By Amantha Garpiel
TIPP CITY — Following an executive session during the Tipp City Board of Education’s meeting on Monday, May 22, the board approved a motion made by President Simon Patry regarding a contract for a potential candidate for the treasurer’s position in the district. The board also accepted numerous donations and discussed the replacement of a boiler at Tippecanoe High School.
After declaring the board back in session, Patry made a motion to extend a contract to Regina Samson provided there are successful contract negotiations between Samson and the Tipp City Board of Education. The motion passed unanimously.
The donations accepted by the board Monday evening include the following. Irina Von Krosigk donated $100 to the Tippecanoe High School tennis program, the Wrestling Parent Group donated $643.50 to help with the purchase of new wrestling singlets and the Baseball Parent Group donated $1,464.59 to help offset the cost of vans used during the spring baseball trip.
The largest donation accepted during the meeting came from the Tippecanoe Athletic Boosters’ legacy fund, created to honor the life of Tippecanoe High School student Carson Robbins who passed away in April. The donation totaled $30,000 and is to be used to purchase a student bleacher section at the Tipp City Stadium. All expenses for the bleachers section will be covered by the boosters.
The board also accepted $8,568 in grant dollars from the Miami County Foundation. The funds will be split. Amy Blake at Nevin Coppock Elementary will receive $1,629 for flexible seating, Heather Combs at Nevin Coppock Elementary will receive $2,848 for re-write tablets, Heather Ker at LT Ball Intermediate will receive $1,931 for the Oakes Quarry and Young’s Jersey Dairy trips and Stephan Monath at Tippecanoe Middle School will receive $2,160 for drum practice pads.
The board also approved a contract with Waibel Energy Systems Inc. for the replacement of the Tippecanoe High School boiler. The contract between the district and Waibel is for the second THS boiler replacement at a cost of $248,856. During the discussion, board member Rick Mains expressed his concern for the longevity of the boilers which, in the experience of Aaron Moran, new superintendent, can be anywhere from 20 to 30 years, depending on the boiler itself and the existing pipes.
The board passed the consent agenda which included meeting minutes, resignations, non-reemployment’s, new hires, leaves of absence, fall coaching staff, Summer Academy and Literacy Planning staff, sports camp instructor pay, salary schedules, certified staff, classified staff, supervisor staff, substitute staff, Pay to Participate, summer maintenance projects, police agreement and overnight/out of state trips.
The consent agenda passed despite a “no” vote from Board member Theresa Dunaway. She voted against the consent agenda because of the item regarding the fall supplemental coaching staff for the 2023-2024 school year as the district has not completed the surveys from the spring sports and several of the recommended fall coaches are currently coaching a spring sport.
“Does the district not value feedback from our athletes? Are we taking away the voice of our parents? The athletic department needs to start valuing feedback. Our student athletes and their parents deserve better. High school sports play a big role in college scholarship dollars and certain behaviors should no longer be tolerated in these programs,” wrote Dunaway in an email. “The economy is worsening and families are relying on athletic scholarships even more so than in past years.”
In other business:
• The board approved the purchase of curriculum materials for the family and consumer science, business and technology courses.
