A change in state law will not change the relationship between the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools administration and the HSE Education Association (the teachers representative).  Superintendent Yvonne Stokes says with the change in law that says schools districts now have the option of discussions with the local teacher unions, HSE Schools will continue its policy of discussions with HSEA, with no change.

“We, as a district, believe in the importance of hearing the voice of our teachers,” Stokes says.  “While the option is a ‘may,’ we plan to have discussions.”

Stokes also offered a reminder of the Before The Bell celebration marking the start of a new school year.  This is the second year for this event, and will be held once again at the downtown Fishers Amphitheater, Thursday, August 3rd, 5:30-7:30PM.  The first day of school in the HSE District for students is Wednesday, August 9th.

At Wednesday night’s school board meeting, Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools hired three new assistant principals.

Michael Perry is hired at Harrison Parkway Elementary, replacing Rebekah Landez.

Kayla Rego will take over as assistant principal at Thorpe Creek Elementary, replacing Jana Allen.

Allison Rogowski is taking over the assistant principal spot at Fishers Elementary, replacing Quentin Hunter.

In another action, the board approved hiring Tim Mankin as interim principal at Fall Creek Junior High School.  Mankin has been retired from HSE Schools and fills in after Stacy Swan resigned from the principal post.  Mankin’s appointment is not to exceed 12 weeks.

The Indiana General Assembly passed legislation essentially eliminating most book and other fees for students and parents.  When that happened, local school districts wanted to know whether the state would pick up the tab on the extra expense at the local level.  The answer was, sort of.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School board was briefed by staff Wednesday night on that situation, and discovered a deficit of just under $1 million.  The student fees invoiced in the 2022-2023 school year totaled roughly $4.1 million, with estimated fee reimbursement from the state to be about $3.2 million in the coming school year, leaving a local deficit of a bit below $1 million.  The student fee amount is from the previous school year and the amount of state support is estimated, so the actual numbers are not known at this time.

The official student count will impact the state fee reimbursement, with the state paying $151.88 per student.  The official student count is submitted to the state in October.

School districts may charge families for some fees under the state guidance, including  Field trips, Preschool materials, Lost or significantly damaged materials, Dual Enrollment course materials and Dual Credit and Advanced Placement (AP) testing fees.

There will be changes to the student handbook for the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District, following a vote by the school board Wednesday.  The board voted 5-2 in favor of changes to the handbook, particularly the dress code and wearing hats & hoodies in school.  Board members Sarah Donsbach and Sarah Parks-Reese voted no.

There has been discussion not just about the language in the proposed handbook changes, but also the process used.  In the past, a committee of “stakeholders,” comprised of staff, parents and students, recommended changes in the student handbook months before the start of the school year.  These changes were proposed by board members outside that process.

Carolyn Porzuczek, Elementary Schools Vice President for the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association, urged board members to “value” the process for parents, staff and students to evaluate changes in the handbook language, a system that normally begins in January for the next school year.  She voiced concerns about a changing dress code that would require teachers to have intimate conversations with students about their clothing, saying it “further erodes the trust” teachers have in their role as decision-makers.

Nataki Pettigrew, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer for HSE Schools, expressed concerns from district administrators, teachers, parents and students about the new policy on hoodies and hats, saying none of the stakeholders expressed concerns over the current policy, which allows teachers the autonomy to deal with the issue.

“We have experienced an entire year allowing students to wear hats and hoods without any disruption to the learning environment,” Pettigrew told board members.  “Going back on this policy sends a confusing message to our students and our staff and will be a very difficult sell.”

Below is the student handbook language approved by the board Wednesday:

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For Student Dress in the Handbook for grade levels 5 – 12, the bolded language will be added:

oHamilton Southeastern Schools students are expected to maintain an appearance that is appropriate for school and conducive to the educational atmosphere. The appearance and dress of any student is the primary responsibility of both the student and the parent/guardian. HSE students are expected to maintain an appearance that is appropriate for school and conducive to the educational atmosphere. Whenever a school official considers a student’s appearance to be inappropriate for the educational environment, a conference will be held, and the student will be asked to make a modification.

oThe following are examples of clothing or items that are considered to be inappropriate or needing additional clarity:

▪Clothing and/or any adornment displaying messages or images not appropriate for school. Examples would be messages containing profanity; sexual innuendo; references to drugs, alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, or violence; or messages that incite hate towards other students or student groups.

▪Clothing that is designed to reveal buttocks, torso (the body apart from the head, neck, arms, and legs), midsection of the body, undergarments, or the lack of undergarments.

▪Heavy and/or long coats

▪Strapless tops or spaghetti-straps

▪Hats or hoodies: Hoods will be in the down position and hats will be off unless given permission by a staff member for that instructional period.

▪Any item that might cause a concern for student safety.

▪Blankets and pillows

▪Students are not permitted to carry signs, flags, or non-educational items that the school can reasonably forecast will substantially or materially disrupt the school environment.

oStudents who violate the dress code may face disciplinary action.

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The board will consider changes to the 2024-2025 student handbook in the areas of rest room conduct, weapons language, discipline and dress code.

Board member Tiffany Pascoe says she wants a discussion about school uniforms after the referendum vote later this year.

To access more details on the student handbook changes, use this link.

Is the sharing of a Google document by Hamilton Southeastern School Board members a violation of the Indiana open meetings law?  That is the central point of an Indianapolis Star article posted online early Wednesday morning and appearing on the front page of Wednesday’s print edition.

Reporter Rachel Fradette describes a Google document shared with her that shows discussion among board members about student handbook issues before any public meeting discussion was conducted on this issue.

Fradette quotes Indiana Public Access Counselor Luke Britt as saying the board is on a “slippery slope” in sharing the document and discussing the issues using that technology outside a public meeting.  According to the IndyStar reporting, Luke Britt says it’s unusual for a school board to take on or draft policy in this manner.

Board President Dawn Lang responded to the Star in an e-mail asserting the Google document in question in not exclusively a board document.

Fradette also quotes Gerry Lanosga, Indiana University Associate Professor of Journalism, expressing his view this violated the spirit of the Open Door law by sharing a document outside of public view.

You can read the entire story at this link. (NOTE:  your access to this story may be limited if you are not an IndyStar subscriber.  Online subscriptions are very inexpensive.  Once gain, subscribe to your local medai!)

Mike Fassold has retired from his long teaching career in May of this year.  In this podcast, Mike talks about his previous career in the military and his second career as a classroom teacher in HSE Schools.

The new Fishers Events Center is on track for a November-December 2024 opening date, based on comments from Fishers Deputy Mayor Elliott Hultgren at Tuesday’s Board of Public Works and Safety meeting.  The board approved $36 million in bids moving the project forward.  According to Hultgren, one more set of Events Center bids will be presented to the board for its consideration in August.

The Events Center will be home for the Indy Fuel minor league hockey team, and is expected to host a number of local events, such as high school graduations and Fishers-HSE High School basketball games.

The bids approved Tuesday cover the costs of masonry, ornamental metals, membrane roofing, interior and exterior glazing systems, structural precast caulking and sealing,  fireproofing, metal wall panels, overhead doors and loading dock equipment,  doors,  drywall and framing, blackout curtains, baffles, seating, and permanent site fencing.

The City of Fishers is constructing the Events Center through a public-private partnership with Hunt Construction.

In one other item before the board, there will be lane restrictions coming in the southbound lanes of Allisonville Road and 96th Street to allow a water main installation for residential development coming to the northwest corner of 96th Street and Allisonville Road.  The lane restrictions will begin this week, but will be done at night.  However, one part of the installation must be started in the morning hours, requiring lane restrictions after 9am, scheduled for Tuesday of next week.

In preparation for the upcoming academic year, Round Room, LLC., the nation’s largest Verizon Authorized Retailer, has announced its 11th annual “School Rocks Backpack Giveaway.” Through this initiative, the company’s TCC and Wireless Zone retailers will donate a staggering 120,000 backpacks filled with essential school supplies to children across the United States. Since its inception in 2013, the School Rocks Backpack Giveaway has already provided more than 1.3 million backpacks to young students in need.

On Sunday, July 30, starting at 1 p.m. local time, over 1,000 TCC and Wireless Zone stores nationwide will be welcoming local families to their locations to collect a backpack brimming with supplies, including pencils, paper, a pencil box, folders, a ruler, and glue. The giveaways will be conducted on a first-come, first-served basis, with one backpack per child present. Any excess backpacks at the events will be generously donated to local schools, chosen by each participating store.

To make it easier for families to locate their nearest School Rocks Backpack Giveaway event, interested individuals can visit this link and this link and select the “Backpack Giveaway Participating Store” filter.

“The School Rocks Backpack Giveaway is our company’s cornerstone annual event, and I couldn’t be more thankful for our store locations, employees and customers for helping us continue to do good in the thousands of communities we operate in,” said Scott Moorehead, CEO of Round Room. “The start of the school year is an exciting time for many, and we look forward each and every year to make school supplies more accessible for students so they can thrive in the classroom.”

According to the National Retail Federation, American families with school-aged children spent an average of $864 on school supplies in the previous year, amounting to a staggering $36.1 billion spent on school supplies in the United States alone. In response to these rising costs, Round Room, through TCC and Wireless Zone, endeavors to alleviate the burden and provide much-needed support to families through the School Rocks Backpack Giveaway.

Round Room, LLC currently operates 1,248 TCC and Wireless Zone wireless retail stores across 43 states. The company is committed to improving and actively participating as a key partner in the thousands of communities they serve nationwide. This dedication has been recognized, as Round Room was honored in Inc. Magazine’s Best in Business in 2022, acknowledging the extraordinary impact the company has made in its industry.

In the spirit of spreading awareness about the initiative, supporters of the School Rocks Backpack Giveaway are encouraged to utilize the hashtag #BackpackGiveaway on social media platforms.

To find out more about TCC and Wireless Zone, as well as the School Rocks Backpack Giveaway, interested individuals can visit the following websites: www.RoundRoom.com, www.TCCRocks.com, and www.wirelesszone.com.

A Fishers man has died in a Saturday evening crash at 116th Street and Spyglass Ridge Drive (east of Cumberland Road).  Jasnoor Aulakh, 21, from Fishers, has been identified as the motorcyclist that died in the accident.  The driver of the other vehicle involved, driving a Ford F350 truck, is identified as Christina Sutton, 48, also from Fishers.

Police say Aulakh was transported to an area hospital from the scene of the crash. where he died.  Officers say it appears the Ford was in the process of turning westbound onto 116th Street, from Spyglass Ridge Drive, when the motorcycle, traveling eastbound, collided with the Ford.

The crash is under investigation by Fishers Police.

Hamilton County Emergency Management, headquartered in Noblesville, issued a statement Monday saying severe weather is a possibility Wednesday this week.

Below is the text of the statement:

The Storm Prediction Center’s day three outlook for severe weather includes Hamilton County. Now is the time to prepare by: