School board hears teacher achievements

It was smooth sailing for the members of the North Putnam School Board during at its monthly meeting on Thursday.

Members listened to Supt. Murray Pride's report, which included attending a budget workshop and announcing two teachers who received awards.

Teachers Joe Cialkowski, a biology teacher at the high school, and Kate Skirvin, ag-science teacher at the high school and middle school, received awards from their colleges.

Cialkowski received the Outstanding Professional award and Skirvin received the agricultural Teacher of the Year award.

Pride said he was pleased for the teachers.

"We are tickled they are a part of our staff," Pride said.

Meanwhile, the board approved a tentative agreement with the Classroom Teachers Association.

Board President Dale McGaughey said they worked with CTA for two days, and the meeting was very productive and was handled professionally. Both sides knew they did not have a whole lot to work with, but they wanted to come up with something everybody could live with. The agreement calls for a 1 percent raise increase in 2006-07.

With this agreement, a committee consisting of Mark Fordice, Patricia Baldwin and Pride were able to develop a salary schedule for support staff and administrators.

The board also approved a bid for a temporary loan from Tri-County Bank. The loan would run from July 1 to Dec. 31. The board could use up to $4.2 million on an as needed basis.

In other business, the board:

-- Approved advertising for corporation insurance package.

-- Approved the use of instructional assistants to meet prime time ratios for kindergarten through third grade.

-- Approved declaring unused items as surplus and preparing them for auction.

-- Approved the 2006-07 textbook rental and student fees.

-- Approved submitting to the National School Lunch Agreement.

-- Approved hiring personnel between board meetings for teachers and instructional assistants' positions.

-- Approved appointing Jana Brothers, Phyllis Riggle and Joanne Miller to the Roachdale-Franklin Township Library Board.

-- Approved allowing high school students to travel on overnight field trips for leadership conferences in Spencer on June 21-23 and Dec. 8-9, Plainfield on Sept. 7-8, Nashville, Ind. on Nov. 2-3 and Marshall, Ind. on Feb. 8-9.

-- Approved the retirement of North Putnam High School teacher Lloyd Blubaum.

-- Approved the resignation of Roachdale Elementary instructional assistant Amy Winings, Greencastle Middle School teachers Amy Weliever and Jane Roberson for Old National Trail, Charrie Lowe of Deer Meadow for ONT, and ONT Occupational Therapist Assistant Kathy Elliott.

-- Approved the maternity leave of absence of ONT Teacher of Hearing Impaired Carrie Edwards.

-- Approved the hiring of bus driver Bridget Cox, North Putnam Middle School physical education teacher Wesley Richardson, North Putnam High School English teacher Serena Crum, middle school teacher Lynn Scott for ONT, middle school instructional assistant Stacey Bean for ONT, Greencastle Middle School teacher Christy Schmeckebier for ONT.

-- Approved the employment of high school volunteer assistant football coach Norman Fish and high school volunteer assistant boys basketball coach Steve Peek.

Board members Debbie Sillery, Jon Buser, Vonda McGaughey, Kevin Emsweller, Gene Hostetter, Charlie Boller, and Carl Blau were also present.