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Southwest School Corporation board approves claims, personnel actions, policy updates and insurance renewal; treasurer reports $6.6M cash balance
Summary
The board received the treasurer’s report (total cash $6,598,259.37), approved claims totaling $2,256,265.46, accepted multiple personnel items by consent, approved several policy updates and renewed property and casualty coverage after the treasurer cited $357,000 in recent claims and a $110,522 premium increase.
The Southwest School Corporation board voted unanimously on a slate of routine and fiscal items during the meeting, approving prior meeting minutes, claims, multiple personnel appointments on the consent agenda, updated district policies and a property and casualty insurance renewal.
Treasurer (role recorded in the meeting) presented the financial report and said the district’s cash balances were: education fund $2,025,312.88; debt service fund $1,297,977.61; operations fund $2,173,605.39; rainy day fund $1,101,363.49; total cash balance $6,598,259.37. The treasurer attributed some increases to fall tax receipts.
On claims, the board considered claims in two grouped periods. The board approved claims for 11/20/2025–11/30/2025 (claims 0044 to 110062) and for 12/01/2025–12/18/2025 (claims 110063 to 110199) with a combined total of $2,256,265.46; the motion to approve was recorded on the minutes and carried 3–0.
The consent agenda included resignation notices (for example, Candra Pointer and Alexis Brunson), numerous personnel recommendations (coaching and volunteer positions across Sullivan Elementary, Middle and High Schools), a $500 donation from John and Deanna Nicholas to lunch accounts, approval of several school fundraisers and authorization to cancel outstanding checks older than two years. The board also approved indirect cost and other fund transfers described in the packet, including $28,403.10 from food service to operations, a $25,000 Medicaid reimbursement transfer into the education fund, and a $45,000 self-insurance transfer to the district’s self-insurance fund to cover staff HSAs.
The board reviewed and approved second readings of multiple updated policies intended to conform with state and federal requirements, including medical-needs-at-school policy (C525), controlled-substance and alcohol testing (F100), internal controls (F100 variant), purchasing procedures (F125), unpaid meal policy (F176), several fundraising and administrative guidelines, debt-management, cash-balance and liquidity policies, and a criminal-organization-activity policy.
On capital items, the board approved purchase of a new tractor with a gross cost of $53,208, a trade-in allowance of $13,361 and a net cost of $39,846 to be paid from the Sodexo Improvement Camp account; the board also authorized consideration of hiring Haven Associates to analyze locker rooms at Sullivan High School.
The treasurer presented a property and casualty renewal from Springer Insurance and Astra totaling $327,223 (commercial package/umbrella $276,496; cyber $10,045; workers’ compensation $40,682), an increase of $110,522 from the prior year. The treasurer said recent claims included a $110,000 chiller repair and $247,000 in hail damage — $357,000 in total claims — and recommended approval with a payment schedule option the carrier offered. The board approved the insurance renewal by voice vote, 3–0.
The chair noted calendar items: Friday, December 19 is the end of the first semester; Monday, January 5 is a staff professional development day and students return on Tuesday, January 6, 2026. The meeting record shows no executive-session action or additional follow-up motions tied to the public comment on special education.
Votes at a glance: - Minutes (11/19/2025): approved, voice vote reported 3–0. - Claims for 11/20/2025–12/18/2025 (combined): approved, vote reported 3–0. - Consent agenda (personnel, resignations, donations, fundraisers, cancellations): approved by consent (recorded disposition by consent in the packet). - Policy updates (second reading): approved, vote reported 3–0. - Tractor purchase: approved, vote reported 3–0; funding source: Sodexo Improvement Camp account; net cost $39,846. - Insurance renewal (01/28/2026–01/28/2027): approved, vote reported 3–0; total premium $327,223; increase $110,522 from previous year.
What this means: The board moved forward on routine operational and financial items and updated policies; the insurance premium increase reflects recent large claims the treasurer outlined. The meeting did not show any board direction explicitly addressing the special-education concerns raised during public comment.
