in place and being painted. Ceiling grids and carpet are also in the process of being installed, and cabinet installation is expected to begin soon.

Phase one of the renovation includes relocating the main office, creating a secure entrance and renovating classrooms on the north and east sides of the media center.

The schedule for phase two of the project, which will involve renovating the remaining classrooms around the media center, includes publishing a request for quotes on July 26 and issuing a progressive design-build request for proposals on Aug. 17. The goal is to select a design team in September and finalize plans for the renovation by the end of 2017.

Board members Arlene Amstutz, John Mann, Landon Patterson, John Buckingham, Mitch Sprunger and Julie Mansfield, absent Amy Orr, also heard from director of buildings and maintenance Dave Vorhees that resurfacing of the track will be completed in August and work is underway to replace boilers.

The board set its first budget-related meeting, a work session, for 6 p.m. Aug. 1. It will vote on permission to advertise the budget Aug. 8, hold a public hearing Sept. 12 and vote on adoption Oct. 10.

Superintendent Scott Litwiller told board members that all third graders who re-took the IREAD test earned passing grades. In all, 86 out of 88 South Adams third graders passed the test. (The final two did not retake it.)

He also noted that South Adams had a 57.6-percent passage rate on Advanced Placement exams, which was above the state average of 52.9 percent.

In other business, the board:

•Honored the Allen County Athletic Conference champion girls track team and individual boys and girls conference champions as examples of excellence. Those included Bailey McIntire, who finished fourth in the state in the 3,200-meter run, and Addie Wanner, who placed fifth in the state in the high jump.

•Approved the following: establishing a pass-through fund with Adams County Community Foundation for donations to expand South Adams’ precision machining shop; an agreement with The Crossing for an alternative educational option for high school-aged students; book fees ranging from $91.95 for kindergarten to $127.16 for sixth grade with band; cell phone allowances of $30 per month for 14 administrators; varsity volleyball field trips this week for a camp in Muncie and Aug. 3 through 5 for a team camp in Toledo, Ohio; and creating a position for a student data specialist.

•Accepted the resignations of middle school Title I teacher Andy Brown, middle school Title I aide Kelsey Sprunger, elementary school special education aide Shannon Herman, bus driver Bryan Lloyd and assistant football coach Jessie O’Dell.

•Hired Corrinne Bussell (elementary school intense intervention special education aide), Yesenia Tenorio Gerber (part-time migrant preschool student interventionist), Kaylynn Conn (part-time student custodian), Josh Hendrixson and Kelsey Sprunger (summer school teachers), Mark Smith (volunteer cross country coach), Heath Moser (assistant football coach), Amie Sprunger (middle school volleyball coach), Julie Noonan (life skills aide) and Hannah Clines (part-time special education aide).

•Heard from technology director Myra Moore that updating elementary school iPads came in $67,000 under budget mostly because a new, more affordable model came out recently. The initial estimated cost was $376,227.48.

South Adams’ also has a new website.

•Corrected the pay rate for substitute cook/dishwasher at $9.90 per hour. It was incorrectly listed as $9.50 on the previous meeting’s agenda.

•Learned from Litwiller that Lisa Wanner will no longer provide mental health counseling services for the school corporation. She will help in the search for her replacement.