At the March 14 meeting of the Bethel Board of Education, the board approved a contract with VTF Excavation, as recommended by Shook Touchstone, as the contractor for the road-widening portion of the Bethel Building addition. Owner’s Representative Joes Harkleroad reported that VTF Excavation was an approved Ohio Department of Transportation contractor and the lowest bidder for the project. According to Harkleroad, the bid came in within $300 of the engineering estimate by Shook. The bid is approximately $580,000. The road widening will begin this summer.

Harkleroad also reported that because of the mild winter progress on the new building is going well. The walls are going up. However, the wet weather over the last couple of weeks has delayed the pouring of the large slabs; however, he expects this to be completed within the next couple of weeks.

Currently, the project is under budget. However, the final bid for the technology is not due until March 16. When it is received, he should have a good idea of where the project stands.

For other facilities management, Superintendent Virginia Potter reported that a pipe cracked on the new boiler and required an emergency repair. In addition, a request for proposal is ready for the needed roofing repairs. The High School Gym Roof has been fixed and the bleachers moved in preparation for expanding the gym during the construction project. Potter also announced that the elementary parking lot would be closed from March 25 through April 4 to perform some preparation work needed for the road-widening project.

In the Superintendent’s Report, Potter announced that three students scored high enough in the regional science fair competition to qualify for participation at the state level.

In addition, she announced that all four musical groups from Bethel who participated in the District 11 Competition scored I’s, which qualify them to compete in the state competitions. The groups include the Bethel Concert Band, Men’s Choir, Women’s Choir and the Mixed Choir. In addition, the high school choir will present Les Miserables April 14 through April 16 in the Bethel Auditorium.

To address school safety, the students and staff participated in an Intruder Drill during which two Miami County Deputies evaluated both student and staff performances. The officers provided the administration with invaluable feedback to improve performance and increase school safety. In addition, on March 24, the Special Education Teachers will participate in Crisis Intervention Training. The training aims to teach strategies to safely defusing anxious, hostile, or violent behavior at the earliest possible stage.

Elementary School Principal Jodi Petty reported that the elementary staff has been working on the science curriculum. The selection of a new science textbook is complete. The staff is working diligently to develop units with a hands-on focus to more actively engage elementary students in their science education.

Petty also reported that currently the school has approximately 90 students identified as gifted in some way. The staff is working on identifying any additional students who may qualify. The gifted identification involves the administration of the Otis-Leenon and the Stanford Ability Tests. Teachers can also refer students who they think may qualify.

Treasurer Karen Newman requested that the board accept the Rates of Tax as determined by the Miami County Auditor Budget Commission for 2016. According to Board Member Lori Sebastian the tax rates are correct in the report from the Auditor’s Office; however, she said, “The revenues are incomplete. The report does not reflect tax revenues for any of the Huber Heights Developments in the township. I would like to file a complaint with the office requesting that our revenues reflect the actual taxes earned by the district.”

In addition, the board approved the establishment of the Triple A Administrator Scholarship. The scholarship is available to any graduating senior who has attended Bethel High School as a full-time student taking five or more classes for at least three years, participated in band, choir, and/or art for all four years of high school, participated in school athletics for four years earning two or more varsity letters, and earned a 3.6 GPA. Potter said, “I hope to award a scholarship of $1800 each year.”

The board also approved a settlement and mutual release of claims with Reiter Dairy, LLC. Bethel participates as a member of the Ohio Educational Purchasing Council (EPC), which authorized purchase of dairy products from Reiter Dairy, LLC. A dispute ensued when the EPC discovered that Reiter had overcharged the members of the council close to $90,000. Because of the settlement, Bethel received $3,117.67 as their portion of the over-payments

The board approved Leave of unpaid leaves of absence for Diane Styrula from March 22 through March 24 and for Shannon Barker, April 27 (p.m. only).

In addition, they approved the certified substitute teachers who have been approved by the Miami County Educational Service Center and are on file in the Central Office. According to Potter, this list must be approved monthly because the ESC is constantly updating the substitute list.

Lastly, they approved the purchase of one Blue Bird Visions school bus for $85,000 to replace the bus totaled when an automobile struck it earlier in the school year. The bus has been delivered, inspected and is ready to use.

The next meeting of the Bethel Board of Education is scheduled for April 11 at 7:00 p.m. in the HS Library Media Center.