Crown Point Community School Corporation 

Board Meeting Summary August 24, 2026 – 6:00 p.m. 

 

Board of School Trustees Resolution of Commendation Awards 

• 2025–2026 Crown Town Media, CPTV/Dog Radio The Board recognized Crown Town Media, CPTV/Dog Radio for winning a first-place national award for Best Headline News from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, along with several first-place state awards from the Indiana Association of School Broadcasters and several first-place regional awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Chicago/Midwest Chapter and the Midwest Media Educators Association. Advisers Brent Barber and Chris Gloff shared the program's history, noting the team has now won the national award four years in a row and helps produce the annual Chicago/Midwest Emmy broadcast, including its red carpet and backstage shows. They highlighted how the program has opened doors for students at schools including Indiana University, the University of Missouri, and DePaul University, and credited students for taking on live broadcasting responsibilities this year. The Board formally recognized students Ariana Pantoja, Rana Stevens, Gabe Trevino, Aiden Hielema, Jayla Miller, Vanessa Cervantes, Braydon Zamojski, Luke Bazin, Cameron Qualls, Brandon Boling, Gavin Chambers, Milan Ristic, and Rico Ardister. The Board approved the commendation unanimously.

Patrons’ Comments 

• A community member spoke about the CPHS alternative virtual learning program and asked the Board to consider amending district policy to allow virtual students pursuing professional athletic opportunities continued access to school facilities and coaching staff.

Consent Agenda

• As part of the personnel agenda, Kevin McBride was officially approved as the assistant principal at Jerry Ross Elementary.
• Emergency holiday pay was also approved for all CPCSC employees. Team members will be paid for their regular hours and pay during the recent storms and extended power outages.

 

Action Items

5.01 Approval to Apply for and Receive Title I, Part A Funding 

• Mrs. Smith requested approval to apply for and receive Title I, Part A funding through the Indiana Department of Education, with a current planning allocation of approximately $643,000. The funds support literacy and math interventionists and paraprofessionals, extended-day family programming, and district costs such as transportation for students experiencing homelessness at the district’s three Title I schools. The district also manages Title I pass-through funds to non-public schools within its boundaries. 

5.02 Approval to Apply for and Receive IDOE RoboKind Grant Funds 

• Mrs. Paskis requested approval to apply for and receive $19,375 in RoboKind (Robots4Autism) grant funding for a social skills curriculum, a new phonics curriculum, and on-site phonics instructional coaching for the district’s applied skills classrooms. 

5.03 Memorandum of Understanding with School Town of Munster for Physical Therapy Services 

• Mrs. Paskis presented a proposed shared-services agreement with the School Town of Munster to jointly employ a physical therapist, citing rising contracted service costs and significant growth in the number of students requiring physical therapy. The agreement is expected to save the district approximately $25,000. Board members thanked Mrs. Paskis for her work developing the partnership. 

5.04 School Resource Officer (SRO) Agreement 

• Assistant Superintendent Mark Gianfermi presented a renewed interlocal cooperation agreement with the City of Crown Point to continue providing four school resource officers to the district, with only minor updates related to equipment costs and body-worn cameras. The agreement carries an estimated cost of about $350,000 annually, funded through the Referendum Fund. Board members confirmed the staffing level matches prior years. 

5.05 ESS Substitute Billing Rate Update Approval 

• Mr. Equihua requested approval of updated, reduced substitute staffing rates negotiated with ESS, the district’s substitute placement partner of eight years, for a new three-year term. The updated rates are expected to save the district approximately $8,000 annually. 

5.06 Resolution #881 – Cessation of Classroom Instruction, Education Center 

• Chief Financial Officer Matt Ruess presented Resolution #881, formally notifying the state that classroom instruction has ceased at the Education Center, which is now used primarily as a storage facility following the closure of the former storage barn at Timothy Ball Elementary. Because more than half of the building is used for storage, the district is not required to declare it excess or vacant property. 

5.07 Resolution #882 – Authorizing Litigation Against Social Media Companies 

• Mr. Ruess presented Resolution #882, authorizing the district to join litigation against social media companies and naming its legal representation for the case. He confirmed the district will incur no direct monetary cost, only an estimated four to six hours of staff time to help prepare materials. 

5.08 Donation – Bulldog Wrestling Club 

• Mr. Ruess presented a $5,010.27 donation from the Bulldog Wrestling Club to Crown Point High School Athletics to purchase new wrestling singlets. 

 

Information/Recognition Items 

• Director of Elementary Education Dr. Ciochina shared newly released ILEARN results, reporting that 95.9% of the district’s third graders passed the assessment, ranking Crown Point first among the 16 traditional public school districts in Lake County and third among the 31 Indiana districts with 600 or more third-grade students. He highlighted strong performance across student subgroups, including students from low-income households, multilingual learners, and students with IEPs, compared to districts of similar size and demographics. He also noted that more than 81% of second graders passed the assessment, about 20 points above the state average. Dr. Ciochina thanked Elementary ELA Specialist Amy McCallister and elementary staff for their sustained work toward the goal, and noted a strong start to the school year despite the storm-related delay.
• Director of Secondary Education Mrs. Ramirez announced that Crown Point High School has been approved as a Higher Learning Commission site through Vincennes University, expanding the district’s ability to offer accredited dual credit coursework and helping students earn additional academic and technical certifications while in high school. She thanked Assistant Superintendent Mark Gianfermi, CTE Director Bob Phelps, and high school administrators for their forward-thinking programming, and thanked District Multilingual Learner Specialist Anna Retzlaf and the ML team for a successful start to the school year for multilingual learner families.
• Director of Exceptional Education Mrs. Paskis shared that among the 39 Indiana districts with 100 or more third graders taking the IREAD assessment, Crown Point ranked fifth in performance among students with IEPs. She credited both special education staff and general education teachers for providing consistent rigor and inclusion for these students.
• Assistant Superintendent Mr. Gianfermi recognized the district’s technology team for managing more than 80,000 course enrollments to ensure students started the year in the correct classes. He thanked Dave Coulson for coordinating traffic, security, and staffing at Col. Wheeler Middle School during the closure of the school’s main entrance on Harrington, and recognized the district’s reunification team of more than 90 staff members, 90% of whom attended an August 7 training session to prepare for potential emergency response needs.
• Chief Human Resource Officer Mr. Equihua thanked staff for supporting the New Teacher Academy, held in early August, which welcomed approximately 27 new teachers. He also thanked staff across the district for their extra efforts responding to storm impacts in the weeks leading up to the school year, and recognized new Director of Transportation Matt McCaleb for his work leading the department through his first weeks in the role.
• Chief Financial Officer Mr. Ruess thanked the three departments reporting to him (custodial/buildings and grounds, technology, and food service) for their work restoring school buildings and services after recent storm damage, specifically recognizing Mike Malaski and Dave Williams. He noted the district lost very little food service product despite extended power outages at several buildings thanks to our food service team’s efforts in moving product.
• Director of Communications Mrs. Allen announced the district’s fifth cohort of the Community Ambassador program, bringing total program participation to 96 community members and parents over five years. She also shared that School CEO, a national publication reaching approximately 25,000 school leaders, invited the district to contribute an article about its hospitality efforts.
• Superintendent of Schools Dr. Terrill thanked administrators and building principals for their work restoring operations after recent storm damage, noting many worked without power at their own homes to help reopen schools. He also shared that the district hosted Indiana Department of Education Assistant Deputy Paul Ketchum, along with representatives from approximately 15 other corporations, to discuss storm recovery and waiver processes affecting Northwest Indiana school districts.

 

Other Business of the Board 

Board members thanked a community member for coming forward to share his concerns about extracurricular access for virtual learning students, noting that while they could not commit to a specific policy outcome, such input is valued and is discussed by the Board and administration. Members also confirmed logistics for fall conference attendance.

Board Statements of Appreciation and Recognition

Board members shared several recognitions: 

• Mr. Angel thanked those involved in the back-to-school pep rally and explained his role representing the district on the Winfield and Cedar Lake redevelopment commissions, which help monitor potential impacts of TIF districts on school funding. 
• Mr. Warne thanked a community member for his comments and thanked the many staff and community members involved in the district’s storm response and start-of-year success, noting that community donations (rather than corporation funds) support items like Friday night football fireworks and the recent wrestling singlet donation. 
• Mrs. Bazin thanked Mr. Equihua for the opportunity to attend the New Teacher Academy kickoff breakfast and commended Dr. Terrill for his leadership and communication throughout the district’s storm response and delayed school start. 
• Mr. Smith closed by reflecting on the community’s care for one another during the storm recovery and echoed appreciation for Dr. Terrill’s leadership in deciding when to reopen schools.