Lincolnview board organizes for 2016

KELSEY CLEMONS/independent correspondent

The Lincolnview Local Board of Education elected Michelle Gorman president and Scott Miller vice president during its organizational meeting on Wednesday. The board also set meetings for the year for the third Tuesday of the month, starting at 7 p.m. Meetings are held in the Neubrecht Lecture Hall, with the exception of one meeting held at The Marsh Foundation.

During the board’s regular meeting, Superintendent Jeffrey Snyder noted in his report that, due to this year’s mild winter weather, missed “calamity day” instructional hours have significantly decreased. Snyder said students have missed just six hours at this point in the school year, versus 46 hours last year at this time.

Students missed a total of 75 hours of instructional time last year, the superintendent added.

Snyder also noted that the district is planning to purchase a new fertilizer/salt spreader because the old one is getting to expense to maintain, and also talked about the great turnout for a PTO fundraiser that raised more than $12,000 for the school.

The superintendent said those students who met or exceeded their goal for the fundraiser would get to enjoy a fun event this Friday that will feature a student disc jockey.

Snyder also mentioned that a new baseball/softball scoreboard was donated to the school and thanked donors First Federal Savings & Loan, Van Wert Pizza Hut and Lee Kinstle GM Sales & Service.

Lincolnview High School Principal Brad Mendenhall honored four of six January “Students of the Month” honored for their exceptional school spirit who attended the board meeting. Students recognized include Victoria Snyder, Alek Bowersock, Jacob Bradford, and Louis Crow. Mendenhall also noted the district is a semifinalist in a school spirit competition sponsored by the Ohio High School Athletic Association entitled “The Battle for the Golden Megaphone”.

OHSAA members will be attending the Lincolnview-Crestview boys’ basketball game on January 22 to judge school spirit, and Mendenhall urged students to attend the game and wear their school colors. Winners of the contest will be announced during a state tournament basketball game in March.

Elementary Principal Nita McKinney recognized school spelling bee winners and added that she and Mendenhall would be judges at the county spelling bee in February.

Students also participated in a coloring contest in which Lincolnview’s Caleb Denman was runner-up and won a  $50 iTunes gift card, while his classroom was given a new seating technology ball and a speaker-amplifier system.

With January “School Board Appreciation Month”, Snyder honored Lincolnview board members, and also noted that outgoing board president Eric Germann will be formally installed as the new president of the Ohio School Boards Association during a ceremony held this Saturday.

McKinney was also appreciative of what board members do for the district. “The students and staff at Lincolnview Elementary would like to thank the board for all their efforts in helping to make Lincolnview such a wonderful environment for learning to occur, and for also supporting us through attending different elementary programs and activities and showing your support through those ways to our students and our staff throughout the years,” she noted.

In personnel items, Whitney Bigham was hired as a substitute cook for the remainder of this school year, while Marie Tow was given a personal service contract as co-site coordinator of the 21st Century Community Learning Center.

In other action, the board:

• Accepted two donations: $1,324.25 from The Van Wert County Foundation’s Klein Trust and an anonymous donation of $1,500 for the Heritage Scholarship Fund.
• Approved a membership for Willow Bend Country Club at a cost of $250 annually.
• Advanced $1,800 from the district’s General Fund to the Data Communications Fund.
• Approved membership in the Ohio Education Policy Institute at a cost of $500 for 2016.
• Welcomed Craig Riedel, a Republican candidate for the 82nd Ohio House district. Riedel spoke briefly to the board about his educational and political platform.

The next meeting of the Lincolnview Local Board of Education will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 17, in the Neubrecht Lecture Hall.