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Munster board approves membership, textbooks, network hardware and waiver application
Summary
The School Town of Munster board on April 13 approved joining a Northwest Indiana educational service center, adopted McGraw‑Hill Wonders elementary materials, authorized Cisco hardware purchases for new construction and authorized applying for a 103 flex waiver to reduce instructional days to 177 for professional learning.
At its April 13 regular meeting, the School Town of Munster Board of Trustees approved several items intended to support instruction, professional development and long‑term projects.
Membership: Dr. Hicks recommended joining the Northwest Indiana Educational Service Center (NWISC) to access professional development, cooperative purchasing and regional leadership opportunities; the board approved the membership request. Dr. Hicks said membership costs are estimated at about $365 per student in the first year (approximately $15,000) and that the district has already received some service center benefits in coordination efforts.
Textbooks: The board approved the recommendation from the elementary textbook adoption team to adopt McGraw‑Hill Wonders for a six‑year cycle. Board members praised the adoption team for negotiation work that included vendor‑provided professional development.
Technology procurement: The board authorized purchasing Cisco networking hardware now for planned new buildings, citing rising technology prices and long‑lead items for construction. Administration said the purchases would be funded through planned bond spending and that durable infrastructure (wiring, switches, racks) retains value over time.
103 flex waiver: Assistant Superintendent Miss Bergen asked the board to authorize applying for a 103 flex waiver that would reduce the minimum number of instructional days from 180 to 177 to allow three full professional learning days while meeting required instructional minutes and hours. The board voted to submit the waiver application; the district noted that approval by the state will determine which draft calendar version is used.
Votes: Each of the approvals was recorded by voice vote; motions and seconds were present in the meeting record but numeric tallies were not recorded in the transcript. The board did not adopt specific spending lines or timelines for facility projects during this meeting; those are expected to be addressed in future budget or facilities sessions.
