February 20, 2018 at 5:36 p.m.
Preparing to bid
Contracts for construction projects at East and General Shanks will be awarded in March
Preparing to bid
Contracts will be awarded March 19 for an estimated $4.6 million in construction and paving work at East and General Shanks elementaries in preparation for the latest round of consolidation in Jay Schools.
Superintendent Jeremy Gulley on Monday provided Jay School Board with an update on plans being developed by the architectural firm of Barton-Coe-Vilamaa to carve out classrooms at East and reconfigure the parking lot there and at General Shanks.
With the closing of Judge Haynes Elementary School this spring, East will become a kindergarten through grade two school while Shanks will house classes for grades three through five.
“The plans reflect the input that people provided,” said Gulley. “The principals have spent hours on this.”
The project will be advertised shortly, with bids to be opened March 13.
Most of the construction work will be at East, which was built in the mid-1970s with an open-concept floor plan.
“Open space, you won’t see that,” said Gulley, noting that distinct classrooms with floor to ceiling walls are included in the plans.
At Shanks, most of the work will involve paving and a re-design of the parking lot.
“We’re trying to separate buses from parent pick-up and drop-off locations,” Gulley said.
Superintendent Jeremy Gulley on Monday provided Jay School Board with an update on plans being developed by the architectural firm of Barton-Coe-Vilamaa to carve out classrooms at East and reconfigure the parking lot there and at General Shanks.
With the closing of Judge Haynes Elementary School this spring, East will become a kindergarten through grade two school while Shanks will house classes for grades three through five.
“The plans reflect the input that people provided,” said Gulley. “The principals have spent hours on this.”
The project will be advertised shortly, with bids to be opened March 13.
Most of the construction work will be at East, which was built in the mid-1970s with an open-concept floor plan.
“Open space, you won’t see that,” said Gulley, noting that distinct classrooms with floor to ceiling walls are included in the plans.
At Shanks, most of the work will involve paving and a re-design of the parking lot.
“We’re trying to separate buses from parent pick-up and drop-off locations,” Gulley said.
Work is also expected to include moving school offices in an effort to improve security.
And security in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, shooting continued to be on Gulley’s mind Monday night.
“It’s not a new subject, unfortunately,” he told the board. “It’s important that we think about this, that we not put our heads in the sand. … It’s not something that’s just a passing headline. … I do not expect anyone’s going to solve this nationally. … We’re going to have to contend with it locally.”
Gulley’s recommended approach involves nine steps, including creating a school safety commission, increasing access to mental health services and assessing the need for increased armed security.
A survey — bit.ly/JSCsafety — on the Jay Schools website has already received more than 215 responses, and more opinions are still coming in.
Gulley noted that many of the survey results emphasized mental health and bullying, but that there was also sentiment for increasing the level of armed security in schools. (See related story.)
On that point, he said, the emphasis will be on assessing “need, capacity and feasibility.”
“I have been in the profession of arms for 28 years,” said Gulley, an officer in the Indiana National Guard. “I have concerns about having armed teachers.”
He added that there’s a need to strike a balance.
“A school is not a prison,” he said.
Increased security is one of the issues that will be reviewed over the next 90 days by the school safety commission, which is expected to include law enforcement, mental health professionals, the courts, Jay Schools faculty and support staff, and others.
Gulley said he will report to the board every 30 days over the next three months as the commission works through the issues.
“We have made progress on school safety in the last 10 years,” he said. “I’ve seen improvements, but the threat continues to change.”
Gulley reported that the latest figures show Jay Schools enrollment in February at 3,241. That’s down by just six since August, and some decline was factored in when the 2018 budget was built.
Business manager Brad DeRome told the board he’s currently projecting that the school corporation will be able to meet its financial goals for the year. Those include a positive cash flow of more than $594,000, building a rainy day fund balance of $500,000 by the end of the year and boosting the general fund cash balance to $2 million by year’s end.
He noted that the number of school employees had dropped from 499 a year ago to 466 today.
DeRome also provided the board with an overview briefing on the impact of House Enrolled Act 1009, which goes into effect in the next budget year.
Currently, school budgets have six distinct funds: General, transportation, capital projects, debt service, pension debt service and bus replacement. Under the new law, there will be just four funds: Education, operations fund, debt service and pension debt service.
Making the transition from the current system to the new one is made more complicated by the fact that the state has not yet ironed out all of the details, DeRome noted.
In other business, the board:
•Approved participation in the federal summer lunch program for the seventh consecutive year. The program will include three sites open to the public at East Jay Middle School, Westlawn Elementary School and Redkey Elementary School. In addition, it will provide lunches for a number of other school programs over a seven-week period in June and July.
•Authorized advertising for bids on three roof repair projects at East Jay. Bids will be opened on March 16.
•Approved the addition of Fire and Rescue II and Honors U.S. Government to the Jay County High School curriculum.
•Hired Desiree Ballard as an instructional assistant, Linda Grider as a bus aide and Jonathan Miller as a school bus mechanic.
•Approved leaves of absence for school nurse Sherry Welker, special education teacher Emily Knapke, instructional assistant Brittany Hemmelgarn and food service cooks Kim Shannon and Barbara Bertram.
•Approved extracurricular assignments for Lindsey Willoughby as track coach at West Jay Middle School, Steve Wickliffe as a middle school swim coach, Christie Sommers as a middle school swim coach, Kyle Sibray as assistant swim coach at JCHS, Todd Farr as assistant baseball coach at JCHS, Olivia Cash as a half-time assistant gymnastics coach at JCHS, Amy Dillon as sixth grade girls’ basketball coach at East Jay and Lori Sims as yearbook, newspaper and Just Say No sponsor at East Jay.
•Authorized field trips by the JCHS Patriot Edition and Just Treble students, the JCHS PVE students, the JCHS Spanish Club, the West Jay band and choir, and East Jay seventh graders.
•Approved a bus request from Zion Early Learning Center.
And security in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, shooting continued to be on Gulley’s mind Monday night.
“It’s not a new subject, unfortunately,” he told the board. “It’s important that we think about this, that we not put our heads in the sand. … It’s not something that’s just a passing headline. … I do not expect anyone’s going to solve this nationally. … We’re going to have to contend with it locally.”
Gulley’s recommended approach involves nine steps, including creating a school safety commission, increasing access to mental health services and assessing the need for increased armed security.
A survey — bit.ly/JSCsafety — on the Jay Schools website has already received more than 215 responses, and more opinions are still coming in.
Gulley noted that many of the survey results emphasized mental health and bullying, but that there was also sentiment for increasing the level of armed security in schools. (See related story.)
On that point, he said, the emphasis will be on assessing “need, capacity and feasibility.”
“I have been in the profession of arms for 28 years,” said Gulley, an officer in the Indiana National Guard. “I have concerns about having armed teachers.”
He added that there’s a need to strike a balance.
“A school is not a prison,” he said.
Increased security is one of the issues that will be reviewed over the next 90 days by the school safety commission, which is expected to include law enforcement, mental health professionals, the courts, Jay Schools faculty and support staff, and others.
Gulley said he will report to the board every 30 days over the next three months as the commission works through the issues.
“We have made progress on school safety in the last 10 years,” he said. “I’ve seen improvements, but the threat continues to change.”
Gulley reported that the latest figures show Jay Schools enrollment in February at 3,241. That’s down by just six since August, and some decline was factored in when the 2018 budget was built.
Business manager Brad DeRome told the board he’s currently projecting that the school corporation will be able to meet its financial goals for the year. Those include a positive cash flow of more than $594,000, building a rainy day fund balance of $500,000 by the end of the year and boosting the general fund cash balance to $2 million by year’s end.
He noted that the number of school employees had dropped from 499 a year ago to 466 today.
DeRome also provided the board with an overview briefing on the impact of House Enrolled Act 1009, which goes into effect in the next budget year.
Currently, school budgets have six distinct funds: General, transportation, capital projects, debt service, pension debt service and bus replacement. Under the new law, there will be just four funds: Education, operations fund, debt service and pension debt service.
Making the transition from the current system to the new one is made more complicated by the fact that the state has not yet ironed out all of the details, DeRome noted.
In other business, the board:
•Approved participation in the federal summer lunch program for the seventh consecutive year. The program will include three sites open to the public at East Jay Middle School, Westlawn Elementary School and Redkey Elementary School. In addition, it will provide lunches for a number of other school programs over a seven-week period in June and July.
•Authorized advertising for bids on three roof repair projects at East Jay. Bids will be opened on March 16.
•Approved the addition of Fire and Rescue II and Honors U.S. Government to the Jay County High School curriculum.
•Hired Desiree Ballard as an instructional assistant, Linda Grider as a bus aide and Jonathan Miller as a school bus mechanic.
•Approved leaves of absence for school nurse Sherry Welker, special education teacher Emily Knapke, instructional assistant Brittany Hemmelgarn and food service cooks Kim Shannon and Barbara Bertram.
•Approved extracurricular assignments for Lindsey Willoughby as track coach at West Jay Middle School, Steve Wickliffe as a middle school swim coach, Christie Sommers as a middle school swim coach, Kyle Sibray as assistant swim coach at JCHS, Todd Farr as assistant baseball coach at JCHS, Olivia Cash as a half-time assistant gymnastics coach at JCHS, Amy Dillon as sixth grade girls’ basketball coach at East Jay and Lori Sims as yearbook, newspaper and Just Say No sponsor at East Jay.
•Authorized field trips by the JCHS Patriot Edition and Just Treble students, the JCHS PVE students, the JCHS Spanish Club, the West Jay band and choir, and East Jay seventh graders.
•Approved a bus request from Zion Early Learning Center.
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