The Portland Foundation proposed the purchase at $1.

It won’t even need to scrounge up four quarters.

Jay School Board on Monday agreed to donate the former Judge Haynes Elementary School to The Portland Foundation, which is leading an effort to transform the building into a child care facility.

Board members also approved various changes in an effort to attract employees and OK’d the 2022-23 calendar.

Doug Inman, executive director of The Portland Foundation, sent a letter to Jay School Corporation superintendent Jeremy Gulley last month expressing the organization’s interest in the building that ceased operations as an elementary school at the close of the 2017-18 school year. At a joint session of Jay County Commissioners and Jay County Council this month, he pitched a plan — it has been developed through the implementation phase of Lilly Endowment’s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) VII initiative — to renovate the former school and then lease it to an organization that would provide child care services.

The Portland Foundation has offered to contribute $500,000 for architectural and engineering costs if the county and city would contribute some of their federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the renovation.

Gulley on Monday recommended the school board donate Judge Haynes, 827 W. High St., to The Portland Foundation for the effort. (It did the same when it donated the former Pennville Elementary School to Pennville Community Center.)

Several board members spoke in support of the push to expand child care services in Jay County.

“I’m just pleased that the building will be used for children in Jay County,” said board member Donna Geesaman. “It makes me happy.”

“That’s been identified multiple times — the need for child care …” added board vice president Ron Laux. “This is a good place to start.”

“I think it’s a win-win,” agreed board president Phil Ford.

Board members Mike Shannon, Jason Phillips, Vickie Reitz, Geesaman, Ford, Laux and Chris Snow, who was participating remotely from Germany, voted unanimously to donate the building.

They also approved a new incentive structure for hiring bus drivers and increased pay rates for various substitutes.

New bus drivers will get a sign-on bonus of $1,000 to be paid after a satisfactory 90-day performance review and an addition $500 at the completion of 180 school days. Employees who refer bus drivers who meet similar requirements will receive a $500 recruiting bonus.

Increases were OK’d for a variety of substitute positions. The new certified substitute teacher rate is $103 per day up from $100 and the non-certified substitute teacher rate is up to $85 from the previous $75.

The driver’s education pay rate was increased to $30 per hour from the current $28. To help cover costs, the fee for driver’s education was increased to $365 from the current $335.
-30-