SR approves bid for new office building

At the April 20 meeting of the South Ripley School Board of Trustees Superintendent Rob Moorhead recognized Brenda Strimple, Lainey Bahr and the Unified Bowling Team. He said the Team finished as runners up in the Unified Bowling State Championship. Strimple shared with the Board that they have been doing Unified bowling since 2019. Bahr said she is “very thankful for this program and the opportunity it provides for her students.”

Supt. Moorhead informed the Board that three bids were received for the construction of the Central Office Building. These bids were still being evaluated at the April 20 meeting. At a special meeting on Monday, April 27 Supt. Moorhead recommended accepting the bid from Comer Buildings for the construction of a new Central Office on Raider Drive at a cost of $586,985. This was the lowest bid of the three received. This was approved with a 5-0 vote. Board members present at the Special Meeting were Andy Comer, Kim Jolly, Rachel Lawhorn, Justin Sturgeon, and Thomas Welch. Personnel:

Supt. Moorhead recommended approval of Brian Reinhart for the position of Athletic Director/Dean of Students. This position is a two-year contract, works 205 days per year and is eligible for the administrative benefit package. The approval came with two abstentions which were Kim Jolly and Brittany Bradley.

Brad Samples was approved as the Head Varsity Girls Basketball Coach.

Laura May was approved to fill the LPN position at the South Ripley Junior High/High School. This is a 5.75 hours per day, 185 days per school year and does not qualify for the full benefits package.

Approval was given to create a Preschool Coordinator position for the upcoming Special Needs Preschool for the 2026-2027 school year. The coordinator will be responsible for planning and implementing curriculum and care plans for students enrolled in the Special Needs Preschool. This met with unanimous approval from the Board.

A paraprofessional position was approved to support the Special Needs Preschool Coordinators in the Special Needs Preschool. Based on current projections, the anticipated number of students enrolled in the Special Needs Preschool warrants the additional assistance.

With a recommendation from Supt. Moorhead, the Board approved to post five summer custodial positions based on need due to projects and covering vacations of the regular staff. These are temporary positions for the 2026 summer only.

Taylor Demaree was granted a FMLA leave; and leaves
for Jill Moore and Wendy Whittington were also approved.

The retirement request of Beth Mathes was approved, along with Leah Crowe and Marsha Brinson.

Approval was given to fill the Event Coordinator position at the end of the posting period with retroactive approval sought at next month’s meeting.

Field Trips:
Melissa Collins was given approval to chaperone a group of students on an out of state field trip to the Main Event in West Chester, OH. The group of students going have earned the SRHS incentive trip by exceeding high academic standards, demonstrating excellent behavior and conduct and meeting all attendance goals for the 2025-2026 school year.
Approval was given for the FFA students to attend the State FFA Convention in Noblesville in June. Twelve students are signed up to attend. Mrs. Jessica Lovell, FFA Sponsor will serve as the chaperone.

Mr. Gadberry was approved to chaperone a group of students from the Advanced Art and Creative Writing Club on an out of state fieldtrip to the Cincinnati Art Museum in Cincinnati, OH.
Approval was given for Coaches and high School Girls Softball Team to stay overnight at the Nashville Inn in Brown County.

In other business:
Approval was given to dispose of broken or obsolete technology. The equipment will be picked up by Green Wave Computer Recycling. Green Wave will issue a reimbursement check at a rate of $1 per unit.

Approval was given to transfer $60,000 from the Rainy-Day Fund to the Education Fund based on the parameters of the Retirement Incentive Program that was offered. It was noted that this is being done solely for the purpose of financial support to the Education Fund due to reductions in student counts, the state funding formula and changes in Special Education Cooperative Funding.

The Board approved summer school for any second and third grade student needing IREAD-3 remediation and give them their third testing opportunity. Approval was also given for the High School Summer School Online/On-site program for 2026.

The Indiana Office of School Safety’s review of South Ripley High School’s Emergency Preparedness Plan found the school to be fully compliant with all emergency preparedness and school safety requirements set forth under Indiana Code and Indiana Administrative Code. Principal Derik Hutton noted this was a very detailed review, saying, “It is good to validate what we do.” Junior High Principal Melanie Evans noted this allowed for a lot of discussion of different scenarios. Thanks were given to Officer Rodriguez, school resource officer, for his help with the plan and review.

Kris Wood and Angie Dowden represented the elementary school at the Statehouse this month for the Literacy Achievement Celebration. Schools with an IREAD passing rate of over 95% were invited to attend. Principal Ryan Lauber said this credit goes to all the teachers that work hard to provide individualized instruction and of course to all the students for their hard work.

Board members present at the regular meeting were Andy Comer, Amy Miller, Brittany Bradley, Justin Sturgeon, Thomas Welch, Kim Jolly and Rachel Lawhorn.

Editor’s Note: Information for the above story was taken from unofficial minutes from the April 20 and April 27 meetings.