[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6567567,"mediaKeyId","3290931-42d48bf404b23892509fffef12243d59","parentId",3290931,"title","School City of East Chicago board approves MOUs, contracts and personnel items; tables certified staff raise","audioSeconds",998,"startMs",6912000,"endMs",7910000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3290931-42d48bf404b23892509fffef12243d59&start=6912&end=7910","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3290931-42d48bf404b23892509fffef12243d59/thumbnail_6912000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6567567/Indiana/School-City-of-East-Chicago-board-approves-MOUs-contracts-and-personnel-items-tables-certified-staff-raise","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6567567-3cccf8fdc21384932b3a221fa9a8d25d/orig.mp4?Expires=1770485686&Signature=Zy1MbP70bi--HjHBXSJpBtxIzirGDbTkBfcTK3VboBEq1N8mOxZHXxceCUfQCTPyEA2o1HlJ4Q~bLdKuhXS0-1O83XP964RsedZOMQ3pmjrIciMQ0rjpht5F6~zIgICxYIm1qDX8qgJGsgEmCw4OInxh1qOG540X7Ia4yuooQ3jzcycnva~yorcF3s7j5fg87nEz9bX5oMR5ZPZHYf60enG7mhMt9xIiorOoYtc2ZEjKmoX5lMvpZcGmSWc3osRdpa~0BDZrnHFbf7VxtwdqPsZBHpeXlYALFara6-Pu-ARSY8AlGmOW1kVFZ07371dyTn-kbc6KmxG1ueVm8WdEWA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","School City of East Chicago","date","2025-05-13T21:49:23Z","article","The School City of East Chicago Board of School Trustees approved multiple memoranda of understanding, contracts, budget transfers and personnel items at the May 13 regular meeting. Most motions carried on recorded roll-call votes. One personnel item—a certified staff cost-of-living increase—was tabled for later discussion.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of the agenda (Item 2.01): motion passed on roll call (Trustees Gomez, Smith, Rodriguez and President Gibson King voted yes).

- Consent agenda: approved by roll call.

- Personnel report (Item 6.01): trustees voted to remove one item from page 2 and then approved the personnel report as amended; roll-call votes recorded as yes by Trustees Gomez, Smith, Rodriguez and President Gibson King.

- Memorandum of Understanding with Communities In Schools (Item 6.02): approved; trustees and legal staff noted the MOU carries no dollar amount and is contingent on future grant approval.

- Memorandum of Understanding with Purdue University Northwest for the DREAMS degree summer camp and transportation (Item 6.03): approved on roll call.

- Technology summer internships (Item 6.04): approved on roll call.

- Amendment/approval of collective bargaining agreements for the professional, clerks, transportation, security and custodial units (Items 6.05–6.09): trustees approved amendments as presented.

- Transportation retirement insurance payment transfer (Item 6.10) and additional internal transfers per the State Board of Accounts audit recommendation (Item 6.11): approved; staff explained the transfers correct fund receipts and close inactive accounts per the audit.

- Certified staff cost-of-living increase (Item 6.12): trustees debated raising the proposed 3% to 5% but ultimately voted to table item 6.12 for further consideration.

- Non-certified staff cost-of-living increase (Item 6.13): approved.

- Summer-school reading intervention program (Item 6.14): approved; elementary summer program dates were described as May 28–June 26, Monday–Thursday, 8 a.m.–12 p.m.; staff said program duration is limited by the state and funding availability.

- Whitman facility condition assessment proposal (Item 6.15): approved; the contract will deliver a building-by-building condition report with short- and long-range maintenance recommendations.

- Disposal of surplus property (Item 6.16): approved; staff said items will be offered for donation or sale and discussed options such as online auction platforms.

- Central High School restroom remodeling summer project (Item 6.17): construction contract approved; the contract had been reviewed by legal staff.

- Lighting upgrades (Item 6.18): approved; work covers exterior and interior lighting improvements and upgrades to a library lighting desk.

- Title change from Director of Special Education to Director of Exceptional Learning (Item 6.19): approved as an administrative title change.

- Appointment of a State Board of Accounts internal compliance officer (Item 6.21): approved; trustees said the role will strengthen separation-of-duties and internal controls identified in recent audits.

One agenda item about creation of a new position (listed in the packet as a director of secondary curriculum, instruction and career-technical education) was moved to be tabled by motion of Trustee Smith and seconded by Trustee Rodriguez; the motion to table carried on roll call.

Most motions recorded roll-call votes with all present board members voting yes, according to the transcript. Where motions named movers and seconders, the transcript lines were recorded (for example, several items were introduced by Trustee Rodriguez or Trustee Gomez and seconded by Trustee Smith).","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Regular School Board Meeting - May 13, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","At its May 13 meeting the School City of East Chicago board approved a series of memoranda, contracts and budget transfers, adopted multiple collective-bargaining amendments and tabled a proposed certified-staff cost-of-living increase for later consideration.","taxTitle","School City of East Chicago, School Boards, Indiana","taxId",46609,"location","Indiana","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6567572,"East Chicago Central reports gains in CTE, dual-credit and select tests as attendance lags",654,1246000,1900000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3290931-42d48bf404b23892509fffef12243d59&start=1246&end=1900","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3290931-42d48bf404b23892509fffef12243d59/thumbnail_1246000.jpg","/articles/6567572/Indiana/East-Chicago-Central-reports-gains-in-CTE-dual-credit-and-select-tests-as-attendance-lags","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6567572-a3d83da692ca523405b8d7832525caba/orig.mp4?Expires=1770485686&Signature=eHSoMvb~5lp1SNtIsUtTLo2fh7ha6-aGPpSjiAeYExFgTfxi2swBc~GczW4RHfSL8BLawc7~8RwmosARgIH11ueHgc~UHOXZKDFv2U~Qb6jzU-7NQnxsafVJaf3SM4oaH39Ojt9fZAAFsKcRfRc~3gspP3ZTdmwoklvz1u5Cf9YyDYJE0rMdDfPqkIWXDkKTbzB-qZcIeOHE0V5U0pK9LA1I3NHAN1ahrFdxF9hWIVC-1WkQlkE6hCu4-Uq9THlz2gi~cwmch4HzYvI1TGP4C1MZg4ZzBMYkxivcVXvRMf2uov1GAFwszp8UNTDmY6UYkuA0vl2F3RWUtMy5VPOw7Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Central High School administrators told the School City of East Chicago Board of School Trustees on May 13 that the school has seen measurable growth in career and technical education participation and some standardized-test benchmarks even as monthly attendance remains below district targets.

\"Our goal here at East Chicago Central for all our students is to be college, career, and military ready,\" Marin Lee, director of CTE and adult education, told the board during a school presentation. Lee and other Central staff detailed test results, credentialing and enrollment data and described programs intended to raise graduation and postsecondary readiness rates.

Administrators said attendance has remained under the district goal. \"We are supposed to be at 95% attendance,\" an attendance coordinator said, and reported month-to-month figures that dropped as low as 88% in January and were around 91% in April and May as finals approached. The board heard that school closures and the election period contributed to the January decline.

School leaders presented test and program data. Central reported that 4% of juniors met both SAT benchmarks this year, up from 3% in 2024; math-only benchmark attainment rose from 3% to 5%; evidence-based reading and writing rose from 26% to 31%; and the iLearn biology ECA pass rate edged from 23% to 24%. The ASVAB vocational aptitude results climbed from an average 18.8% meeting the 31 benchmark last year to 33.35% this year, administrators said.

Career and technical education (CTE) figures showed enrollment growth from roughly 990 enrollments last year to about 1,152 this year (administrators noted that a single student may be enrolled in multiple CTE classes). Central offers 12 CTE pathways. Administrators said concentrator status—students earning a C or better in the three required pathway courses—rose from about 45% of the graduating cohort in 2023 to 55% in 2024, with a projection of 67% if current students complete coursework and maintain grades.

Concurrent- and dual-enrollment opportunities grew as well. Administrators reported roughly 1,418 postsecondary credits pending through partnerships with Purdue Northwest, Ivy Tech, Vincennes University and Indiana University Bloomington and said those credits had saved families an estimated $327,034 this school year (figure described as pending/final upon completion of semester coursework and exams).

The school also cited growth in work-based learning—students earning required hours at partner sites—and increases in industry-recognized credentials and dual-credit credentials, both of which count toward graduation pathway requirements under state rules. \"We saw about a 14% increase\" in postsecondary credits within CTE pathways across recent years, a CTE staff member said.

Administrators highlighted other student supports and events: a prevention curriculum delivered to 395 students called \"Too Good for Drugs,\" which staff described as a multi-lesson program followed by a school celebration; 41 students qualifying for the National Technical Honor Society and 15 for the National Honor Society; and scholarship awards totaling more than $500,000 reported by the district foundation.

Trustees asked questions about expanding CTE earlier in students' coursework. Trustee Smith urged leaders to expand offerings at the middle-school level; staff replied Central already offers two middle-school CTE-for-credit courses—Preparing for College and Careers and a computer science course—and that students can earn high-school credits in those classes.

Board members praised the students, staff and community partners recognized during the presentation. The district indicated it will continue to monitor attendance trends and program completion as finals and end-of-year data are finalized.

The presentation and Q&A took about the first portion of the May 13 meeting; board members then moved on to administrative and business items on the agenda.","Central High School staff told the School City of East Chicago board the school has increased career and technical education enrollment, dual-credit participation and some test benchmarks while monthly attendance remains below the 95% target.","actionData","errors"]

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School City of East Chicago board approves MOUs, contracts and personnel items; tables certified staff raise

East Chicago Central reports gains in CTE, dual-credit and select tests as attendance lags