December 6, 2016

DELAWARE COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

6:30 p.m.

ADMINISTRATION BUILDING



MINUTES


Present:  Adam Williams, President; Trent Fox, Vice President; John Adams, Secretary; Alice Gillis, Member; Tyce Stebbins, Member; Darin Gullion, Assistant Superintendent; and Reece Mann, Superintendent


  1. CALL TO ORDER


At 6:30 p.m. Board President, Adam Williams, called the meeting to order.



  1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE



  1. MINUTES


A motion was made by Tyce Stebbins and seconded by Trent Fox to accept the minutes of the business meeting and executive session held on Tuesday, November 15, 2016.  The motion was approved unanimously.



  1. FINANCE


  1. A motion was made by Tyce Stebbins and seconded by John Adams to accept the list of vouchers, as presented.  The motion was approved unanimously.


  1. Purchases over $7500:


A motion was made by John Adams and seconded by Tyce Stebbins to approve the following (items 1-2):


  1. Fincannon Ford GF $36,705.50

(2017 Ford F550 with bed and plow)


  1. Leslie Coatings CP $18,080.00

(DHS Tennis Courts)


The motion was approved unanimously.


  1. A motion was made by Tyce Stebbins and seconded by Trent Fox to approve permission to pay year-end expenses from the 2016 budget and to balance all accounts.  The motion was approved unanimously.


  1. A motion was made by Tyce Stebbins and seconded by Trent Fox to approve permission to transfer and balance all Capital Project Funds.  The motion was approved unanimously.


  1. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Haley Cross, Food Service Director, stated they are donating items to the K-12 Rescue Program.  If students decide they are not going to eat something on their tray and it’s not open, they place it in a box near the trash can and those items get donated.  She informed everyone this school year they have donated almost 7,000 items.  She stated they are tracking what the students aren’t eating and most of it is milk and juice cups which was over 4,000.  Ms. Cross started looking at the numbers for lunches and stated it puts it into perspective when we’ve served over 160,000 meals just this school year.  She stated 40% of the corporation is on free and reduced lunch and we are feeding about 62% of our student population which she feels is average with most school corporations.  She is very proud of all kitchens.  They have been running short on staff since Thanksgiving due to illness and are working hard to get numbers through.  Ms. Cross looked up November numbers and Royerton’s average daily number was only 20 less than the middle school.  They are pushing through a lot of kids in one serving line where the middle school has two so they are really busy and working hard to keep things going.



Ross Elwood, Assistant Principal at Delta High School, stated the Delta Troupers presented Fiddler on the Roof with big crowds attending all three performances.  He and his wife went the first night and thought it was fantastic.  He stated everyone he has spoken to agrees with that.  Ms. Raleigh, Mr. Stevens, and the students can be very proud because every aspect of the lighting, sound, acting, and music was great.  He was really impressed.  He informed everyone the girls’ basketball team is 5-4, boys’ basketball is 4-0, and swimming and wrestling are off so all winter sports are in action.  He stated the Christmas Choir and Band Concert will be at Emens Auditorium on December 12, 2016 at 6:30 p.m.  Mr. Elwood stated the high school, Mr. Conley, teachers, and students appreciate all the thoughts and prayers that were directed to them over the past couple of weeks.  They’ve had some bad things happen.  He stated even today, Mr. Lodl received word his father passed away during the day.  Mr. Elwood appreciates everything everyone did, especially all the counselors coming over to help.  He stated that is never an easy thing to get through and he appreciates everything.    

Kelly Brown, Principal at Delta Middle School, stated their musical Honk Jr. was last weekend with around 350 people attending.  She was really impressed with everything from the costumes to people in their building donating their time.  She stated several people put in time to make costumes, help with the set, and donated items.  She appreciates the extras the teachers are willing to do.  She stated NWEA testing started Monday and Chromebooks have been really helpful.  She informed everyone winter sports have started and the kids are working hard.  Ms. Brown wanted to give a shout-out to the teachers and staff for raising over $3,500 for Secret Families.  She said the teachers were willing to partake in a pie in the face contest, volunteer to wear high heels for the day, Ms. Jones committed to 1,400 dabs, Mr. Griffis dyed his beard pink, and Ms. Brown did a polar plunge in Mr. Thompson’s swimming pool live for the students to watch which was pretty neat.  She stated the teachers probably donated as much, if not more, money to students and families in the community for a good cause so that is neat.

Greg Kile, Principal at Eaton Elementary, stated things are busy.  They are in an elementary school, its Christmas time, it’s a zoo, but it’s a wonderful zoo.  He informed everyone their Christmas Program is next week so they are firing on all cylinders to get ready for that.  He stated they are doing NWEA testing right now.  He had two teachers in tears this week over data and usually that is not a good sign, but in this case it’s been extreme excitement to watch the kids grow.  He said this is the first window where we took it on time and then took it on time again so we are getting really nice results with the growth piece in particular.  Mr. Kile stated they are pretty excited to see what results they get and what they are able to do in response to it.  He said after each of these windows, they are meeting with the students and going over the reports, talking to them about strengths and weaknesses, and what they need to do to continue to grow.  He informed everyone they sold 3,600 Wick’s pies this fall.  He didn’t see that coming, but they had folks that were kind enough to help out.  He stated at the end of the night, they only had one box of pies they had to figure out what to do with.  He stated they are doing well and it’s a good place to be.


  1. NEW BUSINESS


  1. Certified Staff


  1. None.


  1. Classified Staff


A motion was made by Trent Fox and seconded by Alice Gillis to approve the following (items 1-2):


  1. Recommendation to employ Jennifer Talbot as a School Nurse at Delta Middle School effective December 7, 2016, pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing.


  1. Recommendation to employ Barbara Sharp as a Substitute Latchkey Aide effective December 7, 2016, pending successful completion of all pre-employment testing.


The motion was approved unanimously.


  1. Extra-Curricular


A motion was made by Tyce Stebbins and seconded by John Adams to approve the following (items 1-2):


  1. Recommendation to appoint Jared Coats as a Volunteer Assistant Wrestling Coach at Delta Middle School effective for the 2016-17 school year.


  1. Recommendation to appoint Jeff Tuttle as a Volunteer Assistant Wrestling Coach at Delta Middle School effective for the 2016-17 school year.


The motion was approved unanimously.



  1. Conference Requests/Field Trips


A motion was made by John Adams and seconded by Tyce Stebbins to approve the following (items 1-5):


  1. Joey Gossett requests permission to attend the Digital Science and Health Resource Fair to be held on December 7, 2016 at Indiana Wesleyan University in Indianapolis, IN.


  1. Debbie Eichhorn requests permission to attend IMEA Honors Choir to be held on January 13, 2017 at Grand Wayne Center in Fort Wayne, IN.


  1. Haley Cross requests permission to attend Primero Edge Training to be held from January 26, 2017 through January 27, 2017 at Beech Grove High School in Beech Grove, IN.


  1. Miranda Hummel requests permission to attend Revive the Shelves: Linking Primary Sources and YA Lit 6-12 to be held on February 8, 2017 at ECESC in Connersville, IN.


  1. Darin Gullion, Cheryl Dominick, and Reece Mann request permission to attend the IASBO Annual Meeting to be held from May 10, 2017 through May 12, 2017 at the Convention Center in Fort Wayne, IN.


The motion was approved unanimously.


  1. Information and Proposals


  1. Superintendent


  1. A motion was made by Trent Fox and seconded by Tyce Stebbins to approve authority for Superintendent Mann to hire, as presented.  The motion was approved unanimously.


A motion was made by Tyce Stebbins and seconded by Trent Fox to approve the following (items b-c):


  1. Delta Middle School 8th grade Dearborn, MI trip, as presented.  


  1. Delta Middle School 6th grade Kings Island trip, as presented.  


The motion was approved unanimously.



  1. Mr. Mann informed the Board about the following fundraisers:


  1. None.


  1. Assistant Superintendent


A motion was made by John Adams and seconded by Tyce Stebbins to approve the following (items 1-2):


  1. Use of Facilities:


  1. Paul Ashcraft, Albany Basketball League, requests permission to use the Albany Elementary Gymnasium from November 14, 2016 through March 31, 2017 to hold a Basketball League, as presented.


  1. Amy Lewman, Hamilton Family Christmas, requests permission to use the Delta Middle School Cafeteria on December 18, 2016 from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to hold the Hamilton Family Christmas, as presented.


The motion was approved unanimously.



  1. LETTERS/NOTES



  1. BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS

Alice Gillis – Ms. Gillis stated she is happy to hear food service is donating items and thinks that’s fantastic.  She said she saw so much food wasted at her school all the time.  She appreciates the reports from the administrators.  She heard the basketball teams are doing well and is proud of what the corporation does for Secret Families.  Ms. Gillis stated we never really know what a kid comes to school and goes home with every day.  She said it’s surprising when you talk to students, the interpretation they make with things happening is nothing you would really expect.  You think you are doing the right thing in the classroom, but they don’t interpret it the way you thought they should.  She said it has been a bad few weeks and we all have to be cognizant of what we can do to help.  Ms. Gillis appreciates all staff and stated we have a pretty good group here that pays attention.  


Tyce Stebbins – Mr. Stebbins stated former Board Member Mr. Holdren does an incredible job with Secret Families.  He said it’s nice so many people in our community recognize other aspects in the community that need help and that our staff contributes to that in a positive way.  He asked Ms. Brown to pass along his thanks to Olivia and Wes for working hard on the Wicks pies fundraiser for Eaton Elementary.  Mr. Stebbins didn’t get to attend the high school and middle school productions, but he heard incredible things and he’s super proud of those individuals.  He stated there aren’t any words that help when you lose a student, but the quality of people we have in our buildings and community can help facilitate making that process easier for those that need some help during these times.  He stated our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, and students.

John Adams – Mr. Adams concurred with his fellow board members.  He stated our community has suffered the loss of well-known folks here in the last few weeks and we need to think about those families and what they’ve gone through.  He stated we have folks in our own corporation and maybe some in our own personal lives that are struggling with some sort of help or need one way or another.  He would like to put out there we don’t always know what someone’s dealing with.  He knows when you run a school, you have a lot of kids that are coming to you every day and you don’t always know what’s happening in their life the night before or the morning of.  He gave a shout-out to our administrators and counselors.  They are great people that want to deal with the needs of our kids.  Mr. Adams thinks it’s a testament to the kind of people we have on staff where kids are first.  It’s good to know we take great strides to make sure our kids are taken care of to the best of our abilities.  He heard from a few patrons this past week who stated they were thankful we put on productions, thankful they can watch a basketball or football game, but they are also thankful of the people running our buildings and their help with our kids every day.  He stated it says a lot about our corporation, who we are, and what we want to achieve.  

Trent Fox – Mr. Fox thanked everyone for coming.  He thanked the administrators for the updates and stated it’s always nice to hear those things.  He stated there’s a lot of need out there and prayers that have to go out.  He said it’s easy to reach out to those people right now, but continue to do that as we go through the holiday season.  It’s never easy and always tough no matter when it is and when it’s happened.  Mr. Fox is sure each one of us has had someone we’ve loved that we’ve lost and to continue to help anyone who may need help because we never know who it is or who it might be.  

Adam Williams – Mr. Williams stated he doesn’t think he can add a single thing and concurred with his fellow board members.


FUTURE MEETINGS


  1. An Executive Session will be held on Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at     4:30 p.m.


  1. A regular meeting for the Board of School Trustees is scheduled for Tuesday, December 20, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. at the Administration Building.



  1. ADJOURNMENT

A motion was made by Trent Fox and seconded by John Adams and Board President, Adam Williams, adjourned the meeting at 6:58 p.m.

December 6, 2016



ADAM WILLIAMS                                              ___________________________


TRENT FOX                                                        ____________________________


JOHN ADAMS                                                   ____________________________


ALICE GILLIS                                                    ____________________________


TYCE STEBBINS                                                ____________________________