The Van Wert County Courthouse

Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024

Crestview Bd. hears about finances, trades

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

CONVOY – Much of Monday’s Crestview Local Schools Board of Education meeting focused on the future – future finances and possible future careers in skilled trades for students.

Before approving the latest five-year financial forecast, the board heard from Treasurer Ashley Whetsel, who noted the mandated projection shows the district will be in the black this fiscal year and the following year, followed by deficit spending in years 3-5. She also called the forecast “a snapshot in time” and said it’s unreliable.

Sara Zura, President of Alexander and Bebout, talks to the Crestview school board about the recent Build Your Future event that was offered to Crestview freshmen. Scott Truxell/Van Wert independent

“The state only passes a two-year budget so it’s difficult to forecast that far out when they are only providing a couple years worth of information,” Whetsel said.

She also said the next forecast, which must be approved in May, will look quite a bit different compared to the current one.

“They’re going to fund students where they attend, so we’re not going to have open enrollment, we’re not going to have community school transfers, it’s just going to be how many kids are you educating, run that through the formula and that’s how it’s going to work,” Whetsel stated.

The board also heard from Sara Zura, President of Alexander and Bebout, about a recent program called “Build My Future”, which introduced Crestview freshmen to various skilled trades.

“We did mechanical, electrical, carpentry, welding and there were different subtasks in each of those fields,” Zura told the board. “We want to try to get kids interested in working with their hands again. We really want to get them excited…we’re having trouble finding workers as is everyone else and you can go to a career fair or do career exploration, but what’s better than a hands-on experience?”

Zura said she received positive feedback from students and employers and she said she wants to continue the program next year.

“Hopefully we can continue to grow it and add more hands-on experiences and make it available to more schools,” she said.

The board rescinded the contract of varsity/junior varsity basketball coach Mackenzie Ray, who recently suffered serious injuries in a recent car accident and is unable to fulfill her contract. The board hired middle school basketball cheer coach Halle Beougher to take over the varsity/junior varsity position and appointed Jessica Schuette as a volunteer cheer coach for middle school/high school cheerleading.

In other business, the board approved the purchase of a new bus from Cardinal Bus Sales and Service for $100,885 and board members approved compensation for event managers for the 2021-2022 winter sports season.

The board also thanked the Crestview community for renewing the district’s five-year permanent improvement levy and board members issued notice that the public has the opportunity to comment regarding the district’s use of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) American Recovery Plan Funds. Those wishing to comment should contact Whetsel or Superintendent Kathy Mollenkopf by November 30.

The next meeting of the Crestview Local Schools Board of Education will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, December 13, in the multipurpose room.

POSTED: 11/16/21 at 4:45 am. FILED UNDER: News