The Old Petersburg Gym and the corporations finances, as well as ISTEP were all discussed at Monday’s meeting
The Pike County School Board reorganized for the new year as they met last night in their new corporation headquarters on South 12th in Petersburg.
The board moved from the Old Petersburg Gym which has been closed as a cost cutting measure for the corporation. School Superintendent Suzanne Blake said the some community organizations are looking at the building as a possible community center. She says someone has to take the lead soon and make a commitment. If no one steps up with a plan, the building will be put for sale with a realtor next month.
In financial matters, Blake told the board that the corporation finished the year over 1.4 million dollars in the red in the general fund. There was just about that amount in the rainy day fund which pulled the school system through to the end of the year. The Rainy Day Fund is now depleted. Blake told the board that given the corporation finished 1.4 in the hole this year and over 2.3 million at the same time last year, that some progress is being made on the financial front.
Concerning ISTEP, Blake updated the board on what’s happening in the legislature with the test which is to be given again in 60 days. She says teachers till don’t know what will be on this year’s test but that they have been working on and tailoring the curriculum based on the last set of ISTEP scores before the latest debacle. She says this year’s test will likely be as invalid as the previous one.
Also last night, the board organized for the new year keeping the same officers, David Waltz as President, Chris McKinney as Vice President and Nathan Harker as Treasurer. The board also voted to keep their compensation at $2000 per year. Superintendent Blake wanted to point out that the resolution for the pay does not include any insurance as no board member is on the school’s insurance plan.