By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
After spending over 20 years with the Buckeye Central School District former principal Jay Zeiter didn’t wait long to return to the school.
After reconvening from an executive session the Buckeye Central Board of Education announced Zeiter as the school’s interim athletic director for the 2015/2016 school year after Kevin Vargyas’ resignation from the assistant principal/athletic director position was approved Thursday night.
Buckeye Central Superintendent Mark Robinson explained the decision to bring Zeiter back.
“We are excited to have Jay back as an interim athletic director for this school year; and the reasoning that the decision was made is that the resignation of Mr. Vargyas was so late into the year had we gone through the interview process found it who might be interested and gone through that whole process what we would have run into is school would have been opening,” Robinson said.
“The nice thing about Mr. Zeiter is he was here 21 years as the principal. He has seen at least two or three athletic directors operate. He is a very avid sports fan, lots of BC pride, and so we felt it was the best thing to do at this late time,” Robinson continued.
Robinson explained that Vargyas will be missed at the school and that the school wishes him the best.
Vargyas had been the school’s assistant principal/athletic director for the past two school years.
The Buckeye Central Board of Education filled the seat of Steve Aichholz when Jerome Heydinger was sworn in as the newest member of the Board of Education. The board seat’s term will expire on Dec. 31, 2015. Heydinger said he has picked up the petition paperwork and plans to run for the seat in November’s election.
Heydinger explained what he hopes to accomplish as a member of the BC BOE.
“To keep the programs that we do have can continue, but make sure the fiscal part of it works out too,” Heydinger said. “You can’t have 100 programs going and no money to fund them. So just balance what we got and keep the school going the way it is going.”
Beth Diesch was voted in as the Board of Education’s vice president replacing Aichholz.
Aichholz isn’t leaving the school district entirely as the Buckeye Central BOE approved hiring him to the position of custodian beginning Aug. 1.
The Buckeye Central Board of Education approved waiving all student and class fees for the upcoming school year. Students will still be responsible for club fees. The Buckeye Central Board of Education also approved not raising breakfast and lunch rates from the 2014/2015 school year.
Prior to the regular meeting the BC BOE took a tour of the BC property. During the tour Robinson explained that after speaking with a representative of Verizon, the tower project at the school is scheduled to take place sometime between the second and third quarter of 2016. Robinson did provide a glimmer of hope saying that the school is in the pipeline of projects and if other projects finish ahead of schedule the project on the school’s property could begin earlier.