The board also discussed hiring a data coach and the corporation has received funding for that position.
West Central School Board Reinstates Elementary Arts and Music Programs
West Central School Board Holds Work Session
The West Central School Board took some time last week to review the corporation’s strategic plan. Superintendent Charles Mellon said the board took a look at their educational goals had all building principals comment on progress and improvement areas.
“As a school corporation, we need to know if the resources were available that they needed,” explained Mellon. “We wanted their input. We’re very much interested in the academic growth of the students, of course. Is there something that we need as far as in-servicing for the staff? There’s a lot of data collection going on – are we using that in the classroom to have data-driven instruction?”
West Central’s Wind Turbine Already Paying Off
West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon told the school board last week that the corporation’s wind turbine is already starting to pay off.
“I informed the Board that our NIPSCO bill for the last two months has been $200 for our service fee,” explained Mellon. “We are very fortunate that the wind turbine is working. We’re hoping that we can gain enough credits and that we can keep building until we come to those slow months in July and August. We want to continue to pay our bill just with a service fee throughout the entire year.”
West Central School Board Addresses School Security
The West Central School Board discussed school security recently and Superintendent Charles Mellon said the corporation will be working to improve security conditions.
“We’re getting involved with the county-wide effort on the active shooter procedures. That will be carried out in the next two months where we can reevaluate our own plan and make it coincide with the county plan once it is designed,” said Mellon.
Production Better Than Expected For West Central Wind Turbine
The West Central School Board got an update on the wind turbine during their recent meeting and Superintendent Charles Mellon said production is ahead of projections.
“We did have a very good month of October where we produced over 240, 000 kilowatts of energy. That has been our best month to this point. This was considerably above projection. Our other months have been slightly above or slightly below so that was good for us,” said Mellon.
West Central School Board Plans Work Session For Student Performance
The West Central School Board scheduled a work session for Jan. 15 to discuss the strategic plan for the corporation. Superintendent Charles Mellon explains some of the points the board will be going over during the work session.
“Our most important is student performance, you know we want to make sure that the staff has adequate resources. That’s both material type things and staff, you know to do the best job possible. We also look at projects that may be upcoming, always put energy savings and kinds of things first on the list. So, we’re working our way through that list,” Mellon said.
West Central School Board Approves School Bus Purchase
The West Central School Board members approved several action items during their meeting Thursday night and Superintendent Charles Mellon said one of those items included approving the purchase of school buses.
“We have one that is a 72-passenger bus, also an activity bus. Best bids came in from Midwest Transit so the board approved the purchase of those and they will be delivered here sometime in the second semester,” said Mellon.
The Board also approved the school calendar for the 2013-2014 school year.
“People like to have that a year in advance to schedule vacations,” Mellon said.
West Central Superintendent Responds to State Grades
The West Central School Board discussed the building grades recently distributed by the state. West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon had given out preliminary grades in September and they stayed the same despite being reviewed.
“The high school is at an A, the middle school a C and the elementary school is at a D,” said Mellon. “At the elementary school just a couple of years ago, we were an exemplary school so we knew that there was work to be done there. I think we have to concentrate on some of our specific population.”
West Central Schools To Move Forward With Technology Initiative
West Central Technology Director Rob Evans brought forth a recommendation to the school board last week regarding the one-to-one computer initiative.
West Central Superintendent Charles Mellon said the board is taking the next step forward.
West Central Honored with North Central Accreditation
The co-chairs of the North Central AdvancED Accreditation for the West Central School Corporation, Don Street and Marci Kennedy, presented the West Central School Board this week with a banner and a plaque they received at a conference as the corporation was one of nine schools in the state that received the District Accreditation.
Superintendent Charles Mellon said it’s important to be accredited in some form.
West Central School Board Approves 2013 Budget; 1:1 Technology Discussed
The West Central School Board approved the 2013 budget during their recent meeting which included the General Fund, Capital Projects Plan, and the Bus Replacement Plan. The board also approved the Technology Plan which Superintendent Charles Mellon says goes along with the Capital Projects Plan.
Last year, the corporation underwent a wireless transformation and projectors with internet capability were put into the teachers’ rooms so the teachers can walk around the room and discuss what is on the board. Mellon explains technology upgrade is next.
West Central School Board Discusses State Grade
The West Central School Board dissected the preliminary grades given to the corporation by the state. Superintendent Charles Mellon said the way corporations are evaluated has changed. As part of the former Adequate Yearly Progress requirement, high performance schools were assessed as an Exemplary School where severe under-performing schools were classified as being placed on Academic Probation. Now, Mellon says, the corporations are given a letter grade based on certain statistics.
West Central School Board Approves 2013 Budget
The West Central School Board approved the 2013 budget during their meeting this week, according to Superintendent Charles Mellon.
“This is the time of year we have to approve the 2013 budget as well as the Capital Projects and Bus Replacement Plan,” stated Mellon. “We also approved our Technology Plan which has to go along with the Capital Projects Plan as far as the state is concerned.”
The board also took another look at the ADM count which showed an enrollment loss and the board looked at the numbers coming in from the wind turbine. The turbine has been in operation for nearly six months and the operation seems to be working to the benefit of the corporation.
ADM Counts Reported at Eastern Pulaski, West Central Schools
The Average Daily Membership, or ADM counts, were conducted throughout the state for all school corporations last Friday. Schools rely on this count as corporations receive funding for every student counted on that day.
Eastern Pulaski School Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman said that his corporation is down approximately 30 students. That amounts to a loss of $150,000 in funding for the school. Dr. Klitzman said this year’s count was 1,190.
Wind Turbine Billing in Question at West Central
West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon told the school board last week that he has been in touch with NIPSCO and Performance Services concerning the net metering with the wind turbine. He says the billing just isn’t right.
“There doesn’t seem to be any means of reconciling some of the billings that we’re getting from NIPSCO,” said Mellon. “I think we need to be able to reconcile the number of kilowatts we’re producing with what we’re using and what we need to bring in from the grid and when we’re overproducing. We need to get a standardized process.”
West Central, Eastern Pulaski Schools Discuss Enrollment
Although the Average Daily Membership, or ADM count, isn’t officially taken until Friday, West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon discussed the preliminary enrollment for this year with the board last week.
“We like to keep track of that because the number of students equals the amount of money we receive from the state,” said Mellon. “As far as the number of students we have currently, it’s identical to last year. Some of these people are migrant students that will not be with us all year and they may not be with us on Sept. 14, but they are in the count at the current time.”
South Central High School To Receive $25K Grant For Greenhouse
The Agricultural Collaboration Education program at the South Central Junior-Senior High School will receive a $25,000 grant through America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, the school decided to lean to greenhouses and was able to get the support. The grant will be used to build and maintain a greenhouse at the school.
Students will apply math and science concepts to practical, everyday agricultural activities while studying elements at the greenhouse. The greenhouse will also be used by FFA members during their supervised agricultural experiences during which students will be given responsibility of short-term entrepreneurial ventures and will develop a plan, grow plants, and sell them for profit.
The greenhouse will serve as an integral part to South Central’s Farm to Table Program as fruits and vegetables from the greenhouse will be served in the school cafeteria’s fruit and vegetable bar.
West Central School Board Reaches Agreement with Teacher’s Assoc.
The West Central School Board came to an agreement with the Teacher’s Association last week. Superintendent Charles Mellon said the board reviewed the contract during their recent meeting.
“It’s the extension of a contract that was set for five years,” said Mellon. “We dealt with some insurance benefit increases as well as paying those teachers a stipend that are at the top of the schedule who would not be receiving an increment, so to speak.”
West Central Schools to Adopt Budget Soon
The West Central School Board held a hearing on the 2013 proposed budget. Superintendent Charles Mellon said the hearing included the Capital Projects Plan and the Bus Replacement Plan.
“I basically just reviewed the budget with the board once again,” stated Mellon. “We had our work session back in the first week of August. We will be adopting the budget at our meeting on Oct. 4.”
The corporation is anticipating losing another $155,000 in state tuition.
