The Independent-News, Volume 121, Number 30, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 7 December 1995 — Page 11

JOHN GLENN SCHOOL BOARD MINUTES The Board of School Trustees of the John Glenn School Corporation met in regular session on Nov. 7, 1995, at 7:30 p.m., in the North Liberty Elementary School. All members were present. The School Board, along with approximately 40 observers, began the meeting with the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF Minutes The School Board minutes for the Oct. 17, 1995 regular and executive session were approved by ■Unanimous consent with [correction being made un|der item 2b, .Jennifer McCormick appointment, should read “John Glenn High School Pom Pon Coach.” APPROVAL OF CLAIMS A motion was made by Janice Ryan, seconded by Shirley Anderson, to ap>rove claims numbered ,956 through 2,110. The motion was approved by a seven to zero vote. 1. Approve John Glenn School Building Corporation Payments Ryan made a motion, seconded by Robert Schaeffer, to approve John Glenn School Building Corporation payments in the amount. of $895,891.25. The motion was approved by a seven to zero vote. PATRON RESPONSE Sue Allsop spoke to the Board in support of teacher raises, urging the Board to reach a fair and equitable raise for the teachers. Paul Hernandez addressed the School Board, recognizing teachers, administrators and Board members for the hours and effort put forth to provide quality education for students in John Glenn Schools and noted student accomplishments in which we all have pride. Mr. Hernandez expressed appreciation to the Board for their efforts to provide excellent facilities and technology for the teachers and students. He urged the School Board to provide a air contract that would ecogniz? the teachers’ worth and services provided to the schools. Following the conclusion as patron comments, David McKee, Superintendent, illustrated to the School Board that the John Glenn School Corporation teacher salaries compare very favorably with area schools placing John Glenn School Corporation in the top half of the ten area school corporations. Giving a 2% raise to the teachers in 1995-96 would maintain the same ranking with area schools. It was noted the average increase per teacher over the last three years is

8.1% including increment per year, a teacher at the top of the master’s schedule over the past three years has averaged a 4.7% increase per year, and if a teacher at the top of the master’s schedule had advanced on the salary schedule to the top of the master’s, they could have averaged an 8.3% increase in pay. To provide John Glenn School Corporation teachers with a 5% increase for the 1995-96 school year would cost over $300,000 including benefits and extracurricular sala/y schedule compensation. The new revenue in the 1996 general fund is estimated to increase at $300,000. Funding this type of pay proposal would not leave funds available for increases and compensation for other employees, pay additional utility cost, new staff and other needs of the school corporation. The school corporation must not spend more dollars for the operation of the school than received. Mr. Keck said the School Board is interested in reaching a settlement with the John Glenn Education Association and is working with the mediator that has been assigned to the contract talks in an effort to resolve differences between the parties. Shirley Anderson made a motion, seconded by Ben Smith, to approve the resolution recognizing American Education Week, Nov. 12 through 18, 1995. The motion was approved by a seven to zero vote. RECOGNITIONS Mrs. Lightfoot, principal of Walkerton Elementary School, reported DARE Program services will be provided in November by Officer Zentz of the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department. ParentTeacher Conferences were attended by 90% of WB? student parents. This is a very beneficial time for communication between home and school and the large number of parents in attendance is greatly appreciated. Mr. Kaufman, principal of North Liberty Elementary School, reported on Red Ribbon Week which involves students, grades K--6, in drug-free activities. Red Ribbon Poster Contest Grand Prize Winners were Austin O’Connor, Laura Shortt, Timmy Davis, Kayleigh Annis, Sarina Kopacz and Brandi Brodzinski. Thanked for making this yearly project a success were Red Ribbon team members Kyle Anderson, Alena Bogucki and Ryan Sheaks; Kelly Harrington, art teacher; poster contest judges Medeline and Gary Nelson; and coordinator Mrs. Cynthia Williams, Dean of Students, who

spends many hours planning and working with the students. NLS Distinguished Honor Roll for the first nine weeks lists the' following students, grades 4-6: Brandi Brodzinski, Aaron Replogle, Allison Stevens, Sarah Craft, Katie Harness, Ricky Klinedinst, Donny Seely, Cris Worm, Kyle Bullock, Tim Bussard, Chris Horvath, Amy Jacobs, Ryan Liedtky, Lindsey Null, Mitchel Parsons, Adam Piotrowicz, Andrew Price, Kimmy Seely, Sarah Slagle, Nathan Smith and Katy Stewart. NLS Honor Roll listing was achieved by 54 students in grades 4-6 and attention was called to the fourth grade with 81% of the students on the Honor Roll! Mr. Kaufman wished the Elementary Spell Bowl Team good luck in upcoming Spell Bowl competition and thanked North Liberty parents for their support of Parent-Teacher Conferences with a record 96% attendance. Mr. Reese, principal at Urey Middle School, noted that 18 Urey students participated in the Accelerated Reader Program during the first grading period by selecting a book from the Accelerated Readers book list, reading the book and taking a computerized test. The computer awards the student points on each book read based on the length and difficulty of the book and the computer test scores. Students then redeem points earned for prizes such as pencils, bookmarks and paper back books. A recognition function is held each grading period for students who have earned 15 or more Accelerated Reader points. Mrs. Kristi Boyd, Media Specialist, and Mrs. Judy McGovern, library aide, organized the program. The UMS Spell Bowl Team and coach Andy Stegemiller were congratulated for placing first with a score of 53 out of 72 words at the Area Spell Bowl competition. Urey placed 11th out of 74 schools in Class II narrowly missing state qualification by one point. Mr. Reese reported on UMS Parent-Teacher Conferences showing the percentage of conference times per staff member and an overall 67.1% total of times used for conferences. Mr. Reese congratulated students and parents for the outstanding record of 98% attendance by the seventh grade and 97% attendance by the eighth grade for the first nine weeks. 260 of the 283 UMS students qualified to attend the first grading period recognition movie in LaPorte. To qualify, students must have either a perfect attendance, be on the Honor Roll, improve grade in two different classes or by teacher

DEC. 7, 1995 - INDEPENDENT NEWS -

recommendation. 91% of the UMS students qualified for this honor. Mr. Shuler, principal at John Glenn High School, announced that Merlyn’s Pen, a national magazine featuring teen writers, has named John Glenns 1995 literary-art magazine “Aerial” a Bronze Award winner in their 1995 Literary Magazine Contest for outstanding achievement in school magazine publications. The Bronze Award is granted to those magazines that receive notably high scores and “recognizes the.achievement of the Aerial staff and the entire school in creating and supporting an excellent student publication.’,’ The judges noted a “wonderfully worked out theme” and “a marvelous student ambition and concern to make this an excellent issue.” Congratulations to the Aerial staff and English, Art and Photography Departments. The JGHS Honor Roll listed 145 students of the 533 student enrollment. Red Cards have been earned by 27% of the student body for their academic success! NEW BUSINESS 1. Approve Pamela Hayes request for maternity leave from Nov. 26, 1995 to the end of the 1995-96 school year Ryan made a motion, seconded by Schaeffer, to approve the request from Pamela Hayes for maternity leave from Nov. 26, 1995 to the end of the 1995-96 school year. The notion was approved by a seven to zero vote. 2. Appointments a. Connie Young, UMS/JGHS Career Aide, effective 10/23/95 b. Christine Miller, WES part-time cook, effective 10/23/95 c. Sandra Anderson, maternity leave for Mrs. Pamela Hayes, effective Nov. 26, 1995 for the remainder of the 95-96 school year. d. Vicki Craig, Homebound teaching contract for Dan Rensberger Ben Smith made a motion, seconded by Anderson, to approve the appointments as listed. The motion was approved by a seven to zero vote. 3. Approve recommendation to employ part-time instructional aide for Kindergarten at NLES Ryan made a mation, seconded by Tom McCormick, to approve the recommendation to employ a part-time instructional aide for Kindergarten at NLES. The motion was approved by a seven to zero vote. 4. Approve request from David McKee to participate in the Indiana School Executive Leadership Academy

Schaeffer made a motion, seconded by Anderson, to approve the request from David McKee to participate in the Indiana School Executive Leadership Academy with the cost being shared between the school corporation and Mr. McKee. Following discussion, Schaeffer made a motion, seconded by McCormick, to amend the motion to read “the school corporation will pay the full cost less scholarship support.” The amendment to the motion was approved by a seven to zero vote and the amended motion was approved by a seven to zero vote. 5. Approve feasibility study of JGHS A motion was made by Ryan, seconded by McCormick, to approve the feasibility study of JGHS by Barton-Coe-Vilamaa for a fee of $4,500. Following discussion on a projected completion date, David Gensinger made a motion, seconded by Ryan, to approve the feasibility study with the completion date by the second board meeting in Jan. The amendment to the mtoion was approved by a seven to zero vote and the amended motion was approved by a seven to zero vote. 6. Approve the advertisement for bus bids A motion was made by Ben Smith, seconded by McCormick, to approve the advertisement for two school buses. The motion was approved by a seven to zero vote. It is requested that the specifications include air brakes and air ride as an alternate. 7. Approve modification to the specifications and drawings for UMS renovation and addition a. $3lO for a pipe pumper at existing ramp door b. $260 to add brick to the backside of exposed block above unit C c. $696 for a 4 ft. diameter precast concrete vault for acid tank d. $460 for placement of cinders in alley e. $570 for fire rating on seven doors and a size change on one door f. $4,990 for removing and replacing east side gutters and downspouts on both low and high roofs including dew drip flashing; also removing existing wood facia and providing new metal facia along east gym and ramp wall to match new and renovated parts of the building A motion was made by Ryan, seconded by McCormick, to approve the modification to specifications and drawings for the Urey Middle School renovation and addition as listed. Following discussion on several of the listed (Continued On Page 13)

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