(PHOTO BY JESSIE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
MEET THE NEW BOSS … New Delta Middle School Principal Pamela Schultz poses for a photo outside the Pike-Delta-York Local School District Board of Education office after the board voted to approve her contract at Wednesday’s meeting. Schultz replaces Shawn Murphy, whose retirement was also approved by the board.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
The Pike-Delta-York Local School District Board of Education voted to return its 5.31 mill replacement levy to the ballot in another attempt to fund the district.
The measure – which replaces an existing, expiring levy – failed in November by a vote of 1,743-987 before failing again in March by a vote of 940-808.
Comments and questions from board member Tim Ford led to a lengthy discussion on whether or not to pursue expanding the ballot item to include transitioning the levy from a traditional levy to a levy which only taxes earned income.
While the board agreed that transition should be a part of future plans, they also agreed that trying to add it to the existing ballot language while also educating the public on the change and trying to pass the levy itself for the third time was too much to attempt between now and the November 5 general election.
PERSONNEL CHANGES
The board approved a series of personnel changes, including approval of the contract for new Delta Middle School Principal Pamela Schultz. Principal Shawn Murphy submitted his resignation effective June 30, which the board also approved.
The board approved the resignation of Delta High School science teacher and football coach Nathan Ruple effective at the end of the 2023-2024 school year as well as a new contract for Brandon Behnfeldt, who is replacing him in the classroom and will also help with the football team.
The board also approved the splitting of Varsity Soccer Assistant Coach Liz Risner’s stipend fifty-fifty between Risner and Krysta Barrington. Risner submitted her resignation as 100% varsity assistant coach as part of the change.
The board approved a new service agreement with existing athletic trainer Corey Lee at a cost of $9,000 for the 2024-2025 school year. Lee will now serve through his capacity as a University of Toledo Medical Center employee.
He previously served under Nationwide Hospital, but their cost for the work was set to increase from $18,000 to $55,000 following the hospital taking on Toledo City Schools as a client.
Under the new agreement, UTMC will pay the remainder of Lee’s costs to ensure he makes slightly more than he did the prior year.
The board approved Brandon Haley as junior varsity boys soccer coach, James Shelt as a golf team volunteer, and Ron Zdunczyk as an advisor to the science club.
After an executive session to discuss the matter at the end of the meeting, the board voted to approve a contract with Stefanie Rayfield as the junior varsity volleyball coach.
In addition to personnel changes, the board voted to increase the pay of several staff members to bring them in line with the pay schedule in place for other more recent hires.
Under the old policy, new employees were brought in at “step five” even if they had enough experience to qualify them for a higher level of pay. The vote will bring the pay of roughly seven employees up to a level matching their experience but not higher than “step 10”.
OTHER BUSINESS
The board heard an update on Delta Elementary School’s cooperation with LifeWise Academy. The organization currently provides religious instruction for participating students in grades K-4 but would like to expand to offer instruction to fifth grade students as well.
Board members had generally positive comments about the partnership but agreed they would like to see more details on the specifics of the current system before allowing the expansion.
The board approved a memorandum of understanding with Owens Community College to provide College Credit Plus classes at a discounted rate for students.
The board approved a memorandum of understanding with Defiance College to accept student teachers from the school.
The board approved a memorandum of understanding with Lourdes College to provide a 15 percent tuition discount to district staff taking professional development courses at the college.
The board voted to accept a donation of $4,000 for the student lunch fund from Kathryn Morr, who raised the money by selling cookbooks.
The next regular meeting of the Pike-Delta-York Local School District Board of Education will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 21 in the Delta High School auditorium.