Communication. Healthcare. $8,000. Code of Conduct.
Break it all down, and that’s the gist of the Benjamin Logan School Board of Education meeting Monday night, which started an hour early with a special session.
After taking care of some initial business, the board heard from Tim Street, president and general manager at Logan County Electric Cooperative.
Though electricity rates aren’t exactly a riveting topic, Street had some good news — since the district moved the beginning of the school year to September in 2021, the school has been saving thousands of dollars.
How it works is the cooperative bases its rates on the maximum use. By watching and controlling that electricity peak, they can keep the costs down. And nothing has helped that more than cutting 18 days in August from the school calendar.
“Taking the month of August out of the mix helps,” Street said. “Congratulations.”
In fact, it has benefitted the district to the tune of more than $8,000 a year. Superintendent John Scheu was impressed, saying, “I think that is certainly one of the good reasons to start in September.”
Next, John Stanford, an Ohio Hi-Point board member, gave an update on what’s happening at OHP. His report focused on job openings for four instructors and the school’s continued success. According to Stanford, almost all of the school’s programs have a waiting list.
The final presentation came from Tara Bair, president and CEO at Community Health & Wellness Partners (CHWP), who spoke about BL’s School-Based Health Center (SBHC). She began her annual report by letting the board know Benjamin Logan received 100 percent on their patient satisfaction survey.
Bair shared the What, the So What and the Now What of CHWP’s involvement at the school. “It’s doing God’s work,” she said, “in a way we didn’t expect.”
One of Bair’s main areas of focus was behavioral health, which she called their “highest need.” She commended BL for being the only district in the area to have a behavioral health provider for students in all three schools.
A particular area of concern were the top five diagnoses treated. Topping the list of behavioral health diagnoses was anxiety. Surprisingly — or maybe not — the number one medical diagnoses was hypertension.
Bair sees BL’s top challenges as finding a way to increase the willingness of sick students to visit the SBHC, putting a focus on whole-child wellness and prevention, and educating staff on steps to support the whole child.
“Bringing the health and wellness clinic into our schools has been very beneficial,” Scheu noted, then pointed out “the convenience of being able to access quality healthcare in our buildings.”
Another topic of note came later in the meeting when Beau Harmon, district activities director, went over changes to the athletic code of conduct for middle school students. The hope with these changes would be to give athletes a chance to work their way back into their sport even after a second offense.
To do so would not be easy, requiring a five-step process that includes 60 hours of community service, monthly drug screens, counseling sessions and the completion of a tobacco, alcohol and drug program within six months of the offense.
“People might second-guess this—that it’s either too strict or not strict enough—but it’s about not kissing a kid good-bye for making a dumb mistake at an early age,” Scheu told the board. “I support this change.”
Following Harmon’s review of the changes to the Code of Conduct, the board approved the student athletic handbook for the 2023-2024 school year.
In other board action:
- The hunt for a new high school principal is well underway. Additional interviews with the final contenders will be conducted Thursday, with the final round taking place next week. Scheu’s goal is to have someone chosen before the next board meeting on July 17.
- Monday saw the first day of training for 17 members of the school district’s armed response team. Another opportunity will take place in early August for those unable to attend Monday’s session.
- At the moment, there’s only one teacher position to fill for the 2023-24 school year. Current staff have until July 10 to resign.
- The board accepted the following: a Honda grant for $5,500; a Lucy Brown grant for $300; a Martha Holden Jennings Writing Across the Curriculum grant for $14,900. They also accepted a School Safety Grant Award for $8,853.18.
- Yasmyn Inskeep’s resignation as an educational assistant was accepted and will be effective on July 31.
- Certified staff approved for a one-year limited contract for Aug. 1 to July 31, 2024 were Anthony Courtney and Cody LeMay, both middle school teachers.
- DiAnna Zeigler was approved for summer school as per the negotiated agreement.
- Supplemental contracts for extended service days for 14 positions during the 2023-24 school year were approved.
- College Credit Plus stipends will be paid to CCP qualified teachers upon completion of duties for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years.
- Upon completion of Orton Gillingham Training, the following teachers will receive a $1,000 payment out of ESSER funds: Andrew Bistransin, Renae Deardurff, Tara King, Barb Kuck, Paula Newland, Alison Spriggs, Matt Young, Alyssia Cavallini, Stephenie Jordan, Kara Maurer, Tori Purk, Bobby Gill, Stephanie Rader, Tina McPherson, Brooke Rodriguez, Laurie Kimmel, Deepika Scheiderer, Jackie Atherton and Rob Painter.
- Overnight stipends to teachers were approved for: the sixth-grade Camp Willson trip stipend went to teachers Ellie Allen, Anthony Elsasser, Melody Wishin and Kara Maurer; Allie Miller and Anthony Elsasser received a stipend for the eighth-grade Washington D.C. trip.
- The board accepted the resignation of assistant high school football coach Marcellus Joshua Webb.
- Supplemental athletic contracts for the 2023-24 were approved for: Middle school boys basketball coach Lance Predmore; Middle school boys basketball coach Rob Powell; Freshman high school boys basketball coach Jim Sanford; JV high school boys basketball coach Joel Phillips; Middle school girls basketball coach John Fout; Middle school girls basketball coach Dominique Wenger; Varsity football cheer coach Maxine Trout; High school girls head golf coach Dominique Wenger; Middle school football coach Matt Marshal
- Anni Sofia Kuntonen from Kerava, Finland, was approved as the 2023-24 Rotary Youth exchange student. She will be place with three host families: Neill and Tara Rhodes, John and Colleen Bodin, and Tige and Michelle Hamm.
The next meeting is 6 p.m. Monday, July 17.
Tim Street, president and general manager at Logan County Electric Cooperative, gives the Benjamin Logan School Board some good news—they’re saving approximately $8,000 annually by starting the school year in September instead of August. (EXAMINER PHOTO | SHARYN KOPF)
Tara Bair, president and CEO at Community Health & Wellness Partners (CHWP), goes over the What, the So What and the Now What of Benjamin Logan’s School-Based Health Center (SBHC) as Benjamin Logan School Board member Chris Hansen listens. (EXAMINER PHOTO | SHARYN KOPF)
