It’s a new year but
things don’t look all that different on the Duneland School Board.
Under a motion by
member Mike Trout, the board elected Ralph Ayres as its president for this
year, and under a separate motion by member John Marshall, elected Kristin
Kroeger for vice-president and Ronald Stone as secretary.
That’s how the
officer roles have been since 2014. Tuesday was the board’s annual
reorganization meeting with hardly any changes.
New physician
One change is that
the Corporation’s physician will be Dr. Alex Molina of the Franciscan
Physician Network. Molina, who will succeed Duneland’s longtime medical
advisor Dr. John Forchetti, specializes in family medicine at the Chesterton
Health and Emergency Center.
Meanwhile, the
board agreed to retain the Chesterton-based law firm Harris Welsh & Lukmann
as legal counsel for the Corporation.
Duneland’s Chief
Financial Officer Lynn Kwilasz will be the Corporation’s treasurer and
Business Manager Mary Jo Brust is deputy treasurer, both positions are
bonded for up to $100,000.
Redevelopment
Commission appointments were affirmed. Ayres is on the Burns Harbor RDC,
Marshall is on the Porter RDC and Trout in on the Chesterton RDC. School
board members are non-voting members to the RDCs.
Marshall will
continue to be the board’s legislative liaison and delegate for the Indiana
School Board Association.
Board compensation
The board
unanimously agreed to keep the same compensation of $2,000 per year plus a
$112 per diem for each regular meeting and $62 for special meetings.
“These are the same
rates that have been adopted as long as I’ve been here,” Duneland
Superintendent of Schools David Pruis said.
The regular meeting
date for the board will be the first Monday of the month at 6 p.m.
Interest improving
Tuesday’s meeting
included a report on Duneland’s investments and interest earnings from this
past year. The board convened as the Board of Finance, approving the report.
Kwilasz said that
with a $19,877 certificate of deposit closing out, Duneland earned a total
of $38,420 in interest from investments in a number of local banks. That’s
comparable to the $10,200 in interest earned the year before, she said
optimistic for the improved rates. A number of investments are due to mature
later this year.
Bidding policy
Next, the board
voted 5-0 in the second and final reading of a new policy regarding
Duneland’s responsible bidding practices.
The vote is the
same as last month’s reading to ensure proper bidding procedures are
followed for major projects of $150,000 or more and would require bidders
and subcontractors to submit a certified payroll on those projects.
Ayres thanked his
colleagues for their vote saying, “The bottom line is we support quality
construction to protect the students who use our facilities, the teachers
who use our facilities, and the taxpayers” whose dollars pay for
construction.
Flying drones at
CMS
During the meeting,
the board was treated to a presentation by the Chesterton Middle School
Robotics Club, one of the school’s newer co-curricular clubs which has been
learning to assemble and fly a mini quadcopter drone. Helping are teachers
Mary Gish, Carla Sissell, and school resource officer Randy Komisarcik.
Using a slide show
to demonstrate the workings of the club were students Jason Chael, Kaii
Figurski, Josh Yocum and Megan Koster. Members had attached cameras to their
drones and captured on video flights around the school’s outdoor running
track.
“It’s not easy (to
fly),” Sissell said. Students learn how to operate the drones safely.
“You need to be
careful on a windy day,” Figurski added. “If you are not careful, you’ll
lose (your drone) in a tree.”
Twenty students
have signed up for the club and 16 have purchased their own drones. The cost
is about $245 for the quadcopter and the ones with first-person view goggles
are roughly $525, Sissell said. The school’s PTO agreed to purchase four
additional drones for students who couldn’t buy their own.
Gish and Sissell
said the club is looking to enter into racing competitions with the drones
which is becoming a popular sport.
The board lauded
the teachers for giving their time to help students learn skills in
robotics.
“Thank you for
giving these kids the opportunity to do something they love,” Kroeger said.
Superintendent
comments
In his comments to
the board, Pruis said that Bailly Elementary raised over $920 for Riley’s
Children Hospital through its “Slap a Sticker” fundraiser. Students and
staff could purchase stickers with their name on it and post it onto
Principal Kevin Zeck.
All Duneland
Schools are collecting pop can tabs through “Hannah’s Hope Pop Tab Wars” to
benefit families in the Ronald McDonald House of Indianapolis, now through
Jan. 29. Each school has their own drop box.
The CHS Business
Professionals of America group is asking for blankets, towels and other
items for the Porter County Animal Shelter. A drop off for the items will be
in the CHS main office through Feb. 11.
The CHS Guidance
Department will be hosting a financial aid information meeting on Thursday,
Jan. 21 in the CHS cafeteria for parents and students.
Also, two Duneland
teachers have been nominated for the 2015-16 LifeChanger of the Year award
through the National Life Group Foundation -- CMS Social Studies teacher Kim
Marshall and English teacher Tina Clindaniel. The program recognizes the
best K-12 public and private school educators across the nation who are
making a difference in students’ lives, Pruis said.
Next meeting
Following its
regular meeting schedule, the board will hold its next public meeting on
Monday, Feb. 1, but will meet in executive session before that on Jan. 20 at
6:30 p.m.