CCSC Board holds lease hearing, hires CES assistant principal

The Cloverdale Community School Corporation (CCSC) Board of School Trustees, working in the absence of board member Mike Rightmyer II, met in regular session on April 14th to approve routine matters, to recognize student and staff members of the month and to address several items under the new business portion of the meeting.

Under routine matters, the board voted 5-0-1, with Katrina Lewis abstaining from the vote due to a previous meeting absence, to approve meeting minutes for executive and regular sessions held March 10.

Acting on a motion from board member Melissa Carrell, seconded by Joe Mann, the board voted 6-0 to approve the latest claims and financial reports, which CCSC Superintendent Greg Linton advised totaled $2,742,151.53 since the board's previous meeting.

Next, the board recognized the corporation's Student of the Month honorees for April, which included Cloverdale Elementary School (CES) first-grader Calum Collins, Cloverdale Middle School (CMS) student Mason Butler and Cloverdale High School (CHS) sophomore Kadence Dorsett.

"Keep seeking and reaching for your dreams," board president Vivian Whitaker said at the conclusion of the presentations, addressing the Student of the Month recipients. "Thank you for what you do both in and out of the classroom. And thank you, parents and family members, for instilling in these students the drive to do good things."

James Wade, CCSC Athletic Director and CHS math teacher, was recognized as the latest Staff Member of the Month. Wade's professional career spans 25 years, including 24 at CCSC.

"As a former student and player, nobody worked harder in the classroom or as an athlete at Cloverdale than he did, and that has carried over into his role at Cloverdale High School," commented CHS Principal Sonny Stoltz. "Most of us work five days a week, but Mr. Wade works seven days a week. He runs most of our athletic activities, as well as teaching four math periods at the high school, and he does a great job. All of us at CHS are proud of our athletic director/math teacher."

Next, the board moved on to new business, conducting a hearing on the lease related to a planned renovation project and needed improvements to facilities throughout the school corporation, including the construction of a training facility, site and athletic improvements throughout the school corporation and the purchase of equipment, real estate and technology. CCSC plans to lease all or a portion of the project from the Cloverdale High School Building Corporation.

Following the brief hearing, the board cast separate 6-0 votes to adopt an additional appropriation resolution, as well as a resolution authorizing the execution of the lease.

Acting on a motion from Donna Fidler, seconded by Mann, the board voted unanimously to adopt a resolution assigning construction bids to the building corporation once received.

In addition, the board voted 6-0 to adopt a resolution approving a supplement to the master disclosure undertaking.

Lastly, the board acted on a motion from Lewis, seconded by Emily Haltom, to approve the hiring of CORE Construction to serve as the construction manager for the 2025 project.

CORE provides building services in 13 markets, including the K-12, higher education, civic, public safety, healthcare and senior living sectors. CORE has offices across the country, including in Indianapolis and Schererville, Indiana.

The board later cast separate 6-0 votes to approve the CMS Prevention, Intervention and Education (PIE) program, as well as three donations to CHS.

In addition, the board unanimously approved the following professional leave, field trip, and facility use requests:

Professional Leaves
March 14 – Karl Turk, Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG), Ivy Tech, Indianapolis.
April 2 – Karl Turk, JAG, Indiana University, Bloomington.
April 29 – Megan Puckett, Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) refresher course, ONT.
May 15 – Jaralee Branigan, Jessica Fidler and Jenna Sullivan, fifth grade trip, Historic Tivoli Theatre, Spencer.

Field Trips
March 14 – JAG, Ivy Tech, Indianapolis
March 20 – animal science class, Beutler Meat Processing, Lafayette.
April 2 – JAG, Indiana University, Bloomington
May 1 – CHS Spanish III, Indianapolis Zoo.
May 3 – CMS Academic Super Bowl Team, Sarah Scott Middle School, Terre Haute.
May 7 – digital photography class, Indianapolis Zoo.
May 15 – CES fifth grade i-Ready Incentive, Historic Tivoli Theatre, Spencer.
May 16 – Art Honors Club, Cincinnati, Ohio.
May 19 – High Ability, Lafayette.

Facility Use
April 2-3 – Cloverdale Community Youth League (CCYL), softball coaches scheduling meeting, CMS library.
April 25 – Pre-K field trip, practice field and part of CMS parking lot.
April 25-summer, Wednesdays and Fridays – workout sessions for personal improvement, CHS Tucker Court.
May 2 – CMS choir program, dance, CMS gymnasium.
May 3 – CHS junior class 2026, promenade, CHS gymnasium.
May 20 – CHS PTO, track and field day, practice field and part of CMS parking lot.
June 7 – Jalen Moore Basketball Camp, CHS Tucker Court, auxiliary gymnasium, and café.
June 7-8, dance workshop, photos, rehearsal and dance recital, CHS cafetorium.

Additional personnel matters receiving unanimous board approval included:

Employment
Kelley Tyler – Knoy teacher, 2025-2025 school year.
Alaina Abegg – CHS math teacher.
Shelby Roberts – CES computer lab assistant.
Megan Puckett – CES assistant principal.
Diane Ladd – CES fourth grade substitute, 2025-2026 school year.
Daphne Rutenberg - full-time bus driver.

FMLA
Stefanie Shepherd – CMS custodian.
Michaela Marcum – CES fourth grade teacher, 2025-2026 school year.

Coaching Resignation
Debbie Steffy – CMS seventh/eighth grade track coach.

Coaching Hire
Aleksey Stewart – CMS seventh/eighth grade track coach.
Brent Newland – CMS drama assistant.

CCSC Superintendent Linton closed out the evening's meeting by commenting on the hiring of Megan Puckett, a 16-year veteran educator at CCSC, to serve as CES assistant principal.

"I'm very proud of the growth we've seen at the elementary over the last few years with our preschool program," Linton said. "Anyone associated with Ms. Puckett knows the quality of work she does in her third-grade classroom, as well as in her role as the Knoy director. We really look forward to the leadership that she'll bring to CES in her new role and the support she'll give to [CES Principal] Ms. [Mary] Elkins. I think it will be a great team, and I look forward to seeing continued growth and development at CES."

The Cloverdale Community School Board will meet again on Monday, May 12 beginning at 7 p.m. in the Arthur L. Johnson Administration Building, 310 E. Logan St., Cloverdale. Members of the board include Vivian Whitaker, Katrina Lewis, Donna Fidler, Melissa Carrell, Emily Haltom, Joe Mann and Mike Rightmyer II.