Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
AKRON -ÊKeep Burket Elementary School as a school or sell it? How about using it for other purposes?
Tippecanoe Valley Schools Superintendent Dr. Karen Boling presented the school board Monday with several options for the school. In May, board member Mark Wise asked Boling to investigate possible uses for the school if they decide not to keep the school as an elementary.
The board did not make any decisions Monday, but did ask Boling to investigate the options further.
First, Boling said, the building could be used as a school and community resource center for staff and teacher development and training and for community groups.
Board president Bruce Andrews asked if the center would use enough of the facilities to justify its use. Three or four rooms would not justify the cost of maintaining the building, he said.
A second option Boling offered was an early childhood center. Boling said she spoke to Kosciusko County Head Start Director Carol Droke about the possibility.
Boling said to attract a day care, Droke told her, they would have to get a large business in the area to advertise among their employees. Boling said she was told most people in the area use home care or relative care providers and are not interested in a day care center.
A third option, Boling said, is to use the school as an alternative education center. Tippecanoe Valley students who have difficulty learning in a traditional school environment or who need to be removed from the regular school environment because of severe discipline problems would be sent to Burket. Homebound instruction also could take place at the alternative education center, she said.
The fourth option Boling offered was to use the elementary school for a cosmetology vocational program. The board asked if other high school classes such as English and Latin could be taught at Burket Elementary to alleviate the overcrowding at the high school.
Tippecanoe Valley High School Principal Charles Mills said transporting students from building to building would take considerable time from the school day and the state will not allow time taken off the daily schedule. He said he knows no program at the high school in which students aren't involved in other classes.
Board member Tom Weaver said, "What would the value of that building be to someone else?" He said if the facilities were sold to some other business or organization, the money earned could be used toward the high school.
Boling said keeping Burket Elementary as a school may be a good option. She said the Kosciusko County planner told her the most growth in the area is in Burket and Mentone.
In another matter, director of technologies Brad Hagg recommended the board no longer seek bids for the tower project. After review, he said, it would be best for the school corporation to do the project on its own.
The school board previously approved a contract where KC Online would give Tippecanoe Valley Schools $11,000 to defray the cost of building four 96-foot towers. In return, KC Online would get a 10-year contract to set up an antenna on one of the towers so that KC Online can provide Internet access to the area. A provision in the contract would allow the board to withdraw from the contract after every 180 days.
The four towers were built to link all the schools via the Internet. But a remonstrator challenged the contract, and the board canceled the contract with KC Online and opened the project up for bids.
Monday, the board unanimously voted to rescind the action and discontinue the bidding process.
On a positive note, Hagg said, he was notified of several grants the corporation will receive for technology. For Hagg's Microsoft class, he said, they will receive a $450 KEYS grant for tool kits and an Einstein grant for $400-$700 for training materials. He also said they received a $25,000 Universal Fund Discounts grant from E-Rate to defer the cost of phone use, and a large grant from the Dekko Foundation is also expected soon.
In other business, the board:
• Approved a petition to appeal to increase its adjusted base levy for $88,282 to operate the new Mentone Elementary School. The petition for the excess levy/emergency financial relief will be sent to the state board of tax commissioners. The $88,282 was already approved as part of the 2000 budget. Beginning in 2001, the state will pay a portion of the adjusted base levy.
• Approved the student discipline rules.
• Reviewed a resolution requiring each individual hired for employment to submit to the school corporation a copy of their limited criminal history that is no more than six months old. The board took no action.
• Boling told the board the unofficial 1999-2000 Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. student enrollment is 2,275. Last year, the official count was 2,236. The official count will be taken Friday.
