By Dawn Hatfield

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — The Greenville City School District Board of Education met in the Anna Bier Civic Room of St. Clair Memorial Hall Jan. 10. This special meeting was held in lieu of January’s regular meeting to immediately follow the annual organizational meeting in which Mark Libert was elected and sworn in as the new board president, and Jim Sommer was elected and sworn in as the new vice president for 2022.

Jody Harter, Doug Fries, Jenna Jurosic, Krista Stump, Mark Libert, Brad Gettinger, Jim Sommer, and Kristi Strawser were present along with five students from the district’s education program and teachers. There was no public participation aside from observation.

Following roll call, the Pledge of Allegiance, adoption of agenda, and approval of minutes, Superintendent Doug Fries recognized the School Board members for School Board Appreciation Month. Each member had received a framed certificate at the previous organizational meeting. Fries addressed the board, “Being a school board member takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, but it also takes a lot of thought and a lot of consideration of different people’s points of view. Whenever you’re setting policy or making decisions involving the school system, it involves 2,400 students and [their] parents; obviously, things are always looked at a little differently. We certainly appreciate the time and the effort our school board puts into Greenville community.”

Fries continued with the remainder of the superintendent’s report:

— Student visitors were welcomed and allowed personal introductions.

— Officers, Libert and Sommer, were again recognized as new President and Vice President of the board.

— Media was thanked for helping to spread word of Field House Phase II; renderings of the proposed field house will soon be placed at high school, elementary, and stadium for viewing.

— Darke County Spelling Bee will be held at Romer’s on Jan. 20 where top two winners from each school will compete.

— Second draft of 2022-2023 calendar was presented with first student day Aug. 29, 2022 and last day May 30, 2023, including 10 days of winter break; calendar vote will take place at February meeting.

— Self-evaluation composed by Sommer and Fries was presented for viewing and signing.

Treasurer’s business included the December report and unanimous approval of bills presented to the board. Furthermore, it was announced the district received the first state foundation payment last week. Jurosic later explained, “The new state budget included a new funding formula for schools for our state foundation payments. The Department of Ed has been working to get that formula in place but didn’t have it all set until the first payment in January, which was [last] Friday. To get us caught up as to what should have been paid from July through December, our January payment was larger – just over $1.8 million. However, that won’t be the typical semi-monthly payment we receive.”

Superintendent’s business included a recommendation of several policies to be reviewed for second reading, including policies on graduation requirements and released time for religious instruction. The board unanimously approved the following policies: student conduct, student conduct (zero tolerance), and gangs.

Donations were accepted with appreciation from Dairy King ($14,699 for digital scoreboard), Darke County Foundation ($2,000 for teaching professions), and Darke Rural Elective Cooperative, Inc. ($600 for Comfort Closet).

Contract cancellation included Premiere Speakers Bureau (from Nov. 18 meeting) and approvals included Premiere Speakers Bureau for Manuel Scott presentation to grades five to 12 and A&S Party Rentals for After-Prom, which passed unanimously.

Resolution approvals included the participation in OSBA Legal Assistance Fund for calendar year 2022 as well as approval of Addendum to Superintendent’s Contract. Both were approved unanimously by board members.

Approval to designate 477 Air 1 and Air 2 iPads as obsolete per CFR Part 200.313 was unanimous as well as approval of GHS Registration Guide for 2022-2023 as presented by GHS principal Stan Hughes and assistant principal Laura Bemus.

Requests included approval to amend Return to School Guidance 2021-2022 to reflect the change in CDC, ODH, and local Darke County Health Department’s recommendations to shorten the isolation and quarantined period to go into effect Jan. 3, 2022.

Field trip approvals were granted, including two out-of-state trips for NJROTC under supervision of Commander Knowles on Jan. 29 and Feb. 19, 2022.

Accepted resignations included GHS Assistant Principal (retirement-6/15/2022), Payroll Clerk (retirement-2/28/2022), and Food Service Employee (1/4/2022).

Classified and certified substitute staff were approved for conditional employment. All unpaid leave requests were approved as well as approval of Home Instruction teachers and hours. Salary increases for change in salary classification as well as tuition reimbursements were unanimously approved as well as all requested reimbursements for professional meeting expenses.

Supplemental contracts were unanimously approved for seventh grade softball coach and unpaid volunteers for softball, track, and boys’ tennis.

Libert will update board on Greenville Schools Foundation at an upcoming meeting due to no new meetings or news to report. Gettinger will also provide future updates as there were no new happenings to report for Career Technology Stakeholders at given time.

Strawser updated members on the first Business Advisory Council where “20 under 20,” (disability) report card, and vocational track support (1:1) were discussed.

Sommer spoke briefly about HB 126, which regards the process for local governments to contest property value, in his legislative report. “Prior to them breaking in December, the Senate voted 24-7 to pass HB 126 as amended by the Senate Ways and Means Committee. So now it goes back to the House, and they’re voting Jan. 19. We need to notify our legislators prior to Jan. 19 that we oppose this because it will have a detrimental effect on our ability for funding,” explained Sommer. He then continued by reading, “‘All school districts rely on property taxes for the operation and support of their students in school, and they should have the ability to advocate for accurate values on which those revenues are based.’”

Information on HB 126 can be found at https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/legislation-summary?id=GA134-HB-126.

Board members then adjourned the meeting with no further discussion required nor motions upon which to vote.

The Greenville City Schools Board of Education meetings are typically held the third Thursday of each month beginning at 6:30 p.m. in St. Clair Memorial Hall, 215 W. Fourth Street, Greenville, Ohio. Full meeting minutes are regularly posted on the Board of Education site: www.greenville.k12.oh.us/BoardofEducation.aspx.

Dawn Hatfield primarily covers education stories for The Daily Advocate. Have a school-related event to share? Reach out by email at [email protected] or by phone at 937-569-0066.