Students at Eastern Pulaski Schools will soon be dealing with a number of changes regarding semesters and graduation. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman said the school board at their meeting this week voted to approve a number of changes to board policies, including a change from the current tri-semester system to dual-semesters like most other schools in the state.
Klitzman explained that they had previously been on a dual-semester system, but because of changes in state statute, they are once again switching to dual-semesters. The corporation had used the tri-semester system for about ten years, giving students one less class per semester and keeping them in their classrooms for a full 70 minutes.
“So every day, you would have more instruction in that particular content area, but instead of having it for 18 weeks, you’d have it for 12. And that changes the requirements for graduation. In the new system of tri-semesters, you were able to get more credits, and so back when to it about ten years ago, we increased our credit requirements. Well, it was a decision that with the state requirements and the end of course assessments, we had to go back to two semesters, so then we had to change how many credits were required for graduation,” said Klitzman.
The board also discussed the upcoming budget advertisement. Klitzman noted that out of the 292 school corporations in the state, only two of them run on fiscal years, so Eastern Pulaski Schools Corporation’s fiscal years run from July to June. Therefore, Klitzman said, they do their budgets at a different time than the other schools.
Klitzman also emphasized the fact that the budget that is advertised is inflated and, consequently, not accurate.
“The first step was at this meeting in November and they did authorize the advertisement, so that will be coming out soon. And a very, very important thing to remember: the way state law is in Indiana, you have to advertise high. So, as has been the case forever, the items that are advertised in the budget are deliberately inflated because of the way systems are. They will be cut at our budget hearing with the state, but they will be high and not accurate,” said Klitzman.
Klitzman said they will hold the budget meeting in December, and the board will vote on its acceptance in January.
