The Bellefontaine Board of Education heard an in-depth back-to-school update at their monthly meeting Monday night.
Superintendent Brad Hall and Director of Administrative Services Roger Ely led the presentation.
Hall reported that transportation is one of the biggest challenges at the beginning of each school year.
He said, "Transportation issues always arise when school starts. We ask that families be patient with us and each other as we start the new school year. I can’t emphasize this enough…Families…please check your Final Forms account. The transportation schedule has been posted in your individual accounts. Login, select the Transportation tab, then (most importantly) check it for accuracy. If something doesn’t look right, or is confusing, let’s get it straightened out before school starts. Call the transportation department at 937-651-3497.
"Bus routes can also be found on the BCS website highlighted in blue under the school calendar at https://www.bellefontaine.k12.oh.us/cms/One.aspx... or under the Transportation tab in Quick Links."
Hall noted that BCS transports 1,000 students each day.
Middle school and high school students will ride on the same route.
The other combined route will include elementary school and intermediate school students.
Here are the school hours for each building.
Bellefontaine High School – 7:20 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Bellefontaine Middle School – 7:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Bellefontaine Intermediate School – 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Bellefontaine Elementary School – 8:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
The school year starts on Tuesday, September 5th.
The board also approved the cafeteria rates for this year.
The district will offer free breakfast to all students.
Here is a breakdown of lunch prices.
High School/Middle School
Lunch – $2.25
Reduced Lunch – $.40
Intermediate School/Elementary School
Lunch – $2.00
Reduced Lunch – $.40
Extra milk will cost $.55 for students in grades K-12.
Adult prices:
Breakfast – $2.00
Lunch – $3.75
Milk – $.55
Ely gave an overview of the federally-funded high school renovation project.
The new 300-ton chiller was installed over summer break.
The chiller will cool the BHS gymnasium. It also incorporates fresh air and CO2 sensors for a healthier air environment.
New windows and seven new doors were installed at the high school this summer, which will save on heating expenses.
All the doors at BHS were rekeyed over the break.
Three main doors were replaced at Bellefontaine Intermediate School recently. Each door is equipped with card reader locks.
Finally, sealcoating was performed on the driveway to Bellefontaine Elementary School this month.
Twenty plus parking spaces were added to the BES parking lot in July.
Marc Stakey and Matt Heaston provided a technology update to board members.
New terminals have been added to lunch lines, tech forms have been moved to Final Forms, and 2,000 Chromebooks were repaired and cleaned up this summer.
In personnel, the board accepted the resignations of these employees:
Aaron Gregor - Arts/TV Production
Jill Roode - Language Arts
Bill Branan - Maintenance Worker
Amanda Fisher – Custodian
Diane Hartzler - Food Service Worker
Margarita Shell - Food Service Worker
In other personnel, the board hired the following employees:
Mark Butler - Chieftain Pride Lab Academic Advisor
Ashton Childs - 2nd Grade
Tasidee Fagg – Kindergarten
Heidi Heacock - High School Art
Olivia Starkey - Intervention Specialist
Bill Tipple was placed on the salary schedule at BA 10 (bachelor's degree with 10 years of experience) based on his extensive experience in the field of media production.
Costin Family Practice was approved as the medical provider to BCS for '23-'24 at the annual fee of $1.00.
The following substitute teachers were approved:
Madeline Baird
Gay Brunswick
Trista Denbow
Kristen Elton
Phil Forsythe
Aliya Furton
Karis Garcia
Frank Giannola
Tricia Hefner
Beth Overs
Boris Pattison
Beth Powers
Karen Rader
Madison Rader
Tom Rose
Heather Shaw
Joni Siler
Karl Smith
Mary Smith
Sara Stahler
Sharon Traul
Virginia Viveros
April White
Maureen Yoder
The following substitute employees were approved:
Robert Ball - Bus Driver
Paula Blair – Custodian
Kimberly Collier - Educational Aide
Aimee Costello - Van Driver
Trista Denbow - Educational Aide
Mary Dillard - Food Service Worker
Martha Earick – Custodian
Tonya Finch - Van Driver
Amanda Fisher – Custodian
Tim Garman - Van Driver
Linda Halterman - Food Service Worker
Debi Henry – Secretary
Toni Houchin - Educational Aide
Victoria Huffman - Van Driver
Amy McIntyre - Food Service Worker
Valerie Neeley - Van Driver
Mike Puhalla - Bus Driver
Doug Roberts - Bus Driver
Lisa Ropp - Food Service Worker
Lou Ann Sanford - Food Service Worker
Randy Schoeck - Bus Driver
Shelby Sellers - Bus Driver
Eva Skaggs - Food Service Worker
Kim Taylor – Custodian
Glenna Yelton - Bus Driver
Maureen Yoder - Educational Aide
Extended time was approved for these employees:
Morgan Fultz - Strength& Wellness Instructor - 9 days
Eric Hamm - Intermediate School Guidance - 10 days
Brice Henry - Vocal Music - 10 days
Jeremy Karg - Instrumental Music - 10 days
Julie Kurtz - Middle School Guidance - 10 days
Shalie Logan - High School Guidance - 20 days
Lindsey Maus - Middle School Guidance - 4 days
Rebecca O’Rielley - High School Guidance - 20 days
Jake Kennedy - Marketing Education - 10 days
Paula Shaw - High School Guidance - 20 days
Dawn Spangler - Elementary School Guidance - 5 days
Bill Tipple - Television/Communications - 25 days
The following supplemental contracts were approved:
Meghan Ashcraft - High School Girls Basketball Head Coach
Brooke Bahr - Middle School Basketball Sideline Cheer Head Coach
Jim Ball - High School Boys & Girls Tennis Assistant Coach
Jason Calton - Middle School Site Manager (Fall & Winter)
Johnny Boling Maurice - Middle School Wrestling Assistant Coach
Delmar Fogan - 8th Grade Football Assistant Coach
Morgan Fultz - Boys/Girls Weight Room Coordinator
Brady Hiatt - High School Girls Wrestling Head Coach
Chelsea Johnson - High School Swimming Assistant Coach
Connor Kellogg - High School Boys Soccer Assistant Coach
Jane Kline - High School Bowling Head Coach (50%)
Jane Kline - High School Bowling Assistant Coach (50%)
Alysia Kuba - High School Competition Cheer Head Coach
Aaron LaBatt - High School Boys Wrestling Head Coach
Sharon Lewis - High School Swimming Head Coach
Cam Mitchell - 8th Grade Boys Basketball Head Coach
Mike Mosbarger - Middle School Boys Basketball Assistant Coach
Tammy Overholser - High School Bowling Head Coach (50%)
Tammy Overholser - High School Bowling Assistant Coach (50%)
Hunter Pool - High School Boys Wrestling Assistant Coach
Tom Rose - 7th Grade Boys Basketball Head Coach
Kyle Spence - Middle School Wrestling Head Coach
Henry Stolly - High School Boys Basketball Head Coach
Heather Storm - High School Basketball Sideline Cheer Head Coach
Theresa Vigansky - 8th Grade Girls Basketball Head Coach
Michelle Zedeker - High School Girls Basketball Assistant Coach
The following volunteer coaches were approved:
David Overholser - High School Bowling
Brad Rader - High School Girls Basketball
Jeremy Ryan - High School Bowling
Randy Varner - High School Girls Basketball
Finally, the board approved bus routes and curriculum for the ’23-’24 school year.
The next board meeting will be September 11th at 6:30 p.m. in the Distance Learning Center at BHS.
Photo: The Bellefontaine Board of Education meets in the Distance Learning Center.