C’view board chooses Auld as president

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

CONVOY — The Crestview Local Board of Education heard some good financial news from Treasurer Laura Metzger and also reorganized for the coming year, electing longtime board member John Auld as its new president. Mike Schlagbaum was chosen as vice president.

Superintendent Mike Estes also swore in new board member Wes Skelton and distributed certificates honoring board members for their service to the district.

“You come to the table for all the right reasons,” Estes said of board members’ motivation to serve the district.

The board returned the favor by approving a new three-year contract for Estes, who thanked the board and said it has been a pleasure to serve the district.

Metzger noted that the district’s property valuation increased by a hefty $30 million, with much of that coming with the ending of a tax rebate program for the Robert P. Mone Power Plant located in the district.

The ending of the rebate program, Metzger said, would mean approximately $1 million in new property taxes to the district – a net increase of $835,000 with collections of the district’s emergency tax suspended for 2014.

An additional $850,000 will also be coming to the district this year from the Blue Creek Wind Farm, Metzger added. She recommended that the board place that money in the district’s General Fund, and use at least some of the money to pay off a bond issue used to fund the district’s recent Ohio School Facilities Commission renovation/construction project.

The treasurer said with some satisfaction that the additional revenues would help the district keep its promise that the bond issue would not go above 4.6 mills, noting that the issue is now at 2.5 mills.

The also noted that the end of the power plant abatement will also add $58,000 to the district’s permanent improvement levy.

Estes also spoke during his report about an upcoming staff development day centering on security issues, with law enforcement officials planning to fire a number of different weapons in the school buildings to give staff some idea of what an attack on the school would sound like. The superintendent said blanks would be used in the weapons, while there will be no students in the building during the inservice, which would take place during a planned two-hour school delay.

Calamity days were also a topic of discussion, with Estes noting that the district has now used up four of five calamity days and would make up a sixth and seventh day, if needed, on Saturdays in March.

In other action, the board:

• Accepted, with thanks, the following donations: $987.50 from the Klein Trust of the Van Wert County Foundation, and $1,500 for the music department from the county foundation.
• Approved Ben Kaufman as a varsity assistant track coach for the current school year.
• Renewed membership in the Ohio School Boards Association.
• Learned that Lori Orsbon will be reassigned to the position of district administrative assistant, effective March 3.
• Held an executive session to discuss personnel issues, with no action taken afterwards.

The next meeting of the Crestview Local Board of Education will be at 6 p.m. Monday, February 17, in the district boardroom.