MENTONE — The Tippecanoe Valley School Board awarded the bid for the upcoming softball field project during the meeting held this evening, Oct. 14.

Superintendent Blaine Conley announced that RS Miller Construction, Claypool, was the lowest responsive bidder. The company provided a base bid of $718,000 with two alternative bid options, bringing the overall bid to $725,800. It was noted that this price tag would not increase the tax rate as this project has been budgeted.

“We are really excited about this project. The facility out there has many needs that are going to be addressed through this project. There were seven contractors who put in competitive bids on this project and we were really surprised with the number of bids” said Conley. “We are going to have a great field for our student-athletes to play on.”

The main features of the upgrade are the public restrooms added to a concession stand building. These restrooms are the only ones in this area of the school campus, meaning they will serve more than just softball fans. The building will also contain a storage area and a press box. The whole field will be re-graded to address flooding issues the field currently encounters. Included in the project bid are also water and sewage services for the anticipated future administration building.

The board voted unanimously to award this bid.

During the meeting, Tania Grimes, director of curriculum, gave a presentation about the English Language program at the corporation.

Currently, the district provides EL services to 124 students or 7% of the school population. The larger number of EL students are in the elementary schools with 51 students at Akron Elementary and 41 at Mentone Elementary. There are also 12 students at the middle school and 20 students at the high school.

Grimes explained that the reason for the larger number in the lower grade levels is that as students receive their education and become proficient in the English language, they are no longer considered EL students.

This year, the school saw 19 new EL kindergartners, foreshadowing a change in the future. “Overall, our percentage of EL students in the district is on the rise. It will be higher than the 7% this year just based on how our other enrollments change,” said Grimes.

The 2020 budget was also presented for adoption and approved during the meeting. The budget totaled $25,341,823 with an adopted tax rate of 1.5746. The budget includes an estimate of $2,843,378 for the district’s debt service, $13,451,908 for education and $9,046,537 for operations. The board also voted unanimously to approve the Capital Project Fund Plan and the School Bus Replacement Plan.

In other news:

• The board approved the hiring of Brittney Ault, custodian at TVHS; Miranda Cramner, cook at TVHS; Douglas McNeiley, custodian at TVMS; and Jen Souza, instructional assistant at Mentone Elementary.
• The board approved the extracurricular assignments of Kristen Brown as 6th-grade girls’ volleyball assistant and Kaylynn Cumberland as 8th-grade girls’ basketball coach.
• The board accepted the resignation of Serena Smith, instructional assistant at Akron Elementary, Kory Stoneburner-Betts, custodian at TVHS; Sarah Cabrera, custodian at TVHS; and Ashley Dubois, preschool teacher at Mentone Elementary.
• The board accepted two INSPIRE3 mini-grants totaling $500 to help cover the cost of #BeKind shirts for all Akron Elementary School students, staff members and bus drivers.
• The board accepted a $200 grant from the Akron Los Donas Club for general nursing supplies at TVHS.
• The board recognized Akron Elementary, Mentone Elementary and TVHS student council groups for their volunteer work at the Akron Summer’s End Festival.
• The next regular board meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18, at Mentone Elementary.