{"id":81035,"date":"2016-10-20T03:53:45","date_gmt":"2016-10-20T08:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=81035"},"modified":"2016-10-21T08:28:04","modified_gmt":"2016-10-21T13:28:04","slug":"parents-assured-new-vw-football-stadium-not-done-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2016\/10\/20\/parents-assured-new-vw-football-stadium-not-done-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Parents find new stadium not ‘done deal’"},"content":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n

A number of district parents attended Wednesday\u2019s meeting of the Van Wert City Board of Education to protest what they thought was the board\u2019s decision to build a new football stadium at the current high school-middle school site. What they discovered was the board has made no<\/em> decision on what to do about 80-year-old Eggerss Stadium.<\/p>\n

\"Three
Three VWHS seniors talk about their experiences as part of the school’s new CEO (Career Exploratory Opportunity) program during Wednesday’s Van Wert City Board of Education meeting.<\/strong> Dave Mosier\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIs that a done deal?\u201d asked district resident Rebecca Adams, noting that she and other parents of city football players feel they have a direct link to the current stadium through their children.<\/p>\n

Several of the approximately 15 district residents who attended the meeting spoke about the special ambiance of football played at Eggerss Stadium, including the proximity of fans to the field — something that would be lost if a\u00a0design by Beilharz Architects of Findlay was put in place with a track inside the stadium.<\/p>\n

One resident spoke of Eggerss Stadium\u2019s importance to Van Wert\u2019s downtown district.<\/p>\n

District parent Erika Wise said the stadium, like the new Wassenberg Art Center building, is important to the downtown area, and the community as a whole.<\/p>\n

While noting that her generation is one that likes \u201cnew, new, new,\u201d Wise said the decision to renovate the old armory building to create a new art center, instead of tearing the building down to build a Dollar General store, was a good one for the downtown area.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo take that (Eggerss Stadium) away from our community and put it out somewhere \u2026 yes, I know we have a great facility, a great new school \u2026 but to me it\u2019s bridging the old generation to the new generation,\u201d Wise told the board.<\/p>\n

Adams said having the stadium downtown also allows young children to ride their bikes or walk to the facility, something that brings many kids to the stadium for home football games.<\/p>\n

Several board members, including President R.J. Coleman, noted that, while they have looked at a design that includes a new football stadium south of the current high school site, as well as a bus garage, baseball and softball fields, and concession and locker facilities, the board does not even have cost estimates for that proposal at this time — or the money to build it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still in the gathering information process right now,\u201d Coleman said, noting that it was nice to hear from those at the meeting about where they stand on the issue, especially since public funds would likely be needed to renovate the current stadium or build a new one.<\/p>\n

The board president also noted that the board\u2019s priority for the Beilharz design was a bus garage, not a new stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have these $90,000 vehicles sitting down here (Wells Truck Sales property on Sibley Street) out in the open without any protection,\u201d Coleman said of the need for a bus garage.<\/p>\n

Coleman said the stadium, ball fields, and other facilities were added to ensure that, if such a project was considered, it would all fit on the site, which already houses tennis and track facilities and football practice fields, in addition to the high school-middle school complex and elementary school.<\/p>\n

Superintendent Ken Amstutz agreed, noting that the Beilharz site design falls more into the category of strategic planning.<\/p>\n

Amstutz did say that one of his primary concerns with the Eggerss Stadium area are the visitors\u2019 bleachers, which he said need replacing.<\/p>\n

Also Wednesday, VWHS guidance counselor Kerry Koontz and several students attended the meeting to talk about the district\u2019s new CEO (Career Exploration Opportunity) program, and its benefits to the school district, as well as local businesses.<\/p>\n

The four VWHS seniors, who are among 11 students involved in the program this year, talked about their job shadowing and internship opportunities at various local businesses, and how the program has affected them in a positive way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a really fun venture,\u201d Koontz said of the program.<\/p>\n

VWHS Principal Bob Priest added that the program was just one of a number of initiatives the school is looking at to better prepare students — especially those planning to enter the local workforce.<\/p>\n

District Treasurer Mike Ruen also talked about the district\u2019s five-year forecast, noting that the document predicts deficit funding in the last three years, including a $1.5 million shortfall in fiscal year 2021. Ruen also talked about a bond refunding project the school is pursuing.<\/p>\n

Assistant to the Superintendent Bill Clifton also provided some further information on the district\u2019s State Report Card. Clifton noted that, while district administrators and teachers are not happy with the test results, he feels things are moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n

The forecast was approved by the board.<\/p>\n

In other action, the board:<\/p>\n

Accepted the resignation, due to retirement, of VWMS eighth grade language arts-social studies teacher Melinda Gregor, after 23 years in education, seven of those in Van Wert, effective the end of the current school year.<\/p>\n

Accepted the resignation of Jodie Recker, assistant to the treasurer, effective November 25.<\/p>\n

Approved the following supplemental contracts: Rob Adams, interim girls\u2019 varsity basketball head coach; and Jeff Kreischer, VWHS varsity boys\u2019 bowling coach.<\/p>\n

Approved the following volunteer coaches: Chuck Rollins, girls\u2019 and boys\u2019 bowling coach.<\/p>\n

Accepted the following donations: United Way of Van Wert County Inc., $1,237.50 to the Family and Children First Council; Raymond James Charitable Foundation, $5,000 for the Blessings in a Backpack senior project.<\/p>\n

The next meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Wednesday, November 16, in the S.F. Goedde Building board room.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/independent editor A number of district parents attended Wednesday\u2019s meeting of the Van Wert City Board of Education to protest what they thought was the board\u2019s decision to build a new football stadium at the current high school-middle school site. What they discovered was the board has made no decision on what to do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-02 04:55:13","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81035\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}