In a special board meeting that lasted only seven minutes, the Delphi Community School Corporation's Board of Trustees decided to continue the drivers' education program this summer.

At the May 8 board meeting, a motion to cancel the course due to lack of enrollment was tabled when instructor Donald Brothers urged board members to delay a decision until the registration period ended. Brothers also offered to adjust his salary to match the class size.

Twenty-two students have enrolled in the course, said Superintendent John Williams at Monday night's meeting. He recommended keeping the program intact.

The motion to cancel was defeated unanimously.

Board hires basketball coach

In the last part of the brief meeting, Brian Tonsoni, a coach and social studies teacher most recently with Northfield High School in Wabash was named the new high school boys' basketball coach.

The next board meeting will be May 22 at 7 p.m.

Work session

In a work session immediately following the special board meeting, members met with Dr. Jim Auter of Purdue University to begin the process of replacing Williams.

According to board president Robert Resler, Auter is part of a four-person team of placement experts who will guide school board members through the search and hiring process.

The timeline for the process began with the Monday night orientation meeting. Closing for applications is July 7. The new hire will be in place on or about Sept. 11. The team, comprised of one

representative from Ball State, Indiana, Indiana State and Purdue universities will develop a pool of applicants based on criteria provided by board members.

Auter said once a needs-based picture is developed, the team will screen applicants and make recommendations. A July 13 date was proposed for screening applicants by the team.

The team will coach board members for interview questions and protocol before preliminary interviews.

Outgoing board members Pat George and Tricia Hammond plan to participate in the process until their terms end.

New board member Melinda Rossiter participated in the work session. Resler said he was in contact with new board member Nick Cronk via e-mail, who was attending a conference.

Resler said an interim superintendent will be hired.