DELAWARE COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION
SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2022
6:30 p.m.
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
MINUTES
Present: Lance Engle, President; Jacob Case, Vice President; John Adams, Secretary; Adam Williams, Member; Trent Fox, Member; Darin Gullion, Assistant Superintendent; and Greg Kile, Superintendent
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CALL TO ORDER
At 6:30 p.m. Board President, Lance Engle called the meeting to order.
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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
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AMEND AGENDA
A motion was made by Trent Fox and seconded by Adam Williams to amend the agenda, as presented. The motion was approved 4-0 vote.
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MINUTES
A motion was made by Adam Williams and seconded by John Adams to accept the minutes of the business meeting held on Monday, November 7, 2022. The motion was approved 4-0 vote.
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FINANCE
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A motion was made by John Adams and seconded by Adam Williams to accept the list of vouchers, as presented. The motion was approved 4-0 vote.
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Purchases over $5000:
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None.
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A motion was made by John Adams and seconded by Adam Williams to approve TRECS, as presented. The motion was approved 4-0 vote.
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UPDATES FROM PRINCIPALS/DIRECTORS
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COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Patrons and law enforcement made comments regarding school safety protocols.
*Jacob Case entered the meeting at 6:50 p.m.
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NEW BUSINESS
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Certified Staff
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None.
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Classified Staff
A motion was made by Trent Fox and seconded by Adam Williams to approve the following (item 1):
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Resignation of Angela Morris, School Bus Driver, effective November 18, 2022.
The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
A motion was made by Jacob Case and seconded by John Adams to approve the following (item 2):
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Recommendation to transfer Stacy Tharp-Rench from a Food Service Cook at Albany Elementary School to a Food Service Sub effective November 16, 2022.
The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
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Extra-Curricular
A motion was made by Adam Williams and seconded by Jacob Case to approve the following (items 1-2)
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Recommendation to employ Rachel Vance as a Science Fair Sponsor at Royerton Elementary School effective for the 2022-23 school year.
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Recommendation to employ Lauren Matheny as an Academic Team Coach (1/2 position) at Delta Middle School effective for the 2022-23 school year.
The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
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Conference Requests/Field Trips
A motion was made by Jacob Case and seconded by John Adams to approve the following (items 1-2):
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Shawn Churchill and Mary May request permission to attend the RECN PBE PD Day to be held on November 14, 2022 at Delta High School.
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Adrianne Wingler requests permission to attend the Indiana Music Education Association Conference to be held from January 12, 2023 through January 14, 2023 at the Grand Wayne Convention Center in Ft. Wayne, IN.
The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
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Information and Proposals
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Superintendent
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A motion was made by John Adams and seconded by Jacob Case to approve the DHS Choir Trip, as presented. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
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A motion was made by Trent Fox and seconded by Adam Williams to approve RES Long Term Subs, as presented. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
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A motion was made by Adam Williams and seconded by Trent Fox to approve the EES Long Term Sub, as presented. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
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A motion was made by John Adams and seconded by Trent Fox to approve the 2023-24 School Calendar- 2nd Reading, as presented. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
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A motion was made by Jacob Case and seconded by Trent Fox to approve Val Alexander as a School Board Member in Union Township effective January 1, 2023. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
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A motion was made by Trent Fox and seconded by Jacob Case to approve permission to advertise the Youth Sports Lighting Project, as presented. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
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Superintendent Kile informed the Board about the following fundraisers:
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Kelli Edwards, Riley Dance Marathon, requests permission to collect donations at basketball games from November 1, 2022 through March 15, 2023, as presented. Proceeds go towards Riley.
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Assistant Superintendent
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Use Of Facilities:
A motion was made by Jacob Case and seconded by Trent Fox to approve the following (item 1):
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Devin Wilburn, DHS Baseball, requests permission to use the Delta High School gyms and Fitness Center on March 4, 2023 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to hold baseball youth camp, as presented.
The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
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Donations:
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None.
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LETTERS/NOTES
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BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
Trent Fox – Mr. Fox thanked everyone for being here. He stated they are not in the schools every day and rely on the same information patrons rely on and it’s tough sometimes. He stated it’s not easy and you want to be communicating, but you also need to know the facts before you communicate that stuff. He stated they rely on the police force to give them information as well and try to get that out. He stated he will be honest; they may have failed greatly as far as getting information out on time and they will try to do better. He stated you want to protect all those around and keep them all safe so there isn’t an avenue for anxiety and everything else. He wishes we wouldn’t have phones in school at all and stated that’s half the problem because the kids have them and it’s easy for them to say something and instantly it’s a rumor that spreads like wildfire. He stated it’s not educational and takes away from education and for some kids it’s a way to get to go home because if they start something like this the school will send them home. He stated that’s where it gets tricky and tough because you don’t want any of that either. He stated it’s a hard avenue and difficult process, but they will definitely continue to talk about it, work on it, and get things put together. He stated Ms. Alexander can take his seat and run with it. He commented we are coming upon Thanksgiving and hopes everyone spends time with family and lets them know how much they love them because eventually they move on and aren’t at home anymore. He stated for everyone to remember we are all here for the same goals and that’s to try and get kids educated and be good citizens in this world and we are all trying to do the best we can.
Adam Williams – Mr. Williams thanked everyone for coming. He knows it was not easy to speak about these things and he really does appreciate it. He stated he is an information junky and loves to know, learn, understand, and dig into every possible concept so not knowing the details of that situation, that’s very frustrating. He stated his son was texting him and asking questions, but communication is a tricky one and he gets that. He stated there are schools who have thought out appropriate ways to handle those situations and adults at a university are different than high school. He doesn’t have the answer to what the best methods are on how to communicate that. He stated that’s going to be talked about in a lot of conversations because it does make you feel helpless as a parent, but he does believe the staff and the police departments do have plans in place. He stated they have done drills on these situations and know what they are doing and that part he is not a bit concerned about, he trusts them wholeheartedly. He commented that unfortunately we can’t share all those details because that is part of our mechanism to protect the kids and not let everyone know the plans so they can figure out how to get around them. He stated it’s an awful and terrible world we live in and we would love to be able to tell parents everything that’s being done behind the scenes to protect their kids. He stated all teachers, administrators, and staff love the kids and do have plans in place and he can attest to that being in this position. He informed patrons the superintendent and principals have more discretion because they are here every day and can tell them what they can to help reassure the situation. He stated it will get discussed and their words are heard and he appreciates it.
John Adams – Mr. Adams thanked everyone for coming. He stated with him and Mr. Engle being Veterans, he appreciates how we carry on the Veterans Day Programs here and he’s glad we are able to do that. He congratulated Ms. Alexander and stated he’s glad she will be a part of DelCom starting at the first of the year. He thanked all parents for coming and stated these situations are tough. He informed everyone he spoke to Mr. Kile a little later in the day on that Tuesday trying to get an idea of all that transpired. He stated in that conversation they had, Mr. Kile mentioned about five or so things they immediately wished they could have done differently after something like this goes down. He stated we have to be vigilant and thinks our staff has always been vigilant. He commented we read about these things happening somewhere else and it could certainly happen here just as well. He agrees with some of the comments made by his fellow board members and every year they attend a conference in Indianapolis. He stated at these conferences every year, they talk about school safety and he’s probably heard in 17 years 16 different versions of how situations like that ought to be handled. He stated for communication, we don’t have enough folks and need to have teams because Mr. Kile is the one who would be sending out that type of communication. He stated they have talked about some things and he hopes we move forward with some things they’ve talked about that will bring more of this to light for someone outside of administration. He stated administration gets caught up in the situation and they have to be there and make decisions when a lot of things are going on and we don’t have that kind of personnel. He hopes moving forward with something the Board has talked about for the future will help clarify and move some of these things along. He stated with everything that was brought up today, they have been talked about, but they have to tread lightly. He stated we will get better, he promises that and communication is key. He commented when his kids were here, he didn’t have to go through this and hates that parents today have to go through this because their kids are here now. He asked to please allow them to get into this a little more with things that have happened and they will get this right and be much better about getting parents information that can be shared in a timely manner. He stated he can only imagine getting texts from a child about something going on and no other communication. He wants everyone to know they hear them and they will act. He knows the police have already been talking and they will be in more conversations with administration and will get this right. He thanked everyone for coming.
Jacob Case – Mr. Case apologized for being late today. He thanked everyone for coming. He informed the parents if they would like to send their comments to him via email, he can provide that to them. He stated being a former law enforcement officer himself for years on Reserves, he did a lot of training on the SWAT team, but with going through some of that stuff there are a lot of things that can’t be shared at the time. He thanked all law enforcement for getting there as quick as they did and for being there. He thanked the staff for all they did that day. He stated they need to find out all the facts before they can share and thanked them for being there quick when that call came through.
Lance Engle – Mr. Engle commented he attended the middle schools Veterans Day Program. He stated it was a nice program and informed Ms. Camp the choir sounded amazing and the band sounded great. He stated student council with their speeches did a great job and Mr. Marshall and everyone involved did a great job too. He’s glad we continue to do those programs and thanked Eaton, Albany, and Royerton for also putting those on. He congratulated the Eaton Spell Bowl team for being 14th in the State and he always likes to see us place well at those events. He wished Ms. Camp good luck with her field trip and thanked her for doing that. He congratulated Ms. Alexander and looks forward to working with her next year. He appreciates everyone who came tonight. He stated when parents come in and share their thoughts, they appreciate that and it doesn’t go unnoticed. He stated that Friday the communication was lacking, but that’s tough because rumors were flying and you have fear in the air and it’s never a good thing for our students. He stated it’s tough, but how do you stop and slow it down and definitely thinks that needs to be addressed. He stated it was not a good feeling on Friday and it’s something they need to think about and how they go about it so it doesn’t happen again. He stated that is something they will talk about and figure out.
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FUTURE MEETINGS
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A regular meeting for the Board of School Trustees is scheduled for Monday, December 5, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. at the Administration Building.
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ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Jacob Case and seconded by Trent Fox and Board President, Lance Engle, adjourned the meeting at 7:27 p.m.
November 21, 2022
LANCE ENGLE
JACOB CASE
JOHN ADAMS
ADAM WILLIAMS
TRENT FOX