Scott County School District 1 board approves driver's ed fee hike, greenlights throwback baseball fundraiser and weekly classroom dog visits

The Scott County School District 1 board approved a set of routine and programmatic measures at its March meeting while hearing multiple community announcements and a fundraising pitch for a throwback baseball game.

Don Campbell, introduced as a visitor, told the board he and community partners are organizing a Morgan's throwback baseball game on April 20 at the Austin High School baseball field and said Morgan's committed $10,000 to uniform the teams. He said the merchandise vendor will donate a portion of sales back to the schools (reported in the meeting as $2.50 or $0.50 per item depending on product) and that remaining proceeds would be split between the schools. "We thought we just threw a number out there. I said that we could uniform the kids for 10,000. Oh, no problem. Go ahead and do that," Campbell said, urging board members to attend and describing plans for a memorabilia tent and additional bleachers. He noted a rain date of April 27.

Why it matters: The fundraising effort pairs community donors and school athletics to underwrite uniforms and support extracurricular programming. The board separately rescheduled its April meeting to April 21 to avoid the event date.

The superintendent (addressed in the meeting as Michael) presented the superintendent's report and the board approved an increase in the driver's education fee from $375 to $400, with instructor pay rising from $40 to $45 per hour; the superintendent said the changes would take effect June 1. A motion to approve the fee change was made and seconded and recorded as passed in the meeting (vote tallies were not specified in the transcript). "This will begin June 1st of this summer," Michael said when presenting the change.

The board heard a first reading to revise policies 1422, 3122 and 5517 and to create a new 1422 to align district harassment procedures with federal guidance; the superintendent summarized the intent as distinguishing harassment involving an adult and a student (to be handled under Title IX procedures) from harassment between adults (to be handled under Title VII). The policy revisions were presented for final action at the April meeting.

Personnel actions were presented by Mr. Jones and approved by the board. Announced hires included Jamie Parks as varsity boys golf coach, Randy Edwards as seasonal grounds crew (effective March 20), Caleb Weaver as middle/high school spring athletic aide, and Cody Hendricks as varsity boys cross country coach for the 2026-27 school year. The board also acknowledged the retirement of Keith Henderson, dean of students and athletic director, effective March 4.

The board approved a request to allow Miss Kart to bring her dog, Max, to the middle school one day per week; Mrs. Gooden supported the request and the motion passed (vote tally not specified). The superintendent said the district has used a dog at the high school with positive results and framed Max as an emotional-support presence for students who are stressed.

Board members also recognized athletics achievements, noting sectional and regional wins and outlining upcoming semi-state scheduling. The board acknowledged a $10,000 donation from the Indiana Order of Oddfellows earmarked for scholarships; the board will determine distribution in the spring. The superintendent read a letter from Chris Vugate announcing his retirement as track and cross-country coach; the board thanked him for years of service and sectional titles.

Next steps: Policy revisions on harassment will return for action at the April board meeting (board date moved to April 21). The throwback baseball event is scheduled for April 20 (rain date April 27), and the Memorial 5K noted by the visitor is scheduled for May 23 at Austin Park. Several motions at the meeting were approved by voice vote; the transcript does not record roll-call tallies.