VWCS board approves park agreements

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The Van Wert City Board of Education approved memorandums of understanding to turn over two former school sites to be used as city parks, and also heard a presentation on project-based education at Van Wert Middle School during its February meeting held Wednesday.

The board approved memorandums of understanding to turn the former Washington and Franklin school sites over to the City of Van Wert to be used as city parks. An additional stipulation was added that the school district would continue to provide snow removal services at both sites.

The memorandums now go to Van Wert Mayor Don Farmer, who would need to sign off on both agreements before the land would be added to the city’s parks system.

The city is currently working with Van Wert native and philanthropist Scott Niswonger to repurpose the former Franklin School site as a multipurpose community park, while Van Wert Youth Football is seeking to use at least a portion of the Washington School site as a playing field for its games in the fall.

Details of both those projects have yet to be finalized.

Also Wednesday, VWMS teacher Brendon Moody brought several sixth-graders with him to talk about the Genius Hour, a project-based educational program implemented this year at the middle school level.

Two students showed off their projects, which included redesigned clothing as Cougar gear and a “potato light” – a potato-powered miniature flashlight.

Superintendent Ken Amstutz also noted that the school district has currently has canceled school 11 days this year, noting that it was the most he has seen during his more than two decades as an educator. Good news came from the Ohio General Assembly, which has approved legislation providing four additional calamity days to Ohio school districts.

The board also took a number of personnel actions on Wednesday, including authorizing a one-year leave of absence for high school math teacher Erica Lofthouse for the 2014-2015 school year and approving Ruth Dowler, Nikki Adams, Sara Royer, Anita Zuber, Karla Butler, Sara Alvarez, Moody, Karen Emerine, Tiffany Werts, Jennifer Trittschuh and Nate Hoverman as one-year teacher mentors for this school year, and Trittschuh, Kelly Van Horn, Alvarez, Shelly Place and Kyle Hammons as two-plus year mentors and facilitators for this school year.

The board also authorized an overnight trip for the Cougar’s Roar school newspaper staff to attend the spring convention of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association at Columbia University in New York City on March 19-21 and approved Sandy Honigford and Eva Yarger for three-year terms on the LifeLinks Community School board, retroactive to August 10, 2013, through August 10, 2016.

The board accepted supplemental position resignations from Bob Priest (assistant girls’ track coach-50 percent) and Brent Smith (Junior Class co-advisor), and approved the following supplemental contracts: Priest, full-time assistant varsity assistant track coach; Matt Hernandez, head boys’ soccer coach; and Brenda Smith, Junior Class advisor.

Moody was also approved as a volunteer indoor track coach for the current school year.

A number of policy changes recommended by NEOLA were also approved by the board, while several donations were also accepted, with thanks, by the board. Those include $10,000 from Kaye Watson for the Shirley Johns Hart Memorial Scholarship, $500 from the Van Wert County Foundation and $300 from the Van Wert Rotary Foundation for the high school choir, $1,302.48 from the Shelly Holding Company (Scott Quarry) for the Blessings in a Backpack program, $500 from the James T. and Betty Coffey Scholarship Fund (Ohio Lions Club Outreach Program for the Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) student organization, $250 from Federal-Mogul Corporation for the VWMS Renaissance program, and $125 each from Van Wert Federal Savings Bank and Tim and Kari Stoller (Stoller Wealth Management) for the Van Wert City Endowment Fund for Educators.

The board also approved a Community Reinvestment Act agreement between the City of Van Wert and Rhodes Investments LLC as presented.

The next meeting of the Van Wert City Board of Education will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, in the First Federal Lecture Hall of the Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio.