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No classroom untouched: High school upgrades highlight GCSC building agenda
While a new football field may be the first and most obvious domino to fall in upgrades to the buildings of Greencastle Community Schools, the plan is to go much further.
The $32 million bond sale will touch all school buildings in the corporation, most notably Greencastle High School, Supt. Jeff Gibboney emphasized to the Banner Graphic.
Gibboney calls it “a well-rounded project for today’s learners.”
However, work on the grounds at Harbison Stadium came first and is nearing completion, in large part because of the deteriorating conditions of the track.
Work by the Motz Group is ongoing on the $1.5 million stadium upgrade that includes a new artificial surface for the football field — which will become a multi-use field with markings for soccer as well — and a new track surface.
As promised when the work began, the playing field will be ready for the home football opener when the Tiger Cubs host West Vigo on Friday at 7 p.m.
That has been no small feat, as a couple of setbacks and recent weather challenged construction crews. However, in order to meet deadline, the contractor put extra crews on the job and worked late into some nights under the stadium lights.
When the new surface of John Fallis Field is unveiled to the public on Friday, work will remain on the track. The original estimated completion date for that part of the project was Oct. 1, meaning it could also be completed on time.
An update krM Architects at the most recent Greencastle School Board meeting gave a better look at the plans coming together for the schools, most specifically GHS.
From the exterior, the upgrades promise to be striking, based on renderings presented by Kevin and Mike Montgomery of krM. Not only is a secure, indoor connection between the main GHS building and McAnally Center in the works, but it will also include a new, more accessible north entrance to McAnally, long banks of windows running along most of the east side of the high school, an upgrade and (hopefully) and expansion to the high school lunch room and a large block “G” punctuating the facade.
“We want to give a more modern, innovative look while keeping the building as timeless as possible,” Kevin Montgomery said.
It goes deeper than facades, though, Gibboney emphasized.
“Every high school classroom is going to be touched,” the superintendent told the Banner Graphic.
This is good news for a building whose design has been largely untouched for decades, particularly the science labs and the media center, which aim to keep pace with 21st century learners.
Another goal is to increase the appeal of non-classroom areas in the school. While the main entrance itself will be more secure, the commons area near the entrance will feature an open stairwell and a more open commons area that Gibboney hopes to see “buzzing with kids after school.”
He also plans for the community to find use in such areas.
“When a class has a reunion, we want them to be able to gather at the high school, not somewhere else because we don’t have the space,” Gibboney said.
Additionally, renderings of the connector area reveal another common area that school officials hope will “connect academics, athletics and the arts” by providing easier access to Parker Auditorium and physical education and athletic facilities.
There will also be further upgrades to the athletic complex, with an additional auxiliary gym in the area behind the connector, new and expanded weight room and wrestling room on the lower level and expanded locker rooms in the spaces formerly occupied by the weight and wrestling rooms.
With these other upgrades, the baseball and softball fields will be moved to a new, more accessible site on the bus barn property between Veterans Highway and Martinsville Street.
Work will also extend beyond the high school campus, with new labs at the middle school as well and more secure entrances at all school buildings.
“Our buildings just need to be updated because they haven’t touched them and they need to be preserved,” Gibboney said. “We’re excited about that and we think our kids are excited about that.”
The first major round of upgrades is set to go to bid in October or November, with construction to commence in December.
This work will include the high school labs, media center, connector, off-site baseball and softball fields and McAnally locker, weight and wrestling rooms.
Work on these projects, which promise to be the most extensive of the upgrades, will continue to between the second half of 2022 and mid-2023.
Work at the middle school and elementary schools, as well as on the high school parking lot, should commence in the spring of 2022.
The superintendent believes students, parents, teachers and community will be proud of the completed projects.
“Our kids deserve the same opportunities as kids in Marion County and the donut counties,” Gibboney said. “We already have great teaching and learning, but this is just another opportunity.”
In other business, the board:
• Raised the adult meal prices at GCSC schools to $2.50 for breakfast and $4.60 for lunch.
Though the move required board approval, the prices are set by the USDA.
• Increased the pay for noon aides from $8 an hour to $10 an hour.
Noon aides are paid from the food services account.
• Approved changes to the certified staff evaluation plan.
“We’re seeking to make some adjustments to our plan for this year as a result of the pandemic,” Gibboney explained.
The amended plan will suspend attendance rating as well as the use of school letter grades as components of teacher evaluations. It will also adjust the number of required staff observations.
“We’re still going to use data to help inform and drive instruction, but not necessarily as a part of our evaluation plan,” Gibboney explained.
• Authorized the sale of a 2003 Bluebird 84-passenger bus and a 2006 Ford Thomas 24-passenger bus.
• Approved adding an additional bus route to transport a student to and from the Indiana School for the Blind each day.
• Approved a number of personnel items:
New hires: Andrew Tirotta as GHS advanced PE teacher; Kaleb Cmacho as GHS PE/health teacher; Jessica Lenihan as sixth-grade math teacher; Joel Thompson as sixth-grade social studies teacher; Matthew McClellan and seventh-grade social studies teacher; Katrina Evens as fifth-grade teacher; Shelby Aguirre as fourth-grade teacher; Fawn Helmer as GHS school nurse; Sarina Kent as GMS nurse assistant; Jackie Wilson as GHS custodian; Pamalee Kendall as GMS instructional assistant; Barbara Hutcheson as Ridpath noon aide; Brittany Mulryan as Ridpath instructional assistnat; Katlynn Bell as Deer Meadow instructional assistant; Marth Scott as Deer Meadow noon aide; Debra Sabin and Angela Wood as K-4 after school program certified instructors; Allen Landry as McAnally custodian; Dawn Linsdey, Katherin Thomas, Evelyn Tharp, Jenny Wiggs and Judy Bland as K-4 after school program instructors; Joy Fortune at K-4 after school program instructional assistant; Courtney Smith and Sharon Pitcock as 21st Century Community Learning Center instructors; Leia Vires, Grace Miles, Yahiry Xique, Sophia Mosley, Ana Salcedo, Joshua Stewart, Anastasia Wood, Zoey Weltz, Neva Brown and Eihi Yoshinaga as 21st Century Community Learning Center instructional assistants; Damien Sabin as Ridpath noon aide student worker; Zachary Ramey as GMS cafeteria assistant student worker; Mary Jane Jones as receptionist and website/database coordinator at Central Office; Danielle Cummings as GHS instructional assistant.
Resignations: Kacey Seaver as Ridpath special services teacher, Michelle Hendershot as Tzouanakis fourth-grade teacher, Sarah Mitchell as GHS instructional assistant, Rachel Crosby as GMS instructional assistant, Leslie Brock-Sims as Deer Meadow instructional assistant, Breanna Davenport as GHS custodian, Kathy Brown as Deer Meadow noon aide, Melissa Maginity as Tzouanakis instructional assistant, Kylie Kirk as Tzouanakis cafeteria assistant and Allen Landree as McAnally custodian.
Transfers: Ben Wells from seventh-grade social studies to seventh-grade PE/health, Sandra Lundy from substitute custodian to GMS custodian, Joshua Milles from McAnally custodian to Deer Meadow head custodian, Rachel Neumann from Deer Meadow long-term substitute to Deer Meadow instructional assistant, Jenny Heithaus from Tzouanakis instructional assistant to Ridpath special education teacher.
Leaves of absence: Ariel Rumple, ELL teacher; Doug Greenlee, GHS athletic director; Frank Schafer, Tzouanakis custodian.
Substitutes: Rachey Crosby as GHS long-term science substitute teacher; Sage Sherfick and Kayleigh Ray as Central Office substitute receptionist; Nancy Knox and Jill Nichols as full-time substitute teachers; Linda Floyd as substitute bus driver.
Extra-curricular activities: Kent Menzel, hired as GHS girls’ cross country head coach; Susan Fidler, approved as GHS fall events supervisor; Amanda Standers, approved as GMS boys’ cross country head coach; Ben Wilkerson, approved as GHS volunteer assistant soccer coach; Jessica Lenihan, approve as GHS girls’ JV basketball coach; Jamey Landry, approve as GMS volunteer seventh/eighth-grade volleyball coach; Bailey York, approve as GMS volunteer assistant cheer coach; Anna Harmless and Erin Thomas, approve as GHS volunteer assistant girls’ soccer coaches; Delanie Gardner, resignation at GHS JV girls’ basketball coach.