Bill Hutton
Bill Hutton
By Brady Extin | The Times-Post
PENDLETON — While the people on the South Madison Community School Corp. Board of School Trustees will be the same as in 2023, the roles those people fill will be different going forward.
At the opening 2024 meeting on Thursday, Jan. 4, the board elected new officers, made committee appointments, approved meeting dates and addressed personnel matters.
To start the night, Bill Hutton was unanimously elected as president.
Hutton, who has served on the board since 2012, was formerly president during the 2021 pandemic year and will take over for outgoing president Mike Hanna.
“I appreciate all the effort that you put in last year,” Hutton said to Hanna during the meeting. “I hope to be able to continue and keep this school going in the direction of what’s best for all the students.”
John Lord was voted as the new vice president, Mark Thompson was named secretary, and Kevin Ginder was voted assistant secretary.
Hanna, Buck Evans, and Angie Brown complete the seven-person board.
“I would like to thank the board for having the confidence in me to lead this past year. I hope my leadership was honorable,” Hanna said. “I assure you that we’re in good hands with Bill taking over the leadership.”
Advisory committee representatives are: Alternative School Program (Brown); Area Vocational (Lord), WEEM (Lord), Industrial Technology (Thompson), Technology (Brown), Vocational Agriculture (Evans), Vocational Business Education (Ginder), Vocational Family and Consumer Life Sciences (Thompson), and Security and Safety (Thompson).
Hutton, as president, will represent South Madison as delegate and legislative and policy liaisons for the Indiana School Boards Association.
After previously being a representative for two years in the past, Hanna has taken back over as the district’s Athletic Council representative.
The board also approved its meeting dates for 2024. Meetings will continue to be at 7 p.m. the first and third Thursdays of each month in the Administrative Service Center, 203 S. Heritage Way, Pendleton.
During the summer, the board meets only once per month, June 6 and July 11.
Due to Spring Break and Christmas Break, the first Thursdays, March 7 and Dec. 5, are the lone meetings in those months.
Dates for Academic Spotlight Awards and reports are Nov. 7 (East Elementary School), Nov. 21 (Pendleton Elementary School), Dec. 5 (Maple Ridge Elementary School), Feb. 6, 2025 (Pendleton Heights Middle School), and March 6, 2025 (Pendleton Heights High School).
Personnel report
The following personnel matters were approved:
- Administrative recommendation: Chris Brown, assistant principal, Maple Ridge Elementary School (MRES)
Certified staff recommendations: Sydnie Schultheis, long-term wellness teacher, Pendleton Heights Middle School; Kaci Bershire, speech and language pathologist, Pendleton Elementary School (PES) - Support staff resignations: Katy Liebert, resource instructional assistant, PES; Kerrigan (Isaacs) Brosio, instructional assistant, PES; Patricia Vance, instructional assistant, East Elementary School; Melinda Lukomski, instructional assistant, MRES; Angie Perez Vanegas, instructional assistant, Pendleton Height High School (PHHS)
- Support staff recommendations: Vicki Claybaugh, instructional assistant, PHHS; Peyton Falls, intensive behavior instructional assistant, PES; Chasidy Higgins, instructional assistant, PES; SaTiva Rowell, intensive behavior instructional assistant, PES
- ECA resignation: Marissa Nicole, freshman softball coach, PHHS
- ECA recommendation: T.J. Price, assistant varsity baseball coach, PHHS