CARDINGTON- Members of the Cardington-Lincoln Board of Education considered a full agenda including information from Superintendent Brian Petrie when they met on Monday, September 12, with all members present.

Among the items approved was the report given by Brenda Miller, district treasurer. She said the second half of 2021 Morrow County real estate tax was received in August. The district received $1,352,620. That was 6.31 percent increase over the second half 2020 real estate payment.

She added, “The auditor of state’s office published the Cardington-Lincoln Schools audit report for the period ending June 30, 2021 and it noted the district had no substantial findings related to the financial statements that could have possibly affect its ability to obtain federal grants.”

The auditor’s office did issue a management letter to the board that highlighted three areas for continued improvement.

The board approved entering into a one year contract with K-12 business consultants for five year forecasting. Also approved was the August 2022 financial reports, the approval of FY23 21st Century Grant and two ‘then and now” invoices.

Also approved was a donation from the Chesterville Masonic Lodge (Chester) 238 F&AM $450 donation to Masonic Lodge scholarship donation fund.

Giving their reports were Scott Hardwick, Eric Pettit, and Joe Mills. Ginny Zierden, curriculum director, distributed her report.

Hardwick, elementary principal, said the new playground has been complete and was open for use. He thanked Randy Bucher for his excavating work on the project. He added the new smart televisions had been hung and they were waiting on the final steps of installation. “The new traffic plan at the elementary school is going well,” he said. The first District Leadership Team meeting was a success. Open house had gone well and he listed the percentages of families in the five grades who had attended. Hardwick thanked the Pals of Pirates who distributed school supplies and backpacks during the open house. Pettit said Melody Detterman and Matt Fannon were welcomed during the first week of school who will work/coach the ELA and Math departments at the middle school. He congratulated all the students who participated in the Morrow County Fair.

High School Principal Joe Mills said picture day was held the first day of this school year. He welcomed three new teachers and two teacher assistants to the staff. He thanked Mrs. Kill and Miss Bush for creating the Cardington booth at the fair again and named all the high school students who participated in the fair, including the high school band.

Bo Christian, contractor who remodeled the middle school boys and girls rest rooms, thanked all those who helped him in the project.

The board approved the resignation of supplemental contract with Christian Jamal, freshman volleyball, effective August 1, 2022.

Also accepted was the retirement/resignation of certified staff Jodi Adams, middle school intervention, effective August 17, 2022 and the retirement/resignation of classified staff members Diane Stevens, bus driver, and Shannon Claus, educational aide one to one, both effective August 19, 2022 and Steve Damron, assistant cook, effective August 21, 2022.

The board approved substitute teacher rates for 2022-2023 school year as regular rate: $110 per day; CLLS Retired Teacher Rate $120 per day; and Advanced Substitute Rate $157 per day.

Steve Fissell, was approved as an individual on advanced substitute rate for FY 23 and approval was given severance payment to Diana Stevens in the amount of $2,306.74.

Reporting to the board was Superintendent Brian Petrie who described what the District Leadership Team learned from its latest meeting about the changes in Ohio’s report card which was slated to be released on September 15. “This new report card, in my opinion, does a better job in emphasizing student achievement at all levels instead of the singular focus of whether students are proficient or not.” The new report card features a star rating system as opposed to the A-F rating that has been used for the last several years The star rating system measures five components this year including achievement, progress, gap closing, graduation and early literacy.

“As a district we are pleased with our preliminary results in achievement and gap closing, but know that there is some significant work to do to improve progress (value added) and early literacy. I am confident in our staff and our planned professional development to address these needs immediately.”

Petrie also gave an update about the district’s special educational program and praised the Cardington staff for stepping up to take new roles in the district to serve students with the most significant learning needs.

“With the departure of several special education staff this summer, several staff members from other school disciplines have volunteered to take on vacancies in the district. We are one of many districts throughout the region and state that feel the shortage of available teaching staff. Over the course of this school year we will continue to interview candidates to meet the goal of increasing staffing levels in special education to provide a safety net.”

During the opening professional development days, all district staff members including custodians, bus drivers, and aides participated in the Youth Mental Health First Aid Program. This program was aimed at providing staff members important training in how to provide supports for students who are experiencing trauma or mental health crisis.

By Evelyn Long

For the Sentinel