C’view school bd. hears COVID-19 update

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent writer

CONVOY — COVID-19, and its impact on staff and students, was the main subject during Wednesday night’s meeting of the Crestview Local Board of Education.

During the 20-minute meeting, held via Zoom video conferencing for the first time this year, Superintendent Kathy Mollenkopf shared the latest COVID-19 numbers with board members.

“In total we’ve had 30 employees that have been impacted by COVID, either through a positive (test), which is minimal, but through quarantine, both through places inside the building and outside the building, outside of employment,” Mollenkopf explained.

The superintendent said two employees remain positive, with nine others in quarantine, but added six of those will return today (Thursday), with two more returning on Friday.

“It’ll be good to have those teachers back in the building with our kids,” Mollenkopf said.

Including students at Vantage Career Center, 81 Crestview students have been impacted by COVID-19, but just one student has tested positive. Forty-two of those students are back from quarantine, with 39 others still in quarantine, with 20 of them due back by Monday.

In addition, it was announced on Wednesday that Crestview’s volleyball season has ended, due to COVID-19 concerns. The Lady Knights were scheduled to play St. Henry in the Division IV sectional finals on Thursday night.

Crestview is currently on an alternate, or hybrid, schedule and Mollenkopf seemed pleased with how it’s gone to this point.

“I feel like the alternate schedule is doing what we want it to do, which is to spread out the sweeping arm of the quarantine, so we can spread folks out further,” Mollenkopf told the board. “Next week the building administrators and I will take a look at the data we’re collecting and re-evaluate the alternate schedule, with my primary goal of getting us back in the building and laying the alternate schedule aside November 2.”

Mollenkopf also told the board that she’s been contacted by representatives of three of the district’s townships, who are interesting in sub-granting some of their CARES Act money to the school district. More information and amounts should be available soon, she noted.

In related action, the board approved additional compensation for building administrators working extra hours connected to mandatory COVID-19 contract tracing.

The board approved a transfer of $3.6 million from the general fund to the Capital Projects Fund for the classroom addition project and the Early Childhood Center renovation project.

In other business, the board was told the Dollar General land transfer is complete, and board members learned that Vicki Smith was selected from three applicants as Crestview’s representative to the Western Buckeye Educational Service Center board.

The next meeting of the Crestview Local Board of Education is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, November 16.