Duneland School Board thanks outgoing members

CHESTERTON | Monday night was the final Duneland School Board meeting for long-time members Janice Custer and Nick Jurasevich, and each was presented with plaques to honor their years of service.

The seat Jurasevich has filled for Jackson Township since 2002 will be filled by Kristin Kroeger, who defeated the incumbent in November’s election.

Custer, a retired Duneland Schools teacher for 23 years who began her service on the board in 1996, announced her retirement from the board earlier this year. Her at-large seat will be filled by John Marshall, who also won in November’s election.

“It’s a relatively thankless job when you think about it. But it’s all about working with kids. I’ve had the opportunity to work with these people quite well, and I thank you for being good people with good character and caring about our kids,” said Superintendent Dr. Dirk Baer.

“I’ve enjoyed it, for the most part,” Custer said with a laugh.

“And I’ve enjoyed every moment of it,” responded Jurasevich. “Thank you to the kids, because they’re the reason we’re here.”

In other business, Liberty Elementary School Principal Christy Jarka thanked her PTO for funding a third computer lab at the school. Media specialist Heather Lowe and teachers from each grade gave a presentation to the board on the use of technology in the classroom.

They discussed the use of iPods to record students reading for fluency and presentation to younger students, “Turning Point Clickers” to quiz students on weekly assignments and engage each student, Mimio or smart boards for group presentation of math problems, and websites for math facts competitions.

“These are just some of the ways we use technology in our school, and we thank the staff and parents who are willing to take a risk and give it a try,” said Jarka.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. David Pruis discussed figures for the employee benefit plan and said that the insurance committee recommended that premiums stay the same for 2013 as they were in 2012.

Assistant Superintendent Monte Moffett discussed the number of parent teacher conferences this past fall and complimented the teachers on the amount of time they put into their commitment and their continuing efforts to have conferences, even when neighboring districts have eliminated them, he said.