Retirements run rampant at NP

By Lois Mittino Gray

A tall stack of retirement cards to sign sat atop the table at the North Posey School Board’s monthly meeting as members took their seats at the District Office on March 9 after taking a tour of North Elementary School to look at improvements. An Executive Session was held before the tour for the purpose of discussing the assessment, design, and implementation of school safety and security measures, plans, and systems.

At the regular board meeting, another four staff retiremenst were approved to take effect at the end of the school year. Staci Voegel and Gary Gentil will both retire as Physical Education/ Health teachers at North Posey Junior High School. Voegel has served the district in various coaching and teaching positions for 36 years, while Gentil has served in both capacities for 28 years. Jennifer Werry plans to retire as a second grade teacher at North Elementary School after a service record of 23 years. Brenda Straw will retire as a bus driver after putting in 18 years behind the wheel for the district.

“There are lots of retirements as the school year end approaches and we would like to thank you all for your service,” remarked School Board Member Lindsey Bowers. “There are a lot of big shoes to fill here,” added Board Member Larry Kahle. There were no speakers signed up for Patron Concerns on the agenda, so the meeting launched right into a presentation by the two elementary school principals on English/Language Arts/ Reading curriculum adoption materials. “Last year was the year to adopt these materials, but the teachers really didn’t love anything available at that time. They were each missing key pieces of the puzzle in some way. It was decided to wait for this year’s new materials to come out and we feel Magnetic Literacy is the best program we have seen so far,” explained Megan Butto, North Elementary School Principal.

“This program has all the pieces we need to align vertically with K through 5 curriculum and the I-READ learning program,” added Matthew Jaques, South Terrace Elementary School Principal. “We will use this same program in both elementary school buildings and be aligned horizontally across each grade, too.” School Superintendent Todd Slagle spoke in positive terms about how well the program fits in with I-READ learning assessments.

A revised Staff Attire and Accessories policy was presented to the Board for first reading. The revised policy will be brought forward for second reading and approval at the April meeting, unless further review is deemed necessary. No action was required at this meeting. Persons wishing to read the new policy before the vote will be able to find it on the school’s website since Amy Motz plans to post it in the morning.

A contract with Consociate Health for Annual plan drug and healthcare cost reporting for 2025 at a cost of $1,750 was approved, it was an unchanged rate from last year.

In other personnel issues, a resignation was accepted from Faith Cox as a teacher at North Elementary School, effective March 20, 2026. Jesse Shadley will resign as a bus driver at the conclusion of the school year. Morgan Daly resigned as the assistant girls’ basketball coach for North Posey High School, effective at the conclusion of the 2025-2026 season. Christina Peters resigned as the cheer coach for South Terrace Elementary School, effective immediately.

Melissa Sweeney will be hired as the secretary at South Terrace Elementary School beginning May 4, 2026. David Wilson was hired as the long-term substitute for the Innovate classroom at North Elementary School from March 30 until the end of the school year. Scott Bosecker, Matthew Cox, and Sean Fisher were hired as Track & Field coaches for North Posey High Schoo, splitting the stipends. Caleb Goebel was approved as a volunteer track coach for North Posey High School for the 2025-2026 season and Jack Lowe and Kevin Wassmer will be volunteer softball coaches for North Posey High School for the season.

Todd Slagle was given permission to attend the IASBO Transportation Seminar in Plainfield on April 15-16 for $385.00 plus van use and the IASBO Annual Conference in French Lick for $1,100.00 plus Van Use. Both will be taken from the Operations Fund.

Slagle was pleased he had a “lengthy list” of Good News items to announce. The high school cheerleaders won PAC Overall Runner-Up and PAC Game Day Champions first place, with a third place in Performance. Tyson Barrow was a State Qualifier in high school wrestling and State Wrestling Championship, Junior High winner was Maverick Hoehn. NPHS Choir ISSMA Solo & Ensemble State Competition saw Gold Ratings go to Ady Gamblin, Jewel Greathouse, Julia Rice, Gabbi Winegar, and Savannah Wood. Gold with Distinction Ratings were meted out to Isaac Holder, Aiden MacMunn, Lily MacMunn, and Emma Meek.

In NPHS/NPJHS Robotics Conclaves, the Team Gearserkers became Alliance 6 Captain, and were ranked in 11th place. Team Ragnabotics was ranked fourth place, being Alliance 3 Captain, and advancing to State Competition this month. They also won the Think Award. In the NPHS Science Olympiad Teams Regional Competition, we placed fourth Place Overall and are State Qualifiers.

Lastly, a 20-year-old record was broken in the NPJHS Construction Class by Paisley Fisher. His CO Dragster flew down the 65 foot track in .85 seconds. This beat the old record of .92 seconds. “I am pleased all this good news reflects such a broad range of interests from science to athletics to arts,” remarked Board Member Kahle.

Junior Achievement is looking for volunteers to help teach their packets in the classrooms at both elementary schools. It is on their Facebook page or contact Rachel Gonaher. The Indiana School Board Association Spring Regional Meeting is slated for April 20, 2026.

The next Regular Board Meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 13, 2026, in the library at North Posey Junior/Senior High School. The Executive Session will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by the Regular Meeting at 6:30 p.m.