By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
Upgrades to the burglar system, an overhaul of cameras, and improvements to door access controls are a “significant need” in Evergreen Local School District buildings, according to a report by the technology director at the school board meeting Monday night.
Tony Doble said some of the technology they currently use was put in when the building was constructed and is “pretty old.”
He also said the full system needs to integrate with 911Inform, a new software platform implemented across the district that generates an emergency event in the software whenever someone calls 911, automatically notifying individuals based on preset protocols.
Current door access panels used by the district don’t work with 911Inform, and while the camera systems do, they have some blind spots and some of the cameras are low resolution.
“I feel like our district is at a liability with that,” Doble said.
New cameras will also allow for AI-integrated search. According to Doble, staff could enter a search for a person in a yellow shirt in a hallway and AI would be able to locate it substantially faster than a person.
Doble is currently getting quotes from the company who installed 911Inform for the district as well as two others but said if one of the other two companies is selected, he will still have to contract the first to integrate the new systems with the software they already installed.
According to Doble, the district previously applied for a grant for the security updates but was denied, but said he still believes the district needs to move forward regardless.
OTHER BUSINESS
Principals Sherrie Brown and Lucas Burkholder reported to the board that U.S. News and World Report recently ranked Evergreen Elementary School at 359th out of 1,577 elementary schools and Evergreen Middle School as 205th out of 2,451 in the state of Ohio.
According to the U.S. News and World Report website, Evergreen High School ranks at 166th out of 941 high schools.
The board approved overnight trips for the wrestling team to participate in the Roughneck Duals at the University of Findlay leaving December 13 and returning December 14, the Division III State Duals at Sandusky St. Mary’s High School leaving Jan. 24, 2025, and returning Jan. 25, 2025, and the OHSAA State Wrestling Tournament at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus (should any wrestlers qualify) from March 6 through 8, 2025. Coach Kyle Keller will be the supervisor on all three trips.
The board approved the transfer of Sheila Natter from night custodian at the middle school to day custodian at the elementary school effective Jan. 1, 2025.
The board approved Addison Hill and Brooklyn Spradlin as high school and middle school paid event workers for the 2024-2025 school year.
The board approved a one-year, limited, non-teaching contract to Cheryl Mcintosh as a dishwasher, a two-hour position effective November 18.
The board approved employment of Annette Reidel, school psychologist, as a substitute for the 2024-2025 school year for up to 10 hours per week at a rate of $85 per hour.
The board approved substitute bus drivers Dylan Garcia and Carolee Hartmen. The board approved new contracts with Mollie Youtzy as head softball coach, Andrew Langenderfer as assistant softball coach, Skylee Raker as JV softball coach, Terry McCormack as assistant varsity baseball coach, and half contracts with Chad Richardson and Nathaniel Frost as JV wrestling coaches, taking over for Daniel Frost, whose contract was rescinded.
The board approved a slate of updates to district policies in line with recommendations by Northeast Ohio Learning Associates.
The board approved payments of $834,087.34 on the 2001 bond, $148,127.00 on the 2002 bond, and two payments of $84,168 and $2,084 on the 2010 HB 264 Energy Conservation Bond, payable this December and in June 2025, respectively.
The board voted to accept a pair of anonymous donations of $100 for the student assistance fund and $98 for the middle school principal fund.
The next regular meeting of the Evergreen Local School District Board of Education will be held on December 16 at 6 p.m. in the Loren Pennington Learning Center, located inside Evergreen High School at 14544 County Road 6 in Metamora.
An executive session will be held at that meeting for the purpose of superintendent and treasurer evaluations.
