Board celebrates report card ranking

CINDY WOOD/independent feature writer
Fresh off an Excellent with Distinction rating from the Ohio Department of Education, it was good news all around at Wednesday evening’s meeting of the Van Wert City Schools Board of Education.

Van Wert City Schools Superintendent Ken Amstutz (on right) credits parents, teachers and students. (Photo by Cindy Wood)
“It’s a very proud moment for Van Wert City Schools,” Superintendent Ken Amstutz told the board of the district’s distinction. “It’s a feather in everybody’s cap, from our non-teaching staff to our teachers, to administration, to the community and the board. Mostly, it’s a recognition for our parents and our students and everyone who has worked so hard at this,” he added. The “excellent with distinction” rating is achieved by less than 15 percent of Ohio school districts. Amstutz noted that a recognition and short ceremony will be held at an upcoming football game.
The district’s two elementary building projects are proceeding as planned and on budget, Amstutz said. Requests for proposals went out recently to remove the existing track at Jefferson Elementary, transport the stone base to the new elementary site, and transport top soil from the new elementary site to the Jefferson site.
Amstutz noted that the sub-base in the old track was found suitable to use as a patch material at the new building, and everything is in place to begin removal of the Jefferson track. “Now is a good time to get that done and re-seeded so we’ll hopefully be ready to go in the spring.”
Advertisement for bids for the Jefferson project will go out in early 2012 with a start date after Memorial Day. The new elementary school project is proceeding with a few minor glitches, Amstutz noted. “We did find unsuitable soils that were there, and we had to dig down and dig out, and recompact it,” Amstutz said, noting the cost for the extra work would come out of the contingency fund. The work was necessary to ensure there is a suitable subgrade before the asphalt is laid, he added.
At the new elementary site, all concrete floors have been poured in the academic wings, as well as the gymnasium, and fifty percent of the floorboards have been completed. All footers throughout the building will be completed in the next couple of weeks, Amstutz said, and masonry walls will begin going up. Roofs will be placed in early to mid-October with the district shooting for a “dry-in” date of Dec. 21. “That is the end date of where we want to be at in the project,” Amstutz said, “and certainly we are pushing toward that. If we get a dry-in date by that time and have all the roofs done, we shouldn’t have any problems staying on schedule with the rest of the project.”At the athletic complex, work is progressing on the new tennis courts, and concrete has been poured. The walkway where bleachers will be placed has been poured, as well as a walkway from the parking lot to the courts. Plans are in place to begin pouring asphalt by the end of this week. “This is going to be a very nice enhancement to our athletic complex,” Amstutz said, adding that work is scheduled to be completed on the courts by the end of October.
The manufacturer of shingles that were placed on the Niswonger Performing Arts Center roof has admitted its fault, and are preparing materials to replace the defective shingles at a cost of approximately $190,000, of which $165,000 would be paid by the manufacturer. The remaining cost of approximately $25,000 will be split between Van Wert City Schools and the Van Wert Area Performing Arts Foundation. “Some of the additional things originally put on the roof, such as weather guards and those types of things, will not be replaced by the manufacturer,” Amstutz explained.
Amstutz also noted in his report with news that the local Salvation Army is interested in purchasing the Franklin Elementary building. Amstutz said the Salvation Army would also like to keep the playground equipment currently located at the site, as the organization is interested in doing an outreach to area churches that will utilize the equipment. Amstutz will check with the district’s counsel to examine the process in selling the building. “While we have probably had failures in the sale of other buildings, I think Horace Mann proved to us that it can work,” Amstutz said. “I believe they have people in place on their board that would make sure this sale works as well.”
In the Race to the Top update, Amstutz said the district is moving full-steam ahead on bringing students into 21st Century learning. “Instead of expanding the program offerings, which we have done a tremendous job of, we are beginning to work through the process of setting up the high school to be very 21st-century oriented,” he said. This year’s current 8th-grade class will be the first class to go through the new tech learning, Amstutz said, adding “by the time we get through all four years, all of the new tech will be in place and we will have all of our students with computers in the classrooms of integrated learning.”
Board President Mike Morrow commented that he is excited about the concept of project-based learning and added that today’s students are a different type of learner. “Kids are wired differently today than they have been in the past,” Morrow said, adding “they learn differently, they interact differently, and one of the things that is inevitable in education is we really have to figure out how we’re going to reach students where they’re at at this time. The new tech concept really captures the essence of kids and technology.”
Board member Ken Mengerink reported in his Vantage Board report that two of the homes that Vantage built or remodeled had been sold at a small loss. “To me, the educational impact of the kids is worth what we sold them for,” Mengerink said, adding that the construction class at Vantage is now working on the Habitat for Humanity home.
Mengerink noted in the VWAPAF report that the facilities coordinator had resigned Monday evening, and Tici Shaffer had been named as the new coordinator. Shaffer officially began her duties on Tuesday.
Morrow then reported to the board that the Lifelinks Community School, housed at Trinity Friends Church, has enjoyed a seamless transition and students and staff have enjoyed a good start to the year. Enrollment is currently listed at 56 students, and that number will probably remain steady, Morrow said. Amstutz added that currently, there is not enough space at the facility to take in more students. “It’s not that we don’t want more students,” Amstutz said. “Handling fifty to fifty-five students is about all that space will allow us to do. While it looks big, it is not. If everything works out, the sky will be the limit once we move that program into the Goedde Building.”
In other business, the board approved numerous supplemental contracts for the 2011-12 contract year, the Washington DC trip and school fees. The board also approved an agreement for the establishment of the Northwest Ohio Area Computer Services Cooperative and VWCS, and contracts with the Ohio Family and Children First Council’s Help Me Grow Program, and Therapy Solutions, LLC.
The next meeting of the board will be held Oct. 26 in the Lecture Hall at the NPAC Center.