At the July School Board meeting, Superintendent Aireane Curtis provided board members with a Summer Project Update. She noted that planning for the massive list of projects began in January and was a collaboration between facilities, custodial, and maintenance teams. She thanked these groups for their hard work and attention to detail. The projects completed include updating the staff workroom and improving cafeteria storage as well as painting the hallway walls throughout the 7-12 building. Outside the building, an old, damaged shed was removed, with new roofs and siding to update storage sheds at the stadium, replacing non-functioning doors, painting existing fieldhouse doors and adding 10 new handicapped parking spots at the stadium.
At the primary and intermediate campus, playground equipment was improved or repaired as was the bus loop. Also, rusting gutters (installed in the early 2000s) were replaced. In addition, as is their usual practice, the floors were cleaned and waxed in each building. Fifteen classrooms were moved in the 7-12 building to better-align subject teams. Repairs were made after a pipe in the middle school science lab on the second floor burst and damaged the space below. The repairs, as well as painting were made such that the building is ready for students to return beginning on August 26th.
Lastly, Mrs. Curtis shared about a juvenile diversion program that is a collaboration between local police departments, townships, villages, and cities within Portage County. She noted that by participating in the program, student offenders are provided with an opportunity to choose community service instead of facing criminal charges for certain offenses. Mrs. Curtis expressed gratitude that Village Mayor Tammy Meyer was willing to participate in this program and agreed to have a student who had made “unfortunate choices” serve their time by volunteering with the Village Service Department. The student worked on a memorial in the Village cemetery. Meyer shared that her team enjoyed mentoring the student, the group was pleased with the project, and was mentored by the team at the Village. The project was successful for the student, as well, who has inquired about other volunteering opportunities with the Village crew.
In other news, Fiscal Officer Katie Hoffmeister updated the board on the ongoing changes to the district forecast based on Ohio’s updated budget process. She shared that the Five-Year Forecast will be due in October in 2025; the Five-Year Forecast due date will change to August in 2026 and moving forward. Lastly, Ms. Hoffmeister shared that the district has received the Auditor of State Award. She highlighted her team, MaryEllen Griffin and Gia Marfy, noting, “this award is a true statement of how hard they’ve worked and how great they really are.”
The next regularly scheduled School Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 9th at 7 pm; for details visit crestwoodschools.org.
