FRLS ends ’24 with $11.9 million

FORT RECOVERY — The financial forecast was nearly spot on.

Fort Recovery School Board heard updates about its financials during its meeting Monday.

Fort Recovery Local Schools finished fiscal year 2024 on June 30. Its year-end cash balance came to $11.9 million, roughly $100,000 more than estimates shared from May’s five-year financial forecast.

Treasurer Deanna Knapke noted the school district spent approximately $530,000 out of its permanent improvement fund from July 1, 2023, to June 30. She highlighted a few of the larger expenditures, which were:

•Replacing the gym roof at the elementary and middle school for $236,000

•Purchasing a new bus for $122,000

•Resurfacing a portion of the parking lot at the elementary and middle school for $30,000

•Installing a new sprinkler system at the football field for $24,000

•Updating sound systems in elementary classrooms for $19,500

•Adding cameras to the LeFevre Family Baseball and Softball Complex for $18,000

•Updating projectors in classrooms for $16,000

•Completing concrete work on the east side of the middle school for $12,000

•Updating the bell and intercom system at the high school for $11,000 — an additional $33,000 for the project came from Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s School Safety and Security grant. 

Also Monday, the school board learned Fort Recovery Local Schools and the village of Fort Recovery were awarded $439,589 through Ohio Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School program for construction projects focused on safety for children walking or biking to school. (See related story.)

The school district also secured $18,000 through the program for a non-infrastructure project related to safety in 2025. Plans are to use the funding for purchasing safety equipment such as radios, crossing guard materials and bike storage, providing annual walking and biking safety information to students and parents through the mail and planning safety-related events. Superintendent Tony Stahl noted hopes to host an interactive bike safety presentation for students.

Also, school board OK’d purchasing a new 10-passenger 2024 Ford transit van from American Bus and Accessories through the Southwestern Ohio Educational Purchasing Council for $76,028. 

In other business, board members Sean Kahlig, Don Wendel, Nick Wehrkamp, Mitch Fullenkamp and Greg LeFevre:

•Heard work on the turf putting green being created in memory of former golf coach Joe Bruns will begin in the next few weeks. The new golf facility — landscaper Nature’s Green Nursery is handling the work — will be located near the right-field line of the baseball field at the LeFevre complex.

•Approved the following: transferring $32,000 from the general fund into the early childhood education fund ($10,000), Title IA fund ($10,000), Title IIA ($7,000) and Title IVA ($5,000); a contract with Courtney Westgerdes at $30 an hour not to exceed 20 hours, effective Tuesday through Aug. 30 on an as-needed basis; supplemental contracts with various employees, including athletic contracts with junior high track coach Bob Heitkamp, girls track coach Christy Diller, boys track coach Charlie Vasey and baseball coach Kevin Eyink; using $2,074 in credit card rewards as statement credit; handbooks for pre-kindergarten, elementary, middle school and high school; a resolution declaring Fort Recovery Board of Education participate and authorize the Southwestern Ohio Educational Purchasing Council to advertise and receive bids on the board’s behalf for the cooperative purchase of school buses and other vehicles, materials and supplies.

•Set tuition and student fees for preschool through eighth grade for the upcoming school year. Fees either stayed the same or decreased from previous years and are as follows: preschool, $20; kindergarten, $55.70; first grade, $55.70; second grade, $57.20; third grade, $57.40; fourth grade, $49.45; fifth grade, $75.25; and sixth grade, seventh grade and eighth grade, $61.

•Set lunch prices for the upcoming school year as follows: preschool through fifth grade, $2.45; sixth grade through 12th grade, $2.70; adults, $3.80; main dish only, $1.60.

•Accepted Greg LeFevre — LeFevre abstaining — as a volunteer boys golf coach

•Selected Nick Wehrkamp as the board’s delegate to the annual capital conference with Don Wendel as the alternate delegate.

•Hired Tanya Storie, Trisha Dues and Lacey Tipton as non-teaching employees — Tipton will be transitioning into the preschool lead teacher role — and the following as substitutes on an as-needed basis for the upcoming school year: Samantha Bruggeman, Denise Bruns, Mary Diller, Marilyn Fortkamp, Shirley Gruss, Maria Hartings, Kelly Hein, Tammie Hiser, Karli Jutte, Vickie Jutte, Sandy Kaiser, Lisa Lennartz, Shelly McCain, Sarah Nearon, Elaine Pax, Kathleen Portz, Nancy Reinhard, Janet Roessner, Barb Sautbine, Carol Storie, Tanya Storie, Kylee Sutter and Jill Walter.

•Authorized the superintendent to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Fort Recovery Education Association in relation to creating the position of junior varsity golf coach.

•Authorized the superintendent and treasurer to enter into food procurement contracts that exceed $15,000 through the Educational Purchasing Council consortium bid process or other consortiums.

•Recognized the Fort Recovery High School baseball team for advancing to the OHSAA Division IV state championship game in June. “The best part about the tournament run was just seeing the whole community behind us at all the games and everything, just the atmosphere was so fun to play in,” said Troy Homan. “Even though we lost the state championship game, I told these guys that, like, I’d play it 100 times over again if I knew we’d lose just because how fun the atmosphere was.” LeFevre added, “From the community side, I would say the same thing — it was just a ton of fun.”

•Accepted $120 in donations from Be You Floral to middle school and high school drama clubs.