Crestview honors local contest winners

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

CONVOY — The Crestview Local Board of Education honored several local contest winners, and heard a couple of the winning entries as well, during an otherwise uneventful March meeting.

The board recognized Lauren Walls and Audrey Lichtensteiger, Patriots’ Pen contest winners; OIivia Skelton, Tommi Andersen, and Brooke Ripley, first-, second-, and third-place winners of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5803’s Voice of Democracy contest; and Chase Baker, who finished third in the Van Wert Optimist Oratorical Contest.

Walls and Skelton both read their winning essays to the board and Crestview administrators during the meeting.

Superintendent Mike Estes also updated the board on a legislative session he attended on Wednesday in Columbus, where a number of local educators testified on school-related issues at the Statehouse.

Board member Andy Perrott also reported on the recent Crestview Education Roundtable that featured teachers, administrators, board members, parents, and students discussing school issues with State Senator Cliff Hite, State Representative Craig Riedel, and State Board of Education member Linda Haycock.

Perrott said the roundtable was valuable because it gave the district access to state officials.

“Not a lot of schools our size get a voice like that,” Perrott said of the roundtable, while noting that several stories from parents about how state policies impacted their families was “powerful”.

Perrott said he didn’t know how much impact the roundtable will have on state officials, but felt the event provided them with good information on local education concerns.

Superintendent Mike Estes said he’s found that communication with legislators on education concerns needs to occur over a period of time.

“You don’t tell them once and walk away; it’s one of those things you’ve just got to keep pecking at them, little by little,” Estes noted. “Let them know you’re there to answer their questions and you have concerns and you continue to share those concerns, and maybe if we get enough people sharing those concerns they’ll understand how important it is to us and our kids.”

Estes also talked about several upcoming events, including the Employer-Student Connection program for students in grades 8-12 at Vantage Career Center on March 29, from 6-8 p.m. He noted that at least 13 companies will be at the event to provide information on health, business, and manufacturing careers, and also urged parents to attend the event as well.

The superintendent also noted that expiring certified and classified staff contracts would be brought to the board in April, while also reminding board members of the upcoming Vantage All Boards Dinner on Thursday, April 6.

Also Thursday, the board approved Jada Preston as a seventh grade softball volunteer coach.

The next meeting of the Crestview Local Board of Education will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 13.