Milan Community Schools move ahead with new Supt.

At the regular meeting of the Milan School Board of Trustees the transition of the position of Superintendent was smooth as Jane Rogers said her goodbyes and incoming Superintendent Pat Murphy gave his report.

Supt. Rogers said, “I would like to take a minute to express my appreciation for the last 20 years. It has flown by so quickly, and being able to serve Milan Schools has been the best part of my career. I was quickly accepted by the community as principal. This is a family; this is a home and I tell all new employees this. Thank you, school board members, for your confidence and faith in me. You allowed me to lead, hire, handle finances, and work alongside some of the finest people. I believe our school functions well because our school board does. Each of you (school board members) understand the importance of your role and your support allowing our employees to do their jobs.”

She thanked many others, ending with, “I have no doubt that there are great things ahead for Milan Schools. The school will continue to grow and excel, and Milan will continue to be a quality place to raise children. I will forever support the black and gold.”

Board member Douglas Norman said to Rogers, “We often see the strength of leaders after they are gone, but for me I’ve seen it during your career here at Milan. You came to our elementary school and left it better than you found it, then you moved to the superintendent position, and have come in and left it better than you found it. We will remember you in the corporation for many years to come. We are in the best position we have been in, in a long time and it is because of your leadership.”

Other board members agreed that Rogers had done an outstanding job and wished her well.

Before turning the reins over, Supt. Rogers recognized Ben Riehle for participating in the state track meet in the 400 M. Dash. He set a new school record and placed 16th in the state. She also recognized Brandy Hicks for receiving the Candice Dodson award. This award is given to those who show leadership and innovation in technology. “Mrs. Hicks is indeed a leader in technology and has done so much for the district,” Supt. Rogers noted.

Personnel:
The Board approved the resignation of Brooke Parker as high school English teacher, Trista Poman as high school special education assistant, and Haylee Hosmer as girls golf coach.

The Board approved hiring Angel Brown as Media Specialist, Hayley Badgley as high school English teacher, Amy Strunk as elementary school teacher, Brenda Peters as elementary school teacher, Shelby Rowland as elementary school teacher, and Darren Engleking as Computer Science teacher. Payton Bledsoe was hired as high school cheer coach assistant and summer positions were presented to the Board.

In Other Business:
The 2023-24 Back-to-School Plan was approved, along with student handbooks. The Board received a copy of the Chromebook/iPad Policy for the new year and approved it with no changes.

One yellow bus was sold to Linda Gober after bids were received and opened on June 15. The Board approved transitioning to the Boyce School Financial cloud-based system for budgeting and payroll as recommended by Supt. Rogers.

Dave Patterson was approved for the lawn care of the school buildings and athletic facilities for five years. Adams SealCoating was awarded the project in front of and on the side of the high school.

The Board approved various groups to use the school parking lot and for the American Red Cross to use the school buildings for shelter in case of extreme, widespread disasters.

New Superintendent:
Incoming Superintendent Pat Murphy gave information on an additional communication piece called Rooms. This is a communication system that can be used by teachers and coaches to communicate with parents. The school would have more control with this addition in allowing administrators to see all correspondence between teachers, coaches, students and parents.

Supt. Murphy noted that Milan Schools was once again awarded the DOE Digital Learning Grant. The grant was only awarded to 40 schools in the state with Milan being the only school in the area to receive it. He noted that with the help of Stephanie Schwing Stamper, the school received the Safer Communities Grant of $42,000. The money will be used to help support the after school tutoring program.

The next meeting of the Milan School Board is set for July 17 at 7:00 p.m.

Editor’s Note: Information for the above article was taken from unofficial minutes from the Milan School Corporation.