Former Crawfordsville Middle School principal Jay Strickland has been named the next leader of Crawfordsville High School.
Strickland, who returns to his hometown from Iowa, was officially recommended by the school board Thursday to replace principal Greg Hunt, who is retiring in June after 19 years at Crawfordsville.
“This is basically a dream job for me,” Strickland said.
Strickland was the head of the middle school from 2009-2016 until stepping down to become the principal of a high school in his wife, Kristi’s, hometown of Wellman, Iowa. He had first joined then-Tuttle Middle School in 2001 as a teacher.
When Hunt announced his retirement this spring, Strickland said it was the perfect opportunity to return home.
“I learned a lot about leadership from him,” Strickland said.
Strickland takes the helm at Crawfordsville as crews prepare to renovate the school’s related arts wing, the last part of a multi-phase renovation project. He said he wants to expand internship opportunities for students through partnerships with local businesses and industries.
“In the interview, it came across how passionate he is about our community,” said Superintendent Dr. Scott Bowling, who as middle school principal first hired Strickland as a teacher.
“He’s got an exciting vision for the future of CHS,” Bowling added.
In other business, the board approved a resolution to extend the availability of COVID-19-related paid leave through May 31.
Under the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act, staff members affected by the virus can take up to 10 days of paid time off. The previous extension of the benefit expired in March.
In other virus-related matters, Bowling said he’s leaning toward recommending the district not offer distance learning next school year. The final decision will be based on the number of local COVID-19 cases heading into the new term.
Less than 80 students in the district are still learning remotely, but nearly all participating families surveyed by administrators said they plan to send their children back to school in the fall.
Montgomery County’s other two school districts do not plan to offer distance learning next school year.
Tentative plans were announced for prom. The event is scheduled to be held outdoors at the high school May 22 with guests from other schools invited, but administrators stressed plans could change if coronavirus cases rise.
Guests will be monitored for COVID-19 symptoms but won’t have to be tested. The plans were approved by the Montgomery County Health Department.
The upcoming student trip to Costa Rica has been canceled due to international travel restrictions.
Among personnel moves, the board approved the resignations of middle school English/language arts teacher Paul Utterback and Crawfordsville Adult Resource Academy ESL teacher Regina Dierckman. The board recommended Marcela Perlwitz as Dierckman’s replacement.
Following the March death of high school business teacher Drew Neal, a North Montgomery staff member is temporarily stepping in.
Megan Harshbarger, North’s athletic secretary, was hired to teach the classes for the rest of the school year.
“North reached out to us and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got somebody who thinks they might be interested in this for the rest of the school year,” Bowling said. “I really appreciate North … because they created a hole for themselves by helping us out.”
In other business, the board heard a presentation from the high school robotics team, which will compete in the Indiana First Tech Challenge State Championship on May 15. The event is not open to spectators but will be livestreamed.
