School survey opens next week

FORT RECOVERY — School officials will be opening up a survey next week.

Fort Recovery School Board heard Monday from superintendent Tony Stahl about a survey to be posted online April 21.

Stahl noted goals for the survey include finding ways to improve and receive feedback from stakeholders. Another goal is to improve communication practices for the district.

“The reason (communication) is so big is, obviously it’s a crucial part of the service we offer, communicating and working with parents, community members, et cetera,” Stahl said.

The survey ties into gauging communication practices, with Stahl noting the district currently uses both Final Forms Campus Command and One Call Now for messaging needs. He suggested the district could switch to solely using the former.

Stahl said another goal of the survey is to “gauge areas of improvement to realign district resources,” specifically mentioning parent-classroom communication tools, such as Remind, Class Dojo and SeeSaw applications. 

He referenced Ohio Senate Bill 29, which he said sets parameters for districts to control usage of such applications.

Made up of 25 questions, the survey will be posted on social media and the district’s website, with paper copies to be made available as well. Plans are for the survey to be open for a month.

Feedback will be taken into consideration for planning purposes going into the 2025-26 school year.

High school principal Ryan Steinbrunner also reminded board members of a few upcoming events:

•Promenade — 6 p.m. Friday, April 25

•Senior Fest — An all-day event at the end of the school year for high school seniors on Friday, May 16

•Graduation — Sunday, May 18

Also, the school board was reminded it will review its five-year financial forecast during a work session 6 p.m. Monday, May 19, with its regular meeting to follow.

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

•Approved various policy changes on a first reading. Stahl explained many of those are state requirements dating back to December prior to new administration. Two substantial changes, he added, regard student expulsion — schools are now able to expel students if they are “imminent threats” — and changes as required by House Bill 8, which he said requires schools to “notify parents of a substantial change in a student’s educational placement” and sets guidelines for education on sexually explicit material, amid other differences.

•Hired Isaac Osterfeld as a third-grade teacher, effective Aug. 1, for the 2025-26 school year. Osterfeld has taught second and fifth grade classes at Greenville Elementary School for the last three years.

•Heard 16 high school students took a class on drone piloting in the community room last week and take an exam for the course next week. (The class was provided as a part of a grant.) Steinbrunner noted juniors who took the class will have the opportunity to take another drone class related to agriculture next school year, allowing those students to obtain a license to spray chemicals on crops before graduating.

•Approved various high school athletic contracts for the 2025-26 school year, including contracts with volleyball coach Travis Guggenbiller, cross country coach Christine Diller, boys golf coach Dean Sanders, girls golf coach Jeff Vaughn, boys basketball coach Bob Leverette, girls basketball coach Tyler Deitsch and weight room supervisor Wesley Wenning. 

•OK’d contracts for the 2025-26 school year with the following junior high coaches: Devin Post, volleyball assistant coach; Robert Heitkamp, cross country coach; Valerie Alig, basketball coach; Kendyl Mick, basketball assistant coach; Jordan Winner, boys basketball coach.

•Learned elementary school principal Laura Brandt has received no public feedback regarding usage of Title I funding — a federal program providing funding to schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families — and dollars for special education services. Brandt explained the school is required to provide the public an opportunity to assist in planning usage of the dollars.

•Accepted the following as volunteer coaches for the 2025-26 school year: girls golf coach Amy Bihn, assistant junior high volleyball coach Tammy Post, high school assistant volleyball coach Mandy Diller and high school assistant football coaches Dave Blockberger and Stacy Drew. 

•Approved the following: various contracts with other employees for the 2025-26 school year, including supplemental contracts for high school vocal music programs with Tracy Evers-Westgerdes and Reid Knuth, non-teaching contracts with Trisha Dues and Kate Timmerman and certified personnel teaching contracts with Heather Addington and Sophia Homan; an annual service agreement with Mercer County Educational Service Center for the 2025-26 school year; FFA Ag Mechanics Team to attend state finals at Ohio State Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster, Ohio, retroactive to April 2 and 3; 

•OK’d employing Kristy Wehrkamp as a substitute preschool teacher again for the first semester of the 2025-26 school year, Nick Wehrkamp abstaining.