July 11, 2018 at 5:25 p.m.
South Adams board looks at future projects
South Adams schools
South Adams board looks at future projects
BERNE — With the second phase of the high school renovation project on track, the South Adams School Board turned its attention to future projects.
On Tuesday evening, board members discussed major projects moving forward with the discussion centering around expanding the machine trades instructional area, building a new restroom and press box facility for the baseball field and replacing the bleachers on the home side of the football field.
Superintendent Scott Litwiller presented the board with a long list of potential capital projects that was created through discussions with school staff. They ranged from smaller items such as repainting the walls in the elementary school gym at an estimated cost of $3,446, to big-ticket items like replacement of the tennis courts at a cost of $725,000.
Litwiller recommended that focus be placed on a pair of athletics projects — replacing the bleachers on the home side of the football field and building a new restroom and press box at the baseball field.
“At some point the football bleachers, we can’t just indefinitely just continue to reinforce,” said Litwiller. “At some point they’re not going to pass inspection.”
“That’s a big expense, and it’s something you can’t break down,” he added, noting the projected cost of $435,000. “You can’t do that row by row. You can’t go little by little.”
Board member John Mann agreed that those are worthy projects, but also advocated strongly for expanding the machine trades instructional area. He said discussion about such a project — doubling the size of the machine trades shop — has been ongoing for a decade.
“We have a fantastic program. This last year there was a young man second in the nation,” he said. “We need to get some more room. We’re going to have more equipment donated. … We have just all kinds of industries looking for these young people to hire them, and the program needs more space.”
Board member Julie Mansfield agreed with Mann’s assertion.
On Tuesday evening, board members discussed major projects moving forward with the discussion centering around expanding the machine trades instructional area, building a new restroom and press box facility for the baseball field and replacing the bleachers on the home side of the football field.
Superintendent Scott Litwiller presented the board with a long list of potential capital projects that was created through discussions with school staff. They ranged from smaller items such as repainting the walls in the elementary school gym at an estimated cost of $3,446, to big-ticket items like replacement of the tennis courts at a cost of $725,000.
Litwiller recommended that focus be placed on a pair of athletics projects — replacing the bleachers on the home side of the football field and building a new restroom and press box at the baseball field.
“At some point the football bleachers, we can’t just indefinitely just continue to reinforce,” said Litwiller. “At some point they’re not going to pass inspection.”
“That’s a big expense, and it’s something you can’t break down,” he added, noting the projected cost of $435,000. “You can’t do that row by row. You can’t go little by little.”
Board member John Mann agreed that those are worthy projects, but also advocated strongly for expanding the machine trades instructional area. He said discussion about such a project — doubling the size of the machine trades shop — has been ongoing for a decade.
“We have a fantastic program. This last year there was a young man second in the nation,” he said. “We need to get some more room. We’re going to have more equipment donated. … We have just all kinds of industries looking for these young people to hire them, and the program needs more space.”
Board member Julie Mansfield agreed with Mann’s assertion.
Board member Mitch Sprunger agreed that the machine trades project would be a good one, but said the football bleachers might have to take precedence if they are becoming a safety issue.
Board members Arlene Amstutz, John Buckingham, Amy Orr, Mann, Mansfield and Sprunger did not make any decisions on future capital projects, but Litwiller will use the discussion as a guide for budget discussions in the coming months.
As for current projects, director of buildings and maintenance Dave Vorhees reported that the ongoing phase two of the high school renovation project is going smoothly.
The $1.5 million project this summer involves renovating classrooms on the southwest side of the media center and renovating the former office area into intense intervention classrooms. Litwiller said construction is on schedule for classes to resume next month.
The first phase of the project, completed last summer, included renovated classrooms on the north and east sides of the media center and created a new office area and secure entrance.
Vorhees also told the board that staff has worked this summer to reset fence posts around the track, remove large tree roots that had been blocking storm drains and installing new security cameras. Still planned for the summer are repaving the north parking lot and installing new lights, and repairing a culvert under Starfire Way on the south side of the school.
In other business, the board:
•Congratulated Mason Sell, who placed second at the national SkillsUSA contest.
•Amended the 2018-19 calendar to allow for three professional development days.
•Tabled a decision on increasing the daily rate for bus drivers to $65 from the current $60. Board members discussed the possibility of bumping the rate up to $70 instead and asked Litwiller for additional information.
•Learned $500,000 and $300,000 was transferred to the rainy day fund from the bus replacement fund and transportation fund respectively. The board at its last meeting had granted Litwiller and treasurer Becky Biberstein permission to make the transfers as they saw necessary as part of an effort to protect those funds as Indiana’s school finance system is set to change in 2019. The $500,000 from the bus replacement fund has been earmarked for future bus purchases.
•Approved the joint services agreement for the Adams-Wells Special Services Cooperative.
•Heard the school farm made a profit of about $21,885.35 in 2017. Those funds go back into the program and to support FFA activities.
•Agreed to increase Mary Highley’s base pay rate to $15.35 per hour. She had been hired as a library assistant but has since had additional duties added to her job.
•Set textbook rental fees for grades kindergarten through six as follows: kindergarten – $97.40; first grade – $127.64; second grade – $107.71; third grade – $105.58; fourth grade – $112.72; fifth grade – $118.51; sixth grade – $110.13. Most fees were similar to last year’s with first grade seeing the largest increase at just of $7.
•Approved $30 monthly cell phone allowance for Litwiller, Susie Amstuts, Julie Baumer, Jason Arnold, Doug Beall, Mark Cook, Trent Lehman, Joe Meyer, Shellie Miller, Myra Moore, Jeff Rich, Dave Vorhees, Tom Hartman and Judy Miller.
•Accepted the retirement of Sandy Mertz, who has served as a school cook for 30 years.
•Hired Haley Provost and Amber Steiner to share the role of school nurse, Julia Diers as a full-time special education aide and Rebecah Schwartz as a part-time migrant education resource center assistant. South Adams is still looking to hire two pre-school aides, two part-time middle/high school special education intervention aides, a full-time elementary school special education aide and a boys tennis coach.
•Approved the proposed budget adoption calendar, which includes a work session at 6 p.m. Aug. 7 and a public hearing during the regular Sept. 11 board meeting. Budget adoption is scheduled for the Oct. 9 regular meeting.
•Approved the following: a field trip for migrant students to the state migrant program’s STEM Summit from July 15 through 17 in Muncie; a mental health counseling agreement with Martha Goller; a request for use of the softball field by Agape for its summer softball league; a request from the migrant education service center to use the cafeteria on the evening of Aug. 12.
Board members Arlene Amstutz, John Buckingham, Amy Orr, Mann, Mansfield and Sprunger did not make any decisions on future capital projects, but Litwiller will use the discussion as a guide for budget discussions in the coming months.
As for current projects, director of buildings and maintenance Dave Vorhees reported that the ongoing phase two of the high school renovation project is going smoothly.
The $1.5 million project this summer involves renovating classrooms on the southwest side of the media center and renovating the former office area into intense intervention classrooms. Litwiller said construction is on schedule for classes to resume next month.
The first phase of the project, completed last summer, included renovated classrooms on the north and east sides of the media center and created a new office area and secure entrance.
Vorhees also told the board that staff has worked this summer to reset fence posts around the track, remove large tree roots that had been blocking storm drains and installing new security cameras. Still planned for the summer are repaving the north parking lot and installing new lights, and repairing a culvert under Starfire Way on the south side of the school.
In other business, the board:
•Congratulated Mason Sell, who placed second at the national SkillsUSA contest.
•Amended the 2018-19 calendar to allow for three professional development days.
•Tabled a decision on increasing the daily rate for bus drivers to $65 from the current $60. Board members discussed the possibility of bumping the rate up to $70 instead and asked Litwiller for additional information.
•Learned $500,000 and $300,000 was transferred to the rainy day fund from the bus replacement fund and transportation fund respectively. The board at its last meeting had granted Litwiller and treasurer Becky Biberstein permission to make the transfers as they saw necessary as part of an effort to protect those funds as Indiana’s school finance system is set to change in 2019. The $500,000 from the bus replacement fund has been earmarked for future bus purchases.
•Approved the joint services agreement for the Adams-Wells Special Services Cooperative.
•Heard the school farm made a profit of about $21,885.35 in 2017. Those funds go back into the program and to support FFA activities.
•Agreed to increase Mary Highley’s base pay rate to $15.35 per hour. She had been hired as a library assistant but has since had additional duties added to her job.
•Set textbook rental fees for grades kindergarten through six as follows: kindergarten – $97.40; first grade – $127.64; second grade – $107.71; third grade – $105.58; fourth grade – $112.72; fifth grade – $118.51; sixth grade – $110.13. Most fees were similar to last year’s with first grade seeing the largest increase at just of $7.
•Approved $30 monthly cell phone allowance for Litwiller, Susie Amstuts, Julie Baumer, Jason Arnold, Doug Beall, Mark Cook, Trent Lehman, Joe Meyer, Shellie Miller, Myra Moore, Jeff Rich, Dave Vorhees, Tom Hartman and Judy Miller.
•Accepted the retirement of Sandy Mertz, who has served as a school cook for 30 years.
•Hired Haley Provost and Amber Steiner to share the role of school nurse, Julia Diers as a full-time special education aide and Rebecah Schwartz as a part-time migrant education resource center assistant. South Adams is still looking to hire two pre-school aides, two part-time middle/high school special education intervention aides, a full-time elementary school special education aide and a boys tennis coach.
•Approved the proposed budget adoption calendar, which includes a work session at 6 p.m. Aug. 7 and a public hearing during the regular Sept. 11 board meeting. Budget adoption is scheduled for the Oct. 9 regular meeting.
•Approved the following: a field trip for migrant students to the state migrant program’s STEM Summit from July 15 through 17 in Muncie; a mental health counseling agreement with Martha Goller; a request for use of the softball field by Agape for its summer softball league; a request from the migrant education service center to use the cafeteria on the evening of Aug. 12.
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