By: Shar Dimick
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
At the January 12 organizational meeting the Wauseon Board of Education re-elected Sandra Griggs as President and Larry Fruth as Vice President 4-0-1 with Griggs and Fruth abstaining in their respective elections.
Treasurer, Karen Dameron administered the Oath of Officers to Griggs and Fruth. Each year the Board holds an organizational meeting to elect/install officers and approve annual resolutions for both the treasurer and superintendent (Larry Brown). The also appointed Fruth as the Legislative Liaison, Miriam Frank as the Student Achievement Liaison and Brown as Purchasing Agent. In addition they established Brown, Griggs and Dameron as the Records Commission and approved the meeting schedule for the year.
Their regular meetings in 2015 will be at the board offices at 5:30 PM on the second Monday each month, with the exceptions of March, June and November. The May and the November meetings will be on the third Monday instead and they will not meet in March. Additionally, they will hold a 12:15PM meeting on fourth Thursday of each month school is in session with the location rotation between the Wauseon Primary, Elementary, Middle and High Schools.
The regular meeting followed the organizational meeting, where they held a public hearing for the re-employment Dameron as treasurer following her retirement effective July 31, 2015. Griggs invited members of the public to give their input, however, no one came forward.
In other regular business board members:
•Approved an alternative tax budget as requested by the Fulton County Auditor, Brett Kolb that includes the recently approved five-year forecast and debt service schedule.
•Approved $2020 in donations to the Wauseon Elementary School Food Pantry. $1700 of which came from Doug Yoder and North Clinton Mennonite Church, while the remaining came from the Wauseon Bus Drivers, Rebecca and David Carroll and Julia and Mark King. They also approved $2779 from the Wauseon Athletic Boosters, $1107.82 from the Wauseon Braves Baseball organization and two clocks/times (valued at $853.92) to the Wauseon High School Athletic Department for varying purposes.
•Approved new personnel: Ryan Yackee (volunteer varsity softball assistant coach), Caitlin Friess (volunteer JV softball assistant coach), Megan Fields (JV softball coach), MaryAnn Reimund (substitute bus driver), Samantha Sherman (WPS 1.5 hour cook), Tammy Cochrane (classified substitute) and Jodee Aeschliman (WES secretarial assistant).
•Accepted the resignations of Naomi Lopez (WHS cook) and Michelle Koppenhofer (WES sweeper).
•Approved Kelsey Newman’s parental leave from February 2 to April 30.
•Reappointed Carolyn Short to a seven-year term on the Wauseon Public Library Board of Trustees.
•Approved the Fiscal Year 2015 appropriations and certificate of resources, tax rates and amounts and then and now certificates.
•Heard reports from the various building principals
Finally, to finish the regular meeting before heading to executive session, Brown and the board members participated in an exciting game of “Are You Smarter than a WES Fifth Grader?” against four fifth grade elementary students. WES Principal Theresa Vietmeier hosted the game show, that included real buzzers, asking six or seven questions from varying subjects. Students Eva Mennetti, Zach Robinson, Andrew Eberle and Grace Kuntz eagerly buzzed in sometimes even before Vietmeier finished the question. The students’ quick reflexes and correct answers led them to victory.
Shar may be reached at
publisher@thevillagereporter.com