BOARD MINUTES

Rising Sun-Ohio County Community School Corporation

June 10, 2008

The regular session of the Board of School Trustees was held as advertised on June 10, 2008 at 7:15 P.M. in the Administration Building. Members present were Jamie Bell, Felix Massey III, Tim Elbright, Tim Adams, Corey Potts and Superintendent Stephen Patz. Also present were Leigh Ann Craig, Patty Huff, Bob White, and Jamie Works.

The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Members of the Board reviewed minutes from the May 13^th, 2008 Board meeting. The minutes were approved by signature.

Members of the Board reviewed claims. After a brief discussion regarding the rising cost of fuel, the claims were approved by signature.

Mr. Patz recommended Denny Carrigan as the new High School Girls’ Cross Country Coach and Kristin Market as the Middle School SADD Advisor. Mr. Patz noted that Mr. Carrigan will be coaching both boys’ and girls’ cross country next year, and that he has filled both positions in the past. Upon motion by Tim Elbright and seconded by Corey Potts to accept the recommendation, members voted as follows: Aye – Tim Adams, Felix Massey III, Tim Elbright, Corey Potts and Jamie Bell.

The Superintendent discussed the large number of kindergarten students who have already enrolled for the 2008-2009 school year. He noted that it is the largest number of students that we have pre-registered in several years. Mr. Patz asked for permission to advertise for a kindergarten teacher instead of an instructional aide due to the large number of students. Upon motion by Felix Massey III and seconded by Tim Adams to accept the recommendation, members noted as follows: Aye – Tim Adams, Felix Massey III, Tim Elbright, Corey Potts, and Jamie Bell.

School Nurse, Jamie Works, was present to discuss the forming of a new Health and Safety Committee in response to House Bill 1117. Mrs. Works discussed the Bill and stated that she has spent many hours researching our legal responsibilities in response to the Bill. She recommended forming a committee for each building that would be made up of volunteers who would be trained by her to respond to the health needs of the students. Each volunteer would sign an agreement and would receive a handbook which would outline procedures for handling health crisis in each building. If students have special health needs, the volunteers will be made aware of how to deal with those needs in the event that the nurse is not available. The committee will meet monthly to be kept aware of any changing or new medical needs. Mr. Patz stated that we need to form this committee in order to comply with the Bill. He also thanked Mrs. Works for her many hours of research on the subject.

Patty Huff, OCEMS assistant principal, was present to discuss the OCEMS Student Handbook. She stated that it is largely the same as last year’s with two major changes. One change is in the Athletic Grading Policy. It states that a student may not receive an F and still participate in athletics. It also has a provision for tutoring if a student is failing at mid-term. This policy is the similar to the High School’s new athletic grading policy.

The other major change is in the cell phone policy. Ms. Huff stated that cell phones have begun to be a problem during the school day, and she wants a stricter policy that lists the possible consequences for misuse of a cell phone at school. Board members discussed the propossed handbook and offered a couple of revisions.

No action was taken as this was the first reading.

Leigh Ann Craig, RSHS guidance counselor, was present to discuss the Rising Sun High School School Improvement Plan. Mrs. Craig stated that a committee writes the Plan, and that there are not many changes this year. The few changes are due to this year being the third year of a three-year cycle for the plans. Mr. Patz recommended approval of the RSHS Improvement Plan. Upon motion by Felix Massey III and seconded by Tim Elbright, members voted as follows: Aye – Felix Massey III, Tim Elbright, Corey Potts, Tim Adams, and Jamie Bell.

Ms. Huff presented the OCEMS School Improvement Plan for approval. She stated that the Plan is mostly the same as last year with a few minor changes. The Board stated that they would like for the School Improvement Plans to be posted on the website in the future. There was a discussion regarding the High Ability Program at OCEMS and how it relates to the School Improvement Plan. Mr. Patz recommended approval of the OCEMS School Improvement Plan. Upon motion by Felix Massey III and seconded by Corey Potts to accept the recommendation, members voted as follows: Aye – Felix Massey III, Corey Potts, Tim Adams, Tim Elbright, and Jamie Bell.

Mr. Patz presented the 2008-2009 Title I Grant application for approval. He stated that a vast majority of the Title I funds are used to hire teachers’ aides to help with the Title I students. A brief discussion followed regarding the Title I funds and how they are spent. Upon motion by Felix Massey III and seconded by Tim Elbright to approve the 2008-2009 Title I Grant application, members voted as follows: Aye – Felix Massey III, Tim Elbright, Tim Adams, Corey Potts, and Jamie Bell.

Mr. Patz presented a new Spelling Book series that OCEMS would like approved for grades 3-6. Mr. Patz recommended approval of the Zaner Blosser Spelling Connection series. Upon motion by Felix Massey III and seconded by Tim Elbright, members voted as follows: Aye – Felix Massey III, Tim Elbright, Tim Adams, Corey Potts, and Jamie Bell.

Mr. Patz gave an update on the Little League Field project. He received a quote from McAlister’s Excavating for $40,177.80. This quote includes the fencing, gates, and removal and replacement of existing dirt. This quote may vary slightly depending on the relocation of some gates and some additional fencing. Mr. Patz stated that McAlister’s Excavating has done work on our other fields and has done a nice job. He stated that the work should begin around June 26^th. Upon motion by Corey Potts and seconded by Tim Elbright to accept the bid from McAlister’s Excavating for $40,177.80, members voted as follows: Aye – Corey Potts, Tim Elbright, Felix Massey III, Tim Adams, and Jamie Bell.

The Superintendent presented an update on the Summer Project. He stated the York and Koons Roofing is on-site and has begun the high school roof project. He estimates that the roof will be completed in approximately 3 weeks.

He stated that Teton Company has begun work on the OCEMS cabinetry project. The walls and blackboards have been removed. The estimated time of arrival for the cabinets is the first week of July. Expected completion for the project is August 1^st.

The OCEMS playground fence is up, and the slats are going to be installed this week. The City is going to put up the guardrail this week, also. Mr. Patz would like to thank the City for helping the project by paying for the guardrail that will protect the new fence. Mr. Patz stated that the fence needs some sort of topper or caps on the top to prevent the kids from scraping themselves.

There was a brief discussion regarding the summer baseball/softball program and the new committee that is helping Mr. Brown to make decisions regarding the program. Mr. Patz stated that everything seems to be going smoothly.

Mr. Patz presented a letter that he received from the Kevin Armstrong, chief of the Rising Sun Volunteer Fire Department. Mr. Armstrong stated that the Rising Sun BP has been their diesel fuel supplier, and that BP is closing. The Fire Department just received this information this week. Since BP is already out of diesel fuel, it is an immediate problem. Since BP is the only gas station in Rising Sun that sells diesel fuel, this puts our local emergency services in a bad situation. The Rising Sun Volunteer Fire Department requested that the School Corporation allow them to buy diesel fuel temporarily until they can resolve the issue. They understand that this will be a very short solution and are looking for another source. The Board stated that they understand the problem and are willing to help as long as no one who is not a school employee is given a key to the gas pumps or bus barn. They requested that a school employee always be present when the fuel is provided. There will be a form that will be filled out with the vehicle number, the date, the number of gallons pumped, and lines for a signature of the Fire Department representative and the school employee. This will provide a paper trail and a means by which the school can bill the Fire Department. Mr. Patz recommended approving the sale of diesel fuel to the Rising Sun-Ohio County Fire Department as a short-term solution which the conditions mentioned above. Upon motion by Tim Adams and seconded by Tim Elbright to accept the recommendation, members voted as follows: Aye – Tim Adams, Tim Elbright, Felix Massey III, Corey Potts, and Jamie Bell.

Mr. Patz presented a list of checks over two years old from Rebecca Brown, Rising Sun High School Extra-Curricular Treasurer. She is requesting permission to void those checks. Upon motion from Tim Adams and seconded by Felix Massey III to approve the request, members voted as follows: Aye – Tim Adams, Felix Massey III, Corey Potts, Tim Elbright, and Jamie Bell.

Mr. Patz stated that he and the Corporation Treasurers attended the annual State Budget Meeting, and that there is a lot of confusion regarding the new budget process. He said that there are no forms to use at this time, and no due date for the budget has been set. As of this date, the situation is unclear.

There was a brief discussion regarding the change from Peoples’ Community Bank to MainSource Bank.

Mr. Patz stated that there were problems with the sound system despite it being checked on numerous occasions at graduation. The Superintendent also noted there were some other issues that will need to be addressed prior to next year’s ceremony. The Superintendent expressed his extreme disappointment in the situation, as it is a special day for so many people. Mr. Patz also knew that the building administrators were as disappointed as well. Mr. Patz apologized on behalf of everyone at Rising Sun High School regarding the sound system at graduation. The Superintendent noted that everyone continues to work on the problems with the sound system and to alleviate other issues that came up during graduation.

The Board of School Trustees of the Rising Sun-Ohio County Community School Corporation did not discuss any subject matter in executive session other than the topic specified in the public notice.