Board votes on athletic conference

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BRADFORD — The Bradford Board of Education voted its approval to keep its athletic affiliation with a group of schools discussing plans to exit the Cross County Conference during its meeting on Monday evening.

“There is group of 10 total schools, with the possibility of a few more on top of that, that are working to basically combine into a new league separate of the CCC,” Bradford Superintendent Joe Hurst said. “And in the best interest of our student-athletes, I believe, with enrollment, competitive balance and proximity, it makes a whole lot of sense for Bradford.”

Hurst added that Bradford was the first school board in the group of schools with plans to leave the CCC to adopt a motion like this.

The board voted 4-0 to keep Bradford’s “athletic affiliation with Ansonia, Arcanum, Franklin Monroe, National Trail, Newton, Mississinawa (Valley), Tri-County North, Tri-Village, (and) Twin Valley South … to form a new athletic conference separate from the current Cross County Conference no later than June 30, 2021.”

Board member Louis Reindel was absent.

The present board members all spoke in approval of this item. Board member Maria Brewer mentioned the size of Bethel Local Schools, saying, “They have 1,500 kids compared to our 500 kids. That’s a lot.”

Those schools verbally announced their plans to leave the CCC during an emergency conference meeting in January, according to previous reports. Newton and Bradford are the only two of the 10 schools located in Miami County, the rest are in Darke and Preble counties.

This vote comes one month after the board voted to continue its football program’s involvement in the CCC following the recommendation of the football committee.

Also during their meeting, the board honored four students during its student spotlight.

Dean of Students Bob Daugherty read a statement from first grade teacher Jana Barga about student Kendall Koether, which praised Koether “for being an all-around fantastic student.” In her statement, Barga also said, “Kendall’s favorite part about school is math, which will definitely help her in her future nursing career. Kendall is very driven and a great leader, which will help her achieve any goal she sets for herself now and in the future. I am thrilled to have Kendall in my class this year.”

Daugherty also read a statement from first grade teacher Lori Royer about student Fiona Brewer, also praising Brewer “for being an all-around great student.” Brewer’s statement went on to say, “Fiona is a great helper. She is kind and respectful. I can always count on her to be listening carefully and following directions. She participates in class and always puts forward her very best effort.”

Junior high and high school science teacher Ryan Schulze recognized two students from his pre-engineering class, Olivia Daugherty and Aidan Beachler.

“She (Daugherty) has spent the bulk of her time in my class designing web pages,” Schulze said. “She has self-taught herself how to code through online courses. After learning to code, she created a website for the pre-engineering class. After completing that, she then created a website for Bradford cross country and Bradford golf.” He added that she troubleshoots issues, enjoys coding and “does a great job at it.”

Schulze then commended Beachler for fixing and operating a 3-D printer in a former computer lab in the school.

“He worked with it basically the last month, figured out how to set it up, how to troubleshoot it, how to fix it,” Schulze said. “He’s actually had to fix parts and glue it together. He’s enjoyed doing that.” Schulze said that Beachler successfully printed a train and plaque on the 3-D printer.

Secondary Principal Matt Triplett then recognized Schulze during the staff spotlight, saying that Schulze is a favorite teacher among students.

“Mr. Schulze works hard in establishing meaningful relationships with all students and staff in and out of the classroom setting. He and his students work hard every day to make new advancements in our pre-engineering course,” Triplett said.

Later during its meeting, the board also approved the calendar for the 2019-20 school year and the course of study for 2019-20. Hurst said that 72 percent of the teachers also approved of the school calender that was approved.

The board also accepted a donation from the Bradford Band Boosters for the music department in the amount of approximately $1,720 to go toward the purchase of two French horns.

The Bradford Board of Education honored four students during its student spotlight on Monday evening, including (l-r) Fiona Brewer, Kendall Koether, Olivia Daugherty and Aidan Beachler.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Bradford-Board-student-spotlight-021119-CMYK.jpgThe Bradford Board of Education honored four students during its student spotlight on Monday evening, including (l-r) Fiona Brewer, Kendall Koether, Olivia Daugherty and Aidan Beachler. Sam Wildow | AIM Media Midwest

By Sam Wildow

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David Fong contributed to this story. Reach Sam Wildow at [email protected].

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