School board amends, approves resolution

Any local public health orders “should originate” from the board of health. But the school board reserves the right to vote on any such orders before they are implemented in the schools.

That’s the decision Jay School Board landed on Monday after extended public comment followed by board discussion of a proposed resolution regarding COVID-19 mitigation.

Jay School Corporation superintendent Jeremy Gulley on Thursday had publicly shared the proposed resolution. It stated that any future mask, contact tracing or quarantine orders at the local level should come from the local health board rather than the school board. Gulley added Monday that he felt such a resolution was necessary given the recent increase in COVID-19 cases throughout the state and the implementation of various control measures in some Indiana school districts.

Gulley reported Monday evening that 576 responses had poured in since the proposed resolution was shared.

A crowd of about 100 was in attendance at Monday’s school board meeting — it was moved from its usual General Shanks location to the Jay County Junior-Senior High School auditorium in anticipation of larger-than-usual attendance — with 14 members of the public addressing the board.

Of those, 13 spoke opposing the resolution and/or a mask mandate. (A mask mandate was not being considered at the meeting.)

Dr. Oakland Gaerke, a local chiropractor, spoke most extensively in opposition to the resolution. He asserted that Jay County Board of Health, which is not elected, should not control such health measures. (Indiana Code reads as follows: “Each local health board has the responsibility and authority to take any action authorized by statute or rule of the state department to control communicable diseases.”)

He also referenced the Constitution and “unalienable rights that’s given to us by God.” He accused Gov. Eric Holcomb of doing “unconstitutional things” over the course of the last year-plus and said masking decisions should be left up to parents. He also presented a petition with signatures from parents he said represented 250 students who would be pulled out of Jay Schools prior to the September count date — that count determines state funding for each school district — if the resolution was passed. (Gaerke’s comments were met with a standing ovation from many in attendance.)

Most of the other comments from members of the public followed a similar pattern, citing Constitutional rights and asserting that decisions such as wearing a mask or not should be left up to parents. Other comments involved the need to keep schools open and concerns that parents had not have enough time to review the resolution being discussed at the meeting.

Eric Hammers, a Redkey Town Council member, was the only member of the public to speak in support of the resolution and of mask mandates for schools. He said his children were sick after just a couple of days of school this year. He added that schools regularly define what students can and cannot wear, and asked how masks are any different. (He also received a round of applause, though much smaller than that for Gaerke and others speaking against the resolution and masks.)

Gulley referenced due process and “rule of law,” noting a new state law passed this year that says any local health order more stringent than a state executive order must first be approved by the local legislative body. (In this case, that would be Jay County Commissioners.)

Board member Mike Shannon noted that mask decisions still lie with parents. The resolution was intended to clarify the procedure for any possible future health-related orders.

“It puts us out of the health care legislating business that we were forced into a year ago,” he said.

Board member Chris Snow said he’s less concerned about a possible mask mandate than the chance that schools could be shut down again. He referenced increases in obesity, diabetes, mental health issues, social anxiety, child abuse, drug abuse, alcohol abuse and depression “since the lockdown.” He noted that 900 students were excluded from Jay Schools over the course of the 2020-21 school year.

Board president Phil Ford pointed out that state law (quoted above) indicates that decisions regarding public health are to be made by the health department. He added that school closure decisions could be effected by staffing levels if illnesses effect a large number of employees.

Gulley ultimately suggested adding language to the original proposed resolution stating “the Jay School Board reserves the right to review and vote on any such orders before they are implemented in the schools.”

The board approved the resolution with that amendment on a 5-1 vote with Ron Laux, Jason Phillips, Donna Geesaman, Shannon and Ford in favor while Snow dissented. (Vickie Reitz was absent from the meeting.)

Also Monday, board tabled its public hearing on the 2022 budget to allow for proper public notice. (Notice was provided for the hearing, which had been set for Monday, but the location of the meeting was then changed.) The public hearing is now scheduled for 5 p.m. Sept. 20 at General Shanks.

In other business, the board:

•During its Patriot Pride moment, acknowledged the JCHS football team for its season-opening win Friday over Blackford and the junior high cheerleading squad for its second-place finish at the Indiana State Fair contest.

•Approved the following: A contract with One Hundred Percent LLC Career Coaching for “school-based and worksite student job coaching services”; changing board policy and the junior-senior high school handbook to reflect changes to state law regarding student employment; the corporation’s certified staff evaluation plan, which is unchanged from last year; a field trip for foreign language students to Germany, the Czech Republic, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

•Approved the hirings of preschool nurse/instructional assistant Hannah Locke (General Shanks preschool), instructional assistants Abby Boggs (junior-senior high school) and Helene Hartzell (East Elementary School), and student learning aid Sarah Heyne (East Jay Elementary School). Also approved a series of extracurricular assignments, including Dave Haines as boys golf coach and Mindy Weaver and Kristi Pryor as competition cheer coaches.

•Accepted the resignations of art teacher Cassie Fugiett, instructional assistant Glenda Votaw, Latchkey supervisor Amanda Schoenlein and Latchkey instructional assistant Lois Lugar.