West Liberty-Salem Board Highlights Achievements

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By: Alli Harlan

West Liberty Salem Board of Education met in a regular meeting on Wednesday night.

The board went into building reports, starting with Elementary. It was mentioned that their Literacy Night was a success with over 1,000 people in attendance. Also, their parent-teacher conferences went well in February.

For middle school, they announced some students of the month:

6th Grade:

  • Lilly Yeater
  • Walker Williams

7th Grade:

  • Peyton Cramer
  • Everett Brooks

8th Grade:

  • Kenzie Reames
  • Sully Cox

The 8th graders will be heading to Washington DC with over 100 students and teachers going. Lastly, for middle school, there will be a 7th and 8th grade Spring Fling on Friday with dancing and games. Ticket sales are going to be donated to the Indian Lake region for their recovery.

Moving onto high school, the Board announced the Seniors of the Month, Lillian Weaver and Owen Deere.

Some successes at the high school include:

  • WL-S Science Olympiad Invitational
  • Key Club Wellness Committee held a “Tech-Free Day”
  • HS Band had an excellent concert
  • Rotary Honors Night
  • Cast, Crew, and Staff put on a great show, Footloose

Superintendent, Kraig Hissong, talked about a warning they received from the Ohio EPA on a water heater having a small leak. The district has already ordered a new one and will replace the current one, which has the issue.

The board plans to further discuss this topic in a work session meeting. Next, Hissong said that DeWine signed an executive order on Wednesday that directs all state departments and agencies to be prepared for the upcoming solar eclipse that is in just a few weeks. Hissong then mentioned that Curriculum Supervisor, Stacy Dunn, plans to have a selection of curriculum to be approved by the April Board meeting.

The Permanent Improvement Levy passed Tuesday night with 61% yes votes. Hissong talks about the levy:

On Thursday, March 28th, High School Students are invited to serve the community of Indian Lake after their recent tornado damage. Hissong talks about what the community service might look like:

The following administrative recommendations were approved:

  • Non-renew all 2023-2024 winter supplemental coaching positions
  • Non-certified, non-WL-S individuals for supplemental contracts for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school year, subject to meeting all requirements
  • Certified, WL-S individuals for supplemental contracts for the 2024-2025 school year, subject to meeting all requirements
  • Resignation of Stacey Longshore as Head MS girls track and approval of her as a volunteer coach for the track program for the 2023-2024 school year subject to all  requirements being met
  • Certified, non-WL-S individuals for supplemental contracts for the 2024-2025 school year, subject to meeting all requirements
  • Teachers are to be compensated at $23 an hour to be trained on how to use new interactive display monitors that are being installed over spring break
  • Summer Student Workers, at $11 per hour to assist in cleaning and preparation of the school for summer 2024
  • SOCHE, for Ohio HS Internship IT services, up to 4 positions paid at $15 per hour, fully refundable to the district if the student intern completes at least 200 hours of work
  • Resignation of Travis Cross as Assistant Varsity Baseball Coach for the 2023-2024 school year

In the Treasure’s Section, the following were approved by the Board:

  • Minutes from the February 21st Board meeting
  • Designee for the Board of Education to attend the required Public Records Training for the 2024-2025 school year
  • Donations
  • Tax rates as submitted by the Champaign County Auditor for the 2024-2025 School Year, are over $69,000 more than the amount approved last year
  • Resolution for Electric Service with IGS through the EPC
  • Monthly financial reports

In the items of discussion, the Board is planning on an Audit Committee Meeting on May 15th to review the 5-year forecast.

Next, the Board planned 2 work sessions, April 10th and May 8th to discuss the field house project, drug test policies, and cell phone usage in the classroom. The Board is also working on dates to hold a Summer Board/Admin Retreat. The updating policy meeting is planned for April 17th.

Some dates to remember are:

  • Next week is Spring Break for WL-S
  • April 17, Regular Board meeting at 6 p.m. held in the WL-S Media Center
  • May 15th, Audit Committee Meeting at 5 p.m. held in a WL-S conference room
  • May 15th, Regular Board meeting at 6 p.m. held in the WL-S Media Center