The Independent-News, Volume 121, Number 48, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 11 April 1996 — Page 2

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INDEPENDENT NEWS — APRIL 11, 1996

John Glenn School Board Minutes (Continued from Page 1) ted a check for $1,441.33 had been received from the Ray & Kenny’s SuperValu for WES participation in the Education Advantage Program. The Regional Science Fair was held on March 23 at Notre Dame. This fair is always a great learning experience with very tough competition. WES had four student entries and all did a wonderful job. The following students were congratulated: Kevin Kaiser, third place; Clayton Thomas, second place; Lisa Kuzmicz, second place and Jerry Moore, second place. The Regional Science Fair consists of early morning set-up, 8:30-9 a.m., judging, 9 a.m.-12 noon; lunch, 12 noon-1 p.m.; open to parents and public, 1-3 p.m. and awards presentation, 3-4 p.m. It is a long day for students, but very informative, fun and an opportunity to make new friends. Mr. Richard Reese, principal of Urey Middle School, thanked Brad Schmeltz, Phil Groves, Catherine Hahn, Ollie Frazier, Dennis Groves, Ernie Walls, Joe Long, Nancy Chapman, Arden Balmer and the many others who helped make the “Physical”" move from old to new at UMS. All of these individuals went “beyond the call of duty.’’ Many volunteered their time to help in the move. Mr. Reese said he certainly appreciated what a special place our school corporation is to work when all the staff and students come together to accomplish such a huge task. The Urey Chess Team recently traveled to Terre Haute to compete in the State Chess Tournament. The team of Andrew Ross, Mike Alexander, Luke Batman, Cliff Slater and Adam Mitschelen represented UMS. They participated in five rounds of play and finished 14th overall. Andrew Ross finished with the best individual record with four wins. The team is coached by Lisa Cox. Alan Holland participated in the State Geography Bee, in Indianapolis. Alan, a seventh grade student, represented UMS well in the State final where he competed against 99 other Indiana students. Mr. Brent Kaufman, principal of North Liberty Elementary School, reported the Indiana PTA has a Citizenship program whereby students write essays. He proudly announced that Patrick Crone, son of Sue and Gary Crone and a fifth grader in Mrs. Sriver’s class, was selected as the

First Place Indiana PTA Citizenship Winner for 1995-96. Patrick and his mother will be traveling to the State PTA Convention on May 4 to be recognized for his efforts. The second place winner was a student from Abraham Lincoln Elementary in Indianapolis and the third place winner was from Lodge Elementary in Evansville. Congratulations, Patrick! Ray & Kenny’s Education Advantage Program has netted a check for NLES for $303.22. Their program and efforts to help the schools are very appreciated. The fourth grade class received a SIOO check from the North Liberty Tri Kappa. The money will be used for the fourth grade trip planned in May. Mr. Kaufman thanked the Tri Kappa on behalf of the students for the donation. Tom McCormick made a motion, seconded by Anderson, to approve the donation from Ray & Kenny’s of $1,441.33 to WES and $303.22 to NLES and SIOO to NLES from the North Liberty Tri Kappa. The motion was approved by a seven to zero vote. OLD BUSINESS 1. Approve First Reading of Revised Job-Share Policy The School Board reviewed proposed changes in the job-Share Policy and requested that the policy be revised So teachers participating in Job-Share would need to earn the equivalent of one full year of teaching experience in order to advance on the salary schedule and seniority list, clarified language under term of Job-Share to read, “The Job-Share may be renewed on an annual basis by the Superintendent ot assure the purpose under which the Job-Share was granted continues to exist” and under qualifications, added language “Normally, one teacher covers the morning portion of the assignment; one teacher covers the afternoon portion of the assignment. Other arrangements may be agreed to by the Superintendent with approval by the Board.” Mr. Schaeffer also presented to the Board the cost impact resulting from obtaining a full year of experience with the Indiana Teacher Retirement for only working a half year. The State Teacher Retirement plan allows no flexibility in the plan for partial days work. Following discussion on the pension information and review of the language changes, Anderson made a motion, seconded by Ryan, to postpone approving the first reading of the JobShare Policy pending a final revision in the language. The motion was approved by a seven to zero vote.

NEW BUSINESS 1. Progress Report on JGHS Construction Project & UMS-Kari Vilamaa Kari Vilamaa, School Architect, reported that Oselka Construction Company is in the process of doing some final grading and reseeding of the high school athletic facilities. They are also in the process of completing punch list items. By consent, the School Board agreed with the architect’s recommendation that Oselka Construction Company be given notice that the new tennis courts are not acceptable. The new tennis courts have developed cracks on the playing surface. The architect will review soil testing results provided by the contractor and the school corporation will request additional testing. Julie Dendinger reported that the students are occupying the new addition at Urey Middle School and renovation is well underway on the exisiting building. The floor covering containing asbestos material has been removed and demolition of the exisiting stage and locker rooms has begun. 2. Approve Modifications to Drawings/Specifications for UMS a. Calumet Construction No. 28 $2,993.00 b. Scanlon Electric Co. No. 1 $7,423.00 The Superintendent presented modifications in the amount of $2,993 to Calumet Construction Company’s contract to be paid from the contractor’s contingency fund and asked approval to with draw the change orders proposed for Scanlon Electric Co. pending further review by the administration and architect. McCormick made a motion, seconded by Schaeffer, to approve the recommended modifications to drawings and specifications for Calumet Construction Co. in the amount of $2,993. The motion was approved by a seven to zero vote. 3. Review Preliminary Design Plans for New Administration Building Julie Dendinger presented a preliminary floor plan for the new administration building. The proposed new administration building contains a School Board meeting room that would be available to the public along with office space for current staff. The office design provides space for storage and additional personnel. The proposed plan contains 4,200 square feet. The architect and central office staff will continue to work on the design in an effort to reduce the total square footage and consider the option of a basement under a portion of the building to provide for storage.

The Independent-News Publication Number 261460 Susan R. Urbln, Editor INDEPENDENT-NEWS CO., PUBLISHING CO. 601-03 Roosevelt Road, Walkerton, Indiana 46574-1294 Telephone (219) 586-3139 PUBLICATION TIME: Thursday of Each Week COPY DEADLINE: TUESDAY, 12 NOON Second Class Postage Paid At Walkerton, Indiana 46574 Subscription rates: 35' Per Copy; $ll.OO Per Year ($2.00 additional if mailed out of state) NOTICE: All advertising designs prepared by the Independent News are the property of the Independent News and may not be used without the written permission of the Independent News. The Independent News reserves the right to reject any and/or all advertising copy that is contrary to the policies of the newspaper or may be considered as liable. All classifieds are to be paid for in advance, they will not be taken over the telephone.

4. Resignations a. Wanda ANderson, WES part-time cook b. Richard Kickbush, JGHS PE/Health teacher & Adult Education Director A motion was made by Ryan, seconded by David Gensinger, to approve the resignation of Wanda Anderson as part-time cook at WES and Dick Kickbush as JGHS Physical Education/Health teacher and Adult Education Director who is retiring at the end of the school year after serving the John Glenn community for 39 years. During his tenure with the JGSC, Mr. Kickbush served as a teacher, athletic director at JGHS, assistant principal at Tyner Elementary School and principal at UMS. The motion was approved by a seven to zero vote. 5. Appointments a. Mary Crane, Homebound instruction for Robert Gross b. Misty Brovoid, WES part-time cook c. Adren Balmer, UMS boys track coach Ben Smith made a motion, seconded by Ryan to approve the appointments as listed. 6. Approve donation of old library shelving from UMS to Walkerton-Lincoln Township Library A motion was made by Ryan, seconded by Schaeffer, to approve the donation of old library shelving from UMS to the Walkerton-Lincoln Township Library. The motion was approved by a seven to zero vote. 7. Approve Revised K-6 Language Arts Curriculum Ryan made a motion, seconded by McCormick, to approve the revised K-6 Language Arts Curriculum. The motion was approved by a seven to zero vote. 8. Consider request for Changing the Name of Urey Middle School The School Board received the request from some of the Urey faculty and staff to change the name of Harold C. Urey Middle School to the John Glenn Middle School. w **--* • ■ • t 4,

Some reasons cited for the change are: 1-to be identified with the excellent standards that have been set by the John Glenn School Corporation, 2- communication problems would be alleviated by identifying the middle school by the name that is associated with the school corporation, 3Harold C. Urey lived in Walkerton for only a short period of his life and has no real connection to the school itself, 4- in view of recent movements away from nuclear arms and toward world peace, the preference is not to be closely assoicated with Harold C. Urey and his work on the atomic bomb, 5- there is only one middle school feeding into the John Glenn High School and it is logical for the names to correlate, 6-high school uniforms could continue to be used by seventh and eighth graders, 7-the Urey name often elicits a negative response from others, 8-with the change in the structure, it is a logical time for a change in names. The Superintendent recommended the Board take the request under advisement to allow time for public reaction. If the board believes the request has merit, it would be advisable to have a process that would allow students and persons from the community to submit names for consideration. The School Board members are interested in receiving public response to the suggestion for a name change. REPORTS 1. Superintendent’s Report a. Internet The Superintendent advised the board that he has been working with Skyenet to bring local access to Internet to the community. The School Board will be presented with a plan at the April 16, 1996 meeting to provide the schools and the community with local access to Internet. 2. Conferences Approved The School Board received a listing of con-