North Putnam post prom location set

BAINBRIDGE -- After some debate amongst the school board and with members of the audience Wednesday during the district’s monthly public session at North Putnam High School, upcoming post-prom activities will not only be hosted at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds, but will also feature magician Richard Darshwood.

Though the location was quickly approved, North Putnam High School Principal Jason Chew took the time to explain as to why an adjacent county’s fairgrounds were favored for the event.

“Prior to last year, post prom had generally always been held at the high school,” Chew said. “As such, it was never really a school-sponsored event.

“The board and the school allowed the parents to organize a post prom and use the facilities for free ... so it was an event held by parents for our students,” Chew continued. “(But) last year, the post-prom committee found that part of the reason the (attendance) numbers were dwindling was that they didn’t want to come here -- they wanted to do something different; they wanted to have a different type of after-prom activity, so last year we made it a school-sponsored event to be able to provide transportation to take those who were interested over to the Brownsburg bowling alley.”

Chew went on to say that the event was a success -- attendance numbers were up and in a recent committee meeting, those involved ultimately brought up the idea to provide entertainment at the Danville fairgrounds after the dance’s conclusion.

“The goal is to keep kids away from the traditional ‘bad ideas’ of after prom -- drinking and driving, going partying, all of those things that we’re well aware of,” he said. “That’s the real hope: to give kids an opportunity to do something safe, sponsored and chaperoned.

“(The committee) then brought the idea of having a magician/hypnotist/comedy kind of show to me ... I talked to some of my friends in the business and other administrators and found out that it’s a little bit more prominent than what I had thought about these types of shows,” Chew said. “Some schools actually have had convocations where they do this as a whole school activity. After listening to them (while) knowing the individuals who are on this committee and believing that they have in mind what’s in the best interest of our kids, I said that I would agree and move forward, knowing that they are going to talk with this performer and make sure that it’s of the kind of entertainment that we would accept.”

However, despite the recommendation from Principal Chew and his personal assurance that annual permission slips would accurately reflect what the act would involve while giving students the choice to or to not participate, School Board President John Hays and board member Jill Summerlot expressed concern on the matter which resulted in the only split decision of the evening -- a 5-2 approval of the performer.

“If students want to participate, they’re going to need parent permission; if they want to be spectators, then they’ll have a separate type of permission slip for that,” Chew said. “I really think the (committees) have tried to do their due diligence.”

Hays and Summerlot still expressed their concerns despite overwhelming assurance from the principal.

“What concerns me is that we’re going to have kids that are going to be up on a stage -- wherever they’re going to do this -- and in the age of technology, we’re going to have kids who are recording it,” Summerlot said. “And for entertainment purposes, they’re going to put it on Facebook or Snapchat or wherever it goes out, wherever it wants to go.

“And that one kid who’s going to be humiliated because it’s out there -- that’s my concern,” Summerlot continued. “So I’m concerned about, what if there’s that one kid who decides they’re going to go ahead and video-tape it, and humiliate kids, whether they don’t think that’s right or not that they’ve done that.”

A member of the audience spoke out, asking Summerlot how that would be different than any other type of public activity.

“Wouldn’t that be the same at prom? Wouldn’t that be every day at school?” the attendant asked. “They have that option of they want to go up there and do it, or not.”

“Not when you’re talking about a hypnotist that’s hypnotizing a child,” Summerlot replied.

Hays echoed Summerlot’s comments, though he was more concerned with the performer’s background.

“This gentleman is currently focusing on the study of social engineering,” Hays said. “I suggest that’s something we don’t need in the community -- social engineering. That’s not a good term there. That’s not something we need, in my opinion.”

After it was brought to the attention of the board that the opportunity to book any sort of performer is about to expire, other board members noted the urgency and pointed out the fact that, along with assurance from the principal and multiple committees, students will have two “outs” to avoid any such “humiliation.”

The board then passed the location via 7-0 vote and the booking of Darshwood via 5-2 vote with Summerlot and Hays dissenting.

Post prom will be held at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds, located at 1900 E. Main St. in Danville, from 12:30-3 a.m. after the dance.

The next regularly-scheduled public session for North Putnam will be at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 12 at the district’s administration offices, located at 300 N. Washington St. in Bainbridge.

In other business:

The school calendar of events for the 2017 spring semester was tabled.

• Repaving of the Bainbridge Elementary driveway was temporarily tabled but then rediscussed. Due to a large pothole plaguing bus drivers and parents, an undisclosed bid was accepted from City Wide Paving Inc.

• The board approved several hires, transfers, resignations and retirements Wednesday: Sarah Geiger, resignation as assistant treasurer; LeeAnn Bryan, resignation as head volleyball coach at NPHS; Chase Hiland, resignation as girls’ head soccer coach at NPHS; David Moeller, resignation as boys’ head soccer coach at NPHS; Anthony Freund, retiring as social studies teacher at NPHS; Ken McMullen, retiring as custodian at Bainbridge Elementary; Kerry Roussey, hired as assistant softball coach at NPHS; Holly Cooper, approved as Art Club sponsor at NPMS; Micah Matlock, approved as volunteer for FFA program; Heather Lawson, transfer from secretary/treasurer at NPMS to assistant treasurer at the administration office; and Amanda Keslar, transfer from instructional assistant/receptionist/health aide to secretary/treasurer at NPMS.