There will be some noticeable changes at some Rush County Schools when students return in the fall of 2010, including a move that will split Rushville Elementary into two separate schools housed in the same building.

“Currently at Rushville Elementary we have grades one through three in one end of the building and four through six on the other side of the building. The building was built to be two separate facilities and that’s what we’re going to go to, making it K through six on one side and K through six on the other side,” local superintendent of schools Dr. John Williams said.

“We’ll have two separate schools under one roof,” he continued. They’ll have separate principals and be run and operated as two independent schools. This is an effort to keep our buildings more equal. This means that all of our buildings will be two section buildings, with the exception of Mays. It evens things out and makes RES more manageable.”

Mays Elementary will be a one section building, meaning one class at each grade level (one through six). Such will be the case because of the number of students in northern Rush County, and is in keeping with the board’s commitment to keep Mays open, Dr. Williams said.

The Rush County Schools Board of Trustees met Tuesday and discussed these changes as well as several other matters.

One of those matters was the need to change school district lines in order to keep enrollment numbers between 300 and 350 students per elementary school.

“We’re still looking at that and trying to balance everything out,” Dr. Williams said. “We’ll probably have a final report and recommendation for the board in either the January or February meeting. Right now that’s still up in the air.”

It also was reported that plans to add additional classrooms to Rushville Elementary have not been scrapped.

On the contrary, approximately $500,000 has been set aside for the planned work. Additional monies may be available early next year, based on how much is spent — and saved — on the building projects underway in Arlington and Milroy.

“We’ll have a better idea about where we are on this next spring,” Dr. Williams said.

The board heard an enrollment report that indicated total enrollment in all grades, K through 12, is up 14 students compared to last year.

At the elementary level the trend has been an increase over the past five years. In 2004/2005 there were a total of 1,377 elementary students attending RCS elementary schools; in 2008/2009 that number had grown to 1,412.

The board approved a motion to move forward with the possible donation of 1.3 acres of land owned by RCS that is located west of Loma Apartments. The acreage is needed as part of the proposed extension of 16th Street.

The plan calls for the land to be appraised. It would be donated with its value traded for free city pool time and free use of the city-owned softball field. Also, the city would be required to provide a traffic officer at 16th and Sexton Streets. In the event the extension project was abandoned the land in question would revert back to RCS ownership.

The board approved a motion to allow for the enforcement of laws on school property. This was described as a technicality designed to expedite emergency response in the event of a crisis or major emergency situation.

STR Building Resources was contracted to provide roof repair consulting services. Their fee is $8,900.

Lear & Associates was awarded a $124,000 contract to provide services related to the installation of technology at the new Arlington and Milroy schools. This was the lowest of several submitted bids.

Finally, Dr. Williams reported that a lease agreement has been reached for the RCHS swim team to use the swimming pool at the former Morton Memorial school.

The local school board will next meet at 7 p.m. Dec. 1.

A work session is planned for 7 p.m. Dec. 8.

The January meeting will take place Jan. 12.



Kevin L. Green can be contacted at (765) 932-2222 ext. 108 or via e-mail at kevin.green@indianamediagroup.com. Add a comment to this story at www.rushvillerepublican.com.