CCSC Board votes to fund JAG program at CHS for 2025-26

The Cloverdale Community School Corporation (CCSC) Board of School Trustees, working in the absence of board member Emily Haltom, met July 14 to approve routine matters and to address several items under the new business portion of the meeting.

Under routine matters, the board voted 4-0-2 to approve meeting minutes for executive and regular sessions held June 9. Katrina Lewis and Mike Rightmyer II both abstained from the vote due to being absent from the June 9 meeting.

Acting on a motion from Rightmyer, seconded by Lewis, the board voted 6-0 to approve the latest claims and financial reports, which CCSC Superintendent Greg Linton advised totaled $3,313,472.32 since the board's previous meeting.

Addressing new business, the board held a hearing for additional appropriations, where superintendent Linton noted the corporation's agreement with Brain Tree Academy continues to generate more revenue and expenditures that can be anticipated during the budget approval process each year.

"This causes the corporation to use more education fund appropriation than was approved during the September 2024 budget approval process," he explained. "Therefore, I am requesting the board to approve an additional appropriation for the education fund in the amount of $4,300,000, and $2,800,000 in the operation fund. The additional cash is in both funds as cash balance; however, I need to be given the authority to use the cash through the remainder of the calendar year to cover additional expenditures."

Following the public hearing, the board cast separate 6-0 votes to approve the additional appropriation resolutions as well as a resolution to transfer the amounts from the corporation's education fund to its operation fund.

"During the 2025 budget process the board approved this exact same resolution," Linton explained. "The State Board of Accounts allows a school corporation to transfer up to 15 percent of the incoming revenue that is received in the education fund. At the time that we put the 2025 budget together, that was 2.7 million dollars. Due to the increased revenue that we have through a variety of funding streams, our new 15 percent total would be 3.6 million dollars."

Next, the board voted unanimously to approve the purchase of 203 Brown Avenue, north of Cloverdale High School (CHS), for $15,000. The property will be utilized to create additional parking.

Acting on a recommendation from CCSC Curriculum Director Cathy Ames, the board voted 6-0 to permit CCSC to apply a School Profile Amendment with the Indiana Department of Education to officially add a new virtual high school: Clover Distance Learning Academy High School.

"This addition is being requested due to the continued growth of our virtual education program," Ames noted. "The increasing demand for flexible, remote learning options among our student population necessitates the creation of a dedicated virtual high school to better serve our students and their families."

Linton agreed, noting the Clover Distance Learning Academy High School will enable the corporation to continue its successful partnership with Braintree Academy, which has been instrumental in supporting the delivery and development of high-quality virtual instruction.

Requests to approve coordinator employment agreements and school bus driver agreements also both received unanimous board approval.

Next, the board voted 6-0 in favor of funding the Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG) position at CHS for the 2025-2026 school year.

"The Indiana JAG program was cut from the state budget for the 2025-2026 school year," Linton said. "I recently met with Kim Snodgrass, Indiana JAG director, to discuss the possibility of CCSC financially supporting our JAG program for the 2025-2026 school year, as the national JAG organization lobbies Indiana to include funding for the program for the 2026-2027 school year. She assured me that there would still be some state activities for students, and there would be no changes made at the national level. Mr. (Karl) Turk currently teaches four Spanish classes each day at CHS and completes JAG responsibilities the rest of the day. I am requesting the board put Mr. Turk on a CCSC teacher contract for the 2025-26 school year to allow him to maintain his current responsibilities for JAG and Spanish. The contract will represent an additional cost of $51,107 to the budget, which we can afford. The contract would be for one year to see what happens at the state level."

Other items receiving board approval included requests to approve the creation of a CHS Agriculture Workplace Specialist position; changing the Cloverdale Elementary School (CES) student services coordinator position to full-time; support staff handbook changes; Cloverdale Middle School (CMS) instructional assistant pay related to the Back to School Bash; renewal of current paid coaching staff; a $30,000 grant benefitting the preschool program awarded through the Putnam County Community Foundation; a $34,559.88 grant awarded to Knoy from the Putnam County Community Foundation; and a $500 grant, also from the Putnam County Community Foundation, to benefit the Kids Make a Change program at CES.

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

Professional leaves

Aug. 12 – Ethan Linton, Expulsion Examiner Workshop, Area 30, Greencastle.
Aug. 14 – Tori Maldonado, Cathy Smith, Jessica Fidler and Autumn Lewellen, Using AI and Checkpoint Report Data to Prepare Students on iLearn, Area 30, Greencastle.
Sept. 4 – Nicole Campbell, Navigating 504 Workshop, Area 30, Greencastle.
Sept. 25 – Chelsey Meluch, Preventing/Eliminating Chronic Disruptive Behavior, Area 30, Greencastle.

Field trip

Third Friday of each month – CMS PIE, 6:30 to 8 a.m., Putnam County Fairgrounds.

Facility use

Two days each week, softball field, softball practice.
June 20 – CHS gymnasium and hallways, volleyball camp.
July 14 – CHS auxiliary gymnasium, travel softball practice, agility, conditioning.
Aug. 29 – CMS gymnasium, CMS sixth-grade dance.
Sept. 26 – CMS gymnasium, CMS eighth-grade fundraiser.
Oct. 31 – CMS gymnasium, dance.

Additional personnel matters receiving unanimous board approval included:

Resignations

Shanon McGuire – CES custodian
Tyce Jackson – CMS math teacher/athletic director
Dani Cummings – CES instructional assistant

Employment

Anna Tallent – CES special education (SPED) teacher
Autumn Lewellen – CMS math teacher/athletic director
Kiersten Wade – CES instructional assistant
Sara Varnes – CES instructional assistant
Alethea Mann – CES/CMS health aide
Melissa Kline – CMS instructional assistant
Tyce Jackson – CES special education (SPED) instructional assistant
Silas Plasters – CES custodian
Debra Meek – bus driver
Tamera Moy – CMS Café assistant head cook
Drew Boyette – CHS Ag Workplace Specialist

Coaching resignations

Nick Winders – football coach
Josh Stewart – baseball coach

Coaching Hires

Kade Schroer – CHS assistant football coach
Chelsey Adams – CMS eighth-grade girls' volleyball coach
Kiersten Wade – CMS eighth-grade girls' basketball coach
Brandon Moon – CMS eighth-grade boys' basketball coach
Lori Pieper – CMS seventh-grade girls' volleyball coach
Michael Glassburn – CHS junior varsity girls' basketball coach
Autumn Lewellen – CHS varsity girls' volleyball head coach
Lori Halloran – CHS junior varsity girls' volleyball coach
Jason Frye – CHS freshman football coach

Coaching volunteers

Autumn Lewellen – CHS volleyball/girls' basketball assistant coach
Kristin Kukman – CHS volleyball/girls' basketball assistant coach
Tori Combs – CHS girls' volleyball assistant coach
Brooke Hart – CHS girls' volleyball assistant coach
Darin Campbell – CHS girls' volleyball assistant coach
Paige Glassburn – CHS girls' basketball assistant coach
Emily Mann – CHS girls' basketball assistant coach
Kiersten Wade – CHS girls' basketball assistant coach
Kassie Wade – CHS girls' basketball assistant coach
Veronica Carter – CHS girls' basketball assistant coach
Michael Nees – CHS girls' basketball assistant coach
Joey Hart – CHS boys' basketball volunteer assistant coach
Chase Haltom – CHS boys' basketball volunteer assistant coach
Brandon Moon – CHS boys' basketball volunteer assistant coach
Jalen Moore – CHS boys' basketball volunteer assistant coach
Patrick Rady – CHS boys' basketball volunteer assistant coach
Daniel Varnes – CHS boys' basketball volunteer assistant coach
Noah Betz – CHS boys' basketball volunteer assistant coach
Eli Kelley – CHS boys' basketball volunteer assistant coach
Nolan Kelley – CHS boys' basketball volunteer assistant coach
Josh Michael – CHS boys' basketball volunteer assistant coach
JD Hoover – CHS boys' basketball volunteer assistant coach
Mike Parks – CHS football volunteer assistant coach
Tom Winders – CHS football volunteer assistant coach
Michael Nees – CHS football volunteer assistant coach
Billy Boyette – CHS football volunteer assistant coach
Drew Boyette – CHS football volunteer assistant coach
McGuire Lee – CHS football volunteer assistant coach
Debbie Steffy – CHS volunteer assistant girls' golf coach

The Cloverdale Community School Board will meet again on Monday, Aug. 11 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.