The Nettle Creek school board sought to make dollars and sense of a weedy financial item at its June 10 meeting. Superintendent Emily Schaeffer and Business Manager Amber Rushton detailed plans to deplete two negative fund balances with a renewed 18-month certificate of deposit worth $1.79 million.
Funds from the 2016 CD — separate from both education and operations funds — will be transferred to the district’s rainy day fund to erase the combined $170,000 of debt.
One balance stems from a pandemic-era Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund. The other results from a payroll system error after switching to a cloud-based system in 2023. Two past Indiana State Board of Account complaints expedited the need for this solution.
Board member Sandi Schraub and President Shaun Lieberman questioned the funds labeling if not part of the budget. Rushton detailed the CD is considered a secondary rainy day fund. After clarification, acknowledgment and a resolution to transfer funds were approved. An exact amount will be updated at the July meeting.
School news
Biology teacher Ross Rexing was May’s staff member of the month, and student artists held the Unsung Heroes Art Show. The board championed recent sports wins, including baseball’s sectional; girls track and boys golf regional qualifiers; and Sophia Tinkle qualifying for tennis regionals. All are rooting for Calin Ledgerwood at the June 23 state Civics Bee.
District news
Schaeffer thanked everyone for the end-of-year staff banquet, helping to “celebrate the people that make this place so great.” She also highlighted that summer breakfast and lunch meals will be available for families.
Other business
A second reading of board policy updates was tabled for further discussion while student handbooks and the Education Pathway program with IU East were approved. The program pairs education students with HES classes for field work.
In board comments, Mike Banning stated how great graduation was, from the student speeches and the choir’s impromptu a cappella performance. Schraub thanked the Tiger Boosters for the North Lobby updates and their continued support of student athletes. Lieberman echoed that praise along with Hagerstown’s attendance at the baseball regional.
Schaeffer paused to remember late maintenance employee Matt Gentry, who died May 31 of cancer. A Tiger alumnus, Schaeffer said Gentry was an amazing employee, who took pride in his work and will be remembered as “a Hagerstown Tiger always.”
The next meeting will be July 29 at 6:30 p.m. in HES’s LGI Room, 299 N. Sycamore Street. The public may attend.
A version of this article appeared in the June 17 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
