Tri-County School Board approves personnel changes, field trip and routine business; hears cybersecurity and construction updates

The Tri-County School Corporation board approved a slate of routine motions and personnel actions at its regular meeting and heard staff reports on cybersecurity planning, facilities construction and recent audit results.

In motions recorded during the meeting the board approved the minutes from Feb. 9 and ratified payrolls and the claims docket; the personnel report — which included the retirement notice from school nurse Teresa Ernie (effective at the end of the 2025–26 school year), two resignations, four recommended hires for temporary or continuing assignments and one termination — was accepted by voice vote (final tallies in the meeting were recorded as 6–0 on several items). The board also deferred a declaration of surplus goods listed in the packet and approved an overnight BPA field trip to the state convention scheduled March 8–10.

“We had the audit exit conference … and I’m proud to report there were no findings,” the Superintendent told the board, thanking staff for maintaining extracurricular accounts. The report referenced a Feb. 26 exit conference tied to high‑school ECAs (extracurricular accounts) and named staff members who participated in the audit exit meeting.

Technology staff described work by an AI literacy guidance team — composed of administrators and technology staff — to draft local guidance addressing ethics, privacy and classroom use of AI tools. The district has applied for a free cybersecurity assessment offered through the state SLCGP grant program and noted the assessment would be performed by Purdue and Indiana University to “fulfill Indiana code 413148,” according to the technology report. Staff also said the district uses endpoint protection and phishing training as part of its current security posture.

Facilities staff reported that the new bus barn and a backpack program facility are progressing after permits were issued and that the construction timeline still targets a July 1 completion date.

Board members also heard routine school updates and student-recognition presentations: teachers introduced Students of the Month from elementary through high school across departments (examples cited at the meeting included Cooper Pearson, Xander Coughlin and several primary-grade students), and staff highlighted extracurricular achievements and upcoming events such as the school musical and art show.

Votes at a glance - Agenda approval: motion passed (final recorded: 6–0). - Minutes (Feb. 9) approval: motion passed (6–0); mover/second recorded for the minutes motion in the packet as Mr. Overbeck (mover) and Mr. Just (second). - Personnel report (retirements, resignations, hires, termination): accepted (6–0). - Declaration of surplus goods: motion to defer the items passed (6–0). - Overnight BPA field trip (March 8–10): approved (6–0). - Course description handbook for 2027–28 cohorts: approved (6–0). - Claims docket and payroll ratification: approved (6–0).

What comes next The board noted a posted vacancy for a board member and invited applications to the corporation office; staff said they would meet with vendors next week on the entry-system upgrade quotes and expected to receive follow-up on the cybersecurity assessment application from Purdue/IU. The superintendent indicated the district will continue work on AI literacy guidance and that implementation steps for any technology policy would be shared with the board when ready.

Reporting notes: Vote tallies and motions are reported as recorded in the meeting transcript and packet materials; specific mover/second attribution is included only where the transcript explicitly recorded it.