Wage hike OK'd by school board (6/29/04)

A minimum 2 percent wage increase for support staff, administrators and administrative support staff was approved Monday by the Jay School Board.

These wage hikes and other items were outlined in two memorandums of understanding for 2004-05 which were approved 6 to 1, with board member Ted Champ casting the opposing vote on each.

Champ said two support staff personnel told him they “had no idea what was in the memo.”

Jay Schools superintendent Barbara Downing said she held approximately 15 meetings with different groups of the staff to discuss the memo.

“The wage gap between the support staff and the administration keeps getting wider and wider,” Champ added after voting in opposition to the administrators memo.

It also was reported Monday that there will be no increase in health insurance premiums for these individuals. Besides guidelines for salary raises and insurance costs, the memo also includes information on retirement and leaves of absence.

Also Monday, the board approved emergency roof repairs at General Shanks Elementary and East Jay Middle School.

A total of $263,439 in repairs will be made by McGuff Roofing to EJMS’s older gym roof.

At General Shanks, $105,897 in repairs are needed for the roof above the kitchen, special education and latch key room. These repairs will be made by Tremco, Blackmore and Buckner.

A rain storm the last weekend in May caused leaks in these areas, said Brad DeRome, school corporation business manager. Both of these roofs were scheduled to be replaced in 2005, he added.

In other business, the board unanimously approved the first reading of a resolution to extend an outgoing board member’s term by six months.

If the second reading of the resolution is approved, a newly elected board member will take office on Jan. 1, six months after the current date of July 1.

The purpose of this change is to not throw new board members taking office July 1 into a complex budget process, according to discussion at the board’s May 24 meeting.

Also Monday, board members:

•Approved the school corporation’s application for the 2004-05 Title I program.

According to DeRome, Pennville Elementary, Judge Haynes Elementary, Westlawn Elementary and Redkey Elementary and East Elementary school and West Jay Middle School are eligible to receive funds from that program. More than 39.26 percent of the students who attend those schools are currently below the poverty level or are homeless, according to the school corporation’s grant application.

The corporation is requesting $428,949.72 in funding.

•Approved a three-year contract for superintendent Downing with a 6 to 1 vote. Her salary will increase to $94,000 a year from $90,000 a year.

Champ, casting the opposing vote, said “This is another example of the top getting more and the bottom getting less.”

Board member Jay Halstead said, “I think (Downing) is worth every dime.”

•Recognized Champ and board president Duane Starr for their efforts on the school board for the past four years.

Champ will be replaced at the July meeting by Michael Masters, and Starr will be replaced by Greg Wellman.

•Unanimously approved the 2004-05 student/parent handbooks for the middle and elementary schools.

Changes were made to the schools’ policies for cellular phone use, body piercing and regarding the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act.

In the handbooks, more information was provided on the privacy act. The rule for students possessing cell phones now states students may have the phones on school property but may not have the phones on or use them during the school day.

Also, a new rule prohibits students from wearing any type of body piercing, except earrings.

•Voted to pay $22,300 in the John Jay Center for Learning partnership agreement. These funds will partially pay the salaries of the JJCL executive director and administrative secretary. The center will pay the remaining funds for those salaries.

•Approved two agreements for administrative staff to participate in the Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association and the 401 (a) plan.

•Voted to renew workers’ compensation insurance with FCCI-Miles & Finch Agency for $57,628. This price is an approximately $8,000 reduction from last year’s total, said DeRome.

•Voted to renew property and casualty insurance coverage with Indiana Insurance for one year at $294,044.

•Approved the $66,072 purchase of library software and 10 scanners from Library Software Management for use at JCHS.

•Approved the purchase of 30 laptop computers and battery charger accessories from Gateway Computers for $40,582. These computers will be used in a wireless computer lab at WJMS.

•Approved leave requests for Jan Crump as EJMS special education teacher, Jennifer Johnson as Westlawn Elementary teacher and Redkey Elementary teacher Tammy Lyons.

•Accepted the resignation of Ed Bennett as Jay County High School pre-algebra summer school teacher.

•Appoved a recommendation to hire Julie Roysden as JCHS secretary and receptionist.

•Accepted extracurricular recommendations including Laurie Holloway as EJMS eighth grade team leader, Lori Sims as EJMS annual and pep club sponsor, Butch Gray as EJMS eight grade football coach, Justin Wendel as EJMS eighth grade assistant football coach, Jane Prescott as EJMS seventh grade volleyball coach, Ron Fuller as WJMS cross country coach, Randy Davis as WJMS eight grade football coach, Violet Current as WJMS eighth grade volleyball coach, Amy Steed as WJMS cheerleading sponsor and Charity Leist as WJMS sixth grade cheerleading sponsor.

•Accepted extracurricular resignations including Warren Lowe as EJMS eighth grade boys basketball coach, Denny Porter as WJMS National Honor Society sponsor and Doug Tipton as JCHS varsity girl’s golf coach.

•Voted to remove the high school pre-algebra class from the summer school schedule.[[In-content Ad]]