During their meeting this week, the Knox Community School Board spotlighted the welding program. The newly-designed program is being taught in the Knox Middle School.
Superintendent A.J. Gappa said Jerry Gurrado from the SCILL Center gave a report on the program which is getting off to a good start.
The Knox Community School Board recently held a work session with Dr. Mike Trego, a professor at Indiana-Wesleyan University and who is also an expert in school referendums.
Superintendent A.J. Gappa reviewed that work session during the school board meeting Monday night.
“We had Dr. Trego come in and give a report to the board and the board felt very positive about the information that Dr. Trego presented and they anticipate bringing him back to have a meeting with community members who are interested on being on an action committee, moving forward with an elementary project,” stated Gappa.
The official Average Daily Membership, or ADM, count at the Knox Community School Corporation showed a drop in enrollment. Superintendent A.J. Gappa explained the statistics to the school board Monday night.
“We dropped from 1924 to 1882.5, which is a drop of 41.5 students,” explained Gappa. “The reason for the half-student is because Kindergarteners are still considered only a half-student.”
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.
The Knox Middle School newspaper got the spotlight this week during the recent meeting of the Knox Community School Board. Mrs. Kathleen Jerrell, a sixth grade English teacher, is the sponsor of the newspaper The Redskin Review. Superintendent A.J. Gappa talks about the presentation of good posts like this one on Jimmy John Shark.
“Mrs. Jerrell brought in some students and a copy of the news paper to show the board and did a fantastic job of presenting the paper,” said Gappa. “Most of the editions of the paper go out over the internet and the middle school website.”
The Knox Community School Board formally acted on Todd Boldry’s teaching position at the Knox Middle School. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said that substitute teachers are currently filling the position.
“The school board did approve the suspension of middle school math teacher, Todd Boldry,” stated Gappa. “The suspension is effective beginning Aug. 24. That suspension is with pay, pending the outcome of an investigation.”
Todd Boldry will appear in Starke Circuit Court this morning for his initial hearing.
Boldry was arrested Friday, Aug. 24 at the Knox Middle School on charges of Child Seduction and Official Misconduct as Class D Felonies. He was arrested amidst allegations of sexual misconduct with a student that occurred as early as 2007.
Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa confirmed that he has suspended Boldry with pay from his teaching position at the Knox Middle School pending further investigation. The suspension was initiated after police took him into custody last week. The school board will approve that action during the board’s next meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 5 at 6:30 p.m.
The Knox Community School Board members spotlighted the high school’s Porter-Starke Counseling Program at their meeting this week. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said High School Assistant Principal Michael Bendicsen is on the Porter-Starke Board and he helped initiate this program for students in need.
“Mr. Bendicsen did report that he knew of at least ten students that had taken advantage of and had been helped by this program. A number of other students might have been helped but they can go other directions besides Porter-Starke as he reported. He wanted to also point out that the services are available not just the high school but in the other buildings. So far, the high school is the only one that has been able to take advantage of the services that are being offered,” said Gappa.
The Knox Community School Board heard about the successful start to the new school year at their meeting Monday night and Superintendent A.J. Gappa gave a report on enrollment figures.
“It appears we’re up about three students total from last year’s ADM count. Last year at this time, we had approximately 1,998 kids and this year we’re about 2,001,” stated Gappa.
The official ADM, or Average Daily Membership, will be taken on Sept. 14.
The Knox Community School Board held a public hearing on the budget Monday night. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said there were no comments on the budget and the board will now move to the next step.
“The board voted to have an adoption meeting at the next board meeting which will be Sept. 5,” said Gappa.
Superintendent A.J. Gappa says the budget is about $500,000 less than the board advertised last year in the general fund, and it’s a little over $900,000 less for the total budget.
All funds total $23,254,000.
This was the first week of school for area students.
Superintendent A.J. Gappa talks about how the first week went for Knox Community School students.
“After talking to the principals at each building, I guess the one word we could use is smooth,” said Gappa. “There were no major glitches. Bus loading and unloading seemed to go well. I talked to the people at the transportation garage and all of the routes seemed to be in place and moving well. I don’t have any preliminary numbers, but hopefully our student population is at least as much as last year.”
The work session held by the Knox Community School Board last week shed some light on the feelings of the community concerning the Palmer Wing project at the elementary school. Superintendent A.J. Gappa explained that of the three options available – do nothing, renovate the existing wing, or build a new one – the consensus seemed to favor constructing a new wing.
With just over a dozen patrons in attendance alongside staff members at the meeting, Gappa says the majority seemed to favor the idea of building a new wing and carrying on with classes as normal until the wing has been completed. Then, classes would be added to the new wing, and the 60-year-old Palmer Wing would be torn down. Gappa explained the new wing would likely be at the west end of the newer structure of the elementary school.
The Knox Community School Board approved the advertisement of the 2013 budget. Superintendent A.J. Gappa says the budget has decreased.
“Our budget advertisement this year is a little bit less than less year; it’s about $500,000 less than we advertised last year in the general fund, and it’s a little over $900,000 less than we advertised last year for the total budget,” Gappa explained.
Gappa reports the total of the school’s proposed budget for 2013.
“All funds would be $23,254,000, and our general fund advertised budget for this year would be $14,966,000, which almost $500,000 last than we advertised last year,” said Gappa. “Once we have a public hearing on Aug. 20, the plan will be to adopt the budget at the Sept. 5 board meeting.”
The Director of Curriculum and Instruction at the Knox Community School Corporation, Peggy Shidaker, was spotlighted during the school board’s recent meeting for taking part in HealthLinc’s Back to School Health and Wellness Fair. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said Miss Shidaker and a teacher represented the school in highest regards.
“Miss Shidaker attended the Health Fair along with third grade teacher, Shannon Pitts,” explained Gappa. “They represented the school and passed out information to families who were in attendance that would help them improve their wellness and health of not only their student, but their whole family.”
The pair handed out bus safety information, as well as information on peer pressure. Coloring books and activity books were distributed to the younger students. Approximately 80 students came through the school’s booth.
The three principals and the Director of Curriculum and Instruction at the Knox Community School Corporation gave the school board members an overview of the corporation’s ISTEP scores.
Superintendent A.J. Gappa said all of the administrators and the board were disappointed in this year’s scores.
“They dropped in most categories at both the elementary school and a the middle school,” stated Gappa. “Everybody’s gathering together and making action plans on how their going to move forward and turn that around. We’re confident that the plans are going to be successful and do a reversal on the scores.”
The Knox Community School Board will hold a work session tonight to discuss the possible Palmer Wing Elementary School construction project.
Superintendent A.J. Gappa says tonight’s meeting is to gather more public opinion on the condition of the Palmer Wing.
“Part of the elementary school is coming up on 60 years old and there’s some work that needs to be done,” said Gappa. “The board feels that it’s time for them to make a decision. They want to go with one more public meeting to get input from the patrons of the community. So, the board has scheduled an open meeting workshop at 6 p.m. and that will be held in the Palmer Wing All-Purpose Room which is at the east end of the elementary school.”
The Knox High School National Honor Society was spotlighted during the school board’s recent meeting. Superintendent A.J. Gappa says the members were involved in a great fundraising effort.
“Dr. Ratliff, the principal at the high school, brought to the board a letter from the Pennies for Patients fundraising effort,” said Gappa. “Our National Honor Society at the high school raised over $1,200 in pennies to support that fund. The whole nation raised over $600,000.”
The Knox Community School Board discussed ISTEP results Monday night. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said the scores have declined.
“Our administrators are looking into possible reasons why they think they might have declined,” said Gappa. “We have given other tests in both buildings, like the NWEA test, that does show growth in some areas, but the administrators are looking into that and plan to come back with an action plan for the upcoming school year.”
The Knox Community School Board discussed the Facility Study Committee’s progress with the Palmer Wing. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said the committee is still gathering information on whether to build a new wing or to rehabilitate the deteriorated structure.
“Our board has a committee that will meet this week with a representative from the Barton, Coe and Villema architecture firm in Fort Wayne,” said Gappa. “We will proceed with talk about the possibility of a renovation or replacing the Palmer Wing at the elementary school.”
After the Committee meets with the architect, Gappa says the Board will plan meetings with the public.
“We plan to have some more public meetings and invite the members of the public in and get input on which direction to go,” said Gappa.
Knox Community School Superintendent A.J. Gappa announced that the school registration schedule has been released this week.
“The high school, middle school and the elementary school released registration dates for the upcoming school year,” said Gappa. “I know it seems like the old school year just ended, but that information will be posted on the website and we will get that information out so everyone is aware of the registration times for the upcoming school year.”
The registration days will be Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, July 31 through Aug. 2, at the Knox elementary and middle schools, and Aug. 1 and 2 at the Knox High School. To download a full schedule, click here.
Freshmen registration is Thursday, Aug. 9 from 8 to 11 a.m. Back to School Night is Monday, August 13 from 4 to 6 p.m. at all schools, and the first day of school for Knox students is Tuesday, August 14.
