WEST ALEXANDRIA — During a meeting on Tuesday, May 23, Twin Valley Community Local Schools Board of Education recognized several students for their accomplishments during the school year.
•For winning the Multiple Sclerosis Preble County Art Show Taylor Mowell, Gracie Straszheim, and Aaron Cole were recognized.
•For winning the High School Preble County Art Show Dylan Bowen, Brendon Gallaher, Meadow Perry, and Dinah Welch were recognized.
•Indoor Track State Qualifiers Mylan Crews and Madison Wright were recognized.
2016-2017 First Team Members for Fall, Winter, and Spring were recognized.
•Nathan Osborn was recognized for First Team CCC Golf.
•Abby Beneke was recognized for First Team CCC Volleyball and First Team CCC Girls Track.
•Madison Wright was recognized for First Team CCC Volleyball, First Team CCC Cross Country, and First Team CCC Girls Track.
•Lacey Emrick was recognized for First Team CCC Girls Soccer.
•Jacob Wells was recognized for First Team CCC Boys Soccer.
•Blake Holp was recognized for First Team CCC Football.
•Andrew Augspurger was recognized for First Team CCC Football.
•Mike Meyers was recognized for First Team CCC and First Team All District Boys Basketball.
•Mylan Crews was recognized for First Team CCC Girls Track.
•Grace Stewart was recognized for First Team CCC Girls Track.
•Sidney Mowell was recognized for Frist Team CCC Girls Track.
•Madison Johnson was recognized for First Team CCC Girls Track.
•Hosanna Craft was recognized for First Team CCC Girls Track.
•Troy Bowers was recognized for First Team CCC Boys Track.
•Sammy Shockey was recognized for First Team CCC Boys Track.
•Payton Gates was recognized for First Team CCC Boys Track.
•Tony Turner was recognized for First Team CCC Boys Track.
•Kelsie Shafer was recognized for First Team CCC Softball.
•Ryan Bassler was recognized for First Team CCC Baseball.
The Class of 2017 valedictorians were then announced:
•Andrew Augspurger, Haley Back, Emma Fergus, Sydney Vorhis, Madison Wright, and Megan Wright.
“We’ve done a lot more with student recognition this year,” Superintendent Robert Fischer added. “In June we will recognize our board winners, we don’t have those scholarship names yet. Hopefully we will recognize several of our track athletes.”
“We’re wrapping up the year and looking forward to next year,” Director of Food Service Megan Fields said.
According to Fischer, next year the school is going to hold a campaign to push the free and reduced meal numbers higher. The state will fund the free or reduced lunch program if there are 50 kids in one building, however, the highest number Twin Valley South has is 48 in their elementary.
“The calculation for the way its done between the nutrition group and how its done for the state, somehow there’s a disconnect between those numbers,” Fischer said. “Fields has run it three or four different times, trying to make it 50. As long as you get a building at 50, which we thought our elementary was at, but the numbers that are coming back at 48.
“I was reading some information today and they say that unless you’re at 50 you have to fund free or reduced yourself, but if you’re at 50 or above they fund it for you. We’re going to do a little bit more of a push, because there are kids out there that I know should be on it.”
Director of Transportation and Facilities Jeff Tully reported the staff was going to be working on trimming trees around the building. They are also going to be working on resealing all of the blacktop around the football field and track, to prepare for football season.
“As far as transportation, we had a total of 338 field trips this year,” Tully added. “I think that’s a pretty high number for a small district. We’re working on a vault system for our new buses. We’re buying gas by the gallon and its costing us quite a bit more. We’ve got some ideas here for how to get that in vault and start buying in bulk.”
“You may have mentioned this at a previous meeting, but are there any plans to change the small signs, the handicap signs?” board member Mike Randolph asked.
“We are still in the process of making big district signage changes,” Fischer said.
Director of Technology Derrick Myers reported the district had touched base with the original manufacturer of the auditorium curtains and they are going to come in June to repair them.
“As we increase the measure’s we’re using for safety, I know one of the common things you hear from everyone, is the lack of cell reception in certain parts of the building. Is that just the nature of the beast because of this building?” Randolph asked.
“Yes,” Myers replied. “It’s a metal roof and metal rafters and all that. One thing that some schools do is install repeaters, but even then you’re looking at repeaters for each carriers, it gets complicated. The cool thing that’s happened now is that most cellphones have WiFi-calling. Some carriers like Verizon and iPhones — those people have to call Verizon and have WiFi-calling turned on and then there’s a switch on the phone as well. It’s on newer phones, Androids as well, a year and a half to two years and newer. As long as they’re on our building WiFi, they can get calls in and out.”
“All of our seniors who had parts of the OGTs left to pass, passed it,” Director of Pupil Services Dan Lewis reported. “So nobody is getting left behind during graduation ceremony because of testing this year. We’re looking currently at a need to do any testing over the summer for retakes.”
Lewis shared, they are also working on preschool transition.
Grades K-6 Principal Patti Holly reported they have repaired a brand new student and parent handbook. It was organized this year so parents and students can find information quicker. It will be put online and one will be sent home to the families.
Grades 7-12 Principal Scott Cottingim also touched on the middle school and high school handbook, which has also been re-organized.
After discussion on the handbook, board member Jason DeLong asked, “What is the reason behind the college prep classes – why is it that some places weight those and we choose not to?”
Cottingim noted, “Your typical college prep classes would not be weighted. The weighted classes would be your AP classes. The grading scale, all that, every school has their own little twist. A lot of schools are pluses or minuses, we are just A, B, C. We have always went without the pluses and minuses.”
“I think the thing that you can look at, for me, that is going to outweigh any discussion, is anything we can do to help our kids get scholarships and opportunities,” Fischer said.
The board accepted donations from:
•Judy Hansen for $32,500 for Athletic Facility Updates.
•Coterie Club for $250 for Athletic Facility Updates.
•Coterie Club for $75 for the Senior Citizens Dinner.
•Nancy Baker Ross for $32,500 for Athletic Facility Updates.
•Rexarc and the Smith Family Foundation for $60,000 for Athletic Facility Updates.
•Anonymous TVS Alumni for $50 for unpaid student lunch fees.
•Faye Voge for $1,000 for the Charlie Voge Scholarship.
•Max Benton for $250 for the TV Track Scholarship.
In other news:
•The board approved membership for 2017-2018 in the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
•The board approved the 2017-2018 Preble County ESC service contract agreement for $396,113.
•The board approved the 2017-2018 Twin Valley Elementary, High, and Middle School handbooks as presented.
•The board approved the Montgomery County ESC service contract agreement for $88,067.87.
The next Twin Valley Community Local Schools Board of Education meeting will be held on Monday, June 26, at 6 p.m. in the Twin Valley Community Local School District Media Center.
