School board picks Chartwells

Local schools are charting a new course for food service.

Jay School Board on Monday selected Chartwells to take over management of the school corporation’s food service effective July 1.

In other business, the board authorized bidding for planned construction projects and approved a reduction in force (RIF) of three teaching positions.

Chartwells was one of three companies that put in a proposal for handling food service for Jay Schools, joining Southwest Food Service and Wayne Street Market. The companies were rated based on criteria including cost, service capability, personnel management and experience, with Chartwells recommended to the board as the best option.

As part of its proposal, the company said it expects to save Jay Schools about $220,000 on food service in the first year. Chartwells currently provides food service to about 600 school districts nationally, including 24 in Indiana. The company also committed to at least $300,000 in equipment replacement.

The change to an outside firm to handle food service has been part of an overarching effort to save money.

Superintendent Jeremy Gulley again made clear that the change to Chartwells does not come at the expense of any local jobs. All food service employees will be retained, and pay will start at the current rate.

The board also authorized bidding for renovation projects at Jay County High School, West Jay Middle School, East Jay Middle School and Bloomfield and Redkey elementary schools.

The renovations are in large part to accommodate students as part of consolidating buildings — seventh and eighth graders will move to JCHS for the 2020-21 school year, with Westlawn Elementary slated to close and General Shanks Elementary to house administrative offices and preschool — and also include security upgrades such as secure entrances at each site. 

A pre-bid meeting is scheduled for May 30, with bid opening June 13 and a contract to be awarded June 17. The target is for construction to begin this summer. The work at West Jay will follow in summer 2020 and continue through the school year with the building empty, with Westlawn students then moving for the 2021-22 school year.

Also Monday, board members Phil Ford, Kristi Betts, Donna Geesaman, Mike Shannon, Krista Muhlenkamp, Chris Snow and Ron Laux approved a reduction in force of three teaching positions. Gulley noted that the corporation has reduced staff mostly by attrition over the last few years, but that RIFs were necessary this year and may be in the next few years. Teachers effected this year were Amanda Bruce (Jay County High School), Kurtis Hess (East Jay Middle School) and Amanda Burcham (West Jay Middle School).

“This is done very reluctantly by all of us,” Shannon said prior to the vote.

In other business, the board:

•Honored the General Shanks fifth grade students involved in the Care and Share program, the sectional championship girls track team and retiring Jay School Corporation staff members as part of the Patriot Pride Moment.

•Learned there are six applicants to fill the Jay School Board seat being vacated by Kristi Betts, who is moving to Georgia with her family this summer. The names of those candidates were not released. The board also recognized Betts’ 6.5 years of service.

•Approved the following: the hiring of driver education instructors Ted Habegger and Dennis Dwiggins, custodian Richard Raines Jr., bus driver Roberto Aparicio, East Jay Middle School custodian Cynthia Garringer and West Jay Middle School English teacher Katie Sunderland; leaves of absence for bus driver Yvonne Thomas, custodians Melinda McWilliams and Lisa Swink, WJMS science teacher Jeff Hess, JCHS family and consumer sciences teacher Ashley Drees, East Elementary second grade teacher Cori Sieg and General Shanks teacher Rod Wolford; a series of extracurricular assignments, include Cheree McCallister as JCHS head cheer coach and competition cheer coach; field trips for the JCHS boys basketball team June 24 through 27 to D-One Camp in Fort Wayne and Spanish III students May 25 to National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago; authorizing the administration to hold public hearings on collective bargaining in accordance with a changed to Indiana Code; a change in the handbook to inform students about the use of the “Say Something” application for reporting of school safety issues; increasing pay to $100 from the current $70 for substitute teachers who have a valid teacher license; preschool, driver’s ed and Latchkey fees and substitute bus driver, after school tutor/detention and credit recovery pay rates as unchanged for 2019-20 from the current school year; a 10-cent increase to the school meal fees as required for federal reimbursement; the purchase of eight school buses at a total cost of $787,718 from Midwest Transit Equipment, which was the lowest bidder.

•Were given a demonstration about how the new camera systems work at JCHS and East Elementary. They offer a live feed to both administrators and local law enforcement. The system will be implemented at all schools in the corporation as construction projects are completed.

•Accepted donations, including $5,000 from WWM Enterprises of Huntington to the school safety fund; $4,987.40 from CenturyLink;’s Teachers and Technology grant program to Bloomfield Elementary School fifth grade teacher Kristen Gibson for the purchase of leveled readers and robotics kits for classrooms at the school; and $1,000 from a Walmart Community Grant for West Jay’s Character Counts rewards.

•Received an update from business manager Tarinna Morris on board financial goals set to be accomplished by the end of 2020, including three years of positive cash flow, a rainy day fund balance of $500,000 and a year-end education fund balance of $2.1 million. The corporation had a positive cash flow in 2018, but is projected to have a $119,774 deficit for 2019. It’s current rainy day fund balance is $600,728, and it’s projected 2019 year-end balance is $1.755 million.

•Accepted the retirements of East Jay Middle School principal Fred Medler, JCHS English teacher Sue Brunson, Westlawn Elementary School second grade teacher Brenda Lykins and library instructional assistant Brenda Cash, and the resignations of JCHS teachers Garrett Krieg and Janelle Miller, East Jay cook Amber Posocco and art teacher Ashley Knapke.

•Heard from Gulley that a request by Jay County High School to establish a Junior ROTC program was denied. JCHS has been put on a waiting list in the case that funding becomes available.