Culver Superintendent Informs School Board of Leftover Bond Funds

At Monday night’s Culver School Board meeting, Superintendent Karen Shuman told members that renovations to the cafeteria at the Middle/High School are officially complete.

She stated that the flooring and furnishing portion of the cafeteria project cost about $90,000 and was paid for with bond funds.

Shuman also shared that there is a little more than $300,000 worth of bond funds leftover which must be spent prior to the end of the fiscal year in December. Continue reading

Culver School Board Members Hold Work Session to Discuss Strategic Plan

Culver School Board members held a 2-hour work session prior to their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday night.

Superintendent Karen Shuman stated that the work session was to go over policies and to discuss a strategic plan for the school corporation. “We’ve just started looking at creating the goals and objectives and then creating action steps.” Continue reading

Culver Community Schools Staff Working to Incorporate New Graduation Pathways

Last year, the Indiana State Board of Education and the Graduation Pathways Panel came up with new graduation requirements and laid out some graduation pathways that local educators are working to incorporate into their schools.

According to Culver Superintendent Karen Shuman, to address these changes, staff members participated in professional development on Monday, January 8th. Continue reading

Pre-K Program at Culver Community Schools Will Not Be Implemented in January, Could Possibly Start Next School Year

A decision has been made to not move forward with a Pre-Kindergarten program at Culver Community Schools in January of next year. However, according to Superintendent Karen Shuman that doesn’t mean it is completely out of the question.

Shuman said, “We do hope to come next school year, when we do kindergarten round-up we’ll be doing a pre-k round-up at the same time.” The superintendent explained that they’ll determine whether or not to implement a program depending on the number of people who attend the round-up for children who would be heading into preschool. Continue reading

Culver Community School Board Establishes System to Review Policies

Policies adoption was the main focus of the Culver Community School Board meeting that took place Monday night.

Superintendent Karen Shuman said that some of the policies and procedures were already in place but the board needed to have a first reading in order for them to be entered into the system. She said one policy that was noticeably changed had to do with background checks.
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Culver FFA President Provides Presentation to School Board Members

When the Culver Community School Board met last week, they received a presentation from FFA President Alex Temme who told them all about Culver’s involvement in this year’s National FFA Conference.

FFA members were able to watch the rodeo there as well as exhibit some of their agricultural skills. Superintendent Karen Shuman said that Culver students experienced some success with their soil judging presentations, getting ranked as one of the top ten teams to compete. Continue reading

Culver Superintendent Shares Plans to Tackle Jr/Sr High Cafeteria Project

When the Culver Community School Board met last week, Superintendent Karen Shuman shared a few updates about a remodeling project that will be tackled in the near future.

All three elements of the project; lighting, furnishing and flooring, would be focused in the cafeteria at the Junior/Senior High School building. According to Principal Brett Berndt, certain elements of the cafeteria date back nearly 50 years. During a previous school board meeting he mentioned how the floors have not been renovated since they were installed in 1968. Continue reading

Culver Community Schools’ Band Program Receives Generous Monetary Donation

The Culver Community Schools’ Band program will receive four years of financial assistance thanks to a generous donation from a local family who wishes to remain anonymous. The family agreed to provide $10,000 to the band this year and an additional $5,000 annually for the next three years.

Culver Community School Band Director Jason Crittendon explained that the money will be utilized for various things that will assist the students significantly such as instrument repairs that have been needed for some time but funds haven’t been available until now and new instruments that the school doesn’t currently own.

Another one of the potential purchases includes music chairs that are designed specifically to assist instrumentalists with posture and breathing. Continue reading

Potential Renovations to Culver Junior/Senior High School Considered

Culver Community School Principal Brett Berndt brought up a few potential renovations to the Junior/Senior High School building at a board meeting last Monday.

Berndt informed the board members that the flooring in the cafeteria has been the same since 1968. He said that while that does mean it has held up for nearly 5 decades, he believes it is time for an upgrade. Additionally, he said the bathrooms across from the gym are from the same time as well.

Berndt said they’ve been looking into potentially renovating those two areas since the changes could reflect well on the school corporation when individuals come for various events. Continue reading

Culver Community Schools See Enrollment Growth

Culver Community School Board members received a brief enrollment report from Superintendent Karen Shuman when they met Monday night.

According to the Indiana Department of Education enrollment report, Culver Community Schools had a total enrollment of 840 students in 2016. Shuman shared that after comparing this year’s number to last year’s, she found the school corporation has nine more students in general. Continue reading

Culver Community Schools Seek Parental Input about Need for Pre-K Classes

Officials at Culver Community Schools are asking local parents to help them determine whether or not there is a need for Pre-Kindergarten classes for 4 and 5-year-olds within the town of Culver and the surrounding area.

Superintendent Karen Shuman is encouraging interested parents to contact the corporation office and says parents should be ready to answer questions, such as whether or not the child is currently 4 or 5 or if they will be 4 by August 1st of 2018.

They’re also collecting information about preferences for AM, PM or all-day classes. They want to know whether or not the parent is currently working or attending school and if the child would need transportation in order to attend a Culver Pre-K class. Continue reading

Culver School Board Ratifies 2017-18 Teacher Contract

The 2017-2018 Master Teacher’s Contract was ratified by the Culver Community School Board when they met Monday night.

Superintendent Karen Shuman mentioned that the Culver Community Schools Teacher’s Association unanimously ratified the contract last week on Thursday. A newly hired teacher will make a minimum of $32,500 if they have zero to five years of experience. A new hire can make a maximum of $45,000 if they have sixteen or more years of experience. Continue reading

Culver Community School Board Adopts 2018 Budget

The Culver Community School Board adopted the 2018 budget when they met Monday evening. Superintendent Karen Shuman stated that their budget is in line with their enrollment and all accounts are in good standing.

Superintendent Shuman also said their taxation will remain status quo and representatives of the school corporation are hoping that the new housing being developed in the community will boost enrollment which would increase revenue and allow for the school to offer more programs to Culver Community students. Continue reading

Culver Superintendent’s Report Includes Proposed Programs for Students Young and Old

The report delivered by Superintendent Karen Shuman at the Culver School Board meeting Monday night contained some proposed programs for both older and younger students in the Culver community.

Shuman told the board about potential teen programs they are looking into with the assistance of a local group of community members. She said that with programs specifically targeted at teenagers, they are hoping to bridge the gap between Culver Community students, surrounding community schools’ students and students from Culver Academy. The potential program has been entitled ‘Teen Canteen’ and would provide certain activities for teen students to do on Friday and Saturday nights.

For younger community members, Shuman said the school corporation is looking into becoming an On-My-Way Pre-K school. Though they currently have some programs in place, they are looking to move those to their school corporation to help service parents more locally. Continue reading

Culver School Board Adopts Capital Project & Bus Replacement Plans

Resolutions proposing the adoption of the 2018 Budget, capital projects plan and bus replacement plan came before the Culver Community School Board following a public hearing held at their Monday evening meeting.

No public comments were provided during the hearing. The board then went on to adopt the resolutions for the 2018-2020 capital projects plan and the 2018 bus replacement plan. Continue reading