Earlier this month, administrators for the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools outlined plans for renovations needed in the next few years at various school buildings, but discussion of one particular structure is key – what will happen to Fishers Elementary School?

There is a lot happening on the elementary school scene.  Students at Durbin Elementary will move over to the new Deer Creek Elementary, under construction in Wayne Township at 156th Street and Bolden Road and due to open in August of 2022.  Southeastern Elementary is already bursting at the seams and will have some of those students head to Deer Creek.

Elementary boundary lines in that area of the school district will need to be adjusted for this to work.  A meeting has been set about those plans for Tuesday, October 26, 6pm, at the HSE High School main cafeteria.

As the local school district looks ahead, Fishers Elementary is on the minds of school officials.  The school structure sets on 8 acres of land, at a time when other HSE District elementary campuses have 20 acres.  Fishers is the oldest school building in the HSE inventory.  Located on Lantern Road, just south of downtown Fishers.  There is plenty of commercial and residential development all around that area.

A few years ago, there were talks between the school corporation and city officials to close Fishers Elementary and construct a new building at Ritchey Woods, land owned by the city.  Nothing after came of that proposal.

In that school board work session earlier in October, it became clear that the board may be coming to a decision – either sink renovation money for Fishers Elementary School or find a way to construct an elementary school somewhere in that general area.

Demographic changes are also part of this.  The last demographic study completed for HSE Schools showed a leveling-off of the school population over the next few years, but it will be uneven, with some areas of the district seeing fewer students and other seeing an increase.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also had an impact on future student count projections.

But all of that adds up to this – a decision is looming on what to do about Fishers Elementary School.  Whatever decision is made will have an impact on the HSE Schools, particularly on the west end of the school district.

The closure of South Street near the Nickel Plate Trail downtown is scheduled to continue through October 22nd.  That’s one of many updates included in the weekly update on area road construction.

Also watch for the closure of 141st Street at the Nickel Plate Trail in the coming week.  There are also resurfacing projects that will limit traffic flow in the area of City Hall and 126th & Lantern Road.

Here is the full road construction update, as provided by the City of Fishers:

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Our film podcast has been on hiatus for a few weeks, but Adam Aasen, Alec Toombs & Larry Lannan are back for another episode of the Grade A Movies Podcast.

Hear reviews of several films, including No Time To Die, Lamb, The Many Saints of Newark, French Dispatch, Last Duel and many more.

As I sat watching the gathering at a local Fishers restaurant, I began to understand.  After 19 years as a member of the Fishers Town & City Council, David George attended his final council meeting this week.

I was surprised that there was no mention of this during the meeting.  But in checking later, this was done at Councilor George’s request.  He did not want any farewell ceremony.  The longest-serving council member wanted to go away quietly, at least in public.

But David George could not decline when his fellow council members insisted that there be a goodbye gathering after the October 11 meeting.

Watching this event was interesting for me.  Members of the council, many that have disagreed on many issues, came together in a bipartisan way to pay their farewell to David George.

It was good to see the council gathering in a social setting, just enjoying each other’s company.  They all took turns saying what an effective council member he had been and how much he will be missed.

I have written before that David George was a special council member that often approached a council vote from a different perspective and I always appreciated that angle, as someone that covered him for nearly 10 years.

David George decided it was time to leave the council now and pursue other interests.  I fully understand and wish him well.

There is a lot of activity going on at HSE Schools.  Two top administrators took time to speak with me on a podcast about many of those activities.  Katy Dowling is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the school district –  Kim Lippe is in charge of student services and Human Resources.

They talked about the new Deer Creek Elementary, the 2022 budget, school polices and much more in this podcast.

The United States Department of Education only designates 325 schools every year with the Blue Ribbon designation.  Thorpe Creek Elementary School, part of the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District, has received this honor in 2021.

At the Wednesday night school board meeting, a resolution was read to recognize the students and staff of Thorpe Creek.  The resolution points to a long history of HSE schools bestowed with the Blue Ribbon award.  They include:

Hamilton Southeastern Junior High School, 2004

Hamilton Southeastern High School, 2005

Sand Creek Intermediate School, 2007

Fishers Elementary, 2011

Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate Junior High, 2014

Geist Elementary, 2016

and,

Thorpe Creek Elementary, 2021.

Thorpe Creek Principal Sara Curran led the presentation before the school board, which included other staff members and some very articulate 4th-grade students.

A Wednesday night discussion about the wording of school policies resulted in a long discussion among  Hamilton Southeastern School Board members and required one person making a public comment to have his microphone muted when he refused to stop speaking once the 3-minute time limit expired.

The policy discussion centered on whether the school corporation should use an opt-in policy for surveys and some other school activities that are currently opt-out for parents.  Some board members seemed to favor requiring parents to opt-in to activities such as the Panorama survey of students, rather than the current system allowing parents to opt-out.

Some board members expressed concern that the opt-in would not allow enough participants in a process such as the Panorama survey because the participation would not be high enough to provide enough data.

Michelle Fullhart said many parents don’t respond either way to an opt-in or opt-out, meaning fewer families would end-up participating in an opt-in process.

The board considered the policy changes over access to instructional materials, consent for participation, curriculum and animals on school property.  You can find links to all the proposed changes and consolidation of polices at this link.  (Access Board Meeting October 13, view the agenda, and Information Item 6.03)

This was an information item on the agenda so no vote was taken.  It appears the policy changes will be considered again by the school district’s policy committee and considered by the board in a future session.

The 2022 spending plan for Hamilton Southeaster Schools, adding all funds, will total $268.8 million, up from $259.25 million in 2021.  The largest pot of money is the education fund, provided by the state in its funding formula for local schools, totaling more than $150 million.  The education fund provides salaries.

The referendum fund is expected to yield more than $23.799 million.  $41.3 million dollars will go toward paying the district’s debt service.

The public hearing on the budget brought a number of comments and questions, including  difficulty finding budget details on the HSE Schools Web site, how referendum salary funds are being spent and how the Lilly grant will be handled once it expires.

School officials say the Lilly grant was to last 4 years, but was extended into a 5th year due to the pandemic.  The grant funds the Diversity & Equity position and the Panorama survey.  The board will need to decide whether to continue those programs by funding them within the school’s budget or end the programs at a later date.

A final vote on the 2022 HSE Schools budget is set for October 27

The James Bond films began in the 1960s and is still going strong, attracting audiences world-wide.  After changing directors and release delays due to COVID, No Time To Die has been a much anticipated film.  Here is my review.

The Panorama survey is once again being utilized by Hamilton Southeastern Schools, and the local organization Fishers One is encouraging local parents to “opt-out” of the survey.  The deadline to opt-out this school year is October 15.

Fishers One takes issue with some of the survey questions.  HSE Schools say the student responses are anonymous and the data is “designed to capture student voice and allow students to express their perspectives about teaching and learning, culture and climate, and their classroom experiences.”

Fishers one also raised questions about confidentiality and third party use of the data, how parents can access specific results and how the Panorama data is used in academics.

HSE Schools point to an extensive Q&A resource on the district’s Web site, which can be accessed at this link.