Community Update
June 27, 2016
Dear Community Members:
I have several summer updates for you today.
One other note. Eastwood Schools has been on Twitter, and we are using that format to post regular picture updates on the new school. Follow us @els_eagles.
NEW MOVES AND STAFF
At the end of the school year, Mr. Obrcok announced that he will be retiring effective on July 31st. On Tuesday, our plans are to hire Mr. Ed Eding as the interim principal for Eastwood Middle School. Mr. Eding has over 20 years of experience as a widely respected principal in Sylvania where he retired after the 2014-15 school year. We have no doubt that his students will love his positive approach and infectious personality. We are happy to welcome Ed to our team. He has already been working diligently on transition plans.
We also will be hiring two new elementary teachers on Tuesday. Julie Cross will be taking over for Lindsay Hundley at Pemberville in 4th grade, and Kaitlyn Beal for 2nd grade at Luckey for Libby Gruber. Both of these young ladies are fresh out of college, and we are looking forward to getting them acclimated to our district.
We still have one potential opening to fill, and that is at Eastwood High School where teacher Brian Hughes is slated to become the new Athletic Director at North Central pending their Board action. We are screening potential applicants and looking to interview very soon.
Hopefully, that will be the end of the hiring for the 2016-17 school year.
A COUPLE OF NOTES PRIOR TO TUESDAY’S BOARD MEETING
While we have a pretty hefty agenda, there are a couple of noteworthy items.
1. Lunch prices are going up for the second time in 12 years. We will be increasing student lunch prices by $.15. We are running a deficit in Food Service due mainly to increases in costs and federal mandates. This is why proposing this small increase. We have always worked to avoid increasing prices, but we simply have no choice. I can only recall raising prices one other time.
2. We are accepting and awarding a bid for a new bus for next year. We would prefer purchasing two per year, but due to budget constraints, we are only getting one. It will be very similar to the ones we purchased last year. It will be ready to go later this fall.
3. Dr. Ann McVey will be taking over curriculum along with special education responsibilities starting next year. Dr. Brennan Krueger, who had done curriculum, has taken a new position, and our intention is to move those responsibilities rather than hire another part time person. Moving forward Dr. McVey will no longer handle any preschool activities at Northwood which will allow her to focus on our preschool, special education, and curriculum.
BUILDING PROJECT
Things are rapidly progressing on the job site. We have several pictures from the ground level and also from the Middle School roof that will give you a feel for how things are moving along.
Currently, we have one crew digging and installing footers for foundation walls throughout the project. The largest crew is the masons who are building the exterior walls. They have made a significant amount of progress and moved today from the K-1 wing to the kitchen and cafeteria areas. They are also putting in foundation walls in the main academic wing as well. The plumbers and electricians have also begun to install their conduit and piping for the infrastructure that will be located under the floors. Finally, we have a crew that is hammering out the pit for what will be the holding tank for the water to feed the sprinkler system.
Enjoy the pictures below.
Site Picture 1
Site Picture 2
Fire Suppression Storage
Walls for Cafeteria
OTHER SUMMER PROJECTS
We have several other major projects for this summer. We are replacing the old bleachers in the middle school gym, with an excellent set of used bleachers. Over the years, we have had many complaints about there being no handrails and some real difficulty in using those bleachers. They have been removed and a status picture below shows the progress of the installation of the new ones.
We are also doing a major gut to the main restrooms by the gym and auditorium at the HS. We will be starting with the women’s restroom and taking everything down to the floor. We will be installing new sinks, refurbished or new stools, new partitions, and fresh paint in the women’s room. We will see where we are budget wise and do what we can in the men’s restroom. We have already replaced those partitions, but more needs to be done for sure. They also have restored the important exhaust fans which made an immediate improvement.
Later this summer we will be taking on several roof maintenance projects as part of our cycle of trying to improve the lifespan and functionality of our roofs.
Bleacher Installation
Women's Restroom 1
Women's Restroom 2
Wrap-up
That’s it for this week. Enjoy the weather, but hope for some more rain!
Brent