Student safety a topic for SPCSC

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

School safety in the face of danger was discussed at the South Putnam School Board meeting Monday night.

During the open forum section at the end of the meeting, a woman in the audience asked what steps the school had in place in case of a necessary lockdown. She said it is bad for the principal to be out of the building like Central/Fillmore Principal Brad Hayes.

Her concern was that in case of a lockdown, the teachers should be assisting the students. If there were no administrator present, then there would be nobody to coordinate a safety plan, she said.

Superintendent Bruce Bernhardt alongside Board Member Mike Rissler read aloud from the Elementary Student Handbook the measures taken in such a scenario. With the high school and Central Elementary being so near to one another, an administrator from the high school would come to the aide of the elementary.

However, this response did not answer the question to the woman's liking. She stated that by the time someone came over from the high school, it would be too late.

South Putnam High School Principal Keith Puckett also interjected, telling the audience and board that Indiana has one of the best programs for an emergency situation. He also said Putnam County schools are very active in these programs. But much to the chagrin of certain audience members, he stated the terminology and actual plans could not be divulged due to the security breach that could ensue from releasing that information to the public.

Rissler finally appeased the question by saying that if no person was currently in charge, they would appoint one before the start of the next school year.

During the meeting, the board discussed Elementary textbook rental prices for next year. They voted to continue using the present set of textbooks with rental prices varying from $56.69 - $88.35.

The board also accepted ratification to the Master Contract. The South Putnam Classroom Teacher's Association ratified this contract in coordination with the South Putnam School Board. The agreement extends from the 2007 -- 2009 school years and calls for teachers to contribute a maximum of $2,000 annually toward their health insurance plan.

To help offset the cost, there will be a $2,000 raise on each step of the salary scale, retroactive to the beginning of the school year and a new step with a $3,500 increase for 30+ years of experience.

For this, the teachers would like to acknowledge the efforts of IERB Mediator, Nancy Wells and Steve Cash, School Board members involved in the negotiation process, Bruce Bernhardt and ISTA District Uniserve Director Chad Hunter.

The South Putnam School Board meets regularly the third Monday of every month in the Central Elementary music room at 7 p.m.

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  • That kind of defeats the purpose of the increas to the insurance doesn't it. How can the schools afford to pay for teachers insurance when the private sector can't? Maybe we need to make sure that the teachers spouses on the board aren't voting on this one!

    -- Posted by concern on Tue, May 20, 2008, at 8:07 AM
  • The insurance is part of the teachers pay, without it most people would find a different profession.

    -- Posted by Siera on Tue, May 20, 2008, at 12:24 PM
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