Valley School Board Tables Vacation, Selling Of Property
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
MENTONE – East of Mentone Elementary School, past a tree line, is about six acres of land Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. owns that most people were unaware of. Neighbors to the south of that property want Valley to vacate less than an acre of it and sell it to them so they can “square off” their property. During the school board meeting Monday night, the board tabled the vacation and sale of the piece of property for further discussion. Before tabling the matter, board member Mark Wise suggested they walk out to the property and discuss it. He was concerned that selling a piece of that property, which includes a path to it from the road, would hinder Valley’s future use of it. Some day, Wise suggested, Valley may want a soccer field or other use on the 5.83 acres. The corporation bought the property years ago for Building Trades homes, but it was never used. The neighbors to the south mow a portion of it, and have gardens and a volleyball net on the piece of the property they want to buy. School board candidate Todd Hoffman asked if it was a separate deeded parcel. If it is, he said he didn’t know if Valley could landlock it by selling off the easement. Superintendent Brett Boggs said their attorney has not indicated any problems with selling the property. Wise said he didn’t see a need to sell it. “If we’re going to sell it, they’re going to pay dearly,” he said. Currently, the property owners are getting use of it, he said. Bryan Murphy, board president, said the property is currently used to grow grass hay. There is access to the property from the playground, but board members did not want a possible future drive to be next to the playground. Also during the meeting, Boggs reported that as of Aug. 22, the school corporation had an enrollment of 1,971 students. The official counts will be Sept. 12 and Feb. 2. The enrollment of 1,971 is higher than the Feb. 3 enrollment of 1,959, but lower than the Sept. 13 enrollment of 1,986 students. Kindergarten was down to 132 students Aug. 22, a decrease of 17 compared to 149 students Sept. 13 and Feb. 3. “We have a very small kindergarten this year,” Boggs said. Daycares in the school corporation would help with the kindergarten rate, Boggs said, because parents take their children to daycares closer to where they work. The enrollment at the high school is up as of Aug. 22. It is 662 students, compared to 643 on Feb. 3 and 655 Sept. 13. At Akron Elementary, enrollment was reported at 390 Aug. 22, compared to 387 Feb. 3 and 391 on Sept. 13. Mentone’s enrollment was 462 Aug. 22, compared to 468 Feb. 3 and 476 Sept. 13. The middle school had an enrollment of 457, which is lower than the 460 Feb. 3 and 464 Sept. 13. Boggs also reported on the non-resident student transfers. Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. welcomes students that reside outside the district’s boundaries to attend any of its schools without paying transfer tuition, he said. Transfer students are required to complete an application that is evaluated and acted upon by the school’s principal and the superintendent. As of Friday, Boggs said 93 non-resident transfer students have been approved for the 2014-15 school year. Transfers enrolled at TVSC from area school districts include: 37 from Warsaw Community Schools; 25, Rochester; 14, Triton; five, Manchester; five, North Miami; two, Whitko; two, MSD Wabash; and one each from Peru Community Schools, Oak Hill United Schools and Wawasee Community Schools. Boggs said he requested similar information from those school corporations to see how many Valley students transferred out to them. He said so far it looks like an even trade as they had about the same number of Valley students transfer to them as they had transfer to Valley. On the transfer application, Valley requests the parent explain why they want their student to attend TVSC. The reasons include quality education, small schools, a family atmosphere and opportunities for student involvement. A number of these people moved to a neighboring school district but wanted to keep their kid at Valley, Boggs said. In other business, the board: • Heard TVSC was awarded a Indiana Secured School Safety Grant for $20,882.34. Combined with matching funds from Valley’s Capital Projects Fund, this year’s focus will be on keeping track of students as they enter and exit the transportation system. Additionally, Valley plans to purchase barriers for the main entry points at the high school and middle school. • Heard Valley’s Kosciusko REMC tracking charge will increase by $4,372 based on a year’s history of electricity usage. • Heard about the Rachel’s Challenge program that came to each Tippecanoe Valley school and the community Sept. 2 to 4. One hundred students and staff also participated in the “Friends of Rachel” training to learn ways to keep the spirit of kindness and compassion active throughout the year. Almost $11,000 was raised through donations by students, staff, parents and the community to bring the program to Valley. Rachel’s Challenge is based on the life and writings of Rachel Joy Scott, who was a student at Columbine High School. • Heard the Heritage Language Class is being offered at the high school for students who are a part of the English language learners program. The class was recommended by the Indiana Department of Education. Students will focus on academic Spanish through the writing, reading, speaking and listening processes. • Recognized Tippecanoe Valley Middle School Principal Scott Backus and Assistant Principal Cory Cooper for setting an all-time high by raising $7,026 for the United Way of Kosciusko County. • Recognized bus driver Duane Hackworth as the recipient of the TVSC Pillar Award for Outstanding Support Staff. • Heard the TVHS Pink Out home football game will be Oct. 3. Everyone is encouraged to wear pink to show their support for the fight against breast cancer. T-shirts will be sold for $12. • Heard upcoming meetings will be Sept. 22, budget public hearing, administration office, 7 p.m.; Oct. 13, regular meeting and budget adoption, Mentone Elementary, 6:30 p.m.; and Nov. 10, regular meeting, Mentone Elementary, 6:30 p.m.
