On Tuesday, Feb. 25, Manual’s School-Based Decision Making (SBDM) Council held its monthly meeting. They discussed recent victories amongst students and staff, staffing at Manual, attendance and the budget for the 2025-2026 school year.
The meeting began with sharing accomplishments within the school’s community. First, Prisha Hedau (9, MST) was recognized for her invitation as a guest speaker to the capitol building in Frankfort. She will represent the Kentucky Association for Gifted Education (KAGE) because of her involvement in advocating for STEM leadership and community efforts.
“Prisha was the 2020-2021 KAGE award winner, which was given to only one student across Kentucky state schools to recognize STEM leadership and community services at a global scale,” Principal Dr. Micheal Newman said. She is being recognized now because of her continued work.
Additionally, Ms. Nicole Weeks (Math) and Mr. Conner Kinmon (YPAS) were recognized for becoming National Board of Education certified teachers, joining nine other Manual teachers in this position.
The meeting progressed with a discussion of staffing at Manual. The recently hired teachers currently in the opened English and Social Studies positions are confirmed to stay in their positions for the upcoming school year.
Next year, some positions will open, including Custodial Night Lead and four ECE Instructional Assistant positions. The council charged Newman to see if an Assistant Athletic Director position can be added for upcoming years.
“Adding an Athletic Director in addition to our full-time one [would be helpful because] we probably offer more sports and activities than any other school,” Newman said.
Next, the council discussed statistics on student attendance. In the fifth pupil month, Manual saw 95.09% attendance throughout the student body, and 12.47% were chronically absent. In the past month, chronic absenteeism has skyrocketed in JCPS due to the recent widespread illnesses throughout the community.
The next topic was annual budgets. Both Manual and YPAS budgets are currently on track for the rest of the year, and it is expected that some money will be left over for next year.
“[The budgets are] still looking strong as we’re heading into the end of the spending period for us,” Dr. Newman said.
With their remaining budget, YPAS is looking to purchase lights for their Black Box Theater, which currently shares lighting with the YPAS Mainstage. When there is a Black Box performance, lights currently have to be moved from location to location, and if the Mainstage is using the lights, the Black Box lacks appropriate lighting for their performances.
“If we outfitted the Black Box, we could be doing better produced productions,” said YPAS Theatre Department Head Jane Jones. The estimated cost for these light fixtures is $1,600.
Furthermore, the allotment of money per student has increased from $147 per year for operational costs to $160 beginning next year. Manual will receive more money for the schools’ free and reduced lunch students.
Also on the budget, Newman proposed changes for the next school year, including reducing money for repairs, furniture, and traveling and alloting it toward teacher training. It was also decided that Manual will go from two interventional summer programs to one. From this year’s budget, Manual is investing in the installation of new cameras in some blind spots throughout the school. No YPAS funds are planned to change.
Finally, The council discussed transportation changes for next year. Amid the busing crisis, the school board has voted to return transportation to Manual’s free and reduced lunch students, which is adding nine buses.
“Buses will be added into the lane on Ray Baer. We looked at this logistically. We’ve got a great plan, and I trust that it will be functional, and if it doesn’t work, it will adjust on the fly,” Newman said.
Their next meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 18 at 3 p.m. in the first floor conference room. This meeting is open to the public but if you wish to address the council, you must submit a request at least three days prior.
