File photo. Elmwood High School students fill the band room during practice. (Photo: J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune) |
JERRY CITY – The Elmwood school board has hired an architect to design the new band room.
Garmann/Miller and Associates, of Minster, will provide architect services including design, bidding out
the project, hiring a builder and then construction monitoring; plus modifications to the existing band
room.
It will be paid 2 percent of construction costs, which have been estimated at $900,000.
The firm also will oversee the exterior lighting replacement project at an estimated cost of $100,000.
The addition, to the north of the existing band room, will be approximately 60 feet by 70 feet, or 4,200
square feet.
The new room is necessary because of the swell in students interested in band, as well as the noise
factor.
The new construction will free up current space for storage and choirs, and cancels the noise
"bleed" down the hallway.
The noise decibel level is dangerously high for students and teachers in the room. Also, it was designed
for 45 students; there are now 75 in band.
Construction should start in June or July, and take five months.
When the current room was built with a metal ceiling and concrete walls and floors, there was nothing to
absorb any sound, let alone a full band or choir rehearsal. The board in 2005 approved hanging acoustic
tiles to help solve the problem, but it didn’t and now the tiles are dislodging.
The decibel levels have been measured at 114-116 when the full band is playing, comparable to a rock
concert. A normal speaking voice is 60 decibels.
The district has agreed to a lease-purchase agreement to finance both improvements.
The lease-purchase agreement will allow the district to sell bonds to fund the projects.
The district will make payments through July 1, 2023.
Parent Mandy Camden asked the board if consideration was made to utilize the auditorium, located in what
is now the community center in the former high school building.
Superintendent Tony Borton replied that with a 42-minute period, walking back and forth to the auditorium
would drop the class time to 20 to 25 minutes.
Board President Brian King pointed out that at least 25 percent of students are in band.
Also at the meeting, the board heard about the lack of communications from high school teachers from an
upset parent.
Rick Luman, whose stepson quite possibly won’t graduate this year, said his wife repeatedly emailed seven
teachers, and only got responses back from two.
Five teachers, who are employees of this district, "blew us off," said Luman.
"Nobody has the common courtesy to call me back," he stated.
He said his stepson started having problems with grades last year. When he turned 18, all communication
from the district dropped. He said he learned that fact by calling the Ohio Department of Education
because he did not get it from the district, a charge Borton denied.
Federal law allows a student to choose to not have the school communicate with the parents upon reaching
the age of 18.
Luman alleged if his stepson had been in athletics, it would be a different story.
But Camden, who has a son who is a junior and involved in athletics, has had the same problem with lack
of communication.
Luman stated if teachers being paid by taxpayers can’t be bothered to respond to parents, the district
should get rid of them.
"That’s unacceptable as a parent."
"We do work with students … who are at risk of not graduating," said Tom Bentley, high school
principal.
He said currently three seniors are at high risk of not graduating. There are 97 students in the senior
class.
He said he will look into the staff members who did not respond to the emails.
He added that once a student turns 18, he can have the school stop sharing all information, including
attendance and discipline.
Most students don’t, "but it’s not uncommon for that to occur," Bentley said.
The board also:
• Watched Treasurer LuAnn Vanek receive the Northwest Region Distinguished Service Award from Ohio
Association of School Business Officials Executive Director David Varda. There are five regional
distinguished service awards which recognize an individual from each region of the state who has made a
significant contribution to his/her profession.
Vanek has been a treasurer and member of OASBO for 33 years, and treasurer at Elmwood for five years.
She also will receive a $500 scholarship to be awarded to a graduating senior.
• Accepted $1,000 for the music department from a fundraiser held at the new Wendy’s in Bowling Green.
• Approved retirement requests from Bob Lee and Debbie Brooks, both bus drivers; and Laura King and Barb
Slagle, both teachers.
• Approved spending $11,682 to purchase six interactive boards for the middle school, and $9,735 to
purchase five for the middle school, both from CDW-G; and $7,250 to install the boards, to Long
Electric.
• Changed the time and location of all meetings through 2014, to 6 p.m. in the middle school media
center.