Crestview Bd. holds the line on fees

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

CONVOY — It didn’t take long for the Crestview Local Schools Board of Education to continue preparations for the 2023-2024 school year.

During a 16-minute meeting on Monday, the board approved lunch prices, educational fees, student workbook fees and Latchkey fees for the upcoming school year. All of those fees are the same as the previous school year.

“We’re pretty happy with where we’ve been able to keep things for folks,” Superintendent Kathy Mollenkopf said.

The board also approved athletic ticket prices, which will remain the same via pre-sale. The Northwest Conference has approved an increase for tickets purchased at the gate, taking those prices to $8. Mollenkopf said Crestview has created an all-sports family pass to make attending athletic events more affordable.

She later noted other preparations continue for the new school year, including resurfacing the elementary gymnasium floor, which is used for middle school sporting events.

“The fall events are wanting to get into the gymnasiums July 31 (the first day of practices) and we’ll be opening fall season practices then,” Mollenkopf said. “Everything else is in really good shape and I have to give a lot of credit to our head of maintenance, Geoff Waddles, for scheduling and making sure those things happened.”

Board members also approved a list of substitute teachers, paraprofessionals and school nurses from the Western Buckeye Educational Service Center, and approved additional hours and days for custodial, transportation, food service, secretarial staff and paraprofessionals on an as-needed basis for the new school year, which begins Thursday, August 17.

The board approved a handful of personnel items, including Courtney Grote, middle school softball coach; Lexi Gregory, volunteer softball coach; Matthew Speelman, volunteer track coach, and Kirby Joseph and Greg Yinger, box truck drivers for band and Knight Vision events.

The board accepted several donations, including:

• $40,359.62 for instruction and teaching aids for Crestview High School teachers through the Rae Mouser Smith and Dwight E. Smith Memorial Fund through the Van Wert County Foundation.
• $4,000 for needy children from the Klein Trust of the Van Wert County Foundation.
• $1,221.61 for senior scholarships from the Morgan L. Fortney and Mary L. Fortney Memorial Fund of the Van Wert County Foundation.
• A $2,000 grant from the Van Wert County Foundation for Heart Safe School certification/Project Adam.

Before adjourning, the board met in executive session to discuss employment and/or compensation of employees, along with emergency response protocols.

The next regular meeting of the Crestview Local Schools Board of Education will be 6 p.m. Monday, August 14, in the multipurpose room.