DELAWARE COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION
SCHOOL BOARD WORK SESSION
MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2009
6:00 P.M.
DELTA MIDDLE SCHOOL
An executive session to
discuss the job performance evaluation of individual employees was held at 5:15 p.m. at Delta Middle School
MINUTES
Present: John Adams, President; Tyce Stebbins,
Secretary; Norb Heban, Member; Trent Fox, Member; Darin Gullion, Assistant
Superintendent; and Steven R. Hall, Superintendent
Absent: Sean Burcham, Vice-President
I.
CALL
TO ORDER
At
6:30 p.m. Board President, John Adams, called the meeting to order.
II.
PLEDGE
OF ALLEGIANCE
A. Presentation of Options
Mr. Steve Murphy, school
attorney, was the moderator for the evening.
Mr. Murphy informed the audience of the procedures to follow for the
meeting. He stated the meeting would be
for comments and the Board appreciates all comments from the community. If there are questions, they may be directed
to any member of the Board for answers at a later time. He then introduced Mr. Steve Hall, Superintendent
of Schools, for a presentation of the options.
Prior
to Superintendent Hall’s presentation, Mr. Joe Schmaltz, principal of DeSoto
Elementary School, spoke to the audience. Mr. Schmaltz said that we all need to be
thankful we live in a district where we can have this type of meeting where we
can all have input. Mr. Schmaltz
informed everyone he has been meeting with the Superintendent and the Board as
everyone continues to look at all options.
He stated he feels due to financial constraints there is no option to
keep DeSoto open in its current form. He
also stated the Board and Administration is charged with finding an option to
keep our schools working at their best.
Superintendent Hall then
reviewed the current options being considered by the Board. He stated we have two issues that must be addressed
and they are: 1) how to maintain our
buildings and 2) how to work within our budget in a financially responsible
manner with the general fund taken over by the State and tax caps to be considered. The Board continues to listen and to take
into account all options.
B. Community Comments
Mr. Steve Murphy, school
attorney, introduced a time for comments from the audience.
Jacob Dunnuck, Dr. Angela Lykins,
Brenda Cribbs, Cynthia Whitehair,
Sarah Beach, Joshua Coleman, Kelly Pelkey, Deanna
Case, Leigh Ann Grider, Derick
Bright, Shanna Vincent, Susan Whitehair, and Kent Sloniker spoke along with one audience member who did not
state their name. The concerns expressed
included keeping the challenge program as a self contained program, keeping
DeSoto Elementary School open, and leaving fifth grade students at the
elementary schools. Some spoke thanking
the Board and expressing their support for some of the different options
presented. Others had questions
regarding financing and how various options might affect the budget shortfall
the school is experiencing.
IV.
FUTURE
MEETINGS
A.
The
ISBA School Law Seminar will be held on Friday, December 11, 2009 at the
Marriott East Hotel in Indianapolis, IN.
B.
A
regular meeting of the Board of School Trustees is scheduled for Tuesday, December
15, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. at the Administration Building.
C.
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.
D.
The
ISBA Board Member Leadership Seminar will be held on Friday, January 15, 2010
at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in Indianapolis, IN.
V.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion
was made by Norb Heban and seconded by Trent Fox and Board President, John
Adams, adjourned the meeting at 7:45 p.m.
JOHN ADAMS
SEAN BURCHAM
TYCE STEBBINS
NORB HEBAN
TRENT FOX