North Central Schools Board of Education will wait some more to decide if its wants to proceed with a football program.
The board decided to table a question on authorizing a feasibility study on facilities for football at its Feb. 27 meeting. The board also approved a tax abatement for a new Menard’s Facility.
Superintendent Ken Boyer announced his resignation, effective July 31, at the meeting. He said he wanted to retire and travel. He will bring to a close a 46-year career in education, the last 31 as a superintendent.
Boyer advised the board the ESC can assist in a search for a new superintendent for about $500.
As for the football facilities, the board and Boyer wanted accurate information on the cost of a junior high and high school program, but representatives of the club level program were not in attendance. The district had been in touch with Garmann/Miller Architects to conduct the study. The firm has a person who specializes in such endeavors, Boyer said.
The study will see if the campus could handle the additions, which would include locker rooms, bleachers, a press box, and a football field.
The study was initiated by the community-led program and not the board, Boyer said.
The cost would likely be around $1,500, but would not exceed $2,000.
Questions came from Jared Stewart on where the money would come from to fund the program and facilities. The board should have accurate information to make an intelligent decision, the person said.
It was mentioned the facilities would be shared by other sports.
The board created an Enterprise Zone for a proposed building at the Menard’s complex. The abatement will be for 100 percent and will be good for 15 years and the company will pay the district $15,000 to $20,000 annually to make up for the lost revenue, Boyer said.
“The main concern of the Board of Education is the cost,” Boyer said.
In other news:
The Elementary School report from Principal Paul Jones noted:
~Kindergarten screening is set for April 6-7. There are 28 kids signed up. Last year there were 14.
~Enrollment is at 343 students; 321 excluding pre-school students. Last year the amounts were 325 and 310, respectively, Jones said.
~The window for Ohio State testing opens March 13. The elementary school students will have their tests from March 28 to May 12.
The high school report from Principal Tim Rettig made the board’s packet thicker than normal with individual safety plans for the district, high/junior high school, and elementary school included.
“It’s not very much different than last year, but we have to jump through these hoops ever year,” Rettig said. “We also had some ALICE training to go along with it. I feel like we are better prepared than we’ve been in a while.”
The annual Act Out program performed skits for the eighth graders this year, Rettig said. The school rotates the classes that see the skits.
The program included skits on Facebook and what happens at parties. “The program is interactive as the scenarios are played out and then the students can ask questions,” Rettig said.
“They are fun to watch and they are fun to be part of,” Rettig said.
The school also invited Matt Bell, a recovering addict who runs a rehab center, in to speak to students. Bell talked about his heroin addiction. The talk is timely as heroin use has been rising.
“We are seeing more heroin,” Rettig said. “We are starting to see it funnel down into high school and it’s scaring the tar out of me.”
On a more hopeful note, the high school band and choir will be raising money for a trip to New York City in March to participate in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The trip will include stops at such sights as Rockefeller Center, Central Park, and attending the Broadway show “Aladdin.”
The athletics report talked of winter sports wrapping up.
In basketball, the seventh-grade girls finished 11-6 overall, while the eighth-grade girls were 5-12. The seventh-grade boys were 14-3; the eighth-grade boys were 2-15.
The varsity boys’ basketball is 3-9 in the league and 5-17 overall with the state tournament awaiting. That’s an improvement over last year, Athletic Director Brian Hughes said. The JV boys team finished 11-11 and the freshmen 8-10.
The girls’ varsity team finished at 8-15 overall, and 7-5 in the league, good enough for third place, another improvement, Hughes said. The JV girls finished at 6-15.
Indoor track finished its season Feb. 18. The team broke “fairly new” records all season, Hughes said. The main achievement is the team is progressing, he said.
Baseball and softball teams have begun practices and the track team began March 6.
The school still has a good shot at winning the All-Sports trophy, trailing the leader by 1.5 points, Hughes said.
During the meeting, the board approved:
~Eric Moreland as head custodian/transportation supervisor (3-year contract).
~Chris Gendron as assistant Baseball Coach.
~Adam Knepper as assistant track coach.
~Sam Pettit as volunteer assistant baseball coach.
~Mark Robison as a substitute bus driver.
~An overnight trip for the baseball team March 17-18 to Hillsboro.
~An agreement for 2017-18 school year with the NwOESC governing board.
The board also approved a resolution to advertise and receive bids for two new 71-passenger propane-powered school buses.
James Pruitt may be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com