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GCSC assistant superintendent takes leave of absence until end of year
With Supt. Jeff Hubble set to retire on June 30, Greencastle Community Schools will be operating without an assistant superintendent until that time.
On Monday, the Greencastle School Board approved family medical leave for Garletts, effective March 3 through June 30.
Garletts has been assistant superintendent since June 2017.
The expiration of Garletts’ leave of absence coincides with the conclusion of his contract with GCSC.
Monday’s meeting was a relatively short one, with school board members wanting to get themselves and a sparse crowd home in the face of concerns about the COVID-19 virus.
With schools closed since Friday in response to the virus, both Hubble and Curriculum Director Jennifer French reported on the school’s response to the need to close.
Hubble said the corporation has followed the protocol it set up for pandemic flu and is 75 percent of the way through the plan now that schools have closed.
The only part of the plan remaining would be recovery, or bringing kids back to school, which could be in a few weeks, a month or beyond. At this point, the country and the state are still figuring out the response and answers are not concrete.
“Now that the CDC is saying 8-10 weeks and the governor said 50 people (as a limit on gatherings) and the president said 10 people, we really don’t know,” Hubble said.
Another thing they don’t know is the status of standardized testing with the physical closure of schools indefinite at this point.
What both Hubble and French do know is they are happy with the response so far.
Both administrators said they visited all school buildings on Monday, where teachers (but not students) were on site to answer e-learning questions from students and parents and prepare upcoming lessons.
“No panic, no frenzy,” French said. “Everybody seems composed and calm and prepared.”
Hubble shared some of the thinking behind going to e-learning both this week and the week after spring break, which was a different plan from the other three county school corporations.
Based on uncertainty over if people might still travel to spring break and to where, the week after was looked at as a way to force them into a seven-day quarantine.
However, at this point the closure looks much longer.
Also unique among the county schools is Greencastle’s approach of using three e-learning days on Monday through Wednesday, then two of the 20 state-granted waiver days on Thursday and Friday.
Hubble credited Greencastle Middle School Principal Scott Weltz with figuring out that by repeating this plan each week that schools remain closed, GCSC could make it all the way to the end of the year with three waiver days to spare.
While no one wants it to come to that, school officials also know that what happens as pandemic response continues will likely come from above.
“My thinking is, whatever we do from here on is not going to be our decision,” School Board President Mike White said. “It’s going to be made for us.”
Hubble is staying positive, stressing three points as he communicates with teachers: “Stay calm. Common sense -- which isn’t so common. Help the kids win.”
He said its in the school’s best interest “to continue to get kids to be smarter every day.” Without in-person instruction, that job is even more challenging than before.
In other business:
• The board approved donations to GCSC.
Jack’s Trash Service donated $1,000 to the Greencastle High School baseball program.
West Central Solid Waste District donated $450 to food services.
Trust watchers for the Jack and Shirley Dalton Trust donated $1,000 to the GHS Students of Technology Fund.
• White shared his uncertainty over what will become of school board meetings in the coming weeks and months.
With the government already putting limits on social gatherings, it’s unclear if and how the school board might be able to meet.
At the same time, the board is required by law to continue to fulfill certain duties for the corporation.
“Do we continue to get together like this?” White asked.
Corporation attorney Emma Jay spoke up and said the Indiana Public Access Counselor was set to give an opinion this week on how public boards might limit the number of people gathering while also abiding by the Indiana Open Door Law.
• The board approved several personnel items:
Retirements: Joanna Suitors and David Hayes as bus drivers (effective May 21).
Resignations: Kathy Lewis as Ridpath media center assistant (effective July 1) and Joann Snapp as Deer Meadow noon aide (effective March 13).
Hirings: Barabara Hutcheson as Ridpath noon aide and Joevita Weah as GMS 21st Century Community Learning Center instructional assistant.
Transfer: Tina Sillery from substitute bus driver to full-time bus driver.
Substitutes: Miranda Williams, Emily Tekien, Cody Auker, Emma Cash and Valerie Buchanan as substitute teachers.
Extra-curricular activities: Chris Wilson hired as GHS junior varsity baseball coach, Christopher Mitchell approves as volunteer assistant GHS track coach.