Personnel primary focus of VW school bd.

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert City Board of Education took a number of personnel actions prior to the start of the school year next week during its August meeting on Wednesday.

The board accepted the resignation of several staff members, including special education teacher Shawn Deitemeyer, after 15 years in education and nine years at Van Wert; Megan Bittner, a preschool teacher at the Van Wert Early Childhood Center; Trent Temple, high school in-school suspension monitor, after 18 years in the Van Wert City Schools; and Candice Watson, VWECC kindergarten teacher, after two years in the district.

Chad Kraner also resigned as high school play director (50 percent) and musical play director (83 percent), effective the end of the 2013-14 school year, while Adam Tussing’s resignation as a freshman football coach was also accepted by the board.

New hires included Andrea Sealscott as a first grade teacher and Frankie Bowen as the LifeLinks assistant student services director, while also hiring Jodie Recker as assistant district treasurer.

Superintendent Ken Amstutz noted that kindergarten enrollment for the coming school year is high for the current seven class sections, noting that an eighth section could be added if enrollment remains that high when school starts.

The superintendent also noted that a meeting held last Thursday with parents of students in the high school project-based learning New Tech program was successful, with a second meeting scheduled for September 18 to further discuss parental concerns.

Supplemental contracts issued include the following: Adam Tussing, assistant varsity football coach; Zane McElroy and Jordan Daniels, freshman football coaches; Charlie Witten, head baseball coach; Jim Werts, varsity assistant baseball coach; Chris Covey, freshman baseball coach; Mike McClure, head softball coach (90 percent); Karen McClure, head softball coach (10 percent); Jay Royer and Ashley Breece, junior varsity softball coaches (50 percent); Mitch Price, head boys’ tennis coach; Mark Collins, head boys’ track coach; Nate Hoverman, girls’ head track coach; Brendon Moody and Bob Priest, assistant varsity track coaches; and Bob Spath, Kerry Koontz and Mike Myers, middle school track coaches.

Volunteer coaches include the following: Mitch Price, girls’ tennis assistant; Jeremy Kitson and Alan Carr, baseball assistant coaches; Chuck Rollins, boys’ tennis assistant; and Connie Hoverman and Ben Laudick, varsity track assistants.

In other action, the board:

• Approved the Fiscal Year 2015 Family and Children’s First Council contract with Van Wert County Hospital to provide Ohio Children’s Trust Fund services.
• Approved a two-year lease agreement with LifeLinks Community Schools.
• Authorized Amstutz to serve as LifeLinks fiscal oversight officer for the 2014-15 contract year.
• Approved an agreement with Vantage Career Center concerning satellite program standards and maintenance.
• Approved the Standards-Based Teacher Evaluation Policy.
• Authorized Amstutz and Elementary Principal Kevin Gehres as local representatives to the Van Wert Area Schools Insurance Group.
• Approved all bus routes for the 2014-15 school year.
• Approved VWECC and VWMS-HS fees for the coming year, as well as student handbooks for the individual schools.
• Learned that Debra Chiles was advanced on the district pay scale from master’s degree to master’s plus 15 hours.

The next meeting of the Van Wert City Board of Education will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday, September 17, in the First Federal Lecture Hall.