During a work session following the regular board meeting, the school board received an update on the principal replacement process.

DeFries has served as principal at Winamac Community High School for the past 16 years, and was assistant principal before that.

In other business, Superintendent Dan Foster gave the board an update on the current state legislative session. He said many bills are being watched, including one on school funding. At this point, he reported that voucher schools will be receiving more than public schools, with increases being way below inflation. He said this trend is "very disappointing." He added that House Bill 1004 on school accountability is being watched very closely, along with school safety bills.

Foster gave a report on the dissolution of the Logansport Area Joint Special Services Cooperative (LAJSSC). He explained the dissolution process and what each school will offer and outsource, share with other schools, and the services offered by each.

The school board conducted a public hearing on the amended bus replacement plan. The plan was amended to trade in a bus with mechanical issues in 2019 instead of 2020 as originally stated on the plan. With no comments or additional discussion, the hearing was closed.

Also during the board's work session, topics covered included the asphalt/concrete project, future projects, and an update on virtual/eLearning.

Action to Approve Purchases

The board approved the following purchases:

• Two bus replacement quotes were received from Bluebird and IC Collins. Board members Deke DeMarco and Joe Cunningham were part of the Transportation Committee, along with Foster and Mick Armstrong. After discussion, the board voted to purchase three Bluebird buses, trade in three existing buses, along with extra equipment.
• Two band room A/C Unit quotes were received from J & K HVAC Service and Goodrich Quality Mechanical. After discussion, the board voted to accept the quote from J & K HVAC as presented.
• iPad Carts K-2 and Chromebook Cases requests were received from CDW. After discussion, the board approve the purchase as presented. Also after discussion, the board approved the Chromebook User Agreements as presented.

Personnel:

Retirements/Resignations/Terminations:

• Elementary school art teacher Lynn Darda submitted her resignation for the purpose of retirement, effective at the end of the 2018-19 school year. Mrs. Darda has been in education for 32 years with 28 of those being at Eastern Pulaski.
• High school principal Rick DeFries submitted his resignation, effective the end of his contracted days for the 2018-19 school year. Mr. DeFries has spent the last 16 years as WCHS principal and three years as WCHS assistant principal.
• EPES instructional assistant Alexsondra Haschel submitted her resignation effective the close of business on March 8, for other employment.

Employment:

• Amanda Kistler – from half-LAJSSC preschool and half-Eastern Pulaski cross category teacher to full-time Eastern Pulaski teacher due to the LAJSSC dissolution. She will likely teach two sessions of special education preschool.
• Christy Hileman – from LAJSSC/Logansport employee (SLP) to Eastern Pulaski employee due to LAJSSC dissolution.
• Chad Watts –Watts has been a substitute all year in high school science and has recently completed everything necessary to receive a Transition to Teaching license from the IDOE. He can now be placed on a teacher’s contract (days prorated to the remaining number of days this school year). Watts was thanked for his efforts, expertise (25 years in the science field), and his desire to continue to teach.
• Lorraine (Laura) Stout – high school English position through the remainder of the 2018-19 school year. Mrs. Stout is currently the Trojan Academy director at West Central, but resides in Winamac.
• Teri Terry – to fill one three-hour position at WCMS/WCHS cafeteria.
• Stephanie Meyer – to fill the 10:30 to 1:30 position at the EPES cafeteria.
• McKenzie Boehning – EPES media center; Miss Boehning comes to EPCS from West Central where she is currently an instructional assistant. She is also pursuing a degree and licensure in elementary education.
• Doug Roth – Assistant JV Baseball
• Ed Shank and Phillip Budd – middle school boys track
• Emma Myers and Cody Hook – middle school girls track
• Christine Krone - Mrs. Krone began a probationary period in November as an elementary school custodian and has done a very nice job. With her probationary period concluded and all of her documents on file, she is recommend for a full-time custodial position.

Leave Request:

• Ryan Harrison, a special leave from Feb. 25 to March 1.

After discussion, the board voted to approve all personnel items as submitted.

Spotlight on WCHS – Athletic Leadership Council. DeFries introduced athletic director Ball, sponsor of the Athletic Leadership Council. Ball reported on what the council does and introduced two of the officers from the council, senior Jillian Brumm and junior Blake Bailey. This year the council is focusing on elementary students and getting them active by offering a “Junior Warrior Day.” So far 65 elementary students have signed up for this year’s event, which is this Saturday, March 16.

Foster explained that no accounts can be in the negative at the end of the year; therefore transfers have to be done for those accounts with a negative balance. He explained this is normal due to the budget being an estimate. After discussion, the board voted to approve the 2018 End of Year Transfers as submitted.

Foster gave a financial report for the period ending Feb. 28. All funds had positive balances. The board approved all claims as submitted.

Out of State/Overnight/Wednesday Evening Field Trips:

• High school Spanish teachers Kim Burgess and Meredith Allen submitted a field trip request for Wednesday, April 17, (family night) to attend the Wabash Valley Quiz Bowl. Quiz Bowl events are few and far between and this would give students an opportunity to compete.
• High school physics teacher Jeremy Wegner submitted a field trip request for March 22, to tour the Fermi National Accelerator Lab in Illinois. This is an annual trip.
• Middle school Science Olympiad coach Steve Slaven submitted an overnight field trip request for students to attend the State Science Olympiad Competition in Bloomington.
• Choral director Patrick Schuttrow and director of bands Elaina Sutton submitted a field trip request to take students to New York City, on June 4-8, 2020. The last trip taken was in 2016, a four-year rotation.

After discussion, the board voted to approve the trips as presented.

Principal Reports:

Elementary school principal Jill Collinsreported that EPES will host an Innovation and STEM night on March 14. They look forward to inviting parents to learn more about the STEM philosophy and the importance of hands-on learning to inspire student creativity. Parents will have the opportunity to join their child in some science demonstrations. They are grateful for many fifth-grade students and teachers for helping plan this event.

Middle school principal Ryan Dickinsonreported on Character Development. He stated that this school year they have worked hard on championing students like never before. That is actually one of three main goals this year. To help reach this goal, the sixth-grade has had several guest speakers. Most recently community member, Jimmy Terry, and high school student, Rylee Daugherty, spoke to sixth-grade students on the topic of courage and overcoming adversity. Gen Kruzick discussed body image and health and wellness. Also, Todd Jadlow, former IU and professional basketball player, talked to the entire student body concerning choices, particularly with drugs and alcohol. Additionally, the Project Learning Class led a campaign on random acts of kindness. These efforts and these topics are building the type of productive and well-balanced students for the middle school culture and life-long development.

All winter sports have now concluded. The middle school wrestling team had its conference tourney March 8 and fared very well. All of the girls’ basketball teams showed great growth throughout their seasons. They are now getting started with track and girls softball.

Many of the middle school band and choir students performed cafe style solos and ensembles March 7.

The FOR Club is currently starting a pop tab collection campaign.

The Science Olympiad team won its regional competition, which qualified them for the state competition in Bloomington.

High school principal Rick DeFriesreported that during the last week of February, the high school hosted the boys’ basketball sectional. He said, once again, Mr. Ball did a great job of organizing the event. Even though the Warriors did not win the tournament, DeFries was extremely proud of the way the players, coaches, and fans conducted themselves. Coach Huggler was congratulated on another great season, winning 18 games and a co-conference title. Congratulations was also given to Calvin Larkin, senior, on being named the 2018-19 HNAC player of the year.

On Feb. 28, the high school hosted a Safety Audit for this school year. This is a new idea from the state, where every corporation completes the safety process and then gets a visit from a state employee. Foster and Dickinson both sat in on the conference, and found that all three schools, as well as the corporation as a whole, were in compliance.

On March 7, the middle school and high school both enjoyed excellent convocations with former IU basketball player, Todd Jadlow as the speaker. Jadlow did a great job of sharing his experiences that took him from professional basketball to prison, in a professional way that did not glorify any part of his addictions.

The Fine Arts Department has had a busy week. On the evening of March 7, they hosted their annual band/choir concert cafe and tonight (March 11), they will be hosting the Bi-County Choir Festival. Tonight’s event will include the choirs from both Caston and Rochester, as well as Winamac.

Board Comment: Mr. DeFries and Mrs. Darda were thanked for their years of service. The elementary and high school Vex Robotics teams were commended, along with the boys’ basketball team and Mr. Ball.