Consolidation is coming

The next phase of consolidation in Jay Schools will inevitably have some bumps in the road.

But school officials said Monday they want to make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible.

“Our goal is that when (students) go home for summer break, they know the plan,” superintendent Jeremy Gulley told Jay School Board on Monday night. “To be clear, consolidation is happening.”

To that end, Gulley said, he has circulated a survey among all school corporation employees, seeking insights into every aspect of the consolidation process. When that information is gathered and digested, Gulley plans a series of meetings to update parents and students about the changes ahead.

Consolidation involves converting Jay County High School to a junior-senior high, converting the present West Jay Middle School building into an elementary facility, converting the present East Jay Middle School building into an elementary facility and transforming the current General Shanks Elementary School building into a home for special education programs, preschool and central office administration.

The current central office building in the former Portland Armory on Tyson Road and the current Westlawn Elementary building in Dunkirk would then be put on the block as surplus, joining the former Judge Haynes Elementary building in Portland. The former Pennville Elementary building has already been transferred to a Pennville Community Center organization.

Consolidation has become necessary due to continued declining enrollment in Jay Schools and has been discussed by the board at length over the past several years.

On a 6-0 vote with board president Phil Ford absent, the board approved renaming JCHS as Jay County Junior-Senior High School and the middle school buildings as West Jay Elementary and East Jay Elementary next school year. General Shanks would hold onto its name, but the administrative west wing will be named after Andrew F. Whitacre, who lost his life in combat in Afghanistan, in honor of all local veterans.

“I think that accommodates the feedback we received and asked for,” said Gulley.

In other business, the board:

•Heard business manager Tarinna Morris report that she currently projects a positive cash flow in the education fund of $63,966 at the end of calendar 2020. “That’s our worst-case scenario,” she said. “As the year goes on, I’ll update … and start making adjustments.”

•Appointed Nikki Littler to a four-year term on Dunkirk Public Library Board.

•Accepted a donation of $5,000 from the Jay County Prosecutor’s Office to purchase stop-arm cameras for Jay Schools buses. The cameras will be able to get a more accurate picture of any driver who passes a school bus when its stop arm is activated. Six such cameras will be purchased.

•Heard Gulley report a Junior Reserve Officer Training at the junior-senior high school will be open to all high school students next school year.

•Approved a curriculum guide change recommended by JCHS principal Chad Dodd that reduces the number of required credits from 46 to 40 for the general and Core 40 diplomas and 47 credits for the academic honors and Core 40 with technical honors diplomas. The change brings JCHS into alignment with state standards.

•Approved a curriculum guide change setting out procedures for eighth grade students to be able to earn high school credit with parental approval.

•Learned the school corporation would receive an additional $1,305.18 from Indiana Department of Education for early intervention programs.

•Heard assistant superintendent Trent Paxson report that Jay Schools had been approved for a $150,000 grant from the Rural Early College Network. “It’s another good one,” said Gulley. “This one you have to go out and get and they did,” he said, crediting Dodd’s work on seeking the grant.

•Hired Nichole Myers and Ted Habegger as driver education teachers.

•Accepted the resignations of speech pathologist Kelly Christy, family and consumer science teacher Ashley Drees and West Jay math teacher Lisa Morgan.

•Approved leaves of absence for instructor Janel Jarrett, special education teacher Elizabeth Strausburg and instructional assistants Tina Cavanaugh and Donna Glassford.

•Approved extracurricular assignments for Ryan Wenk as assistant wrestling coach at East Jay and James Armstrong as sixth grade girls basketball coach at East Jay.

•Accepted the resignation of Zach Pryor as freshman boys basketball coach at JCHS.

•Approved a field trip by the JCHS band to Taylor University for band camp in July.