Monrovia schools accept donation from local grandparents
MONROVIA — The Monroe-Gregg School Board recognized three students of the month and accepted an anonymous donation to the elementary school on the evening of March 14.
Nehemiah Grismore, of the elementary school, Valerie Voi of the middle school, and Emily Crouch of the high school were all honored as students of the month for March 2022.
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Crouch, a senior at Monrovia High School, is one of two students who received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. Fellow recipient Sydney Schloemer was honored last month for the same accomplishment.
Crouch plans to attend Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with her scholarship, and intends to major in Biology.
"I don't know that we've ever had two Lilly Scholar winners," High School Principal Mike Springer said. "It's an amazing accomplishment."
Another elementary student, Nathan Tonner, was named a student of the month but was not in attendance. Tonner will be honored at next month's meeting.
The board also accepted an anonymous donation of $500, which was given specifically for the first grade teachers of Monrovia Elementary — $100 per teacher.
The anonymous donation came from a couple who have grandchildren in the district, but particularly, a first grader.
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"He has a first grade granddaughter that loves school," Superintendent Dr. Kirk Freeman said. "He said, 'She wakes up... can't wait to get (to school), talks about how great the school is. I cannot thank the school district enough, and the teachers.'"
Freeman added the donation was very generous, and the money had no stipulations, meaning the teachers would be able to use it for whatever they needed to benefit their classroom environment.
Other business
A personnel report approved by the board listed Caitilin Mahan as a new Social Studies teacher for Monrovia Middle School, effective Aug. 8 2022, and a new high school track and field assistant coach, Matthew Nagel.
The board unanimously approved updates to the student transfer application for enrollment, in which some language was slightly changed to include Indiana Code 20-26-11-32, which allows for the release of student behavior records with the application.
A two-night, three-day trip to Cincinnati, Ohio, for the Future Farmers of America (FFA) student leadership team was also unanimously approved.
"My daughter is involved in that program," Board Vice President Tom Kennedy said. "They do an absolutely awesome job, they do a lot of neat stuff. My kid absolutely loves that program."
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The board also reviewed proposed policy changes to the Monroe-Gregg School Board bylaws and policies. The bylaws were given to the board for review according to Indiana Law, and the changes would be voted on at the following meeting.
The school board unanimously approved the purchase of three buses, one being a new 14-passenger yellow activity bus and two new 72-passenger school buses. The total purchase would be $268,867.53, and the price includes the installation and purchase of cameras for each bus.
Additionally, a 2010 Chevy Collins Activity bus, #24, was approved to be sold to the Monrovia Christian Church for $1,200, which is $200 above the trade-in value.
Steve Harris, the attorney for the district, gave an update on property the district is trying to purchase near the football field. Harris said the owners of the property had requested a 60-day extension on the time to close the property.
The board unanimously voted to authorize Freeman to extend the time.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Freeman and the board thanked the staff for their hard work so far this school year.
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"I think because of all Covid-related issues and everything we've placed on our staff's plate, everyone is exhausted and ready for spring break," Freeman said. "I just want to publicly thank our staff for doing a tremendous job under the circumstances."
The next public meeting of the board will take place on Monday, April 11 at the Administration Center, 135 S. Chestnut St, Monrovia.
Contact Reporter-Times reporter Grace Phillips at gphillips@reporter-times.com or at 765-346-4815
This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Monrovia schools accept donation from local grandparents
