June 5, 2018 at 4:54 p.m.
Plans get tweaked
East will get hybrid ballistic doors
Plans get tweaked
Remodeling plans for East Elementary School were tweaked Monday to make the building safer when it opens its doors to students from kindergarten through grade three this fall.
East, which is undergoing changes in connection with the closing of Judge Haynes Elementary and continuing consolidation of Jay Schools, will have hybrid ballistic doors throughout when the remodeling project is done.
“Doors alone are not a sole answer to (school security),” superintendent Jeremy Gulley told the school board Monday. “But this is part of the solution.”
Board members agreed to purchase 34 of the doors, which are essentially armored and have bullet-resistant glass, at a cost of $139,674, less the cost of ordinary doors that had originally been specified. The action came on a 6-0 vote with board member Kristi Betts absent.
East was constructed in the mid-1970s as an open-concept elementary. When the remodeling is complete, it will house more traditional-style classrooms.
Gulley emphasized that work on “hardening” school facilities is only one part of the renewed Jay Schools focus on school security. Prevention and a faster armed response are the other parts of the security strategy.
Prevention will include training from Sandy Hook Promise on how to identify potential threats in advance.
The armed response will include a full-time school resource officer at Jay County High School and staff members who volunteer, are psychologically screened and trained by law enforcement would have access to firearms to be kept in a biometrically controlled safe at each school in the event of a school shooting incident.
“I believe we ought to do it,” Gulley told the board. “These doors are effective.”
East is the focus of the initial installation because it was already scheduled for remodeling, but Gulley noted that over time similar steps will be taken in all the other schools in the district in an effort to improve security.
“There are many other things we’re going to have to do,” he said. “One purchase doesn’t do that.”
Gulley said while he is hopeful the new doors and the rest of the work at East can be completed by the time school opens, he’s well aware that the completion is likely to spill over into September.
East, which is undergoing changes in connection with the closing of Judge Haynes Elementary and continuing consolidation of Jay Schools, will have hybrid ballistic doors throughout when the remodeling project is done.
“Doors alone are not a sole answer to (school security),” superintendent Jeremy Gulley told the school board Monday. “But this is part of the solution.”
Board members agreed to purchase 34 of the doors, which are essentially armored and have bullet-resistant glass, at a cost of $139,674, less the cost of ordinary doors that had originally been specified. The action came on a 6-0 vote with board member Kristi Betts absent.
East was constructed in the mid-1970s as an open-concept elementary. When the remodeling is complete, it will house more traditional-style classrooms.
Gulley emphasized that work on “hardening” school facilities is only one part of the renewed Jay Schools focus on school security. Prevention and a faster armed response are the other parts of the security strategy.
Prevention will include training from Sandy Hook Promise on how to identify potential threats in advance.
The armed response will include a full-time school resource officer at Jay County High School and staff members who volunteer, are psychologically screened and trained by law enforcement would have access to firearms to be kept in a biometrically controlled safe at each school in the event of a school shooting incident.
“I believe we ought to do it,” Gulley told the board. “These doors are effective.”
East is the focus of the initial installation because it was already scheduled for remodeling, but Gulley noted that over time similar steps will be taken in all the other schools in the district in an effort to improve security.
“There are many other things we’re going to have to do,” he said. “One purchase doesn’t do that.”
Gulley said while he is hopeful the new doors and the rest of the work at East can be completed by the time school opens, he’s well aware that the completion is likely to spill over into September.
“It’s well underway,” he said. “We’re on plan.”
In a move related to the East Elementary project, board members approved the appropriation of $1.21 million to help fund the remodeling. Under Indiana’s complex school construction laws, the school corporation will sell the East building to the Jay School Building Corporation, which will then issue bonds to finance the project. Jay Schools will then lease the property from the building corporation, with the lease payments used to pay off the bond issue.
In other business, the board:
•Approved increasing the pay rate for substitute bus drivers to $72 per day at the recommendation of transportation director Teresa Myers, who consulted with a bus driver committee before making her recommendation. The average substitute driver pay for nearby school districts is $72.23 per day.
•Heard business manager Brad DeRome report that the school corporation expects to finish the year with a positive cash flow in the general fund and end the year with a general fund cash balance of $2 million, while also boosting the rainy day fund to $500,000.
•Approved elementary textbook rentals and fees as follows: Kindergarten $125, up $7; first grade $140, up $3; second grade $122, up $2; third grade $140, no change; fourth grade $128, no change; and fifth grade $131, no change. Trent Paxson, director of curriculum and instruction, noted that Jay Schools elementary students will be on a one-to-one basis with electronic devices beginning this fall. Elementary students will be using Chromebooks, though those will be used at school only and not taken home. The rental fees listed here include a Chromebook for each student.
•Approved a meeting schedule for the balance of 2018 and all of 2019. The next board meeting is July 16.
•Hired Jessica Lloyd as a math teacher at West Jay Middle School and Amanda Pyle as a food service cook at East Jay Middle School.
•Accepted the resignations of East Jay cook Linda Sheffer and Westlawn Elementary School instructional assistant Kately Grimes.
•Approve a leave of absence for maintenance employee Greg Garringer.
•Approved extracurricular assignments at JCHS for Bruce Wood as assistant wrestling coach, Joseph Missicano as assistant softball coach, Rebecca Cloud as a summer band assistant, Katie Clark as assistant student council sponsor, Zach Keller as student council sponsor, Melynda James as assistant cheer coach, Elizabeth Lawson as fine arts academic assistant, Kendra Harris as Best Buddies sponsor, Cheree McCallister as cheer coach, Sarah Wenk as assistant volleyball coach and Lynette Sisco as assistant cheer coach.
•Accepted the extracurricular assignment resignations of Christine Krieg as assistant student council sponsor at JCHS, Joe Imel as eighth grade football coach at East Jay, Steve Wickliffe as assistant swim coach at JCHS and swim coach for the middle school team, Katie Clark as student council sponsor at JCHS, Emily Knapke as assistant volleyball coach at JCHS, Kristin Westgerdes and Dora Houck as Just Say No sponsors at General Shanks Elementary School, and Jessica Longerbone as student council sponsor at West Jay.
•Approved bus requests by the Jay County Law Enforcement Youth Camp and the West Jay Community Center Kids’ Camp.
In a move related to the East Elementary project, board members approved the appropriation of $1.21 million to help fund the remodeling. Under Indiana’s complex school construction laws, the school corporation will sell the East building to the Jay School Building Corporation, which will then issue bonds to finance the project. Jay Schools will then lease the property from the building corporation, with the lease payments used to pay off the bond issue.
In other business, the board:
•Approved increasing the pay rate for substitute bus drivers to $72 per day at the recommendation of transportation director Teresa Myers, who consulted with a bus driver committee before making her recommendation. The average substitute driver pay for nearby school districts is $72.23 per day.
•Heard business manager Brad DeRome report that the school corporation expects to finish the year with a positive cash flow in the general fund and end the year with a general fund cash balance of $2 million, while also boosting the rainy day fund to $500,000.
•Approved elementary textbook rentals and fees as follows: Kindergarten $125, up $7; first grade $140, up $3; second grade $122, up $2; third grade $140, no change; fourth grade $128, no change; and fifth grade $131, no change. Trent Paxson, director of curriculum and instruction, noted that Jay Schools elementary students will be on a one-to-one basis with electronic devices beginning this fall. Elementary students will be using Chromebooks, though those will be used at school only and not taken home. The rental fees listed here include a Chromebook for each student.
•Approved a meeting schedule for the balance of 2018 and all of 2019. The next board meeting is July 16.
•Hired Jessica Lloyd as a math teacher at West Jay Middle School and Amanda Pyle as a food service cook at East Jay Middle School.
•Accepted the resignations of East Jay cook Linda Sheffer and Westlawn Elementary School instructional assistant Kately Grimes.
•Approve a leave of absence for maintenance employee Greg Garringer.
•Approved extracurricular assignments at JCHS for Bruce Wood as assistant wrestling coach, Joseph Missicano as assistant softball coach, Rebecca Cloud as a summer band assistant, Katie Clark as assistant student council sponsor, Zach Keller as student council sponsor, Melynda James as assistant cheer coach, Elizabeth Lawson as fine arts academic assistant, Kendra Harris as Best Buddies sponsor, Cheree McCallister as cheer coach, Sarah Wenk as assistant volleyball coach and Lynette Sisco as assistant cheer coach.
•Accepted the extracurricular assignment resignations of Christine Krieg as assistant student council sponsor at JCHS, Joe Imel as eighth grade football coach at East Jay, Steve Wickliffe as assistant swim coach at JCHS and swim coach for the middle school team, Katie Clark as student council sponsor at JCHS, Emily Knapke as assistant volleyball coach at JCHS, Kristin Westgerdes and Dora Houck as Just Say No sponsors at General Shanks Elementary School, and Jessica Longerbone as student council sponsor at West Jay.
•Approved bus requests by the Jay County Law Enforcement Youth Camp and the West Jay Community Center Kids’ Camp.
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