PHOTO BY SIENNA GILL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT … Superintendent Josh Clark discusses the staff’s effort at professional development.
By: Sienna Gill
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
The Pettisville Board of Education met for its regular school board meeting Monday night in the Conference Room at Pettisville High School.
All members were present as the meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by the board president, Mr. Brent Hoylman.
A word of prayer was offered by Mr. Scott Rupp, and the treasurer, Mr. Chris Lee, then conducted roll call, confirming attendance of all members: Mr. Brent Hoylman, Mr. Scott Rupp, Mr. Barry Hoylman, Mr. Justin Rufenacht, Mrs. Pam Skates, Mr. Chris Lee (Treasurer), and Mr. Josh Clark (Superintendent). No guests were called.
The board then went over the Consent Agenda. In the Consent Agenda, minutes from the August 2025 meeting were first approved. Then, three lateral moves of employees were discussed and approved for Greg Waidelich, John Horning, and Katie Planson.
Logan Rufenacht was approved as a Junior High Cross Country Coach. Nel Rodriguez was approved as a bus driver for the district.
Tammy Burkholder, a long-time bus driver, turned in her resignation, which was approved as well. Rodriguez will take her place. All of the preceding items from the Consent Agenda were approved by the board.
The board report revealed that it was once again time to appoint delegates to the OSBA Capital Conference. This year marks the 70th annual OSBA Capital Conference, and it will be held on November 16-18.
The board appointed Mr. Barry Hoylman as delegate and Mrs. Pam Skates as alternate delegate to the conference this year.
For the administrator reports, the board welcomed Elementary Principal Mr. Jason Waldvogel. In his report, he first discussed Kindergarten Readiness Assessments, which align with Ohio’s Early Learning and Development Standards and measure readiness in six areas, including social skills, mathematics, science, social studies, language and literacy, and physical well-being and motor development.
He also noted that state testing for grades 3-5 will run from late October 2025 through April 2026.
The elementary school is preparing for the 20th annual Fulton County Ag Fest, which will take place on September 16, 202, at the Fulton County Fairgrounds.
RTI (Response to Intervention) meetings with grade-level teachers are scheduled for September 19 and 21. All K-6 students will complete reading and math assessments through mClass, which will allow teachers to determine individual intervention plans for students in need, focusing on specific skills.
Grades K-3 are receiving bus safety instruction during the first weeks of school, with evacuations scheduled for Monday, September 15, led by Mr. Jaramillo.
With regards to bands in grades 5 and 6, instrument tryouts have been scheduled for September 8. This year, band students will meet during the first period, while students not participating in band will attend “Learning Labs” in their grade-level classrooms.
The staff has also worked on professional development. During the two-hour delay on Wednesday, August 3, the district staff reviewed the first chapter of Giving Students a Say by Myron Dueck and reflected on its meaning and discussed how the ideas could be applied at an elementary level.
Some ideas include giving students a voice and a sense of purpose in their learning, walking beside students as partners in the learning process, and helping them to be “Confident…Caring…Curious. The Blackbird Way!”
Finally, Mr. Waldvogel discussed PES Teams within the PBIS (school climate program). The Elementary PES Leadership & Advisory Teams (PLAT) include the Fun Friday Team, Celebrations Team, Staff Growth & Well Being Team, and the Family Connections Team.
He also discussed the reopening of the Blackbird Pantry, which supports district families with non-perishable food and hygiene items.
Coat and supply needs are currently met, but monetary donations (checks payable to Pettisville Schools – Blackbird Pantry) are welcome to help restock. Families may request up to two meals per week and specific items as needed.
The board then turned its attention to Mr. Adam Wagner, Junior High/High School Principal. He began by discussing The Amazing Shake Program, in which students are taught specific skills they need in order to be successful in life.
Seventh graders will be participating in the same lessons and skills that current 8th graders participated in last year, and 8th graders will get new lessons that build off of last year’s progress.
There will be a focus on meaningful conversations, self-representation (both in-person and on social media), handling conflict, and more with the 8th graders.
Mrs. Roper, the new counselor, has hit the ground running, according to Mr. Wagner. She has been a very effective communicator for seniors in terms of college visits, scholarships, and graduation plans.
She has also been great with individual student counseling, including establishing safety plans and outside resources for students in need of them. She is also dealing with CCP (College Credit Plus), scheduling, classroom lessons, etc.
Finally, senior interviews will begin in the following weeks. Senior interviews are very important to both the staff and the students.
In the following weeks, Mr. Wagner will email seniors a Google Calendar to sign up for slots to meet with him and interview. Participation is not required, but is extremely helpful for future course offerings, programming, experiences, etc.
It is during this time that students are encouraged to be open and honest about their experiences.
During the treasurer’s report, Mr. Chris Lee presented the Fiscal Year 2026 Permanent Appropriations and the accompanying Certificate of Estimated Resources and recommended that it be approved by the board.
He mentioned appropriations of $8,403,036.35, total appropriations for all funds of $10,122,187.63, and on the Certificate of Estimated Resources, resources available for the general fund include $11,249,993.12, and the total for all funds is $14,060,997.25.
The board has sufficient estimated resources to cover its appropriations. The Board approved the FY2026 Permanent Appropriations and Certificate of Estimated Resources as presented.
In the superintendent’s report, Superintendent Mr. Josh Clark reported that the salad bar opened in the cafeteria on Monday. The kids were very excited for this new change in their lunch routine, and the cooks have been doing a wonderful job of keeping it stocked.
As for the district Professional Development, Mr. Clark alluded to Mr. Waldvogel’s mention of the district book study, where staff discussed strategies to change the way they look at grades and assessment, and giving kids a say in their learning and education.
Teachers have run into all types of different learning styles and types and are now doing their best to assess students to better get them from point A to point B in their learning in a way that is easy and enjoyable for them.
Mr. Clark also discussed the STEAM Lab briefly and its success with the students. Finally, he once again called upon Mr. Waldvogel to discuss Camp Palmer.
In the past, students would take a field trip to Camp Palmer, but the staff has been looking for ways to increase the students’ time there.
Although an overnight stay is not feasible at the moment, a longer day (perhaps a field trip until about 7:00 p.m.) could allow students to get more activities done.
After going over the full itinerary for the evening, President Mr. Hoylman adjourned the meeting at about 7:30 p.m., bringing the night’s discussion to a close.