February 19, 2019 at 4:58 p.m.
Block out
Jay School Board reluctantly votes to eliminate block scheduling, team teaching because of costs
Block out
When it came down to it, Jay School Board members felt they had no other choice.
Board members Phil Ford, Ron Laux, Mike Shannon, Donna Geesaman, Krista Muhlenkamp and Chris Snow voted Monday evening to convert Jay County High School to a junior-senior high building, take on building renovations estimated at $9,771,753 and drop both block scheduling at the high school level and team teaching at the middle school level in order to eliminate as many as 30 teaching positions over the next few years.
Board member Kristi Betts was unable to attend Monday’s meeting because of a family emergency.
“You have been a thoughtful board,” said superintendent Jeremy Gulley. “These are tough decisions.”
“This is one of the most important meetings I’ve ever been to,” said Shannon, a longtime Jay Schools board member. “This is one of the toughest decisions we’ve ever made.”
It was also one bound to be unpopular.
“None of us will ever be re-elected to the Jay School Board,” said board president Ford.
Board action came after comments from the public that expressed concern both about the cost and about the impact on curriculum.
JCHS senior Dillon Muhlenkamp urged the board to table the matter and instead look at consolidating West Jay and East Jay middle schools at the East Jay building, a move he estimated would reduce renovation costs by about $6 million.
But Gulley said that option had been studied and rejected.
“We did look at that,” said Gulley. “The numbers, unfortunately, aren’t going to add up.”
Parent Rich Carducci was focused more on the impact the board’s action would have on curriculum at the high school level with the abandonment of block scheduling.
“Have we done that research before we jump in head first?” he asked.
Gulley responded, “We can produce high outcomes … on a traditional schedule,” adding that block scheduling is “the best schedule if you can afford it, but we can’t.”
Ultimately, Gulley said, “the school district has more buildings and more staff than can be sustained.”
Ongoing declines in student enrollment have forced consolidation from a 10-building Jay Schools system to what will soon be a six-building configuration.
“This is not new,” said Gulley. “It’s demographics.”
Board members Phil Ford, Ron Laux, Mike Shannon, Donna Geesaman, Krista Muhlenkamp and Chris Snow voted Monday evening to convert Jay County High School to a junior-senior high building, take on building renovations estimated at $9,771,753 and drop both block scheduling at the high school level and team teaching at the middle school level in order to eliminate as many as 30 teaching positions over the next few years.
Board member Kristi Betts was unable to attend Monday’s meeting because of a family emergency.
“You have been a thoughtful board,” said superintendent Jeremy Gulley. “These are tough decisions.”
“This is one of the most important meetings I’ve ever been to,” said Shannon, a longtime Jay Schools board member. “This is one of the toughest decisions we’ve ever made.”
It was also one bound to be unpopular.
“None of us will ever be re-elected to the Jay School Board,” said board president Ford.
Board action came after comments from the public that expressed concern both about the cost and about the impact on curriculum.
JCHS senior Dillon Muhlenkamp urged the board to table the matter and instead look at consolidating West Jay and East Jay middle schools at the East Jay building, a move he estimated would reduce renovation costs by about $6 million.
But Gulley said that option had been studied and rejected.
“We did look at that,” said Gulley. “The numbers, unfortunately, aren’t going to add up.”
Parent Rich Carducci was focused more on the impact the board’s action would have on curriculum at the high school level with the abandonment of block scheduling.
“Have we done that research before we jump in head first?” he asked.
Gulley responded, “We can produce high outcomes … on a traditional schedule,” adding that block scheduling is “the best schedule if you can afford it, but we can’t.”
Ultimately, Gulley said, “the school district has more buildings and more staff than can be sustained.”
Ongoing declines in student enrollment have forced consolidation from a 10-building Jay Schools system to what will soon be a six-building configuration.
“This is not new,” said Gulley. “It’s demographics.”
JCHS, for example, now has 970 students; the building was designed for 1,800.
Under the plan adopted by the board Monday, renovations at JCHS to make it a junior-senior high school are estimated to cost $4,940,038. Work at the East Jay Middle School building to make it an elementary school is estimated to cost $1,244,599. Work at the West Jay Middle School building to make it the new home for students currently attending Westlawn Elementary School is estimated to cost $2,927,020. And remodeling at Bloomfield Elementary School to make it a kindergarten through grade six facility is estimated to cost $660,096.
The timeline calls for work on the high school building to begin this summer and be completed in time for the 2020-2021 school year, at which time block scheduling would be eliminated and the building would become a junior-senior high.
That same year, students now attending General Shanks Elementary School would be moved to the current East Jay building, the pre-school program would move from the high school building to the General Shanks building’s south wing and alternative programs would move to the Shanks north wing.
In the 2021-2022 school year, students now attending Westlawn would move to the renovated West Jay building and the corporation’s central offices would move to the Shanks building’s west wing.
The current central office building on Tyson Road in Portland would then be put up for sale, joining the former Pennville Elementary School building, the former Judge Haynes Elementary School building and the former Westlawn building.
“Whatever decision we move to has been thought out,” said Ford. “Everything that has been mentioned as an alternative has been examined.”
In other business, the board:
•Heard a presentation by Compass Group Managed Services, a company that provides food service, custodial and maintenance services nationally, including to many school corporations in Indiana. Ford made a point of assuring school bus drivers that while the board is exploring cost-savings options it has no intention to out-source student transportation. ”We’re not looking to take that on in the foreseeable future,” he said.
•Hired Tarinna Morris as the new business manager/treasurer for the school system. Currently the business manager of Madison-Grant Schools, she succeeds interim business manager Michael Bush, who has been filling in since Brad DeRome took on a similar role at Muncie Community Schools.
•Learned from Bush that while school finances are in “a good position at this time,” cuts in state support for special education will be a problem before the year is out. “Additional adjustments will need to be made to reduce the overall deficit for 2019,” said Bush.
•Accepted a $2,500 grant from The Portland Foundation to fund FFA participation in a leadership workshop in Louisville, Kentucky, and a $5,000 grant from Corteva Agriscience for agriculture science education.
•Tabled a request from Jay County Trails for an easement for a trail near Redkey Elementary School until more information becomes available.
•Approved proceeding with the application process to get Jay Schools set up for eLearning Days under Indiana Department of Education guidelines.
•Hired Leah Shannon as an instructional assistant at Redkey Elementary.
•Approved the retirement of custodians Larry Fifer and Greg Garringer as well as food service employee Teresa Weesner.
•Accepted the resignations of Bloomfield secretary Barbie Laux, instructional assistant Kristen Selvey, custodian Richard Raines Jr. and instructional assistant Mekayla Nichols.
•Approved leaves of absence for vo-ag teacher Melissa Wolters, sixth grade teacher Leslie Moeller, bus driver/mechanic Perry Harris, maintenance man Paul Zimmerman and instructional assistant Beth Dues.
•Approved extracurricular assignments for Ryan Smitley as assistant wrestling coach at West Jay, Bruce Wood as assistant wrestling coach at East Jay, Jessica Lloyd as track coach at West Jay, Shannon Current as track coach at West Jay, Violet Current as track coach at West Jay, Zach Fullenkamp as assistant boys’ golf coach at JCHS and Lindsey Willoughby as track coach at West Jay.
•Accepted the extracurricular resignation of Kelly Bricker as track coach at West Jay.
•Approved field trips by the JCHS livestock judging team, JCHS Latin students, FFA students and JCHS foreign language students.
Under the plan adopted by the board Monday, renovations at JCHS to make it a junior-senior high school are estimated to cost $4,940,038. Work at the East Jay Middle School building to make it an elementary school is estimated to cost $1,244,599. Work at the West Jay Middle School building to make it the new home for students currently attending Westlawn Elementary School is estimated to cost $2,927,020. And remodeling at Bloomfield Elementary School to make it a kindergarten through grade six facility is estimated to cost $660,096.
The timeline calls for work on the high school building to begin this summer and be completed in time for the 2020-2021 school year, at which time block scheduling would be eliminated and the building would become a junior-senior high.
That same year, students now attending General Shanks Elementary School would be moved to the current East Jay building, the pre-school program would move from the high school building to the General Shanks building’s south wing and alternative programs would move to the Shanks north wing.
In the 2021-2022 school year, students now attending Westlawn would move to the renovated West Jay building and the corporation’s central offices would move to the Shanks building’s west wing.
The current central office building on Tyson Road in Portland would then be put up for sale, joining the former Pennville Elementary School building, the former Judge Haynes Elementary School building and the former Westlawn building.
“Whatever decision we move to has been thought out,” said Ford. “Everything that has been mentioned as an alternative has been examined.”
In other business, the board:
•Heard a presentation by Compass Group Managed Services, a company that provides food service, custodial and maintenance services nationally, including to many school corporations in Indiana. Ford made a point of assuring school bus drivers that while the board is exploring cost-savings options it has no intention to out-source student transportation. ”We’re not looking to take that on in the foreseeable future,” he said.
•Hired Tarinna Morris as the new business manager/treasurer for the school system. Currently the business manager of Madison-Grant Schools, she succeeds interim business manager Michael Bush, who has been filling in since Brad DeRome took on a similar role at Muncie Community Schools.
•Learned from Bush that while school finances are in “a good position at this time,” cuts in state support for special education will be a problem before the year is out. “Additional adjustments will need to be made to reduce the overall deficit for 2019,” said Bush.
•Accepted a $2,500 grant from The Portland Foundation to fund FFA participation in a leadership workshop in Louisville, Kentucky, and a $5,000 grant from Corteva Agriscience for agriculture science education.
•Tabled a request from Jay County Trails for an easement for a trail near Redkey Elementary School until more information becomes available.
•Approved proceeding with the application process to get Jay Schools set up for eLearning Days under Indiana Department of Education guidelines.
•Hired Leah Shannon as an instructional assistant at Redkey Elementary.
•Approved the retirement of custodians Larry Fifer and Greg Garringer as well as food service employee Teresa Weesner.
•Accepted the resignations of Bloomfield secretary Barbie Laux, instructional assistant Kristen Selvey, custodian Richard Raines Jr. and instructional assistant Mekayla Nichols.
•Approved leaves of absence for vo-ag teacher Melissa Wolters, sixth grade teacher Leslie Moeller, bus driver/mechanic Perry Harris, maintenance man Paul Zimmerman and instructional assistant Beth Dues.
•Approved extracurricular assignments for Ryan Smitley as assistant wrestling coach at West Jay, Bruce Wood as assistant wrestling coach at East Jay, Jessica Lloyd as track coach at West Jay, Shannon Current as track coach at West Jay, Violet Current as track coach at West Jay, Zach Fullenkamp as assistant boys’ golf coach at JCHS and Lindsey Willoughby as track coach at West Jay.
•Accepted the extracurricular resignation of Kelly Bricker as track coach at West Jay.
•Approved field trips by the JCHS livestock judging team, JCHS Latin students, FFA students and JCHS foreign language students.
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