By Andrew Walsh
awalsh@wbcowqel.com
The Bucyrus School Board had to hold its meeting in the elementary auditorium to accommodate the overflowing attendance for its May meeting. It was a night to celebrate volunteers, grade school readers, and the retirement of long-time principal Todd Roll.
It was with a heavy heart that the district accepted the retirement of long-time Elementary School principal Todd Roll. He spent 27 of his 31 years in education in the Bucyrus District, of which he is also an alumnus. Praise from the Board was gracious and consistent as Paul Johnson stated, “I’ve always found him to be the epitome of professionalism.”
Adam Stone added in kind that, “Working with you has been an absolute pleasure,” while also proclaiming him a “consummate professional.”
Roll thanked the parents, the students, and the district for the “opportunity to serve.” He also expressed special gratitude to his family. “I’d like to thank my wife, my parents, and my children for their unconditional support.”
The evening started with the Board and Administration taking their places on the stage, and the seats of the auditorium were filled with the many students and community members set to receive commendations for a year’s worth of hard work.
Members of the business community: Doug Leuthold (Advanced Fiber Technology), Ken Auck (Arctic Cat), Ryan Whitmeyer (Bucyrus Precision Tech), and John Wheeler (IB-Tech) were recognized for their participation in the WAGE Program (Workforce Awareness for Graduates and Educators). This group worked toward educating students and teachers about the employment opportunities in the local community, and what students need to do to take advantage of these opportunities. There was a field trip in October to the Industrial Park north of Bucyrus. There was another spring field trip for the eighth graders.
Next up for recognitions were volunteers in a number of categories, including: BES PTO Members, BEST After School Program, Academic Booster Volunteers, Junior Achievement Volunteers, Coaching Volunteers, BES Mentors, and the Reading Program Volunteers.
The last group to be recognized were the students of Bucyrus Elementary who hit their reading pledge goals. These students reached various milestones of reading minutes and were rewarded with commensurate prizes. Before the award certificates were handed out, several of the students took the stage and gave a short presentation about what they had accomplished. Together, they recited the “Reading Pledge,” a fun poem about how important reading is to the development of children and adults. Collectively, the program led to Bucyrus students spending many thousands of hours reading.
When regular business commenced, Treasurer Ryan Cook brought everyone up to speed on the five-year forecast. These projections are done each October and May, and Cook highlighted what the upcoming financial situation looks like.
His projections from October ended up being pretty accurate, as his total projections were only off by a few percentage points. The good news is that it is looking like there will be a boost in state revenue from Columbus, a boost that was not accounted for in October. However, this is not set in stone yet as budget legislation is still being negotiated in the Ohio General Assembly. Nothing official is likely to be passed until June, but come July 1 Cook was confident that he will be dealing with solid numbers.
The bad news on the budget front is that the district is still operating at a deficit. Two more positions are being eliminated through attrition with the close of this school year, an occurrence that has been frequent in recent years. Cook and Principal Kevin Kimmel reiterated their desires to not eliminate active positions, but rather to decline filling outgoing posts. This position has been effective for the district, but the downside is it takes about 12 months for savings to be realized. Bucyrus will close FY15 with a $191,000 deficit, and the deficit for FY16 is projected to by $228,000.