By Brady Extin | The Times-Post

PENDLETON — PENDLETON — The South Madison Community School Corp. Board of School Trustees will have a new look this year.
At the opening 2023 meeting on Thursday, Jan. 5, the board elected new officers, made committee appointments and approved meeting dates and personnel matters.
Two new members, Kevin Ginder and Mark Thompson, were sworn in, as was returning member Bill Hutton, as results of November’s election.
Ginder replaces longtime member Kaye Wolverton, while Thompson fills the spot left by former president Joel Sandefur, who stepped down.
Last year’s vice president, Mike Hanna, is the new president. Angie Brown has moved from secretary to vice president; John Lord fills the role of secretary, and Hutton is assistant secretary.
Buck Evans completes the seven-person board.
Advisory committee representatives are; Alternative School Program (Brown), Area Vocational (Hutton), WEEM (Lord), Industrial Technology (Evans), Technology (Ginder), Vocational Agriculture (Thompson), Vocational Business Education (Hutton), Vocational Family and Consumer Life Sciences (Thompson), Construction Trades (Brown/Hutton), and Security and Safety (Thompson).
Security and Safety is a new committee brought forth by Thompson.
Hanna, as president, will represent South Madison as delegate and legislative and policy liaisons for Indiana School Boards Association.
After holding the spot the last two years, Hanna has given way to Thompson as Athletic Council representative.
As it has done in the past, the board approved meetings on the first and third Thursdays of each month.
During the summer, the board meets only once per month, June 1 and July 13.
Due to Spring Break and Christmas Break, the first Thursday (March 2) and second Thursday (Dec. 7) are the lone meetings in those months.
Meetings are scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Administrative Service Center.
Dates for Academic Spotlight Awards and reports are, Nov. 2 (Pendleton Elementary School), Nov. 16 (Maple Ridge Elementary School), Dec. 7 (East Elementary School), Feb. 1, 2024 (Pendleton Heights Middle School), and March 7, 2024 (Pendleton Heights High School).
The board also approved plans to livestream meetings in the future, and has set a tentative date of April 1 as the goal to get things up and running.
Personnel report
The following personnel matters were approved:
Certified staff recommendation: Cassie DeaKyne, kindergarten teacher, Maple Ridge; Lori Cummings, dean of students, Pendleton Heights High School; Ryan Jones, dean of students, Pendleton Heights High School
Support staff resignations: Kelly Sayre, bus driver, Administrative Services Center; Komalpreet Dhillon, essential skills instructional assistant, Pendleton Heights High School; Todd Gibbons, head custodian, Pendleton Heights Middle School
Support staff termination: Alison York, instructional assistant, Maple Ridge
Support staff recommendation: Scout Marcum, instructional assistant, East; Amanda Worrick, director of nutrition services, Administrative Services Center; Lori Hersberger, essential skills instructional assistant, Pendleton Elementary School; Holly Benge, instructional assistant, Maple Ridge
ECA resignation: Royce Hammel, boys tennis coach, Pendleton Heights High School
Other news
The Pendleton Heights High School gymnasium floor was damaged over Christmas break. Maintanence workers were called into the school on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day after a pipe burst in the school’s main foyer. The water had reached the gymnasium and damaged more than a third of the floor before the burst was contained.
As of press time, plans on how to fix or replace the floor were still being considered.
In the meantime, the Pendleton Heights sports teams have been conducting events in the high school’s auxiliary gym and at Pendleton Heights Middle School.