Michael Ryan (left), Ryan Taylor speaking before the school board
When Fall Creek Junior High School lost its principal, Stacy Swan, for an opportunity in another school district, the search was on for a replacement. Tim Mankin, a retired administrator, was brought back on an interim basis as the search continued.
After a long search process, HSE Schools ended up promoting the assistant principal to the top job. Wednesday night, the Hamilton Southeastern School Board unanimously voted to hire Michael Ryan as the new Fall Creek Junior High Principal.
“I am excited to transition into the principal role at Fall Creek Junior High and continue serving our school community,” said Ryan in a school district news release. “We have tremendous students, supportive parents and hard-working staff that make FCJ a truly special place to work and learn.”
Ryan has also served as a teacher and coach throughout his 18-year career in public education.
It is traditional that students provide music for the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board meeting before the holidays.
That meeting was Wednesday and student musicians from Riverside Intermediate & Junior High provided the music, under the direction of HSE Schools Teacher of the Year, Johanna Kitchel.
I arrived for the board meeting in time to hear some of that holiday music, and recorded part of their concert in the video below.
Dawn Lang, President of the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board, read a statement at the start of the Wednesday night meeting, saying out of 10 applicants for the job of superintendent, 5 will be interviewed in 2 rounds during January, with an offer expected to be extended by the end of January. Once a contract agreement is reached by mid-February, that pact will be posted on the HSE School District Web site 10 days prior to a public hearing on that contract.
The new superintendent will report based on negotiations between the parties, but no later than July 1, 2024.
At the October 11th board session, Lang said there would be a “community forum” on the superintendent search. That was done in the form of a focus group held November 28th.
There were 30 members of that focus group, appointed by the following parties in the following numbers: HSE School Board members appointed 3 focus group members each…Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness appointed 2…Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen appointed 2…The President of the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association appointed 3…and there were 2 members of HSE Schools Administration.
Lang emphasized no board members were present for the focus group after she provided introductory remarks, then left the room. There were breakout groups of 5 each that reported back to the entire group on their discussions about content standards at the state level and which skills should be prioritized for a new superintendent.
The board has been briefed on the results of the focus group session in an executive session. According to Lang, the results of the focus group, along with the names of the participants, will be publicly released after the superintendent interview process is complete. “This is to preserve the integrity of the search process,” said Lang.
The consultant hired by the school board, Administrative Assistance, facilitated the focus group session.
The Century Club is a group of men, meeting quarterly, and voting to support one local area charity. Each member commits to contributing al least $100 to the chosen charity.
3 organizations were pitched to the Century members December 12th…..YMI, Hollis Adams and Recovery Cafe. The members voted and YMI was the winner.
For more information on the Century Club, use this link.
You can listen to the podcast I recorded with club founder Adam Kallick and member John DeLucia at this link.
The Indiana State Democratic Party has decided to dip into Hamilton County and take the county chair, Dayna Colbert, to be the state-wide party’s new Executive Director.
Ms. Colbert became the Hamilton County Chair in 2021. During her reign, the number of elected Democrats in Hamilton County has remained small, but the party’s candidates have become more competitive. State-wide candidate Destiny Wells carried Carmel and Fishers in her recent race for Indiana Secretary of State.
“After years of building up the party as chair in Hamilton County, I am excited and eager to join the IDP statewide team as the next executive director in the new year,” Dayna Colbert said in a party news release. “Over the last few years in Hamilton County, we have made considerable inroads that can give us a blueprint for more statewide success. In 2024 and beyond, we will continue to be the party working to bring back balance to our state, improve, protect, and restore healthcare options and personal freedoms, fund our local schools, and expand economic opportunities for all.”
Colbert is an alumna of Hoosier Women Forward, a political and civic leadership program designed to encourage Democratic women to be more involved politically in their communities and state.
The Fishers Advisory Committee on Disability welcomed the Indy Fuel hockey team’s mascot Nitro as the panel’s regular meeting was starting December 12th. The Fuel will partner with the committee for a March 22nd Fuel game as part of Disability Awareness Month. But the Committee is partnering with the city and other outside groups as well.
Committee member Stacey Oldham talked with me about those community partnerships in the video below.
Jake Reardon McSoley, Director of Recreation and Wellness for the City of Fishers, calls this an “exciting day.” The Board of Public Works & Safety voted Tuesday morning to enter into a build-operate-transfer (BOT) agreement with the Hagerman Group for construction of the new $61 million community center, to be located at 121st and Hoosier Road. The facility is scheduled to open in October of 2025.
A BOT arrangement is a form of public-private partnership for construction of the center.
McSoley told the board members that with approval of this agreement, work could begin immediately on constructing the community center. It is expected a ceremony will be scheduled soon to mark the start of construction.
Fishers Fire & Emergency Services has replaced self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), declaring the remaining SCBA equipment surplus, transferring 12 SCBA and 24 cylinders to the Fishers Police Department for use in non-fire hazardous environments during SWAT operations.
There is more SCBA equipment remaining, so the Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety voted Tuesday morning to donate the equipment to Ukraine. This apparatus has been replaced with updated equipment for the city’s Fire & Emergency services.
The SCBA donation will be made to U.S. Ambulances For The Ukraine, which is managed through The Ukrainian Society of Indianapolis, in conjunction with the Ukrainian Society in Chicago.
The changes continue on the Hamilton East Library Board. According to a story posted on the IndyStar Web site Monday afternoon, Kim Logan has been appointed to the board by the Hamilton County Council. Logan replaces Tiffanie Ditlevson who resigned from the board recently as she prepares to take a seat on the Fishers City Council.
Logan currently serves on the Fishers Plan Commission and the Delaware Township Board.
The Hamilton East Library has jurisdiction over the libraries in Fishers and Noblesville.
Cooper & Cow recently announced an opening for its high-end Steakhouse in downtown Fishers, at 116th Street & Municipal Drive (the old LouVino location). The establishment is now open as of Monday, December 11.
