DELAWARE COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2009

6:30 P.M.

DELTA MIDDLE SCHOOL

 

 

MINUTES

 

 

Present:  John Adams, President; Sean Burcham, Vice-President; Tyce Stebbins, Secretary; Norb Heban, Member; Trent Fox, Member; Darin Gullion, Assistant Superintendent; and Steven R. Hall, Superintendent

 

 

I.                   CALL TO ORDER

 

At 6:30 p.m. Board President, John Adams, called the meeting to order.

 

II.                PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

 

III.             AMEND AGENDA

 

A.     A motion was made by Norb Heban and seconded by Sean Burcham to amend the agenda as presented.  The motion was approved unanimously.

 

IV.              MINUTES

 

A.     A motion was made by Sean Burcham and seconded by Tyce Stebbins to accept the minutes of the business meeting, and executive sessions held on Tuesday, November 17, 2009.  The motion was approved unanimously.

 

V.                 FINANCE

 

A.     A motion was made by Trent Fox and seconded by Norb Heban to accept the list of vouchers as presented.  The motion was approved unanimously.

 

A.     Purchase over $7,500

 

None

 

VI.              OLD BUSINESS

 

A.     None

 

VII.           COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE FLOOR

 

A.     Ms. Julie Costello requested the Board consider rescheduling any extra events currently scheduled during finals, which could potentially interfere with students who are taking those final exams

 

B.     Some community members spoke regarding their concerns with recent facility study options presented to the Board.  Leann Grider, Josh Coleman, Denise Thornburg, Kent Sloniker, Dr. Angela Lykins, Julie Costello, and Deanna Case all shared concerns and questions with the Board.  Questions included but were not limited to the following subjects:  1) the possibility of closing DeSoto Elementary School; 2) recent Request for Proposal submitted by the Corporation; 3) concerns of moving fifth grade students from elementary buildings to the middle school.

 

Superintendent Hall, Assistant Superintendent Gullion, along with the Board members answered questions where possible.  The Board has been reviewing options and will continue to discuss all options available.

 

VIII.        NEW BUSINESS

 

A.     Certified Staff

 

1.       None

 

B.     Classified Staff

 

1.       A motion was made by Sean Burcham and seconded by Norb Heban to approve the leave of absence for Robin Starrett from December 8, 2009 through approximately February 16, 2010.  The motion was approved unanimously.

 

C.     Extra Curricular

 

A motion was made by Sean Burcham and seconded by Trent Fox to approve the following extra curricular appointments (items #1-8) as presented by Superintendent Hall:

 

 

1.       Appoint Christina Witt as an assistant girls track coach for a split position at Delta High School effective for the 2009-2010 season pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing.

 

2.      Appoint Brittany Eckhardt as an assistant girls track coach for a split position at Delta High School effective for the 2009-2010 season.

 

3.      Appoint Tim Patterson as a volunteer assistant swim coach for Delta High School effective for the 2009-2010 season pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing.

 

4.      Appoint Jakob Alley as a volunteer assistant wrestling coach for Delta High School effective for the 2009-2010 season pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing.

 

5.      Appoint Matthew Roberts as a head boys’ and girls’ swimming coach for a split position at Delta Middle School effective for the 2009-2010 season pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing.

 

6.      Appoint Nicole Stein as a head boys’ and girls’ swimming coach for a split position at Delta Middle School effective for the 2009-2010 season pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing.

 

7.      Appoint Jane Ellery as an assistant boys’ and girls’ swimming coach for Delta Middle School effective for the 2009-2010 season pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing.

 

8.     Appoint Maxwell Hackman as an assistant wrestling coach for Delta Middle School effective for the 2009-2010 season pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing.

 

The motion was approved unanimously.

 

D.    Conference Requests/Field Trips

 

A motion was made by Norb Heban and seconded by Tyce Stebbins to approve the following conference requests (items #1-4) as presented by Superintendent Hall:

 

1.       Charles R. DeNeal requests permission to attend the Hoosier Heritage Conference Department Chair Conference on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at Mr. Vernon High School in Fortville, IN.

 

2.      Deb Christopher requests permission to attend Alternate Assessment Standard Setting on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 8-9, 2009 at the Indiana Department of Education Offices in Indianapolis, IN.

 

3.      Darin Gullion and Steve Hall requests permission to attend the IASBO School Finance Seminar on Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at the Primo West in Plainfield, IN.

 

4.      Scott Herring requests permission to attend Preparing For the May 2010 Algebra I End of Course Assessments on Friday, January 15, 2010 at the East Central Educational Service Center in Connersville, IN.

 

The motion was approved unanimously.

 

E.     Information and Proposals

 

1.             Superintendent

 

a.      International Exchange Student Policy #5137 – First Reading

 

Superintendent Hall introduced Mr. Jim Koger, Principal at Delta High School.  Mr. Koger presented the Board with a draft of an international exchange student policy for the Board’s consideration.  Mr. Koger introduced Ms. Deb Huston, who helps with the placement of foreign exchange students for Delta High School.  Ms. Huston discussed the pros and cons of the policy in its current form.  The policy will be brought back at the next Board meeting for approval.

 

Board President, John Adams, thanked Mr. Koger and Ms. Huston for their time in drafting and presenting the policy.

 

b.      Delta Dental

 

Superintendent Hall informed the Board the corporation will not be switching to Delta Dental.  The teachers group did not feel it was in the best interest to switch at this time.  It could possibly be brought back at a later date for consideration.

 

c.       09-10 Contract Ratification

 

Superintendent Hall informed the Board a tentative agreement has been reached with the Delaware Community School Teacher’s Union.  Teachers ratified this agreement earlier this evening.

 

A motion was made by Trent Fox and seconded by Norb Heban to agree to ratify the 09-10 teacher contract as presented by Superintendent Hall.  The motion was approved unanimously.

 

Sheliah Dorton, President of the DCCTA and Bargaining Spokesperson, read a joint announcement with the Administration, regarding the contract settlement.  Ms. Dorton added she is most proud as President of the DCCTA to see teachers work together to come to this agreement.

 

2.            Assistant Superintendent

 

a.      Komputrol Agreement

 

A motion was made by Sean Burcham and seconded by Tyce Stebbins to accept the Komputrol Agreement for Disaster Recovery as presented by Assistant Superintendent Gullion.  The motion was approved unanimously.

 

A motion was made by Tyce Stebbins and seconded by Norb Heban to approve the following fund raising requests (items b-g) with the suggestion to review the December 16th date for the Get Up and Go Day for item f as presented by Assistant Superintendent Gullion:

 

b.      Jennifer McNely requests permission for the French 2 Classes at Delta High School to receive donations from a clothing/book/diaper drive for a Haitian Parish on November 18 through December 3, 2009.

 

c.       Whitney Grove requests permission for the Delta Cheer Team to hold a Cheer Camp on January 23, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

 

d.      Kari King requests permission for the Eaton PTO to hold a Secret Santa Shop from December 7, 2009 through December 11, 2009.

 

e.      Lauren Griffis requests permission for the Delta High School Student Council to hold a “Hat Day” on December 11, 2009 to support the adoption of a Christmas family.

 

f.        Lauren Griffis requests permission for the Delta High School Student Council to hold a “Get Up and Go Day” on December 16, 2009 to support the adoption of a Christmas family.

 

g.      Kurt Griffis requests permission for the Delta High School Boys Soccer Team to hold a Soccer Clinic at Delta High School from February 24, 2010 through March 6, 2010.

 

The motion was approved unanimously.

 

IX.              LETTERS/NOTES

 

A.     None

 

X.                 BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS

 

Trent Fox – It is a pleasure to be able to have the contract with the teachers settled.  Thank you for all who came and shared comments this evening.  Nothing is set in stone yet.  We are looking at all options and deciding what is best for all concerned.

 

Tyce Stebbins – Thank you to all who came this evening and to those who spoke and shared their concerns.  I hope we all look positively at finding solutions.  I’d also like to thank those who have addressed me personally outside of the meetings.  Thank you to the teachers for a ratified contract.  I think it is a positive for our school district.  I’d also like to thank Mr. Hall, Dr. Gullion and all our staff for a great job in doing a lot of research on a lot of very difficult topics.  Thank you all for coming and sharing in the meeting.

 

Norb Heban – I would concur with my fellow Board members.  Sheliah Dorton and the DCCTA, thank you.  Mr. Hall and Dr. Gullion, thank you as well for your part in the negotiations.  It’s nice to see we have some coaches, who are Delta alumni, coming back to help out the school.  It’s also good to see our students reaching out to the community to help through fund raisers.

 

Sean Burcham – I would concur with my fellow Board members as well.  Thank you all for the comments.  We do appreciate them.  Sheliah Dorton, thank you for your work on the newly ratified contract.  Thank you to the teachers as well.

 

John Adams – I would concur with my fellow Board members.  Sheliah Dorton, thank you and thank you to your staff and to our administrators for the work to ratify a contract.  I would like to say congratulations to our Spell Bowl Teams this year.  They represented our schools well.  Thank you all for coming this evening.

 

XI.              FUTURE MEETINGS

 

A.     A Community Meeting with the Board of School Trustees to discuss the four options presented to the Board will be held on Monday, December 7, 2009 at Delta Middle School at 6:00 p.m.

 

B.     The ISBA School Law Seminar will be held on Friday, December 11, 2009 at the Marriott East Hotel in Indianapolis, IN.

 

C.     A regular meeting of the Board of School Trustees is scheduled for Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at the Administration Building.

 

D.    A Community Meeting with the Board of School Trustees to discuss the four options presented to the Board will be held on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 at Delta Middle School at 6:00 p.m.

 

E.     The ISBA Board Member Leadership Seminar will be held on Friday, January 15, 2010 at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in Indianapolis, IN.

 

XII.           ADJOURNMENT

 

A motion was made by Norb Heban and seconded by Sean Burcham and Board President, John Adams, adjourned the meeting at 7:42 p.m.

 

An executive session to discuss the job performance evaluation of individual employees followed the Business Meeting.

 

 

 

JOHN ADAMS                                                                                                                                 

 

SEAN BURCHAM                                                                                                                           

 

TYCE STEBBINS                                                                                                                            

 

NORB HEBAN                                                                                                                                

 

TRENT FOX