THOMAS … High school science teacher and varsity baseball coach Trent Thomas was selected by the Wauseon Board of Education to fill the role of Assistant High School Principal.
SUPPLIES … Operations Supervisor Eric Sauber speaks to Wauseon School Board members regarding the cost of custodial supplies throughout the district.
By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jacob@thevillagereporter.com
The Wauseon Board of Education met in regular session on Monday, December 12th. The meeting began at 5:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance before moving on to hear from Food Service Supervisor Laurel Frank.
Frank informed board members of an upcoming food service audit. Qualified auditors will be sent to the school to check and ensure food safety standards and requirements are being met.
Auditors will look over food preparation procedures, documentation, temperature monitoring, sanitation and more. This audit takes place from time to time, with it being stated that the last one took place around ten years ago.
Board members were shown an overview of what will be audited before moving on to hear from Operations Supervisor Eric Sauber.
Sauber was present to speak with the board regarding custodial supplies. The top four consumables were highlighted and are as follows.
No. 4 was hand soap, with 522 bottles being used annually, at a cost of $7,273.52. #3 was toilet paper, with 2364 rolls being used annually, at a cost of $9,623.45.
No. 2 was garbage bags, with 26,100 bags used annually, at a cost of $14,140.34. Lastly, No. 1 was paper towels, with 3,001,200 towels used, at a cost of $53,850.80.
Total expenses for the district stand at $104,900.00 for consumable supplies. Sauber then informed board members that, due to the cost of certain items, cost cutting methods are being looked into.
One of those methods involves switching towel dispensers over to hand dryers in elementary and middle school.
Doing so could potentially cut the cost of paper towels in half. If successful, these could be added into the high school.
Each dryer would cost around $550. Wiring to install all of the dryers would sit at around $40,000. Work has been done to apply for a grant that would help for the dryers.
Next, the board moved to approve the treasurer’s report, that included a consent agenda for the following items.
Approval of the September 2024 monthly bills and financial reports, a list of donations made for various school items, and a list of appropriations for fiscal year 2025.
The superintendent’s report followed next, which also included a consent agenda. The following items were approved by the board.
A list of personnel items, which included a three-year limited administrative contract for Trent Thomas as the WHS Assistant Principal, effective August 1st, 2025, through July 31st, 2028. Thomas stated that he is excited and “blessed to be a part of Wauseon Schools.”
Additionally, approval was granted by the board for tax incentive agreement amendment with Rama Tika Management, LLC, a crowd funding fundraiser for grades 3-8 to be held from February 24th, 2025, through March 7th, 2025, the 2025-2026 school calendar as presented and a NEOLA Policy Revision.
Before approval, it was explained by Fulton County Economic Development Executive Director Matt Gilroy that the tax agreement had already been approved but needed to be amended.
The construction of the new Tru by Hilton Hotel on 108 has hit some supply chain issues, which has delayed efforts.
This CRA Tax Abatement slated construction to be finished by the end of December. This amendment would effectively move the CRA Tax Abatement agreement one more year out, allowing for building construction to finish and operations to begin. Currently, the hotel is slated to be open around the end of January/beginning of February.
Following the approval of items, board members moved to enter into executive session at 5:39 p.m. With no action taken, board members moved to adjourn for the evening.