By: Lucinda Held-Faulhaber – THE VILLAGE REPORTER
Edon Northwest Local Board of Education addressed a brief, clear-cut agenda during its regular monthly session held Tuesday, December 10, 2013 in the school’s Media Center. President Jill Jacoby called the early evening meeting to order with all members ~ Dave Haase, Terry Hake, Brad McCrea and Suzi McCullough ~ in attendance; guests present included newly-elected board members Aaron Hake, Jamie Schaffter and Dave Wehrle.
In addition to taking care of routine business, the Board took up confirming the 2014-2015 Calendar as well. “There’s not a tremendous difference between the two proposed calendars you have from the committee,” noted Superintended Ed Ewers. “[Outside] the obvious start date in August and ending date in May, the biggest difference is whether [or not] we have two weeks for Christmas.” He later shared Calendar A, overwhelmingly approved by the Teachers Association, closely resembled calendars under consideration by neighboring districts that either share District students going to their buildings or have student transportation arrangements with Edon.
After addressing questions regarding options Calendar A and Calendar C ~ along with considering which proposal would meet with both teacher wishes and student testing needs ~ Board members went on to approve Calendar A.
The 2014-2015 School Year will find classes beginning Wednesday, August 20 (with an Open House on the 19th); Thanksgiving Break ~ November 26-28; Christmas Break ~ December 22 – January 2 (classes to resume Monday, January 5, 2015); Spring Break ~ March 30 – April 3 and Thursday, May 28 as the last day for students. The full calendar will soon be available for viewing at www.edon.k12.oh.us.
Before entering into executive session, Board Member Dave Haase paused to commend his colleagues, outgoing members Terry Hake, Jill Jacoby and Suzi McCullough. “I’d like to thank our board members who happen to be going off [at the end of the year],” he shared. “You’ve done a very good job at representing our District and our kids. We thank you.” Those in attendance applauded their fine efforts as Board members over the past years as well.
Additional December Reports to the Board, highlighted by District administrators, included:
Treasurer Kerry Samples
•Shared the two-day PFR Financial Readiness for Leaders seminar he and Superintendent Ewers had attended was very informative and quite beneficial. In addition to analyzing the District’s current and historic financial data (and comparing numbers to similar districts), time was spent building a better understanding of the information and how to convey findings to the public. Results will be posted on the District’s website shortly.
•Noted State Funding from the October 2013 Enrollment Count numbers totaled five hundred thousand dollars. The District remains on the “guarantee” for the next two years; a sizeable pickup of students (just over one hundred) is needed to be taken off.
•Submitted his standard SM2 Report indicating revenues were down seventy-three thousand dollars and expenses up forty-three thousand dollars for the same five-month period as last year. The District is tracking one hundred sixteen thousand dollars worse than a year ago.
Grades 7-12 Principal
Anthony Stevens
•Congratulated Cort Eicher and Jordan Whittaker on their selection as November Students of the Month.
•Shared the Parent’s Advisory Committee met for the second time this year. Members reviewed data from surveys completed during recent Parent/Teacher Conferences; noticeable trends indicated strengths in building management and curriculum while improvements in communication and educational offerings could continue being made.
•Noted several valuable topics were covered during the Administrators Academy Conference he attended, including Data Analysis from Current Student Achievement. Information will be shared with teachers to help target and meet State objectives as efforts to improve the District’s annual Report Card continue. Additionally, initial baseline data has been compiled for grades seven and eight regarding OAA testing; students requiring intervention in specific areas will be identified for additional assistance.
Grades KK-6 Principal
Bonnie Troyer
•Recognized November’s Bomber Courtesy Club members.
•Shared elementary students had been showcased in significant events over the past three weeks including the Sixth Grade Talent Show, Grandparents/Grand Friends Day and Grades1-4 Winter Concert; several compliments were received on the wonderful programs presented.
•Proudly noted 76.3 percent of third grade students passed the OAA Reading Assessment on the first round; while 400 remains the official cut-off number, students scoring 392 or above this year are exempt from being retained in grade three.
Superintendent Ed Ewers
•Shared preliminary Straight A Fund grant results (submitted through a consortium) indicated the application made it to the second round; one hundred sixty-eight thousand dollar looks to be awarded to the District next week. Monies will be used for technology updates and increased opportunities for online course offerings. The District’s independent grant for transportation/propane busses, however, will not be funded this time around; it could possibly be resubmitted.
•Noted the number of people in the building nearly doubled during the annual Grandparents/Grand Friends Day last week; the enjoyable event provided a great opportunity for staff, teachers and students to interact with the community.
•Indicated enrollment numbers had increased slightly over the past month; having individuals and families select the District as their school-of-choice is very encouraging.
In other action, the Board:
•Set January 14, 2014 as the date for its reorganization meeting beginning at 5:00 p.m. in the school’s Media Center; the regular meeting will follow at 5:30 p.m.
•Elected Brad McCrea as President Pro-Tem for January’s reorganization meeting.
•Accepted Cash Donations for FFA ($100); Drama ($491.85) and Cheerleader ($58.25) Funds during November.
•Approved the Depository Agreement with Edon State Bank from January 2, 2014 – January 2, 2016.
•Approved twenty required policy revisions as presented.
•Approved minutes from last month’s regular meeting as well as November Financial Reports, Permanent Appropriation Increases/Decreases for FY 2014 and the Amended Certificate of Estimated Resources for FY 2014.
•Voted to enter into Executive Session to discuss student discipline and employment of public employees. Upon returning to Open Session nearly forty minutes later, members approved the motion to affirm the expulsion of Zavier Workman; no additional action was taken.
Lucinda Held-Faulhaber may be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com
