BLOOMFIELD BOARD TAKES AIM AT DRUG PROGRAM

The Bloomfield Board of School Trustees took action Thursday night to
launch a new pro-active approach to drug and substance abuse and appointed
a committee to study the problem and make recommendations for a new
prevention policy.

"Given the nature of recent developments of drug and substance abuse in
rural southwestern Indiana, the Bloomfield School District administration
believes we should have a comprehensive drug and substance abuse/prevention
policy," superintendent Ron Hasler told the board.

Hasler said the committee should explore a variety of abuse and prevention
techniques, including K-9 searches, random drug testing and other deterrents.

Assistant junior-senior high principal Stella Turner-Royal was appointed
chair of the committee. The committee was directed to bring a report back
to the full school board no later than the July monthly meeting.

The committee will also include: School board president Keith Hanauer;
junior-senior high principal Greg Parsley; elementary school principal Mary
Jane Vandeventer; school nurse Sue McIntosh; one elementary and one junior
high parent selected by the Parent Teacher Organization; two teachers - one
elementary and one junior-senior high selected by the Bloomfield Teachers
Association; the school's social worker and at-risk counselor; and one
student council member.

In other matters, the board approved a resolution to transfer $78,092 from
Debt Service to the General Fund to meet shortfalls in the transportation
fund, which was eliminated by the Indiana General Assembly.

"The legislature adopted the change to allow school districts to make this
type of transfer of funds equal to the amount of reduction in the state
distribution to the 2004 Transportation Fund," Hasler stated in his
recommendation to the board.

The superintendent further explained the action by the lawmakers was a
"sideways" method to deal with the problem. The new law allows school
districts to raise the amount of their tax levy in the Debt Service Fund
equal to the amount the Transportation Fund was reduced in the new funding
formula and then transfer it for use in the General Fund to pay
transportation costs.

"The $78,092 is what we would have gotten from the state for transportation
for 2004. We didn't get anything, so this how we are making that up," he said.

Hasler called the current transportation funding "very unfair" to district
like Bloomfield, which uses a majority of contract drivers.

"If we owned our own buses and hired our drivers, we would pay for those
buses out of the Bus Replacement Fund and Bus Replacement, although it has
control, it is not like these controls," he said. "In our case, we are
buying buses because those contract drivers have to have a bus and the only
thing they use them for is here, so I mean in their rate and what we pay
them, the cost of that bus is included. We should be able to offset that
cost with a Bus Replacement Fund, but we can't."

He continued, "This problem is not going to go away for us. We've managed
to stay in the black the last three years, just barely. We are on the first
year of a new four-year contract and they were 15 percent higher than the
previous contract. Even though we can go up 5 percent in our levy, there is
a fuel escalator clause in there and you know what fuel is doing now. We
can't stay ahead of the cost of the transportation fund. That is compounded
by the fact that the state cut our transportation funding."

Hasler pointed that Bloomfield's problem is not unique -- many school
districts across the state are facing similar dilemmas.

"There's a lot of screaming and teeth gnashing going on, but it doesn't
seem to be getting better," he added,

The board also heard a report from Johnson Controls, Inc. -- the school's
energy management vendor covering the period May 2003 through February
2004. During the period, the net cost avoidance to the district was $27,490
in energy savings. The school district is in the ninth year of a 10-year
energy management contract with Johnson Controls.

To date, the Bloomfield district has realized $238,506 of energy and
operational cost avoidance -- exceeding its goal by 34.9 percent.

The board also approved a reduction in the number of teaching positions for
certified personnel in accordance with procedures included in the
collective bargaining agreement between the board and the Bloomfield
Teacher's Association. The action canceled the regular teaching contract of
current junior-senior high school principal Jerry Snapp -- effective at the
end of the 2003-04 school year.

Hasler explained that the reduction is necessary due to the overstaffing
that would result from adding Snapp to the teaching staff. Snapp has
retired from his principal's position, effective June 30, but he is
entitled to a teaching position in his licensure area.

Hasler said, "Currently, we have no available opening in his area, and he
does not have seniority over the current instructors in his area."

In other action, the board:

Learned that both the Bloomfield Junior-Senior High School and Bloomfield
Elementary School have received notification from the North Central
Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) that they have been "accredited
without warning" for the 2003-04 school year. Hasler said, "This is a great
compliment to the commitment and work of the stakeholders at our schools."

Learned that no collective bargaining sessions have been held in the last
month. Requests for proposals for health insurance have been issued and the
two sides will get together after those proposals are returned after June
15. In a related topic, Chris Mattox, has been named the new president of
the BTA, replacing Nancy Hudson in a recent vote by the membership. Mattox
has previously served as BTA president for two terms. He's been a teacher
in the district since the 1985-86 school year.

Accepted the resignation of elementary-junior high guidance counselor Lori
Lund, effective Aug. 1. Lund, who has been at Bloomfield for nine years,
has accepted a guidance counselor position at Martinsville High School in
Morgan County.

Made the following ECA appointments for summer programs a Matt Burkett,
boys basketball; Jim Rose, girls basketball; Michael Hayes and Seth Holt --
Babe Ruth baseball; Mike Canty, tennis; and LuAnne Anderson, volleyball.

Approved maternity leave for elementary school teacher Jenny Medina,
effective Aug. 17 to Oct. 4.

Approved the continued rate for the Vision Service Plan insurance benefit
for employees. The current rate, guaranteed for 24 months, is $26.34 per
employee per month. The policy is due for renewal Aug. 1. VSP proposed to
continue the same employee rate for the period Aug. 1 through July 31, 2006.

Approved a request from the Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce to hold the
annual fourth of July fireworks display on school grounds.

Approved administrative regulation No. 1491 pertaining to substitute bus
drivers.

The board's next regular meeting will be 7 p.m. on June 24 in the junior
high conference room. That meeting will be the last for current board
members Randall Burcham and Richard "Wheezer" Richeson whose terms end June
30. They will be replaced by Robert "Bob" Kirk and Eric Moody on July 1.