Caston Comets

Disclaimer: This website, first published August 22, 2006, has been created and is administered by Russell ("Russ") Phillips, a member of...(more)

Exclusive Opportunity For Indiana School Board Members To Stay In The Loop With Fellow Board Members (8/10/11)

                                     Recent topics discussed:  NEW Whose school system is it? Superintendent's? Community's?
                                                                            NEW School Board Service...How does it happen?
                                                                            Outsourcing services
                                                                            Temporary Superintendent License
                                                                            Are you adequately informed by your Superintendent?
                                                                            And many more

Quick Hits: (Don't see it? Check the archives.) (Alert Notification?)

NEW 5/1/12 Board Meeting Results Include Creation Of Gift/Donation Fund To Be Used For The Promotion Of Caston School Corporation And Other Info (5/13/12)

NEW 5/15/12 Board Agenda (7:00P.M.): Discuss And Consider Site Plan Options And Other Info (see Site Plan Options, 5/11/12)

4/24/12 Special Board Meeting Focuses On Various Building Updating And Space Needs (5/9/12)

Garret Gates, Seth Cousins, Micheal Smith - Rochester Sentinel Athlete Of The Week (5/9/12)

5/1/12 Board Agenda (5:30P.M.): Accept Resignation Request Of Teacher Tara Wolfe Effective April 25, 2012; Consider Proposal From Odle McGuire Shook For Professional Services Needed To Complete The Upcoming Capital Project; Consider Resolution Requesting An Additional Appropriation Of $436,000 From The General Fund For A 1:1 Initiative And Other Info (4/27/12)

4/17/12 Board Meeting Results Include Possibility Of Spending $400,000+ For iPads And MacBooks And Other Info (4/22/12)

Two Special Board Meetings Hear Vendor Presentations Regarding Possible Capital Projects (4/22/12)

4/24/12 Special Board Meeting (NOTE: 6:00A.M.) Agenda: Prioritization Of Potential Tasks For The Upcoming Project (4/20/12)

Blain Hizer - Rochester Sentinel Athlete Of The Week (4/20/12)

Changing Holy Week Policy Recommended By Superintendent - Delete Highlighted And Lined Out Language (4/14/12)

4/17/12 Public Work Session (6:00P.M.)/Board Agenda (7:00P.M.): Consider Changing Policy To Allow After School Activities On Good Friday; Consider Permission To Advertise For Additional Appropriation For 1:1 Learning And Other Info (4/13/12)

Reorganizing Turkey Run And Rockville School Systems Into A Single System: The Voters Will Decide (retitled, IED, 4/13/12)

North White Schools Unanimously Adopt Resolution Advocating "One Administrative Team" For Four County School Systems (4/12/12)

Garret Gates - Rochester Sentinel Athlete Of The Week (4/12/12)

4/3/12 Board Meeting Results Include Review Of School Activities During Week Preceding Easter And Possibly Replacing Classroom Carpet With Tile And Other Info (4/7/12)

Sarah Holt - Rochester Sentinel Athlete Of The Week (4/7/12)

Indiana Demographic Study Reaffirms Caston's Decreasing Population (retitled, Indiana Business Review, 4/7/12)

Alleged Comment By Ex-Superintendent To Board Member: "I Control Wayne Township (Schools), And The (School) Board Does What I Say" (retitled, Ind'pls Star, 3/29/12)

"First (1988) Annual Caston Alumni" Reunion And Caston Historical Info (3/4/12) (NOTE: New "blue" button, "History & Alumni Info," on left, near top.)

Small School Systems With Few Towns And Rural Areas With Declining Population - What Next? (Russ Phillips, 2/1/12)

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Purpose: The Purpose of this site is to tell the "untold story," i.e. to further inform and encourage interest among the Caston Community regarding its schools and the governance of the Corporation. Indiana's Public Records Act and Open Door Law (Public Meetings) - public access laws - insure that citizens can add their voice to the public debate. (more)

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What: On this site you will find several types of information, some fact and some opinion. It will be a continual "work in progress," with publishing at least following every regular Board meeting (usually the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at 7P.M.), typically within the following two or three days. This will not be "official" minutes but rather "snippets" of information from the proceedings, as well as from other occasions, including financial data. Also, you will find links to information about the performance of Caston Elementary School and Caston Jr.-Sr. High School. Occasionally, you will find information about education in our Hoosier State and beyond (see "Elsewhere"). You will not find privileged or confidential information here. Generally, information about our schools available elsewhere on the Internet will not be repeated here, unless for convenience, although your attention may be drawn to it. You will find very few images and pictures on this site or other "cool" features. The emphasis is on text and information relating to Caston Schools. Board Minutes, the Agenda for the upcoming meeting and Board Members' contact information is here.

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Why: A hallmark of our government, including schools, is the participation of its citizenry. To make informed judgments access to information is essential. This website's information will help you, hopefully, to assess how well Caston is fulfilling its "Mission Statement" (Policy # 2105) that appears at the bottom of every page.

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Superintendent/Principals: Questions about school and corporation test scores, as well as for other topics, may be directed to one of the following:

Dan Foster, Superintendent - Tel: 574/857-2035, ext. 336

Lucinda Douglass, Elementary Principal - Tel: 574/857-3025, ext. 334

Adam Strasser, Jr.-Sr. High School Principal - Tel: 574/857-3505, ext. 310

An open invitation has been extended to these administrators to have published on this site their input. There may be times when they feel that additional information is needed to put in proper perspective data/comments that are presented here.

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Internet Access/Libraries: In the event you do not have Internet access in your home you may want to use this free service in the libraries of the community. Each library below allows Internet usage, at no charge, regardless of whether you live in the respective county/township.

Library Hours:

Fulton County Public Library (Rochester) - M-Th, 10-8; F, 10-6; Sa, 10-5; Su, Closed; Tel: 574/223-2713

Fulton Branch - M & Th, 9-6; Tu, W, & F, 9-5; Sa, 9-12; Tel: 574/857-3895

Kewanna/Union Township Public Library - M-F, 10-6; Sa, 9-3; Tel: 574/653-2011

Logansport/Cass County Public Library - M-F, 9-9; Sa, 9-5; Tel: 574/753-6383

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Feedback/New Info & Data: Comments, suggestions for future content, and questions are invited and encouraged and may be sent to Russ at rbpjrfulton@yahoo.com. If you would like an email notification every time new info & data is published just send an email to him indicating "new info." If you should ever decide to discontinue receiving these just send an email indicating "unsubscribe" in the "Subject" window.

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Indiana School Consolidation Developments

From the July 2, 2009 Indianapolis Star:
"A day after Indiana's lawmakers passed a new two-year state budget, Gov. Mitch Daniels was already looking ahead to his next legislative goal: reforming local government, including a push to merge the state's smallest school districts...But Daniels signaled that one area he'll pursue is the consolidation of the administrations of small school districts. He pointed to the new budget, in which some small rural schools saw their funding cut. 'You've got districts with fewer (students) than some grade schools, that have a superintendent and a staff,' Daniels said. 'Many counties I visit will be carved up into three or four districts, and the total number of kids is only a couple thousand. It would be very easy for one administration to run the buses and the food service and the paperwork, and liberate all that money to hire more teachers...'" (more)

NEW Reorganizing Turkey Run And Rockville School Systems Into A Single System: The Voters Will Decide (retitled, IED, 4/13/12)
Indiana Rural School Systems Could Be Forced To Consolidate By Virtue Of Death By A Million Cuts (retitled, StateImpact Indiana, 10/27/11)
Why Governor Daniels Thinks Small School Districts Should Consolidate (StateImpact Indiana, 10/27/11)
Declining Enrollment, Funding Leave New Harmony School District's Future In Doubt (Evansville Courier & Press, 10/14/11)
Parke (County) School Districts Look At Reorganization (i.e. Consolidation): Turkey Run And Rockville Boards
Have Agreed To Study Issue (Terre Haute Tribune-Star, 7/28/11)
Gov. Daniels: School Systems Of Caston's Size Have Too Much Administrative Overhead (WROI, 5/28/11)
Proposed State Budget Includes Mechanism To Force Smallest School Districts To Consolidate
(retitled, Evansville Courier & Press, 4/20/11)
New CEEP Report On Potential Of School District Consolidation In Indiana Determines Evidence For A Mandate Still Lacking (Indiana University, 10/5/10)
Indiana Small and Rural Schools Association (9/27/09)
Daniels Attacks Schools (Brett Boggs, The Rochester Sentinel, 8/21/09)
Is Caston One Of Gov. Daniels "Smallest School Districts"? (7/24/09)
Daniels’ Bottom Line: Rural schools suffer under new budget
(Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette, 7/12/09)
*Kernan - Shepard Report here.
*School Consolidation Archives/Index here.

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Disclaimer: This website, first published August 22, 2006, has been created and is administered by Russell ("Russ") Phillips, a member of the Board of School Trustees (hereafter known as "Board") of Caston School Corporation, P.O Box 8, Fulton, IN 46931 (USA). Caston Schools are located about two miles south of the town of Fulton, between Rochester and Logansport, IN, along Indiana Highway #25. He is solely responsible for what is published on this site and it is not sanctioned by Caston School Corporation, its Superintendent, or the Board. Furthermore, views he expresses on this website do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board or of his colleagues on the Board. No Corporation funds, equipment or software are utilized for this site. Links to other sites are provided solely for informational purposes and no endorsement of their content, or suggestion of their accuracy is insinuated or implied.

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"Mission Statement - Caston School Corporation is committed to providing each student with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to function as tomorrow's exceptional citizens. Teachers, administrators, staff, and the at-large community are dedicated to seeing that the students develop to their full academic, vocational, and personal potential in order that they may take pride in themselves, their accomplishments, and their school. It is our goal that each individual at Caston School Corporation will do his/her utmost to teach, assist, counsel, and encourage one another in making our school the best center for a lifetime of learning."
(Policy # 2105)