BOTKINS — The Botkins Board of Education met Wednesday night to talk about improvement projects and an issue that may force them to go to court.
The board is in the process of resolving several construction issues with the new school that if aren’t resolved, will force them to go to court. They are having a meeting with all the parties involved next Thursday in order to come to an agreement.
Most of the issues lie with the concrete laid in the parking lot. Superintendent Connie Schneider said because they painted after it was too late to paint and then sealed it, it was not sufficient.
“So minimally they are going to pay for the seal, we aren’t paying for it,” she said.
The board agreed the concrete company should have to pay for the regrinding and sealing. They hope they can work something out to get everything fixed before the school year starts.
They spoke about other ongoing improvement projects on the new school, and updates to the old school. They completed installation of new bathroom counter tops in the old building and blinds on the inside classroom windows in the new school.
The board approved an agreement to pay $62,515 to the construction manager in charge of the old building improvements. This agreement basically states that they have the funds to pay the company and the state of Ohio is not responsible for it.
The Treasurer Jody Jones reported that they are in the process of being audited, but everything is going smoothly so far.
She also reported the purchase of a 3-D printer while she was going through her financial report to the board.
Jones reported a lot of the accounts are at zero, which is where they need to be for this time of the year, but expenditures have exceeded revenue in some areas.
The board approved bus routes, overnight trips for this upcoming school year and accepted a few donations. They are also working on purchasing a new bus and retiring an old one.
The board discussed the amount of kindergartners that are enrolled for this coming year so far, and how many are expected with open enrollment numbers.
Without open enrollment they would have about 30 kindergartners. With open enrollment they will have about 50.
High School Principal Ryan Loy presented his idea for changing the school day schedule around to allow for a planning period with all the teachers from each academic area at least once a week. The board agreed that Loy should get more input from teachers before they will approve it.
The Botkins Community Club is busy planning Carousel for next year. They presented a few of the plans to the board and asked them to consider it. A few changes will be made next year, like location of the rides, and extra lighting. They reported that this year’s revenue is a little down from last year’s, but they have not been able to get everything completely counted yet.
The board officially made a decision to table the creation of a school junior high soccer team until next year when they see how many other local schools commit to creating teams. If they even help the team a little bit they have to make it an official school sport.
The board also decided to sell The Trojan Journey: The Story of Botkins School DVDs for $10. It was previously reported they were going to give them away for free, but the board decided they are going to set up a scholarship fund with the proceeds. The documentary is set to premiere on Sunday July 12 at 3 p.m. at Botkins Local School.
Reach this writer at 937-538-4825; follow on Twitter @SDNAlexandraN
