PHOTO BY BRIANNA BALOGH / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
FIELD INTELLIGENCE … Edon Superintendent Anthony Stevens presents several infrastructure and technology updates to the board at the June 22 meeting, including a proposal for a GPS-guided robotic field painter and a new athletic trainer agreement with Parkview Sports Medicine.
By: Brianna Balogh
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
The Edon Board of Education met on Monday, June 22. The meeting was called to order by President Cody Best at 5:30 p.m. with a packed agenda of consent and action items.
Wasting no time, the meeting attendees recited the Pledge of Allegiance and jumped straight into roll call. Taken by Treasurer Deb Nester, all members were in attendance and were Christian Appel, Patty Eicher, Ashley Reed, and David Wehrle.
Also attending were Superintendent Anthony Stevens, High School Principal Kayla Lapham, Elementary Principal Jennifer Ripke and in the audience were Matt Ripke and Makenzie Cadwell, who would be later approved as the new school nurse.
CONSENT ITEMS
With no visitors to recognize, Superintendent Stevens directed the board through several consent items. Stevens listed the items as follows:
-Approve the meeting minutes for the regular meeting held on Monday, May 11.
-Approve the financial reports for May 2026.
-Approve amendment to the Certificate of Estimated Resources for fiscal year 2026.
-Approve final 412 Certificate for fiscal year 2026.
-Approve donation for May 2026, totaling $2,558.47 coming from various sources.
-Approve permanent appropriations and estimated revenue for fiscal year 2027.
-Approve fiscal year 2027 technical services agreement with Northern Buckeye Education Council, an annual action.
-Approve NBEC Schools PLP Agreement for fiscal year 2026-2027 school year, for NOVA online courses.
-Approve fiscal agent for Title III, language instruction for English Learners Grant Consortium fiscal year 2027.
-Approve fiscal year 2027 NWOCA membership fees.
-Permission to participate in all federal programs for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Community and parental input is welcomed and appreciated.
-Approve permission to participate in the 2026-2027 federal lunch and breakfast programs. This includes free and reduced lunches and breakfasts and the commodity program, an annual action.
-Approve breakfast and lunch prices for the 2026-2027 school year, up slightly from the previous year.
-Approve the agreement with the Northwest Ohio Juvenile Detention Training and Rehabilitation Center for the 2026-2027 school year, an annual action.
-Approve the agreement with the Wood County Juvenile Detention Center — Juvenile Residential Center of Northwest Ohio for the 2026-2027 school year, an annual action.
-Approve property and liability insurance policy for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, an annual action.
-Approve renewal of cafeteria software maintenance agreement with the Esber Cash Register, an annual action.
Eicher moved to approve all consent items and Appel seconded. All members approved the motion.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Reports to the board followed, with the Treasurer’s report first. Nester reported the revenues were up from the previous year by $212,000.
Expenditures were also up by $631,751. Year-to-date revenues are up over expenditures by $554,863. Days cash is 241 days.
Current appropriations are $10,058,096.18 and estimated revenue is $9,601,040.58.
HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Principal Lapham followed, starting with a thank you to everyone who contributed to the graduation ceremony.
Lapham commented she enjoyed having the ceremony early this year, allowing her to focus on the final weeks of school.
Lapham reported that seven students had participated in summer school, completing 23 courses to date. She continued with a thank you to all who helped organize and assisted with the awards ceremony.
Again, Lapham commented that having the ceremony split for the senior awards was a success and as long as the calendar allows they plan to continue a split ceremony in the future.
Lapham concluded her report with favorable state test results, reporting that 91% of sophomores met competency, meaning they have met the requirement to graduate, in English and 85% in math.
ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Principal Ripke followed with elementary updates. Ripke reported a successful newly formatted grandfriends day, with a few lessons learned for the following year.
The book fair was also held the same day. In the future, Ripke plans to have a flyer or programming outlining the schedule of the day and exact grade level times for the book fair.
Ripke stated it was fun to see the grandfriends coloring and playing games. Older grades had the opportunity to interview and maybe learn something new about their grandfriends.
Ripke noted that five students received awards in the Williams Soil and Water Conservation poster competition.
Right to read week and field day were a success, despite some less than ideal weather the kids still enjoyed a 60° day outside with water.
Ripke thanked the fire department for their help. To close out the year, the students enjoyed a final fun in the sun day.
Looking to next year, teacher announcements are planned to be released via email. Ripke informed the board that the state would be focusing on math testing and potentially revamping that portion.
On that note, Ripke reported a few third graders would be in that week to take ELA testing before next year.
Closing out, Ripke reported AM preschool was full with a couple spots open in the PM class.
Closer to the school year beginning, there may be some additional typical openings, which are currently reserved for non-typical students that require extra resources. When asked, Ripke reported there are 24 students per class.
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
The superintendent’s report was next, with Stevens beginning with enrollment numbers for May, provided to the board. Stevens did note a decrease in number, but expects a pick up at the start of the school year.
Stevens moved on to personnel items, which will be contained in the action items later in the meeting.
He explained that for the school nurse positions, the ten additional days are being requested for onboarding with the state, which is three days, as well as time to get her office setup, get familiar with student health plans, and meet the staff prior to students attending at the start of the year.
The same ten days are being requested for the EMIS positions. Stevens stated he is happy with both selected candidates, stating they had some very capable applicants to choose from. This reflects well on the district as a desired place to work.
The yearly bus inspection has been completed with all vehicles passing. The phone system upgrade has been progressing well with some office staff training already taking place.
The new system was installed the previous Monday. Reed suggested making sure they performed a 911 test before going live.
Stevens stated it was a good recommendation, and both 911 and outside line testing have been planned.
Also recently upgraded was the security camera system. The old system servers were based outside the US so due to cybersecurity concerns the district switched to a new provider.
Unfortunately due to scheduling, both upgrades were happening simultaneously but went pretty smoothly even with the conflicts.
Outside the school, the parking lot cracks have been repaired, however the basketball courts are still waiting to be repaired.
Stevens then directed the board’s attention to a suggestion from Matt Ripke of investing in a turf tank. Turf tank is an intelligent GPS robot used to paint lines on sports fields.
The system could also be utilized to repaint lines in the parking lot. While a new purchase would cost around $42,000, the suggested route is a subscription plan for around $14,000 yearly.
With the speed of technology, the software can become outdated in a few years so purchasing one would not be the most economical decision.
There is also an included $3,000 paint allowance, which is what the district typically spends on paint per year. The athletic boosters are donating funds as well.
Stevens also noted painting the parking lot lines alone can cost $15,000. Stevens strongly feels the benefits outweigh the cost.
Lastly, Stevens updated on the new agreement with Parkview Sports Medicine, and continuation of the five-year agreement that expired this year.
The new agreement, unlike the past, is a flat cost of $15,000 with no escalator for a full-time athletic trainer.
Also as a part of the new agreement, Parkview will reimburse the district $10,000 for new signage, a wall running the width of the gym. Stevens provided mock ups to the board.
Stevens stated, “It’s an opportunity for us to make our facility a little safer, to allow them to do a little bit of advertising and again I mean the biggest thing is here continuing that relationship with the Athletic Trainer because that has just been huge for our student athletes and coaches.”
ACTION ITEMS
With no old or new business, the meeting agenda moved into action items. First was to approve a resolution to adopt a cybersecurity program and to authorize implementation in accordance with Ohio House Bill 96.
Reed moved to approve and Wehrle seconded. The motion was passed by all members.
The list continued with the approval of the 2026-2027 classified employee handbook, moved by Reed and seconded by Eicher.
Approval of the 2026-2027 student activity handbook followed, moved by Eicher and seconded by Reed. Both motions passed unanimously.
As previously mentioned by Stevens, the next item was the approval of an agreement with Parkview Sports Medicine for athletic trainer services effective August 1, 2026.
Reed asked if the same trainer would be starting and Stevens responded that it would be up to Parkview but the students and staff would love that. Eicher moved to approve and Appel seconded. The motion was passed.
Following was approval of an agreement with Archbold for Spanish Instructor services for the 2026-2027 school year, motioned to approve by Appel. Wehrle provided a second and the motion was approved by all members.
Approval of a memorandum of understanding with Defiance College for the hosting of Defiance College teacher candidates for the 2026-2027 school year was motioned by Reed. Eicher seconded the motion and all members approved.
The next item was to approve Kuster’s Dairy as the dairy/milk vendor for the 2026-2027 school year. Eicher moved to approve with a second from Reed. The motion carried.
Appel moved to approve the next action item allowing fund transfer from the Post Prom to the Class of 2027. Wehrle seconded the motion which was then passed unanimously.
PERSONNEL
The next four personnel items were discussed previously by Stevens. First was to approve a one-year contract for Makenzie Cadwell as school nurse for the 2026-2027 school year, moved by Eicher and seconded by Reed.
The approval of the ten additional days to be paid at the normal rate for orientation and onboarding followed, moved by Appel and seconded by Eicher.
The next approval was for a one-year contract with Jeannie Von Deylan as EMIS Coordinator/Fiscal Assistant for the 2026-2027 school year, which was motioned by Appel and seconded by Reed.
Again the ten additional days to be paid at the normal rate was next, moved by Reed and seconded by Wehrle. All four items were approved.
Next was approval of non-teaching contracts for the 2026-2027 school year. Eicher moved to approve with a second from Appel.
The motion passed. Approval of supplemental contracts for the 2026-2027 school year, pending successful completion of district and OHSAA coaching requirements, followed.
The motion to approve was made by Reed and seconded by Eicher, approved by all.
Before adjourning to executive session, the last three items were fund related. Approval of a new cross country fund was moved by Eicher and seconded by Reed.
Creation of a new wrestling fund was moved by Appel and seconded by Wehrle. Lastly, approval of a fund transfer from the Class of 2026 to the general fund in the amount of $759.08 was moved by Eicher and seconded by Reed. All motions were approved.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Reed then motioned to move into executive session for the express purpose of discussing personnel. Eicher seconded, and with all members approving the meeting moved into executive session at 6:07 p.m.
Action taken after the executive session included annual salary increases for the Elementary Principal, Junior High/High School Principal, Superintendent, and the Treasurer.