Vantage hires OTC director, PR person

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent writer

Vantage Career Center will operate in the black until 2021, according to the updated five-year forecast approved by the board of education on Thursday night.

The projection shows revenues of between $8.1 and $8.2 million each year, with projected expenditures starting at $7.1 million and escalating to $8 million by 2021. However, by 2022, expenses are expected to exceed renevue by slightly more than $96,000.

Treasurer Laura Peters noted the financial forecast is a work in progress.

“If we have anything unexpected coming down the pike, that could change overnight,” Peters said. “We’re always conservative on revenues and maybe go a little bit higher on expenses just to make sure we have ourselves covered.”

In other business, the board hired Missy McClurg as the new Ohio Technical Center Director. McClurg replaces Pete Prichard, who took a new position with Northwest State Community College. McClurg was given a three-year limited contract. She currently serves as Career Connection Student Center director at Delphos Jefferson.

The board also hired Audrey Stechschulte as a math instructor and Miriam Owens as community relations coordinator to replace the retiring MaryJo Wilhelm, and board members approved several supplemental contracts and stipends for the 2018 “Career Tech Summer Camp” staff.

During his report to the board, Vantage Career Center Director Tony Unverferth said a much needed change has been made involving student parking. Unverferth said students used to sprint to their cars in hopes of quickly leaving the grounds.

“We saw some kids come within a foot or two of getting hit, and we had about 10 fender benders in the parking lot,” Unverferth explained.

Now, a controlled release is used at the end of each school day, and it’s made a difference, he noted.

“All the kids park in the same direction, and then we release them row by row,” Unverferth said. “It’s been awesome — it takes the exact same amount of time to get the kids out of the lot, and it seems so much safer.”

On a different topic, Unverferth said attendance for the school year has been 94.8 percent, just shy of Vantage Career Center’s goal of 95 percent.

“This is as close as we’ve been since I’ve been here, so we’ve improved almost a percentage point from this time last year,” the director stated.

“We have an outside shot to reach 95 percent, because usually May is a really good month for attendance,” Unverferth added.

Superintendent Rick Turner told the board about U.S. Representative Bob Latta’s tour of Vantage Career Center on Wednesday. Turner said Latta visited several departments during his stop, and was impressed with what he saw.

The board accepted a donation of fresh produce from the Trinity Friends Church food pantry for the Culinary Arts program, and the board approved a collaboration with ACE Digital Academy for an internet-based education delivery system designed for grades K-12, providing alternative educational options for credit deficiencies, alternative programs, students being schooled at home and summer school programs.

The next meeting of the Vantage Career Center Board of Education will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 7, in the district conference room.