IRSD honors departing board member

By M. Patricia Titus
Staff Reporter

Hastings has been selected to become a member of the state board of education and resigned his duties on the IRSD board effective at 2 a.m. after the meeting Tuesday night (allowing for a potential late-night executive session).

Her voice breaking and clearly on the verge of tears, Hobbs told Hastings, “You have helped us more than I can say.” She praised his loyal dedication to the district’s children.

Board President Charles Birely told Hastings, “You have done Indian River a lot of justice by this appointment. We certainly appreciate your service.”

Hastings later read his letter of resignation into the record, recalling 12 years of service and praising his fellow board members, the district’s faculty and students. He thanked his wife for her support and noted the leave-taking was bittersweet.

The board unanimously agreed — with notations of regret — to accept the letter.

Also at the Dec. 13 meeting, the board received a report noting that work at Lord Baltimore Elementary is proceeding on schedule.

That would mean the bulk of the renovations to the Ocean View school building would be complete in time for August 2006 occupation. The work on the school’s cafeteria and kitchen are still due to be completed later, in October 2006. Work on additions to the school is to continue through the winter.

Hobbs announced that board elections have been set for May 13, 2006, with four seats to be up for grabs. That includes two seats in District 1 and one seat in each of District 2 and 4.

Hastings presented his final report from the district’s Building and Grounds Committee, including a cost estimate for work at Millsboro Middle School that came in at roughly $11.2 million — about $2 million above the $9.3 million budget for the project.

Still, board members unanimously agreed to accept the estimate on the recommendation of the committee.

The board members also unanimously approved two sports-facility projects: a softball batting cage, dugout and fencing at Indian River High School and similar facilities for field hockey at Sussex Central High School.

In doing so, the board noted that any cost overruns on the projects would be the responsibility of the related booster organizations, which had made the funding requests.

Director of Business and Finance Patrick Miller reported to the board the sum of the many change orders on the district’s ongoing capital projects. The bottom line: a net decrease of $24,000 as projects were completed and taken off the books.

The board also agreed to pay some $2 million in costs for the month, mostly for work at Lord Baltimore and Georgetown Middle School.

Miller offered board members recommendations for how to apply $460,980 in state revenue reductions, including the elimination of an administrative position that has been vacant for more than three years. Board members unanimously agreed to the recommendations.

It was also noted that a potential referendum for district financing would be discussed at the finance committee’s January meeting.

Finally, the board approved a series of field trip requests, including the SDSA Steel the Show steel drum band’s trip to Trinidad again this year. The band members and faculty will now endeavor to raise the funds for the trip, through grants and other fundraising efforts.

During the public comment portion of the meeting (customarily without direct board response), SCHS teacher Lorraine Caputo noted the impending departure of the school’s principal, Dr. Donna Hall.

Caputo invited board members to come to the school to experience its culture and said the students needed consistent and enduring leadership to continue to excel.

And, taking a page from the book of current national discussion, parent Iris Sharp complained that she’d been forced to be “politically correct” when putting up a display on a school bulletin board.

Instead of “Merry Christmas,” she said, she’d been told to only put “Happy Holidays” on the board. She said students had also been forced to fake sneezing at graduation ceremonies, in order to be allowed to say “Bless you” to their fellows.

Sharp said she wanted to know where the community input had been in making decisions to prohibit “Merry Christmas” or prayer at graduation, in deciding to take away her and her children’s rights of free speech.