Coaching contacts extended

Two coaching contract extensions sailed through.

A third passed, but not without some discussion and a vote against.

Jay School Board on Monday approved one-year coaching contract extensions for football coach Grant Zgunda, girls basketball coach Sherri McIntire and boys basketball coach Jerry Bomholt.

The contract extensions through the 2025-26 school year were on the board’s agenda, with Jay School Corporation superintendent Jeremy Gulley proposing a 5% increase similar to those given to other employees late last year. They were considered individually, with Zgunda’s extension passing unanimously.

When McIntire’s contract came up, board member Marcie Vormohr said she had received a couple of phone calls regarding why there was “a rush” to act on the basketball contract and that such discussions should be open to the public. (Monday’s meeting was open to the public, as are all regular school board meetings.) Another concern raised was a possible restructuring of administration at the high school, with the suggestion that new administrators should have a voice in the decision on such extensions. 

Vormohr noted that she was not expressing her own feelings, but rather those of her constituents.

After her comments, McIntire’s extension passed 7-0.

When Bomholt’s contract came up, Vormohr said she had hesitation because of phone calls she received regarding the position. She relayed the same concerns she had shared earlier, again saying she was sharing the concerns of her constituents and not her own opinions. Both Donna Geesaman and Ron Laux said they received calls as well.

“There’s always two or three people who don’t like a basketball coach,” said board member Phil Ford, a former athletics director and principal, before making the motion to extend Bomholt’s contract. 

When the topic of potential changes in administration came up again, board member Vickie Reitz argued that the same logic should be applied to all coaching positions, including those that had been approved just minutes earlier, rather than just one.

On the issue, Gulley said he could not comment on personnel matters and that no administrative changes were on the agenda.

Vormohr motioned to table Bomholt’s contract extension, with Geesaman seconding, but that proposal was voted down 4-2. Vormohr and Geesaman were in favor of tabling while Chip Phillips, Jason Phillips, Ford and Reitz voted against. (President Ron Laux did not vote.)

The motion to approve the extension then passed 6-1, with Chip Phillips dissenting.

Contract extensions for all three coaching positions were approved at the March school board meeting last year, with the basketball positions also being addressed at the March meeting in 2021 and 2022 as well.

Also Monday, the board gave business manager Shannon Current permission to advertise for bids for the school corporation’s food service management contract. By Indiana Department of Education rules, such contracts must be re-bid after four contracted years.

Chartwells has handled food service for Jay Schools since the 2019-20 school year.

Requests for proposals for food service management will be accepted until 10 a.m. April 29. Current plans to make a recommendation to the board at its May 20 meeting.

In other business, the board:

•Honored JCHS graduate Sophia Fugiett during the Patriot Pride moment. She has won university, state and national awards through the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE). Fugiett has been filling in teaching physical education at Redkey Elementary School. The school has also implemented a kindness initiative that has included gifts for nursing home residents and area first responders, letters to the elderly and random acts of kindness.

•Approved the following: several hirings, including Fugiett as physical education instructor and technology instructional assistant for West Jay and Redkey elementary schools from March 19 through the end of the school year; leaves of absence for employees Heather Keller, Angelana Carter, Kim Hyatt and Hannah Tollett; field trips for high school Spanish students to Hispanic Flamenco Ballet on March 20 in Kettering, Ohio, and JROTC senior students April 18 through 22 to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.; and approved the payment of regular claims and receipts.

•Accepted the retirement of preschool teacher Terri Mast, effective at the end of the school year, and the resignations of instructional assistant Terri Mast and speech/language pathologist Hannah Tollett.

•Accepted a $3,100 Friends of the NRA grant for the Jay County JROTC air rifle team.