DELAWARE COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION
SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
MONDAY, MAY 1, 2023
6:30 p.m.
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
MINUTES
Present: John Adams, President; Adam Williams, Vice President; Lance Engle, Secretary; Alice Gillis, Member; Valerie Alexander, Member; Darin Gullion, Assistant Superintendent; and Greg Kile, Superintendent
-
CALL TO ORDER
At 6:30 p.m. Board President, John Adams called the meeting to order.
-
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
-
AMEND AGENDA
A motion was made by Lance Engle and seconded by Alice Gillis to amend the agenda as presented. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE FLOOR
A patron spoke regarding allowing homeschooled students to participate in school athletics.
-
UPDATES FROM PRINCIPALS/DIRECTORS
CONSENT AGENDA
A motion was made by Lance Engle and seconded by Valerie Alexander to approve the following under Consent Agenda:
-
MINUTES
Accepted the minutes of the business meeting held on Monday, April 17, 2023.
-
FINANCE
-
Accepted the list of vouchers, as presented.
-
NEW BUSINESS
-
Certified Staff
-
None.
-
Classified Staff
-
Resignation of Stacy Tharp-Rench, Food Service Cook at Albany Elementary School, effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year.
-
Recommendation to employ Schellie Feeney as a Latchkey Aide effective May 8, 2023, pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing.
-
Recommendation to employ Kaylee Kern as a Latchkey Aide effective May 8, 2023, pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing.
-
Recommendation to employ Mia Ramsey as a Latchkey Aide effective June 5, 2023, pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing.
-
Recommendation to employ Amy Crall and Bryan Weaver as Summer Blast Bus Drivers, as presented.
-
Recommendation to employ Ronda Harper as an IREAD-3 Remediation Teacher at Albany Elementary School, as presented.
-
Recommendation to employ Summer Food Service employees, as presented.
-
Extra-Curricular
-
Recommendation to employ Juli Dorton as a 6th Grade Volleyball Coach at Delta Middle School effective for the 2023-24 school year, pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing.
-
Conference Requests/Field Trips
-
Mary May and Shawn Churchill request permission to attend the PBL Learning Project to be held on April 18, 2023 at Delta High School.
-
Greg Kile, Lindsey Thompson, Doug Marshall, Amy Larrabee, and Chyenne Wilder request permission to attend Discipline Reimagined to be held on May 5, 2023 at CIESC in Indianapolis, IN.
-
Doug Marshall requests permission to attend the Building Thinking Classrooms Conference to be held from June 29, 2023 through June 30, 2023 at Franklin High School in Franklin, IN.
-
Use of Facilities
-
None.
The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
AGENDA
-
FINANCE
-
Purchases over $5000:
A motion was made by Alice Gillis and seconded by Lance Engle to approve the following (items 1-4):
-
Innovation Ed Consulting ESSER III $6,500.00
(Professional Development)
-
SHI EDU $78,975.00
(Chromebooks) TBR $108,000.00
$186,975.00
-
Nearpod EDU $11,500.00
(District subscription)
-
Brightly OP $7,413.40
(School Dude)
The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
A motion was made by Lance Engle and seconded by Alice Gillis to approve Elementary Textbook Adoption, as presented. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
Dr. Gullion gave a Monthly Finance Review.
-
NEW BUSINESS
-
Certified Staff
-
A motion was made by Adam Williams and seconded by Valerie Alexander to approve the retirement of Deborah Helfst, Teacher at Delta Middle School, effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
A motion was made by Lance Engle and seconded by Alice Gillis to approve the recommendation to employ Rachel Vance as an Assistant Principal at Royerton Elementary School effective July 1, 2023. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
A motion was made by Valerie Alexander and seconded by Alice Gillis to approve the recommendation to employ Gerald Mendenhall as a Teacher at Eaton Elementary School effective August 1, 2023, pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
A motion was made by Lance Engle and seconded by Valerie Alexander to approve the recommendation to employ Kaysi Lampton as a Teacher at Albany Elementary School effective August 1, 2023, pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
A motion was made by Alice Gillis and seconded by Valerie Alexander to approve the recommendation to employ Riley Moulton as a Teacher at Royerton Elementary School effective August 1, 2023, pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
A motion was made by Alice Gillis and seconded by Lance Engle to approve the recommendation to employ Tyronda Benning as a Teacher and Head Girls’ Basketball Coach at Delta High School effective August 1, 2023, pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
A motion was made by Alice Gillis and seconded by Valerie Alexander to approve the recommendation to employ Haley Hissong as a Teacher at Delta High School effective August 1, 2023, pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
A motion was made by Adam Williams and seconded by Lance Engle to approve the recommendation to employ Hanna Kikendall as a Teacher at Delta High School effective August 1, 2023, pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
A motion was made by Lance Engle and seconded by Alice Gillis to approve the recommendation to employ Carrie Clevenger as an EL TOR effective August 1, 2023, pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
Information and Proposals
-
Superintendent
-
A motion was made by Adam Williams and seconded by Lance Engle to approve the DMS 8th Grade 2024 Field Trip, as presented. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
A motion was made by Valerie Alexander and seconded by Lance Engle to approve the RES Long Term Sub, as presented. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
A motion was made by Lance Engle and seconded by Alice Gillis to approve the English Language Learner Teacher Agreement with Blackford, as presented. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
Superintendent Kile informed the Board about the following fundraisers:
-
Julie Blakely and and Whitney Freeman, DHS Student Council, request permission to hold a hat day on May 12, 2023, as presented. Proceeds go towards Student Council.
-
Assistant Superintendent
-
Donations:
A motion was made by Lance Engle and seconded by Valerie Alexander to approve the following (items 1-2):
-
Request for Delta High School to accept a donation in the amount of $250.00 from Elevate Claims Solutions, as presented.
-
Request for Delta High School to accept a donation in the amount of $300.00 from Jane and Jerry Griffis, as presented.
The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
A motion was made by Valerie Alexander and seconded by Alice Gillis to approve the recommendation for 2023-24 school meal prices, as presented. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
A motion was made by Lance Engle and seconded by Alice Gillis to approve the request for the food service department to surplus items, as presented. The motion was approved 5-0 vote.
-
LETTERS/NOTES
-
BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
Valerie Alexander – Ms. Alexander congratulated everyone for getting through ILEARN. She congratulated Ms. Vance, Mr. Mendenhall, Ms. Lampton, Mr. Moulton, Ms. Benning, Ms. Hissong, Ms. Kikendall, and Ms. Clevenger. She stated they couldn’t have picked a better school system and we are happy to have them. She stated she is happy to hear all the good news going on and she’s really sad her 7th grader won’t be able to go on the Washington D.C. trip. She stated the trip sounds great and thanked everyone for their hard work on that.
Alice Gillis – Ms. Gillis welcomed all new hires. She hopes they will enjoy themselves here and do a fine job for us. She congratulated all the elementary schools for accomplishing Kindergarten Round-up and testing. She stated it gives us more kids to take on field trips. She congratulated all new hires.
Lance Engle – Mr. Engle concurred with his fellow board members. He welcomed all new hires to our school corporation. He appreciates them putting their name in and becoming a part of the DelCom family and wished them nothing but the best. He congratulated Ms. Vance. He stated he heard all about ILEARN from his kids, but everyone made it through. He gave kudos to Ms. Cross for making the meal prices stay the same for next school year. He commented everywhere you go, food is going up and the fact that we can keep our meal prices the same says a lot about the hard work Ms. Cross does to keep the prices low. He stated it’s a big deal for our kids and parents.
Adam Williams – Mr. Williams thanked everyone for coming. He congratulated all new hires. He thanked them for choosing DelCom and stated it’s a tight labor market and we are fortunate they chose to work for DelCom and bring their talent to help support our kids. He welcomed those who are new to the family and welcomed the challenge to those taking on new positions. He thanked Mr. Shockey for coming tonight and speaking. He stated it’s not easy to get up in front of the Board and have these talks and he appreciates the comments. He wanted to mention donations, specifically those that went towards the unified track program. He stated that’s such a wonderful opportunity and we appreciate those who donate their time and money. He definitely wants to give a shout-out to people doing that and adding different ways to help and giving kids fantastic opportunities. He stated the Washington D.C. trip is wonderful and he’s glad that’s getting started back up. He appreciates everyone’s hard work on getting that done and for all the field trips coming up the next few weeks. He hopes they go well and are educational.
John Adams – Mr. Adams concurred with his fellow board members. He congratulated all new hires and appreciates them becoming a part of the DelCom family. He is grateful they chose us and feels like this is a great place to work and thinks they will all enjoy their time here. He commented he remembers having a conversation regarding homeschoolers participating in athletics. He informed Mr. Shockey he would like to have another discussion with Mr. Kile regarding that so they get a full understanding of the policy we have in place. He appreciates him coming to speak. He stated we have a few new board members they need to bring up to speed on where we were before with that. He said with everything going up, one of the things he heard tonight that he liked was 39 students for Eaton for Kindergarten Round-up. He stated that is fantastic and hopes the numbers stay up. He stated there is no question people are going to seek our buildings out and want to be a part of what we provide here. He gave a shout-out to our administrative team and stated there is a lot behind the scenes that go on that people don’t have a clue about. He stated the meetings, time, effort, and different things that go on; he just wanted to thank them for doing what they do. He commented they are a pretty special group and he appreciates that. He thinks the Washington D.C. trip is a good thing and stated our kids need to experience those things. He stated from the Board’s perspective, safety is a huge concern when we send that big of a group away, especially in the kind of environment we live in today. He commends them for wanting to do that. He hopes we have others who will want to do that and is glad to see it come back.
-
FUTURE MEETINGS
-
A Public Hearing on Lease and Additional Appropriation is scheduled for Monday, May 15, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. at the Administration Building.
-
A regular meeting of the Board of School Trustees is scheduled for Monday, May 15, 2023 immediately following the hearing.
-
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Adam Williams and seconded by Lance Engle and Board President, John Adams, adjourned the meeting at 7:18 p.m.
May 1, 2023
JOHN ADAMS
ADAM WILLIAMS
LANCE ENGLE
ALICE GILLIS
VALERIE ALEXANDER