Under report items, Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman announced that regisgration for the 2013-14 school year will be Aug. 6 and 7.There will be one common location, the high school main entrance, for all (K-12) students to register. This will help to streamline the registration process, be more accommodating to parents with children in more than one building, and have less duplication of services.
Computers will be set up to verify/enter information. There will be a private location for free/reduced lunch applications. There will also be an area for transportation questions, textbook fee payments, lunch account payments/questions, and athletics. School counselors will also be available.
Registration for new students will run from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., and 1 to 3 p.m., Friday, Aug. 2 and Monday, Aug. 5. Please call for an appointment.
The first day for teachers/staff will be Aug. 12, which includes Meet the Teacher Night (elementary school 5 to 6 p.m.; and middle/high school 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.).
The first day for students - a full day - is Wednesday, Aug.14.
Dr. Klitzman explained that transfer tuition is now calculated with property taxes taken out of the formula. Due to this change the board has taken action to not charge for transfer tuition if the individual student is enrolled with EPCS on the state count date.
However, there has been a change in this law and each school needs to
- agree to accept transfers
- set a number of transfers that will be accepted
- set the end date for transfers to be accepted
If the number of requests exceeds the established capacity, the school would need to have a “lottery” selection for transfer requests at a public meeting. The other notable change is that schools need to treat all transfer requests the same, no discrimination. In the past EPCS required transfers to be in good standing at the school they were transferring from to transfer in, but the school corporation can no longer make that a requirement for transferring in. The exception would be for various student misbehavior issues such as drugs, alcohol, and firearm infractions. In addition EPCS does not have to accept a student if the school corporation does not offer a specialized program needed by the student.
After talking with principals regarding the new law, Dr. Klitzman recommended, and the board approved, to continue to accept transfers for the 2013-14 school year (the only other option would be to accept NO transfers), set Sept. 13 as the cutoff date to accept transfers (state count date) and to set the capacity (as per the new law) to accommodate the EPCS facilities at the following: elementary school – 740 (highest number at kindergarten level), middle school – 350, high school – 460.
Dr. Klitzman also reported on student attendance for the 2012-13 school year: elementary school 97.25 percent, middle school 96.914 percent, and high school 95-91 percent. The corporation total was 96.83 percent - the highest over the last four years. Klitzman noted there is a direct correlation between attendance and success at school.
The board was told the school corporation is in better financial shape this fiscal year then it was at the same time the past three years, thanks to the cuts that have been made and frugal administration. However, Dr. Klitzman reported that next year the school corporation is projected to have additional cuts in ADM, and Prime Time, to name a few. He added that although EPCS is ending the year on this positive note, the cash balance is not at a comfortable level due to so many cuts (which continue) from the state.
All claims were approved as submitted. Year-end budget account transfers, fund transfers and the annual extracurricular financial statements were presented for approval. After discussion all finances were approved as submitted.
It was explained to the board that the state department of education pays a large portion of the placement cost if a student is placed in a specialized facility in Lafayette, and EPCS pays the remainder if an agreement with the department of education is entered into. Dr. Klitzman stated that if the need should arise, to maintain this arrangement, an agreement with the department of education needs to be signed every six months. Approval was given for the superintendent to sign the agreement.
Conflict of interest forms for board member Joe Cunningham and his wife, teacher Lori Cunningham were approved as presented.
Corporation bus drivers were re-employed for the 2013-14 school year with Tami Powell leaving and Cheryl Warner added.
During board comment Mrs. Powell was thanked for her years of service and condolences were given to the Peach Roth family.
The next regular school board meeting will be at 5:30 p.m., Monday, Aug. 12, in the distance learning lab.
