Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools Superintendent Yvonne Stokes announced Friday that the school district will change guidance on contact tracing, which she says will result in allowing “more students to remain in school.”

When masks are required, students exposed to a COVID positive individual during the school day will no longer have to quarantine. This would also include lunch, when masks are not always worn.

Under the new guidance from the Indiana Department of Health, contact tracing will no longer be necessary as long as masks continue to be required in schools. Families will still be notified if there is a positive case in the classroom-setting via Skylert.

According to Dr. Stokes, these changes are only in effect during the school day. Contact tracing and quarantine will still be required for students outside of the school day (for example – athletics, band, choir, bus rides to and from events, etc.). Isolation procedures for an individual that is COVID positive remains the same.

These changes will go into effect on Monday, January 31.

Students who are currently quarantined for being a close contact during the school day may return to school effective immediately, as long as they remain symptom-free.

“The number of COVID positive cases in our schools are down this week,” Dr. Stokes said. “We hope this is a trend that will continue.”

View Dr. Stokes’ entire video message at the link below.

The Fishers City Council faces a number of issues this year.  Council President Todd Zimmerman talks about that and more in this podcast.

Fishers Police saw a trend of vehicles being left unattended and subject to theft as 2022 began.  The department began an intensive investigation that led to the arrests of 2 Brownsburg residents.

Officers recovered three stolen vehicles and a large amount of stolen property related to twelve separate victims.

Under arrest are Levi Weaver, 35, and Jade Cotterman, 33, both from Brownsburg.  Levi Weaver faces charges of auto theft with a prior conviction, theft with a prior conviction, fraud and possession of methamphetamine. Jade Cotterman is charged with theft with a prior conviction, fraud and possession of methamphetamine. 

Fishers Police remind residents to remove all items of value and never leave their vehicle unlocked and unattended.

Here is the link to the video version of my podcast conversation with WTHR’s Bob Segall…

Bob Segall has been an investigative reporter for WTHR Television news since 2006.  He was involved for more than 5 years in reporting a story about HSE Schools and disclosure of information.  Here is my discussion with him.

Several Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR certification for superior energy performance.  HSE Energy Management Director Bob Rice explained the honor at Wednesday night’s school board meeting.

The list of school recognized is:

Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate Junior High

Harrison Parkway Elementary

New Britton Elementary

Sand Creek Elementary

Sand Creek Intermediate

and

Thorpe Creek Elementary.

Schools awarded the ENERGY STAR® certification perform in the top 25 percent of buildings nationwide, based on weather-normalized source energy and indoor air quality standards as certified by a professional engineer.

HSE Schools partnered with an outside contractor, Performance Services, and reduced HSE’s utility consumption by 16.7 % and achieved over $2 million in annual savings.  In 2019, the school district’s annual energy cost was down 15% compared to 2010 despite significant increases in utility rates and expansions to the total building area.

Lantern Road Elementary School is about to received a $14 million makeover.  The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board was briefed Wednesday night on the timeline, which includes hiring an architect and a construction manager.  Then, in September of this year, administrators will have a recommendation on a construction bid that will allow the project to move forward.

There were a number of other issues before the board at the most recent meeting:

–The board will vote in early February on an award for a 2-year 16.5 acres farmland lease that will produce rental income for the school district.

–The board voted to join many other school corporations in a lawsuit against Juul to “recover costs and expenses that HSE and other school districts have incurred to mitigate the detrimental impacts of vaping by students.”  Attorney fees will be paid only if there is a judgment or settlement in the case.

–The board voted to move forward with a $1.5 million renovation of Durbin Elementary, allowing the FOCUS program to move into that building from its current home at Fall Creek Junior High.  FOCUS provides the same academic program as other students at HSE Schools, but also works to deal with obstacles those students must face.

–Approval was provided to replace the Riverside tennis courts.

–The board voted to move ahead with temporary loans needed to keep the school district funded as it awaits money distributions from the state.

–Chief Financial Officer Katie Dowling provided a year-end financial report to the board with no major financial challenges on the horizon.

Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools have been asking the community for help in boosting the cadre of substitute teachers.  Administrators say the public has been responding.

Kim Lippe, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, told the school board Wednesday night the district has 383 general substitute teachers, with 9 new ones added just this week.

“We’re receiving a lot of calls and interest and people trying to get processed to sub in our buildings,” Lippe told the board.  “Our data is trending in the right direction.”

Also, Superintendent Yvonne Stokes said HSE is following the COVID guidance provided by the Indiana Department of Education and the Indiana Department of Health.  HSE Schools have a mask requirement in place that would not be relaxed until Hamilton County is out of the Red (highest risk) COVID category for 2 weeks.  Hamilton County is in the Red, as are all Indiana counties at this time.

Stokes also said the district is easing the burden on teachers by not requiring Professional Learning Committee (PLC) meetings and other meetings to ease the burden while so many teachers are covering classes with no substitute teachers available.  Administrators will revisit that decision on February 14th, according to Dr. Stokes.

Board Vice President Sarah Donsbach chaired the board session.  Board President Julie Chambers attended the meeting remotely.

With sub-zero wind chills, it does seem a bit odd to be talking about a summer festival, but the Fishers Parks & Recreation Department is already taking applications for Spark Fishers Festival vendors.  The summer celebration is scheduled for June 21-25 this year.

Festival organizers are looking for participants, including businesses, non-profits, artists, musicians, vintage car enthusiasts, food & drink vendors, with openings for the Artisan Tent, Street Fair, Parade, entertainment stages, and the Car & Art Show.

First Internet Bank returns in 2022 as the Spark Fishers event sponsor.  2022 will mark the 4th year for the festival.

To apply for any of the opportunities to be a part of Spark Fishers, use this link.

The Fishers Parks Department has a lot to plan already, here are some of the events:

–Summer camp registration begins February 1, more information at this link.

–The Heart Hike is the Saturday  before Valentine’s Day…more at this link.

–The Pre-K Prom is coming February 12.  Use this link to learn more.

–The first 2022 Fishers Farmers Market is set for May 7, but vendors need to apply by February 25th.  For more details, use this link.

–Mayor Scott Fadness is planning another Twilight Town Hall, this time with Parks & Recreation Director Sarah Sandquist.  To register for the online event, access this link.

The City of Fishers has been waiting for months and the outside contractor’s “Housing Needs Analysis & Strategy” report is finally available.  The document is lengthy and a presentation before members of the City Council January 18 could not be completed in the time allotted.

The report, put together by Urban Partners, a firm headquartered in Philadelphia, is 91 pages, not including the index at the end of the document.  It contains much data and some recommendations.  Planning and Zoning Director Megan Vukusich told council members that a group of local people were part of the process, but not everyone involved agrees with all the recommendations contained in the report.

Although Council members only received a partial presentation on the study, much intriguing information was provided.  Here are some of the highlights:

–Population in the City of Fishers rose by 26% from 2010 through 2019.  Hamilton County’s population growth during that same period was 24%

–The largest age growth segment was school-aged children, (ages 5-17) which is 23% of the Fishers population.

–Senior citizens also grew as a part of the Fishers population.  Those aged 65 & over made up 5% of the city’s residents in 2010 – that percentage is 9% in 2019.

–Of those moving to Fishers from outside Hamilton County, these residents are 3-times as likely to be young adults, ages 25-34.

–In 2016, there were 19, 526 jobs located in Fishers – in 2018, that number was 37,336.

–Of Fishers residents, 47.5% work in Indianapolis, 13.7% in Fishers, 9.8% in Carmel and 5% in Noblesville.

–Fishers housing projections are centered on seniors.  Over the coming 20 years, 42.5% of all net household growth will be headed by those 65 & older.

That is just a snapshot of some data shared with the Council and a small amount of the data contained in the report.  You can read the entire document at this link.

Once Urban Partners completes the presentation to the council, it will be up to the mayor and council members to decide what to do about the report’s recommendations.