Promising upgrades approved by GCSC

During the Greencastle Community School Corporation’s January public session, the district’s five-member board set in motion various upgrades that will leave nary a Greencastle school untouched.

Indeed, with lighting improvements, a new sound system and three buses on the way, one would be hard pressed to find a more-effective method of bringing in the new year.

In total: Greencastle Middle School, the high school’s McAnally Center, Tzouanakis Intermediate, Deer Meadow Primary, Ridpath Primary and the administration offices will each receive LED replacements for all of the aging fluorescent, two-by-four foot bulbs found in each building. The only exceptions to this will be the cafeteria, library and gymnasium at Tzouanakis Intermediate as they already utilize halogen bulbs.

Newly-named district Superintendent Jeff Hubble explained some of the reasons why he and others recommended improvements to the lighting systems Monday.

“Many people have remarked that this is a very intelligent decision,” Hubble said. “It will reduce our lighting costs by 62 percent.”

And with monthly bills for electricity ranging near $50,000 each month (district-wide), savings will reportedly pay for the approximate $180,000 price tag (after a 50-percent rebate) within two years or less.

“We also won’t have to replace bulbs for five years and they come with a warranty of 15 years,” Hubble explained. “I think it’s very wise -- it’s a wise use of energy and it’s going to save our taxpayers from having to pay for more expensive bulbs.

“It is our recommendation to approve expenditures from the Rainy Day Fund so that the money will go out and the rebates will come right back into the Rainy Day Fund,” Hubble concluded.

The recommendation met with unanimous approval via 7-0 vote.

Another upgrade, this time specifically for McAnally Center, also caught the attention of the board Monday.

The board recently received three bids to install a new sound system with the low bid from ESCO Communications taking approval. A total of $57,844 will provide the center with a much-needed sound system, Hubble said.

“As part of the 2016 bond, one of the projects we’ve looked into was to add a new sound system at the high school’s McAnally Center,” Hubble said, citing another opportunity. “We’ll (still) have the old system there that we’ve had for a long time in case we need it -- I don’t see any reason to pay an extra $8,000 to tear it down when it won’t be in the way of the new system.”

ESCO Communications, Hubble said, is already the primary sound-system provider for, to name a few, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and Notre Dame University’s various athletic complexes.

The superintendent’s recommendation followed suit with the lighting improvements and was approved via another unanimous 7-0 vote.

Last, but certainly not least, the board ended its search for replacement buses (as part of the district’s long-standing Bus Replacement Plan) by approving the purchase of two 84-passenger buses and one 14-passenger activity bus.

In other developments:

• Several items of no value were declared Monday, including a humidifier, a paper shredder, medicine cabinets and six sets of rolling bleachers.

• The board approved the hiring, transfer, termination, resignation and retirement of several employees Monday. They were:

Certified: Greg Hill, resignation as athletic director at GHS (effective May 26) and Kim Whited, FMLA approval.

Classified: Heather Sell, resignation at cafeteria assistant at GHS; Danny Dickey, termination as third-shift custodian at GMS; Ben Hogan, resignation as ESL-instructional assistant at GMS, Tzouanakis Intermediate and Deer Meadow Primary; Stephanie Hudson, approved as extended, long-term substitute for Whited; Heather Sell, transfer from substitute bus driver to full-time bus driver; Chandra Warmoth, transfer from substitute cafeteria assistant to cafeteria assistant at GHS; Isaiah Tippin, hire as part-time student cafeteria assistant at GHS and Tzouanakis; Whitney Hill, hire as instructional assistant at Tzouanakis; Ronnie Bumgardner, hire as third-shift custodian at GMS; Tricia Knight, hire as second-shift custodian at GHS; and Rodney Neese, transfer from second-shift, part-time custodian at McAnally Center to substitute custodian at GMS.

Substitutes: Katherine Solivan, hire as substitute teacher, and Eleanor Boyle, hire as substitute cafeteria assistant.

Athletics: Chris Hudson, approved as volunteer wrestling coach at GHS; James Bellomo, approved as volunteer wrestling coach at GHS; Josh Willer, hire as assistant track coach at GHS; Steve Paquin, hire as head boys’ and girls’ head golf coach at GHS; John Parmley, approved as volunteer boys’ golf coach at GHS; Mike Purvis, approved as volunteer assistant baseball coach at GHS; Kevin Rowe, hire as girls’ tennis coach at GHS; Robert Wright, approved as volunteer assistant softball coach at GHS; and Joe Newlin, hire as assistant softball coach at GHS.