The Seymour Community School Corp. board of education recently reorganized for the year.
During the Jan. 9 meeting, the first order of business was to elect the board of officers.
Art Juergens nominated Ken Browning for board president and announced he was stepping down as board president after more than 11 years in the position.
Other officers voted in were Vice President Joe Tormoehlen and Secretary Holly Coates.
During the communications and recognitions section of the agenda, many board members shared their appreciation for Juergens’ service to the board for so many years.
“We really appreciate your leadership,” Superintendent Brandon Harpe said.
Browning also thanked Juergens for his service to the board.
“It’s that comradery that has made this board what it is,” Browning said. “I have been here 11 years with you, and it’s your leadership we exhibit.”
Juergens, who has worked with the school corporation in various capacities for more than 40 years, said he couldn’t count the number of new programs the corporation has started over the years.
“You are only as good as your school board is,” he said. “I love this school system, and to me, this has always been the best school system in Indiana. I’ll tell that to anybody.”
In other business, Katie Leitzman asked permission from the board to accept $64,765.01 from the Early Literacy Achievement Grant.
The Indiana Department of Education established this grant through House Enrolled Act 1001-2023 to reward schools and teachers for improving students’ foundational reading skills as evidenced by IREAD-3 data by 2027.
These funds will be allocated among and used only to pay cash stipends to teachers, instructional coaches and other school staff who were responsible for implementation and delivery of literacy and reading instruction through Grade 3 during the 2022-23 school year. These stipends will not be issued to administration and/or central office staff.
In first read items, Director of Counseling Randy Fife presented two new courses that will be offered at Seymour High School.
The first one is called principles of transportation and logistics and commercial drivers operation fundamentals, where students will have the opportunity to be introduced into the CDL industry and will prepare them to get their CDL permit. This course is in partnership with Brownstown Central High School, and students will be able to take the course next semester at BCHS if it is approved.
The second course offering is education careers pathway, which will provide students an introduction into the field of teaching with multiple courses and eventually have the opportunity for field experience through a capstone course.