Windham – The Windham Board of Education (BOE) met for their regularly scheduled meeting at Katherine Thomas Elementary School Thursday, January 23, 2014. All BOE members were in attendance along with Treasurer Samantha Pochedly. Superintendent Gregg Isler was excused from the meeting to coach the girl’s basketball game scheduled that evening.
The meeting was called to order by Melissa Roubic as the president was delayed by traffic issues in Akron. The board welcomed new members Elaine Grant and Dawn Kilgore.
In student achievement, Elaine Grant reported that Jessica Isler recently scored her 1,000th point in basketball. Jessica is in her junior year at Windham. Elaine also announced that the drama club had received great reviews on their winter production “A Family Reunion to Die For.”
Samantha Pochedly presented retired BOE Member Terri Altiere with a watch and a Bomber sweatshirt and thanked her for her 20 years of service on the board.
Principal Michael Chaffee reported that the play was doing well and that National Honor Society inductions will be January 31, 2014. Guest speaker this year is a Windham graduate who has served in the United States Air Force. Chaffee also reported that the district’s new plan of condensing their first two quarters, so the semester ended before the Christmas holiday has worked well. Now they can put their primary focus on the Ohio Graduating Test (OGT) preparation and the Ohio Achievement Assessment (OAA) preparation. Chaffee also reported that the junior high students were working on career planning.
Katherine Thomas (KT) Principal Harry Selner reported that enrollment at KT was currently at 333 students which is 19 more than they had in September. The awards assembly for the first semester was held January 24, 2014. Other events coming in February are: “Jump Rope for Heart” kicks off February 10, 2014, with the event being held on February 28, 2014, parent-teacher conferences are scheduled for February 13, 2014, there is no school scheduled on February 17, 2014 for Presidents Day and the PTO Family Night is scheduled for February 20, 2014.
Mr. Selner introduced Robert Kujala to give the special education report indicating that the students were diligently preparing for the OGTs and OAAs. They will also have a new occupational therapist working with those students who use the service.
In maintenance and transportation, the supervisor, Craig Alderman, reported that he and his maintenance crew are doing their best to keep buildings open and buses running in this extreme cold winter. He also presented a list of needed repairs and maintenance to the school buildings and exterior structures. Some of the projects they are exploring are the football stadium bleachers, new tables and chairs in the cafetorium, painting hallways and locker rooms just to name a few. BOE President Darryl McGuire asked about improving the lighting on the path that leads to the event entrance. Alderman said he would look at the area and see what could be done. Alderman also reported that he has been informed by other area schools that the Ohio Highway Patrol (OHP) has been doing spot checks on buses in transport. Alderman reported that the OHP was looking for overloaded buses, kids and or book bags, sports equipment etc in aisles. Some schools have reported that the OHP was ticketing the bus drivers, supervisor and superintendent of the schools who were found in violation.
In other BOE news, the BOE approved the monthly financial reports and the December minutes. They also hired head baseball and softball coaches, an open enrolled student and professional leave for staff members. The meeting was adjourned and followed by a cake and punch reception to thank retiring BOE member Terri Altiere. The BOE meets on the fourth Thursday of each month at 7pm rotating between the High School and Katherine Thomas Elementary School. The next meeting will take place at the high school.
