PENDLETON, Ind. —
South Madison Community Schools laid off the first of about 23 teachers who could get pink slips, but the board on Thursday also heard emotional appeals to save an auto mechanics course and its instructor.
The school board voted to eliminate the positions of 11 nonpermanent teachers because of budget constraints as state revenue has dwindled. Superintendent Tom Warmke said “obviously it’s a great disappointment for all of us,” and told the board that more cuts will be presented at the board’s May 20 meeting.
Thursday evening, auto mechanics teacher Mike Morgan thanked the board for the opportunity to teach auto mechanics at Pendleton Heights High School for the past nine years, and said several of his students had been recruited by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Ford and other automakers.
“I find teaching moments with my kids every day,” he said. “It’s the kids who make the school, and it’s the kids who make the community when they become adults.”
Morgan said that if there was an opportunity to reinstate the program, “I hope the community would support it.”
Students still will have access to auto mechanics classes, but likely would have to travel to the Ebbertt Education Center in Anderson for instruction if the program was eliminated.
Tina Scanlon has a son who is a junior at Pendleton Heights enrolled in the course that she told the board was “invaluable.” She said her son wants to be a diesel mechanic.
“It’s taught him how to be self-reliant,” she said. “Those are life skills some of our kids will never get. ... Not all of us are called to Ivy League schools.”
Board member Mike Gaskill suggested that the board might want to reconsider the program cut. He noted one of his three children took the course that led him to a trade out of high school.
“The skills he uses, I think, were developed in Mr. Morgan’s auto mechanics class,” Gaskill said.
“I’d like to see us keep this program. ... I think we need to sharpen our pencils and do some soul-searching.”
Board President Jon Trippeer told Morgan that as “an old industrial arts teacher,” he could sympathize. But he said the schools’ financial crunch, like those of other districts, forced tough cuts. He said he’d like to see the program saved, but “I dare not make any promises.”
Warmke said, “These are very, very difficult decisions. ... It’s not easy, and when you reduce 25 positions, there are going to be some positions that go with the program.”
In addition to the nonpermanent teaching positions eliminated on Thursday, the board also cut two custodial positions at the elementary level.
Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com
xSchools
South Madison hears appeals to save auto mechanics class
- xSchools
-
-
Obituary policy
The Herald Bulletin publishes local basic obituaries, pending death notices and funeral service listings free of charge. Extended obituaries are offered for a fee. Call your funeral home or The Herald Bulletin at 640-4800 for more information.
-
Faces of Domestic Violence: The victims
Since 2003, at least 18 people in Madison County have died as a result of domestic violence. This slideshow presentation remembers those victims.
-
Photo gallery: Final Highland Prom
Photos from the final Highland prom held at the Paramount Theatre Ballroom.
-
Video: Madison Heights High School monument dedication
A dedication service for a monument on the grounds of what is now Anderson High School, to remember Madison Heights High School and the service it provided to the community.
-
Photo gallery: Madison Heights High School Monument Dedication
Photos from the dedication of the MHHS Monument at Anderson High School.
-
Final Revue Medley
Highland High School performed its final Plaid & White Revue, calling back former conductors, band leaders, and alumni musicians to give the audience a taste of the Highland Music Department one final time. The Revue started in 1951 and will end after this show because of the closing of Highland High School.
-
Photo gallery: Pendleton Heights High School Prom
Photos from the Pendleton Heights High School Prom.
-
Photo gallery: Lapel High School Prom
Photos from the Lapel High School Prom.
-
South Madison hears appeals to save auto mechanics class
South Madison Community Schools laid off the first of about 23 teachers who could get pink slips, but the board on Thursday also heard emotional appeals to save an auto mechanics course and its instructor.
-
ACS teachers join ‘Pink Hearts, Not Pink Slips’ campaign
Teachers in Anderson Community Schools today will place chairs outside some schools that will be hard-hit by teacher layoffs. Each chair will represent an educator who will lose his or her job at the end of the school year.
- More xSchools Headlines
-
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
