The Oregon-Davis School Board approved the corporation’s participation in several vocational programs for the next school year.
Superintendent Greg Briles said students can gain knowledge in several hands-on programs outside of the Oregon-Davis campus.
The Oregon-Davis School Board discussed English textbook recommendations this week.
Superintendent Greg Briles said the teachers and students have reviewed the proposed textbooks and now members of the public are welcome to come in and review them as well.
“They’re going to set some dates for individuals in the community to come in, look at the textbooks that they’re planning on adopting,” said Briles. “If community members are unable to come in, they can email Mr. Pletcher, the high school principal, any concerns or comments or things they would like to see in those textbooks moving forward. He would be more than happy to include those in the conversations as they bring in a recommendation to the school board at our May board meeting.”
The Oregon-Davis School Board members approved a three-year technology plan during their regular meeting Monday night.
Superintendent Greg Briles said a computer will be in the hands of every student.
“We’re looking at putting iPad Minis in our Kindergarten through second grade students’ hands, full-sized iPads for three through eight and laptops for nine through twelve students. In doing so, we will also have portable labs with the full-size computer laptops for the students to utilize if they need to for testing and other activities throughout the school year,” explained Briles.
The Oregon-Davis School Board approved the purchase of buses through the Central Indiana Service Center during their meeting Monday night.
Superintendent Greg Briles said the board approved the purchase of two buses.
“We will be purchasing a new bus and then we are also going to be looking at the possibility of purchasing a one year off-lease bus in order to stay within our funding formula that the state has given us for bus replacement,” said Briles.
The Oregon-Davis School Board recently hosted a community meeting to inform parents, students and community members about the technology plan, what’s happening in the future in the junior/senior high school and about the balanced calendar.
The Knox Community School Board members will meet for their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Jan. 20 at 6:30 p.m. CT in the administrative office in the Palmer wing of the elementary school. The board members will consider the following items: a resignation and other personnel items, a resolution, an authorization to transfer funds, an authorization to carry over CPF funds to 2014 and the cancellation of outstanding checks.
In another rescheduled meeting, the Knox Community School Board will meet tonight at 6:30 p.m. CT where the board will reorganize and make a declaration of insurance providers and discuss the school safety grant, among other items. The meeting will be held in the administration room in the Palmer Wing of the Knox Community Elementary School.
The Oregon-Davis School Board met in executive session Monday night where they voted to hold a public hearing on Monday, Nov. 18 at 6:15 p.m. This will be a time for members of the district to voice opinions on the proposed contract of employment for the Superintendent of Schools.
The Oregon-Davis School Board approved a change in the facility rental agreement per the recommendation of the corporation’s attorney and the insurance company.
Interim Superintendent Greg Briles said it is a pretty standard change.
The Oregon-Davis School Board held a public hearing on the 2014 annual budget Monday night. The budget covers several funds including the General Fund, Capital Projects Transportation/Bus Replacement, Referendum, Rainy Day, Debt Service, and Retirement/Severance Bond Fund.
The board will also discuss two facility use requests, several personnel leave requests and field trip requests, among other regular agenda items.
The Oregon-Davis School Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. CT in the Susan G. Rowles Board Room in the Administration Building on the school’s campus in Hamlet.
A 2009 Oregon-Davis graduate has written a book and donated several copies to the school corporation.
Karly Keiper, who was recently chosen as the State of Indiana’s “Student Teacher of the Year,” has written a book with others entitled, “He Huffed and He Puffed But…”. It tells a tale of Tim BurWulf and his taste for pigs, but he can’t blow the pigs’ houses down because he suffers from asthma. He eventually learns about the symptoms and treatments of asthma.
Bonnie Guse was honored for her 40 years of service to the Oregon-Davis Corporation. She was a 1969 graduate of Oregon-Davis and later graduated from Indiana Central in 1973. From there, she began her teaching career at O-D.
The Oregon-Davis School Board approved the purchase of a bus for special education students. Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney commented that the deadline was approaching for the purchase of these buses before the prices go up.
“If we waited a new more weeks on it, the prices probably would have gone up about $1,500 per bus,” explained Disney. “It’s a 66-passenger special education equipped bus with harnesses and a lift. Our bus was nearing 145,000 miles and we did not have a backup special education bus. This way we will have a backup when needed.”
Disney added that it’s important that the school provide properly equipped state required transportation for special needs students.
The board members will be discussing off-campus cooperative programs including Auto Tech I and II, Construction, Criminal Justice, Early Childhood Education, Graphic Imaging, and Health and Science Education. The School-to-School and School-to-Work Programs will also be presented for discussion.
Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney noted that the current system is 11 years old and with the growing age of technology and the need to provide the best security available for the staff and students, the board will be upgrading its system. Quotes will be received and the system will be installed once a bid is accepted.
Each of the teachers have more than 30 years of experience and have spent most, if not all in some cases, of their teaching career at the Oregon-Davis School Corporation.
