As facility upgrade talks continue at the Knox Community School Corporation, the next major step in the process will involve putting community members in the driver’s seat of discussions.
Thomas Neff and Eric Wolf, representatives of the architecture and engineering firm Schmidt Associates, came before Knox School Board members Wednesday evening to go over the vital role that the school corporation’s community task force will play in this process. Continue reading
A longtime bus driver for Knox Community Schools has been chosen to take over as transportation director. Tara Pitts was officially appointed to the position by the school board last week, at the recommendation of Superintendent Dr. William Reichhart. “For those of you who haven’t met Tara, she’s been a bus driver with us for . . . 20 years,” he said. “And so she has lots of experience with us and now moving into the transportation director’s seat, and she’s up and running.”
Three local schools saw their letter grades decline in the latest round of School Accountability Grades. Knox Middle School and West Central Elementary School both got a D for the 2017-2018 school year, down from a C the year before. North Judson-San Pierre Elementary dropped from a B to a C.
The Knox Community School Corporation’s transportation director is retiring. Mark Jensen is stepping down, effective December 14.
Energy savings upgrades at Knox Community Schools have led to over $58,000 in NIPSCO rebates. Kirby Dipert with Lockheed Martin Energy, which administers NIPSCO’s energy efficiency programs, presented a check during Tuesday’s school board meeting.
The upcoming Manufacturing Day events in Starke County will be covered in part by a Purdue IN-MaC micro grant.
Knox City officials have noticed an excessive amount of drivers ignoring the speed limits posted around the schools and they’re preparing to crack down on the problem.
In his report during Tuesday’s city council meeting, Mayor Dennis Estok addressed the issue. He explained that students aren’t the only offenders. Apparently, some bus drivers, parents and other adult motorists are also guilty of traveling too fast in the area. Continue reading
A recent study of the facilities included in the Knox Community School Corporation revealed that some changes will need to be made to the buildings in order to optimize space utilization and site effectiveness.
When Schmidt Associates’ representative Tom Neff discussed the results of the facility assessment with Knox School officials on Monday, he suggested some potential next steps to take.
One thing Neff highlighted was the need to get the most out of an investment. He noted that spending money on outdated components that require continuous maintenance and upkeep wouldn’t be as beneficial as investing in a more permanent fix. Continue reading
The Oregon-Davis School Corporation continues its efforts to step up school safety, with some help from the State of Indiana. Superintendent Dr. Don Harman says the corporation’s two schools will each be getting a handheld metal detector, as part of Governor Eric Holcomb’s program to provide them free of charge to schools around the state.
Knox School Board members will hold a public work session this evening at 5:30 p.m.
School officials are meeting to review and discuss results from the facilities study conducted by Schmidt Associates. Continue reading
The State of Indiana has awarded more than $14 million in this year’s round of Secured School Safety Grants. The program provides a 50-50 match to help schools buy security equipment, hire resource officers, or conduct threat assessments.
The Knox Community School Corporation has set registration dates and times for the 2018-2019 school year. Continue reading
Knox School Superintendent Dr. William Reichhart stresses that students were not in danger Tuesday, in spite of rumors of a threat of violence at Knox Middle School.
The Knox City Police Department and Knox Community School Corporation received notice of about a social media post that suggested a threat of violence to the Knox Middle School before the start of school this morning. Fortunately, the threat turned out to be a rumor. However, there is a police presence on campus today as a safety measure. Continue reading
The Knox Community School Corporation is once again being recognized for its music programs. Superintendent Dr. William Reichhart read a letter from Band Director Craige Phipps to the school board Tuesday. “‘For the third year in a row, Knox Community Schools has been named a Best Community for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation,'” Reichhart read. Continue reading
When recent floods threatened to force Knox residents out of their homes, school staff and local community members came together to make sure everyone had a safe place to stay. Knox Community Schools Superintendent Dr. William Reichhart issued a letter last week, publicly thanking those who helped with the schools’ flood response.
Knox Clerk-Treasurer Jeff Houston told city council members of a potential impact Knox Community School’s bond pursuance may have on the city’s budget.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Houston told members he was under the impression the school’s bond may affect the city’s circuit breaker tax caps but he wasn’t sure about how much of an impact it would have.
He explained that the Knox School Corporation has recently been going through a process similar to what the city did when they took on community center renovations where a bond is set up through a separate building corporation that then leases the building back to the entity. Continue reading
Residents of the Oregon-Davis school district are calling on school officials to explore ways to cut costs before asking voters for a property tax increase. Some of those in attendance asked if the corporation’s 555 students really justified two principals, as well as all of the corporation’s support staff.
The Knox Community School Corporation may be asking residents for a tax increase to fund facility upgrades in the coming years. During a school board work session last week, Superintendent Dr. William Reichhart explained that if school officials decide a referendum is needed, he wants to be ready to do it in May or November of 2019.
