The Mentone High School Alumni Association gave $250 to Mentone Elementary School to thank the school for allowing the association to use the building for its annual banquet. The school is to use the funds for student activities. Alumni association leadership did a formal check presentation at Monday, Sept. 20’s Tippecanoe Valley School Board meeting. From left: TVSC Board President Tom Bauters and Mentone High School Alumni Association Secretary Sue Creighton and President Alice Keirn. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

MENTONE — The Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. plans to have a $24,789,746 budget in 2022.

At its regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 20, at Mentone Elementary School, the Tippecanoe Valley School Board had its public budget hearing for 2022. No one from the public made any comments.

The proposed budget breaks down to $13,248,077 in the education fund; $2,986,424 in the debt service fund; and $8,555,245 in the operations fund. Overall the budget has decreased slightly from 2021’s budget of $25,564,063.

The board plans to adopt the budget at its next regular meeting, set to start at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19, at Mentone. That meeting is on a Tuesday due to fall break happening on the normal third Monday of the month, Oct. 18.

In other business, the board:

• Heard a report on the last school year’s ILEARN results from TVSC Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Inga Omondi, Tippecanoe Valley Middle School Principal Scott Backus, Akron Elementary School Principal Scott Sterk and Mentone Principal Randy Dahms. Student scores were generally higher than state averages in math and science and lower in English language arts and social studies. Leaders believed the lower scores on the latter have to do with having less involved reading time related to COVID-19 precautions. They plan to implement more reading time this school year.
• Approved three resolutions needed to trigger TVSC’s renovation of Tippecanoe Valley High School. Work is estimated to start in March 2022.
• Accepted a $250 donation from the Mentone High School Alumni Association. It will be used for student activities and is a thank you to the school for allowing the alumni to use the building for their annual banquet.
• Approved hiring Akron cook Nicole Keckler; Burket Educational Center instructional assistant Byron Tinkey; Mentone instructional assistant Mackenzie Fisher; and TVMS instructional assistants Peggy McQuinn, Derra Blosser, Jurnee Willard and Candy Shepard.
• Approved Emily Ackerman as TVHS varsity girls tennis coach and Erin Miller and Crystal Lewis helping with TVMS yearbook.
• Approved maternity leaves for Akron first grade teacher Melody Rockhill, TVMS math teacher Chelsea Brubaker and Mentone third grade teacher Paige Miller.
• Accepted resignations of TVHS department chair Crystal Heckaman, instructional assistant Amy Luce, technology associate Noah Prater and girls tennis coach Andy Luce; TVMS special education teacher John Paul Secrest, instructional assistants Nicole McNeiley and Dedra Ruff and yearbook helper McKenna Grossman; and Akron custodian Dena Schipper.
• Heard a report on student activities from TVHS senior representative Jaeda Carpenter and new junior representative Abby Bowers. Homecoming week is this week, and the homecoming game will be against Whitko High School.