001To the flag of the United States of America and to the stands nationy and justice for all. should have done the meeting. >> Thank you everyone for coming out tonight. Uh we will start with student recognitions beginning with Donna Bixs. Good evening. Tonight, I'm excited to join you as we honor several of our students for exemplary achievement on their island performance during the 2024 2025 school year. What makes this particular group of students outstanding is that they earned a perfect score on which is Indiana's learning evaluation and readiness network in their previous grade level. Indiana's standardized student assessment is an assessment system that measures achievement and growth related in Indiana academic standards. The test covers core subjects including English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Tonight's presentation includes students in grades three through eight
002who participated in the assessment and will be receiving Dunland's Empower Award. The Empower Award is based on Trojans who demonstrate exemplary growth and achievement as demonstrated by resilience and excellence in the pursuit of academic success. The empower award in the category of mathematics boasts three students who achieved a perfect score. Students, as I read your names, if you're here tonight, please join the school board members at the front of the room and I'll read your names. Some of our students are um at a winter concert tonight. So, they were not able to be here. So, if you are here, please join us at the front. Caleb Marshall, Isaac Webb, and William Crotz. That's well deserved. Congratulations. The Empower Award in the category of science spotlights four students who earned a perfect score. Students, as I
003read your names, if you're here, please join us at the front of the room. Oliver Jackson, William Paris, Liam Ferguson, and Ryder Strupek. And our final category is the Empower Award in the category of social studies. Tonight we have 15 students from fifth grade last year at Liberty and Westchester campuses. Students, as I read your names, if you're here, please join us at the front of the room. Dominic Broadstone, Pushkar Dashmuk, David Foresight, Daniel Guerrero, Iliano Marshall, Aiden Manugg, Gavin Pac, Robert Schmeidle, Isabella Stark, Matthew Willis, Audrey Arnett, Lisa Etner or Liza Etner, sorry, Margaret McCann McGranahan, Evan Natski, and Lane Smith. EVERYBODY, >> congratulations to our students, their families, and our Dulan educators. I have a couple more, but we'll wait for the room to clear a little bit. Thanks for >> So the
004the cards are for the inspire >> there. All right. Let's wait for the kids to file in. >> I think that's the volleyball team. >> Thank you. Uh tonight we'd like to congratulate the winners of the Dueling School Corporation 2025 winter card contest for grades K through eight. A winning card design was selected from the elementary, intermediate, and middle school level submissions. The winning card designs from each level will be used as the 2025 Doom School Corporation holiday cards. Our 2025 winner card winners are at the elementary level, Elizabeth Denfield from Bailey Bailey Elementary School, fourth grade. At the intermediate level, Abigail Giuliano at Westchester Intermediate School, sixth grade. She is at the concert tonight, so not present. And at the middle level, uh, Lily Hunter from Liberty Middle School, 8th grade. Each of the
005winners will receive 10 copies of their cards and art supplies, compliments of the Dune School Corporation, and a gift certificate compliments of the Chesterton Arts Center. Several holiday cards are on display uh through the month of December in the lobby right outside the doors here. And at this time, we would like to invite Elizabeth uh and Lily to come forward for recognition. Thank you. Congratulations. We'd like to congratulate tonight Chesterton High School senior Isabelle Durkin who was ear who has earned uh the National Speech and Debate Association's Academic All-American Award. This coveted award recognizes academic rigor, competitive speech and debate success and personal experience. From more than 141,000 student members of the National Speech and Debate Association, fewer than 1% of students earn the academic all-American award each year. This distinguished award recognizes students who
006have completed at least five semesters of high school, earned the degree of superior distinction in the speech and debate honor society, which requires a total of 750 merit points, achieved rigorous credentials for GPA and or testes requirements, and demonstrated outstanding character and leadership. So, we'd like to congratulate Isabelle. Is she here tonight? Yeah. Congratulations also to the boys varsity cross country team. The Chesteran High School cross country program wrapped up an outstanding 2025 season with major accomplishments across the board, including the DAC championship and the IHSAA sectional championship. Trojan Pride was on full display from the first race to the finish line. This year, four runners earned DAC all conference honors, including DOC most valuable runner Ryan Nicks, who was DAC's MVP, Spencer Martin, William Morgan, and Ryan Hunt. Congratulations to these athletes on their
007outstanding individual and team achievements this year. Team members include uh Jeff Deesar, Aaron Peters, Ryan Nicks, Benjamin Heistan, uh Wyatt Lamb Bersie, Elijah Fletcher, Xander Zerzi, Nolan Harrington, Logan Booth, Nick Jacel, Ryan Hunt, William Robertson, Nathan Fernandez, Max Redmond, William Morgan, Ryan Seaman, and Spencer Martin. Coaches are Tom Mohler, Nato Connor, and Dylan Olsen. And at this time, we'd like to invite the cross country team, anyone who's here, to come forward. Yeah. And last, but certainly not least, we'd like to congratulate the Chester High School varsity volleyball team and the coaches for their success this year with both the DAC and sectional championship team members are Payton Elo, Luca Bomacino, Brooke Williams, Abigail Parish, Reese Dilbeck, Audriana Roach, uh Khloe Merson, Delaney Barrett, Elena Markwart, Taylor Moore, Riley Connor, Tinley Davis, and Madison Gillum. Coaches
008are Kathy Dilbeck, Lindseay Fischer, Michael Fischer, Cody H, and Elizabeth Wilgowski. At this time, I'd like to invite the girls volleyball team members who are present and their coaches forward. Awesome. Thank you. Parents, parents, >> Yep, that's it. Amanda, anyone? >> Nobody having signed up for patron participation, we will move on to the consent agenda. Item four. >> I'll entertain a motion. >> I have a first and a second. Any conversation, discussion on the motion? There being none, I will all those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Thank you. Uh, prior to beginning 5.01 update, I'd like to invite uh Tommy Barry forward for an introduction. >> Mr. Barry, >> like I'm looking right at him. >> Okay, good. It's all yours. Go ahead. >> First of all, super excited
009not only to take on the emerging sport girls lacrosse but also introduce a couple young ladies in the program. The first one is McKenna as well as Hannah Hall. So McKenna is going to be our head coach and is going to be our assistant and certainly looking forward to some great things out of these two young ladies. It's always good to have homegrown talent. So both of these young ladies graduated from Chester High School. In addition, while they were at Chester, they played four years of lacrosse. The last two years, they also were the head coach and assistant coach for the club. So we're looking forward to our young ladies in the program getting some mentorship, some leadership from these two outstanding young ladies and not only the program, these coaches as well. Thank you.
010Thank you, Tommy. Uh 5.0125 26 certified employee handbook up updates. >> Good evening. Thank you. Um, annually we update our employee handbooks, which we did have the opportunity to do with our classified and ECA handbooks this past July. Um, now with the ratification of the new DSCDTA teaching agreement, um, we've also been we also are recommending um, a few updates to our certified employee handbook. The gist of the changes this round includes making some updates to our teacher leave language sections to better match what's in the teacher agreement. Our new agreement includes language that changes the pilot benefit of designating two sick days as flex flex days to designating those as personal days. Um that benefit now at a at a greater scale is no longer considered to be in a pilot phase. it's considered
011to be in a regular state and so we've now transitioned those days um into personal days for the certified staff members. In addition, we've updated our um bereavement leave language to better match um what is in the contract and we have also updated our leave of absence language again just to kind of um better summarize what changed with our sick and personal days. Um lastly, we've added a leave of absence, um which we're referring to as a leave of absence resulting from injury from student or parent. Um it's kind of a lengthy title, but what it amounts to is um allowing for certified staff who are injured in the course of their um day-to-day work to um be vetted through our typical workers comp process. But in that benefit, um, if folks are eligible to
012receive workers comp benefits, they don't receive 100% of their compensation. Um, and what we previously have done is allowed our employees to um, use their own sicker personal days to top themselves off to get to 100%. This um here is saying that if there is a is a leave that would result from something that could be deemed to be an assault or um an injury or physical injury from a student or parent um that we would not charge the certified staff members that their own time for um a certain amount of days. Um so with that administration would um recommend the um review and approval of our certified handbook. >> Thank you Reagan. >> Thanks. >> Uh first and a second. Any discussion? All in favor please say I. I. Anyone opposed? Thank you. >>
013Thank you. 5.03 2026 nonbenefited classify employee compensation. >> Sure. It's non benefit 21. >> Oh, did I skip over one? I'm sorry. I'll go back to 5.02. 2025 2026 benefited classified employee compensation. >> Thank you. The corporation annually reviews compensation of classified employees and recommends adjustments and/or increases to recruit and retain a high-quality staff. Tonight's recommendation is to apply a 3% rate increase to the base pay rate of benefit eligible classified staff members who have not yet hit the max rate of their positions pay range and who worked a minimum of 66% of their approved calendar days in 2425. The 3% increase will be effective at the start of each eligible employees 2526 work calendar and applicable to their current rate of pay. >> Okay, Dr. Pettit, I'll entertain a motion. >> I'll make a
014motion to approve the 2025 2026 classified employee compensation. >> Second. Uh >> first and a second. Any further discussion? All in favor, please say I. I. Any opposed? >> Thank you. 5.03. Try it again. 2026 non-benefited classified employee compensation. >> Thank you. Current non-benefited classified positions and corresponding pay ranges have been analyzed and reviewed against avail available league, local, school, and market data. A 50 cent per hour increase for non-benefited classified positions puts the average percentage pay near the forecasted 2. 2.8% cost of living adjustment for 2026. The recommendation is for effective is to be effective for work performed on or after January 1, 2026. Institute a 50 cent per hour increase to the pay rates of regularly scheduled nonbenefited classified employees. >> Thank you. I'll entertain a motion on the 2026 non-bed classified employee
015comp. >> I'll make a a motion to accept the uh accept the uh the item as stated. >> Second >> first and a second. Any discussion? All in favor, please say I. >> I. Any opposed? >> Thank you. 5.04 2022 2026. Thank you. >> One second. Um DAC administrator employee compensation increases. >> Thank you. Thank you. In analyzing the position expectations and compensation levels of DSC leaders, managers, directors, and administrators, compensation adjustments are processed to remain competitive within our local and league of comparable school corporations. This recommendation coincides with the contracted compensation increases dictated by the 2025 through 2027 school corporation and teacher agreement, as well as recommendation for raises for DSC classified employees. The recommendation is for $3,500 to be added to each leader's yearly compensation unless a market analysis supports the need for
016a position specific adjustment. The allocation will be applied to a combination of the employees base salary and onetime stipen with increases to be effective retroactively to July 1, 2025. >> Thank you, Dr. Pettit. I I would just note that these increases for the administrators mirror the increases for the the teachers under their new agreement. Um and I think 5.02 and 5.03 come close to doing the same in terms of percentages. So I'll entertain a motion on 5.04. >> All right. First and a second. Any discussion? >> All in favor please say I. >> I. Thank you. Any opposed? 5.05. Permission to advertise for bids for Chesterton High School improvements. Thank you. The administration is requesting approval to adveri advertise for bids for capital improvements at Chesterton High School that include dust collection system for building
017trades, media center furniture and wall coverings, softball, baseball and tennis venue improvements, fieldhouse flooring and mechanical improvements, auditorium stage lighting, storage for athletic and music departments and marching band equipment. The intent is to collect bids and then prioritize work to be done based on the cost of the improvements. administration intends to submit a recommendation in February or March for work to be completed in summer 2026. The bid package will be handled by the Skilman Corporation with funding coming from the 2025 general obligation bond in the range of $2 to5 million. The recommendation is for to request approval to advertise for bids to a number of different areas at Chesterton High School and appointing Linquilas Robert McDermott and Mike Oakley as the bid committee. >> Thank you. Okay. I'll entertain a motion of permission >> to
018accept the advertisement for bids. >> I'll second. >> First and a second. Any discussion? All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Thank you. 5.06 first reading new polic or policy numbers 3220.01 01 3231 7440.01 and 8462. Thank you. The administration respectfully requests your approval to revise the following board policies. Policy 3220.01 1 has been significantly revised based on the recision of Indiana code 20-43-10-3.5 in connection to teacher appreciation grants 3231 has been revised to clarify that staff members may not tutor a student outside of school if the student currently is enrolled in their class and the subject of the tutoring is the same as the subject being taught in that class. 4162 is updated to comply with changes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration substance abuse policy. 5350 is
019a replacement policy that attempts to streamline recommended options and tools available that corporations may use to fight depression and self-destruction in students. 5462. This policy is being revised to allow students who are working towards a seal on the new Indiana diploma an additional opportunity to retake a class if they receive a grade of C plus or below. 6320 has been amended to incorporate the changes made by Indiana Code 36-1-12 by House Enrolled Act 1198. 7440.01. This policy has been amended to omit references to mandatory discussion and to revise policy language for consistency with other corporation policies. 8452 has been revised to incorporate the revisions of Indiana code 20-34-8-3.5 made by Senate Enrolled Act 350. in particular the specific requirements for a venue specific emergency action plan for sudden cardiac arrest. And 8462 has been revised
020to expand the members of the corporation community who are responsible to report immediately instances whether ascertained or suspected of child abuse or neglect resulting in physical or mental injury to a student by uh by anything other than an accident. >> Thank you, Robert. I'll entertain a motion um to approve the aforated policies on first reading. >> I will make a motion to approve the policies on first reading. >> I'll second. >> First and a second. Any discussion? All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Thank you. 5.07 final reading policies 0144.167.2 2 1422 1422.02 1662 2260 2260.01 2266 3122 3122.02 3220 3362 4122 4122.02 5330 and 9150. >> Thank you. The administration respectfully requests your approval to rescend or revise the following board policies. Bylaw 142 has been revised to incorporate the statutory changes
021made by House Enroll Act 287, in particular the partisan election requirements. Additionally, changes the minimum age to serve as a board member from 21 to 18 years of age. Bylaw 141.1. This bylaw has been revised to update the annual amount payable for services as a schoolboard member as provided in Indiana code 20-26-4-7 167.2 2 has been revised to incorporate amendments made to Indiana code 5-14-1.5-6.1 covering executive session topics 1422 3122 and 4122 are revisions to the policy is necessary because of the June 23rd 2025 the national incidentbased reporting system definition of fondling change the term is officially now called a criminal sexual contact 1422.0231 902 3122.02 and 4122.02. These policies are recommended for repeal as the replacement version of the policies 1422 3122 and 4122 incorporates the content of these documents. 1662, 3362, and 4362
022uh are up for being rescended. These policies are recommended for repeal as replacement version of policies 1422, 3122, and 4122 incorporate the contents of these documents. 2260. This policy has been revised to response to the US Department of Education's February 2025 dear colleague letter and subsequent executive order 2260.01 has been revised to incorporate the changes made by Indiana code 20-33-8-13.5 by house enrolled act 1483 which requires that the school prioritize the safety of the victim of bullying. Some forms of bullying may amount to discrimination on the basis of a disability. 2266. A revision to this policy and administrative guideline is necessary because the June 23rd, 2025 uh definition of fondling being changed. The term once again is now officially a criminal sexual contact. This policy has also been revised in response to department of education's
023dear colleague letter and subsequent executive order. 3220 various education matters from House Enrolled Act 102 revised Indiana code to remove the requirement for teacher evaluations to have the four ratings of highly effective, effective, needs improvement, and ineffective along with some other changes. Evaluation plans must be posted on the corporation's website. All references to required discussion have been revised to indicate that discussion with the exclusive bargaining unit is not required. 5330. In addition to allowing the school to purchase administer epinephrine via an EpiPen, the revision would now allow the school nurses to administer the same drug intraasally through a delivery device called the Nephi as allowed by Indiana law. And 9150s school visitors have been revised to include cross references for the replacement policy 5540, which is the schools and law enforcement agencies. >> Thank you,
024Robert. I'll entertain a motion. motion to accept these necessary policy changes. >> I have a first and a second. Any discussion? Um, I would have one point of discussion simply that our change to uh bylaw 0144.1 is in conformance with state law. We're not giving ourselves an increase. Just so everyone's clear, this this does not do that, nor do I think it's our intent. So, uh, with that being said, I'll entertain. Uh, all those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Thank you. >> 6.02 public relations highlights. Good evening. Just one thing tonight. Winter break. There will be no school for all Dunland school students beginning at the end of the school day on Friday, December 19th through Monday, January 5th, 2026 to observe the winter break. All classes will resume
025on Tuesday, January 6th. >> 6.03. Dr. Pettit, >> nothing tonight. Thank you. And having come to the end of our agenda, we are adjourned. We have a state agenda