001Welcome to the Verma local school district uh board of education regular meeting um April 13, 2026 VHS common. Um this is a meeting of the RA board of education and the public for the purpose of conducting the school district's business and is not considered a public community. There is a time for public participation during the meeting as indicated on the agenda. or bylaw 169.1 or Mr. Benson >> here. >> Mrs. Steph, >> Mrs. Russell >> here. >> Mrs. >> here. >> Mrs. Trice >> here. >> Miss Dunn >> here. >> Uh, five members present. All right. Um, can the citizens of the month join me over at the podium? They were um called out for their optimistic individuals of His little sister knew the answer. My name is and I'm in first grade. I want
002to be a YouTuber when I grow up. >> My name is Kindergarten. >> Awesome. Good job. >> Thank you. Thank you. Help us do the pledge of allegiance. >> All right. Who wants to start us off? >> All right. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. Good morning. >> Good work. >> Yeah. Next, uh Crystal, can you talk to us about the legislative report? >> Yeah, so not a whole lot. They are um currently on spring recess, so it sounds like sometime in May they will be back. So, I don't know if I'll have a lot for the next meeting, but the one after that they should have something.
003Um the one thing I'll mention though is House Bill 420 um that completed its second hearing on March 18th. That's something that we will have to keep our eyes on, unfortunately. Um that bill would eliminate continuing levies by requiring them to expire after 2029. Um if that happens then in 2029 they would expire. So prior to that districts would have to put them on the ballot as a renewal levy and then they would have to be for a fixed term moving forward. They would no longer be able to be a continuing levy. So it's just kind of one more thing that you know is making it harder to keep the the um funding going because now instead of just having that money that is there, the operating money or improvement whatever it may be, it
004would have to be consistently put on as a renewal levy once again. Um, so you're just consistently having to go back and have things on the ballot all the time. Um, that completed its second hearing on March 18th. Typically, the next step would be for it to go to opponent testimony. Um, as of right now, nothing has been scheduled yet. So, just keep an eye on it. >> All right, that's great. Thank you, Crystal. >> Mhm. >> All right. Um, and then the student leazison report, Shel. >> Yes. Um this evening we are um lucky to have with us Brooke Widnap and we're going to recognize her for a prestigious scholarship that she is receiving. >> All right. Good evening. Uh I have the pleasure of attending this afternoon at the Franklin B. Walter Paul
005Scholastic Award held in Columbus. Uh the Franklin B. Walter All Scholastic Award was established in 1989 by Ohio's educational service center superintendent to recognize outstanding student achievement. Dr. Frank Franklin B. Walter served as state superintendent from 1977 to 1991. During his tenure, Dr. Walter worked with three governors and significantly improved public education in Ohio. He received numerous honors and earned the respect and admiration of educators nationwide. His integrity, leadership, optimism, and commitment serves as an example for all. Dr. Walter passed away on September 15th, 2010 at the age of 80. One senior from each of Ohio's 88 counties is eligible to receive this annual honor. Today's program described the seniors as quote some of the best and brightest students in the class of 2026. I am here to happily report that Vermillion senior Brook Weisen
006was one of the recipients representing Erie County. Nominated by one of the 51 educational service centers. Eligible applicants are high school seniors that demonstrate outstanding academic achievement and community service as indicated by high school grades, test scores, school and community activities and awards. In order to achieve this level of success, these students have demonstrated a commitment to excellence, resilience, and grit, stated the OESCA executive director, Craig Buford, who presented today. For nearly four decades, OESCA has recognized over 2800 scholars and student leaders during this event. Ohio's ESC's have over a century of service in providing technical assistance and support to Ohio schools and students. And during this event, we get to see the impact of that work added Buford. We look forward to our continued partnership with students and families, school district leadership, and state
007polic policy makers to ensure students have equal access to high school highquality educational opportunities and experiences regardless of where they live and attend school. He later went on to say, "We are honored to have Brooke represent one of the 88 seniors who received the Franklin B. Walter Scholarship Award. Brooke is an outstanding student and rightfully exemplifies the characteristics this scholarship stands for. Brooke is the second Vermillion student to have received this award in the last five years, which is an impressive feat considering the size of our school. Next year, Brooke plans to attend John John's Hopkins University, major in neuroscience, and also run for their track team. So, I'm here to present Brooke. >> WOW. OKAY. SO, basically when we got there, um there were so many people. There's like eight seniors and we all
008had to go up and introduce ourselves and kind of talk a little bit about our future plans like you said and then we got a nice plaque. >> That's awesome. Great job. >> Congratulations. Congratulations. >> Congratulations. >> Wow. >> All right. Then the student board member report will >> So um obviously we just had our spring break uh which was very nice and relaxing. Um over at spring break we a group of our students went on a European trip. They went all through Europe. Um, other than that, um, spring sports are in full go. I think our track team is doing really well right now. We have spring, uh, sorry, state testing and, um, American Red Cross blood drive on the 16th. >> All right. >> Thank you. >> All right. The seventh item here
009is we have public participation on agenda items only. This time is allotted for community members to speak to the board regarding uh, an item that is on the agenda. Please rest your name, address, topic, and group affiliation if applicable. Do we have anybody to speak publicly today? No. All right. Um, and then Wes, superintendent report, please. Excellent. Uh, first of all, I'm uh proud to present uh the contract for uh the replacement uh of our roof here at Vermillion High School. This is a big deal, something we've been working on. Uh Justin and I thought it would be appropriate to before we introduce Brian Godren from Engineered Systems to kind of give a little bit of a timeline that describes how we got to this point because it's been quite a journey uh with this
010roof project to get to this point. >> Right. So, um, so first and foremost, back in November of 23, uh, the district contracted with Fanny Howie, who is an architectural firm, uh, that only does work with school districts in Ohio. We contracted with them to figure out first and foremost just what is the cost of all of this going to be. Uh, Fanning Howy, they spec our roof replacement at $3.75 million. Originally, they used the pricing from the Ohio Facility School Commission, uh, which was right around $28 a square foot. And our roof is approximately 135,000 ft². In January, we're going to fast forward here. So, from November of 23 to January of 25, uh, we included that price in our project scope for a bond issue. May 2025, we went out to bond and
011and sadly our bond issue failed. uh 40% for the bond, 60% against the bond. September 25th of 2025, the district advisory council met and we were reviewing the extensive scope of work needed at the district uh not only with the roof, but with the electrical uh with the uh plumbing, with with everything uh to see if anything can be altered from the original scope of work from September 25th to November 4th. That was the next bond issue that we had on the ballot. That bond issue again failed. uh same percentage 40% for 60% against. November 20th, 2025, the district met with uh Fanning Howy again uh because regardless of whether a bond levy was passed or not, this high school roof absolutely needed to be completed this summer. So January 13th of 2026, district leadership
012met to discuss using Ohio School Council for our roof project. Ohio School Council is a cooperative perching organization and support network for over 200 school districts in Ohio. And it saves money by leveraging volume buying and does not and does the vetting process on all the different contractors that they use. And because it is a council of government under Ohio Revised Code 167, all vendors and contractors have gone through the bidding process enabling school districts to use OSC affiliated contractors instead of going out to bid. Um for items over the threshold, everything needs to go out to bid, but Ohio facility school or I'm sorry, Ohio school commission does all that bidding for us and provides us with the most uh up to date. Uh that current level is set at $79,000 and it goes
013up roughly the cost of inflation every year. On February 3rd of 2026, the district met with a design build firm that specializes in roofing projects affiliated with OFC. Uh they had their contractors come out and they pulled roof core samples uh prior to the meeting and they came up with a price of between $ 35 and $40 a square foot. and that was to remove the uh entire roof and that was to uh remove any um any and all uh asbestous and uh replace our roof contract there. Um February 20th of 2026, the administration met with Engineered Systems again um who also specialized in roofing projects and are affiliated with the OFC and they did the exact same thing. They had contractors pull course angels um took a look at what everything was getting into.
014On March 2nd, 2026, administration received a scope of work from Engineered Systems, which suggested to leave the first layer of roofing material on since it contained asbestous and would be a safer way for all parties involved to move forward. Uh the next day, administration reached out with other districts to discuss engineered systems and their subcontractors. Uh what we found is that all school districts that have used engineered systems had extremely positive things to say about them. Um and that they would 100% use them again and they would not look elsewhere if they had to do another roof project. All of the feedback said they were extremely competent. They followed through with what they said they would do. They were easy to get a hold of and they would return to fix and repair and replace
015any item and they would do so with urgency. Um after hearing that on March 13th administration reached out to the city to discuss a building permit to leave that first layer of asbestous and have it encapsulated uh the roofing material intact. So basically can we leave that first layer of roof material on and remove the other two layers and then put this roof system on top. uh March 27th, the city reached out to administration that they had worked uh not only amongst themselves but also with state level building inspectors and both the state and the city uh agreed that the safest way to replace this roof system would be to leave the first layer of roofing material encapsulated and provide the district with with a variance to complete that roofing project. Um I fast forwarded
016through a couple meetings we may or may not have had, but but that brings us to today. Okay. All right, with that, I'd like to welcome Mike Gotrren. Did I call you Brian a moment ago? I apologize. That's what you get from being in business with your brother. >> Sorry, Mike. Mike is from Engineered Systems and can kind of fill in some of the things that uh Justin talked about technically with Ruth. >> Can everyone hear me? >> Appreciate it. >> So, I started engineering systems in 1985. Um, just to give you a background, I've been at the OSBA show since 1985. So, I have a daughter that teaches in Dublin schools and I'm very passionate about trying to help schools, but we became a preferred partner with the Ohio School Council, I think about
017two a little over two years ago. So, work very closely with Chad Welker and the whole staff there. But, um, this has been a very interesting project in that, you know, running into the asbestous, it can cost quite a bit of money to get that removed. But I have a good friend Bob Schutz who was with the state uh code officials and he worked closely with is it Bob Kirks in the city of Vermillion to help get that variance. But uh we're we work with schools. I think we've done over um 500 different districts in Ohio. So we can give you references and I think Wes called on some of them. you know, right around this area, we've done a lot of work with Bay Village, Homestead Falls. Uh we just saved Manchester local schools
018over a million dollars and did three of their school uh buildings for less than the price of one building with another uh vendor. So, but um you know, Dural is a product that is the product that we're specifying to be used on your building. I've been associated with them for since 1984. It's a it's a product that has a great warranty. It covers labor material. The warranty covers inflation for uh the 20 years is what we specified for your building. Uh we're putting a 60 mil white membrane on your building. So the plan is to tear off the existing rubber or EPDM that's there and the insulation that is there and go down to the uh buildup roof. We will then go back with two uh layers of inch and a half insulation and a
019white membrane, which should help you from a utility standpoint. We have found that the white membrane if if you're building this condition, which it is, uh it it makes a dramatic difference as far as reflecting the heat and saving you utilities. But for the most part, we will have after the roof is installed, we will have an inspector come out on his hands and knees and check all the seams, make sure everything meets our standards, meets all the Ohio school council standards. And then, you know, we will also uh work with John and make sure that you guys are 100% satisfied before you, you know, do your final payment for for the project. But, um, you know, you had mentioned the budget. I think it came in well under the budget and way under the
020initial numbers, but we work with Fanning and Howie. Fanning and Howie actually has our roof system Durask on their own corporate facility, but we have a great relationship with them. I think they were very happy with us getting involved to help work with the school. But, um, I don't know if there's any like specific questions that you have. I'll be glad to talk about everything and anything that you may have questions, but um I brought some brochures uh just different projects that we've done all over the state. Um sadly I'm a Browns fan and uh but we we uh you know struggle with that winning but we do have our our our system on the upper Maria on their training facility. So their their whole facility has our product on there but we do a
021lot of schools. I mean, I can rattle off, you know, 10 schools in northeast Ohio that we're we work with year after year after year, but throughout the whole state of Ohio. And it really makes me happy when we can give a school a good value along low maintenance system and um you know, have you guys have money that can go towards teacher salaries or other needs that you have because I'm very familiar with schools and there's always needs. So, any specific questions or anything, Wes, that you want me to cover that I didn't mention? >> Uh, when it comes to encapsulating the asbestous and and leaving it on there, is there any any danger at all in the quality of the roof that comes from not tearing it all the way down to the
022steel? >> Not at all. And in some ways, you own the asbestous whether it's on your building or it gets taken to like a disposal site. So part of that process is if if we were to take it off, you know, you have to bag it and then dispose of it. They charge you for for doing that. But in some ways, I think it's it's it's kind of a benefit to have that buildup roof over your your metal deck. It almost acts as a vapor vapor barrier. And um you know, so there's no nothing negative associated with it. It doesn't affect the warranty. We're going to put two layers of insulation down over it and stagger it so that you're not going to get any uh thermal movement through through the roof system. And then
023having the white roof on like I mentioned will help with utilities, but uh it will not hurt them at all. We've done it many times and that's why the state code official thought it was a great idea to rather than spend millions to have it removed, leave it there and you know you'll have a new system that should last you you know well over 20 years. >> That was my my question. The expected lifespan of the the new roof. >> I mean we have we have some roofs that are 30 plus years old. Uh we're doing 60 mil. When we first started, when I back in the 80s when I started with Durass, we were doing 40 mills. So, you're 50% thicker than what we used to do there. We've done probably 500 roofs for
024ODOT. And we have roofs that are over 30 years with them. We've done over 6,000 Wendy's. That was one of my first accounts. And really, they're small, but they're harsh environments with chemical, you know, oil and animal fats and you know, furs and stuff on there. A lot of penetrations in units. So, we recommend, you know, going up on the roof once a year, just walking the roofs. But there's no maintenance required and it doesn't avoid your warranty if you know, you don't do that. But, you know, someone from our company be more than happy to at least walk your roofs once a year or two once they're on just to, you know, just to check and see uh if anything, you know, wind blows things up there or things of that nature. But for
025the most part, there's really no maintenance required to the roof. >> Okay. Thank you. And you said it's a 20-year warranty on it. So, if there is any wear and tear or cracks or leaks or anything like that in that amount of time, that's covered. >> Covers labor and material. So, if there's a material defect or a seam opens up or something happens, you know, that's covered by us. We require the contractor to be responsible for the first two years if there's any like labor issues. But usually with our final inspection, we we try to catch anything that you know could be missed. But if say that contractor were to go out of business, you know, Durass takes care of the the beginning first two years. But what's nice about the Ohio school console process
026is we invited three contractors that are all exceptional. They all install over a million square ft of our product a year. And the the contractor that's low is Dan Shredder. And they've done a tremendous amount of schools and uh um you know, they did like 6 million square ft of our product last year. So there, that's what I like about it versus just putting out for bid and you know taking the low bid. Sometimes you get people out of state or people that don't have experience to do the work and with this process we can invite the best people that are used to doing schools and you know um I think they'll be very efficient doing doing the work. And so yeah, sounds like you guys have all done your due diligence. I know the
027questions that I had were were answered throughout the presentation throughout the process. So, I'm excited that you guys were able to come up with a solution. >> Do you guys have some contingencies set aside in case as you get up there and start putting the new system on that you run into something that there are some funds set aside that are within the quote that is budgeted. >> Uh I think the budgeted quote is just to do the work that we have listed. We we do not foresee, you know, having that, but being that, you know, we're well under the budget. Um, you know, um, in most situations, we'll we'll tear off, but if we see something of any concern, we'll make the school aware of it, then we're not going to just do something
028and do it without telling you what's going on. But I think there's a square foot contingency in there if we were to find anything. Uh but it's the the price that you have isn't uh with any specific dollar amount figured into it, but we will communicate that to you, you know, if we see something that you need to know about that changes the scope of work. But we try not to have that because I just don't like to have surprises, but sometimes there's unforeseen things. But the contractors that look at it did not see anything that concerned them as far as the underside of the deck or, you know, structural damages. And that's where it can kind of get expensive. Um, especially if you have like pectin decking or, you know, you don't have the
029type of decking I'm talking about. But there's certain decks that if you have moisture issues, it can get expensive. You know, yours is a metal deck. And, uh, we don't foresee having any of those issues. But, um, you know, Droer is very good at what they do. And our inspector will be out here kind of throughout the whole process. So, you know, we'll definitely communicate with you if we see anything that's of concern or going to cost more money. >> Thank you. >> What's the uh what's the proposed timeline for the work and and when are you going to start basically and then and how long is it going to take? What's the impact on the operations in the building while you're here? Uh I think the plan was to start after school gets out
030so that you know we can kind of try to get started right that first or second week of June and then um it is a partial tear off. I mean if it was an overlay they probably will be done in 3 4 weeks. I'm guessing it's going to take 2 months but hopefully we'll be dead and a lot of weather had I mean some summers it rains a lot. I remember a few years ago where we had a lot of rain at the beginning of June. But if there's not rain, then you know, we'll be very careful so that we don't, you know, we only tear off what we can put a new roof on every night so that you're not leaving anything exposed. So that's that's the biggest issue is just us communicating with
031I'm guessing we'll work with John, but just kind of setting some priorities of where are the worst areas, where do you want to start? and we try to take that into account, but I'm guessing, you know, we we'll be done before school starts. But, you know, somewhere in there by 2 month range with it being a full tear off and 135,000 square ft. But if you think of other questions, you know, please feel free to uh, you know, reach out to us and um, you know, we're excited to work with you. Appreciate the opportunity and glad to be here tonight. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you, Mike. >> I'll leave some literature for people if they, you know, it shows kind of some of the projects that we've done throughout Ohio, the amount of
032projects that we've done for the state, for uh schools, for universities. So, it's it's pretty extensive. >> Great. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. >> All right. With that, I recommend a resolution for the board to approve the contract with Engineered Systems for the Vermillion High School roof replacement. >> I'll move. >> I'll second. >> Thank you. All right. Uh, call the RO, please. Mr. Benson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Steppp, >> yes. >> Mrs. Russell, >> yes. >> Mrs. Dennis, >> yes. >> Mrs. Trice, >> yes. >> Miss Dunn, >> yes. >> Motion approved. 5-0. All right. With that, I recommend a resolution for the board to approve the appointment of Deputy Ron Linkis as the district's new SRO. >> And thank you. >> I'll second. >> Like to introduce Officer Lincolnis, if I
033could come on forward. Not that we're going to miss make any mistake for who you are. Uh Officer Lincoln is going to uh join us. She's going to take Kenzie's uh Kenzie's place. Uh she is promoted or demoted depending on who you ask to detective. Uh so she's not going to be here anymore. Um Officer Linkis was spent eight years in the Marine Corps. He's been here since I believe 2018 at BPD. Oh yeah. Okay. and uh recipient of several awards, a lifesaver award, meritorious service award, a certificate of merit, and a proclamation for the city for for heroism from I believe pulling some people from a burning building, right? >> Yes, sir. >> So, um he's very well decorated. Uh we went through a process to select our SRO that involved um uh the
034chief uh new chief uh kind of soliciting applications from among the eligible people in the department to see who wanted to do the position. Uh brought us three names. Uh we convened a committee interview of people here uh along with uh officer Chandler and Chief Holmes and interviewed all three candidates and um Officer Lincolnis came out on top. So, we're proud he's going to be here and and happy to welcome in and get him used to his new position here. He's gonna have some overlap, some transition time. So, >> thanks. >> Welcome. Thank you. >> Good to have you. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. >> All right. Um, call the roll, please, Justin. >> Mr. Benson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Steppp, >> yes. >> Mrs. Russell, >> yes. >> Mrs. Dennis, >> yes. >> Mrs.
035Trice, >> yes. >> Miss Dunn, >> yes. >> Motion approved. 50. >> Letter D. I'd like to recommend a excuse me, skipped letter C. Recommend a resolution for the board to approve the employment of Autumn Numm, seventh grade math teacher, level one, step four for the 2627 school year. >> I'll move. >> Go ahead. >> Whoever >> I thought Joel. >> I'll second. >> Okay. All right. Is she here? No, >> she's not. She's going to be here in August. >> All right. Okay. >> My bad. Um, call roll, please. >> Mr. Benson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Stepp, >> yes. >> Mrs. Russell, >> yes. >> Mrs. Inis, >> yes. >> Mrs. Trice, >> yes. >> Miss Dunn, >> yes. >> Motion approved. 5-0. >> I recommend a resolution for the board to approve the
036employment of Noah Jameson, intervention specialist at Sailor Way, level one, step zero for the 2627 school year. >> I'll move. I'll second. All right. Call the roll, please. >> Mr. Benson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Steppp, >> yes. >> Mrs. Russell, >> yes. >> Mrs. Inis, >> yes. >> Mrs. Trice, >> yes. >> Miss Dunn, >> yes. >> Motion approved. 5-0. A recommended resolution for the board to approve the revisions of district policies as recommended for the first read as listed. I'll move. I'll second. All right, call the roll, please. >> Mr. Benson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Steppp, >> yes. >> Mrs. Russell, >> yes. >> Mrs. Inis, >> yes. >> Mrs. Trice, >> yes. >> Miss Dunn, >> yes. >> Motion approved. 5-0. I recommend a resolution to the board to approve the three-year agreement
037beginning May 1, 2026 with Busrite Incorporated for bus tracking, routing, and transportation management. >> I'll move. I'll second. >> All right, there's no questions. Call the RO, please. Mr. Benson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Stepp, >> yes. >> Mrs. Russell, >> yes. >> Mrs. Inennis, >> yes. >> Mrs. Trice, >> yes. >> Miss Dunn, >> yes. >> Motion approved. 5-0. >> Recommend a resolution to the board to approve the position of director of special education and corresponding salary scale attached effective August 2026. >> I'll move. I'll second call a roll, please. >> Mr. Benson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Steppp, >> yes. >> Mrs. Russell, >> yes. >> Mrs. Inennis, >> yes. >> Mrs. Trice, >> yes. >> Miss Dunn, >> yes. >> Motion approved. 5-0. >> Thank you. All right. The ninth item on the agenda.
038We got the treasures report. Justin, >> thank you. Um, a recommended resolution for the board to approve the financial report for March 2026. That is attachment E. >> I'll move. Second. >> All right. Taking a look at our general fund revenue by month through the month of March, the district received 26.7 million in the general fund compared to 23 million last year and 23.1 million in fiscal year 24. Uh the district is on pace to collect slightly more tax revenue than its historical average. Um this year's a little bit off. Again, it's it's with the timing of receiving Erie and Lraine County taxes. Uh this one in particular, we've collected Erie County homestead and roll back, which is the state reimbursement of taxes uh in March, whereas last year in the previous years, we did
039not. We received those in April. Um, we've also received all of our property tax and all of our public utility taxes in in uh March where historically we also received those a little bit in April as well. So these numbers are a little inflated right now. Uh looking below you can see exactly what I'm talking about on the public on the property tax side on the public utility side and the state reimbursement side. Uh those three alone are what's driving our revenue higher this year but it's also because last year and the previous year some of those hit in April. Uh moving on to food service through the month of March, we received 628,000 compared to 605,000 last year and 624,000 in fiscal year 24. Um food service should continue to collect its historical average
040revenue. Moving on to athletic funds through the month of March in athletics, we've received $121,000 compared to $97,000 last year and 116,000 in fiscal year 24. athletic fund again should continue to collect its historical average revenue. And when you look at all funds through the month of March, uh we received 28.9 million compared to 25.2 million last year and 25.4 million in fiscal year 24. On the expenditure side, looking at the general fund through the month of March, we've expended 20.3 million compared to 20 million last year and 19.9 million in fiscal year 24. Uh the district can expect to spend slightly more this year than it did last year. Um below is the historical cost by category. As you can see, salaries are slightly higher than they were the previous two years. Um insurance
041benefits are a little bit lower. This year we received a premium holiday whereas the two previous years we did not. Our purchase services are climbing up a little bit. Again, those are things that are just more set to inflation and things that we can't control nearly as much. Um our supplies are down a little bit. Our capital outlay is up this year compared to previous years because we bought two buses last year that showed up this July. Our debt and interest and and zero transfers. Um moving on to food service expenditures through the month of March, we've expended 816,000 compared to 790,000 last year and 662,000 in fiscal year 24. Uh the district is on pace to spend more this year than its historical average. On the athletic side through the month of March, we've
042expended $139,000 compared to $142,000 last year and 141,000 in fiscal year 24. Um we're on pace in the athletic department to spend our historical average. And then when you look at all funds, we've expended 22.8 million compared to 22.5 last year and 23.4 for in fiscal year 24. Uh moving over to the cash side of things through the month of March in the general fund, uh we have a total of 15.3 million in cash compared to 19.2 last year and 20.6 in fiscal year 24. Uh one thing to keep in mind, last year the district did transfer $7.6 6 million from his general fund to a capital projects fund uh for capital repairs for fixing the roof uh and replacement. Food service cash through the month of March we have a total of $35,000 compared
043to $217,000 last year and 377,000 in fiscal year 24. Uh the price of food food has gone up significantly. We will not be able to continue operating without general fund transfers or increasing our meal price and our alle cart prices next school year. Uh looking at athletic fund cash through the month of March, we have a total of $18,000 in the food service fund compared to $41,000 last year, negative 21,000 in fiscal year 24. And then when you pull all of our cash for all of our funds through the month of March, we have a total of 25.7 million compared to 22.2 2 million last year and 23.7 in fiscal year 24. Uh the last page here just shows you our breakdown of where all of our cash is by fund. Uh the most obviously
044in our general fund, the second in our safety, I'm sorry, in our capital projects fund, and then our third largest fund is our scholarship fund. On the investment side, through the month of March, we burned a total of $599,85762 in interest compared to $528,386.19 at this time last year, which is $71,000 more or 13.5% more in interest earnings this year than last year. >> Thanks. Uh, any questions? Call the roll, please. >> Mr. Benson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Steppp, >> yes. >> Mrs. Russell, >> yes. >> Mrs. Inis, >> yes. >> Mrs. Trice, >> yes. >> Miss Dunn, >> yes. >> Motion approved. 5-0. B. Recommend a resolution for the board to approve the following donations. $300 from Amvets Post22 auxiliary for negative lunch balances. $1,000 from Grace Community Kitchen, which is 500 for preschool
045and 500 for the life skills at SMS. $200 from Ripco Studios to Sailor Way for Teacher Appreciation Week. $122 from Nothing Bunt Cakes to the General Athletic Fund, $4,500 from Grace Community Kitchen for Sailor Way Sensory Room, and $6,600 from Grace United Methodist Church to esports for additional computers. >> I'll move a second. I just want to call out how appreciative of the donations that we are from these organizations. It's it's really truly wonderful that they, you know, help us out like that. Call the role, please. Mr. Benson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Stepp, >> yes. >> Mrs. Russell, >> yes. >> Mrs. Inis, >> yes. >> Mrs. Trice, >> yes. >> Miss Dunn, >> yes. Motion approved. 5-0 and C. Recommend a resolution for the board to approve the March appropriations. And that is attachment
046F. We'll start. >> All right. On the uh March appropriations, the very first page in your attachment, there is the certificate of estimated resources. What this is is this is a generalization of all of our beginning fund balance. This is all of our cash uh beginning July 1st, 2025. And then what it's doing is it's taking our um our tax revenue that we're anticipated to receive plus any other revenue that we're anticipated to to receive which is other sources and giving us a total. So at the very end there 49 uh.3 is our total available resources and that is what we have the ability to to appropriate if we were to so choose. The next page is showing you the March appropriations and the difference between March and August. On the general fund, I reduced
047that from 28.2 million to 27.8. That 27.8 matches our forecast. And then you can see the difference down below there um with everything else. So, we're going to end up decreasing our appropriations from 31.3 million to 31.1 million. And then the last page shows the difference between the two. So, it's showing you the amount that we have estimated for resources minus the amount of that we're going to appropriate and it gives you the difference. If that difference is negative, the county auditor will not approve it. And so, uh, none of those are negative. All right. Thank you. Um, call roll, please. Mr. Benson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Steppp, >> yes. >> Mrs. Russell, >> yes. >> Mrs. Inis, >> yes. >> Mrs. Trice, >> yes. Miss Dunn. >> Yes. >> Motion approved. 5-0. >> All
048right. The 10th item on the agenda is the superintendent. The consent agenda. Superintendent and treasure recommend that the board of education approve the consent agenda items. Action by the board of education and adoption of the consent agenda means that all items are adopted by one vote unless a member of the board, the treasurer, or the superintendent requests that any such item be removed from the consent agenda and voted on separately. A. Approve the minutes of the regular meeting of March 9th, 2026. Attachment G. Approve the agreement with ESCO Positive Education Program PEP for 2026 2027 attachment F or attachment A H I'm sorry. Uh C. Approve the agreement with ESC of Waring County Board of Development Disabilities, Murray Ridge for 2026 2027. Attachment I D. Approve the agreement with frontline education for absence and substitute
049management and applicant tracking for 2026 2027 J E approve the agreement with Xerox com for copier equipment and software beginning July 1st 2026 through June 30th 2031. Attachment K F. Approve the agreement with the Erie County Health Department for school nursing services for 2026 2027. Attachment L G. Approve the agreement with North Point ESC for special education services overtime PT AP services speech services consulting services for 2026 2027. Attachment M H. Approve the agreement with Lorraine County ESC for specialized district services for 2026 to 2027. Attachment N. Approve the following employment action resignation of Kristen Griffith uh BS intervention specialist effective May 29th, 2026. Karen Blackburn, director of pupil services effective July 31st, 2026. and Cassie Warren Sailor Middle School educational aid effective June 30th, 2026. Maternity leave for uh Nicole West educational aid April
0506th, 226. Maline Other kindergarten uh August 17th, 2026 through October 9th, 2026. Monroe Austin, DS counselor, August 17th, 2026 through November 9th, 2026. Approve the one-year additional duties contract for the 2026 2027 school year for the following as listed. Approve the one-year non-eing contract for the 2025 2026 school year to the following. Uh Sean Sean Ellis, assistant VHS softball coach and Britney Dross, choreographer, major musical. Uh, approve the one-year 2025 20226 classified substitute contract for Peter Westro and Kelly King. Approve the one-year classified contract for the remainder of the 20205 to 2026 school year to Kyle Jenkins BS educational aid. step one and then approve up to 50 hours at the $34 per hour project rate for preschool IEP evaluations from uh June June 1st, 2026 through August 15th, 2026 for Laura Moyer, Kelly Collins,
051and Lincoln Tester. approve up to 50 hours at the perdm rate for preschool IEPs from 61 through 8:15 2026 for Brook Spafford. Approve up to 9 hours at the 34hour rate for project rate for special education summer services from June 1st through August 15th, 2026 for Sarah. Are there any items to be removed from the consent agenda? Um, I will move. Can I get a second? >> Second. >> All right. Thank you, sir. Um, Justin, call, please. Mr. Benson, >> yes. >> Mrs. Stepp, >> yes. >> Mrs. Russell, >> yes. >> Mrs. Inis, >> yes. >> Mrs. Trice, >> yes. >> Miss Dunn, >> yes. >> Motion approved. 5-0. >> All right. The 11th item, the dates and locations of upcoming board meetings. Meetings will be held in the Vermillion High School Commons, 2012 1250
052Sanford Street, Vermillion at 6 p.m. Unless otherwise noted. Uh regular meeting is going to be Monday. The upcoming meetings are going to be May 11th, Monday, 2026. 20 26. Yeah. Regular meeting Monday, June 8th, 2026. And then um July 13th, 2026. All here. Um the 12th item is for public participation. Nobody signed up. >> We have some people. >> We do have people. Okay. I'm sorry. Um I'll read this the spiel. We can go ahead and get started. The public participation section of the board of education's agenda is specifically designed for the public to address the board with their compliments, concerns, ideas, and or questions. The board welcomes your comments. If you wish to address the board regarding an issue, the board would remind you of two things. First, your comments should be factual and
053respectful of the rights of others. And second, before coming to the board with an issue, you should have first addressed it with the appropriate teacher, staff member, or administrator. This meeting of the board of education is public and is for the purpose of conducting school uh school districts business. I think I read that wrong. Sorry. Um, all right. We do have some people speak. I already told me that. Sorry. Yeah, that's okay. It's reading for like 5 minutes. Can you adjust the mic a little bit? I'm sorry. I just can't hear you. >> Yeah. Thank you so much. >> Um I'm president of the National Art here. Um I'm also a student representative on the Vermillion Art Council, also called Public Art Vermillion. Um and I'm a member of the Art Club. Um with me
054today to speak in advocacy from the art programs here are summer Alex and Sarah who are both vice presidents of the national art society as well as um the art club and advocates for art million and just like our community students are summer is our other student representative on the art council. So um with the termination of Miss Kids tradition, half of the art curriculum at high school will be removed. That's half of the students learning new skills. Half of the young aspiring artists finding not be able to find a voice. That's half the opportunities and half the connections being half the work. We are not here to suggest that no budget cuts are made. We know that's unrealistic and we're not here to suggest or throw any other programs under the bus. We are
055simply here to advocate for the art. Let's here emphasize the soul what we truly believe is the soul of Ohio which is our art. We have such a great art community here. My friends from other schools like Firelands um they they recognize our art program. We have such wonderful opportunities. Just today um Mr. science field class on a field trip to Cleveland for the film festival. These are opportunities that a lot of other schools don't get and we are fortunate enough to have. Um, so it's opportunities like that that I want to advocate for and make sure that we really see how how much we truly have and what a shame it would be to cut a whole half of that. But from an education standpoint, why do visual arts matter? Well, here's a small
056example. More tasks as things more modern are becoming computerized. Um so in elementary school students are getting more online assignments starting again elementary school. Um which unfortunately has led to even something I've seen within my classmates and myself a lack of fine motor skills and hand eye coordination fine arts. This is again just one small example. This is something fine art develops better than any other thing, better than handwriting, essays, better than like there are very few practices such as visual art that can develop these these skills that are just so pivotal in the development of young adults such as again fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. Um many of my peers struggled to write a handwritten essay in my college composition class because that's just not a skill that was stressed. So to
057cut half the art program in half again that's just one of the issues that would be further uh person um now again within our community in less than a month these walls will be covered in beautiful posters from the art students the art fair. It's something I help set up. It's one of my favorite parts of the year. I have my own poster on the wall every single year. I love it so very much. Um, but I can't help but reserve a slight anxiety that this year is the last year I will see it on such a scale because cutting half of the art department once again means that means half of the students. So that's half the posters that we've had hung up here. They create such a vibrant, beautiful environment are gone. That's
058another pair of hands. Miss kid who's been so much help every year signing up and has been so encouraging and even during all of this has said, you know, encouraged us to continue art with a smile. That's another pair of hands gone. And so I can't help but observe again this anxiety that this is going to be the last year I'm going to see this on such a scale in the last year that any of my peers will get to experience it in such a way. Now, I know I don't speak for just myself when I say that so many students have found a place within the art community here. Um, I know for the majority of high school, I struggled fitting in um truly more than words can say, but it was within Miss
059Schneider and Miss Kids room that I truly found my place. And I know I'm not the only one. There was a certain connection that comes through art. It takes to be an artist is to be vulnerable. There's no way around it. You can't be an artist without having some sort of vulnerability. And there's a connection that comes from that that isn't quite replicable. So to see two of my teachers, two of the only teachers that have ever been able to truly connect with me and make me feel welcome, to see one of them gone, I am aware it must leave it. But again, we're just here to advocate. Um, and finally, the point I would like to end off on is a message that the quickness to cut art programs sends to students. As a
060student who's going into the arts myself, I can't help but feel that the urgency to jump to cutting art programs and not just here in across the world sends the message that to students going to our careers that you are secondary. your career is leaving and should should you need to go that's that's what will happen. We will jump to you leaving first. You are not needed and that is not a message that I think any of us agree with and I don't think that's the message anyone wants to send but it is the message of myself and many of my peers have gathered. Um and I know that art is valued here. If you look around, without creative minds, we would not have the million tailor. Without creative minds, we wouldn't have the sports
061posters hanging up. Without creative minds, we wouldn't even have the American flag hanging to to say the um pledge of allegiance to every morning. It's so far beyond visual arts, but visual arts help nurture this creativity that we need in everyday society. And it goes so far beyond how does this apply to the real world? because you know we all agree that core classes are important but fostering that creativity is something that has been done for me and I would just hate to see it gone for any other student. Thank you all for your time and for listening to me. I'm K. Hello, I'm Summer Ellis and I'm a junior at Vermillion High School. I am the vice president, one of the vice presidents in National Art and Honor Society and I'm also a member
062in public art primarily and for as long as I can remember my life has always been surrounded by art. I have always loved the feeling that I and so other so many others get as we create. This feeling is hard to explain since it's so intricate and personalized, but in simple terms to me it feels peaceful yet so free. It feels as if colors and light are flowing within one's mind. And as someone who has struggled with bullying and self-worth, the art space in our town has really helped me. The art has given me a space to be myself and filtered the negative thoughts in my head through its amazingly welcome community. Being involved in the NHS art club and even simply art classes altogether, I've made some of my s I've made some of
063my closest friends and my confidence and selfexpression has significantly grown. Art classes in Vermillion are extremely important to my peers and I. For us, art brings people together. I have made some of my closest friends again through the arts in this school and I can't imagine where I'd be without them. It allows for this beautiful connection that comes from a shared love for art. Not only this, but art also empowers students to express themselves creatively and can provide a comforting shelter in a very uneasy and everchanging point in our lives as teenagers. With the help of our amazing art teachers, Mrs. Schneider, Mrs. kid, Mr. Quaser and Mrs. Atskins, this etheral experience is possible. And with these classes, a growth in critical thinking, problem solving, and emotional well-being is also possible. I am one of
064the many students who feel this way. And with cutting one art teacher, it is cut again the opportunities in half. This change will cause a shift in our environment. kids coming into VHS might not have the same opportunity to grow and have this life-changing experience that I've been guilted through throughout the years. Going beyond that, with this change, we might not have events like the art fair, an occasion that unites our entire district, showing art from kindergarten up to 12th grade. So, at a time like this, it is vital to bring attention the importance the arts has in our school and the students within it. I hope you all take this into consideration and thank you very much. Hi, my name is Jordan S. I'm a junior and I'm the student body vice president of
065the National Art Honor Society. Since I was about 3 or 4 years old, art has been my full life. Coming from a lowincome household, paper and crayons were always accessible. Growing up, I struggled with music, math, and reading comprehension. However, art was always an escape from the wrong equations and confusing words. I have won countless awards starting from kindergarten all the way up to my junior year. I have entered the small school coloring contest of the Line County Art Fair all the way up to the Scholastic Art Fair. Every single one of these opportunities have been listed by Mr. Kaser and Miss Akins and at the more competitive level, Miss Kid and Missine. I believe Vermillion High School has been more than lucky to have two high school art teachers. I have taken art one
066ceramics, advanced ceramics, and advanced mixed media with Miss Kid. Although I've only taken art two with Miss Shine. Both teaching styles are very different. While Miss Kid is more demo and note based with her lower level classes, Miss Schne lets us work on our own with guidance. Both teachers have helped me grow as an artist and as a person significantly. I have been able to gain numerous awards, new skills, art techniques, and most importantly, grow a community. Early this school year, my father passed away and beyond a feeling of grief I could not express. I had no interest in finishing any of my work nor entering it in Scholastic. With the help of Miss Kit's patience and understanding, I finished a piece called Unplugged. Miss Kit persuaded me to enter Unplugged into the New York
067Life Award, an award based on grief for grades 7 through 12, which gives the students an opportunity to get a $1,2500 scholarship. Unfortunately, I did not win the award, but I did get an honorable mention of my piece. This story may sound silly to you, but it's these small moments that Miss Kiss has incorporated into her class that can make the burnout feel a little less heavy, all while allowing me to express my feelings through art. Not only has she impacted my life, she has left a mark on every single student that walks in and out of the doors. And that is what I believe the school needs right now. Vermillion High School should strive to make every student feel beyond included. and art is is one form that end can express themselves. This year
068I was elected as the vice president of the National Art Honor Society. This year we were able to have grades 10 through 12 in the club. Next year due to budget cuts we will have a senior only program and not a club. This year NHS is giving me the opportunity to meet new people, paint murals and be involved in Vermillion. Miss Schneider monitored her club with occasional help from Miss Kid. Neither of them received any pay, which is another reason leading to our senior only program next year. AHS has helped me grow as a person more than an artist. I have made an unbelievable amount of connections crucial to my life outside of school. In my opinion, and I think I can speak on behalf of Summer and Cam as well, Vermillion is built on
069our art program. Between countless murals, the movie tree, architecture, ice sculptures, criminally would be so much more dull without the strong art program we can provide today. All in all, I'm not asking you to significantly fund the art program, but to take into consideration all that and our teachers have done this time. >> Thank you for sharing. I know all the budget cuts are have been tough and um you know this is another highlight to really push for passing the levy whenever it comes again in in November. So um tough a lot a lot of areas for sure and thank you for sharing. Um 13th item is adjournment uh recommended resolution for the board to adjourn to the regular meeting. >> I'll move a second. >> Call the role please. Mr. Benson. >> Yes. >>
070Mrs. Steph. >> Yes. >> Mrs. Russell. >> Yes. Mrs. Inennis, >> yes. >> Mrs. Trice, >> yes. >> Miss Dunn, >> yes. >> Motion approved 50 and the time is 7:01 p.m. Right.