A FOND FAREWELL Pike Delta York Board of Education members from left Jenna Holzhauer Dan Elliott departing board president and Kelly Valentine pose with plaques they received at the boards meeting Wednesday in recognition of their service on the board It was the final meeting as members for all three
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
A $2.5 million career tech education grant through the state could open a multitude of opportunities for middle and high school students in the Pike-Delta-York School District.
Superintendent Johnathan Burke described the potential program to members of the Board of Education, which voted to authorize the grant application at its final meeting of the year Wednesday evening at Delta High School.
According to Burke, the program would include 16 hands-on career exploration modules in the middle school and an industrial arts program as well as horticulture program with its own facilities at the high school.
The middle school program would include modules on such topics as health science, animal science, engineering, drones, and home electrical maintenance such as wiring switches, light bulbs, and outlets.
The industrial arts program would include metal fabrication, welding, and “making things from scratch.”
In anticipation of that opportunity and to gain support, Burke said he has spoken with representatives from Worthington Steel and NorthStar BlueScope as well as local tool and die companies, among other industry partners.
The horticulture program would include a greenhouse to be built on the side of the high school with the opportunity to add an industrial kitchen/food lab with a classroom. That program alone would account for $1.6 million of the total $2.5 million grant. “It’s an exciting venture for us,” Burke said.
The application is due Friday, December 15, and Burke said they were prepared to submit it the following day after the board meeting.
He said they should know by the end of January whether or not they were successful, and that if they failed, there was a second round of funding available in April for which they could reapply.
“We’ve been in touch with Four County Career Center. They’re fully on board,” Burke said. “I explained to them what we’re doing and they’re excited about our project, so they wrote us a letter of support to go along with it.”
DISTRICT FINANCIAL UPDATE
School District CFO/Treasurer Matt Feasel reported to the board that district finances are in a solid position.
According to Feasel, the drastic increase in real estate values in the district has dropped the millage for the school from the 6.74 mills listed on the November ballot down to 5.32 mills.
Feasel said that valuation increased by almost 27 percent, from $199 million to $253 million. “There is legislation out there now that they’re trying to contest that and give the county auditor the ability to roll some of that back,” Feasel said. “I don’t know where that will go.”
He also said the district’s investments are doing well. “We are doing much better than we thought we would be,” he said. “Rates have gone up, our cash flow has gone up. So, we’re experiencing additional dollars in terms of the investments.”
According to Feasel, the school’s revenue is up almost 20 percent while expenditures are only up by a little less than eight percent over this point last year.
NEW STUDENT ACTIVITY HANDBOOK
The board voted to approve a new student activity handbook, completely rewritten from the ground up by Feasel.
The updated guide includes the principles of what student activities are, their purpose, administrative responsibilities, and advisor requirements.
Among those requirements are a budget, projection of revenues and expenses, procedures for purchases, and requirements for collecting and depositing cash.
It also includes several new forms, among them a student activity budget form, a completely redrafted fundraising approval form, and fundraising reconciliation forms, as well as a guide on how to set up district-sponsored trips where applicable.
BOARD MEMBERSHIP CHANGES
Departing Board President Dan Elliott and departing members Kelly Valentine and Jenna Holzhauer were awarded plaques in recognition of their service to the district. The trio will be replaced in January by Tim Ford, Jeff Lintermoot, and Jackie Chiesa, who were elected in November.
Elliott nominated and the board voted to approve Vice President Alice Simon to serve as president pro-tempore until an official replacement is named after the board reconvenes in the new year.
2-HOUR/3-HOUR DELAYS APPROVED
The board approved scheduled delays for 2024 high school student state testing. Testing on those days will begin at 8:05 a.m., and only students not testing will follow the delay schedule, which is as follows:
April 16: 3-hour delay for ELA 2 Part 1
April 18: 3-hour delay for ELA 2 Part 2
April 23: 2-hour delay for US History/US Government
April 25: 3-hour delay for Algebra 1/Geometry
April 30: 2-hour delay for Biology
May 1: 2-hour delay for make-up testing (if needed)
OTHER BUSINESS
The board approved the purchase of two 78-passenger Blue Bird buses from Cardinal Bus Sales of Lima. The purchase is part of the existing five-year improvement plan and will be paid out of the district’s permanent improvement funds.
The board approved a resolution to proceed for the substitution of a substitute tax levy to renew the current substitute levy that expires in December 2024 and extend it from January 2025 to December 2029.
The board recognized students of the month: Marlee Nagel (Delta Elementary School, 3rd grade), Clairabelle Langlois (Delta Middle School, 5th grade), and Addison Wyse (Delta High School, 9th grade).
The board recognized Delta High School students Keagyn Gillen (10th grade) and Aubree Perdew (9th grade), who each received a Recognition of Artist Achievement Award in photography.
The board approved a handful of wording changes to the 2024-2025 High School Guidance Handbook.
The board approved a variety of personnel changes, including a two-year contract renewal for Athletic Director Walter Steele, hiring of Andrea Oates as the new High School Secretary, and Ludmilla Ford as a new co-advisor to the Spanish Club.
They also accepted resignations from Ford’s predecessor – Nicole James, as well as head volleyball coach Heather Carrisalez and freshman boys’ basketball coach Nick Mewborn.
The board accepted the donation of an R82 handicap stander valued at $1,000. The donation was made by Jill Albring in memory of Delta graduate Nathaniel Albring.
Nathaniel died last Christmas Eve at the age of 20 after having previously been left severely disabled following a near-drowning at 3 years old.
The board approved an overnight FFA trip to Columbus for the Mission and Impact Leadership Conference in mid-January. Student Connor Ashby was approved for a 2024 diploma.
The next meeting of the board will be an organizational meeting to be held at 6:15 p.m. on January 10, 2024.