Cloverdale swears in new board members

CLOVERDALE -- Executive Secretary Lynn Lotz delivered the oath of office to three new and one returning member of the Cloverdale School Board.

Returning member and former Vice President Donna Fidler was sworn in along with JaceAnn Troutt, Katrina Lewis and Joe Mann.

“I would like to welcome Mr. Mann, Mrs. Troutt and Mrs. Lewis to the board,” Superintendent Greg Linton said. “I look forward to working with you for the next four years. I feel like this particular board gets a lot of good work done.”

During the election of new officers, Secretary Vivian Whitaker was elected president in a 6-1 vote with herself abstaining. Daniel Hofmann was elected vice president in a 6-1 vote with himself abstaining. Vice President Donna Fidler was elected secretary in a 6-1 vote with herself abstaining. The board approved the appointment of Mendy Shrout as corporation treasurer and Lynn Lotz as deputy treasurer.

“I would like to thank Duane and Donna for their leadership over a number of years and for all the extra time that they have put in,” President Vivian Whitaker said. “I’m looking forward to the year. And I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse to the board that I’m in this situation, but I will do my best. And, please, if you have suggestions I have broad shoulders, let me know.”

In other developments:

-- AdvancED accreditation: Director of Curriculum and Instruction Cathy Ames delivered a presentation on the upcoming AdvancED accreditation visit set for Jan. 22-25.

The team will evaluate the entire school district for purpose and direction, governance and leadership, teaching, resources and support and whether the school uses results for continued improvement. It will interview Superintendent Linton, Curriculum Director Ames and the school board members.

It will also observe classrooms and meet with administrators and teachers. The official results are expected a few weeks after the visit, but a public exit meeting with an initial report is set for Jan. 25 at 1 p.m. in the administration building.

The process is optional, and Superintendent Greg Linton said Cloverdale Schools is the only corporation to do so in Putnam County. As part of the process, students, teachers and parents were asked to complete surveys about the corporation’s strengths and weaknesses. Strengths were given as safety and security and having the children’s best interests; and weaknesses were given as outdated technology, using data for formative assessments and parental involvement.

Ames pointed out that a positive feature of the weaknesses listed is that the corporation is already working to solve them.

“There’s no doubt that they’ll leave us with a list of things to improve up, but that’s really what we want,” Superintendent Linton said. “We’ve already identified what we know we’re doing fairly well. But to be able to bring in five experts from out of the area ... I think we look forward to the challenges that they leave us with to push us toward excellence. We have nothing but to gain from the process.”

Duane Huge pointed out that the school improvement plans are informed from this evaluation, and vice versa.

-- Board compensation: The board approved keeping board compensation at $2,000 per year, the maximum amount approved by the state. Board compensation is paid out of the general operating fund.

-- Claims: The board approved the claims at a total of $729,792.38, an increase from November of $163,054.43 and a decrease of $52,317.28 from the April-December average. Superintendent Linton explained the increase with a $2,300 annual licensing fee paid to Five-Star Technologies, three mechanical repairs and two payrolls.

-- Personnel report: The board approved the following personnel report:

-- Hire: Debbie Steffy (CHS girls’ basketball assistant coach) and an instructional assistant at CMS

-- Students of the Month: The January Students of the Month were Kylie Silbert (4th grade), Riley Bates (6th grade) and Ambrie Kidder (senior).

The next Cloverdale School Board meeting is set for Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. in the Cloverdale School Administration Building.