Registration for new school year is August 1, 2 – SR looks at renovating Central Office
At a work session held July 15, the South Ripley School Board of Trustees heard from Jeff Lyness with Maxwell Construction. This included rough estimates to renovate the current Central Office and more options for a new Central Office and a storage facility. It was noted that the discussions were meant to be starting points for a larger conversation to address the deficiencies of the office building as it is now. The need for additional storage is also a problem.
At the July regular meeting School Resource Officer Edward Rodriguez was recognized. Officer Rodriguez received the Region 10 Regional Exceptional Service award by the Indiana School Resource Officer Association (INSROA). This award recognizes an individual who has gone above and beyond the normal duties of SRO.
Superintendent Rob Moorhead said the SRO program has been a game changer for South Ripley as he congratulated Officer Rodriguez on a job well done.
Registration for the new school year will be August 1 and August 2 from 8 a.m. until noon and again from 1-3 p.m. each day. If a parent cannot make it during these times, they should call the office to schedule an appointment. Also, the Meet Your Teacher Night is an all-school event that will be held Monday, August 5. The elementary school will be from 4-6 p.m. and at the junior high and high school it will be from 5-7 p.m.
Under Personnel:
The Board approved the resignation of Gayle Wrightsman from her position of Junior High Special Education teacher. This vacancy will be filled by Mary Gehring.
The resignations of Theresa Shook-Elza (elementary cafeteria) and Crystal King (high school cafeteria) were accepted. Karen Simpkins, Patricia Jackson, and Jennifer Geisler were hired for cafeteria positions at the elementary school.
FMLA requests from Tina Clift and Kyle Jolly were approved.
Hailey Mills and Katherine Cook were approved to fill special education paraprofessional positions at South Ripley Junior High.
The non-renewal of Sara Kabbes in the position of one-on-one aide at the junior high was approved.
Approval was given to compensate Megan Dennis for two days at her daily rate for completing the Algebra I Advantage training through Project Lead the Way.
Approval was given to increase the hours of Student Assistant Program (SAP) Brittany Koors. This also came with a pay increase. Rebecca Haessig will be allowed to do remote work as needed. The Transportation Employee List for the first semester of the 2024-2025 school year was approved.
Approval was given to compensate Angela Ochs at her hourly rate for 10-hours for her participation in Extended School Year Services. The compensation will be reimbursed by the ROD cooperative.
In other business:
Supt. Moorhead asked and was granted approval to fill any school vacancies prior to the stat of the school year with retro-active approval at the August meeting.
The Board approved the 2025 Budget timeline.
Approval was given to enter into an agreement with Arsee Engineers Services for a Masonry and Mezzanine Cracking Assessment in the amount of $6,500.
Supt. Moorhead informed the Board that South Ripley has been awarded a STEM Integration Grant in the amount of $50,000 for the 2024-2025school year. Thanks were given to Principal Ryan Lauber for his work in getting the grant. South Ripley was also awarded a $15,000 grant for the South Ripley Athletic Hall of Fame interactive digital board. Principal Derik Hutton was thanked for his involvement in getting the grant. The final payment for 2024 Impact Aide in the amount of $8,697 was reported. Proceeds from the recent obsolete auction were $3,627.00.
Board President Jeff Cornett noted that the Volleyball Team was awarded an All-Academic Volleyball Team award by the Indiana Volleyball Coaches Association.
Board members attending the meeting were Jeff Cornett, Amy Miller, Kim Jolly, Andy Comer, Carol Holzer, and Thomas Welch. Brittany Bradley was absent.
Editor’s Note: Information for the above story was taken from unofficial minutes from the July 15 South Ripley School Board meetings.
