The Press-Dispatch
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A-8 Local Wednesday, May 9, 2018 The Press-Dispatch Mower destroyed by fire A Petersburg fireman waits for his hose to charge with water as a lawnmower blazes. Paul Grable, of 2052 N. SR 61 (near the top of Half-Mile Hill), was mowing at about 4:15 p.m. when his mower caught fire. It was fully en- gulfed in flames when fire- men arrived. They were able to extinguish it in a few min- utes. At left, Cory Roach checks Grable's blood pres- sure. that the three open seats have to be appointed by Friends of Otwell Elemen- tary. "They're going to have to be the ones," Fort said. "As a parent sitting on the board, I'm not really sure why Friends of Otwell never decided to fill Mike's chair." "You guys have done a hell of a lot for this school, and you're going to be sad- ly missed," Fort added. "But, as to how we go for- ward from there, that's in the hands of Friends of Ot- well. They've got to fill your chairs." According to an operating agreement approved by the school board last summer, the Otwell Miller Academy board "shall consist of three (3) members of the Friends of Otwell Elementary, Ltd., board," along with two par- ents/guardians of students enrolled and attending the school, two employees of the school, and two students of the school. Both Durcholz and Willis said they would help to make the transition as smooth as possible. "I put 'effective for the 2018/2019 school year or as soon as my position on the School Board can be replaced'," Willis said. "I didn't want to leave every- body hanging." "I think we both under- stand that there will be some overlap," Durcholz added. "In mine, I said by the end of the month, I am done, and I would prefer to be, but that doesn't mean that I am go- ing to leave you hanging. But that doesn't mean that Friends of Otwell gets to sit on it for two more months, either." Otwell Miller Academy di- rector Rick Fears thanked both Durcholz and Willis for their service. "I know it's been stressful at times, but it's been an ad- venture as well, and I know you're better people for it," Fears said. "So we appreci- ate all you've done, and wish you the best in the future. We hate to lose you." During a portion of the meeting to discuss financial issues, Fears advised the school board that even if Ot- well Miller Academy reach- es an enrollment of 80 stu- dents for the 2018 -19 school year – the school is currently receiving basic grant money from the state based on an average daily membership of 57 that was set last Sep- tember – it would still need to consider ways to cut ex- penses. "If enrollment does hit our number that we're hoping it does next year, that will add additional ADM money to the budget, and that will help the shortfall some," Fears said. "It's not going to cure the shortfall, but it will help some, and move us to- ward more solvency here at the school." "We're pretty bare bones to begin with; there's not a lot of fluff in our budget to take away," Fears added. "But there are a few things that could probably be done to help next year." One way that the school could cut expenses, Fears noted, would be to charge students a textbook rent- al fee. "A lot of the textbooks anymore are consumables, so you have to replace those because the students use them to write in every day and do their work," Fears said. "But there's some that aren't, and we would look at used textbooks from this point forth, versus getting only new ones, and those are very expensive." "That would be my rec- ommendation to the board, is that, next year, you charge textbook rental, and we'll go with used textbooks when we can," Fears added. "That would be one thing you could do to probably save some money." According to Fears, an- other expense that the school board might want to take a look at is employee health insurance. "It adds up; all these things add up," Fears said. "I'm not saying take away in- surance at all. I'm just say- ing, look at your carrier now and see what might be out there and then how you do the process as well." Another option to consid- er, Fears said, was to look in- to the possibility of obtain- ing a tank to store diesel fuel for the school's buses. "I had no idea it was $250, or in that neighborhood, to fill up a school bus ... at $ 3 a gallon," Fears said. "I think we can take that and save money by having our own tank." "There is a minimum that you have to use to have your own tank, but I've do- ne some rough figuring and I think we can meet the min- imum as far as the number of gallons per month that you'd have to use," Fears added. "The problem would be, where are you going to put the tank? " Fears also noted that teachers' contracts for the 2017-18 school year would be expiring soon. "That's something each year you have to look at and determine as far as bene- fits and salary and that type of thing," Fears said. "If we grow, I don't see how you could even think about hav- ing money by a reduction in personnel, because, if we get larger, then, obviously, we'll need the people that we have now. So that's something that's probably not even on the agenda." Fears informed the school board that the Indiana De- partment of Education had approved Otwell Miller Academy's application to hold two eLearning days – on Saturday, May 12, and Saturday, May 19 – to make up two of the days the school was closed because of in- clement weather. "So our last school day is officially May 25 now," Fears said. "I think the semester was originally supposed to end on the 23rd, so we'll on- ly be a couple of days away from that. Let's hope next winter's not quite as bad." Fears also updated the school board about on-go- ing plans to start up a school lunch program at OMA at the beginning of the 2018 - 19 school year. "I'm not the one handling that," Fears said. "I'm in- volved, but the Friends of Ot- well are trying to get this go- ing. Progress is being made. You've heard that all year, but it is being made." Fears added that he ex- pected that the school board will be asked to take action in June on advertising for bids for milk, juice and a ser- vice vendor. "The plans are still to have the food brought in, not made, obviously, with- out a cafeteria," Fears said. "I know the Friends are working on that. So, for '18 - '19, there will definitely be a lunch program at OMA, be- ginning in the fall." In addition, Fears – who will be stepping down as the school's director at the end of the 2017-18 school year – told the school board that the search for his replace- ment as director was on-go- ing. "We're going to hold some interviews, hopefully, at least one or two next week, and, hopefully, before long, we're going to be bringing some names to the board," Fears said. "That needs to be done, and we're mov- ing as quickly as we can on that." ACADEMY Continued from page 1 217 Main Street, Downtown Vincennes Monday–Saturday 9:30am-5pm 812-882-7603 Your gift for Mom or Graduate can be personalized with free engraving at Jewelcraft Jewelers! Find them here! Genuine Wabash Pearl Creations! A one-of-a-kind gift for a one-of-a-kind mother! A Great Gi for Mom! 24K Rose. One she will cherish forever! Why not personalize your gift? Want to share your news with others? The Press-Dispatch can help deliver it to Pike and the surrounding counties. NEWS! 812-354-8500