Plymouth School Board Approves Policies, Agreements for 2017-2018

The Plymouth School Board has approved some policies and agreements for the new school year.

The school corporation will continue teaching students at the Michiana Behavioral Health Center, following the school board’s approval Tuesday. Superintendent Andy Hartley said the agreement is very similar to last year’s. “Recall last year, we did make some changes to the financial structure, which has proven to be more efficient for us,” he added. Under the agreement, Plymouth Schools will provide two full-time teachers for patients at Michiana Behavioral Health.

Also during Tuesday’s meeting, the corporation’s teacher evaluation plan was adopted for another year, without any changes. Those evaluations determine which teachers are eligible for a share of the Teacher Appreciation Grants. A formal policy for distributing that money to teachers was approved by the board on second reading. “In discussing the Teacher Appreciation Grant, it was asked and I responded, to ensure that an equal amount is distributed for those teachers in their respective categories,” Hartley said. “So while we distinguish between effective- and highly-effected-rated teachers, there will not be a difference within each category. Every effective teacher, whatever that amount is, will get the same amount, and then every highly-effective teacher will be the same.”

A federally-mandated student meal accounts policy was also approved on second reading Tuesday.