Spring brings changes to Ironwood Area Schools

IRONWOOD - The Ironwood Area Schools Board of Education held a busy meeting Monday night, covering multiple topics.

The board approved the retirements of faculty members 1st Sgt. Tim Rang, Camille Lupino, Barb Aspinwall and Bonnie Sanders, and lifted the pink slips from 10 teachers and three community school instructors in the district.

Master Sgt. William E. Murphy was hired as the Junior ROTC instructor to replace the retiring Rang and Lt. Col. Dave Manki. Another JROTC instructor will be hired when a candidate is found.

The Gogebic Ontonagon Intermediate School District presented its annual budget for board approval. The GOISD proposed budget includes $1,280,879 in revenue and $1,058,207 in expenditures, and the board supported it.

School resource officer

Andrew DiGiorgio, director of the Ironwood Public Safety Department, came to the board to see if it would support a grant effort to have a school resource officer in the schools.

The grant requires IPSD to hire a new, full-time officer and the grant would pay 75 percent of the approved entry-level salary and fringe benefits over a three-year period.

Despite the hiring of a new officer, IPSD would have Adam Clemens, a veteran officer of IPSD, be in the schools.

Seventy-five percent of Clemens time would be spent with the school district during school functions and activities, and other 25 percent would be spent with IPSD during the weekend.

Clemens will spend a minimum of 1,260 hours with the district, during school hours, after school activities and sporting events.

Superintendent Tim Kolesar recommended the board support the department's grant effort, saying it allows IPSD to "build positive relations" with the students instead of only "dishing out bad things."

The board approved a motion to support the grant efforts.

"We are not guaranteed to get this, but your support helps our chances," DiGiorgio said.

Summer school

Elementary principal Nick Steinmetz presented some proposed changes to the 2014 summer school program to help avoid the "summer slide."

In previous years, the program took place at the beginning of the summer for four weeks. However, students had a two month break, causing some students to experience the "summer slide," on what they had learned during the program.

To help alleviate that, Steinmetz proposed having the program start the second week in July and ending the second week in August. The move gives students a break between the end of school year and the start of the program, and the end of the program before the start of the next school year.

According to Kolesar, the program later in the summer would allow for students to get the appropriate interventions closer to the start of the school year.

Having the program start later also allows for the district to move everything from Sleight School to Luther L. Wright School in time.

Steinmetz said the elementary teachers are also creating a "summer challenge" website to keep students active with education throughout the summer break.

The website will be broken down by grade levels, and will include quizzes, possible science experiments to do at home and other activities for students. The website will also include a points system, allowing for students to receive incentives for reading, doing quizzes online and performing the activities.

"Every kindergarten through sixth grade student will have access to this site," Steinmetz said. "The site is also set to compliment the summer school program, which is only four weeks long."

Other business

The board approved a non-deductible insurance plan for students through Student Assurance Services, Inc.

The cost for the insurance is $10,550 for the 2014-2015 school year and covers all sports and extra curricular activities through the district.

A motion was approved to give $300 from the activities fund to volunteer parents putting together an eighth grade banquet for students this year.

Steinmetz updated the board on a possible schedule change for the 4-year-old Great Start Readiness Program. Last year the program consisted of two, half-day sessions with 16 students in each session.

This year, enrollment numbers are down and Steinmetz proposed a full day session with 16 students and one half day session with eight students. The parents would choose what session they would like for their students.

The full day would consist of one teacher and an aide, while the half-day session would be one teacher without an aide.

No action was taken by the board on Steinmetz's proposal.