SAT tests scheduled for both HSE and Fishers High Schools Saturday, March 14th, have been cancelled.  Students from throughout Central Indiana had planned on taking the test at those Fishers locations.

HSE Schools Spokesperson Emily Abbotts says It will be up to the College Board to decide when a makeup test will be scheduled and the Board will handle any refund issues.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools will be closing, following Governor Eric Holcomb’s request to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.  In a message to the families of HSE students and district staff, Superintendent Allen Bourff wrote the school corporation will use a combination of eLearning and waiver days granted by Governor Holcomb.

The closing will be from Monday, March 16 through Thursday, April 2.  Spring break is scheduled to begin Friday, April 3.

According to the message from Dr. Bourff, students will be in school Friday, March 13 for a regular school day in which the teachers will prepare them for an extended time away. All buildings will close no later than 6 p.m.

“We recognize how challenging this situation is for some of our families, students and staff,” Bourff said in his message. “This decision was made after consultation with Hamilton County health officials and other Hamilton County schools.”

School officials say they will continue to finalize plans for support of families in the school district and will reveal those plans “in the coming days.”

With cancellations, suspensions and postponements of a wide variety of events nation wide, Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness has issued what he describes as a “community plan” to deal with the virus.

“While there are no currently confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Fishers, the City’s goal is to manage precautions ahead of any confirmed cases and encourage the community to take personal responsibility and reduce the impact on high-risk populations,” according to the Internet posting by the city.

The plan includes guidance for individuals, schools, workplaces, assisted living facilities, community & faith-based organizations and Fishers city policies.

Review a 2-page PDF document with the details of the plan at this link.

The dispute between Carmel and Fishers over the state formula distributing County Option Income Tax (COIT) funds appears to be settled.  House Speaker Todd Huston tells LarryInFishers.com that a conference committee report with the language agreed-to by officials of both cities  has now passed both the House and the Senate and is headed to the desk of Governor Eric Holcomb.  The governor is expected to sign the measure.

Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness has said that despite the fact that Fishers and Carmel have roughly the same population numbers, Carmel has been receiving significantly more COIT funds the past several years, and the gap has been widening.

Mayor Fadness recently told LarryInFishers.com the deal reached with Carmel calls for a revised COIT distribution formula that will add $15 million-$18 million in additional COIT funds to Fishers over three years, but that increase is tied to a rise in COIT tax collections of 2.5% each year.  In other words, presuming a strong economy continues locally, Fishers will receive the extra funds.  According to Fadness, after that initial three-year period, Fishers would receive $4 million-$6 million in additional money per year from COIT, but that would once again rely on continued COIT tax collection growth in the coming years.

According to Speaker Huston, all the provisions described to me by the mayor are included in the final version of the legislation.

HSE High School varsity football coach Adam Morris is leaving after 2 seasons heading up the Royals program.  School Superintendent Allen Bourff told school board members Wednesday night that Morris’ resignation was submitted late Wednesday, shortly before the board voted on the coach’s departure.

Bourrf said Morris will be headed to join the football coaching staff at DePauw University.  The opening will be posted and the earliest a new Royals coach could be hired is late April.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) school board members voted unanimously to allow Superintendent Allen Bourff the authority to handle compensation issues for district employees if school would need to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 virus.  At this time, there are no plans to cancel classes in HSE Schools

The resolution enacted Wednesday night allows administrators to “review the impact of any school closing and/or if the Superintendent deems any other measures necessary to assist employees as a result of other circumstances related to COVID-19.”

Many school employees are hourly workers, such as bus drivers, food service staff and instructional assistants.  The resolution empowers the superintendent to act quickly in the event of a school closure to take care of those workers.

Ryan Taylor, Director of Staff and Student Support Services for HSE Schools, told the board students who provide written documentation from their healthcare provider advising them to refrain from attending school due to COVID-19 will receive an excused absence.   For all other students, the normal attendance policy remains the same.

Here is what Taylor presented to board members about school-sponsored events & travel:

–Any school-sponsored or district-sponsored travel to locations with travel advisories for the Coronavirus, as identified by the CDC or the US Department of State, will be cancelled.

–Currently, planned school-sponsored or district-sponsored in-county, instate and out-of-state events are continuing as planned. However, each trip will be reviewed as concerns arise.

–Currently, school officials are carefully considering events that may involve 1000 or more participants. Stay tuned…for now, events will continue as planned.

–Students who are exhibiting flu-like symptoms will not be permitted to participate in field trips.

–Parents and guardians should verify that their phone numbers and email addresses are correct in Skyward and ensure that notification permissions are set to receive messages.

What about students returning from spring break?  Here’s what Taylor presented to the board:

“Any person traveling for any reason from a Level 2 or Level 3 country for COVID-19 must self-quarantine for 14 days upon return to the U.S.  As this situation is rapidly evolving,
health authorities may also impose domestic and/or regional US travel restrictions prior to spring break. We encourage you to reconsider any unnecessary travel and to rigorously follow CDC guidance. Persons who return from ANY spring break travel with COVID-19 symptoms may be required to self-quarantine.”

If HSE Schools would need to close, e-learning would be implemented.  The YMCA programs before and after school wwould be cancelled.  School facilities that are rented, including to religious organizations, would be closed to all events.  Plans are being developed by school officials to provide breakfast and lunch for students during any closure.

On the compensation issue, Superintendent Bourff told the board the school corporation would have no authority to force contractors to take care of their employees working in HSE Schools, because contract workers are not employees of the school corporation.  However, the school system can encourage contractors to take care of their workers during any school closure situation.

The coronavirus has impacted some Fishers Park & Recreations events, but not others.

City officials say the Freebirds St. Patrick Day Lucheon has been cancelled.  It was aimed at an audience over 50 years of age.  Health experts say older populations are more at risk of developing serious complications from COVID-19.

The National Vietnam War Veterans Day ceremony scheduled for March 29th has been rescheduled for June 14.

The Breakfast with the Leprechaun event scheduled for this Saturday is scheduled to continue as planned. If participants have concerns about attending, a full refund can be issued by contacting 317-595-3150.

You may have noticed that the stop signs along the Nickel Plate Trail have been removed in Fishers, with one exception.  The stop sign at 131st Street west of State Road 37 will remain due to the steep grade at that location, but the city says “the removal of this sign will come at a later date.”

The removal of the stop signs will end the requirement for school buses to stop at these locations.  Railroad “out of service” signs have also been placed at these crossings.

The City of Fishers will provide nearly $68,000 in funding for matching grants to Fishers neighborhoods this year.  The grants were once separated into the Neighborhood Matching Grant and the Tree Matching Grant, but have now been combined and renamed the Vibrant Neighborhoods Matching Grant (VNMG).

According to the city, the intent of the VNMG program is to provide money for older neighborhoods, typically 10 years or older.  Projects funded include beautification of a subdivision entrance or property along city roadways.

Over $78,000 total was requested by 22 neighborhoods throughout Fishers.  A committee reviewed all requests and submitted its recommendations to the Board of Public Works and Safety, which voted to approve the committee’s work at its Monday meeting.  The funds had been approved by the City Council as part of the 2020 budget.

To review the entire list of neighborhoods receiving the VNMG grant, use this link.

When moving to Fishers in 1991, I tried to learn as much as possible about the town and its elections.  The first discovery was how few Democrats were candidates for local office.  At least one election I recall was cancelled because the Republicans on the ballot had no opponents.

Fishers in particular, and Hamilton County in general, have been a solidly Republican area for as long as most people remember.  But that is beginning to change.  Two Democrats, Sam DeLong and Jocelyn Vare, were elected to the Fishers City Council in last year’s local election.  This is the first time any Democrats have been elected to Fishers city offices and no one can remember any Democrat winning a Fishers election, going back to the days of Fishers as a town.

The Fishers GOP Club has been around for many years.  I have attended a couple of their meetings when hosting Republican candidate forums during primary campaigns.  The meetings have been mostly well attended.

Democrats began forming their own Fishers club in the aftermath of the November election last year.  According to the club’s President Julie Chambers and Vice President Jocelyn Vare, the first few months have been centered on doing the administrative requirements such as electing officers and finalizing by-laws, in tandem with the Hamilton County and state Democratic organizations.

I attended the March 9th meeting of the Fishers Democratic Club, and found an overflow crowd of 38 people filling the meeting room at Aurelio’s Pizza.  Club members tell me the group has already outgrown its first two meeting venues.

The club invited two candidates for office to the March 9th session.  Dee Thornton made her case to those gathered as to why she should be the nominee for the 5th District Congressional seat.  Thornton was the Democrat on the 5th District ballot two years ago and is facing four challengers in this year’s Democratic primary.

Also there to speak about her candidacy was Pam Dechert. She has no primary opponent but will seek the Indiana House seat currently held by Brian Bosma.  Bosma says he will be resigning from his House seat so this will be a seat with no incumbent candidate.

Chambers says the main focus on club activities will be to support Democrats in their campaigns once the primary election is over.

When I first moved to Fishers, people openly wondered how many Democrats would be able to gather for any kind of meeting.  The Fishers Democratic Club is proving that their political party can draw a local crowd and have a regular monthly meeting.  Whether this club will have an impact on future local elections will be something to watch.