March 16, 2021 at 4:56 p.m.
Board seeks final building offers
Jay County School Board
Board seeks final building offers
Jay School Board had a busy evening Monday as it approved the sale of one parcel, held off on selling another, hired a new business manager, heard an update about food service and listened to comments and information about a proposed business expansion.
Board members considered offers on two of the three parcels of land it currently has for sale, agreeing to sell its six-acre wooded parcel adjacent to Portland Memorial Park (north of Runkle-Miller Field and west of Hines-Inman Memorial Stadium) to Derran McGill. (David McGill and James and Phyllis McGill own property adjacent to the parcel.) He made the only offer on the property, matching the asking price of $35,000.
Jay Schools superintendent Jeremy Gulley noted that the corporation received three offers for its administrative office building, 1976 W. Tyson Road, Portland, all of which met or exceeded the asking price of $325,000. Rather than choosing one of those offers, board members Phil Ford, Ron Laux, Donna Geesaman, Mike Shannon, Chris Snow, Vickie Reitz and Jason Phillips decided to take a step back. They asked the three entities involved to turn in their final and best offer, as well as their proposed use for the site, to real estate broker Loy Real Estate and Auction no later than noon March 31. The board plans to consider those offers at a special meeting April 5.
Corey Heniser of Brigade Electronics expressed concern about the process, noting his company was one of those that made an offer. The City of Portland also made an offer on the buidling and discussed it at length at Monday’s council meeting?(see related story). The school board did not announce the offer or the offer amounts.
Board members did not discuss the former Judge Haynes Elementary School property, which is also for sale.
The board also hired Shannon Current as the corporation’s new business manager after she had spent the last few months in the role on an interim basis. Tarinna Morris, who died Nov. 16, had served as business manager since February 2019.
Current was hired at a rate of $84,000 per year. Her hiring includes a quality assurance and technical training support package for a one-year period from Brad DeRome, who served as the corporation’s business manager for nearly 20 years, and Mike Bush, the former superintendent of Wes-Del Community Schools who helped Jay Schools following DeRome’s departure in late 2018. (A second year is available, if needed.)
Her hiring coincides with a restructuring of the corporation’s business office, which has seen significant turnover in the last year. Violet Current, the corporation’s former deputy treasurer, was hired to train new accounts payable clerk Irene Taylor.
Siobhan Carey of Chartwells, which took over the corporation’s food service at the beginning of the 2019-20 school year, provided an update to board members.
Carey noted the food service fund’s year-end balance had hovered below the $200,000 mark for several years, including 2018-19. By the end of 2019-20, Chartwells’ first year at the helm, the balance was about $450,000. It is currently above $700,000. She said the plan is for the money to be used to purchase equipment for the school corporation.
She added meal participation has increased, with 63% of students buying school lunch in 2019-20, up from 56% the year before. Participation also went up with the introduction of breakfast in the classroom for elementary school students and an after-school supper program.
Chartwells and the Jay School Corporation food service program are finalists for Innovator of the Year in the Jay County Community Awards for their efforts to provide meals to students when schools were shut down during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Given the success of the transition, Gulley said he’d like the board look into the possibility of Chartwells' sister company SSC taking over management of custodial and maintenance services.
The board also heard from several Jay County residents and a representative from US Aggregates, which is hoping to expand its quarry operation to a parcel of land between county road 100 South and Tyson Road, east of county road 200 West. Four residents spoke in opposition to the project, citing traffic, blasting, dust, aesthetics and other concerns. Eric Reynolds, the company’s area operations manager, again noted it must follow various state and federal regulations. He also answered questions from the board.
Ford reminded those in attendance the school board has no authority in the matter, which will require rezoning approval from Portland Plan Commission and Portland City Council as a first step.
In other business, the board:
•Recognized Redkey Elementary School staff and Dunkirk Kiwanis during the Patriot Pride moment. The Kiwanis club recently awarded more than $1,500 in grants to the school’s staff for the purchase of supplemental educational materials. Kiwanis also awarded more than $1,000 in grants to Westlawn Elementary.
•Approved the following: policy updates on topics including student assessment, staff evaluation and school safety; the purchase of nine buses (eight full size and one mini) at a cost not to exceed $1 million as part of Current’s plan to put the corporation on a more efficient bus replacement schedule; the purchase of a walk-in cooler from C&T Design and Equipment at a cost of $62,517.27 for the former West Jay Middle School buidling, which is currently undergoing renovations and will house elementary school students next year; and appointed Phillips as its representative on Portland Redevelopment Commission.
•Made several hires, including Erin Bailey as secretary at Redkey Elementary School.
•OK’d one-year contract extensions for JCHS boys basketball coach Jerry Bomholt and girls basketball coach Kirk Comer. Their contracts now coincide with that of recently hired football coach Grant Zgunda, with all three expiring at the end of the 2023-24 school year. The board also made a series of extracurricular assignments, including Dave Cramer as JCHS girls tennis coach, David Haines as JCHS boys golf coach, Lindsey Peterson as JCHS cheer coach and Rhonda Clott as DECA club sponsor.
Board members considered offers on two of the three parcels of land it currently has for sale, agreeing to sell its six-acre wooded parcel adjacent to Portland Memorial Park (north of Runkle-Miller Field and west of Hines-Inman Memorial Stadium) to Derran McGill. (David McGill and James and Phyllis McGill own property adjacent to the parcel.) He made the only offer on the property, matching the asking price of $35,000.
Jay Schools superintendent Jeremy Gulley noted that the corporation received three offers for its administrative office building, 1976 W. Tyson Road, Portland, all of which met or exceeded the asking price of $325,000. Rather than choosing one of those offers, board members Phil Ford, Ron Laux, Donna Geesaman, Mike Shannon, Chris Snow, Vickie Reitz and Jason Phillips decided to take a step back. They asked the three entities involved to turn in their final and best offer, as well as their proposed use for the site, to real estate broker Loy Real Estate and Auction no later than noon March 31. The board plans to consider those offers at a special meeting April 5.
Corey Heniser of Brigade Electronics expressed concern about the process, noting his company was one of those that made an offer. The City of Portland also made an offer on the buidling and discussed it at length at Monday’s council meeting?(see related story). The school board did not announce the offer or the offer amounts.
Board members did not discuss the former Judge Haynes Elementary School property, which is also for sale.
The board also hired Shannon Current as the corporation’s new business manager after she had spent the last few months in the role on an interim basis. Tarinna Morris, who died Nov. 16, had served as business manager since February 2019.
Current was hired at a rate of $84,000 per year. Her hiring includes a quality assurance and technical training support package for a one-year period from Brad DeRome, who served as the corporation’s business manager for nearly 20 years, and Mike Bush, the former superintendent of Wes-Del Community Schools who helped Jay Schools following DeRome’s departure in late 2018. (A second year is available, if needed.)
Her hiring coincides with a restructuring of the corporation’s business office, which has seen significant turnover in the last year. Violet Current, the corporation’s former deputy treasurer, was hired to train new accounts payable clerk Irene Taylor.
Siobhan Carey of Chartwells, which took over the corporation’s food service at the beginning of the 2019-20 school year, provided an update to board members.
Carey noted the food service fund’s year-end balance had hovered below the $200,000 mark for several years, including 2018-19. By the end of 2019-20, Chartwells’ first year at the helm, the balance was about $450,000. It is currently above $700,000. She said the plan is for the money to be used to purchase equipment for the school corporation.
She added meal participation has increased, with 63% of students buying school lunch in 2019-20, up from 56% the year before. Participation also went up with the introduction of breakfast in the classroom for elementary school students and an after-school supper program.
Chartwells and the Jay School Corporation food service program are finalists for Innovator of the Year in the Jay County Community Awards for their efforts to provide meals to students when schools were shut down during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Given the success of the transition, Gulley said he’d like the board look into the possibility of Chartwells' sister company SSC taking over management of custodial and maintenance services.
The board also heard from several Jay County residents and a representative from US Aggregates, which is hoping to expand its quarry operation to a parcel of land between county road 100 South and Tyson Road, east of county road 200 West. Four residents spoke in opposition to the project, citing traffic, blasting, dust, aesthetics and other concerns. Eric Reynolds, the company’s area operations manager, again noted it must follow various state and federal regulations. He also answered questions from the board.
Ford reminded those in attendance the school board has no authority in the matter, which will require rezoning approval from Portland Plan Commission and Portland City Council as a first step.
In other business, the board:
•Recognized Redkey Elementary School staff and Dunkirk Kiwanis during the Patriot Pride moment. The Kiwanis club recently awarded more than $1,500 in grants to the school’s staff for the purchase of supplemental educational materials. Kiwanis also awarded more than $1,000 in grants to Westlawn Elementary.
•Approved the following: policy updates on topics including student assessment, staff evaluation and school safety; the purchase of nine buses (eight full size and one mini) at a cost not to exceed $1 million as part of Current’s plan to put the corporation on a more efficient bus replacement schedule; the purchase of a walk-in cooler from C&T Design and Equipment at a cost of $62,517.27 for the former West Jay Middle School buidling, which is currently undergoing renovations and will house elementary school students next year; and appointed Phillips as its representative on Portland Redevelopment Commission.
•Made several hires, including Erin Bailey as secretary at Redkey Elementary School.
•OK’d one-year contract extensions for JCHS boys basketball coach Jerry Bomholt and girls basketball coach Kirk Comer. Their contracts now coincide with that of recently hired football coach Grant Zgunda, with all three expiring at the end of the 2023-24 school year. The board also made a series of extracurricular assignments, including Dave Cramer as JCHS girls tennis coach, David Haines as JCHS boys golf coach, Lindsey Peterson as JCHS cheer coach and Rhonda Clott as DECA club sponsor.
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