Board discusses re-instituting volunteer armed response team
Indian Lake Schools will have a new staff member dedicated to security starting this school year.
The Indian Lake Board of Education voted during their regular July board meeting Tuesday night to contract with the Washington Township Police Department for a School Resource Officer.
Superintendent Rob Underwood explained that the Washington Township Police Department has worked to serve and protect Indian Lake students and staff for years and this agreement will bolster their presence with an officer always on campus during school hours.
“As things have started to change in our society and, quite frankly, across the U.S. we just saw a need for more support here on campus.” Underwood explained. “We’ve found an excellent candidate to fill that role and he’s currently in School Resource Officer Training.”
Washington Township Police Chief Rick Core said Officer Logan Miller will be the SRO. He comes to Indian Lake Schools from the Allen County Fraud Investigation Unit and before that, the Russells Point Police Department.
SRO Miller will spend most of the year working for Indian Lake Schools, then serve as an additional officer for the Washington Township Police Department to help cover the busy summer time in the Indian Lake area.
The contract will be a 71 percent/29 percent split between Indian Lake Schools and Washington Township.
The Memorandum of Understanding approved with the police department incorporates the school district paying 71 percent of the annual salary and benefits in the amount of $48,288.52, plus SRO training expenses.
The board also discussed re-instituting an armed response team, consisting of select volunteer school employees, as allowed under Ohio House Bill 99, which passed earlier this summer.
During 2018, the Board of Education approved the armed response team as part of its Emergency Response Plan, which is considered a security record. At the time, the law did not require the armed response portion of the plan to be released to the public, however the plan was approved in an open board meeting.
With the support of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office and Russells Point Police Department and in collaboration with the Washington Township Police Department, the district established a rigorous armed response program that exceeded industry standards for both the selection and training of team members.
However, the IL armed response team was suspended in the fall of 2021 due to an Ohio Supreme Court decision effectively requiring that any armed school employee complete more than 700 hours of peace officer training.
The recent passage of House Bill 99 re-established a school’s authority to arm staff. The new law requires the Board to inform the public of this decision, although the names of armed individuals are to remain anonymous.
Additionally, each armed response team member must volunteer, be approved by the board, pass annual background checks, and complete 24 initial hours of training with eight hours of annual recertification through a state approved program.
The Ohio School Safety and Crisis Center is currently finalizing the armed response team training programs. The Indian Lake Board will officially consider this fall whether to re-institute the team.
Finally, after a quiet public hearing earlier in the evening, the board voted to move 1.5 mills of the district’s inside millage to a permanent improvement fund, allowing the district to address facilities needs in the future.
Underwood explained that this is an opportune time to make the adjustment as the district is retiring a bond and more than half the districts in the state have already chosen to make the same inside millage move.
In other action, the board:
• approved the following staff members for advancement on the salary schedule for additional training: Abbie Roe, bachelor’s plus 150; Mary Wolf, Sarah Beres, Christina Oakley, master’s plus 15; Travis (Ed) Rogers, master’s plus 45;
• accepted the resignations of Jerry Lenhart, middle school intervention specialist; Amy Richardson, middle school media assistant;
• accepted the supplemental contract resignation of Jill Gillen, head girls golf;
• approved the transfers of: Ashtyn Jackson to first-grade educational assistant; and Katy Taylor to sixth-grade intervention specialist;
• approved the following one-year classified contracts: Joshua Shelton, elementary media assistant; Ashley Brentlinger, Amy Kesecker, elementary cooks; Arielle Thompson, high school cook;
• extended supplemental contracts to: Yazmyn Inskeep, girls varsity basketball; Sarah Kinsey, middle school cross country; Alex Jacobs, high school assistant football; Jason Fauley, ILPDC chairperson; Alexis Scheiderer, ILPDC recorder; Sara Beres, Molly Hall, Kelli Tebbe-Miller, ILPDC member;
• approved the following volunteer coaches: Marissa Davis, high school volleyball; Craig Schaub, JV boys soccer; Chris Minite, Dallas Clary, boys soccer;
• approved the lease agreement with the Council on Rural Service Programs for the use of one classroom at the elementary for Head Start; the lease is from Aug. 1, 2022, through July 31, 2025;
• approved the 2022-23 Program Service Agreement between the Midwest Regional Educational Service Center and Indian Lake Local Schools;
• accept updated Central Buckeye Conference athletic admission prices;
• set lunch and breakfast prices as follows for the 2022-23 school year: elementary, $1.50 breakfast, $2.50 lunch; middle school, $1.50 breakfast, $2.75 lunch; high school, $2 breakfast, $3.25 lunch; adult, $2.50 breakfast, $4.25 lunch.
The board of Education entered into executive session for the purpose of considering the employment of a public employee or official.
The Indian Lake Board of Education will meet again at 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15, ahead of the district’s open house night.