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ARGOS — The Argos School Board made some personnel moves and was updated on various projects and events happening around the school in their regular meeting this week.

First on the agenda were personnel moves and they were athletics-heavy as the Board named Damon Binkley the new Athletic Director at the high school and hired Nick Kindig as the new boy’s basketball coach and business teacher.
As part of that the board accepted the resignation of Jason Breden who had filled both those positions before leaving the corporation to become the new head boys basketball coach at Knox.
“He’s about all things Argos so it makes a lot of sense to keep him here and keep him going,” said Superintendant Ned Speicher of Binkley’s hire as AD.
Speicher was also happy with the hire of Kindig.
“He’s a fine young man and we are glad to have him,” he said.
Binkley will continue to teach science at Argos and also remain an assistant soccer coach.
Kindig comes to Argos after a successful playing career at Tippecanoe Valley and Bethel College and was assistant to Jason Groves at Triton a year ago.
The board also hired Elizabeth Swango as a grade one teacher, Beth Schmeltz as a temporary guidance counselor for the summer, and approved Angel Balsley’s transfer from the Business department to the guidance counselor position. Rachel Mabee will be the school psychologist.
Along with Breden’s resignation, the board accepted the resignation of Joe Kindig as the high school baseball coach, volleyball coach Andrea Perez is leaving to take a new job, Rob McMillen in the maintenance department, and Deb Thompson will leave her guidance counselor position to take the same job at Mishawaka.
Speicher told the board that the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will be having a public meeting on June 27 from 6-8 p.m. regarding the US 31 overpass and projected work on SR 110 and looking at SR 10 changes.
The school corporation is redoing the parking lots and perimeter fencing around the schools. Currently, the south and west sides of the building are torn up for the purpose of putting in new drainage and a parking lot solving those issues done before school starts
While textbook rental is paid for by the state of Indiana the board approved fees for educational materials so that they can be reimbursed by the state.
Prairie Farms was awarded the milk bid for the corporation and Gordon food supply will have the food contract.
In accordance with recently enacted state statutes there is a new cell phone policy at the school. Phones are restricted in the classroom and will have to be left in a storage compartment at the classroom door and collect them again when they get out of class.
Argos Schools will have “Back to School Night” with the Marshall County Health Department mobile immunization clinic on Aug. 6 from 5-7 p.m.
The board’s next meeting will be July 22.

INDIANAPOLIS — Beginning July 1, families who provide a home through adoption or eligible guardianships to a child in Indiana’s foster care system will receive financial support equal to 100 percent of the amount the child received while in foster care.

The Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) provides these subsidies through its Indiana Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) and Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP). Financial supports help ensure caretakers who adopt or take guardianship of children in DCS care are best positioned to meet the needs of those children. Finding the right, safe and permanent home in a timely manner is a top priority for DCS, and these supports play vital roles in accomplishing that.
Currently, families receive at least 50 percent of the amount the child was entitled to while in foster care and may negotiate higher amounts based on the individual circumstances of the child and family. With the change to 100 percent, caretakers across the state will be equipped to provide for the needs of Hoosier children. This step will also eliminate the need for most financial negotiations and help remove a barrier that can delay permanency for children.
DCS Director Eric Miller, MPA, MBA, noted that nearly 2,000 Indiana children find permanent homes through adoption and more than 1,000 others find permanency through guardianship each year.
“We often hear from families who are interested in adoption or guardianship, but they worry they might not be able to afford the additional costs that are necessary to meet a child’s needs,” Miller said. “By making assistance more readily available, we are creating more opportunities for Hoosier children to find their forever home and better supporting the families who make that happen.”
This change is the latest move by DCS to remove barriers to permanency for Indiana children. In July 2023, with approval from the Indiana General Assembly, DCS implemented a kinship stipend program to support unlicensed kinship caregivers. These individuals can be a relative, godparent, stepparent or another person with whom the child has a close personal connection. More than half of all Indiana children in foster care are currently placed in kinship care. As of the end of May, DCS has issued more than $10.1 million in stipends, benefiting more than 4,000 children in unlicensed kinship placements.
Information on the Indiana Adoption Assistance Program can be found here. Details about the Guardianship Assistance Program are available here. To learn more about Indiana’s adoption program, visit https://www.indianaadoptionprogram.org/.