Riverside Schools Board of Education selected their leadership for 2021 during their Tuesday evening annual organizational meeting, re-electing Dr. Bradley Adams as president and Janet Siders as vice president of the board.
Meetings this year will continue to take place at 6 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month in the school library.
During the regular meeting that followed, Superintendent Scott Mann provided the board with an update on the district’s $171,000 Broadband Connectivity Grant, which has taken shape in recent months and will include a visit by state officials Wednesday at the school to announce further Internet-related services that will be available to district residents.
Additional details about how residents can sign up to participate in the project will be announced in the Examiner following the visit.
“We are really excited to be able to offer these upcoming opportunities,” Mann said. “It took a number of people working in the same direction to make it happen.
“The opportunity grew out of the pandemic in the spring when the schools were shut down. We found that our students really struggled to be able to access wireless Internet at home, and we wanted to do something about that issue to help our community.”
The superintendent also took the chance to express his appreciation to each of the board members, also including Joel Snow, Blaine Dixon and Mark Zumberger, for School Board Appreciation Month.
“We’re so thankful for the guidance that you provide (Treasurer) Ronnie (Fitchpatrick) and I throughout the year,” he said. “Each of you has a ‘kids first’ motto, and that’s something to be proud of here.
“It hasn’t been an easy job over the past year with all of the challenges of the pandemic, and we appreciate you offering us the support during the difficulties that we’ve had to work through.”
Mann also reported that Deputy Chris Prickett has taken the place of the district’s recently retired school resource officer Roy Pulfer, and he is working several days a week in the building alongside Deputy Jean Stanfield.
In student achievements, Brody Orsborne was the winner of the elementary school’s recent spelling bee. He and runner-up Kara Klingler will participate in the upcoming Logan County Spelling Bee, slated for 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, at Indian Lake High School.
In personnel matters, the board approved Jenny Withrow as a special education aide.
Members also approved the course catalog for the 2021-22 school year, along with a number of routine standing authorizations for the superintendent and treasurer for the current year.
The next meeting is 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, at the school library.