Paulding County Sheriff’s Office and local police train for emergency lockdowns at the Antwerp Local School on March 4.
The Antwerp school board met on March 15 for the monthly meeting started. Guest present at the meeting were Ed Bohn of the Paulding County EMA and Mark Holtsberry, who is seeking reelection for the position of Paulding County Commissioner.
The Liaison report was read by Bob Herber, school bill 512. The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly want to extend 2019-2028 for school safety funding.
Vantage was informed by Dennis Recker. The FFA Diner is March 29 at 5:30. Antwerp has several who are in the program. They also held mock interviews on March 1 to help seniors prepare for the future. They are also looking for several employees including the Adult Education Director.
The financial report was read by Christine Stuart. Income: $1,142,978.02; Expenses: $685,043.37; Interest: $5,496.44
Stuart said 2/3 of the way through the year and 71% received and spent 55% of the projected budget.
Harold Gottke says he estimates that the solar panels will probably save the school $2500 per month.
Travis has said they are now required to administer the ACT to all high school senior students now. Aidan McAlexander was congratulated for his big 3rd place finish at the state final. He is invited to the next board meeting to be recognized in person. Travis also said the quiz bowl kids did a great job winning the GMC. He also said there were 1300 people here who came for the play and had a great turnout. PC Tigers will be playing the staff soon. Hoops for Heart will been March 21st they can get out of class for $10 and another $2 if they want to bring their cell phones in. The athletic awards are on March 20 at 6:00pm. Senior trip will leave on the 22 in the evening.
Elementary principal Amy Hammer presented her report. Kerry Kazaam in conjunction with the Sheriff department came in for a safety presentation to the elementary students. Kindergarten screening has 44 kids registered right now for next year. Preschool screening is on April 4 and it is full now.
Superintendent Marty Miller said teacher Allison Springer is moving to a from K to grade 1. Zack Lee is going to Kindergarten. A 4th grade teacher is needed and Linda Mabis is taking that. A fifth grade math and science teacher is now posted. The head custodian is being approved as Andrew Messmann. Ron Farnsworth is retiring as bus driver. The softball field is going to be ready for the start of the season. The baseball team will start on the old field and then move to the new field when completed, hopefully in mid April. The old football bleachers will be moved out in May and the new ones will be coming in June after Flat Rock Concrete pours the concrete. The innovation center is going to be a focus in the upcoming months along with a greenhouse possibly. The windmill money will start to come in soon and this should be a great way to help the students in a new function for the school.
Harold Gotke said the sound board will be replaced in the Auditieria. There will also be new speakers up front and higher powered amplifiers, new wiring, and bass. Both gyms will get some new equipment and also reuse some old equipment from the Auditieria. The solar field is working very well and creating more power than what was expected. The lighting project is now finished but there are several that are not the same color and Harold heard about it. They will be replaced soon when the correct color fixtures are received. He said we should also have completely switched over the entire school now to LED lighting.
Marty mentioned that they have been working on safety plans in schools with the local law enforcement in the town and county. He invited Ed Bohn to speak about school safety. He also congratulated Sheriff Jason Landers for working with all the schools and doing such a good job in training that took place March 4th.
Right now legislation is not conducive to having wind farms and this is a concern they intend to voice concerns to try and get things changed.
Ed Bohn spoke on training at the school for the safety of the schools. He is showing a book of every school in the county and showing where rally points will be for emergency personnel. This could be used for any kind of emergency from bomb threats, shootings, or anything else that threaten the safety of the students and salary. He would like to have them available for every emergency vehicle in the county. The cost is $7000 for the books and will be divided between the school systems. Ed said they would like to keep these books accounted for so they do not come up missing or in the wrong hands.
Mark Holtsberry spoke to the school board on how history is being rewritten in the school books and quoted several. He asked the school board to not choose the cheapest but select the best books being made. He said there are still 18 World War II veterans still alive. He also talked about his job as a Commissioner. His commitment to the community has brought prosperity to the county, helped with the children’s home, and many others.
The consent items were read and approved.
