The results for the Knox Community School Corporation Special Election have been tallied and the voters in the school district have said no to a construction and rehabilitation project at the Palmer Wing of the Knox Elementary School.
There were 1,014 votes cast and of those, 556 votes were for against the referendum and 458 votes were for the referendum.
The Knox Community School Board heard a presentation on reading textbooks from the Director of Curriculum and Instruction Peggy Shidaker, and Lori White, a third grade teacher last night.
They explained that every six years, a new textbook is needed for Kindergarten through the sixth grade level. Administrators, teachers and reading coaches on the textbook committee dissected five different companies for the right curriculum for the needs of the students.
The North Judson-San Pierre High School Band participated in the annual Indiana State School Music Association Organizational Contest on Friday, April 19th at Northridge High School in Middlebury. They earned a Gold Rating.
The Knox High School Band performed this Saturday, April 13 at Kankakee Valley High School in ISSMA High School Organizational Contest. The band was among 19 bands all with hopes of Gold ratings in both performance and sight reading. Knox received Gold ratings in both performance and sight reading. This caps an amazing winter season for the Instrumental Music and Dance Department where all winter ensembles provided stellar performances at their respective State competitions.
Knox Elementary School has been evacuated after a construction crew at the Henry F. Schricker Public Library struck a gas main. Knox Superintendent A.J. Gappa says students at the elementary school have been moved to other facilities. Students in grades kindergarten, 1 and 2 are at the high school, while students in grades 3, 4 and 5 are at the middle school. Gappa stresses the school was evacuated as a precautionary measure and says he will advise parents as to student pickup arrangements by the end of the day. The Starke County Public Library Henry F. Schricker branch is also closed as a result of the gas main break.
Knox Community High School senior and WKVI programming intern Makayla Dillard is one of six Indiana Broadcasters Association Scholarship winners chosen from around the state from a field of 140 applicants. She plans to major in telecommunications at Ball State University.
“I want to be an on-air personality. My ultimate goal would be to be like Ellen DeGeneres and have a talk show, or maybe like Howard Stern, but not as vulgar,” she says.
An American Red Cross Lifeguarding Certification course will be taught at Knox High School this summer.
Amy Nimetz will be offering two sessions: June 3-7 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and June 10-14 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those sessions will be conducted at the Knox High School pool.
Enjoy 50 years of trick hoops and alley oops when the legendary Harlem Wizards return to Harold Weinberg Gymnasium to take on The Tribe on Friday, April 26.
Voters in California, Center and Washington Townships can get a firsthand look at what advocates say are long overdue and necessary repairs to the Palmer wing at Knox Elementary School this evening. The Whatever it Takes Committee is hosting another open house at the school from 5 until 6 p.m. Problems with the 60-year-old original structure include an antiquated heating and cooling system, a cramped cafeteria that is insufficient to prepare food for the entire student population and a host of other problems. The work will only be done if voters agree to support a property tax during a May 7th special election, for which absentee voting is under way at the Starke County Courthouse. Click https://gateway.ifionline.org/CalculatorsDLGF/RefCalculator.aspx to determine how much your property taxes will go up should the referendum pass.
Voters in the Knox Community School District will have several more chances to take a firsthand look at the repairs they are being asked to fund through a nominal property tax hike. The Whatever it Takes Committee has scheduled five more informational meetings at Knox Elementary School. Each will start with a brief PowerPoint presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session and tours of the building’s original Palmer wing. All meetings will start in the cafeteria/multipurpose room at the east end of the elementary school building. Continue reading
An open house will be held Tuesday, April 2 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the Palmer Wing of the Knox Elementary School so you can tour the portion of the building that is up for a proposed construction project.
The construction of the Palmer Wing is in the fate of the voters of the Knox Community School District on May 7 where a yes or no majority vote determines the future of that portion of the building.
Superintendent A.J. Gappa said the open house is sponsored by the “Whatever it Takes Committee” who supports the project. The event will be held in the all-purpose room in the elementary school.
“That’s kind of the heart of the old building,” explained Gappa. “It’s connected to the affected areas including the kitchen and the boiler rooms. Tours will be offered to anybody who hasn’t been through the building.”
The open house is intended to be an informational meeting to address current building concerns, overview of the project and the impact on community members.
The board also received board policies for review.
“The board received a set of NEOLA policies and guideline recommendations for updates and revisions. The board will bring those back to discuss them at the next board meeting and we probably will adopt revisions and updates at the first board meeting in April,” stated Gappa.
Knox Community School Corporation Technology Director Jim Landrum was recognized by the school board during their recent meeting.
Landrum attended the Indiana Association of School Business Officials (IASBO) where he presented the school’s one-to-one computer initiative.
Knox High School is experiencing electrical issues. Students with permission from parents are being dismissed at 11:30 a.m. Students who do not have permission to leave will be at the middle school until school is dismissed for the day. Elementary and Middle School students will be dismissed at the end of the regular school day.
NIPSCO will be shutting off the electricity at the high school this afternoon in order to make necessary repairs.
Saturday night’s dance in the Knox High School Cafeteria has been cancelled and will be rescheduled.
The Knox Community School Board received an update on how the third through eighth grade students performed on the NWEA testing in January.
The Knox Community School Board was given information about a recent outing by the advanced science classes to the Tippecanoe River State Park. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said science teachers Laurie Simmons and Marge Wood take the students on this rafting trip every year.
“It’s kind of a fun trip but it’s also educational,” explained Gappa. “They studied the environment, the ecology of the river and they did testing of water samples as they moved down the river to different stations. Different rangers were there to give demonstrations and lectures on different parts of the river.”
Three students gave a presentation to the board and gave praise to the teachers and for the opportunity to participate in this trip.
The Knox Community School Board approved a request made by Washington Township Trustee Shelly Kemble. Superintendent A.J. Gappa says the request was to make some changes on the property where the old school is located.
“At a previous meeting, the trustee from Washington Township was in to ask the board’s permission and approval to do some logging out at the woods at the east end of the property and to use some of that money to help pay for the demolition of the old school in Washington Township. At this last meeting, the board did approve that request of the Washington Township trustee,” Gappa explained.
The past two weeks have been full of activities for Knox High School’s Students Against Destructive Decisions Program Director Carrie Stone. Last week was dedicated to the nationwide “Rock the Belt” campaign for raising seat belt awareness, and this week is the annual “Red Ribbon Week” to raise awareness on drug and alcohol abuse in high schools.
The main point that Stone brought forth about Red Ribbon Week was that teenagers are really ignorant to the fact that their brain is not yet fully developed. Therefore, they aren’t necessarily aware that they do not have the brain capacity to handle alcohol consumption. Red Ribbon Week is designed to bring that point to the attention of high school students. There will be a rock concert on Wednesday at the middle school for the students there and high school SADD members.
Since announcing his withdrawal from the Knox School Board race because of the unwillingness of other candidates to sign a waiver of equal-time rights so he could continue to broadcast ball games on WKVI, Harold Welter has been informed by Starke County Clerk Evelyn Skronski that she was unable to get his name removed from the ballot. WKVI then contacted the FCC and were informed that even though Welter had withdrawn, the equal-time provision would still apply to WKVI because his name will remain on the ballot.
Welter offered the other candidates not to serve if elected in order to get their cooperation, but that offer was also rejected. Therefore, he’s decided that for the first time in 48 years, he will not broadcast sports for the required 60 days before the election.
The Knox Community School Board and the Facility Study Committee have been working on a solution to address the needs at the Palmer Wing at the Knox Elementary School. A recent public meeting was held in which Superintendent A.J. Gappa reported that it was an overwhelming consensus that a new Palmer Wing needs to be constructed.
A construction referendum could be featured in the May Primary Election and the board is in the process of deciding if that’s the route they want to take. Gappa said that the board will be holding a special work session on Sept. 17 in place of their regular meeting to discuss the referendum process with a consultant.
