By: T.J. Hug
The Village Reporter
For the next month, students in the North Central Local School District will spend an extra half hour attending classes.
During their February regular meeting, the North Central Board of Education elected to extend their school day by an additional thirty minutes. This change will take effect on Monday, February 23, and will cease on Friday, March 27. Thus far in the academic year, the district has canceled classes eight times, while delaying them by two hours on six separate occasions. Overall, North Central has lost eighty-one hours of school, which is how the state views student attendance.
Adding the extra time to the school day over the next month will help to make up three days worth of coursework. The school will also not enact a two hour delay on days in which Ohio Graduation Testing takes place in order to help balance out the hours of student attendance as well.
In his report to the board, Elementary Principal Paul Johnson announced that a date has been set for a meeting with parents concerned about Common Core teaching practices in mathematics.
That meeting will happen on March 2, at 6:00 P.M. in the school’s cafeteria. Math teachers for grades one through six, as well as Johnson himself will be present to answer any questions those in attendance may have.
Craig McKarns, President of the board, expressed concern on the timing of this meeting.
“Did we react fast enough?” He pondered, citing the closeness to the end of the school year.
Johnson agreed with the sentiment, stating that the issues people were having with the Common Core were not entirely expected. He also went on to explain that many of the questions raised about the teaching method have been addressed on a one on one basis.
Still, the Elementary Principal intends to ensure this problem is taken care of as soon as possible in the future.
“From here on out, we’ll have these meetings at the beginning of the year.”
North Central will soon have a vacancy to fill in its junior high math department. Jill Filler, an instructor in mathematics, saw her retirement approved by the board during the February session. Filler had spent the entirety of her career at the school.
The board also approved the employment of a pair of boys basketball coaches. Chris Fidler and Nelson Turner were hired on a shared contract to coach the Freshmen team at the school. Turner has and will continue to serve as the primary coach for the youthful squad, while Fidler is included on the contract due to his status as Varsity Head Coach.
Money provided through a couple of grants was approved to be added to the school’s budget. The Idea Part B grant, better known as the Small Rural Schools Achievement grant, will provide $3,569.72 in funding to the district. Those monies will be used to revitalize North Central’s afterschool program, which lost funding from the 21st Century grant earlier in the academic year.
Another endowment, the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education grant, was also accepted by the board. Given out by the Four County Career Center, this allocation will bring the school an additional $255.12.
The board adjourned the meeting without entering into Executive Session.
T.J. Hug can be reached at
publisher@thevillagereporter.com