No school changes expected

Barring some unforeseen changes, no Jay County schools will close for the 2016-17 year.
Superintendent Tim Long told Jay School Board at its meeting Monday that he doesn’t expect any changes to school configuration in the coming year.
The board also OK’d the purchase of three vehicles and was presented a schedule for the budget process of 2017.
Long’s comment on the possibility of closing schools came in response to board member Greg Wellman raising the issue at the February board meeting. At that time, Wellman said he was unclear on the situation and therefore felt the public likely felt the same way.
“I don’t envision we’ll do anything with school configuration this year,” Long said Monday. “We’re still looking at numbers — we have kindergarten roundup and things like that — and short of something catastrophic I think our grade configuration will stay the same for the coming year.”
The possibility of closing and or reconfiguring schools has been under discussion for more than a year as the corporation has seen its general fund balance drop from about $3 million in 2012 to $1.68 million at the end of 2015. A building study presented in September offered options that included closing Pennville, Westlawn and Judge Haynes elementary schools, moving all eighth graders to Jay County High School and moving all sixth and seventh graders to East Jay Middle School.
Long said Monday any of those plans would take about a year to implement.
Board members Kristi Betts, Beth Krieg, Mike Shannon, Cory Gundrum, Ron Laux, Tammy Bennett and Wellman also approved the purchase of a truck, cargo van and car after the corporation got at least six bids for each.
A Dodge Ram 3500HD for use by the maintenance staff will be purchased for $35,797 from Fuquad Dodge Ram in Dunkirk. A Ford Fusion for driver’s education will be purchased for $18,366.18 from Fincannon Ford in Hartford City, and a Nissan NV2005 van for the food service department will be purchased for $17,783 from D-Patrick Nissan in Evansville. All three were the low bids.
The board had budgeted $94,000 for those purchases, which came in at just under $72,000.
Business manager Brad DeRome also presented the board with a budget timetable for 2017 beginning with a the permission to advertise meeting Aug. 8. The public hearing on teh budget is set for Aug. 22, and budget adoption is slated for Sept. 19.
In other business, the board:
•OK’d the school corporation’s technology plan to be submitted to the state. The plan must be updated each year. Also accepted on first reading the update to its wellness policy.
•Made updates to the Jay County High School handbook regarding its bring your own device policy, student discipline, dress code and dual credit.
•Approved field trips for the JCHS cheerleaders to Universal Cheerleaders Association camp June 24 through 27 to Indiana University, JAG students April 8 to University of Northwestern Ohio, the school robotics teams April 18 through 24 to a robotics world competition in Louisville, Kentucky, the JCHS PVE Club from April 5 through 8 to Gatlinburg, Tennessee and East Jay Middle School seventh graders May 18 to Cedar Point; and a bus request for Zion Early Learning Center on May 4.
•Appointed Cory Gundrum as an advisory member of Portland Redevelopment Commission.
•Were reminded that an Indiana School Board Association spring meeting is scheduled for April 20 in Hagerstown.
•Approved a temporary transfer for Kathy Fennig as a full-time instructional assistant at East Jay Middle School; leaves of absence for EJMS math teacher Leslie Moeller and elementary school instructional assistant Sarah Link; extra curricular assignments for Shannon Current (West Jay Middle School track coach), Brad Horn (JCHS boys soccer coach), Amy Hawbaker (JCHS softball coach) and Brad Aker (JCHS assistant softball coach); and the retirement of General Shanks Elementary third grade teacher Jodi McKee.
•Heard Gundrum wish good luck to the JCHS color guard and winter drumline, which will both be in competition this weekend.