Insurance rates are good news at Buckeye Central

By Andrew Walsh
awalsh@wbcowqel.com

Buckeye Central’s five-year forecast looks a lot rosier today than it did five months ago.

In the April edition Treasurer Nancy Ackerman forecasted a hike in insurance rates approaching 15 percent. Now that September is upon us it has been revealed that those increases will stand at 1 percent. A 15percent increase caused rates go up more than $100,000 per year, and the 1 percent increase will only raise rates in the area of $10,000 per year.

Ackerman said they were “Very fortunate” to save “substantial dollars.”

The school year is under way and Superintendent Tara Meyerink reported a “good start.”

Also good news for the district came in the form of their placement in their value-added department of the state rankings. BC ranked 306 out of 548 districts in the gifted category, 363 of 862 districts in performance index, and 377 of 814 in value added. Meyerink was excited to announce the top half rankings, and some better than that, in each of the categories.

Meyerink also commented on the lockdown that took place on Monday. The lockdown system has three levels, and Buckeye never left the lowest level of security.

“The plan we have in place worked, and it wasn’t just a drill,” Meyerink said.

While no school ever wants to raise its security level, the timing for this was not all bad as Buckeye is set to review its security procedures this year. This course of action, and the fact that it was not a drill, has given the district valuable insight into its security procedures.

“I feel like we did a good job,” Meyerink said.

Board member Missy McDougal did add that she thought communication with the parents could have been handled better. This aspect of the situation will be discussed along with the rest of the security procedures.

The district is hoping to unveil its new website at some point in October. It will be interactive and mobile device friendly. A date has not been set for the official unveiling but October is the expected month. The new domain name will be released when the site is ready.