On Monday evening, September 13, 2021 at 7 p.m. the Bryan City Schools Board of Education met for the monthly meeting. Board members present at Roll call were Scott Benedict, Deb Opdycke, Dustin Schlachter and Mike Camarillo, with Ben Camarillo arriving in time for the Executive Session.
Administrators present were Mark Rairigh, Kevin Schafer, Chad Bassett, Karyn Cox and Amy Dominique. There were also twelve guests in attendance but with no public participation.
Following the approval of the minutes of the August 8, 2021 meeting, with no public participation, the Board listened to reports. Mr. Rairigh reported on Four County on behalf of Mrs. Keeler saying that the Week of Welcome recently concluded and enrollment for this year is 927 students.
For the Student Spotlight, Dawson Moore and his father, Kaleb, spoke to the Board about his experience at BCS and his decision to compete in Special Olympics as well as being on the BHS Cross Country Team.
They pointed out Dawson’s efforts in fundraising over $1800, making him the largest fundraiser in the State of Ohio for the Special Olympics Torch Run.
Mr. Rairigh also gave the Athletics report on behalf of Mr. Savage, reporting that Girl’s Tennis is currently ranked #1 in NW District Division 2 at 8-0. Girls’ Soccer is #12 in the state at 9-0, 2-0 NWOAL. Josh Taylor broke his own school record for cross country at Columbus Grove with a time of 15:31.5. Gwen Spengler became the first player in Bryan history with 1,000 digs in volleyball.
This year the school has four dual sports athletes. And on behalf of MS/HS – Homecoming is the first week of October; Michael Dickenson, an artist, recently presented to the art classes; and Fall play is gearing up for shows in November.
Mrs. Dominique shared about the Elementary saying that school has started well. Kindergarten celebrated global play day. Field trips to the fair were taken. Celebrating Hello Week is scheduled to focus on how to greet people. The HS mentor program is continuing with strong participation thanks to Mrs. Arthur.
Teaching and Learning report was given by Mrs. Cox: Teachers in both buildings are off to a great start. At the elementary, teachers are digging into new Wonders and science curriculum. In October, teachers will dig into assessment data to guide instruction. Teachers will be touring Allied Molded to gain insight into the business.
Assistant Superintendent Mr. Bassett reported that Testing for kindergarten readiness and preschool early learning will start soon. Menu changes will be posted to social media as supply change issues have caused more frequent changes than preferred.
The Safe Routes to School grant has provided BCS with money for bike safety. Using those funds, BCS will provide each elementary student with a new bike helmet in the first week of October.
Donations accepted by the Board included Wall of Honor from Jon and Lori Ely; $500 from anonymous donor for Golf; Masks for busses from The United Way of Williams County; and a 5×8 ft. American Flag from the Bryan American Legion. In old business, Mr. Rairigh gave an update on the substitute levy and a presentation on the current COVID statistics at BCS.
In New Business, Mr. Rairigh presented that “BCS has been looking at how to use the school’s properties to benefit the community now and through years to come.
To further that goal, Mr. Rairigh announced that an official offer was made from CHWC for the former high school property in the amount of $500,000.
BCS has discovered again the close alignment of the mission of BCS and CHWC. Mr. Rairigh spoke of the many people who worked to lay the groundwork for this sale.
Mr. Schlachter asked Mr. Schafer what would happen with the funds from the sale of this property. Mr. Schafer shared the funds would be returned to the Permanent Improvement fund as that was the source for the purchase of the property and state law requires monies to be returned from the fund which originally made the purchase.
Mr. Schlachter is glad to see this deal completed and is looking forward to the opportunity this brings to the city.
Mrs. Opdycke recognized CHWC’s commitment to the community and to its dedication to providing care locally. She emphasized these funds will go into the Permanent Improvement fund which will allow BCS to expand services elsewhere and thanked CHWC for its communication, board-to-board.
Mr. Stockman shared this is a great opportunity for the whole community and is glad to see it happen. Mr. Benedict shared that it’s a great community partnership.
The Board voted to approve a motion to accept an offer of $500,000 from Community Hospitals and Wellness Centers for the property located at 150 S. Portland Street
Mr. Chad Tinkel and Mr. Bob Golding of Community Hospitals and Wellness Centers (CHWC) were invited to address the board.
Mr. Tinkle thanked Mr. Benedict for the board’s open-mindedness and willingness to form a subcommittee which has fostered a long-term commitment and collaboration between both parties which will benefit this community in many ways beside just a piece of property.
The hospital has exciting plans to bring in new service lines to the community which will be announced in the following year and thanked the board for allowing CHWC to enhance the safety, health and well being of the community.
Mr. Golding thanked the board for its cooperation and shared how this deal has caused them to think of other ways that both the hospital and others can work with BCS. He commended the board for being ethical, nice, and for it’s focus on the community.
Mr. Golding also spoke about how much in common CHWC has with BCS and said he is personally willing to work with the board on anything.
The following Recommendations were approved by the Board during the meeting:
-Ohio Department of Education Blended Learning Declaration Form
-New Hire Classified Staff for the 21-22 school year _ Jennifer Coleman (aide), John Shell, Dayton Keller and Sheri Oaktree as Bus drivers, and Shawn Gambler (3rd Shift Custodian
-Transfer of Classified Staff for 21-21 – Barb Rowe (Aide, SpEd Elementary) and Jennifer Coleman (Aide Non SpEd Elementary)
-Bus hours to be 3.4 hours per day for Linda Hornung
-Certified and classified substitutes – Margaret Kunsman, Elsa Alencastro, Jeri Beaverson, Jami Burns, Nicole Demaray, James Harris, Shawn Gambler, Jordan Brown, Adrienne Mojica, and Dayton Keller
-Adjusted hours for classified staff – Kathy Frank, Kody King and Victoria Santos
-Column Correction – Jaqueline Hake, MA, 10 years experience
-Salary Schedule Placement – Mindy Kepler, Trisha Good and Nicole Hurst
-Resignations accepted from Custodian, Jordan Robb; Ed Aide, Lydia Showalter; Kindergarten Teacher Katelyn Bernath; and Ed Aide Adrienne Monica
-Non renew certified substitute – Mary Beth Snyder
Business Advisory Council meeting dates for 21-22 are September 15, November 17, February 16 and May 18, with all held on Wednesdays at 7:15 a.m. The next Board meeting is scheduled for October 11, 2021 at 7 p.m. in the BE Commons.
The Board entered Executive Session at 7:56, for the purpose of discussing compensation of an employee, the sale of property at competitive bidding, and matters required to be kept confidential by federal law.
They left the ES at 9:05 and discussed logistics for the Capital Conference in November. The meeting adjourned at 9:11p.m.
