MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon Board of Education held its first meeting of the school year Monday night with a new person in the treasurer’s seat.
Gary Hankins began his official term as district treasurer Aug. 1. Hankins most recently served as principal of Big Walnut Intermediate School, but it’s not his first time as an administrator in the Mount Vernon City School District. He spent a year as assistant principal and six years as principal at Mount Vernon Middle School.
Kim Miller-Smith of the Ohio School Boards Association attended the board meeting to present Steve Thompson with a certificate recognizing him as a 10-year school board member.
Board president Margie Bennett read a thank-you note from the staff of the SPI Spot Museum for the free use of the Twin Oak and Columbia Elementary buildings as rain locations for summer camps.
“Please inform the other school board members that we are very grateful for the district’s help in providing fun, educational camps in our community,” the letter said. It also commended some of the high school’s student volunteers.
Superintendent Bill Seder updated the board on ongoing facilities improvement projects throughout the district and offered his thoughts on the fiscal impact of the state’s biennium budget.
“I think it’s important to note to the board that we were essentially flat funded,” he said. “We did receive additional funds, but in a very earmarked way.”
While schools across the state received a funding increase, the “new money” is part of a student wellness and success fund, which means it can only be used for certain student health and wellness costs. There was no increase in the generalized funding that schools can use to address routine operating expenses.
“We’re going to have to come back to revise the five-year forecast,” said Seder. “We were forecasting some additional revenues and that didn’t happen in the way we were expecting.”
The board also:
•Approved a student trip to Madrid and Barcelona, Spain, for the 2020 Spring Break.
•Approved the following donations: $1,266.91 from an MVNU student group to Dan Emmett Elementary, $2,000 to Twin Oak Elementary from the Mount Vernon Elks Club for Chromebooks and accessories and a set of backpacks, school supplies and arts and crafts materials to Twin Oak Elementary from Dave and Ellen Culbertson.
•Approved various facilities use requests.
•Approved a food services consulting proposal with K-12 Business Consulting, Inc.
•Approved the resignation of head softball coach Mike Marcum.
•Approved the employment of new middle school math teacher David Mounts, middle school intervention specialist Richard Bridinger and bus mechanic David Baer.
•Approved various staff for department head, substitute, supplemental
