PHOTOS BY AMY WENDT / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
AMAZING SHAKE … The board welcomed this year’s Amazing Shake winner, seventh-grade student Alec Genter, who delivered a presentation about the Ronald McDonald House.
TECH TRANSITION … Technology Director Mike Zimmerman shared plans to transition from Dell laptops and Chromebooks to Apple products to improve reliability and long-term technology management.
By: Amy Wendt
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
amy@thevillagereporter.com
Convening for its regular meeting of the month, the Pettisville Board of Education gathered in the school’s conference room on Tuesday, May 12, at 6:30 p.m. In attendance were board members Brent Hoylman, Barry Hoylman, Scott Rupp, and Pam Skates, while Justin Rufenacht was absent.
Also on hand to share the latest district news were Superintendent Josh Clark, Treasurer Chris Lee, Elementary Principal Jason Waldvogel, and Junior High/High School Principal Adam Wagner.
PRESENTATIONS
The board welcomed this year’s Amazing Shake winner, seventh-grade student Alec Genter, who came to deliver the presentation that earned him top honors at the competition hosted by Worthington Steel.
In his presentation, Alec spoke about the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northwest Ohio, a charity with which his family has a close connection.
“So my story — so back in 2012, my mom, my dad, and my two sisters were expecting twins, which would be me and Ames. We were supposed to be born around December, end of December, but six weeks earlier, my mom went into labor. She was rushed to the hospital,” Alec began.
While Alec and his twin brother Ames were delivered safely via c-section, the boys faced health challenges that required the pre-term infants to stay at a hospital in Toledo for an extended period.
During that time, the Genter family was able to call the Ronald McDonald House, their home away from home, which reduced the stress of traveling back and forth daily and allowed them to focus on the infants’ care.
Concluding his speech, Alec shared with the board the importance of the Ronald McDonald House and various ways to support it, including donations and volunteering.
He then took a moment to answer a few questions from the board members.
The Amazing Shake is a leadership and professional skills program that teaches students confident communication and critical thinking skills, as well as how to present themselves professionally through challenges and competitions.
The students practice public speaking, etiquette, networking, and problem-solving in real-world interactive scenarios designed to build character and leadership.
This year, the top five seventh-grade students, Carter Rychener, Alec Genter, Laney Costigan, Ryleigh Brown, and Landri Rufenacht, traveled to Worthington Steel, where they participated in the final round.
The finalists will be rewarded with a day out of school to visit the Toledo Zoo on May 26.
Shifting gears, the board turned its attention to long-time science teacher Donna Meller, who shared details of a recent student trip to the ODNR Student Wildlife Symposium held at Shawnee State Park in southern Ohio.
The gathering offered an opportunity for high school students interested in the outdoors, a chance to network with other like-minded students from around the state.
In addition to her students taking part in the symposium, Meller pointed out that a “full circle moment” for her was when she witnessed one of her former students serve as a keynote speaker at the event.
Meller shared that 2018 Pettisville graduate Jordan Skates delivered an “inspiring, challenging presentation.”
Since the symposium was primarily held in a conference room setting, the class took an additional day to explore the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains before heading back to Pettisville.
Technology Director Mike Zimmerman then took the floor to share a Unity Project Phase II tech overview.
Using diagrams of each building being constructed at the ball fields, Zimmerman explained how the facilities would operate and detailed the technical systems planned for each one.
These systems include indoor and outdoor security cameras, service speakers tied into the school’s PA system, remote-access door controls integrated with the school’s 911Inform system, as well as phone, Wi-Fi, and sound systems, among other features. Zimmerman pointed out that throughout the project, they worked with trusted local vendors.
Zimmerman also informed the board that, during the school’s annual electronic lifecycle review, it was determined that gradually transitioning from Dell laptops and Chromebooks to Mac Neos and other Apple products would be more cost-effective.
Zimmerman cited several key benefits of the transition, including stronger instructional impact, greater classroom reliability, long-term cost stability, standardization, and management of equipment, and a strategic approach to technology integration.
Superintendent Clark took a moment to share updates on the school library renovation, which is Phase I of the Unity Project.
Displaying digital renderings of what the library will look like once completed, Clark added that “It’s going to be a really cool space.” He also noted that in the near future, it will be necessary to discuss Unity Project donor recognition plans.
OTHER ITEMS
In routine business, the board approved minutes from the April 2026 meeting, authorized the payment of bills, and accepted financial reports as presented by the treasurer. Also approved was a 2026-2027 contract with the Fulton County Health Department for nursing services provided by School Nurse Karen King.
Moving on to Personnel matters, the board approved the yearly non-renewal of all 2025-2026 supplemental contracts, with Mr. Clark explaining that new supplemental contracts for the 2026-2027 school year will be presented to the board as they are received.
Steve Sivik was appointed as the Varsity Soccer Coach for the 2026-2027 school year, and Andy Switzer will serve as Assistant Soccer Coach.
In accordance with a new state mandate, the board approved Deana Beck to serve as an English as a Second Language (ESL) 2-Hour Teacher for the 2026-2027 school year, which she will perform along with her current role as a paraprofessional.
The board also accepted the resignation of paraprofessional Sara Carper, effective June 8, 2026.
Having met all graduation requirements established by the state, the Class of 2026 was approved and includes: Macy Hoylman, Kyle Galvin, Genevieve Galvin, Leah Roth, Ava Genter, Ella Myers, Caroline Sterken, Creighton Aeschliman, Natalia Alencastro, Christian Aeschliman, Olivia Beck, Isabella Chavez, Aiden Crawford, Nathan Davis, Echo Eash, Josiah Grant, Grace Hastings, Luke Horning, Jackson Leppelmeier, Dylan Mock, Caleb Parks, Samantha Minchella, Kathryn Moore, Olivia Moore, Naomi Richer, Quinn Ripke, Sebastian Ryan, Gavin Sifuentes, Rebecca Strauss, Brock Stump, River Vajen, Carmen Vallejo, Courtney Wiemken, and Sophie Wilke.
Reflecting on the graduating class, Principal Wagner noted that the students were freshmen when he first joined the school district. “Incredible class.
A ton of accolades, not just athletically, but academically, quiz, ag, on and on and on. Just a lot of different facets that this class is strong in, and an incredible future for a lot of them.”
ADMINISTRATOR REPORTS
Elementary Principal Jason Waldvogel reported that state testing has concluded for the year, the math and science results are in, and math scores are looking great.
The Response to Intervention team has held final meetings, reviewed K-6 students, and placed them on intervention tiers for the upcoming year. Intervention plans will be implemented at the start of the year and updated after fall testing.
Transition meetings have been organized for K-6 teachers to discuss student needs and strategies for the next school year.
Waldvogel praised students for their performance in the Little Mermaid Operetta. “It’s always so neat to see these kids come out and do some things that you never expected them to do,” the principal added.
With the countdown to the end of the school year underway, several field trips are planned for grades K through 3, and elementary students are also looking forward to the End of Year Celebration Week from May 18-22.
In his report to the board, Junior High/High School Principal Wagner thanked the FCCLA, Jazz Band, Greenhouse Class, and high school staff for their contributions toward the Scholarship Night.
Seniors who received scholarships included: Macy Hoylman, Grace Hastings, Olivia Beck, Courtney Wiemken, Katie Moore, Leah Roth, Ella Myers, Caroline Sterken, Jack Leppelmeier, Naomi Richer, Christian Aeschliman, Ava Genter, and Brock Stump.
Wagner also shared plans to initiate dues for each grade level to help fund junior prom and graduation.
The new approach will be implemented during the 2026-2027 school year. Wagner added that the goal is to cut down on the number of fundraisers for each class.
Communication with the details will be sent out to families at the end of this school year.
Treasurer Lee reported that the 2024-2025 audit was released, with the school obtaining a “clean audit.”
However, one noncompliance citation was issued, Lee added, “because we make the conscious decision to not file our financials with generally accepted accounting principles; we file cash basis, and we do that for economic reasons.”
Lee also noted that while tax receipts had been on an upward trend, the most recent settlement was down $7,000 from last year.
However, due to a strong first three quarters, overall tax revenue is still up $14,000 from last year.
Revisiting a tabled resolution from last month’s meeting, to return $22,750 in unused funds back to the Music Boosters after a canceled 2026 music trip, Lee informed the board that, after discussion between school administrators and the boosters, it was decided that the money should remain in the school’s music fund.
Therefore, Lee recommended that the board take the resolution off the table and vote “no” to return the funds since an agreement had been reached.
Based on the treasurer’s recommendation, upon consideration of the resolution to repay the Music Boosters, all board members present voted “no.”
At 7:53 p.m., the board entered into executive session for the purpose of preparing for, conducting, or reviewing negotiations or bargaining sessions with employees, and returned to public session at 8:22 p.m.
The board then voted 4-0 to enter into an agreement with the Pettisville Local Schools Teacher Association by ratification of the proposed 2026-2028 Professional Agreement.
The Pettisville Board of Education will reconvene for its next regular meeting on Thursday, June 11, at 8:00 p.m.
