At a special meeting on Aug. 6, Madison-Plains Board of Education members Sherry Kuehnle and Ken Morlock announced meeting dates for the Madison-Plains levy campaign committee.
The group, which is open to the public, will meet at Mount Sterling Public Library at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 15 and Aug. 20. The purpose of the meetings is to form subcommittees, among them being one to raise campaign funds and another to create informational fliers for distribution to voters.
Committee members also will be available to answer questions about the proposed levies at the PTO Summer Fun Fest at Mount Sterling Elementary from 1 to 5 p.m. on Aug. 26.
Madison-Plains will be on the ballot on Nov. 6, asking voters to renew two existing levies. One is an 8-mill, three-year levy for current expenses. The other is a 2.5-mill, five-year levy for permanent improvements. Both expire in 2008. They are not new taxes, but rather renewals of taxes district residents are paying now.
Other news
• District Treasurer Scott Hiles said Pepsi Co. supplied Madison-Plains with a contract on Aug. 6. The board will vote on the contract at their next meeting. If they choose to accept it, Pepsi products will replace Coca-Cola products in the district. The board also would have to decide how to use the donation Pepsi presents to the district.
• The board approved supplemental coaching contracts, some of which are contingent on the individuals receiving their pupil activity supervisor permits.
“I have told the coaches they will not step on the field or floor until this is done,” Athletic Director Will Pratt told the board, noting that all coaches have had four chances over the past school year to take the required class to obtain the permits.
Board President Linda Blankenship asked Pratt to schedule one more class. The permits are valid for three years.
“If the law says they don’t work without it, then they shouldn’t work without it,” Kuehnle said. It’s a liability issue, but more importantly an issue of making sure all coaches are trained to care for student-athletes properly, she added.
Amy Lookenott is the new varsity soccer coach. Michael Siders is coaching eighth grade football. Leeman Lewis is an assistant varsity football coach. Daryl Pruitt is the varsity baseball coach, with Eric Woodrow as his assistant. Kevin Stockham will coach varsity softball, and Jim Miller will coach indoor track.
Approval of the other coaching and advisory positions on the board’s agenda depends on completion of the supervisor permit process.
• In other personnel matters, the board approved new job descriptions for a bus coordinator and combined position of school secretary and transportation secretary. Carrie Whitaker was hired to fill the latter position. Blankenship, who formerly served Madison-Plains as a transportation coordinator, will sit in on interviews for the bus coordinator position.
Other hires approved on Aug. 6 were Gail Oravec as elementary music teacher, Mary Jo Jones as elementary art teacher, Marie Myers as high school math teacher, and Albert McIntier as bus driver.
• The next Madison-Plains school board meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Aug. 21 in the administrative offices behind the middle school.
Madison-Plains Back-to-School Schedule
Aug. 21: Middle School sixth-grade open house, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 22: Middle School, seventh- and eighth-grade open house, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 23: Madison Rural Elementary and Midway Elementary open houses, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
High School, ninth-grade orientation, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Aug. 26: First annual PTO Summer Fun Fest at Mount Sterling Elementary, 1 to 5 p.m., featuring inflatables, carnival games, a cake walk and food. Call 740-869-2107 for details.
Aug. 27: First day of school for students in grades 1-12
Aug. 28: First day of school for kindergarteners
Sept. 6: Mount Sterling Elementary open house, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
