The North Judson-San Pierre School Board this week adopted their 2014 budget for capital projects and bus replacement, and Superintendent Lynn Johnson said the other budgets were approved by the county council at their meeting earlier this week, including the Debt Service, General Fund and Pension budgets.
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board held their reorganization and special meeting Wednesday morning, but the only real change to the board was the swearing-in of new board member Michael Shireman. Other than that, the rest of the board members remained the same and officers positions did not change.
Superintendent Lynn Johnson explained that the board recognized custodian Linda Harrison for stepping up to the plate when her supervisor took some time off.
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board this week honored nine students who participated in the small school division of the Online National Academic Decathlon competition. The NJ-SP Academic Decathlon team beat out their nearest competitor, Reitz Memorial of Evansville, by more than 2200 points during the competition on Feb. 8 and 9, and will now move on to the national competition.
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board this week approved a number of bids during their regular board meeting. Superintendent Lynn Johnson said the board approved bids on two replacement buses, as well as the tax anticipation bids.
Johnson explained the school is on a 12-year replacement cycle for buses, so the school is regularly looking at replacing the vehicles. This year, she said the school had two buses that needed to be replaced as per the rotation, and the board requested several bids from a number of companies.
The tax anticipation bid was required because the school is still financing their gymnasium and fine arts auditorium which was built approximately 13 years ago. She said the school is still financing those new additions until 2017, but once that debt is resolved, she said the corporation will be better equipped to look into additional improvements.
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board this week approved the new teacher evaluation plan for the current school year. Superintendent Lynn Johnson explained that they had been previously evaluating certified staff members “per negotiation,” which she explained separated the teachers into three categories: semi-permanent, tenured, and newly-hired.
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board approved a motion this week to advertise for the purchase of three new school buses. The bids will be opened in December and they will be delivered in the summer.
The board also learned that students involved in the FFA program will be attending the National Convention next week in Indianapolis. Superintendent Lynn Johnson said the organization has grown to 40 members which is the largest it’s been in several years.
Johnson said the next school board meeting on Nov. 20 will feature a representative from AdvancED who will be discussing the corporation-wide accreditation process. The individual schools were accredited in the past and now the entire corporation will go through the process as a whole. If the corporation passes, the accreditation will be good for five years. The process is part of a school improvement initiative.
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board recently underwent superintendent evaluation training with three other school corporations. New requirements were discussed with the new evaluation. Superintendents, teachers, and principals at all corporations are all now being evaluated under a new state requirement.
The school board will hold a safety meeting on Oct. 5 to allow officials to explain crisis procedures and update current policies. The state has required the school to update the procedures and coordinate them with law enforcement and the health department.
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board discussed the budget outlook for the next two years and Superintendent Lynn Johnson said the school will take a major budget hit in 2012 and 2013.
“Close to one million dollars,” said Johnson. “One of the things we lost was the restoration grant and the small schools grant. Those two losses did come up to about a million dollars. Of course, it depends on enrollment. If we have an increase in enrollment, of course that will help us. There’s a lot of variables we have to look at, but right now we are looking at decreased revenue and I’m sure we’re not the only school corporation.”
On top of the budget cut, Johnson says they are also suffering from a decrease in enrollment.
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board met Tuesday night and Superintendent Lynn Johnson said the Board approved several items on the agenda.
“The school handbooks for the 2012-2012 school year were approved, the textbook adoption for next year for fine arts and technical arts, the Summer Enrichment Program which will run July 24 through August 2, and also the budget calendar for the 2013 budget,” said Johnson.
North Judson Town Marshal Doug Vessely gave a presentation to the North Judson-San Pierre School Board this week.
“We had a presentation by Police Chief Doug Vessely on substance abuse within the community and Starke County,” said Superintendent Lynn Johnson. “His information will be helpful as we are in the process of revising our policies to implement next school year. This was an informational session by Officer Vessely.”
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board got an update on how the third grade students performed on the state mandated IREAD test. This is a new test and if the students do not pass the test the first time, they will have a second chance in the summer. If the student cannot pass the test the second time, the child will be held back to retake the third grade reading class.
The J.E.S.S.E. Cooperative is reorganizing to where all schools in the Cooperative will house their own services and classes for Special Education students. The North Judson-San Pierre School Board discussed that issue during their meeting and Superintendent Lynn Johnson relays that information.
“We are moving more services into our school district then we’ll have a service district comprised of Starke County – Knox, Oregon-Davis and North Judson-San Pierre,” said Mrs. Johnson. “This year is a transitional year and beginning July 1st most of our special education employees will become North Judson-San Pierre employees. Right now this is a transitional year. We are in the process of reorganizing and it’s an ongoing process this year.”
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board discussed teacher evaluation requirements at their meeting this week. Superintendent Lynn Johnson said that evaluations are necessary due to state law and those evaluations will determine merit pay for the teachers. The components that will be required are still being determined.
Kelly Manning from 21st Century Scholars and Senator Ed Charbonneau recognized Suzie Matzat during the Board meeting. She has been instrumental in keeping the program alive in the Middle School where she was the Guidance Counselor for many years and in the High School where she maintains that position. She was given a plaque as a result of her positive promotion in getting the word out about the program where students can earn free tuition to an Indiana College or University if they sign a contract and remain drug and alcohol free throughout their school career.
Lynn Johnson, the Superintendent of the North Judson-San Pierre School system, talked with WKVI News this week about the highlights of the most recent School Board meeting.
“We did put in a bus purchase notice,” said Mrs. Johnson. “We’re looking at the possibility of purchasing one 72 passenger bus, one special needs bus with a lift, and one multi-purpose bus. Depending on funding, we may purchase two out of the three. We just don’t know yet.”
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board met in regular session last week.
“We have increased numbers at the high school in our Math and Science classes so we did hire a teacher who is going to do part-time Math and part-time Science at the secondary level,” said Superintendent Lynn Johnson of some of the highlights of the meeting. “The boys basketball team are going to have their annual Golf Outing on October 15th. That’s their fundraiser for the year. We also had the adoption of the 2012 budget.”
The North Judson-San Pierre School Board members approved an amendment to the salary schedule for bus drivers, non-certified staff and administrators at their meeting Tuesday night.
Superintendent, Lynn Johnson, explained that the salaries have been frozen for the past two years and the Board adjusted the salaries to make up for those two years.
The North Judson Town Board members discussed pool fills at their recent meeting. The Board approved the action of pool fills but an ordinance will be constructed to outline the fees. The Board approved the fee of $.03 a gallon for water and $.80 a mile for fuel. A credit card will also need to be provided to ensure payment. A bill will not be sent.
The North Judson-San Pierre School District has announced that Julie Soplanda will be the new Transportation Manager for the school system. She will be taking over for David Vessely who has resigned. Mr. Vessely is also the Athletic Director and there is no announcement on a replacement there.
