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Schools to consider options for fire protection

"I have become a little concerned," says Kevin Patrick, Huntington County Community School Corporation Board of Trustees president.

"There is a, for lack of a better word, a feud going on between the township and the city (of Huntington)," he noted during the Monday, Jan. 13 meeting of the HCCSC board of trustees.

"Apparently the township has voted to no longer support the city of Huntington in paying for fire and emergency services within the township," he continues. "Because the township board has not communicated their thoughts and processes to this board or to our administration we are sent here to wonder what the future holds."

Patrick explained that HCCSC has "$75 million worth of buildings that are housed in Huntington Township plus over 2,600 students and staff."

Patrick says he is left to speculate that volunteer fire departments will be asked to respond to emergency situations at those locations, and he says he is not comfortable with waiting for a VFD to arrive, when "we have a facility that is less than a mile away that could render services in a couple minutes.

"If there is a medical emergency (at a building within Huntington Township), i.e., a student choking on food or a staff member who has a heart condition, my understanding as of 90 days from Jan. 10, 2014, is that the city of Huntington won't respond to those situations because we are in Huntington Township," says Patrick.

Superintendent Tracey Shafer added, "Flint Springs, Lincoln, Horace Mann, Crestview, Riverview and the transportation hub are all in Huntington Township... In 90 days or less, they will no longer be serviced by the city of Huntington."

"The volunteer fire departments are all located in excess of five miles away from our buildings," says Shafer, "We are taking a step back in the type of coverage that we have had, concerning time and distance."

"We cannot sit by and let 2,600 of our students and staff not have the closest available services in the event that there is an emergency," said Patrick.

The board agreed to hold a special executive session, inviting legal counsel, to discuss the options to retain current fire and emergency services coverage for Huntington Township.

Also during Monday's meeting, new offiicers were named for 2014, with Patrick, District 2, retained as president of the board.

Scott Hoffman, District 1, was elected vice president, and Rex Baxter, District 7, will serve as secretary.

Edette Eckert, corporation treasurer, will also serve as treasurer for the board of trustees. Board members' compensation will remain the same as previous years, at $1,800 annually and $100 paid per special meeting.

Tom King, District 5, was reelected as legislative liaison member, meaning he is responsible for communicating with government during the legislative session of the General Assembly.

Shafer, recommended Jon Bennett, assistant superintendent for business and classified staff, Eckert and himself to serve on the bid opening committee. His recommendation was unanimously approved.

Shafer was also reelected as a community representative for the common wage committee, which only meets if it is necessary to do so throughout the year.

Also, Shafer presented the corporation's policy on allowing home-schooled students or students who attend non-accredited schools to participate in the corporation's co-curricular or extra-curricular activities.

Currently, these students are not allowed to participate in such activities. If such a student enrolls in at least one or more courses at a corporation school, that student is allowed to participate in co-curricular activities, but not extra-curricular.

This means that a student can participate in an activity that is taught in the classroom, but also meets outside of regular school hours, such as Varsity Singers or Marching Band, says Shafer. Yet, the student may not participate in activities that are held solely outside of school hours.

A recent change in Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) bylaws, which allows home-schooled students to participate in IHSAA-sanctioned sports, could change this HCCSC policy.

Lengthy discussion on the topic among board members was followed by a consensus to permit Shafer to conduct further research on the issue, and present findings at an upcoming board meeting.

In other business:

• Todd Nightenhelser of TCB Games provided the board with a letter proving verification of funds available to purchase and repair the Instructional Services Building. The board preliminarily approved Nightenhelser to purchase the building, which is located at East Park Drive and Warren Street in Huntington, on Oct. 29, 2013.

• The HNHS Varsity Singers, Varsity Brass and Varsity Crew Concert Choir were granted permission to participate in the Chicagoland Showcase from Feb. 28 to March 1 in Wheeling.

• Heather Parsons was hired as a recess assistant at Lancaster Elementary School and Kassie Kocher was hired as a special education paraprofessional at Crestview Middle School.

• New coaches were hired: Breanne Hoffman, for Crestview Middle School's eighth grade boys' track; Brian Milton, for Crestview Middle School's seventh grade boys' track; Tenessa Pontius, as Huntington North's assistant girls' basketball coach and Kris Teusch, as Huntington North's head girls' track coach.

• Updates to the classified employee handbook and transportation handbook were unanimously approved by the board.

• Lincoln Elementary accepted two donations, one from Box Tops for Education in the amount of $272.50 and another in the amount of $50 from Edward Jones, to help support their school-wide bookstore. Crestview Middle School accepted a donation from Huntington County Wrestling Club in the amount of $532 to support the Crestview wrestling team.