April 18, 2017 at 3:25 a.m.
More cuts loom for Jay Schools
Jay School Board
More cuts loom for Jay Schools
Copyright 2017, The Commercial Review
All Rights Reserved
Jay Schools is planning for the worst-case scenario.
Having already made the tough decision to close Pennville Elementary School at the end of the school year, Jay School Board expects to be faced with a decision in December whether to close Judge Haynes Elementary in 2018.
Superintendent Jeremy Gulley projects that if the school corporation continues to lose enrollment at its current rate, savings of more than $1.6 million a year will have to be found by 2021 just to break even. Jay Schools has seen its enrollment drop by an average of 49 students a year for the past 10 years.
Gulley outlined progress on a budget control framework Monday for the board. It’s a framework that calls for reducing staff via attrition and by layoffs. The Pennville decision was just “the first pill” in Gulley’s words.
The current personnel head count of 496 is projected to be cut to 459 by 2018 in order to achieve the necessary savings.
“There is no clear path to balancing (the general fund budget) in 2017,” said Gulley.
“The path,” he said, “turns on the closing of the second elementary school, which we do not know can be done.”
Gulley said a second architectural firm is looking at the East Elementary School and General Shanks Elementary School buildings to see if changes can be made to accommodate additional students without significant construction. At East, for example, it’s possible that internal changes could be made to create additional classroom space.
One option under consideration in consolidating the Portland elementaries is to make East a kindergarten through grade two facility and Shanks a grade three through grade five building.
“It has some merits to it,” said Gulley. “It’s not unheard of. We’ve just not done it locally. … We are taking the opportunity to re-imagine.”
If sufficient cuts can be made, Gulley said, it’s possible the school corporation could be in a surplus position on its general fund by 2018.
“But (those projections) are based on closing (Judge Haynes),” he said.
But just as the tough decisions didn’t end with Pennville, they won’t end with Judge Haynes.
“We will come to the room again next May and be (cutting) again,” said Gulley.
His goal is to get the school corporation back to a year-end cash balance in its general fund of nearly $3 million by 2021.
“Do you see it as achievable?” asked board member Ron Laux.
“We do,” said Gulley. “The timeline’s short, but I think it’s do-able.”
Reduction in force (layoff) notices are expected to go out between May 16 and June 1, and Jay Classroom Teachers Association has already been informed of the legal guidelines that will be used for those decisions.
“My preference is the sooner the better,” Gulley said.
The superintendent stressed that while the Judge Haynes decision lies ahead, no other school closings are on the immediate horizon.
“Beyond this decision we have no plans to consider any additional closures,” he said.
Business manager Brad DeRome currently projects a 2017 year-end general fund balance of $1.428 million down $99,000 from 2016 despite dramatic cuts in spending that have already been made. Jay Schools has operated in a deficit-spending mode in four of the last five years in its general fund.
DeRome told the board that the latest enrollment total is 3,302, down 56 from the February count. Each lost student in enrollment costs the school corporation about $7,000 in general-fund support from the state.
Gulley noted that any delay in acting carries serious risks, pointing to the current crisis in the finances of Muncie Community Schools.
“This board is acting wisely,” he said, “as difficult as the decisions are.”
Students affected by the Pennville closure will see their school assignments finalized in the next few weeks. Gulley said 75 percent of families received their first choice of school and 100 percent received either their first or second choice.
The closing of Pennville results in changes in elementary school boundaries. Bloomfield Elementary School’s boundary will be pushed to the west to the county line, while the northern boundaries of both Westlawn Elementary School and Redkey Elementary School will be pushed to county road 400 North. Students in Pennville itself will be able to choose either Westlawn or Redkey.
Information on bus routes, pick-up points and drivers will be distributed this week, and open houses have been scheduled for students and parents at Bloomfield, Westlawn and Redkey.
The result of the closing will be elementary class sizes that will range from 17 to 23 in each school. Those numbers are predicated on no loss of students to the Southern Wells district, though Gulley acknowledged that some students will be lost.
In other business, board members Kristi Betts, Corey Gundrum, Ron Laux, Beth Krieg, Christa Muhlenkamp and Phil Ford, with Mike Shannon absent:
•Approved a $101,612.50 roof replacement project at Jay County High School in an area over the boiler, awarding the contract to AAA Roofing, Indianapolis. Approval came on a 5-1 vote with Laux dissenting because he iss unfamiliar with the company. The project will be paid for through bond refinancing construction fund. AAA Roofing was the low bidder on the project.
•Adopted new science textbooks on the recommendation of the textbook committee.
•Heard on first reading a number of policy changes, including changes in the wellness policy.
•Accepted a $5,000 grant from CenturyLink and a $16,811.31 early intervention grant.
•Accepted the resignations of instructional assistant Mary Wilson, school bus aide Bianca Elwood, school secretary Alice Poole, school psychologist Jill Miller and special education teacher Courtney Lightle.
•Approved the retirements of secretary Debbie Miller, food service cook Elfriede Davis, special education teacher Mary Snider, first grade teacher LuAn Fugiett, instructional assistant Flora Paxson, pre-school teacher Suzanne Durkovich and science teacher Denny Taylor.
•Authorized leaves of absence for bus driver Sidney Denton, custodian Mike Whetstone, instructional assistant Kathy Fennig and Reading Recovery teacher Emily Laux.
•Approved a special education consulting contract with Curtis and Livers LLC.
•Approved extracurricular assignments for Cindy Hudson as General Shanks yearbook sponsor, Lori DeRome as Judge Haynes yearbook sponsor, Amy Hawbaker as softball field coordinator at JCHS, Mitchell Snyder for band percussion, Lori Sims as newspaper, yearbook and Just Say No sponsor at East Jay Middle School, Emilie Garringer for the band guard at JCHS, Terry Hartley as archery coach at East Jay and Brea Burcham as cheer coach at West Jay Middle School.
•Accepted the extracurricular resignation of Abby Champ as head cheer coach at JCHS.
•Authorized field trips by the JCHS PVE Club, JCHS choir students, JCHS ag students, the West Jay band and choir and East Jay seventh graders.
•Approved a bus request by Zion Early Learning Center.
•Authorized transferring a $30,000 grant from the Center for Excellence in Leadership and Learning to John Jay Center for Learning, which applied for the grant to continue a Jay Schools program.
•Accepted an Above and Beyond Award from the Indiana National Guard and Reserve.
All Rights Reserved
Jay Schools is planning for the worst-case scenario.
Having already made the tough decision to close Pennville Elementary School at the end of the school year, Jay School Board expects to be faced with a decision in December whether to close Judge Haynes Elementary in 2018.
Superintendent Jeremy Gulley projects that if the school corporation continues to lose enrollment at its current rate, savings of more than $1.6 million a year will have to be found by 2021 just to break even. Jay Schools has seen its enrollment drop by an average of 49 students a year for the past 10 years.
Gulley outlined progress on a budget control framework Monday for the board. It’s a framework that calls for reducing staff via attrition and by layoffs. The Pennville decision was just “the first pill” in Gulley’s words.
The current personnel head count of 496 is projected to be cut to 459 by 2018 in order to achieve the necessary savings.
“There is no clear path to balancing (the general fund budget) in 2017,” said Gulley.
“The path,” he said, “turns on the closing of the second elementary school, which we do not know can be done.”
Gulley said a second architectural firm is looking at the East Elementary School and General Shanks Elementary School buildings to see if changes can be made to accommodate additional students without significant construction. At East, for example, it’s possible that internal changes could be made to create additional classroom space.
One option under consideration in consolidating the Portland elementaries is to make East a kindergarten through grade two facility and Shanks a grade three through grade five building.
“It has some merits to it,” said Gulley. “It’s not unheard of. We’ve just not done it locally. … We are taking the opportunity to re-imagine.”
If sufficient cuts can be made, Gulley said, it’s possible the school corporation could be in a surplus position on its general fund by 2018.
“But (those projections) are based on closing (Judge Haynes),” he said.
But just as the tough decisions didn’t end with Pennville, they won’t end with Judge Haynes.
“We will come to the room again next May and be (cutting) again,” said Gulley.
His goal is to get the school corporation back to a year-end cash balance in its general fund of nearly $3 million by 2021.
“Do you see it as achievable?” asked board member Ron Laux.
“We do,” said Gulley. “The timeline’s short, but I think it’s do-able.”
Reduction in force (layoff) notices are expected to go out between May 16 and June 1, and Jay Classroom Teachers Association has already been informed of the legal guidelines that will be used for those decisions.
“My preference is the sooner the better,” Gulley said.
The superintendent stressed that while the Judge Haynes decision lies ahead, no other school closings are on the immediate horizon.
“Beyond this decision we have no plans to consider any additional closures,” he said.
Business manager Brad DeRome currently projects a 2017 year-end general fund balance of $1.428 million down $99,000 from 2016 despite dramatic cuts in spending that have already been made. Jay Schools has operated in a deficit-spending mode in four of the last five years in its general fund.
DeRome told the board that the latest enrollment total is 3,302, down 56 from the February count. Each lost student in enrollment costs the school corporation about $7,000 in general-fund support from the state.
Gulley noted that any delay in acting carries serious risks, pointing to the current crisis in the finances of Muncie Community Schools.
“This board is acting wisely,” he said, “as difficult as the decisions are.”
Students affected by the Pennville closure will see their school assignments finalized in the next few weeks. Gulley said 75 percent of families received their first choice of school and 100 percent received either their first or second choice.
The closing of Pennville results in changes in elementary school boundaries. Bloomfield Elementary School’s boundary will be pushed to the west to the county line, while the northern boundaries of both Westlawn Elementary School and Redkey Elementary School will be pushed to county road 400 North. Students in Pennville itself will be able to choose either Westlawn or Redkey.
Information on bus routes, pick-up points and drivers will be distributed this week, and open houses have been scheduled for students and parents at Bloomfield, Westlawn and Redkey.
The result of the closing will be elementary class sizes that will range from 17 to 23 in each school. Those numbers are predicated on no loss of students to the Southern Wells district, though Gulley acknowledged that some students will be lost.
In other business, board members Kristi Betts, Corey Gundrum, Ron Laux, Beth Krieg, Christa Muhlenkamp and Phil Ford, with Mike Shannon absent:
•Approved a $101,612.50 roof replacement project at Jay County High School in an area over the boiler, awarding the contract to AAA Roofing, Indianapolis. Approval came on a 5-1 vote with Laux dissenting because he iss unfamiliar with the company. The project will be paid for through bond refinancing construction fund. AAA Roofing was the low bidder on the project.
•Adopted new science textbooks on the recommendation of the textbook committee.
•Heard on first reading a number of policy changes, including changes in the wellness policy.
•Accepted a $5,000 grant from CenturyLink and a $16,811.31 early intervention grant.
•Accepted the resignations of instructional assistant Mary Wilson, school bus aide Bianca Elwood, school secretary Alice Poole, school psychologist Jill Miller and special education teacher Courtney Lightle.
•Approved the retirements of secretary Debbie Miller, food service cook Elfriede Davis, special education teacher Mary Snider, first grade teacher LuAn Fugiett, instructional assistant Flora Paxson, pre-school teacher Suzanne Durkovich and science teacher Denny Taylor.
•Authorized leaves of absence for bus driver Sidney Denton, custodian Mike Whetstone, instructional assistant Kathy Fennig and Reading Recovery teacher Emily Laux.
•Approved a special education consulting contract with Curtis and Livers LLC.
•Approved extracurricular assignments for Cindy Hudson as General Shanks yearbook sponsor, Lori DeRome as Judge Haynes yearbook sponsor, Amy Hawbaker as softball field coordinator at JCHS, Mitchell Snyder for band percussion, Lori Sims as newspaper, yearbook and Just Say No sponsor at East Jay Middle School, Emilie Garringer for the band guard at JCHS, Terry Hartley as archery coach at East Jay and Brea Burcham as cheer coach at West Jay Middle School.
•Accepted the extracurricular resignation of Abby Champ as head cheer coach at JCHS.
•Authorized field trips by the JCHS PVE Club, JCHS choir students, JCHS ag students, the West Jay band and choir and East Jay seventh graders.
•Approved a bus request by Zion Early Learning Center.
•Authorized transferring a $30,000 grant from the Center for Excellence in Leadership and Learning to John Jay Center for Learning, which applied for the grant to continue a Jay Schools program.
•Accepted an Above and Beyond Award from the Indiana National Guard and Reserve.
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