Vaccine count needed

Fort Recovery school staff have the option to take coronavirus vaccines.

Superintendent Larry Brown announced Monday at a school board meeting that the school was asked to provide a number count of how many doses it will need for staff members. Mercer County Health District will be distributing the Moderna vaccine to Fort Recovery Local Schools and Mercer County Educational Service Center employees.

Brown told school board members staff members have been sent an anonymous survey to determine whether or not they would like to take the two-dose vaccine. Fort Recovery and other Mercer County schools don’t have a mandatory vaccination program, Brown explained.

“Certainly, any type of activity that would hopefully lessen spread of the COVID virus would be beneficial, not only for the school but for the community,” he said in a phone call this morning.

Brown isn’t sure when staff will be receiving the vaccine, but he said it will be part of phase 1B (the second round of distribution).

Also at the meeting, middle school principal Ryan Steinbrunner announced that the East Middle School will host the Mercer County Spelling Bee in February. Cameron Muhlenkamp won the Fort Recovery competition. Muhlenkamp and Ava Englehardt, Brinley Fortkamp, Makenna Huelskamp and Paisley Hart will compete in the county spelling contest, with Tyler Dues as an alternate if needed.

High school principal Tony Stahl recognized high school senior Maria Hartings for becoming a semifinalist for the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation. Hartings is one of 1,600 students in the running, Stahl said. The $20,000 scholarship will be awarded to 150 applicants in March.

Stahl also noted high school staff decided not to do exams before winter break.

“We felt that, you know, given what everybody’s going through is a lot to base 20% of a kid’s grade on a final when they might be gone for two weeks,” he said, telling the school board the high school will be averaging quarter one and two grades instead.

In other business, board members Nick Wehrkamp, Anne Guggenbiller, Jake Knapke, Don Wendel and Greg LeFevre:

•Recognized Neal Spencer of Fort Recovery Radio and named him to the 2020 Ohio School Board Association Media Honor Roll.

•Hired Mindy Bubp as a van driver, Casey Steinbrunner and Kylee Sutter as substitute teachers and Justin Overman as the new junior high basketball head coach; and accepted Charlie Vasey’s resignation to volunteer coach.

•Approved the following: a 60-month equipment lease for copiers with MT Business Technologies; a bid for an 84-passenger Blue Bird Bus from Cardinal Bus Sales and Services at $93,628; a membership renewal with Ohio School Boards Association at $3,685; a transfer of $50,000 from the general fund to termination benefits fund for retirement funding; transferring $10,000 into the general fund from the coronavirus relief fund; an addendum to contracts with Mercer County Health Department to extend services for public health nurses through June 30, 2021 (services such as eye exams).

•Agreed to not evaluate Cheri Brewer in 2021 on the basis of her retirement at the end of the year.

•Reappointed Jack Diller to a seven-year term on the Fort Recovery Public Library Board trustees.

•Scheduled the first 2021 organizational meeting for 6 p.m. Jan. 11.

•Elected Wehrkamp as president pro-tem for the January meeting.

•Accepted several donations, including three $800 amounts from Thomas and Mary Pat Zitter for the elementary, middle and high schools and $1,000 for the elementary school from an anonymous donor.