Board of Education Announces Renaming of High School Gymnasium

This entry was posted on Friday, January 27th, 2012

 

By CECILIA FOX
Record Herald Writer
Courtesy of the Weekly Record Herald; Printed 1-27-12

TIPP CITY – The Tippecanoe Board of Education celebrated School Board Member Appreciation Month by announcing that the high school gymnasium will be renamed after a former board member Monday evening.
The Tippecanoe High School Gymnasium will soon be renamed the Pat Wampler Gymnasium.
“Pat Wampler is very deserving of the honor of having the Tippecanoe High School Gymnasium bear her name,” said board president Tom Merritt.
The renaming will take place at the last home boys’ basketball game of the season, Feb. 10.
Wampler served on the board for 32 years and as board president for 10 years. She was instrumental in the building of Tippecanoe High School and she has been a tireless supporter of the schools as a parent, fan, and board member.
According to Merritt, a recommendation to rename the gym was made to the board and a committee was formed to discuss the change. The school board voted unanimously in support of the name change, saying the recognition was very well deserved.
Wampler is a mother of seven and has 15 grandchildren. All seven of her children attended Tipp City schools. She and her husband are sports fans and attend as many Tippecanoe boys’ and girls’ events as they can.
Another presentation came from three teachers from the district, Lisa Colebaugh, Paula Goldsberry, and Pam Staub. They all teach family and consumer sciences, two at the middle school and one at the high school. The women discussed teaching financial literacy to Tipp City students.
Currently, an introductory course in personal finance is required for all seventh graders and more in-depth electives are available for eighth graders and high school students.
“I have a passion for teaching financial literacy because I know that’s one of the most important skills our students take away from our classes,” Colebaugh said.
These classes are intended to teach students the financial skills they will need later in life, especially as they go off to college and begin their lives after high school.
Some of the class topics include goal setting, saving and investing, banking, credit and taxes, among others.
Board member Scott Dixon raised the question of making a financial literacy class required for all high school students. He voiced concerns that not enough students are taking the elective financial literacy courses available at the high school.
“I think every kid that graduates should be required to take a semester of financial literacy,” said Dixon. Concerns were also raised that requiring students to take a financial literacy course could interfere with other classes they are required to take.
“I think that this is something that we could go back and have more discussion on,” said Superintendent Dr. John Kronour. Other board members agreed that the matter bears further scrutiny.
In other school news, Assistant Superintendent Gretta Kumpf reported that training for Project MORE is progressing. Currently 25 adult volunteers have been trained and 25 more potential volunteers from the middle school have shown interest.
“We are still needing more volunteers,” said Kumpf.
Project MORE is a volunteer based reading education program. Students and volunteers will meet four times a week for 30 minute sessions. The project has demonstrated significant reading results at other schools in the state since it began in 1999.
Project MORE kicks off in Tipp City schools on Feb. 6.
The board discussed the redistricting of the elementary schools at last night’s meeting. The board reasons that reorganizing the schools would save approximately $150,000 annually by eliminating three staff positions and increasing class size by only two or three students.
“The bad thing is we’re in a tough situation. We do not have enough money to run the school system as it is,” said board member Frank Maus.
The district has made $1.3 million in cuts already and will have to face more.
There will be a redistricting meeting on Monday, Feb.6, at L.T. Ball. It will be open to all members of the public to join in the discussion.
The board also announced the retirement of two district employees. Janet Butsch, an art teacher at the middle school, and school nurse Mary Teague will both be retiring in July.
“They’ve both been with us for many years and done an excellent job and we wish them both well,” said Merritt.

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