Windham – The Windham Board of Education (BOE) met last Thursday at Katherine Thomas Elementary School for their regularly scheduled board meeting. The meeting was called to order by President Danny Burns.
President Burns suggested the BOE consider changing the meeting time to 6pm rather than 7pm. A discussion was held on the issue and they would consider doing this in January. They would have to wait until January because the Sunshine Laws require any public entity to notify the public through newspaper ads for any deviation from the original meeting date and time that was set at the beginning of the year. The BOE voted to move the August meeting up to Thursday the 15th to accommodate a board member’s work schedule. This meeting will be held at the high school at 6pm. The meeting time was changed for this meeting since they already had to notify the public of the date change. Only the August meeting is changing to 6pm. The remaining meetings for the 2013 year will be at 7pm unless a notification of the time change is published.
Superintendent Gregg Isler attended a state budget seminar and informed the board that according the seminar the district will not lose any money the first two years, but after that it is unclear whether they will lose any monies.
Next month, the Treasurer Samantha Pochedly and Isler will attend a seminar on how the roll-back will affect the district. The roll-back is a state run property tax relief program for senior citizens and disabled citizens who apply. The roll-back will allow those eligible, to receive a reduction in their property taxes. Pochedly and Isler are unsure whether this will still apply since the millage has changed on the emergency renewal levy and the state has ceased the program for new levies. They are hoping the seminar will clarify the issue.
The BOE will place a 3.95 mill levy on the fall ballot. The levy millage is slightly more than before because property values in the district have decreased. The levy will generate the same amount as the current levy does, even though the millage is slightly higher.
Pochedly reported that the cash audit is finished, but they are still working on the gap audit. She also reported that she will be attending a lunch eligibility seminar to ensure that all the proper notifications and paperwork are in place for the free and reduced lunch program.
The board approved a resolution to participate in the Stark County Schools Council of cooperative purchase of fresh produce.
In other school news, the board is still searching for a Spanish teacher and they have added a full-time art teacher to the staff.
New this school year, the kindergarten thru 5th grades will see an afternoon snack of fresh veggies or fruit and the entire district will see more variety in the school lunches offered by the district.
The next BOE meeting will be held at the high school on August 15, 2013 at 6pm.
