NORTH PUTNAM COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION

NINE HUNDRED FIFTY-EIGHTH MEETING

The members of the Board of School Trustees of the North Putnam Community School Corporation

held their Nine Hundred Fifty-Eighth (958) Meeting, Regular Session Thursday, November 20, 2008,

7:00 PM, at North Putnam Community School Corporation, Administration Office, 300 North Washington Street, Bainbridge, Indiana.

Board members present: Debra Sillery

Charlie Boller

Mark Fordice

Dale McGaughey

Carl Blau

Andy Beck

Board members absent: Jon Buser

Superintendent present: Murray F. Pride

Administrative Assistant absent: Kevin Emsweller

Attorney present: Gene Hostetter

President Debra Sillery called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

President Sillery asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes.

Mark Fordice motioned to approve the following School Board minutes.

A.  Executive Session Meeting October 16, 2008

B.  957th Regular Session Meeting October 16, 2008

Andy Beck seconded the motion and it carried by a vote of five (5) ayes, zero (0) nays and one (1) abstention (Charlie Boller).

COMMENTS FROM PATRONS AND STAFF:

President Sillery asked as if there were any comments from the patrons or staff.

Jim Elliott of Russellville thanked the board for the opportunity to speak on behalf of several families in the Russellville area with concerns about behavior on the bus consisting of bad language, taunting, objects such as pencils being thrown among several other incidents. He stated that he realized the main job of the bus driver is to get the students to school safely, but he requested that the administration please make getting students to school a high priority by making sure that the bus ride to and from school is a safe environment for all students.

Debbie Sillery thanked Mr. Elliott for his comments and stated the Mr. Pride and Mr. Emsweller would look into the situation.

Debbie Sillery asked if there were other comments.

Terry Tippin stated that the new Middle School parent group would be hosting a social night for middle school students which would include swimming and the use of both gyms for activities. Alan Zerkel stated that he has just returned from watching the high school bowling team and that Michelle Spencer and David Basan had chaired a committee for the North Putnam Teachers Association which hosted a variety of events and activities in honor of American Education Week, which was this week.

Terry Tippin stated that the county middle schools are working on getting the middle school level involved in the West Central Conference. They have some events scheduled and are proud of being able to get this off the ground.

Helen Blubaum stated that the Roachdale Elementary students and staff have had a food drive for the Putnam County Food Pantry and that they will also be helping needy families again this Christmas. She also stated that Roachdale received the award for collecting the most coats for the “Coats for Kids” project.

OLD BUSINESS

Superintendent Pride recommended the approval of the second reading of Policy 4699 “Students of Staff Members in Buildings and on Grounds After School Hours”. He stated that there have been no changes made in the policy since the last meeting.

Andy Beck motioned to approve Policy 4699 “Students of Staff Members in Buildings and on Grounds After School Hours” as recommended by Superintendent Pride. Mark Fordice seconded the motion and it carried by a vote of six (6) ayes and zero (0) nays.

Superintendent Pride ask for approve of Policy 6150 on the second reading. He requested approval of either option 1 or option 2 or requested direction in how to proceed. If we wait, the General Assembly will address this issue, however it will be April before we have an answer. If a policy is adopted now, anything that the General Assembly does will trump our new policy. He stated that some people have the idea that a student can enroll in any school after January 1 with no tuition; however this is not the case. There will still be tuition, but it will be less than in years past and after ADM day, the amount would increase. Mark Fordice asked what the surrounding schools are doing. Superintendent Pride responded that some are opting to use our option 1 policy and other option 2. He continued that Julie Slavens of the ISBA has published both our options in her quarterly legal brief. Mark Fordice questioned if there is anyway that the only transfers we would accept would be children of North Putnam Community School Corporation staff. No other transfers would be allowed. Gene Hostetter felt that he could write a policy stating “a student that is a child of a North Putnam Community School Corporation employee and not residing within the North Putnam Community School Corporation boundaries and meets all other criteria” could be put into the policy and would not show discrimination and even though he felt law suits could come from such a policy, it would be defendable. Superintendent Pride stated that the policy would need to include the stipulation that the transfer shall not place an undue burden on the school corporation and must be enrolled prior to ADM day.

After continued discussion, Dale McGaughey suggested that the policy be cleaned up to include only children of employees and be placed on the agenda at the next meeting. Superintendent Pride stated that they would rewrite the policy and email it to board members prior to the next board meeting. Any questions or concerns should also be addressed to Mr. Pride prior to the next board meeting

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Superintendent Pride stated that the financial reports and technology report were included in the packets.

Parent-Teacher Conference Reports:

Middle School had a total of 343 conferences or 72% which is up from 70% last year.

High School had 547 conferences versus 485 last year.

Roachdale Elementary had 98.7% attendance at conferences. Only 3 families were not represented.

Bainbridge Elementary had 91% attendance at conferences, which is up from 86% last year.

Superintendent Pride informed the board that he has begun to build a calendar for the next school year and has been in discussion with ONT, Area 30 and our Discussion team. The start dates range from August 17 to September 8 with end dates ranging from May 25 to June 17. All but one of the calendars allows for only 1 snow day and one does not allow for any snow days. Mr. Beck stated that the State Fair has changed its schedule and will be held August 7 – 22 and that makes it hard for students that wish to participate. Superintendent Pride stated that most of the county school corporations favor the August 17 state date, and if we start on a different date, it will effect our Area 30 students but we could arrange for a bus to take these students from the high school to Area 30, as we have in the past. We would be required by law to transport any special needs students that attend school in a different school corporation.

Superintendent Pride stated that he would continue discussions with Area 30 and ONT and would discuss the possibility of an August 24 start date with them.

Superintendent Pride shared a list (attached hereto) of donation received as requested by Debbie Sillery.

Superintendent Pride also presented the board with a list (attached hereto) excluding the cost of the concrete and asphalt for the expenses paid by the corporation and the athletic department for the construction of the new concession stand and storage unit at the high school. The board expressed dissatisfaction with the total cost of the project and felt they should have been kept better informed and possibly the money could have been used for other more needed projects. Superintendent Pride stated that the board agreed to pay the electrical and plumbing expense and also the cost of the blocks. The board had also expressed their desire not to use the fixtures and partitions from the old building if they were deemed unfit to use. The board members agreed that in any future projects approved by the board, more updates on costs and blueprints should be presented to the board. The also felt a cap of total expenses should be placed on future projects.

Superintendent Pride requested permission to have a Public Hearing to approve additional appropriations on December 10 at 7:00 PM. He stressed the importance of waiting as late as possible to have this hearing so we would know exactly what our income is through November and would have a good idea of what it will be in December. The final documents must be submitted to the DLGF by December 15. He also stated that Ms. Sillery would also like to have an Executive Session prior to the Public Hearing at 6:00 that evening.

It was the consensus of the board to hold the Public Hearing on December 10 at 7:00 PM with an Executive Meeting prior to that meeting beginning at 6:00 PM

BOARD MEMBER ITEMS

President Sillery asked if there were any comments or concerns to be brought before the Board at this time.

Andy Beck stated that he had attended the Discussion Committee meeting and topics of discussion included Bainbridge Remediation, Roachdale Accelerated Reader and the classroom carpets being used by students to set on while reading. Mr. Pride stated the carpets would be replaced through CPF.

Mr. Beck also informed the board that the school Christmas Programs would be on the following dates: Bainbridge, December 1 & 2, High/Middle School, December 15 and Roachdale Elementary on Decembers 16. He also stated that he had attended a health committee meeting in Greencastle, which was a good meeting.

Mark Fordice questioned where we are with the renovation projects. Superintendent Pride stated that he has been in contact with Dan Sulkoske and hopes he will be able to attend the December meeting and bring the board up to date. They think they have discovered the difference in the bids on the HVAC. The corporation goal is to have an updated HVAC that will work for the future. Mr. Fordice stressed the advantages of doing this project while interest rates are down and contractors might be looking for work.

Carl Blau stated he had attended the Area 30 meeting. He stated that they currently have 17 programs and are looking for suggestions for changes. The nursing and heavy equipment classes are very well attended. Bill Dory listed the top 50 jobs in our region and they included teaching positions. He continued that the students made presentations during this meeting that were very impressive. Area 30 would like to identify people interested in hiring students from their intern program.

NEW BUSINESS

Adoption of the 2009 Budget

Superintendent Pride stated that the 2009 Budget has been properly advertised and a public hearing was held as required by law. Superintendent Pride recommended approval of the 2009 Budget as advertised.

Mark Fordice motioned to approve the 2009 Budget as recommended by Superintendent Pride. Dale McGaughey seconded the motion and it carried by a vote of six (6) ayes and zero (0) nays.

Superintendent Pride recommended approval of the Capital Project Fund Plan along with the required Resolution.

Carl Blau motioned to approve the Capital Project Fund Plan and Resolution as recommended by Superintendent Pride. Dale McGaughey seconded the motion and it carried by a vote of five (5) ayes and one (1) nay (Andy Beck).

Superintendent Pride recommended approval of the 2009 Bus Replacement Plan and Resolution.

Charlie Boller motioned to approve the 2009 Bus Replacement Plan and Resolution as recommended by Superintendent Pride. Mark Fordice seconded the motion and it carried by a vote of six (6) ayes and zero (0) nays.

Superintendent Pride recommended approval of the Resolution to Reduce Appropriations if necessary at the budget hearing.

Dale McGaughey motioned to approve the Resolution to Reduce Appropriations as recommended by Superintendent Pride. Mark Fordice seconded the motion and it carried by a vote of six (6) ayes and zero (0) nays.

Superintendent Pride requested formal permission to increase the borrowing capacity for 2008. He reminded the board that they had given verbal permission to increase the borrowing capacity on November 3, 2008.

Mark Fordice motioned a grant permission to increase the borrowing capacity for 2008 as requested by Superintendent Pride. Charlie Boller seconded the motion and it carried by a vote of six (6) ayes and zero (0) nays.

Superintendent Pride requested permission to advertise for a temporary loan from January 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009 for up to $7,000,000.00.

Mark Fordice motioned to grant permission to advertise for a temporary loan from January 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009 for up to $7, 000,000.00 as requested by Superintendent Pride. Charlie Boller seconded the motion and it carried by a vote of six (6) ayes and zero (0) nays.

PERSONNEL

Superintendent Pride recommended the following personnel items:

A. Certified Staff:

1. Resignation:

a. Serena Crum High School

Teacher

Effective November 13, 2008

Dale McGaughey motioned to approve certified staff personnel as recommended by Superintendent Pride. Mark Fordice second the motion and it carried by a vote of six (6) ayes, zero (0) nays.

A. Support Staff:

1. Transfer:

a. Donna Adams Bainbridge Elementary

From: Cafeteria Manager (7 hour position)

To: Instructional Assistant

Replace Traci Montgomery

Effective October 31, 2008

b. Cheryl Edwards Bainbridge Elementary

From: Cafeteria worker (6 hour position)