After opening the regular March 14th meeting with a moment of silence in memory of board member Loren Roth and former longtime member Lawrence King, The Pettisville Local School Board of Education covered a myriad of topics.
To start, Daniel Dymarkowski was appointed to fill the unexpired term of the late Mr. Roth. Dymarkowski is a current Pettisville Park board member, a deacon at Pettisville Missionary Church, and a former Fulton County Republican Party Chairman. He is general manager for Foundation Steel, LLC and served as a Sergeant, E5 Team leader in the Ohio Army National Guard from 2007 to 2014. He and his wife, Hannah, are expecting their second child.
The board also entered into a contract with the Northwest Ohio Educational Service Center for special education services for the 2017-18 school year. The estimated net cost of the agreement after grants is $207,439, a $12,319 increase from the previous year. Also approved was the 2017-18 calendar and the continuation of basic membership in the Northwest Ohio Educational Technology Foundation.
The Local Professional Development Committee standards and by-laws and a language change in the school’s Professional Agreement granting the use of instructional days to be used for other purposes was passed.
The board also accepted the resignations, for the purpose of retirement, from cooks Kathy Gruenhagen and Linda Grime and social studies teacher Ed Bracken. A total of 55 years of service to the schools has been provided between the three.
Although absent, High School Principal Michael Lane’s report was reviewed. He reported that the Pettisville FFA Chapter held a successful FFA Week with a Food for America agricultural literacy presentation to the district’s fifth through eighth graders, and a pancake and sausage breakfast.
The Junior High Student Council also recently hosted a dance for the school, while Dominic Heising, Lyla Heising, Andrew Hulbert, and Levi Myers placed second in the local middle school MathCounts competition, earning a trip to state.
At the Northwest Ohio Regional Science & Engineering Fair, Gretchen Lee placed first for Animal, Jordan Skates placed first for Environmental Science, Kayla Wyse placed first for Plants, Josh Bock placed second for Behavioral Science, and Dalton Myers placed third for Environmental Management in the high school division. Baden Skates, first place, Environmental Engineering,
Heath Waidelich, first place, Plants, and Mackenzi Rivera, second place, Microbiology represented in the junior high division.
Josh Bock, Gretchen Lee and Jordan Skates were recognized in the Top 10 high school projects while Madeline Shumaker and Heath Waidelich received Junior High honors. Lee was selected as an International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Finalist and Jordan Skates was selected as an Observer.
Also representing the school was the Jr. High Quiz Team’s second place finish in the postseason tournament and Gabe Beck’s nomination for the Franklin B. Walter Scholarship, honoring high achieving students and special teachers. Beck selected English teacher Miss Rebecca Dorosz to receive special recognition, as well.
In the Elementary report, Principal Jason Waldvogel told the board that school’s magazine and cookie dough sale raised $13,687 and the Blackbird Book Week was well received with dress-up days, prize drawings, read alouds, trivia questions, reading challenges, a photo booth, STEM challenges, and a book swap drive.
Also reported was fourth grader Caden Bishop’s third place finish and sixth grader Haylee Bronson’s first place finish in the Fulton County Spelling Bee and the hosting of a “Sweetheart” dance, an opportunity for girls in kindergarten through fifth grade to bring an adult male family member to celebrate the 50’s Dance Party theme.
Superintendent Steve Switzer reported that the district is purchasing padding for the portions of the two backstops for fields 1 and 2 that are concrete. The removable black padding, featuring the school’s logos, will cost $12,350.
Switzer also told the board of the possibility for the installation of an old playground on the south fields park and a meeting with representative from the State Employees Retirement System of Ohio was successful. The district’s wind turbine also met the net metering requirements for the year by about 2,700 kWh or about $167 of production, Switzer said.
The board also heard from Amy Marshall, a Pettisville graduate and five year cafeteria employee. Marshall requested that the board grant health insurance to cafeteria staff, as she will no longer be covered when her husband, Mike, retires from teaching at Wauseon Schools.
“Pettisville seems to stand alone as the only school in the area that does not offer insurance to cafeteria staff…I would appreciate the same consideration for health insurance to be offered to cafeteria staff as is currently offered to other support staff,” she said.
The board pledged to look into the issue and have an answer by the end of the school year.
Cory Johnson may be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com