April 2023 Regular Board of Education Meeting

No questions or discussion.  Sent to vote.

Treasurer Schumacher reported as follows:

Investments – Star Ohio is now up to 5.14%, Park National is paying 3.0% and PNC is paying 2.69%.  I have contacted the Park National Trust & Investment Department to inquire as to why we never hear anything from them and that I am not pleased with the results we are having with our portfolio.  I explained that I understood COVID was a major problem with investments, but things are beginning to come back and we have seen no results in our portfolio.  I also informed them that I am looking at cashing in CDs as they come due and cashing in anything that will not take a big loss when cashed in. Right now, Star Ohio is our best investment option paying at 5.14%, so I would like to get some of those monies out of the portfolio and into Star Ohio.

We are trying to settle up all of the GEER expenses and are aiming to have them all obligated by June 30, 2023.  We have about $36,000.00 that we need to obligate.  About $10,000 we can use for filters for HVAC and another $3,000 can be used to sanitize the facilities.  We have another $5,000 in instructional supplies to use and $5,000 in Instructional Purchased Services to use.  The remainder can be charged to capital outlay – Luke’s purchases.

The other negative balances in the ECE and Perkins grants are normal.  As of March 31, Adult Ed is a -$105,000 and will need to be financed from the General Fund at year-end.

Inventory is growing.  We have purchased t-shirts and health academy wear for next year already.  This is the main cause of the increase.

We have received all of the county taxes except Richland.  All of the monies we have received have been deposited into the correct account at Park National except for Crawford County.  I spoke with the Auditor and she said they have that correct now.

Everything else in the General Fund is in line and I believe even with all of the retirements this year, we should be good with our Personnel Services line item.

The only journal entries we have this month are to record the transfer of the Permanent Improvement budget and record the receipt of the second safety grant funds.

Jessica Clark attended as EAP Representative.

Mr. Frye reported as follows:

Pioneer students in Skills USA will compete at the state level on April 25-26th. Twenty-five students will represent Pioneer during the competition vying for a spot at the National Skills USA contest in June.

Three students from Pioneer’s BPA Chapter will compete in Anaheim, CA from April 26th-30th at the National BPA Competition.

Leadership Unlimited of Richland County hosted a lunch meeting at Pioneer on April 13th. Twenty-three leaders from business and industry visited programs at Pioneer and had lunch provided by Pioneer’s Culinary Arts students. Mr. Nickoli and myself hosted an informational question and answer session for all of the Leadership Unlimited participants who were excited to visit Pioneer, as many of the participants had never been in Pioneer before.

Safety of all students and staff at Pioneer continues to be a major focus. Pioneer participated in the statewide tornado drill and feedback from the drill was shared with administrators. Moving forward, members of Shelby Fire Department and Richland County Emergency Management Association will visit Pioneer to review emergency evacuation routes and shelter areas.

Enrollment continues to be very strong as we close in on the end of school. Student Services is reviewing applications and placing students when possible.

The process of recruiting and hiring teachers to replace our retiring staff members has been a success and will continue. We have found energetic and talented individuals to add up to this point.

Pioneer hosted “Hollywood Nights” Prom on Saturday, April 15th. The weather for Prom was beautiful and the event was attended by over 200 students and was a big success.

Mr. Grady shared that the General Assembly is now back to work.  They are working on HB33 - the budget .  He also reported that HB1 (Modifying the law regarding property taxation and income tax rates) and HB11 (the Backpack Bill) could be combined with the budget.

The projected enrollment for next year is still coming in. We have currently placed 1,371 students for next year which is 130 more than last year.  These continue to be exceptional numbers. We will be welcoming our new students and parents at the Pioneer New Student/Parent Orientation on May 10^th.  Students and parents will have the opportunity to visit the Career Technical Labs and learn more about Pioneer and their programs.

At the end of the month, I will be checking enrollment very closely to determine if I need to send out Reduction-In-Force (RIF) letters.  Although things are looking very good, if needed, RIF letters will be delivered by me to the union and teachers by April 30^th.

RIF’s are not acted on until a later board meeting, so I will keep you posted on any reductions that might be necessary.  Until that time, Student Services and instructors will continue recruitment efforts.

In January, Governor DeWine released his budget proposal for the next biennium.  One particular line item included in his proposal was $200 million dollars for Career-Tech expansion around the State.  We learned last week that an extensive project proposal process is/has been created and that the deadline for the submission of proposals is May 5.  As a part of the submission process, we have to submit documentation of Board support to move the project forward.  I am asking the Board to authorize the submission of an application for funding of a project that would include the addition of a second welding lab and an electrical trades program.  Please note that there is no guarantee that we will be funded as there are several factors that will determine the funded proposals.

April 26    - Awards Night

May 1 – 5 - Staff Appreciation Week

May 10    - New Student Orientation

May 12    - Senior Moments

May 19    - Student Appreciation Day

May 25    - Adult Education Graduation

May 26    - Year-End Staff Appreciation Breakfast

It is with great regret that I recommend that you accept the retirement resignation of Kalyn Stichler.  Mrs. Stichler has spent her entire 35-year career at Pioneer as a Math teacher.  Most recently, she has started her day at our Performing Arts Program in Downtown Mansfield before driving to our main campus to finish out her day. She is a remarkable teacher who goes far above and beyond to ensure that her students are successful.

It is with great pleasure that I recommend the hiring of Ms. Krista Snider as a Cosmetology Instructor.  Ms. Snider rose to the top of our many wonderful Cosmetology candidates by demonstrating her passion for the field, her dedication to students, and her creative ideas for how she might train her students. 

I am also pleased to recommend Morgan Schumacher as our newest School Counselor.  Ms. Schumacher brings a wealth of knowledge in Career-Technical Education as she comes to us from the Akron Public Schools where she currently works as a College and Career Academy Coach and previously served as a School Counselor.

We are thrilled to have both of these high quality professionals join the team at Pioneer.

All other Personnel items are common for the month of April.

No questions or discussion.  Sent to vote.

No questions or discussion.  Sent to vote.