SIDNEY — Resignations and the employment of new staff members were approved Monday night during the Sidney City Schools Board of Education meeting. The board also approved a contract for cybersecurity to protect the district’s students.
The resignations of Shaun Dunlap, intervention specialist teacher, Brooke Stannard, elementary counselor Tim Cundiff intervention specialist, Michele Fox, music teacher and John Young, choir teacher, were accepted. The contract of Lisa Honaker, custodian, was terminated.
To prepare for the 2022-23 school year, the board hired eight teachers, Their hire date is effective Aug. 29, 2022.
Receiving contracts were Melodie Myers, Sidney Middle School teacher, $57,185; Mark Hibun, SMS IS teacher, $70,728; Kaylee Niekamp, elementary teacher, $41,450; Natalie Townsend, SMS teacher, $52,602; Leah Lewis, Emerson IS teacher, $47,185; Grace Wagner, Emerson teacher, $41,768; Michael Roby, Sidney High School IS teacher, $55,936; and Kim Hale, Northwood IS teacher, $57,603.
Cindy Biddle’s contract was revised from 202 days to 215 days. She is a secretary with the district.
Receiving a one-year contact as a substitute certified coordinator was Lola Fair. She received two contracts — one for $3,060 and the second for $1,020.
A three-year contract with Securly was approved at a cost of $57,337.50. The contract is for a software package that includes content filter, classroom Chrome management and student safety monitoring.
According to Trent Francis, of Vartek, teachers will be able to monitor the screens of the students’ Chromebooks to ensure they are doing the required work and not visiting sites they are not permitted to visit. The content filter will permit the teachers to see what sites the students are visiting. The safety monitoring will alert the district is a student is talking about or visiting sites concerning nudity, suicide or bullying.
In other business, the board:
• Learned the fiscal yer has been completed. Treasurer Mike Watkins reported the district received the first collection of the income tax levy month in April of $305,173. Payments are received in April, July, October and January.
The total revenue collected for year-to-date as 2.03% higher than the budget forecast. The overall expenditures for the year was less than anticipated It was .62% less than projected.
• Approved the purchase of SMS physical education equipment from Gopher at a cost of $26,590.57. The board was informed equipment at the school hadn’t been replaced for many years and was unusable.
• Approved the purchase of two International propane buses from Rush Truck Center at a cost of $113,625 each for a total cost of $227,250. The buses will be purchased next summer.
• Approved a contract with The Math Learning Center for Bridges in Mathematics workshops at a cost of $13,500.
• Renewed the Branching Minds contract for July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, at a cost of $17,200.
• Approved an agreement with the Ohio School Plan administered by Hylant Administrative Services for the district’s property, fleet and liability insurance for the term of July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, at a cost of $135,936.
• Approved the core Services Agreement and instructional assistant services with the Midwest Regional Educational service Center. The cost of the instructional assistant services is $54,547.30.
• Adopted the 2022-23 Title I Parent Involvement Policy and the Student-Parent Compact for Emerson Primary, Longfellow Primary and Northwood Intermediate.
• Went into executive session to discuss the treasurer’s evaluation.
The board’s next meeting will be Monday, Aug. 15, at 6 p.m. at the board of education office.
