By Linda Dillman
Staff Writer
Canal Winchester students are back in school and pre-site work at the high school for a massive multi-million dollar renovation is 90 percent complete.
“All pre-site work should be completed by the end of next week,” Superintendent Jim Sotlar said on Aug. 21.
According to Sotlar, the pre-site work includes underground utilities and a parking lot. With that process winding down, the project will go into a waiting period until construction kicks into high gear in January.
The $27 million high school renovation includes new classrooms, a new media center and a new auxiliary gym and is expected to be open in time for the 2020-21 school year.
Also included are second floor bathrooms, renovated classrooms, relocation of administrative offices, a cafeteria extension and a new parking lot in front of the school’s Washington Street. entrance.
The total cost of the project—two years in the planning stages—is $27.1 million with the state contributing $19.6 million and a local share of $7.5 million with no new taxes.
Number of bullying reports decreases
Reports of harassment/intimidation/bullying went down slightly during the 2017-18 school year according to an incident summary compiled by Canal Winchester Schools.
The number of confirmed incidents from Aug. 1 to July 31 for all school buildings was 13. There were no incidents reported at Indian Trail Elementary and only one at the middle school. There were six incidents recorded at Winchester Trail and six at the high school.
In 2016-17, there were 15 incidents reported during the same period and 21 in 2015-16. Only six were reported in 2014-2015 and 22 for the 2013-14 school year.
According to district policy, harassment, intimidation, or bullying includes any intentional written, verbal, electronic, or physical act that a student or group of students exhibits toward another particular student more than once.
An electronic act is committed through the use of a cellular telephone, computer, pager, personal communication device or other electronic communication device.
The behavior is actionable if it causes both mental and physical harm to the other student and is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for the other student.
Violence within a dating relationship also falls under the same policy, as does repeated aggressive behavior that is serious enough to negatively impact a student’s educational, physical, or emotional well-being. The behavior is a considered a form of intimidation and harassment and includes stalking, bullying/cyberbullying, intimidating, menacing, coercion, name- calling, taunting, making threats, and hazing.
Every student is encouraged, and every staff member is required, to report any situation that they believe to be aggressive behavior directed toward a student. All complaints about aggressive behavior that may violate the policy are investigated.
