Wellsville Board of Education

Monday – January 10: The Wellsville Board of Education held their regular monthly meeting this past Monday evening. Prior to the regular meeting the annual organizational meeting was held. Tom Brophey presided. Both meetings took place in the Daw Middle School cafeteria.

For 2011 Tom Brophey was elected President and Karen Dash, Vice President of the Board of Education. The Board also approve the schedule of meetings for the year. Starting in March the regular meetings will move to the third Monday of the month for the remainder of the year. District Treasurer Coleen Wickham was given authorization and granted the flexibility to provide benefits of discount purchases and timely investments. Wickham was also designated as the district's representative to the Ohio Public Records Training session. Brophey was also approved to remain the liaison to the OBEA. Brophey announced that committee assignments will be announced at a later date once he confers with his selections. Mrs. Dash was named as liaison to the Student Achievement Leadership Team.

Present at the regular meeting was President Tom Brophey, VP Karen Dash and Board Members Ed Bauer and Bill Miller. Also attending was Garfield Principal Lisa Ferguson, Superintendent Rich Bereschik, Treasurer Coleen Wickham, Buildings & Grounds Supervisor Joe Traina, WTA President Darlene Allison and 25 WTA members.

For the Treasurer's Report, Wickham reported the General Fund finished December with $1.9 million and the General Set-Asides had a balance of $717,708. Interest earned in December on $4.6 million in investments was $5,013. For Calendar Year 2010 the District earned $80,416 in interest on those investments. Interest rates range from zero to 3.44% with an average of 1.34%.

Mr. Brophey reported there was not much to report for the Legislative Update. All was quiet with a lame duck session and the holidays. Brophey quoted an Indiana study in regards to consolidation that found the average test score results with districts that had 1,000 or less students were higher. It has been reported that Ohio Gov. Kasich is reported to be an advocate of school district consolidations.

Bereschik reported the only Good News Report received was from Daw Middle which announced that 4th Grade student JacquelineMcKinnon was named Student of the Month. Jacqueline is the daughter of Mrs. Christina Francis. Bereschik also noted that Quaker State representative Ron Deem donated enough toboggans for every student at Garfield Elementary and nearly all at Daw Middle. Deem is a Wellsville resident.

The tax budget for FY2012 was approved. Superintendent Bereschik was authorized to hire staff members and accept resignations that come up between Board meetings. Participation in the DARE program was approved for the school year. Garfield 3rd Graders & chaperones were given the okay for a February 28 field trip to the Pittsburgh Antonian Theatre to see the Ellis Island Musical.

In personnel moves Karolyn Walgate, Brian Stoddard and Angela Brown were added to the substitute lists. Coaches and volunteers for baseball and track were named. For baseball John Stoake, Tom Dalrymple & Bug Thompson were named as volunteers. Robbie Long was named Assistant Coach. Coaches named for track were Randy Thrasher, James Malone, Mary Wilson, Brenda & Bug Thompson and Lonnie Fields.

In closing remarks Ed Bauer noted that since 2008 to present the Wellsville School Distirct lost over $100,000 in state funding. The new administration in Columbus is talking of cutting school funding another 5%. For Wellsville that equates to $240,000. Bereschik noted following the meeting that Wellsville's annual budget is 85% funded from the state.

On a happier note Mrs. Dash congratulated WHS wrestler Alex Potts for being named MVP at the recent South Range Wrestling Tournament. Dash also congratulated Garfield Principal Lisa Ferguson on being selected to the Southern Local Athletic Hall of Fame.

Brophey read a newspaper article from The Intelligencer entitled “Minimize Ohio School Cuts”. The Wheeling, WV newspaper was referring to steps anticipated in closing the $8 billion gap in the Ohio budget in which it is speculated that that school funding will be cut an additional 20%. Such cuts would force districts to put new levies on future ballots to make up the difference in lost funding. Such levies in these economic times have proven extremely difficult to get approved at the polls. Consequently it would be forcing school districts to “slash services even more which would be a recipe for reversing whatever education reform progress has been made in the state during the past several years”.

Pictured above is Tom Brophey and Karen Dash as they were sworn in by Mrs. Wickham.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:41 PM. The next scheduled meeting is set for Monday, February 14 at 6:30 in the Superintendent's Office.


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