Weekday Religious Education to continue off-site, permission slips approved
Riverside Board of Education members were informed at their Tuesday evening meeting that an effort to promote the health and safety of district students and to address the epidemic of vaping is now operational through the district’s recent installation of 10 HALO Smart Sensors in student bathrooms and locker rooms.
Junior High and High School Principal Kelly Kauffman said all pupils are fully aware that the sensors are in place, as she sent an e-mail to students in grades 7-12 prior to the pupils arriving back at school from their Christmas break this week.
“I don’t want you to get in trouble and I don’t want you to vape,” she said of what she wrote to the students.
“With this new technology, want to address the epidemic of vaping. We know vaping is a problem here, as it’s a problem everywhere.
“Vaping has made it so easy to smoke, as individuals can nearly go undetected because it does not have the odor that traditional smoking does,” she said. “The vaping devices also are so tiny and are easy for students to hide.
“We are the first district in the county to install these sensors. We don’t tolerate vaping on our campus and we take the health and safety of our students very seriously.”
The principal related that thus far, the sensors have not been set off. When the devices detect vaping, smoking, or other issues with air quality, text message alerts are sent to pre-determined phone numbers so that staff members can immediately address the issue.
In addition to the ability to detect vaping and smoking, the devices can also notify officials if levels of other chemicals are observed, from nitrous oxide to carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, ammonia, methane, propane, glues, benzene etc. The noise level indicator also provides an alert if potential aggressive behavior is detected so that it can appropriately be addressed by staff.
The sensors cost the district $975 each, and were purchased using permanent improvement funds, Treasurer Ronnie Fitchpatrick previously reported.
Also at the meeting, the board approved parental permission slips for the Logan County Weekday Religious Education to allow elementary students who opt to participate to be transported off-site to the DeGraff United Methodist Church for the program.
The program previously took place in a trailer located on school grounds, but last month, superintendents at each of the schools in Logan County were in touch to discuss this issue following Benjamin Logan Schools’ receipt of a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The letter alleged a constitutional violation with the religious program trailer operating on the Benjamin Logan-owned grounds.
A number of Benjamin Logan community members attended that district’s board of education meeting in December when the issue was discussed, voicing their support of the religious programming, as reported in the Examiner. The program has been serving elementary students in the Logan County since 1955.
Riverside Superintendent Scott Mann said the representatives from the Logan County Weekday Religious Education have been working with each school district to find a nearby site so that the initiative can continue. The organization also is securing a bus to transport pupils and will not use school district buses.
Members also approved a TCN Behavioral Health shared services contract with Indian Lake Schools for mental health counseling, clinical case management and consultation services to begin Feb. 1. The superintendent related that one TCN Behavioral Health counselor currently is in place in the district and has been “completely booked with appointments with students,” so it was evident that an additional counselor was needed.
Riverside will employ this new counselor and clinical case manager two days a week (approximately 16 hours), and Indian Lake Schools will utilize the service three days a week. The cost of the yearly contract is $39,657, at an hourly rate of $34.28 plus mileage expenses.
In student achievement matters, high school freshmen Samuel Knight and Brianna Kindle shared with the board their experiences at the Ohio Model United Nations from Dec. 8 through 10 at the Hyatt Regency in Columbus. Their five-member team also included fellow freshmen Jade Copas, Daisy Armbruster and Kylie Shoe.
Brianna and Samuel related that they enjoyed the chance to debate with other students throughout Ohio and are looking forward to growing their team in the future.
During the board’s 2020 organizational session that proceeded the regular meeting, Fitchpatrick swore in new member Blaine Dixon and also Dr. Bradley Adams for their new four-year terms.
Dr. Adams was elected board president and Janet Siders was selected as board vice president.
Members approved a motion for regular meetings to continue on the third Tuesday of each month this year at 6 p.m. at the school library.
In other action, the board:
• accepted the supplemental contract resignation of Tammy Craig, varsity boys basketball coverage, and extended the position to a shared contract between Jan Knight, Scott Mann, Rod Yoder and Kelly Kauffman;
• accepted a $500 donation from the Logan County Sheriff’s Office to be used for student lunches, previously detailed in the Examiner;
• approved an adjustment to the service credit for staff member Angel Allen to 20 years from her current 19 in accordance with her State Teacher Retirement System service record and to adjust her salary to reflect 20 years of service; and
• approved a number of standing authorizations for the superintendent and the treasurer, including allowing the superintendent and treasurer to enter into contracts not in excess of the competitive bidding threshold of $49,999.99.
The next meeting is 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18.