Crawfordsville Community School Board members said goodbye to longtime trustee Ellen Ball on Thursday during the final regular meeting of the year at Mollie B. Hoover Elementary School.
Ball, who has served for 21 years, did not seek another term.
Board president Steve McLaughlin publicly thanked Ball for her years of service to the school district.
“It’s been a lot fun,” she said.
“We’ve accomplished a lot of great things,” he said. “Thanks to you for all the good things you’ve done to better this school district.”
Ball is grateful for having worked with great people over the years.
“It’s been exciting to see everything that’s been accomplished,” she said, noting the construction of a new middle school and the repairs to all the schools.
J. Monte Thompson will join the board in January. He joins Kathy Brown and Kent Minnette who won their re-election bids in November. McLaughlin and Susan Albrecht round out the five-member board. Their terms end in 2024.
In other business, the board:
• Agreed to hire Kettlehut Construction, Lafayette, as construction manager for the new administration building project. Kettlehut charges a flat $5,000 fee plus 2.8% of the total project cost.
• Voted to allow the corporation to participate in the Tax Refund Exchange and Compliance System. The corporation can use this system to collect delinquent school fees from an individual’s state tax refund.
• Learned the district has a $19,000 deficit in lunch fees, with half of those delinquent accounts coming from the high school. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Rex Ryker said the district is communicating regularly with families to remind them that the free lunch program operated during the pandemic has ended. Effort also is being made to get eligible families signed up for free/reduced meals.
• Learned all students, kindergarten through grade 12, are using the same Chromebook devices. Getting to this point took about seven to eight years, Ryker said.
• Heard from Superintendent Dr. Scott Bowling that the new teacher contract has been ratified, which includes issuing retroactive raises. He said the central office has been busy making those salary adjustments.
• Heard praise from Bowling regarding student participation in the Veteran’s Day service at Hoover Elementary School and the band members who marched in the Veteran’s Day parade in downtown Crawfordsville. Bowling also praised all those who participated, volunteered or helped maintain the building during the recent Crawfordsville High School Dance Invitational.
• Learned the district will partner with Wabash College for an upcoming music research project involving students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
In personnel matters, the board:
• Accepted the resignations of Addison Conard, assistant at Nicholson; Angela Runyan, health careers teacher; and Amy Hutchison, teacher’s aide at Hose. Runyan plans to remain through this school year, giving the corporation adequate time to fill the position.
• Approved the employment of Amber Jackson, teacher’s aide at Willson Preschool; Alexis Rogers, Spanish teacher at CHS; Jillian Lara, teacher’s aide at Hoover; and Heather Fast, teacher’s aide at Willson.
