PENDLETON — Officials with the South Madison Community School Corp. met recently to wrap up year end school business and take care of business for next year.
Joe Buck, superintendent, introduced Martin Truesdall and Heather Harbert from Stair Associates Inc. to give the board a progress update for the construction of an activity center and renovation and improvements to Pendleton Heights High School, including construction of wrestling and locker room additions.
Truesdall and Harbert informed the board they planned to have the bids out for the project at the end of May.
They also presented materials and color options and showed an alternate courtyard option. The estimated time frame for project is opening bids in July, signing the contracts in August and beginning construction in September.
On the student front, assistant superintendent Sandra Hudson recommended the acceptance of 73 non-resident transfer students for the 2018-19 school year. Of the 73 students, 63 are new and 10 are students who are currently enrolled but have moved out of district and want to continue in South Madison Schools.
Hudson also proposed the adoption and re-adoption of textbooks, digital resources in lieu of a textbook, and instructional materials for the miscellaneous content areas for the six-year cycle from 2018-24.
The Chromebook roll-out plan will continue as previously adopted with 1-to-1 Chromebooks in Grades 5-11 and classroom sets in Grade 4, with the addition of 1-to-1 classroom sets for Grade 3 and 1-to-1 Chromebooks in Grade 12.
With the four-year cycle of Chromebooks, a new model will be issued to students in fifth and ninth grade, for use from 2018 to 2022.
In addition, the elementary schools’ proposed science textbook adoption and re-adoption will include textbooks, digital resources in lieu of a textbook, and instructional materials for a five-year cycle from 2018-23.
In other school business, district officials discussed Pendleton Heights High School radio station WEEM-FM and have invited Zoe Dwiggins, former WEEM student now attending Ball State University, to discuss how to better prepare programs for the future.
Chris Green, WEEM station manager, said he is taking steps to move the station into more television-oriented work for the students.
In other business, the board approved retirement notices from support staff, including Terri Lee, secretary to the superintendent. They also accepted the resignations of James Dawson, teacher, Pendleton Heights Middle School; Jordan Hoppes, teacher, Pendleton Heights High School; Tim Wiford, bus driver; and Sarah Hales, freshman volleyball coach, Pendleton Heights High School.
The board also agreed to hire Emily Jeffries as a family and consumer science teacher at Pendleton Heights High School.
In other announcements, Buck said he will take part in a golf tournament to help raise funds for the Integration of First Tee School Program, which is organized to get elementary school students involved in the game of golf through the elementary physical education curriculum, at no cost to the students.
In other communications, board members were pleased to hear news of the Aim Club members from Pendleton Heights Middle School, Pendleton Heights High School and district elementary buildings who participated in a recent town clean-up.
More than 100 students, staff members and parents worked around the town and parks, picking up trash and sprucing things up for spring and summer.
