GCSC board accepts more than $100K in grants, donations

Recent grants from Lilly Endowment Inc. and the Indiana Department of Education (DOE) pushed incoming benefaction totals to more than $100,000 Monday during the Greencastle school board’s latest public session.

Seeing four donations in total, each contribution was discussed and approved Monday with Superintendent Jeff Hubble explaining that goals for the $109,417 have already been set.

A Title II, Part A grant from the DOE was accepted by the board via 5-0 vote and will go toward the growth of all educational and administrative employees.

“The federal government, through the state of Indiana, is willing to give us $72,417 as part of its Title II, Part A grant,” Hubble said Monday. “Title II, Part A funds at Greencastle Community Schools are spent on the professional development of our teaching staff and our support staff and our student leaders.”

Hubble’s comments were in fact in line with DOE guidelines for the implementation of a Title II, Part A grant, which can be found at www.doe.in.gov/titlei/title-iia. In part, they read:

“The purpose of Title II, Part A is to increase the academic achievement of all students by helping schools and districts improve teacher and principal quality and effectiveness,” the DOE website explains. “In exchange, agencies that receive funds are held accountable to the public for improvements in student academic achievement ... whether they concern teacher preparation and the qualifications of new teachers, recruitment and hiring, induction, targeted and embedded professional development, teacher retention or the need for more capable principals and assistant principals to serve as effective school leaders.”

A similar grant, this time earned by and intended for the district-wide growth and development of the corporation’s counseling departments, was formally accepted from Lilly Endowment Inc. via another 5-0 vote in the amount of $30,000.

Learning of the grant earlier in February, Ridpath Primary counselor Megan Ward said at the time “GCSC will use the planning grant to partner with a consultant to assist in research and analysis of our current counseling programs ... a portion of the grant will be used for professional development of the corporation’s six school counselors, the school psychologist and the superintendent at the American School Counselor Association Conference in July.”

On Monday, Hubble expounded upon the comments made by Ward.

“Our counselors were very excited to be putting together this plan and have developed programs within the planning grant to lay the foundations for support for our primary counselor who is split between the two buildings (GHS and GMS).

“We are not going to recommend salary funds for the (consultant) at this time,” Hubble said. “It is our intention not to recommend that we hire somebody on grant money because you just get to a period where you enjoy them and you’re excited about them, and then the grant money goes away. We would like to have staff on our agenda to lead this augmented support group and counseling program -- focusing mostly on primary (schools).”

An article concerning the Lilly Endowment planning grant was originally published in the Banner Graphic on Friday, Feb. 10 and can be found here: www.bannergraphic.com/story/2385381.html.

In addition to the aforementioned grants, two donations were also accepted Monday.

A grant from the Greencastle McDonald’s totaling $5,000 was approved via 5-0 vote and is set to benefit the high school’s athletic department -- more specifically, a much-needed pole vault pit for the boys’ and girls’ track and field teams. The donation will considerably defray the $13,540 needed for the pit. The corporation will match the $5,000 with the athletic department picking up the remaining $3,540 to complete the project.

The second donation of the evening was also approved via 5-0 vote, amounting in $2,000 from Buzzi Unicem U.S.A. The $2,000 is set to be donated to the high school’s bustling Robotics Club, which put together a marble-sorting video for the viewing pleasure of those in attendance Monday.

Finally, in another financially-sagacious move, the board approved the cancellation of 13 outstanding checks Monday, a common practice by many school boards that allows the voiding of un-cashed checks written by the corporation once a minimum of two years have passed.

In other business:

• The summer school band schedule for the middle school was discussed and approved. The program will take place in the months of June and July. For more information, contact GMS at 653-9774.

• The distribution of a stipend concerning the 2016 Performance Grant was approved. The stipend, which is divided between teachers whose students performed well on 2016 ISTEP tests, rewards any teacher with an effective or highly-effective rating. Additionally, administrators with effective or highly-effective evaluations will receive the same reward as teachers, the only difference being that administrators will receive rewards funded from the recent Title II, Part A grant instead of the 2016 Performance Grant.

• Several minor adjustments were made to the board’s pending NEOLA Policies, totaling 42 in all. Each were heard upon first reading Monday.

• The Greencastle school board approved the hiring, transfer, resignation and title change of several employees Monday. They were:

Classified: Toni Smith, approved title change from secretary at Central Office to administrative secretary at Central Office; Julia Peters, hired as noon aide at Deer Meadow Primary; Dayna Timcheck, resignation as second-shift, part-time custodian at GMS; Rodney Neese, resignation as substitute custodian at GMS; Marcus Pulis, resignation as second-shift custodian at GHS; Doris McMains, transfer as substitute cafeteria assistant to cafeteria assistant at GHS; and Chandra Warmoth, transfer as cafeteria assistant at GHS to substitute cafeteria assistant.

Substitutes: Cathryn Ensley, hired as substitute teacher; Ashley Watson, hired as substitute custodian; Cassandra Hyde, hired as substitute custodian; and Nancy Hagen, hired as substitute cafeteria assistant.

ECA: Katheryn Dory, approved as Summer School band teacher at GMS; Parker Aul, hired as spring athletics and events manager at GHS; Michael Scott, approved as boys’ head track coach at GMS; Brian Hammett, approved as boys’ assistant track coach at GMS; Tonya Welker, hired as girls’ head track coach at GMS; and Rebeca Bagdocimo, hired as girls’ assistant track coach at GMS.

• The next regularly-scheduled public session for GCSC will be hosted on March 27 at 7 p.m. within the district’s administration offices, located at 1002 Millpond Ln. For questions, call 653-9771.