The Press-Dispatch
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A-4 Wednesday, December 11, 2013 Briefs NARFE meeting slated for Dec. 11 The National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) Patoka Valley Chapter #1847 will meet at noon on Wednesday, December 11, at the Schnitzelbank Restaurant in Jasper. Bring a wrapped gift if you would like to participate in the gift exchange. All active and retired federal employees and/ or their spouses are encouraged to attend. Call Rita at 604-5089 for more information. Pike-Gibson retired teachers meeting Thursday, Dec. 12 The Pike and Gibson retired teachers will meet Thursday, Dec. 12, at noon at the Village Inn for their annual Christmas dinner. The meal will begin at 11:30 a.m. CST, 12:30 p.m. EST. The handbell choir from Fort Branch Middle School, under the direction of Pike Central graduate Derek Barton, will provide a Christmas musical program. Luncheon cancelled in December The Press-Dispatch Snow days to be made up during second semester By Ed Cahill Winter doesn't officially begin until Saturday, Dec. 21, but the Pike County School Corporation has already called off classes three days due to snow through Tuesday, Dec. 10. While the school corporation's students, as well as many of its employees, may have welcomed the time off, their joy might well have been tempered by the knowledge that the missed days will ultimately have to be made up. During the school board's regular monthly meeting on Monday, Dec. 9, Pike County Schools Superintendent Suzanne Blake announced that school will be in session on Monday, Jan. 20, Friday, March 21, and Friday, April 4, to make up for the three days missed on Friday, Dec. 6, Monday, Dec. 9, and Tuesday, Dec. 10. "Those were the snow days as they appear in the second semester as we start," Blake said. "I'm hoping we can get back in school on Wednesday." Blake added that, due to "icy packed conditions" on many of the county's roads, it was "very likely" that the start of school on Wednesday, Dec. 11, would be delayed two hours "if we keep our fingers crossed." "And I have heard forecasts of an inch to two inches tonight," Blake said. The school corporation's 2013-14 calendar includes two additional snow days on Thursday, May 22, and Fri- day, May 23, to be used "as necessary." In other business during Monday night's meeting, the school board voted unanimously, without comment or discussion, to approve the school corporation's 2014-15 calendar. As recommended by a committee of teachers, administrators and Pike County School Corporation Board of School Trustees representative Chris Satterfield, the first day of school for teachers will be Thursday, Aug. 7, with students reporting for classes on Friday, Aug. 8. The first semester will end on Friday, Dec. 19. Following a two-week Christmas break, classes will resume on Monday, Jan. 5, 2015. The school year will end on May 22, 2015, which Blake noted is the Friday before Memorial Day. Parent-teacher conferences are scheduled for Oct. 16, which is the Thursday following the end of the first grading period. "One change from the last few years is that fall break would return to a Thursday, Friday combination instead of the Friday, Monday that it's been the past few years," Blake said. "The fall break would be on Oct. 23rd and 24th. "I also want to thank everyone who served on the committee: the administrators and teachers, and Chris," Blake said. "I appreciate the time they put in to compile that." Blake reported to the board that the corporation's general fund is currently "in the negative," with a balance of minus $2,236,442. "That's allowing for some of the transfers that we're going to be approving, expenses that needed to be met to finish out the year," Blake said. Later in the meeting, the school board approved, without comment or discussion, the transfer of $1.7 million from the transportation operating fund and $1 million from the capital projects fund to the general fund as "inter-fund loans." The transportation operating fund, Blake noted, had a balance of $1,864,018, while the capital projects fund had a balance of $1,322,079. The total of $2.7 million in inter-fund loans, Blake noted, is $200,000 less than the school corporation needed to transfer last year. The school board also approved, without comment or discussion, a resolution approving additional appropriations out of the general fund of $1.4 million for instruction and $1.5 million for support and instructional services – a total of $2.9 million. "Once the resolution is approved, we'll submit the documentation to DLGF for approval," Blake said. In addition, the school board, without comment or discussion, accepted the low bid for $3.7 million in tax anticipation warrants submitted by German American Bank, which offered an interest rate of 1.94 percent. Home Building Savings & Loan, the only other bidder, offered an interest rate of 2.00 percent. The school board had requested tax anticipation warrant loans of $1.9 million on the transportation operating fund, $1.7 million on the capital projects fund, and $100,000 on the bus replacement fund. The school board, without comment or discussion, also voted to discontinue offering a $500 annual stipend to employees who do not participate in the corporation's health insurance plan. According to the resolution, employees who currently qualify for the stipend will receive a pro-rated amount of $250 for the first half of the 2013-14 school year. According to Blake, the change was necessary due to "various changes in health care legislation." Pike County Teachers Association president Angie Baker, accompanied by PCTA vice-president Randy Meece, appeared before the board and read a prepared statement asking its action at its November meeting to renew the contracts of administrators for the 2014-15 school year. "From April through August, PCTA met in good faith and negotiated the 2013-14 collective bargaining agreement," Baker read. "This document specifically addressed the financial defi- cits of the school district by agreeing to a three percent reduction in teachers' salaries. It was at these discussions that the school board and the teachers verbally agreed that all employees should share equally in the burden created by the financial crisis." "On Nov. 11, the school board failed to live up to their end of the bargain and unanimously voted to extend the administrators' contracts for the 2014-15 school year without a pay cut," Baker continued. "The school board would like the community to believe the administrators shouldered their portion of the cut with out-of-pocket increases in health insurance. The reality is the administration has just now started to pay the same amount that the other school employees have paid for years." Noting that the school board had an opportunity "to do the right thing" during its December meeting, Baker asked that it "vote to share the burden equitably." Baker's statement elicited no comments from or discussion among the school boards five members during the meeting. Tom Behme appeared for the third straight month to request that the school board remove one of its three appointees to the Pike County Public Library Board, Phil Elkins. Elkins, who serves as the library board's chairman, is Continued on page 9 There will be no community luncheon in December at Good Shepherd Church in Oakland City. The next luncheon will be January 21, 2014. Bell ringing new schedule Due to the bad weather bell ringing for the Salvation Army was cancelled for this past Friday and Saturday. The stores, Dollar General and Shopko, have allowed them to ring on the next two Thursdays, as well as the usual Fridays and Saturdays. Here are open times at Shopko. Call 3548069 if you can help. Thursday, Dec. 12, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, 9 a.m. to 12 noon, 2 to 3 p.m., 5 to 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, 9 a.m. to 12 noon, 1 to 2 p.m., 4 to 8 p.m. Call John Burns at 354-8656 for open times at Dollar General. DAV Christmas dinner The Annual Christmas dinner of the Dubois County Disabled American Veterans Chapter #77 and Auxiliary Unit #77 will be Thursday, Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m. The dinner will be at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #673 in Jasper. Cost of the dinner is $3 for members and paid membership and $5 for guests. Auxiliary members are asked to bring a dessert. Members may bring donations of sweatshirts and sweatpants in sizes L to XXL and toiletries to be distributed to veterans in need. Volunteer van drivers who transport local veterans to Veterans Hospitals and Veterans OutPatient Clinics are invited. They may also bring a guest. Contact Patti Goepfrich at 482-4821 if there are any questions. Mammogram screenings postponed until January The Mammogram screenings scheduled by St. Mary's Breast Center at The Winslow Community Center on Thursday, Dec. 12, have been postponed and will be rescheduled at the end of January. TRI-CAP Justin Collins/Petersburg office/812-354-8721/justin@tri-cap.net Tammy Dewitt/Boonville office/812-897-0364/tammyd@tri-cap.net www.tri-cap.net Find us on Facebook