BOE gets athletic upgrade update

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

CONVOY — An update on outdoor athletic upgrades made up the bulk of Monday night’s meeting of the Crestview Local Schools Board of Education. The open portion of the meeting lasted less than 15 minutes.

Superintendent Matt Dube said bleacher options and artificial turf types and colors for the football field have been discussed as of late, but he said while those discussions continue with decisions pending, it’s important to narrow down the final cost of the project. The estimated price tag for the entire athletics renovation project is approximately $13 million, but the numbers will become more clear once the board sees final drawings and gets into the bidding process.

“I want us to be able to sleep at night when we do this project,” Dube said.

The project includes relocating the football stadium, installing new bleachers, new lights and artificial turf, relocating the varsity baseball diamond and making the existing diamond the new field for junior varsity baseball, upgrades to the varsity softball diamond, and improvements to the gymnasium, including new bleachers. All of the renovations in the plan are expected to be complete in time for the 2026-2027 school year.

Dube also said the Luxedo projector system has been purchased for the high school gymasium and he added installation is underway. The cost of the equipment was covered by sponsorships and donations.

Earlier this year, the board heard a presentation on the possible placement of solar panels on a portion of farmland owned by the district as a potential way to offset energy costs. Dube said the project may now be considered on a smaller scale, perhaps on the roof of the end zone building to help power the facility itself.

“This all ‘what if’ and cost effectiveness, what it does to the structure of the roof that building and what kind of kilowatt hours we would get out of that,” he explained. “We still just aren’t sure about solar yet and I think that’s a discussion we have to continue to flush out.”

Board members extended congratulations to state golf qualifier Mathew Dealey and coaches Jeremy Best and Mitchell Rickard, as well as the Division IV state champion boys cross country team, state qualifiers Emily Heth and Anna Gardner and coaches Randy Grandstaff and Ragen Harting.

The board accepted the resignation of assistant varsity wrestling coach and approved him as a volunteer coach. The resignation of volunteer assistant wrestling coach Jeremy Stepp was approved and in turn, he was approved as varsity assistant wrestling coach for the upcoming season.

A 121-day school nurse contract with Chelsi Hahn was approved, along with a contract with Northwest Ohio Area Computer Services Cooperative, from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2031.

Three donations were accepted with thanks: $2,000 from the Baer Endowment for the Crestview government trip; $500 from the Crestview Education Association for Crestview Latchkey supplies and snacks, and anonymous donations of $450 for cross country and $50 for golf for their state qualifying trips.

Before adjourning, the board went into executive session to discuss the employment and/or compensation of employees, but no action was taken afterward.

The next monthly meeting of the Crestview Local Schools Board of Education will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, December 15, in the multipurpose room.