PHOTO BY BRIANNA BALOGH / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
PRINCIPAL REPORTS … Elementary Principal Jennifer Ripke (left) and High School Principal Kayla Lapham both provided detailed reports, outlining student achievements and upcoming activities.
By: Brianna Balogh
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
The Edon Board of Education met on Monday, February 9, at 5:30 p.m. The meeting was called to order by President Cody Best and began with the Pledge of Allegiance.
All members were present and verified during roll call. Current board members are Patty Eicher, Ashley Reed, David Wehrle, and Christian Apple.
Superintendent Anthony Stevens, Treasurer Deb Nester, High School Principal Kayla Lapham, and Elementary Principal Jennifer Ripke were also in attendance.
The meeting moved directly into the consent agenda. The first item was the approval of the meeting minutes from the regular and organizational meeting held on Monday, January 12.
Second was approval of the financial reports for January 2026. An amended certificate request from the County Auditor totaling $50,033 followed. Next was approval for donations for January 2026 totaling $3,236.90, with multiple groups receiving contributions, the bulk going to FFA.
The last three consent agenda items were approval of the NWOESC January paraprofessional and teacher substitute list and approval of a resolution authorizing 2026–2027 membership in the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
Final consent items were to approve an overnight event for a senior retreat April 11 and 12, to be held at the school.
Wehrle motioned to approve all items on the consent agenda and Eicher seconded. All items were passed with a unanimous vote.
Reports to the board followed, with the Treasurer’s report first. Nester began by informing the board that revenues are up by $318,000 and expenditures are up $442,000.
Expenditures exceed revenue by $269,536. Current days cash sits at 199 days. Nester noted the recent casino revenue received totaling $17,303.
This revenue is received twice a year, in January and August, and is distributed to all Ohio public schools. Income tax revenue also recently came in at just over $165,000.
Upcoming on February 26, a school budget hearing will take place at the Williams County Courthouse. Nester updated the conclusion of the state auditor, and they are now awaiting the auditor report. The exit interview was waived.
Best explained that an optional exit interview is normally declined by the board, but any member is welcome to request one. The board agreed that Nester does a great job and there is normally little to report from the audit.
High School Principal Lapham was next and started her report with news of ASL, American Sign Language, being offered at Edon Local School in the 2026–2027 school year.
More good news followed with Annette Peckham being awarded the Franklin B. Walter All-Scholastic award for the third year in a row. The ceremony will be held on March 9 at 6:30 p.m.
The congratulatory notes continued, with two choir students earning OMEA state choir seats. The students traveled through the recent snowstorm to perform on January 30 in Columbus.
This was the first year two students were accepted to the state choir. Selection was based upon recorded auditions, submitted by the students, and last year’s scores for solo and ensemble. Approximately 160 students across the state of Ohio participated.
Lapham updated the board on scheduling. Juniors recently completed meetings and sophomore meetings were in progress. FFA week is next week with a community breakfast on Saturday. ACT is upcoming on February 24.
Next report was Elementary Principal Ripke. Ripke notified the board of an upcoming policy change due to House Bill 114.
The bill aims to standardize the kindergarten age requirement. Ripke assured the board that the recent flyers were dated correctly and the bill does not take effect until March. Parents had not been communicated to yet because the board had not discussed the change yet.
This will affect some students not being eligible for Kinder Kids and moving directly into kindergarten.
The students affected will also have the option to attend another year of preschool instead of transitioning directly into kindergarten.
Preschool letters were distributed offering two screening dates in March and in April at New Hope Community Church in Bryan. Upcoming in May is Grand Friends Day, for kindergarten through third grade.
The school will also be hosting a parent night in April. While parents attend presentations, students will be kept entertained by the NHS members providing activities.
Ripke updated on the peer mediation program, which has completed eight sessions. With some uncertainty from students, Ripke informed the board they would be using role playing to assist second through sixth graders to see what a mediation session looks like.
Upcoming fun events include a Valentine’s party this week and a petting zoo next week. Best inquired about state testing, in which Ripke verified it would begin on April 6.
Stevens finished out the report section with the Superintendent’s report. He briefly went over the enrollment numbers, down slightly at 541. Stevens noted this is common and he does not see this as a continuing trend.
The school calendar was next, brought to attention due to the recent snow cancellations. Stevens explained that the current system relies on hours versus days, changed around 2014.
A normal school day is equal to six and a half hours. To date, 10 full days and two delays have left the school district down 69 hours. Starting the year at 1,162.25, the current 1,093.25 hours are above the state minimum. Approximately 14 days, or 92.25 hours, remain to stay above the minimum.
The only concern Stevens anticipates is for the Senior class, which is scheduled to graduate one week before Memorial Day, with approximately six days left to remain above the state minimum.
Stevens assured that they can come up with options and they are watching it closely. State funding followed, with many concerns on the horizon. Stevens provided the board with a detailed article outlining some of the recent and upcoming changes.
Stevens explained that the state share of education costs seems to be decreasing while costs only continue to increase.
For fiscal year 2026 it is projected to be at 35% and for 2027 to be at 32.2%, which historically has not been below 40%.
Costs were not updated in the biennium budget; however, valuations were updated. Outdated data usage is contributing to the problem.
Stevens explained that even with historic funding amounts being invested, the money does not go as far because costs continue to increase.
These compounding issues put school districts in the difficult position of potentially asking for more local funding from the community. Stevens emphasized that he felt it was a well-written analysis, explaining things clearly.
School district requirements make a universal approach difficult, and oftentimes districts know their needs better than the state level.
Stevens used the example of preschool within the district, which presents a high need, but other districts may have several available preschools within their district.
Stevens felt the information was important for the board, as normally local tax income draws more focus than the state income tax funding.
The final item in Stevens’ report was the upgrade to the phone system. Last summer, electrical work was done in preparation for the phone system upgrade. The current system is highly outdated, being around 20 years old.
A request for proposals will be advertised and Stevens will report back to the board. Best verified with Nester that permanent improvement funds could be utilized for this project. Stevens added this project has been in discussion for many years.
With no old business, Reed proposed setting a policy committee meeting in the new business section. The policy committee will meet on Thursday, February 19, at 4:00 p.m.
Before moving on to action items, Best noted that the park board had recently met. He had no updates as no topics within the meeting pertained to the school board.
The last items on the agenda were contained in the action items. First was the approval of the five-year forecast and assumptions for fiscal year 2026 through 2030.
Nester noted that this normally does not occur this time of year. With the change in the biennium budget, the forecast is now delivered in August and February.
Reed motioned to approve, with Eicher seconding. The motion was passed by all members.
Next item was the approval of the list of substitute cooks, custodians, and secretaries for the 2025–2026 school year. Stevens inquired about the language, where the substitute custodian was listed as a Step 1 on the salary scale but the substitute cook was not.
Stevens felt it made sense for them to be the same, to which the board agreed. The approval of the substitute cook was moved to the end of the action item agenda. Eicher motioned to approve the list of substitute custodians and secretaries. Reed seconded, with all members approving.
The recommendation to approve supplemental contracts for the 2025–2026 school year, pending completion of requirements, followed, motioned by Eicher. Wehrle seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Following was a second recommendation to approve spring intervention teachers at a rate of $30 per hour. The motion to approve was made by Reed, with Eicher seconding. All members approved the motion.
Next was to approve the revised fiscal year 2026 contract with Northwest Ohio Education Service Center for fees to be deducted from foundation payments. Apple motioned to approve and Reed seconded, with all members approving.
The last action item was the added approval of substitute cook at a Step 1 on the salary scale. Eicher motioned, Reed seconded, and all members approved.
With no need for executive session, Eicher motioned to adjourn, with Reed seconding. All members approved, adjourning the meeting at 6:06 p.m.