October 2022 Regular Board of Education Meeting

No questions or discussion.  Sent  to vote.

Treasurer Schumacher reported as follows:

The GAAP conversion is under final review before submitting to the State.  Hopefully, that is completed and submitted this week as the auditors will be in our office next Monday.  We have sent them a lot of information already. I hope that means they will be ready to finish up next week.

I am working on finalizing the next five-year forecast.  As we all know, the Federal Reserve Bank has made fighting inflation its number one concern. It is expected that interest rate increases before December, 2022 will result in increased unemployment and many economists anticipate an economic recession in the first half of calendar year 2023. If that occurs, the recession will happen as the state legislature considers the next biennium budget for FY24 and FY25. Despite the solid economic recovery the state of Ohio has enjoyed over the past two years, a recession may impact the legislature’s funding decisions for primary and secondary education.  This will be the basis for the five year forecast I will be presenting in November.

Nothing astonishing went on during September.  I have not heard a word from OFCC.  I hope to soon, as I would love to get this project closed after 10 years.  Kris has a few projects going on – the cameras, vape detectors and some controls.  Those will all be paid mostly through the 034 fund which right now has a balance of almost $2.6M. $50,000 will come from the safety grant and hopefully, another $50,000 from a second safety grant.

As you can see, the balance left in the 025 fund (NCOCC) is $768,270.08.  Rea & Assoc finished a cash reconciliation on our accounts and we have now paid that balance to NCOCC and we are finished being their fiscal agent.  We did find out this week, though, that the federal government will not issue a payment for a previous fiscal year to their new bank account.  They will only issue to the payment to the account of record on the date of the order.  Since supply chains have been an issue, the government has been having to pay for old orders now.  I have informed NCOCC that when we receive one of their payments, we will let NCOCC know and they can issue an invoice and all pertinent paperwork and we will then cut them a check for the deposit we received.  They will drop off of our health insurance December 31, 2022.  Other than that, we should now be clear of any erate findings for our relationship with NCOCC.

The adult ed balance as of 9/30/2022 is $1,150.16.

All is good with the general fund.  All expenses except Supplies and Miscellaneous are under the 25% for 3 months.  Supplies is due to beginning of the year expenses and Miscellaneous is due to the County charges for real estate tax fees for this last tax collections. 

Megan  Niswander was introduced and stated the Union was looking forward to discussion of retire rehire procedures.

Director Frye reported on the Board Goal achievements as follows:

Pioneer students continue to excel in Early Job Placement opportunities.  One local company who has hired Pioneer Welding students recently commented that one of Pioneer’s senior welding students is one of the best welders they have ever hired.  The student currently welds at the level of some seasoned full-time welders.  Pioneer has over 90 students currently employed through Early Job Placement- this number is significantly higher than the same time last year.  The bulletin board outside of the high school office highlights our students currently out working through Early Job Placement.

During Parent-Teacher Conferences this month, Pioneer will host “Tailgate with Teachers” during both evenings of conferences.  Parents are encouraged to come to conferences and share tailgate food in the Community Room with staff from Pioneer.  This follows with our strategic planning goal of communicating with parents to show Pioneer cares about students and families.

Pioneer recently hosted a panel discussion about females in non-traditional programs.  A panel of speakers from Universal Enterprises, Adena, Gorman Rupp and Bucyrus Blades shared lunch with female students enrolled in non-traditional programs at Pioneer.  There were 2 alumni from Pioneer on the panel and as a result of the meeting, 2 current Pioneer students were hired for Early Job Placement

Pioneer will send over 40 students to Columbus for SkillsUSA Leadership training.  Students will participate in leadership activities with other career centers from across the state of Ohio.  Pioneer Cosmetology students traveled to Columbus to participate in the Premier Columbus Beauty Trade Show Event with cosmetologists from across the country.  Culinary Arts students will compete in a Prostart Burger Battle competition later this month.  Pioneer continues to encourage and support students participating in real-world experiences.

New Pioneer English instructor Cassandra Lowery wrote and received a grant from Altrusa International of Mansfield and as a result, Pioneer received over 200 school supply items to add to our Sharing Closet for students in need.  Pioneer continues to work on fostering passion, caring and dedication in the hiring and developing of staff. 

Mandy Glessner's students gave a presentation of their marketing project completed for their "Owning Your Own Business" course. 

Mr. Grady reported current topics of discussion at The State Board of Education including resolutions to repeal the third grade reading guarantee and allocate monies from the American Recovery Act to subsidize free breakfasts and lunches for all students.  These must be approved by the Sate Board of Education and both Legislatures.

Superintendent Nickoli reported as follows:

On October 6^th, Pioneer was pleased to host the Richland County Chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association.  Eleven veterans and/or their family members joined us for lunch in the Pioneer Room followed by a tour of our Precision Machining Program, our Home Remodeling Program, and our Horticulture Program.  We were joined by several of our Purple Star students, including Kylie Snow, a Senior from Ontario High School who is enlisted in the Army National Guard.

As previously reported, enrollment is once again very strong this school year.  Our program on the RIF list this year is our Meat & Animal Science Program which will  continue to be combined.  This has been the case for many years due to the nature of the work done in the lab.

October 20                        - Parent-Teacher Conferences

October 24                         - All-Advisory Committee Dinner

November 9                       - Ralph Phillips Business Partner of the Year Dinner

November 11      - Veterans’ Day Celebration

November 13-15 - OSBA Capital Conference & Trade Show 

I am asking that you accept the retirement-resignations of Ms. Becky Nichols (Hospitality Instructor), Mr. Paul Brown (Collision Repair Instructor) and Ms. Laurie Easler (School Counselor).  Ms. Nichols is submitting her resignation significantly early.  She will be retiring next September, however, in order to give us ample time to find a suitable replacement, she is submitting her letter of retirement now.  Mr. Brown and Ms. Easler will be retiring at the end of their current contract years.  Mr. Brown’s year concludes with the end of this academic year and Mrs. Easler’s contract concludes with some extended time next summer. I am also recommending that you approve three (3) Dock Days for Ms. Jordan Studer, Family and Consumer Science Instructor at Bucyrus.

All other items are common for this time of year. 

No questions or discussion.  Sent  to vote.

No questions or discussion.  Sent  to vote.

No questions or discussion.  Sent  to vote.

No questions or discussion.  Sent  to vote.

Entered into Executive Session at 7:46 pm. Returned to regular session at 8:16 pm.