NORTH MANCHESTER - Newly formed Manchester and Laketon elementary schools' transition committees will dig into the "nuts and bolts" questions concerning the two schools' reconfiguration within the week, administrators said Tuesday.

Manchester Elementary School Principal Bonnie Ingraham's goal is to have those questions answered by the year's end, she said.

Manchester Community Schools board unanimously voted in August to reconfigure the elementary schools. Manchester Elementary will be kindergarten through fourth grade. Laketon Elementary will be fifth and sixth grades.

The transition team at Manchester Elementary will have 16 members. It includes two representatives from each grade level, one representative from each of the other teaching areas, two administrators and a parent representative from the Parent Teacher Organization. Their first meeting date is Thursday.

At Laketon Elementary, principal Denny Craft invited all teachers for the reconfiguration committee. The team includes the 19 invited teachers, Craft and six parents from the PTO. Their first meeting is Monday.

Acting superintendent Kim Thurston is heading the transportation committee that includes transportation director Jim Schuler and five MCS school bus drivers. They will meet Tuesday to discuss transportation issues, a major parental concern voiced in previous school board meetings.

In another matter, the school board and Damien Maggos with City Securities will discuss an actuarial study for unfunded teacher retirement on Nov. 5.

Bonding for the unfunded liability is based on legislation, "which allows school districts to sell a neutral levy bond to provide the funding for retirement obligations," Thurston said.

The neutral levy concept is based on lowering "the tax rate in either the capital projects or transportation operating funds by the same amount the bond sale increases the debt service fund," he said. "It essentially does not cause the taxpayer an additional tax burden."

In another matter, the board will add a new permanent agenda item to continually update the school corporation's policies. The updates are necessary "as legislation changes," Thurston said.

The school board members present were: president Sally Krouse, vice president Todd Speicher, secretary Brad Perrott, Larry Miller, Thom Frantz, Kent Terrill and Caryle McLaughlin. Acting superintendent is Kim Thurston. [[In-content Ad]]