By HOLLY GASKILL
Vape sensors will soon be installed at the Bluffton-Harrison Metropolitan School District’s middle and high schools.
Superintendent Brad Yates said the district hopes to purchase sensors to cover many of the middle and high school’s common areas for vaping activity. These sensors also detect loud noises, like fighting, and other triggers. They cost approximately $1,000 each.
The district recently completed a 30-day trial of two sensor options to determine which were more effective for the school and its staff. Over this trial time, Yates said the school was able to detect more incidents, with one of the options appearing to be better than the other.
Yates said the district will purchase these sensors in the next month and hopes to have them installed by the beginning of the next semester.
Vape pens, like cigarettes, are illegal for anyone under 21.
In other business Monday evening:
• Assistant Superintendent Julie Meitzler said 35 students have qualified for “Indiana Learns” tutoring funds through the Indiana Department of Education. This program matches school contributions for tutoring to help fourth- and fifth-grade students who fell behind in English and math during the pandemic. While the application is still being completed, Meitzler said they hope to offer the tutoring through the school’s staff.
• The district is on track to fully transition to ParentSquare by the beginning of the new year. As well as updating the schools’ websites, it is hoped that ParentSquare will increase communication and understanding within the community.
• A large section of carpet was installed over fall break, and some more sections will still be installed in the coming weeks. Additionally, the middle school will be putting in place a power changing table for the Intense Intervention program in the coming weeks. Yates said the district is exploring options for similar units in the high school and elementary programs.
• The Indiana Department of Education has released a report on full-time teacher salaries and benefits across 290 school corporations, and BHMSD ranked above the target threshold of 45 percent. Yates noted that the median goal will likely increase in the coming years, but they continue to focus efforts on teacher compensation.
• The board accepted resignations from bus drivers Tim McKnight and Kevin Mechling, custodians Neo Lewis and Jordan Biberstein, and elementary school special education instructional assistant Madeline Wenger. They also approved the employment recommendations for Mark Vanderkolk as custodian, Nicole Bustos as English Language Learners instructional assistant, Roger Hodle as a special education bus aide, and Frank Sewell as a childcare employee. They also hired multiple substitute teachers and volunteers. The board announced its intent to employ two bus drivers and a high school custodian.
• Several policies were amended in part of the board’s ongoing review of its existing policies. As the board reviews and updates their policies, policies regarding board educational surrogate parents, personal technology, Title I parent involvement and student publications were accepted on their second reading, and policies regarding field trips and excursions, credit by examinations, promotion and retention of students, early graduation for students with less than eight semesters of attendance and graduation were accepted on their first reading. No changes were recommended for policies regarding interscholastic athletics and the responsibilities of extracurricular sponsors and coaches. These policies are available for review on the district website.
holly@news-banner.com
