With the new school year slated to begin on August 16, the Tecumseh school board held their last meeting of the summer on July 25.

Opening the meeting was an update on energy efficiency district-wide, given by Waibel Energy Systems of Dayton. Having worked within the district for two years, it was reported by Waibel representatives Joe Zimmerman and Nathan Lammers that Tecumseh school district has realized a cost savings of approximately $130,000, thus far. Waibel has confirmed there are still changes to be made and while the savings will eventually level out, they anticipate more in the future.

During the meeting, a number of personnel items were discussed, including the board’s acceptance of the resignation of Kendra Krumpe, the Intervention Specialist at Park Layne Elementary, effective July 2, 2017. Also resigning from their positions were Kathy Thornsberry, ELL Aide (accepted Title I Aide, Donnelsville Elementary) and Lynn Luckoski, Title I Aide (accepted position as Title I, Park Layne Elementary).

In addition to these resignations, several new appointments were approved for both educational and administrative positions.

Hired into the district for the upcoming school year were Lisa Wells, Special Education Department Head; Guilford Herrick, Math, Tecumseh High School (tentative); Emilee Smith, Science, Tecumseh Middle School; Derek Hord, Intervention Specialist, New Carlisle Elementary; Ann Snyder, Gifted Intervention Specialist, Tecumseh Local Schools; Melissa Carnes, Security Monitor, New Carlisle Elementary; Jeannine Camp, Bus Aid, Tecumseh Local Schools; and Shannon Todd, Title I Aide, Park Layne Elementary. Some substitute teachers were also approved for the school year: Bridget Combs, Angel Davis, Carla Risner, Heather Jamieson, and Stephanie Robb.

The final employment approvals were for the sports programs in the district, with Chris Cory for the high school football coach position and Brian Ringholz as his assistant coach. Also ratified were Cathy Cory, high school volleyball assistant coach; Jessica Bozarth, middle school cross country; and Chasity Russell, middle school 7th grade volleyball.

Moving forward in the agenda, the board also adopted a menu and pricing plan for the school breakfast and lunch programs with no change to pricing, discussed the use of a new software program related to the bussing within the district, authorized accepting bids for the purchase of two new buses, approved salary schedules for multiple positions within the district, reviewed provisions to the graduation requirements, and ended the administrative portion of the meeting with an approval of the fiscal year’s budget.

Notably, as part of the financial calendar, there were several donations made to the district. The following were accepted by the board: LifeTouch, $1,1014.62, New Carlisle Elementary; Ms. Mabel Reece, library books, Tecumseh High School; Donnelsville Elementary PTO, $3,336.44 for picnic tables and benches; Park Layne Elementary PTO, $6,573.38 for additional playground equipment; and the New Carlisle Elementary PTO, $7.500.00 for a new walking track.

Giving the Superintendent’s report, Norm Glismann shared the school district will be receiving more funds from the state of Ohio than in the past, tentatively projecting an additional $408,000.00 for FY 2018 and then another $142,000.00 for FY 2019. He went on to explain few schools in the county and region received additional funds from the state and Tecumseh is in the minority. However, more research will need to be done before these amounts can be relied upon for addition to the budget.

Several questions were posed to the board, requesting clarification of certain points made during the meeting, but it was one audience member who asked for an explanation regarding the loss of the resource officer due to budget cuts at the county level. According to Glismann, the district was only told of this decision two to three weeks ago. As this is a recent development, the board hasn’t had the opportunity to discuss alternatives but will be seeking more information from both the county and the Sheriff’s office in the future.

Carrie Castle, representative of the Teachers Association, requested clarification on the state test scores for the district. In the past, state mandated scores for each unit of the test were in the low 70’s and for this last test cycle, each section required a score of 80. Glismann stated he had only seen the preliminary scores, but it was his belief the district did poorly. However, he also stated his goal wasn’t to focus so much on each year’s scores meeting or exceeding the state mandates as much as he’d like to see improvement each year. Once the final scores are released by the state of Ohio, it is the intention of the district to recognize where the students have improved and identify areas needing development.

The board held an executive board meeting with members of the Tecumseh Education Association (TEA) and their bargaining unit regarding the interpretation of their collective bargaining agreement on August 9, 2017, and their next open-door meeting is scheduled for August 22, 2017, at 6:00 pm.

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