August 15, 2018 at 8:54 p.m.
Funding approved
Board agrees to $97,949 for SA baseball project
Funding approved
BERNE — The Starfire baseball facility is going to get another upgrade.
South Adams School Board on Tuesday approved nearly $100,000 in funding for a new restroom, concession stand and press box building at Harry F. Anderson Field.
Board members also gave approval for advertising the 2019 budget, learned about advanced placement test scores and heard an update on the Area 18 agreement.
Superintendent Scott Litwiller had mentioned to the board during its Aug. 7 work session that he planned to ask for a commitment of funding for the project at the baseball field, and coach Brad Buckingham made his pitch Tuesday. He noted that Berne Ready Mix made a donation to get the ball rolling and that thus far $71,600 has been pledged or donated for the project. His goal is to get that total to $100,000.
The motivation for the project, he said, is to continue to improve the facility to attract players, honor the traditions of SAHS baseball and build momentum toward the future. It would be part of an ongoing effort that in recent years has included a new scoreboard, storage building and fencing, as well as new dugouts that were installed prior to the 2017 season.
“We try to keep making things better,” said Buckingham, whose program raised more than $90,000 for the dugout project. “We feel we have a responsibility of stewardship to take care of what we have and try to make it better each year.”
Litwiller told board members Arlene Amstutz, John Mann, Julie Mansfield, Mitch Sprunger, Amy Orr, Landon Patterson and John Buckingham that a local estimate put the cost of the project at $158,000, not including bleachers or hook-up to city sewer and water. Other estimates have come in north of the $200,000 mark.
The board agreed to commit $97,949 that was left over money appropriated from the rainy day fund for the high school renovation project.
The goal is to have new building in place for the 2019 season, but that timeline could change based on where bids for the project come in.
Also Tuesday, board members gave permission to advertise the 2019 budget as presented at last week’s work session. The budget comes in at $16.5 million, including $8.9 million in the education fund and just over $5 million in the operations fund. Those funds are new this year, replacing the previous general, capital projects, bus replacement and transportation funds.
A public hearing on the budget is slated for 6 p.m. Sept. 11, and a vote on adoption is expected on Oct. 9.
High school principal Trent Lehman updated board members on advanced placement test scores, noting that 59 percent of students earned passing grades on the tests that can result in college credit. The state average was 53 percent.
South Adams has seen a steady increase in passage rate, climbing from 42 percent in 2014. It’s average score of 2.92 is the best in school history and exceeds the Indiana, U.S. and global averages.
“We’re just trending in the right direction,” said Lehman.”
Litwiller updated the board on the status of the Area 18 agreement, which has been in limbo since June 2017 when changes were proposed. The state board of education advised the group that in order for changes to be made the current agreement must be rescinded and a new one put in place. Litwiller said a resolution to cancel the current agreement is being drawn up, but that it won’t be voted on until a new agreement has been worked out to ensure that services are not interrupted.
Area 18 is a cooperative between Jay, South Adams, Blackford, Southern Wells, Adams Central, Bluffton-Harrison, North Adams (Bellmont), Northern Wells (Norwell) and Huntington schools to provide a variety of career and technical education programs. In response to Southern Wells’ decision to send buses into other districts, including Jay, to pick up regular students, members pushed for the agreement between the corporations to be amended to state stated “participating school corporations agree, as a condition of participation, not to provide any school transportation services within other participating school corporations’ boundaries …”
The last 14 months have been spent communicating with state agencies about the correct process for altering such an agreement.
In other business, the board:
•Honored elementary school students Madisen Edwards, Audrey Orr, Nolan Colpaert and GenaMarie Summerset as examples of excellence. They earned awards in May as part of the PBS 39 Kids Go Young Writers Contest.
•Increased bus driver wages to $70 per day and $15 per hour for extra-curricular activities from the previous $60 and $11, respectively.
•Approved the following: Litwiller to serve on the School Employee Benefit Trust Board; a leave of absence for Hannah Clines; the hiring of Dana Beck as a part-time special education aide; and textbook rental and fees for career and technical education.
•Heard a brief update from Myra Moore about technology, including that the email server has been shifted off-site, spam filters have been moved back on site and the school is now offering insurance for electronic devices for elementary school students in addition to middle and high school.
•OK’d extra-curricular positions, including Allison Evans (auditorium director), Jennifer Thompson (vocal music), Karen Moser (elementary musical), Margie Liechty (elementary yearbook), Brenda Beitler (middle school yearbook), Chet Baumgartner (high school yearbook), Ashley Buckingham, Jane Miller and Jeff Lehman (high school yearbook), Brad Buckingham, Jeannine Wurster and Cindy Sprunger (middle school student government), Andy Lehman (elementary school student government), Morgan Mitchell (National Honor Society) and Kim LeFever (Project Lead the Way).
•Learned from student representative Ethan Duff that homecoming week is scheduled for Aug. 27 through 31. The Starfire football team will play Bluffton in the homecoming game at 7 p.m. Aug. 31.
•Approved the following out-of-state or overnight field trips: Students from the Global Opportunities Club on Sept. 26 to Chinatown in Chicago; a fifth-grade camping trip Oct. 17 through 19 to Camp Friedenswald in Cassopolis, Michigan; all athletic teams for regular-season and tournament competitions as required.
High school principal Trent Lehman updated board members on advanced placement test scores, noting that 59 percent of students earned passing grades on the tests that can result in college credit. The state average was 53 percent.
South Adams has seen a steady increase in passage rate, climbing from 42 percent in 2014. It’s average score of 2.92 is the best in school history and exceeds the Indiana, U.S. and global averages.
“We’re just trending in the right direction,” said Lehman.”
Litwiller updated the board on the status of the Area 18 agreement, which has been in limbo since June 2017 when changes were proposed. The state board of education advised the group that in order for changes to be made the current agreement must be rescinded and a new one put in place. Litwiller said a resolution to cancel the current agreement is being drawn up, but that it won’t be voted on until a new agreement has been worked out to ensure that services are not interrupted.
Area 18 is a cooperative between Jay, South Adams, Blackford, Southern Wells, Adams Central, Bluffton-Harrison, North Adams (Bellmont), Northern Wells (Norwell) and Huntington schools to provide a variety of career and technical education programs. In response to Southern Wells’ decision to send buses into other districts, including Jay, to pick up regular students, members pushed for the agreement between the corporations to be amended to state stated “participating school corporations agree, as a condition of participation, not to provide any school transportation services within other participating school corporations’ boundaries …”
The last 14 months have been spent communicating with state agencies about the correct process for altering such an agreement.
In other business, the board:
•Honored elementary school students Madisen Edwards, Audrey Orr, Nolan Colpaert and GenaMarie Summerset as examples of excellence. They earned awards in May as part of the PBS 39 Kids Go Young Writers Contest.
•Increased bus driver wages to $70 per day and $15 per hour for extra-curricular activities from the previous $60 and $11, respectively.
•Approved the following: Litwiller to serve on the School Employee Benefit Trust Board; a leave of absence for Hannah Clines; the hiring of Dana Beck as a part-time special education aide; and textbook rental and fees for career and technical education.
•Heard a brief update from Myra Moore about technology, including that the email server has been shifted off-site, spam filters have been moved back on site and the school is now offering insurance for electronic devices for elementary school students in addition to middle and high school.
•OK’d extra-curricular positions, including Allison Evans (auditorium director), Jennifer Thompson (vocal music), Karen Moser (elementary musical), Margie Liechty (elementary yearbook), Brenda Beitler (middle school yearbook), Chet Baumgartner (high school yearbook), Ashley Buckingham, Jane Miller and Jeff Lehman (high school yearbook), Brad Buckingham, Jeannine Wurster and Cindy Sprunger (middle school student government), Andy Lehman (elementary school student government), Morgan Mitchell (National Honor Society) and Kim LeFever (Project Lead the Way).
•Learned from student representative Ethan Duff that homecoming week is scheduled for Aug. 27 through 31. The Starfire football team will play Bluffton in the homecoming game at 7 p.m. Aug. 31.
•Approved the following out-of-state or overnight field trips: Students from the Global Opportunities Club on Sept. 26 to Chinatown in Chicago; a fifth-grade camping trip Oct. 17 through 19 to Camp Friedenswald in Cassopolis, Michigan; all athletic teams for regular-season and tournament competitions as required.
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