Meeting the order, please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty
and justice for all. Thank you very much. Please be seated. And welcome to the special board meeting
that we're having today, July 8, 2026.
for the Richland Bean Blossom Community School Corporation. Please let the record reflect that Mr. Tucker,
Mr. Durnall, Mr. DeMoss and Mr. Kerr are present. And are there any visitors who would like to address
the board? Seeing none, we will get right into it. And so first action item we have is consideration
to approve the appointment
of Lucy Fishman as principal of Edgewood Primary School. Dr. Sanders. You know, when you go through
the interview process, several of you in this room have been in one way or the other have been part
of that process. But I always love it when, you know, you're about halfway through the interview and you know,
This is our person. And that's how we thought about Lucy Fishman, Dr. Lucy Fishman. And I recommend
her to be the next principal at Edgewood Primary School. She has a bachelor of science degree in social
studies education, a master of science degree in teacher leadership, a master of science degree in strategic
management, and a doctor of educational leadership.
and policy, all from Indiana University. Lucy has 22 years of experience in education. She has served
as principal at Highland Park and Binford Elementary Schools before going to the Center on Education
and Lifelong Learning in Indiana University. Lucy is a dedicated and knowledgeable educator. She's very
collaborative and she's already inspiring her staff and that's when I
as we're going through the interview. And I'll probably say the same thing about James because as you
go through the interview, you can just see the lights going on in the eyes of the teachers and they
start connecting with them. And so we're very excited to have Lucy. She's going to be
Really great, not only for EPS, but the school corporation as a whole. So we'll be giving her a two-year
contract, $92,500. Her husband, Rob, is here. And son, Aiden, is here. And another one, Sam, could not
be here tonight. Unfortunately, he's at Purdue. You won't hear that joke again. All right.
And I'll happily second that. We'll get some Mustang sportswear now. Yeah, here we go. Yeah. I was happy
to sit in on the interviews. And it was definitely a great experience and wonderful conversations that
we had there. So all those in favor, say aye. Aye.
and say a few words. And just to let everybody know, the microphones are for cats. They don't
Oh, got it. Project. OK, great. So you gotta use your teacher voice. I have a teacher voice. OK,
I'll use it. Thanks so much for the opportunity. I just am so grateful. And Dr. Sanders and Jen Barrett
have been so helpful this whole time that I've been getting to know the corporation and getting to know
EPS. And I can't wait to start. And I really appreciate seeing teachers and staff here today. It's really,
it means a lot to me. So thanks so much.
And I'm just looking forward to this opportunity. I can't wait to get in there at EPS. We toured the
building this afternoon. I'm blown away. So congratulations to the whole corporation for having such
an incredible facility and taking such great care of it. And that says a lot about how you take care
of each other. So I'm just thrilled to be part of the team and can't wait to meet everybody else. I
also want to point out that Mrs. Peggy Chambers is here and she's my mentor. She hired me as a substitute
teacher at Bachelor Middle School years ago. And she's been at all of my board meetings. So thanks for
coming Peggy. So thanks everybody.
our staff are here tonight to support Lucy and James. So glad to have you. All right, and next
is consideration to approve the appointment of James Robinson as assistant principal of Edgewood Primary
School. Dr. Sanders. Yeah, James has a bachelor of science degree in special education from IU, master
of science degree in educational leadership,
and Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership, all from IU. He has worked the last several
years as Assistant Research Scientist at IU. Now, research scientist sounds very official, but James'
personality, that doesn't reflect. He's a very personable guy.
very encouraging, and he'll be great to work with our teachers. James has spent the last several years,
how many years has it been, over 10? No, in a cell. 19. But what that means is 19 years of going out
into schools and working with teachers and encouraging teachers and supporting teachers.
learning new strategies and so he's gonna be very welcomed and like Lucy's interview, as the interview
went on, you know, we didn't know James except for his resume, but as the interview went on, he just
started thinking, man, this is a guy I could work with and so,
We're excited to have him and all his knowledge and experience that he brings to the school corporation.
James will also have a two-year contract at $83,000. And his wife Jennifer is here tonight. She works
at MCC. Special education transition in the north and south, basically.
And they have a son, Nash, who could not be here tonight. He's has a, James says he has his first job
and we didn't want to risk that. And they have a family dog named Topper. Now, do you guys have a pet?
Because I didn't want to leave out anybody. So we recommend James as assistant principal at EPS.
I should probably add for EPS teachers, he is more than willing to wear the cone costume. It was asked
in the interview. And so he has formally committed to that and any other K2 silly costumes that we do
for the sake of kids, willingly. He's ready to go. So just know that James is your guy for that.
He's like, did I sign something that says that?
I'm James Robinson, Assistant Principal of Edgewood Primary School. I'll second. Moved and seconded.
Any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.
I can't tell you how excited. Again, as Lucy said, for you all to be here, that says a lot on a summer
when there's other things you could be taking your time for. Like Dr. Sender said, I've spent so many
years in so many classrooms with so many great educators. And when this opportunity came to be able
to turn my attention back into the day-to-day lives of schools, you know when something's right.
And every step along this process has been right. Sitting in here last week with some of you and having
that interview just felt comfortable and conversational. And I really do like, I love the dialogue with
teachers and that felt like it started that day. And so I'm really excited to move the conversation
forward in the ways that Lucy and I know from the years we've spent together, but also
with the reality that you guys have been building and the good things that you've been doing over there.
So I'm just so glad to be part of your district and your community. The costumes I did not know about,
except. However, two things. One is that as soon as this was a thing, my wife sent us a picture of an
inflatable pony costume. She's like, we need one.
I have a sister who's been a long time principal up in Westfield, and I've got plenty of pictures of
her in costume, so I knew it was coming. So I can get fitted outside. But again, thank you all very
much. I promise to do everything I can to earn your trust and do my best job. Thank you. We're just
so excited to have both of you and look
So much look forward to this school year and the excitement that you guys are gonna bring to EPS. And
I think EPS is starting a wonderful journey with you guys. So glad you're both here, both here. We do
have a few more appointments here. We have consideration to approve the appointment of Sarah Fig as
the Student Success Coordinator of Edgewood Primary School.
seven and eight sit in the same position. Yes, I would very much be open for that. Also, at the same
time, we'll consider to approve the appointment of Jordan Truax as the student success coordinator at
Edgewood Intermediate School, and consider to approve the appointment of Brittany Shaw, Straw, sorry,
as the K-12 mental health coordinator. And so now, I'll turn it over to you.
So as far as the student success coordinator position, this idea pretty much grew out of a plan that
we implemented at Edgewood Junior High School. Today, there's so much on everybody's plate, but our
principals with having requirements to be in the classroom to conduct evaluations, cover behavior issues,
communicate with parents that sometimes that could lead to not having enough time in the day to support
our teachers. And the downside of that, if you're a teacher in the classroom, is sometimes the principal
doesn't have time to sit down and really talk with the student about what's going on in their lives
and to address
behavior issues and still at the same time support our teachers. And so we added a dean of students
at the junior high, Tom Norris, and that has been a really huge success. It really has made a difference
in the school in terms of
Mr. Norris handles most of the behavior issues, and the principal and assistant principal can focus
more on their other duties. So we've been looking for a way to replicate that at the primary and intermediate
schools, but the problem has always been how are we going to pay for that? And we've figured out a way
to do that through a grant.
And so we actually did a little experiment with this at EPS at the end of the year with Sarah Figg being
in that type of a role. And I think it really worked out well, even though it was just a month. But
so we really kind of had Sarah in mind when we were trying to define this position.
And she just will do a great job. She wants this job. She wants to serve in this way. And so she's going
to bring to the EPS and Jordan at EIS, they're going to be able to bring when we're, you know, as children
are growing, they're coming to school and they're learning how to act in a different environment than
from home.
And it's a learning time of their lives when they're learning not only the academics, but they're learning
behavior. And so Sarah and Jordan will be able to take time. If a student has a behavior issue, they'll
be able to take time, talk to that student. They'll be able to coordinate with the mental health team
more. And so we believe it's really going to help
EPS and EIS as a whole. And so I recommend both Sarah for EPS and Jordan for EIS.
Moved and seconded. Any discussion? I'm always excited when one of my former students is moving up in
the world. So I had Brittany. Sorry, I had Sarah. Actually, Sarah was on my younger son's little league
team. And was the best hitter on the team. All right. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.
Sarah and Jordan both wanted to be here this evening. Sarah's family has a vacation scheduled this week,
so they are out of town. And Jordan has a new baby in the family. So getting away right now is not an
easy thing for him to do, even though he really wanted to be here. So yes, absolutely. So new little
churaks at home. So about a week old. I tried to combine too many of these. So now we will now consider
the appointment
Brittany Straw as the K-12 mental health coordinator. So, you know, I think, as I think about someone
who asked me earlier how many years I've been here, and I think just nine years, but maybe one of the
things that I'm most proud of is how we've grown our mental health team. When I got here, we had counselors, we had
social worker, but really not a lot going on with mental health. And I remember it was, there was I
think a school shooting in Florida. And when that happens, I just want to lock down the campus, make
it harder to get into than, you know, an airport.
As I thought about it, I realized that the real answer was mental health. And so we started down the
journey of, if you guys remember, down the journey of looking for grants. And we established a partnership
with IU, and that's brought in several million dollars of grant dollars.
to support mental health. And we've just grown to a point now where we need one person to manage the
K-12 mental health program. And once again, a lot of times people just rise to the top in terms of they
don't even have that position, but they're already exhibiting the skills of leadership and in this case,
knowledge of mental health.
and what that means. And so Brittany really came to mind pretty quickly in terms of being this K-12
mental health coordinator. It's not only going to be coordinating the whole program, but also taking
on grants and keeping those grants flowing. And so we're really lucky to have
I thought we were going to have another little guest here tonight. Any rate, Brittany, she has a lot
of great ideas.
I think our job, Jen and I, is just trying to maybe keep up with Brittany. Yeah, for sure. And I talked
to her about, you know, her office will be in the junior high, and just gave a little bit of guidance
that, you know, your office is in this building, but you need to be in all the buildings, and that's
not going to be a problem with Brittany.
And she'll be moving about. They'll probably hardly ever see her at the junior high. But, and I'm glad
to have Brittany's family here, Chris. Do we have a motion? The approval of the appointment of Brittany
Straw as K-12 mental health coordinator. Moved and seconded. Any discussion?
All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Brittany, do you want to say anything? Sure, yes. Okay,
hi everybody. I am thrilled to be here. I've talked to Dr. Sanders and Sparrett many times just about how
This role is something that I have worked so hard for and I could not be more proud to be doing it anywhere
other than here. My time at RBB has been
a godsend. Like it has been wonderful. I have learned from so many wonderful people. I work with a phenomenal
team and I am so excited to start being in all of these buildings and building those relationships and
then also still having the opportunity to continue work with Barley, who is our therapy dog, but also
with students through the edge. And so I could not have thought up a better
position than what Jen and Jerry presented, and I am just so thankful. So thank you for having me, and
I look forward to growing this as far as we can go. Yeah, thank you. You're welcome. This is definitely
one of those the sky's the limit positions. You know, when Jen Anderson started our mental health program
through Tim's grants,
years ago, Jen would tell you the same thing. She doesn't have a background in mental health. She's
not a social worker. She's not a counselor. We can run grants and we understand numbers, but actually
understanding the work that is being done is something that when Jen left and it rolled over to my plate,
I couldn't really help with those things. And so to have a mental health coordinator who
understands what it's like to work with kids, to now have somebody who's working hands-on with our students
at the Edge. This is growing our capabilities here at Edgewood even further than what we've seen them
before, and I'm so excited about
where Brittany has some ideas about where we're going to take this program, some billing that we can
start doing through Medicaid, which we haven't been able to do before. So this year is going to be a
year of growth. It's going to be a year of learning. I've told her, and Dr. Sanders has said the same
thing, please don't try to do all the things in the first three months. Chris, I promise we have stressed
that she does have to come home.
But we're really excited about the support. Not only is this going to provide to our mental health counseling
teams, but also to our administrators, our teachers, and ultimately the impact that it will have on
our students. So this is going to be really, really great. And I'm excited to see where it goes. Awesome.
This looks exciting. Yes. Meeting awesome. This is the best board meeting we've ever been a part of,
by the way. This is so much more fun than it normally is. Yes.
Okay, now into some more mundane things. We do have a consideration to approve revisions to our 26-27
school calendar. Dr. Sanders? Yeah, so we, a couple years ago, moved from 183 teacher work days to 185.
And as we got word on the financial impact that Senate Bill 1 was going to have on school corporations,
we immediately started trying to figure out ways that we might be able to save some money. And one of
those ways was to go back to 183 days.
So I probably prematurely brought that to the board for approval because since it does have the potential
to impact teacher salaries, that needs to go through bargaining. So since we have to promote and have
an official calendar before we start bargaining, we are going to go ahead and restore those two days
And so the 26, 27 school year will have 185 days. So that'll be two days at the beginning of the school
year and then two teacher work days at the end of the school year. That's where we're adding on the
extra days because it was gonna be one at the beginning and one at the end. And then we'll go through
bargaining and we'll see if what happens as a result of that.
And, you know, maybe we'll just stay at 185. That'll be part of the bargaining process. I move approval
of the revisions to the calendar. Any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.
And now we're looking at to advertise for the
Junior high in the high school additions and renovation projects. Yeah, so this is a the latest project
we've been working on for the last several months had several meetings evolving teachers principles
in terms of what our needs are at mainly at the junior high and high school because we want we really
need to expand the band and choir areas.
And so that's been a work, like I said, last several months. And we've fine-tuned the designs of both
projects. At the high school, not only will we be expanding this front corner out for band and choir,
but where the current band and choir rooms are will become our biomedical
and sim labs for our biomedical project that we're working on. And then at the junior high, there'll
be a new wing put on the back of the junior high for the new band and choir areas and where the current
band and choir programs are will become classrooms to help out because the junior high is especially
pretty full right now and so that'll help
with that project. So we have to advertise for bids. And so asking permission to do that, the bids will
go out this Friday, July 10th, and then the following Friday, July 17th. And we'll have a bid opening
on August 6th at two o'clock. I have motion. I move approval to advertise for
Junior high school and a high school for additions and renovations That's part of the roof on the high
school, correct That's gonna be the roof on the high school to that's part of the The renovation part.
Okay. Okay. So all of them will be on the sixth in perfect
Favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Our last action item is to approve policy 5136 involving
personal communication devices. Okay, as probably everybody knows, the state legislators decided to
basically ban cell phones during the school day. The law says that they have to be
powered off and inaccessible. And so we've revised the handbooks accordingly. We are also a part of
the policy is the students will not be able to have their phones out on the school buses to and from
school. And now there'll be certain situations
emergency situations or if a student has a medical issue where they would be able to use the cell phone.
We're not saying as some schools are specifically saying the cell phones have to be in their locker
or they have to be in their book bag. We're basically saying that what the law says, which is powered
off and inaccessible. So they just can't have them out. They have to be out of sight.
And we are putting together a little flyer that we're going to send out Friday. It's not quite done
to show you guys tonight. Trying to explain what students are allowed to do. They are allowed to bring
their phones to school. After school is out, if they have after school activity, either band choir or
some sport, they can use their phones after school.
If they are on, if they have an away game, then they could have their phones out on the bus
for extracurricular activities. And, you know, we're trying to follow the state law and I hope parents
understand that this is motivated because it is a state law. And, but yet we want to be able to have
some common sense
and understand that there are practical issues for using cell phones. So we want to accommodate that.
The consequences for having them out, the phone will be confiscated and taken to the office and a parent
will have to come to school to get the phone.
If there are multiple violations of the rule, it'll be treated like any other violation where a student
might be violating the rule over and over again. So they'll follow the normal behavior discipline matrix
for that, if that's the case. But I think personally,
I think this is gonna be a really good thing for our schools. Of course, I grew up in a time where we
didn't have cell phones at school. And I remember the day that I let my daughter take her phone to school
in junior high, and she didn't have it out. She was following the rule, but her grandmother called her.
phone went off in class. So, you know, there are reasons why we have these rules. And we want to be
able to have the highest quality educational environment for our students and have them totally focused
on what's going on, the learning opportunities in the classroom. And I think this will help with that.
Now, I will say this.
We're asking you to approve this policy. You've approved a handbook. But anytime you have something
new like this, and it looks good on paper, there may be where we may have to come back and tweak this
a little bit. We'll just see how it plays out. But I think we're off to a good start. We have good policy.
And we'll get this communication out to everybody on Friday.
I think the other thing to add in there, like Dr. Sanders was saying, I've already seen some things
out on social media where my child who uses a phone for their glucose monitor or I have a kiddo that
is living with me who doesn't speak English and they use that as a translation device through Google
Translate. There are a lot of exceptions to this and like Dr. Sanders said, common sense has to
to also take some precedent here, even though it's a state law. So we're considering all of those pieces
and where it needs to be utilized, when it should be utilized, those allowances will be made. We're
not gonna put a kiddo's health in danger. We're not gonna prevent a student from being able to communicate
effectively with peers and teachers. There are a lot of cases that the law allows leniency and we will
make sure that those pieces are in place. That's why we have,
Co-ordinators who work with our ELL students are our students with mental health who potentially could
have some things there going on as well I think our coordinator may have her hands full with some Students
who may have some issues with having those literally removed from their hands during the day some withdrawal
going on maybe some things we haven't seen before with 9th through 12th graders, but all lightness aside
cell phones provide a lot of
positive pieces. And those things will also be taken into consideration outside of the academic world
where we know that they're needed. So just to kind of quell some fears that might come up with parents
or have already come up, I think they'll see in our plan that we'll get out on Friday blasted across
social media, email, all of that, that all of these things are being taken into consideration. And I
think the hope is that
keeping them in backpacks and inaccessible during the day that our students and families can respect
that. And we can keep that policy that way. I don't think we want to get to a point that we say they
have to be kept in cars or not brought to school at all. So we're hoping that we found some middle ground
there that our families can work with us on. Policy 5136. I second.
No, I agree with Dr. Sanders. I know it's the state law, and we've got to use some common sense. And
I'm just looking around this room for the last 15 minutes. And this is an anomaly. I don't think I saw
anybody looking at their phone. Somebody's got in their hand, though. I knew you did, yeah.
But it's amazing. Even when I'm talking to two people in front of me, a husband might be texting a wife.
And it's just, it's everywhere. And the consequence, Dr. Sanders, is what it was in 2008. That was my
last year here, I think. Parents had to come and get the cell phones. And it was an opportunity to meet
more parents for a while. And it was not always enjoyable, but it's like, come on, let's just talk about
your kid. And it's gonna be a challenge for the administrators.
and the classroom teachers. And you can't babysit every classroom teacher. It's going to happen. But
I think the common sense thing is there. And I'm old school, but I've had an intern at the office, and
he shows me how many hours a week or how many hours a day he's got cell phone usage. He's like, golly,
who could be on a phone that much? But that's just the world we live in. So hopefully, the parents will
understand and accept it.
And we will follow the state law. I know this is as horrible as the mask issue was, but like I said
back then, if there's a law, it is important for us to make an example for the students that you follow
the law. No matter what that law is, you follow the law. If you don't like it, take steps to change the law.
But if there's a law, you have to follow it. You don't get to pick and choose what you follow and what
you don't. I'm happy with this policy. I think that it was very common sense based. One of my daughters
had a bee allergy, so she had a phone earlier than some of the other kids did.
we felt much better about it when she had a phone. So for those parents that, you know, she didn't have
to have it out, she didn't have to have it powered on in my mind, but she, for me, I felt better that
she had it. And so I think still allowing them to have them, but having them out of sight and powered
off is a good approach. And I just hope that they respect
how commonsensical we are being with this and know that others are taking it much more extreme than
we are. We're trying to work with them and working with the parents. Anything further? We've come a
long way. From my career, I had to stop and find a phone.
Then I had a beeper, still had to stop and find the phone, you know. So, yeah, the cell phone really,
really made, I know I've been in law enforcement for a long time and Mr. Leggio back there makes fun
of my horse when I first came on, so. But, you know, I definitely think there needs to be some control
over the cell phone. It's gonna take a while, you're not gonna be able to do it the first day, so.
You know, common sense is going to prevail, hopefully. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion
carries. OK. There is a time for board member comments. Mr. Tucker, do you want to? Welcome to all the
new hires tonight. And as Jennifer said, it's a lot nicer than having one of those COVID meetings with
everybody with the mask on and people yelling at you. So I'm glad we're here.
Hopefully everybody's having a good summer and excited about the New Year DPS and good to see the teachers
here tonight. And I'm looking forward, it's gonna be pretty quick, about four more weeks, five more
weeks. Yeah, it's coming up fast. 37 more days, Ms. Goss, something like that. All right, thank you.
Thank you, sir. Lucy and James, I met them back in the Jennifer's office and they indicated they toured
the building.
Of course, you know, it's a 20 year old building and it still looks pretty well brand new. And you'll
find all of our buildings are like that. We've taken very good care of our buildings. I'm very proud
of this corporation. You know, I'm a long time board member and it really means good to me that you
two are gonna take over up there. And I see the teachers back there smiling and raising their hands.
And so it's very good, but welcome aboard. And Brittany, congratulations on your new
position and wish you well. Thank you, sir. I disagree. The steps we're taking tonight are going to
reverberate for the next generation. And yeah, the project, the building project, is important. And
I'm looking forward to that. But the personnel changes, Brittany and Sarah and Jordan and Dr.
Fishman and Dr. Robinson, I think I'm very excited and very
optimistic about the future. So welcome. Of course, I echo all that. And I'm so excited that Brittany's
taking on this role. I think that level of coordination is something that we really, really need. Because
I personally have had a hard time wrapping my brain around how all of these positions that we do have
are connected
and who, you know, who sees who and who takes care of what. And so I look forward to, and we've talked
about in future board meetings and down the road we're gonna have a discussion about that. So we, and
now we've got a really great person in that position to lead us down that road. So, and I,
I'm really excited for Lucy and James to be here. I wasn't in the interviews with James, but I was with
Lucy. And in that, I explained that I'd had some concerns about the last year that EPS has gone through.
But I feel excitement about where they're headed this year. And the fact that so many of you showed up today
you know, makes me think that you guys are excited too. And so that makes me feel really good going
into this next school year. So just, you know, I'm glad my vibes or feelings are changing and, you know,
because you're all great people. And, you know, this is just wonderful to have you all here tonight
to support one another. So with that,
This meeting is adjourned and you all have a wonderful evening.