The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board has an important decision to make on virtual learning options for the coming school year.  The first will come Wednesday night.

Dr. Matt Kegley, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning, outlined options for a virtual learning program for the 2021-2022 school year.  There are two options before the board, and board members discussed whether to decide at Wednesday night’s regular board meeting or postpone the vote to May 12.

Kegley’s first option, which he recommends, would provide virtual learning for grades K-6 using HSE teachers instructing virtually, and grades 7-12 to use Indiana Online, an outside organization, to provide the virtual learning option.  The class offerings would have some differences compared to the secondary classes offered in-person locally.  Extra-curricular activities would be very limited for virtual students.

The second option would have HSE teaching staff instruct all online classes, grades K-12.

No teacher layoffs would happen under either option, Kegley told the board.

Kegley’s proposal calls for a commitment to be made by parents and students for the coming school year for at least the first semester of classes during a sign-up window, May 3-14.

Some board members expressed a desire to delay any decision until May 12, but that would greatly shorten the timeline for sign-up.  A May 5 Webinar is scheduled for families with students K-6 considering virtual learning next school year.  A Webinar with Indiana Online could be scheduled as well, with no date set.

The original discussion with Indiana Online calls for HSE Schools to pay $2,800 annually per local student enrolled virtually, but Indiana lawmakers are only funding virtual students at 85% per student starting with the 2021-2022 school year.  Kegley said that $2,800 figure could be reduced proportionally.

Students and parents could commit to virtual learning for the first semester of the coming school year, then return to in-person learning if electing to do so by a deadline established by the school district, possibly around the time of fall break.  Depending on the number of students changing for second semester, some staff shuffling could be necessary.

Kegley says this 2021-2022 virtual offering will be available mainly for students with medical reasons to seek virtual classes, but only students not performing well currently virtually will be required to provide medical documentation to qualify for the virtual option next school year.

When asked by a board member, administrators said there are currently 4,892 students enrolled in virtual learning, 22.9% of the total student population.  Kegley cautioned that the current enrollment virtually may be a choice families are making for a variety of reasons and may or may not be a predictor of how many students would opt for virtual learning in the coming school year.

For more details on the proposals, you can review Dr. Kegley’s PowerPoint presentation before the school board at this link.

A Fishers man, 69, has died after alerting authorities he planned to take his own life in a phone call made just inside Fishers Police headquarters.

Shortly after 2:00am Tuesday, authorities say the Hamilton County Communications Center received a call from the public telephone located inside the vestibule of Fishers Police Department Headquarters. The caller expressed his intent to shoot himself. Officers  responded and found a white male standing in the vestibule.

Police instructed the man to exit the building and he complied. Upon exiting, officers saw the man shoot himself.

Paramedics from the Fishers Department of Fire and Emergency Services arrived at the scene, but not in time to save the man’s life. 

The man’s identity has not been released as of mid-morning Tuesday. The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office may release the name once positive identification is made.

 Fishers Police are actively investigating. Anyone with information regarding this case should contact Detective Dean Mucha at 317-595-3330.

Fishers Police are trained in de-escalation but could not prevent this death.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, Fishers public safety officials remind you to please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or 911.  Additional resources can also be found at https://stigmafreefishers.com/

Most of you may be aware that the new Indiana state budget has a large increase in money available for K-12 schools, so I posed the question to HSE Schools about how the increase in state support would impact their budget planning.  School officials have said they need to cut spending due to a  $5 million shortfall.

Cecilie Nunn, Chief Financial Officer for HSE Schools, says she and her staff plan to recommend the spending reductions already explained to the board in a previous meeting at the next regular session April 28..

“We are  cautiously optimistic about the new two-year state budget, but there are a number of variables that are still unknown at this time, including enrollment next school year and the number of students who might choose a virtual option (which will only be funded at 85%)”, Nunn says in an e-mailed message to LarryInFishers.

The school board is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the budget recommendations explained at the April 14th meeting.  The February 1st student count was down 660.  Fewer students mean less state support, in this case in the amount of $3.3 million.  Lost revenue from lower interest rates and a lack of rental income raises the total deficit to $5 million.

Nunn told board members April 14 that the largest chunk of savings comes from adjusting class sizes to levels called for in the most recent operating referendum, kindergarten through grade 6 .  Those grade levels are currently overstaffed by 33 teaching positions.  Resignations and retirements will reduce that number.  Plus, the American Recovery Fund recently passed by the congress and signed by the president will fund programs dealing with pandemic-related learning loss by students.  The savings from adjusting class sizes, plus the federal funds, amount to more than $3.3 million.

Savings of over $1.3 million will come from freezing incremental pay increases for support staff and school administrators, plus not filling several currently open positions.  Several other line items will create savings that total $5.045 million in the coming school year.

Administrators told the board April 14 they are “optimistic” no Reduction in Force (RIF) of staff will be necessary.  But some staff may need to be moved and transferred to accomplish that goal.

It was a bipartisan event at Fishers City Hall Monday evening as Dr. Crystal Neumann was sworn into office by City Judge Dan Henke.  Ms. Hermann had friends, family and other council members on hand for the ceremony.

“This is not your seat on the Fishers City Council,” Judge Henke told those assembled for the event.  “The seat belongs to the citizens of Fishers and entrusted into you.”

Fellow Democrat, Councilwoman Jocelyn Vare, was there, as were Republican
Council Members Cecilia Coble, David George, John Weingardt and Brad DeReamer.

Crystal Neumann will represent the North Central Council District.  She is filling the seat left vacant by Samantha DeLong, who resigned her council seat because her family is moving to Nevada.   Ms. Delong was also on hand for the swearing-in ceremony.

Ms. Neumann was selected to fill the opening by a group of Democratic precinct officials in a caucus held Sunday afternoon.

The 93rd Academy Awards show is in the history books.  Adam Aasen, Alec Toombs & Larry Lannan talk about the winners, losers and how the TV show went Sunday night.

With very limited use of the Fishers Amphitheater and Central Green during the pandemic summer of 2020, the Fishers Parks & Recreation Department has announced the lineup for 2021, and there are acts for everyone from local to national in scope.

The Spin Doctors will take the stage June 25th as part of the Spark Fishers Festival.

We still do not know the bands slated for the September 3 & 4 Blues Fest.  That will be announced later.

Below is the full listing, as provided by the City of Fishers.

============

Tuesday Nights
Starting June 1 | 7 – 9 p.m.
Nickel Plate District Amphitheater

• June 1: Living Proof
• June 8: Karma Band
• June 15: Mike & Joe
• June 22: The Midtown Mad Men
• June 29: Cool City Band
• July 6: The Nauti Yachtys
• July 13: Henry Lee Summer
• July 20: Country Summer
• July 27: Toy Factory

• June 25: SPARK! Fishers – Spin Doctors: Grammy nominated band best known for their early 90’s hits, “Two Princes” and “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong,” which peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 7 and No. 17, respectively.
• July 2: Free Fallin – The Tom Petty Concert Experience
• Sunday, July 4: GlamëricA – A tribute to the awesome era that was ‘80s hair and glam metal!
• July 9: Pearl Jam Tribute – Chicago
• July 16: Purple Veins – The Essential Prince Tribute Band
• July 23: Hard Day’s Night Beatles Tribute
• July 30: Creedence Revived – The World Premier CCR Tribute Band
• August 6: Heroes – The David Bowie Experience
• August 13: The Soul Pocket Band – A night of R&B and Dance classics
• August 20: Pink Droyd – The North American Theatrical Pink Floyd Concert with Laser Light Show
• August 27: Uptown Funk – Tribute to Bruno Mars
• September 3-4: Fishers Blues Fest – the full lineup will be announced soon

Crystal Neumann’s story is fascinating.  She grew up in a tough neighborhood on the south side of Chicago.  Her parents stressed education to the point that she took 2 buses and a train to and from school each day.  Dr. Neumann is now a college administrator and moved to Fishers in 2012.

Dr. Crystal Neumann has just been named to the Fishers City Council, elected by a caucus of Democratic precinct-level officials.  Literally a few hours after the caucus, Dr. Neumann agreed to speak with me via Zoom.

Below, you can access the YouTube video and audio versions of my talk with Dr. Neumann

No one in Fishers or Hamilton County can remember a time when Democrats caucused to replace someone serving on an elected body, but that happened Sunday afternoon when a group of precinct officials voted to have Crystal Neumann serve as the North Central District member of the Fishers City Council.

Ms. Neumann replaces Samantha DeLong, who resigned because her her family is moving out of state.

“Crystal is a uniquely qualified individual who will serve the residents of Fishers well,” said Hamilton County Democratic Chair Dayna Colbert. “We are looking forward to seeing her work alongside fellow Democratic Councilor Jocelyn Vare to improve the transparency of the city’s finances and be a strong voice for underrepresented individuals in our community.”

Crystal Neumann is a Latina, first generation American, and currently serves as the Assistant Provost for the American College of Education. She has earned a doctorate in business administration and has previously worked in marketing and market research before making the transition to higher education.

Dr. Neumann will be sworn-in at Fishers City Hall Monday, at 6:00pm

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

Having more money than you know what to do with is usually not a problem for most folks. But, local government is, in a sense, facing that problem.

With American Rescue Plan funds on the way to Hamilton County, officials must decide where they can spend their $65.5 million windfall. County commissioners and county council members met Friday on the matter.

Hamilton County government did not suffer financially to a great extent because of the pandemic. The money is supposed to be spent to compensate local government for losses suffered in the past year.

The first decision by county officials was extra pay for employees who faced health risks and may have lost out on benefits due to a cautious approach to budget-making last year in the face of the rising health crisis.

Since any bonus pay to “essential” employees must be made by May 27, the matter was put to a vote at Friday’s meeting. Each employee will receive $3,000 at a rate not to exceed $13 per hour for the period of March 16, 2020 to April 30, 2021.

Yet to be faced are three other areas where the COVID relief money can be spent. This includes somehow reimbursing various county departments for lost revenue in Local Income Taxes, food and beverage tax revenue, lost gas tax monies, lost receipts at county parks and fairgrounds, and tourism revenue not collected.

These losses are believed to amount to about $6 million.

A third use of the grant funds will go to drainage projects and extension of broadband service for certain locations as outlined in the federal act.

And, lastly, grants from the county’s money may be given to non-profit organizations within the county and small businesses to replace lost revenue.

All this would seem to total little more than half the $65.5 million which starts becoming available to the county on May 11.

Unfortunately for Hamilton County, federal restrictions prohibit using the relief funds for capital projects such as buildings, highways and bridges.

So, for what else can be money be spent?

Commissioner Steve Dillinger put it this way: “Is it prudent to look for ways to spend it just because we can? But, if we don’t use it, it will go back and be given to someone else. It’s a catch-22.”

State Road 37 north of 146th Street is still restricted to one lane, both northbound and southbound, for a while longer, per the latest update on Fishers road construction.  Also note a number of resurfacing projects in local neighborhoods.

Here is the full listing, as provided by the City of Fishers:

=======