Student Council offers $2,000 toward CJSHS outdoor sign
By Jennifer Archibald Staff writer

At least 15 topics were covered at a joint meeting March 20 between the Carroll School Board and the Carroll Jr.-Sr. High School Student Council.

The annual joint meeting is held at the school during school hours to discuss student issues and concerns and to exchange information.

The session started with a Student Council offer to the board. Emily Kistler, president of the Council, said the school needs a new outside sign for posting events, and the Student Council is willing to donate $2,000 toward the purchase.

Principal Charles Huckstep said the present sign is old and in poor condition. He said a new magnetic sign would cost anywhere from $4,500 to $7,000, and a digital sign would cost around $14,000.

Board president Sam Zook said such a purchase would fall under Capital Projects, and priorities for that fund are considered each year before budget time in August. He said the principals make their own set of priorities for their buildings and present them to the board. There is always a three-year plan for Capital Projects, and revisions can be made each year. So, he said the students' proposal needs to go through their principal and be presented to the board along with other CP considerations.

Student Kristen Arnett said she has researched the need for defibrillators at school and gave hand-outs to the board. This is the third year that Student Council has asked the board to purchase a defibrillator.

Board member Barb Payne said she previously served on a committee to look into the matter. She said at that time, the cost of a defibrillator was in the range of $3,000-$5,000, and people would need to be certified to use it, and then there would be ongoing re-certification. She recalled that there needs to be a two-minute response time for the defibrillator to be effective, so she said that would mean that more than one defibrillator would be needed for this school's configuration. She said so far, the matter has just been taken under advisement.

A few students commented that they thought the response time was more like five or six minutes. Courtney Hall said she knows how to use a defibrillator, and it wouldn't be hard to train people to use one.

Zook commented that as technology changes, the cost of a defibrillator will probably come down.

Athletic trainer

The students also wanted to know how the search for an athletic trainer is going.

"There's a huge shortage of trainers," Superintendent John Sayers answered. He said he's already made inquiries in search of a trainer for the fall. He explained that an athletic trainer can be contracted for part-time or for every day throughout the school year. He said Carroll is looking for someone for a couple days a week after school in the fall and winter and for home games.

"The best thing would be to get a teacher with an endorsement," he said, "but right now we don't need any new teachers."

Student Sarah Brown brought up the issue of sound system deficiencies on the football field and in the gym. This subject was also brought up last year.

Both the superintendent and maintenance supervisor Tom Allbaugh said the sound systems are being addressed, and solutions include speaker placement and adding speakers.

Students Adam Bonner, Krystal Brazel, and Morgan Yoder wanted to know, respectively, about the status of the new science lab, the soccer and softball fields, and the hiring of an athletic director.

Sayers said the board is working on a 10-year facilities plan, and for the high school building, the science lab will be at the top of the list. He said some preliminary information has been gathered, but no architect has been hired.

He said the soccer field and softball diamond have been seeded, but concrete still needs to be poured for the dug outs, press box, and concessions stand. Depending on the weather and the grass, he thought softball could be played on the new diamond at the end of the season, and he hopes the soccer field will be ready by fall.

Sayers said they hope to name a new athletic director at the April 3 board meeting.

Random drug testing

Zook asked the Student Council to comment on the school's random drug testing.

Several students commented that they have heard some students say the test doesn't work because they don't know how they passed it. They also said they don't think the tests are a deterrent. Another comment was that some students' names seem to be called more often than others.

Huckstep explained that the testing is by swab and the tests are done randomly anywhere from one week apart to five weeks apart. Selection of students is also random.

He said the same drug testing is also used by the county Probation Department, and they report they are catching users.

"We have caught a few, but very few over the years," Huckstep said. He added that parents are notified, and the student is suspended from athletic participation.

The random drug testing applies to students in athletics, extracurricular activities, and to those who drive to school.

Zook added that if there is reasonable suspicion at school that a student is under the influence, an administrator can pull the student out for drug testing. He said parents can also request that their children be tested.

The students had some problems with the current cell phone policy in the student handbook. Zook said recommendations for changes should be made to Huckstep.

Zook asked the students what would improve academic performance, and the resounding answer was "air conditioning."

Sayers told students about the Carroll Education Foundation which will allow donations to be given for specific purposes, such as scholarships.

"For a small school, a considerable amount of scholarship money is available, and hopefully now with the Carroll Education Foundation, we'll be able to offer even more," Sayers said.

He said there are 292 school corporations in the state.

"Carroll students do well on standardized testing," Sayers said.

Zook gave some statistics on Carroll's performance on the ISTEPs and SATs, along with stats on enrollment and graduation rate. He said the figures are available on the Indiana Department of Education website, and there is a link to the site from the Carroll school corporation website.