By JONATHAN SNYDER
Bluffton-Harrison Metropolitan School District will be paying for all expenses related to dual credit, dual enrollment and Advanced Placement courses for students, the BHMSD school board announced Monday.
Superintendent Brad Yates and Assistant Superintendent Julie Meitzler met with Bluffton High School Principal Steve Baker about costs for the Indiana College Core Program — it was estimated that students and families will pay about $50,000 to higher education institutions for these courses.
The courses available under Indiana College Core’s program will be fully transferable towards a student’s first year of college. Most public institutions in Indiana will accept the courses available and students could get a potential of 30 credit hours towards their degree, which tallies out to about one year of college.
Board President Bruce Holland noted that the budget can be modified so that the board can easily pay the expenses.
“That sure is an excellent move,” Holland said.
The board also stated that graduation for Bluffton High School will be held on May 24. It was also announced that materials arrived April 1 for construction on a roof replacement for BHS. The BHMSD board hopes that the roofing in the gymnasium area is completed by the end of the school year. Access to the interior of the building is said to be “very minimal.”
Additionally, Yates stated that the new lights for the BHS stadium are installed and Energy Harness is currently training Bluffton staff on the controls. Replacement of the turf field and track surface will start after the track season, sometime in mid-May. Drawings for a new stadium storage unit have been submitted to the state for review with bid searching to follow. Upgrades to various other storage units throughout campus are expected to start over the next couple of weeks.
The safety village, a mock community area intended to teach kids safety skills, received quotes from two contractors and are awaiting a third following a redesign of the project. The project was originally supposed to be 250-feet long and 130-feet wide but after trouble with getting reasonable quotes from contractors, the board decided to reduce the footprint on the project.
Other items were:
• The board voted to approve At-Will employee April Corbat’s termination effective immediately.
The board approved the following resignations: Allyson Lock, former speech language pathologist assistant; Adam Shively, former middle school custodian Carsan Cunningham, former elementary school instructional assistant
• The board approved the following employment recommendations: Erin Schantz transfers from high school language arts teacher to high school student support specialist; Kristi Searles transfers from middle school mild disabilities/grade 5 writing teacher to elementary school mild disabilities teacher; Kami Salway transfers from middle school part-time reading interventionist to full-time mild disabilities teacher; Griselda Martinez as ELL teacher; Holly Mishler as mentor to Martinez; Deb Johnson and Tonya Isch as part-time high school academic at risk teachers; Kellie Morgan as high school language arts teacher; Holden Berlin as band director; Joseph Becker as middle school intervention teacher; Shane Leimgruber and Ashley Sheetz as middle school custodians; Randy Birch as bus driver; Jaci Moser, Jill Mounsey, Megan Weldy, Lindsay Schroeder, Tammy Funk, Kyan Harris, Hunter Cunningham, Grace Sommerfeld and Zella Walborn as elementary school PAT members; and Alyssa Osborn as middle school counselor.
• Yates’s report stated that the first quarter fund analysis report showed that funds are moving as expected. Yates also noted that 102 potential students are registered for Kindergarten next year, which puts them on pace for their 130 student goal. Yates also stated that he is looking into starting an education foundation for Bluffton schools so they have a mechanism to award scholarships to students. Yates noted that more info should be available as early as next month.
• A new art piece will also be displayed in the board room, as Mrs. Amy Foreman-Habegger’s elementary art students used their fingerprints to create a tree that shows their appreciation for what the school board does.
• In order to comply with federal regulations, the board approved a resolution to raise the micro-purchase threshold to $50,000. The Indiana Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated that school districts may self-certify for the threshold in order to maintain operational compliance for their food service program. Yates noted that nothing should change in regards to the program’s operations, but it does get their actions in line with federal requirements.
• The board also announced that BHS will offer an Advanced Placement U.S. History class next year, where students can earn college credit. BHMSD will get course materials from Perfection Learning Publishing Company and the quoted costs will cover six years of access for 30 students a semester.
• An audit of the food service program was performed leading up to the Monday meeting. The audit was a positive one, according to Meitzler and Director of Food and Nutrition Robin McCorkle. As part of her report, Meitzler also noted that the weather balloon launched by Bluffton-Harrison Middle School, in partnership with Manchester High School, was a resounding success. Metizler hopes that more video and camera shots come from the balloon’s flight in the coming weeks.
• The BHMSD board was recognized as an Exemplary Governing Award Level One Commendable Board by the Indiana School Boards Association. The board also accepted two donations, one from James S. Jackson Construction Company for $500 to a Pre-K experiential classroom and an anonymous donation of $500 each for unpaid lunch accounts in elementary and middle school.
jonathan@news-banner.com
