Miami Trace Local Schools Superintendent David Lewis spent time at the Board of Education meeting this week promoting the district’s upcoming “State of the District” address, coming on Monday, Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m.
“Please join us in celebrating the state of the Miami Trace Local School District,” a flier said that Lewis circulated during the meeting. “This event will provide all stakeholders with the opportunity to learn more about current programs and initiatives, district performance, finances, vision, long-range planning and more.”
During the address — which will be held in the Quali-Tee Design Performing Arts Center at the high school — administrative team members from all buildings and departments, as well as the Board of Education, will be available for discussion and questions in the lobby at the conclusion of the presentation. Additionally, light refreshments will be available and the board will meet just prior to the “State of the District” at 5 p.m.
Also during Monday’s board meeting, Lewis — among other district administrators — took time to fill the board in on recent or upcoming work within the various buildings and departments. After discussing the upcoming presentation, he also thanked the board for its work towards the district’s five-year strategic plan and shared a “Quality Profile” about Miami Trace.
“The Quality Profile is really the rest of the story for the district,” Lewis said. “We get our state report cards, but this helps to explain what else we do here at Miami Trace. It discusses our various programs, sports and more and is a nice picture of the district to share with the community. We should have some of these available at the State of the District as well for residents to see.”
Other discussions from the meeting included Miami Trace Athletic Director Aaron Hammond talking about the winter sports season being over halfway complete, and successes at the recent holiday basketball tournament which included two first place finishes and two runner-up finishes.
Miami Trace Elementary School Principal Ryan Davis shared information on an upcoming reading camp, mobile dentist, youth cheer camp, and shared some letters from students who took time to thank the board for their work toward the district.
Miami Trace Middle School Principal Jason Binegar discussed recent advancements in helping parents and communicating with them about their students, and also highlighted an upcoming spelling bee for the school.
Miami Trace High School Principal Rob Enochs talked with the board about recent efforts to help create more paths to graduation. This includes discussion about a graduation seal system from the state with 12 seals to seek. The process is that any student seeking graduation in this method will be required by the state to receive at least one state-guided graduation seal and complete one other seal that could be locally determined or state determined. From community business partnerships to volunteering, plans are continuing to be laid to help seniors graduate from Miami Trace.
Technology head at Miami Trace, Amy Gustin, discussed the first printing and distribution of report cards and the addition of about 21 students who need school devices. Additionally, Gustin explained she is finalizing details for a new website as well as a digital library for the district, and is gearing up for testing season coming soon.
Gary Campbell, food service director, had numbers to discuss concerning recent purchases to fix a number of issues around the district. Campbell explained to the board on Monday that he had a number of unexpected purchases including a new oven, freezer and more. He said that the total was about $65,000 of unexpected repairs and replacements, and — despite being that deep in the negative — expects that within the next month his budget should be balanced thanks to the increase in breakfasts and lunches being served in the district. Coupled with a number of personnel issues resulting in the need for subs, and Campbell said it has been hectic, but he expects the situation to continue to improve.
As Miami Trace transportation department head Joni Daniels-Blouse began her presentation, she shared a couple photos of damage from a recent accident involving a bus. The images showed the bus had just a scratch, and Daniels-Blouse thanked the board and district for ensuring they use the best buses. Additionally, she shared several dates this year when the Ohio State Highway Patrol is expecting to come perform inspections.
Finally, business manager Bill Franke talked about various minor issues still related to the high school project, including sound issues in the gymnasium and with lighting control around the building. He said these were nothing major though and continues to have high school progress meetings with the contractor to discuss warranties. Finally, Franke shared a few more upcoming projects for the district, including replacing old lights with new LED lights that should be more energy efficient and to order some extra furniture for the high school that the staff could use.
Stay with the Record-Herald for more coverage of the Miami Trace Local Schools Board of Education and its upcoming “State of the District” address on Jan. 27.
Reach Martin Graham at (740) 313-0351 or on Twitter @MartiTheNewsGuy.
