Trio of buses, other upgrades en route at GCSC

Plans for the replacement of three aging buses, classroom lights and auditorium seats were all advanced during the Greencastle Community School Corporation’s monthly public meeting.

Transportation representative Dan Green was granted permission by the board Monday to begin accepting bids for two of the three potential vehicles. At the board’s October public meeting, a total of $650,000 was appropriated from various funds to pay for the new full-sized buses.

A Rainy Day Transfer resolution, which concerns the moving of money from the Rainy Day Fund into a savings account, was approved in October to aid expenses for the three full-sized buses.

“(We) have established a Rainy Day Fund to be used for such situations where (GCSC) cannot transfer more than 10 percent of the total budget of each tax-bearing fund to our Rainy Day Fund each year,” Interim Superintendent Jeff Hubble said.

He went on to say that, in an approved resolution proposed last month, the total of $150,000 be transferred from the Capital Projects Fund into the Rainy Day Fund. Furthermore, a transfer from the Transportation Fund of $200,000 will bring the total transfer of money into the Rainy Day Fund to $650,000 to help pay for the new buses.

It is also notable that, concerning tax neutrality, the board approved a resolution (as required by Indiana code) to reduce the maximum levy for its Bus Replacement Fund by its Debt Service Fund, which will then be allowable for use to pay pension bonds of retired employees dating back to 2013.

“There are a group of people that have retired that we still owe money to,” Interim Superintendent Jeff Hubble said in October. “The law is such that we must take money from the Bus Replacement Fund or others to pay the pension(s) that we owe these retired people.

“This is why we have to buy buses from the Rainy Day Fund -- because we have to, by law, make this transfer of funds into retirement funds.”

Lighting

The board approved the LED Lighting Project, stating that GHS will take the first step in replacing various fixtures in the corporation to increase efficiency.

The plan, which will use LED lighting rather than fluorescent lighting, is expected to decrease electric costs by more than 60 percent over time.

Seating

A bid from Irwin Seating was discussed and approved to replace every seat within the high school’s Parker AuditoriumAt McAnally Center.

The move is expected to begin around the time of spring break 2017 (see “In other business” item within this article for dates).

In other business, the board:

• Accepted donations for Stacie Stoffregen and Erin Blaydes in the amount of $500 each from the American Chemical Society.

• Increased Deer Meadow secretary Tracie Hamilton’s daily hours to eight.

• Accepted a donation from Teachers Credit Union in the amount of $1,350 for Chelle Hendershot’s robotics club at Tzouanakis Intermediate.

• Created a custodial coordinator position to train, supervise and evaluate all custodians.

• Approved the 2017-18 school year calender. Highlights: Aug. 4, 2017, first day of school; Oct. 16-20, 2017, Fall Break; Dec. 20, 2017, end of first semester; Dec. 21, 2017 to Jan. 3, 2018, Winter Break; March 26-30, 2018, Spring Break; May 23, 2018, last day of school; and May 25, 2018, graduation.

• Read aloud 31 NEOLA policy updates, as required by law, approving the first-reading of each policy change in the process. The second-reading of these updates will take place at the board’s December public meeting.

• The board approved the hiring, transfer, resignation and termination of various employees Monday:

Certified: Autumn Ramsey, approved extension of FMLA at Deer Meadow Primary; and Vicki Montgomery, approved extension as temporary teacher for Autumn Ramsey at Deer Meadow Primary.

Classified: Chris Redman, termination as head custodian at GHS; Vincent Sly, resignation as second-shift, part-time custodian at McAnally; Teresa Baker, approved intermittent FMLA at Ridpath Primary; Missy Wright, approved FMLA at transportation; Donna McFadden, approved FMLA at GMS; Drew Brothers, approved as breakfast aide at Deer Meadow Primary; Shanda Kelly, hire as instructional assistant at Tzouanakis Intermediate; Tricia Knight, hire as temporary, second-shift custodian at GMS; Robert Williams, hire as third-shift custodian at GMS; Roy Hendershot, transfer as third-shift custodian at GMS to temporary head custodian at GHS; and Ben Hogan, hire as ESL instructional assistant.

Substitutes: Haley Goetz, hire as substitute teacher; Kelly Ann Brown, hire as substitute teacher; Cheyanne Maddox, hire as substitute teacher; Doris McMains, hire as substitute cafeteria worker; Chandra Warmoth, approved as substitute cafeteria assistant; and Roberta Grider, hire as substitute cafeteria assistant.

Sports: Beth Williams, resignation as junior varsity cheerleading coach at GHS; Charlie Pingleton, resignation as head wrestling coach at GHS; Denise Meyer, transfer as assistant swimming coach at GMS to head swimming coach at GMS; Cami Hopper, approved as volunteer eighth-grade girls’ basketball coach at GMS; Michael Scott, approved as volunteer seventh-grade boys’ basketball coach at GMS; Tabatha Briones, approved as winter athletics events manager at GHS; Bryce Rector, approved as assistant baseball coach at GHS; Shane Thomas, transfer as assistant wrestling coach at GHS to head wrestling coach at GHS; Ian Pingleton, hire as assistant wrestling coach at GHS; Mason Seeger, hire as assistant wrestling coach at GMS; Rafael Robert, hire as assistant wrestling coach at GMS; Renee Marsteller, hire as varsity cheerleading coach at GHS; Megan Lavely, hire as junior varsity cheerleading coach at GHS; Hope Crosbie, hire as dance team sponsor at GMS; and Nathan Kober, approved as volunteer assistant boys’ basketball coach at GHS.