BCS Board hears back-to-school update, approves free admission for students

The Bellefontaine Board of Education heard an in-depth back-to-school update at their monthly meeting Monday night in the High School Sloan Distance Learning Center.

Superintendent Brad Hall, Director of Administrative Services Roger Ely, and Tech Coordinators Marc Stakey and Gavin Yoder led the presentation. Hall reported that each building is fully staffed. He said that BCS will continue to implement Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) – a framework that helps educators provide academic and behavioral strategies for students with various needs. Two new notable positions are a literacy coach at BMS (Whitney Stolly) and a behavior coach at BES (Mara Ledley).

The board approved free admission for BCS students to all home athletic events for the ’25-’26 school year. Tickets can be reserved through Hometown Ticketing.

More than 2,400 students are enrolled at BCS this fall. The school year starts on Wednesday, September 3rd (grades 1-9). 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.

Ely gave an overview of several summer projects on each campus. Most of the projects were funded through permanent improvement funds. The field turf at AcuSport Stadium was disinfected. Glass and bricks on the BHS Atrium are being repaired this week. A new sound system in the high school band room records practice sessions.The BHS Athletic Boosters paid for upgrades to the sound system at AcuSport Stadium. Ely said a 9-passenger multi-purpose vehicle was recently purchased. A new walking path connecting BMS to Ludlow Ridge and BES has been installed. Two new playground pieces are being added at Bellefontaine Intermediate School – a gaga pit and a spider climber. The BIS PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) paid for the gaga pit. Each 4th and 5th-grade classroom has new chairs and desks. The BIS teaching staff painted various hallways. The playground at BES received new mulch. A new intercom switch was installed at BES. The BES parking lot was sealed and striped.

Stakey and Yoder detailed many tech updates, including:

The internet connection upgrade to WOCO (Western Ohio Computer Organization) is going from 1 Gb to 2 Gb.
New Chromebooks are ready for 6th-graders.
Server upgrades and security upgrades are complete.
The call manager server has been built and all outbound connectivity has been secured.

Finally, Stakey discussed House Bill 56. The new legislation requires districts to establish a cybersecurity incident plan and reiterates expectations for student and staff data security. The law also considers any unauthorized account access as a security breach.

In personnel, the board accepted these resignations:

Lori Peterson – Food Service Worker
Rhonda Scheffel – Educational Aide

The board hired the following:

Terra Byrd-Grupe – 4th Grade
Carter Curl – Intervention Specialist
Nichole Stafford – 1st Grade
Brenda Hall – Food Service Worker
Ava Huffman – Educational Aide
Kristin Allore Lowe – Media Aide
Peggy Navaroli – Food Service Worker
Jessica Pender – Food Service Worker
Lori Peterson – BES Head Cook
Jody Salmons – Educational Aide
Erin Short – Educational Aide

The following substitute teachers were approved for the first semester:

Ally Barker
Rosalind Brown
Kristen Elton
Margaret Erickson
Phil Forsythe
Nicholas Frazier
Frank Giannola
Allen Hadley
April Hairston
Ava Klingler
Dominic Latimer
Robin Louden-Henry
Kristy Mount
Haiden Manns
Tricia Hefner McCutcheon
Tyler Shamblin
Beth Overs
Parker Penhorwood
Polly Rodenhausen
Tom Rose
Karl Smith
Mary Smith
Stacia Smith
Sharon Traul
Ashley Vicario Holtkamp
Mark Wahl
Richard Whitehead
Makayla Young
Jane Younkman
Totyiana Bailey
Taylor Banta

The following substitute employees were approved:

Robert Ball – Bus Driver
Martha Bloodsworth – Food Service Worker
Brandy Bowers – Bus Driver
Meri Brown-Scott – Food Service Worker
Juanita Buffkin – Food Service Worker
Brittany Case – Custodian
Valerie Chamberlain – Custodian and Bus Driver
Tom Christensen – Bus Driver
Amber Cline – Food Service Worker
Kerry Copenhaver – Custodian
Michelle Corwin – Custodian
Aimee Costello – Van Driver
Candice Counts – Food Service Worker
Corinne Crawford – Bus Driver
Laurie Cruce – Van Driver
Darius Durst – Custodian
Elijah Durst – Custodian
Margaret Erickson – Secretary
Geneva Fogle – Van Driver
Josh Foulk – Van Driver
Tim Garman – Van Driver
Jessica Gerwels – Van Driver
Linda Halterman – Food Service Worker
Cheryl Harman – Custodian and Secretary
Debi Henry – Secretary
Jordan Hensley – Custodian
Audrey Hess – Secretary
Bob Hill – Bus Driver
Alysia Kuba – Nurse
Ashley McBeth – Food Service Worker
Paula McCafferty – Custodian
Amy McIntyre – Food Service Worker
Regilane Nelson – Food Service Worker
Jim Peyton – Van Driver
Barbara Powell – Food Service Worker
Mike Puhalla – Bus Driver
Alena Roberts – Van Driver
Jennifer Robinson – Van Driver
Lisa Ropp – Food Service Worker
Randy Schoeck – Bus Driver
Barb Triplett – Secretary/Educational Aide
Kaitlyn Welch – Custodian
Raihn Wrocklage – Custodian
Glenna Yelton – Bus Driver

The following supplemental contracts were approved:

Daniel Boy – 7th Grade Football Coach
Mallory Casserly – High School Percussion Advisor
Garrett Gross – 7th Grade Football Coach
Chelsea Horsley – High School Girls Wrestling Coach
Baylie Levan – 7th Grade Volleyball Coach
Enya Mitchell – Middle School Volleyball Coach
Mikael Neeley – Middle School Girls Wrestling Coach
Lynzee Cronkleton (High School Volleyball) and Brian Hogan (Middle School Girls Basketball) were approved as volunteer coaches.

Classified staff members will receive a 4-percent increase on their base salary in ’25-’26, followed by a 2-percent increase in ’26-’27 and a 2-percent increase in ’27-’28.

The board approved an increase in hourly wages for the following substitute positions: