Coleman new city school board president

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The Van Wert City Board of Education welcomed new member Anthony Adams and also elected R.J. Coleman as new board president and Scott Mull as vice president during its organizational meeting on Wednesday.

Adams replaces outgoing board member Mike Morrow, who chose not to run for re-election.

The board also maintained its 2015 meeting schedule of the third Wednesday of the month, beginning at 5 p.m., in the First Federal Lecture Hall of the Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio. The following committee assignments were also made: Coleman will remain as representative to the Athletic Council and will also be the board’s representative to this year’s Ohio School Boards Association Capital Conference. Debby Compton will also remain as a member of the Vantage Board of Education, while Mull and Cindy Hurless are the board’s representatives to the Van Wert City Schools Marketing Committee.

During the regular meeting, the board first heard a presentation on collaboration in the areas of mathematics and language arts by Van Wert Early Childhood Center Principal Lori Bittner and teachers Jen Arend, Nikki Adams, and Shelly Place during the meeting’s Educational Impact segment, and then approved Treasurer Mike Ruen’s report, which included financial statements.

In personnel-related items, the board accepted the resignation, due to retirement, of Van Wert Middle School paraprofessional Karen Mengerink, after 25 years of service.

The resignation of Lori Braun, a paraprofessional in the Early Childhood Center, after 14 years, was also accepted, while Cayla Wise also resigned her supplemental contract position as middle school football and basketball cheerleading coach, effective the end of the current contract year.

In other action, the board:

• Accepted the following donations: $2,000 from the Van Wert County Foundation, $2,500 from Central Mutual Insurance Company, $1,000 from First Federal Savings & Loan, $500 from StateWide Ford Lincoln, $1,400 from iSpace Inc., and $1,000 from Alliance Automation for the Van Wert High School Robotics Club; $1,160 to the Van Wert City Endowment Fund for Educators, $2,500 to the VWHS Civic Education Fund, and $9,757.04 from the Klein Bequest Trust Fund, all from the Van Wert County Foundation.
• Held a public hearing related to the re-employment of former VWHS principal Bill Clifton as assistant to the superintendent, with no objections noted.

The next meeting of the Van Wert City Board of Education will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday, February 17, in the First Federal Lecture Hall.