Vantage board hires ass’t treasurer

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The Vantage Board of Education hired a new assistant treasurer and also heard presentations from three Vantage students who won gold ratings at national competitions.

The board approved a one-year administrative contract with Lori Gunderman as assistant treasurer, and also accepted the resignation of Lori Balliet as assistant treasurer, due to retirement, effective September 30.

Vantage Treasurer Lori Davis said Gunderman’s payroll and human resources experience were key factors in her being selected for the assistant treasurer’s position. “We are very pleased with (her) experience and she will be a very good addition to the district,” Davis said, adding that 12 candidates were considered for Balliet’s position.

Paulding students Kristen Schilt, Haley Schlegel and Kelsi Manz were also at the meeting to provide presentations on the projects they created for national competitions. Schilt and Schlegel talked about their “Pretty in Pink” project, which raised $1,100 for cancer education and research, while Manz created Blessings in a Bag, which provides nutritional meals to needy students over the weekend during the school months. Manz raised nearly $17,000 in connection with her project.

Manz noted that the food for her project was provided by the Western Ohio Food Bank, with the bags donated by the local Walmart.

Vantage Cafeteria Manager Penny Baucom also provided her annual report to the board, while the board also approved cafeteria prices and bread and dairy vendors for the cafeteria during the meeting.

Aunt Milly’s Bakeries will provide bread and Prairie Farms Dairy milk during the upcoming school year.

In her report, Superintendent Staci Kaufman provided preliminary state report card information recently released by the Ohio Department of Education.

Kaufman noted that Vantage received an “A” on both its four- and five-year graduation rates, but only a “C” on the placement portion of the grade card, largely because of the state’s rating of the school in connection with the number of students it maintains contact with nine months after graduation. The school “only” had “known status” information on 78.6 percent of its students nine months after graduation, which took Vantage’s placement grade from a “B” to a “C”.

“The last we knew, we had two ‘As’ and a ‘C’,” the superintendent noted, adding, though, that those grades could still change before the final state report cards are released.

Kaufman was not happy with the placement grade, but noted that Vantage would try to improve on that for the next report card.

Board members also expressed their dismay at the low score on the known status category. “That sounds pretty good to me,” said Board member Linda Owens of the 78.6 percent number, while other board members also wondered at the low grade for such a high number of student contacts.

Kaufman was somewhat philosophical about the score, noting that while she was “irritated” at the grade, Vantage’s overall scores ranked them in the top quarter of all joint vocational schools in the state.

“We still rank in the top quarter tier of JVSs across the state,” the superintendent said, noting that Vantage’s relatively small size and excellent staff were two big factors in the school’s report card rating.

Kaufman also noted that the school’s solar array was now up and running, something that could raise Vantage’s LEED rating to platinum — the highest rating possible.

Personnel items approved during the meeting included the hiring of Brenda Wurst as the Buildings & Grounds teacher’s aide for the coming school year, while the board also authorized $3,000 stipends to Mary Ann Falk as lead teacher and Daniel Joyce and school improvement coordinator.

Adult Education employees hired include the following: Annette Klinger, computers; Patrick Vogel, welding and AWS test certification; Jane Collis, substitute instructor; Cynthia Krizan and Tonya Bunch, Health Careers; Theresa Mengerink, ABLE instructor; Carolyn Fast, basket class; and Jeff Hammons, Kip Wright, James Haggerty, Gary Dilworth, Virginia Hammons and Keith Williamson as Police Academy assistants.

In other news, the Vantage board:

• Appointed Board President Lonnie Nedderman as the board’s representative to the OSBA’s Capital Conference and Dennis Recker as the alternate.
• Recognized nurse designees for the 2013-2014 school year as Reese Rohrs and Leigh Carey, health technologies instructors.
• Authorized the purchase of a 2014 Ford F-350 pickup truck with flatbed upfit at a cost of $28,217.70 from Statewide Ford-Lincoln in Van Wert.
• Approved the purchase of maintenance equipment.
• Approved a resolution to sell old miscellaneous equipment on consignment with Straley Realty & Auctioneers at a public auction.
• Approved an interconnect agreement with AEP to operate Vantage’s solar array.
• Approved a resolution setting Avantage Salon & Spa prices for the upcoming school year.

The next meeting of the Vantage Board of Education will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, September 5, in the district conference room.