Eineman: Schools strive on despite adversity

At a special request from the Huntingburg Chamber, Southwest School Corporation Superintendent Mike Eineman joined Mayor Denny Spinner in addressing the city with the status of the school corporation.

While Mayor Denny Spinner’s address outlined the positive growth and steps taken by the city in recent years, Eineman’s report was laced with some reality as the corporation faces funding challenges and a dropping enrollment.

He explained that the biggest change for the corporation is the upcoming administration changes for all the schools in the corporation.

Chad Sickbert took over as Southridge High School principal, Greg Werner as high school assistant principal while former Southridge High School principal Kelly Murphy moved to principal at the middle school. In the elementary schools John Seger moved from Huntingburg to Holland Elementary as principal while Chad Whitehead took over as Huntingburg Elementary principal.

“They have a big task of calming the teachers because when you get a new administrator, everyone thinks something is going to change right away.” Eineman said.

Eineman explained the biggest change the school was facing at this point was a drop in enrollment. He said the school corporation started with 1,752 students in 2015 and ended with right at 1,700 in 2016. “Hopefully we will get some new enrollees in the coming weeks,” he said.

The loss of 50 student is troubling as it impacts the corporation’s general fund with a $250,000 loss of income. The general fund pays salaries and benefits for the teachers and administrators as well as for school programming and materials.

He reported the corporation’s diversity was split between Asian at .4 percent, multiracial at 1 percent, Hispanic at 27 percent and white at 72 percent. The Hispanic segment was expected to grow by another percentage point in 2016.

In regards to free and reduced meals, the corporation is expected to increase from 47 percent of total student population taking part in the program to 48 percent.

Eineman told the audience he was hesitant to speak about test scores in light of the problems the state has had in administering tests in recent years. “Are our students prepared? I feel that when they graduate they are prepared to do what they need to do,” he said. “Our teachers do a great job and the community does a great job as well in preparing our students.”

In regards to testing, Eineman said the teachers have done an excellent job at preparing the students for tests that have been administered erratically. “If you have seen what is going on with the state and the department of education, we don’t know [tests] until the last minute,” he said. “I will tell you, our teachers are doing what they need to in preparing our students.”

Eineman closed by commending the community. “You have to be somewhere else to realize what you have where you are,” he said. “Since I have been here, I have been very proud of our students. We have some problems, but they aren’t near what you find in the bigger schools.”