Superintendent Dan Foster presented the 2019-20 and 2020-21 School Year Calendars for approval. The 2019-20 Calendar has the first day for students as Aug. 14; Fall Break is Oct. 14-18; Thanksgiving Break is Nov. 27-29; Christmas Break is Dec. 23 through Jan. 2; Spring Break is March 23-27 and the last day for students is May 29. The 2020-21 calendar is similar with the first day for students as Aug. 12. After discussion, the board voted to approve the calendars as presented.

Board Organization for Calendar Year 2019

• School treasurer Angie Anspach administered the oath and seating of recently elected board members. Aaron Campbell, Cunningham and Tim Rausch were sworn in by vowing to always keep the educational needs of children first. Their term is for the period Jan. 1, 2019, extending to Dec. 31, 2022.

• Board president Deke DeMarco initiated board reorganization for the period January through December 2019. DeMarco was re-elected as president. Beth Ruff was elected vice president, and Tim Rausch was elected secretary.

• Mrs. Anspach was re-appointed as treasurer, and Stefanie Grandstaff was appointed as deputy treasurer.

• The board voted to set bonds for various positions as follows: $50,000 corporation treasurer, $25,000 deputy treasurer, $25,000 high school extra-curricular treasurer, $5,000 middle school extra-curricular treasurer, $10,000 elementary school extra- curricular treasurer, $25,000 for the Lunch Express treasurer, $5,000 for three administrators, $25,000 for the athletic director, and $10,000 the corporation secretary.

• Approval was given to set the 2019 school board meeting dates for the second Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m.

• The board voted to appoint Tim Murray as the school board attorney on an as-needed basis.

• As per statute, Conflict of Interest Forms were prepared for those individuals who are affiliated with entities with which the school does business – Joe Cunningham and Lori Cunningham. The board voted to accept the Conflict of Interest forms as presented.

In other business:

Spotlight on EPES– Special Education: Mrs. Podell, Mrs. Combs, and Mrs. Kistler shared the special education services they provide at the elementary school. Each student has an Individual Education Plan (IEP). Mrs. Kistler shared the history of the program at the elementary school, including the services they offer, and trying to offer more services. Mrs. Podell shared the many duties of instructional assistants and covered the needs of the students, including social skills and life skills. Mrs. Combs talked about inclusion and trying to keep the students in the general education classrooms with their peers as much as possible.

The Eighth Grade Class presented the donation of a bench to place on campus in memory of classmate Owen Abbott. Students donated to the bench along with the Star City Baseball League. The board voted to accept the donation of the bench in memory of Owen Abbott as presented.

Foster presented a resolution to retire the use of the number 16 on a corporation-owned school bus due the recent fatal bus accident. After discussion, the board voted to approve the resolution as presented.

Foster presented a request to declare Van 27 as surplus/junk. The van is 18 years and failed inspection. After discussion, the board approved the request as presented.

Superintendent Foster also reported on the following:

● ISRSA/NCISSC Legislative Day: It will be hosted on Feb. 12 in Indianapolis. Board members were invited to attend.

● Legislative Session: This will be a long session - It will be tracked very closely.

● Gibraltar Design along with Rieth-Riley will be here on Jan. 22 to determine why some of the new pavement is cracking.

● The Graduation Rate for the high school was 94.6% for 2018 up from 92.4% in 2017. The state average is 88.1%. Foster commended not just the high school but all instructional staff as many of our students attend Eastern Pulaski Schools the majority of their school years.

● The replacement bus that was totaled due to the accident in December will be on order tomorrow. It will take approximately 90 days before the school receives it.

● On Jan. 31 there will be a Referendum Session hosted by the ISBA and IASBO.

● Board member Joe Cunningham volunteered to be added to the transportation committee and Rob Zeider volunteered to be added to the technology committee.

● Former bus driver, Mr. Ron Vititoe, lost his life in a recent accident and Foster extended condolences to his family and friends.

Foster gave a financial report for the period ending Dec. 31, 2018. All funds had positive balances, ending the year with 93.51% appropriations remaining. Mr. Foster answered questions about claims. After discussion, the board voted to approve all claims as presented.

Personnel Items

a. Retirements/Resignations/Terminations: high school special education teacher Julie Perkins has submitted her resignation. Alyssa Cornwell, Food Service,  has submitted her resignation.

b. Employment: Food Service – Ms. Taylor Moss and Mrs. Ashley Conley, Champ Club – Craig Barr, Jennifer Belcher, and Destiny Crawford, Athletic Coaches – Scott Roudebush, 6th Grade Girls Basketball; Gerry Pratt, Middle School Assistant Wrestling Coach; Wendy Hinz, Middle School Softball Coach.

c. Leave Request – Elementary school instructional assistant Sarah Mitchell requested an unpaid special leave.

After discussion, the board approved all personnel items as submitted.

High school Science Olympiad coach Emily Hintz submitted an out-of-state field trip request to take the Science Olympiad team to Joliet High School in Joliet, Ill. on Feb. 9 to prepare for regional competition. Also submitted was the high school wrestling team to stay overnight in East Chicago and Indianapolis for Wrestling Semi-State and State Finals, respectively. After discussion, the board approved the requests as submitted.

Because the approval of athletic director Bill Ball’s contract was omitted from the July 9, 2018 minutes, the minutes were presented for re-approval. After discussion, the board approved the minutes of July 9, 2018 as amended and presented.

Principal Reports

Elementary school principal Jill Collins reported on the following:

• The elementary school was grateful to have Sargent Terry Hall present to families and  students, the Body Safety Program last week. They had approximately 25 parents and elementary teachers attend the informational session last Tuesday evening. They then had three different grade level specific sessions as well. Sargent Hall is continuing to provide this opportunity to a select group of schools as he nears retirement and they are grateful that he has agreed to visit Eastern Pulaski Elementary School again next year.

• Grandparents Night - The elementary will host Grandparents Family Literacy Night at 6 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 24 (rescheduled from an earlier snow day). They are excited to provide an opportunity for students to read and visit with their grandparents and are thankful for the number of teachers who volunteer to make this event possible.

• Textbook Adoption Process - The elementary school is in the process of reviewing instructional resources in the area of language arts. This is done every six years. They have secured a variety of resources and are grateful for teachers spending time reviewing and discussing them. They will be sending a team of teachers with a representative from each grade to the "textbook caravan" later this month at Swan Lake Conference Center. They will have parents review the top two choices as well as have presentations for staff later this spring to prepare a recommendation to the school board.

Middle school principal Ryan Dickinson reported on the following:

• The first semester came to a close on Dec. 19. Reports cards were sent out on Jan. 8. The middle school will continue to keep the focus on the main thing, the students. The theme of the year continues to be Emoji'n the Possibilities. They will continue to focus on the three goals of learning and preparing the students for ILEARN, championing the students like never before, and maintaining a positive staff morale.

• Professional Development – In addition to professional work time to complete first semester grades and plans for the second semester, middle school staff used some time on Friday, Jan. 4 for some professional development to challenge them with championing students. They wanted to see what they actually knew about each and every student. Teachers not only discussed, but actually charted known things about each student. They will follow up with this activity soon to see what additions to their chart they can make. Also, the math and English/language arts departments will soon be having collaboration times to grow, communicate and utilize data. They will be taking a Kristina Smeckens course. The math department will be getting professional development by the Department of Education as well. Thanks to Dr. Sweeney, Winamac will actually be a host site for the math training.

• NWEA – The middle school is taking the second round of NWEA testing currently. They feel strongly that the NWEA is the best standardized test measure that they have. Students' improved scores are reflected by the Emojis that they have placed in hallways. Students are currently in the process of taking the reading test. Math will be tested later this week, and language will be tested next week.

High school principal Rick DeFries reported on the following:

• The Body Safety talks by Sargent Hall were outstanding again this year. He was able to speak not only about sexual abuse, but about all the ways that our students can protect themselves on a daily basis, especially with social media.

• For the past couple of years, high school staff have been meeting with Natalie Federer in the Juvenile Detentions Alternative Initiatives (JDAI) Program. The groundwork was set leading them to this year, where they now meet with principals, probation, prosecutors, and judges to discuss alternatives. The county has now included Key Counseling into this mix where students with attendance or truancy issues are recommended to Key Counseling along with parents or guardians.

• All of the winter sports teams are doing well as they approach the post season tournaments. Wrestlers will travel to Triton this Saturday for the HNAC Tournament and then go to Twin Lakes next Saturday for Sectional. The girls’ basketball team will finish up their season in a couple of weeks and will play in their sectional at North Judson the week of Jan. 28. The boys’ basketball season will go on for a little longer, with their sectional the week of Feb. 25. This week is Snowcoming Week with the festivities and dance around the boys’ basketball game on Jan. 18. Next Friday, Jan. 25 will be the evening that they induct this year’s athletic hall of fame members. This year’s inductees are Jenny Norrick-Quasebarth, Guy Rugg, and Jeff Burger.

Board Comment: The staff was thanked for patrolling the parking lots. The special education report from Mrs. Podell, Mrs. Combs, and Mrs. Kistler was commended. Cunningham thanked everyone for the opportunity to serve another four years on the board.