ADULT SUPERVISION WAVED FOR USE OF GYM

JEREMY WALTNER  – PUBLISHER

The Freeman School Board last week reversed a long-standing policy that states that students who use the district gym must be accompanied by an adult. Meeting in regular session Monday night, Jan. 11, the board voted 5-0 to allow students in grades 7-12 to use the elementary gymnasium without supervision, with access to the facility via the district-issued student badge through the north door.

School officials, including Freeman Superintendent Kevin Kunz, felt comfortable with the change because provisions have been made limiting student access elsewhere in the building. The student badges will not allow those using the gym access through any other locked area, including the high school gym and other parts of the campus.

Students may still use the high school gym during non-school hours but must be accompanied by an adult when doing so. The fobs currently in place will remain active, with access through the main junior-senior high school doors. The only point of discussion was which grades should should be allowed entry, with options ranging from grades 6-12 to grades 9-12.

Other business

Also at the Jan. 11, the board:

Heard from Doug McCune, who asked about the frequency of staff evaulations and wondered why administrative staff is only evaluated by the superintendent .

“That’s one of the main things I want to speak to,” said McCune, who said he reached out to six area districts and Freeman Public is the only one that does it that way. “I don’t think it’s fair or right to task Kevin with that and not have another set of eyes in the room.”

McCune asked the board to “look at processes in place and how they can be improved.”

As reported last week, discussed continuing the discussion about a partnership with Marion and including Freeman Academy in conversations about sports cooperation. Since the meeting, Kunz reached out to the board that another public meeting with Tom Oster could come at the end of February or beginning of March. For more on the meeting, see the public notice on page 5B.