Verville named to VW board of eduction

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent writer

The Van Wert City Board of Education’s first meeting of 2018 was a productive one, as the board tackled a number of items in just one hour on Thursday.

During the organizational portion of the meeting, Tonia Verville was appointed to fill an open two-year term on the board that will run through December 31, 2019. Verville is an elementary counselor for Lincolnview Local Schools and she and her husband, Mark, have four children in the Van Wert City Schools: Emma, Rachel, Sarah, and Benjamin.

In addition to Verville, re-elected board member Scott Mull was sworn in for a new four-year term.

Debby Compton was re-elected as board president, while Anthony Adams will again serve as vice president. Board members agreed to keep the meeting schedule the same as previous years: 5 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month in the conference room of the S.F. Goedde Building.

The regular portion of the meeting saw the board of education officially approve a new three-year contract between the district and the Van Wert Federation of Teachers. The deal includes 2 percent raises in each of the three years of the contract, along with increases in supplemental contract stipends. The union made insurance concessions by agreeing to move from a PPO (preferred provider organization) to an HSA (Health Savings Account) plan.

The contract is retroactive to August 1, 2017, and runs through July 31, 2020.

“We were pleased to reach an agreement with the teachers union and we’re very pleased to have a three-year agreement,” Interim Superintendent Staci Kaufman said. “Regrettably, the process took a little longer than we’d all like, but I think both sides are very happy with the end result.”

Kaufman also said a January 18 meeting is scheduled to begin discussing contract negotiations with the union representing non-certified staff members.

The board agreed to meet January 30 at 4:15 p.m. to review applications for superintendent. The Ohio School Boards Association is in the process of ranking the applicants and will share the results with board members during the special meeting. Interviews could begin as soon as the first week in February.

The subject of school delays and closings was addressed by Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent Bill Clifton, who noted the district has had three two-hour delays and one three-hour delay. Schools have been closed two days due to inclement weather conditions, and Clifton said should the district reach six days of cancelations, the district would begin using makeup days outlined in the existing school calendar.

Clifton also tried to clear up any confusion between two- and three-hour delays.

“We will always start with a two-hour delay,” Clifton explained. “We won’t go immediately to a three-hour delay.”

“I’m on my cell phone with Crestview and Lincolnview, Crestview’s on the phone with Paulding County schools, and Lincolnview is checking area schools as well. We have to make the decision first, because our buses go out at 6 a.m., Crestview’s go out at 6:30 and Lincolnview’s go out at 6:45.”

“The only time we really use a three-hour delay is for fog and that’s typically in the fall,” Clifton added.

The board officially approved the 2018-2019 school calendar, with school starting on August 20 and ending May 24. The calendar includes five days off (November 21-25) for Thanksgiving and parent-teachers conferences, 13 days off (December 21-January 2) for Christmas break and eight days off (April 17-24) for spring break.

In other business, the board:

Approved the bid process for the purchase of two school buses.

Accepted the following donations: $12,705 from the Gaylord Leslie Endowment Fund-Leslie Music Trust Fund, to be split equally between instrumental and vocal music departments; $1,065 from the Gaylord Leslie Trust Fund to the athletic department/golf; $1,500 from the Eggerss Bequest for Middle School Renaissance; $500 from Associated Charities for the elementary school wellness fund; $1,195 from United Way of Van Wert County Inc. for the Family and Children First Council; $400 from Robert and Deborah Adams for the girls’ basketball athletic account; $75 from Van Wert Federal Savings Bank for the Humane Society Senior Class Project, and $50 from First Federal of Van Wert for the Van Wert Blessings in a Backpack Senior Class Project.

The next meeting of the Van Wert City Board of Education will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday, February 21, the S.F. Goedde Building, 205 W. Crawford St. in Van Wert.