Board looks long-term

Maintenance is on the mind.

Fort Recovery School Board heard an update Monday on hopes and plans for long-term maintenance goals on the district’s structures.

School board hired Garmann Miller of Minster in February to perform a facilities assessment on the district’s assets. Representatives of the company shared their findings in an October presentation to school board, pointing to various repairs the district can expect to make in the next 25 years to its structures.

Fort Recovery superintendent Tony Stahl noted Monday that school administration and Garmann Miller are working on a long-term maintenance plan for the district, with a large focus on projects at Fort Recovery High School.

He proposed — school board took no formal action Monday — creating a capital project fund in the future to be used for permanent fixtures, construction, repairs and other related work for projects at the high school. He noted specifics are still in the works and suggested the decision may come up for school board’s approval at a future meeting.

Stahl also pointed to potential plans next year for updating aspects of Fort Recovery Elementary/Middle School’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. He explained the building currently has variable air volume (VAV) boxes that have been replaced at different times and shared hopes to update those parts at the same time.

He pointed out the large-scale project would likely take most of the summer to complete, adding that school board may be asked to select an architectural engineering firm in January for design work on the project. Treasurer Deanna Knapke noted the project will require seeking bids.

Also Monday, school board heard about Fort Recovery High School’s principal committee, a group of eight students that meets once a month and focuses on strengthening leadership skills and planning student activities. 

Principal Ryan Steinbrunner noted a few of those plans this year include spirit buses — buses open to students in sixth through 12th grade to attend some away sporting events with discounted admission — and a karaoke fundraiser to raise dollars for the Sawyer Overman Ninja Park planned near Fort Recovery Community Park.

Steinbrunner explained students had the option last week to donate money in 13 buckets with staff members’ names on them, raising $1,250 for the cause. The three staff members who raised the most money were expected to sing karaoke Tuesday at a school assembly.

Also, Steinbrunner noted Fort Recovery FFA’s Ag Tech Mechanical Systems team — Kyle Huntsman, Riley Grieshop, Luke Fortkamp and Alex Gaerke — placed first in the state at a competition in Wooster, Ohio. The team will advance to the nationals competition and represent Ohio in October.

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

•Agreed to meet at 6 p.m. Jan. 13 for an organizational meeting with the regular board meeting to follow and elected Don Wendel as president pro-tem for the organizational meeting.

•OK’d Michelle Stammen’s retirement from full-time teaching at Fort Recovery Local Schools after the end of the 2024-25 school year.

•Approved the following: (retroactively approved) an overnight trip for FFA members to attend state finals at Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster, Ohio, from Dec. 4 to 5; paying a $9,510.17 invoice from Vore’s Welding for work done at Barrenbrugge Athletic Park; hiring Colleen Hiestand as a volunteer assistant softball coach; keeping Kristy Wehrkamp (Nick Wehrkamp abstaining) as a classified substitute for another semester; and renewing the Ohio School Boards Association membership for $4,182.

•Accepted Brent Niekamp’s resignation as weight room supervisor, effective immediately.

•Reappointed Fort Recovery Library trustees Eric Kaiser, Kim Niekamp, Matt Minor, Rose Hart, Alison Homan, Jack Diller and Abby Schmitz.

•Accepted donations, including $800 from different sources for the Adopt-A-Family program.