The Batesville Community School Corp. Facilities Planning Committee is close to sending its recommendation to the board, reported Dr. Jim Roberts, BCSC superintendent, June 15.

The draft is currently being circulated to committee members for approval. The recommendation will then be shared with board members, who will take it under advisement, he said.

Then they will make a final determination on items to include in the total cost of the project at a 1028 hearing, which will probably be in July.

This hearing “is a public session in which the school board sets a building project bond amount. This is the first legal step for a school corporation to potentially renovate existing buildings or construct new facilities,” he later explained.

Due to legislative changes, a referendum will be required so the public will vote on the bond amount in the November election.

Roberts indicated that a political action committee will be formed. It will be “made up of citizens from our community and cannot include staff members of the school corporation. The purpose of the committee would be to work toward achieving votes for or against the project.”

Member Mike Bettice asked, “How much time must elapse between the 1028 hearing and the voting?” The superintendent responded, “We would like six months, but we’re not going to have quite that much time .... only about four months.”

Trustee Wanita Linkel wondered, “If this doesn’t pass in November .... how long do you have to wait to put it back on the ballot?” Roberts noted, “It can be on the May ballot.”

He stressed, “It will take a lot of work to get the word out there” about the project.

Teri Coleman, Batesville Tool & Die human resources employee, presented a plaque to Batesville High School principal Tim Stephens to “recognize Matt Maple, Angie Parmer and the rest of BHS for becoming certified in Project Lead the Way.

“Schools are required to become certified by the second year and then recertified every five years following .... This process requires schools to demonstrate they meet PLTW’s quality standards in professional development of teachers and counselors, the implementation of curriculum using required equipment and software and the formation of a partnership team.

“Now students have the opportunity to receive college credit after passing the appropriate section of the end-of-course exam. The teachers are eligible to apply to the Master Teacher Program and the school achieves national recognition and is identified as a certified pre-engineering site,” she stressed.