OUT WITH THE OLD … Delta High School Band Director Zach Karpuszka (center left) speaks to members of the Pike-Delta-York Local School District Board of Education at their most recent meeting to ask for help buying new marching band uniforms. Band boosters Secretary Emily Riegsecker (right) and board member Brooke Longnecker (center right) hold one of the current uniform jackets and one that has been cannibalized to repair others. Karpuszka holds a pair of the current uniform pants, while boosters President Melissa Foster (left) holds an example of the new uniform.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
Delta High School Band Director Zach Karpuszka asked members of the Pike-Delta-York Local School District Board of Education at their most recent meeting to consider helping fund the purchase of new uniforms for the school’s marching band.
According to Karpuszka, the current uniforms have been in use since 2007 and are starting to show their age and significant wear.
“The average lifespan of marching band uniforms is about 10 to 15 years,” Karpuszka said. “We have been taking very good care of them with laundering and making minor repairs, but they are starting to show their age.”
Karpuszka said the new uniforms, which would be made by Stanbury Uniforms and made in Missouri, currently cost $500 to $550 per uniform, and they are looking to buy a minimum of 60 to 65 uniforms with additional small purchases in subsequent years or a recommended 80 to 100 uniforms. The cost of the uniforms is expected to rise to $600 to $650 after this cycle.
The new uniforms also have modern features to help adjust the fit without requiring hemming. Karpuszka said an exact quote will be forthcoming.
Council members agreed to look into their options and into what support had been given to the marching band in the past.
Prior to 2007, the last time new marching band uniforms were purchased was in 1994.
EQUIPMENT COST INFLATION
Director of Technology Kaeden Peper gave board members a brief rundown on the international RAM market while explaining the coming increases in technology costs.
Peper used as an example a pack of two sticks of RAM – the memory computers use to run programs and the operating system.
With the explosion of the AI industry and rush to build AI data centers, he said, those companies are buying up huge amounts of the international stock of RAM.
Those purchases have had such an impact that one of the three major RAM manufacturers, and the only one among them located in the United States, has now shifted all of its production exclusively for the AI market. The two remaining manufacturers are both located in South Korea.
Going back to Peper’s example of the two sticks of RAM, he pointed out they cost just $82 last year but now cost $430.
Peper said the increase comes to 418 percent in the last six months, and the knock-on effects include an expected increase in the cost of Chromebooks in January of 30 percent.
That means the next order of the devices for the district will go from just under $90,000 to about $113,000. In anticipation of that increase, Peper is ordering the needed Chromebooks now rather than in February as usual.
DISTRICT FINANCES
CFO/Treasurer Leland Hays reported that challenges may be coming due to state legislation, but that district finances were stable.
Hays said that, even with the earned-income levy passing, the district was going to be in a holding pattern as the effects of the new legislation shake out.
He reported that spending was down $125,000 from November 2024 to November 2025, and while total revenue was also down, the cash fund balance was up about 8 percent. “Overall, the district’s doing very well,” Hays said.
Board members briefly discussed other potential options for revenue for the district, including putting a solar panel installation in the unused field behind the elementary school.
OTHER BUSINESS
Board members nominated and approved the appointment of Board Member Jeremy Lohman as president pro tem for the board’s organizational meeting in January.
Board members approved annual DHS Counseling Department and Course Handbook changes for 2026-2027.
Board members approved a salary class change for an employee.
Board members accepted the resignations of track and field Assistant Coach Ronald Zdunczyk and JV softball Head Coach Breanna Huffman and approved supplemental contracts for a new JV softball Head Coach, Andrea Flory, and two varsity softball assistants, Adam Gray and Lizzy Ford.
Board members approved an annual high school end-of-course state testing delay schedule.
Board members approved a step up in the contract of high school Counselor Danelle Nauta.
The latest students of the month were announced as follows:
Delta Elementary School
Kindergarten – Keira Adams
1st Grade – Maria Aguirre
2nd Grade – Genevieve Valentine
3rd Grade – Andrew Koback
4th Grade – Brandi Fouty
Delta Middle School
5th Grade – Arya Creque
6th Grade – Caden Bower
7th Grade – Archer Martinez
8th Grade – Mason Lamb
Delta High School
Freshman – Elizabeth Peters
Sophomore – Mary Smith
Junior – Dreyden Ball
Senior – Gracie Boshears
Departing board member and president Jackie Chiesa was recognized by Jan Budsecker of the Ohio School Boards Association with a certificate of appreciation for her service.
Superintendent Doug Ford also presented her with a glass plaque commemorating her service to the district. The meeting was her last as a board member.
The board ended regular business by going into executive session to discuss “the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of an employee or the investigation of charges or complaints against an employee, or official, licensee, or student.”
No action was expected as a result of the session.
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, Jan. 14, 2026, at the board’s offices, located at 504 Fernwood Street in Delta.
It will be immediately preceded by the board’s annual organizational meeting at 6:15 p.m.