North Putnam makes pair of new hires

Saturday, September 17, 2011

ROACHDALE -- The North Putnam School Corporation made two important hires during its monthly meeting Thursday night. One has been in the making for months now. The other was a bit of a shock.

The Director of Operations position was filled after weeks of interviews by Tom Wiseman, with the motion passing on a 4-3 vote. However, former band director John Pinson had quit before the school year began after receiving a job opportunity from the Kokomo-Center Consolidated School Corporation. He was replaced by Craig Rogers after a 7-0 vote. Both men are from outside the school corporation.

"We went with someone very energetic, very student-oriented," said North Putnam High School Principal Alan Zerkel on hiring Rogers.

The board also discussed its communications when Jill Summerlot, disability advocate, addressed the board regarding the Community Council. The council will be made up of teachers, parents, staff members, community members and others interested in improving and strengthening the school corporation.

"I don't want it to seem like a complaint committee," Summerlot said. "There's a lot of strengths in this corporation."

Board member Mark Hoke received an invitation to be part of the council after expressing interest in becoming part of it. But board member John Hays said he wasn't sure it was a good idea for a board member to have influence on the council. He didn't want the council to focus on issues particular board members wanted to focus on and did not want to have a negative influence on the committee.

Board member Charlie Boller said he would like the council to have some communication with the board when necessary, but overall agreed with Hays' idea.

"I'm all for communication," Boller said. "That's the best thing that can happen."

The board voted 4-3 against the issue, not allowing Hoke to be on the council as a representative of the school board. However, Hays, Hoke and other board members could still join solely as parents, something Hays said he has considered doing.

The board also approved the 2012-13 school budget, as well as the Bus Replacement Plan and Capital Projects Fund.

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  • What is the point of a community council if the board is unwilling to be present and participate in the discussions? The board members are elected to represent their respective townships and should see this as a great opportunity to receive direct feedback from the communities that elected them. From my observation it appears that a few board members, such as Hays and Haste, simply want to pick and choose their participation to invest and protect their personal agendas.

    -- Posted by jorge on Sat, Sep 17, 2011, at 6:20 PM
  • Sounds like jorge works for NP...hmmmm............

    -- Posted by kubotafan on Wed, Sep 21, 2011, at 7:18 PM
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