CENTERBURG – The Centerburg Board of Education is still looking for its fifth and final school board member following the resignation of Kristi Layton on July 1.
The board agreed during its meeting on Monday night that it would hold a special meeting on July 25 at 6 p.m. (at the Administration Building, 119 South Preston Street) to interview candidates.
The meeting will begin like a regular meeting, but then the board will break into executive session and spend 15 minutes interviewing each candidate. The board will then decide “hopefully that night” who the next board member will be.
The board has until July 30 to appoint its next member, or else the Knox County Probate Court will be required to appoint one themselves.
“We’ve had a few people who have reached out and shown some interest,” Superintendent Mike Hebenthal said.
Hebenthal also said he still feels as if some of the community does not know about the vacancy.
The appointed member will serve the upcoming school year and then need to run for re-election again in November 2019. If they were to be re-elected, they could then serve a full, four-year term starting on Jan. 1, 2020.
Layton resigned on July 1 after selling her well-known local bakery, Kristi’s Bakery, and not being able to find residence within the school district. She previously lived above the bakery. Hebenthal said that because she had to move outside of the school district, she could no longer serve on the board.
Projects developing
Hebenthal updated the board on several projects occurring on school grounds this summer during Monday night’s meeting.
He said the track is progressing smoothly, and that it will likely be finished by October or November. The softball field will take longer, as he said it may not be completed by the end of the coming school year. He is currently coordinating who will be responsible for planting the new grass and building the dugouts.
The greenhouse, however, will likely be done by the time school starts.
It will serve as a learning tool for the district’s agriculture and business programs, part of the enhanced focus on this area of education.
“Our ag program has grown,” Hebenthal said. “So this thing’s going to be pretty cool.”
Financial forecast
Treasurer Ellen Scott presented the board with financials on Monday night that showed the district’s steady growth over the last 10-plus years, even through the economic recession.
She noted that the district’s salary total for the 2018 fiscal year will be nearly $5.5 million, which is up from $5.3 million in 2010.
“We’ve done a really, really good job with maintaining and reacting to the fiscal pressure there that we went through,” Scott said. “And we’ve come through it, and I think all the schools in Knox County have turned a corner and it’s a good place to be right now, financially.”
The board motioned to approve the district’s finances and close out the year during the meeting. Board President Lynn McCann noted, “it’s comforting to know we’re in pretty decent shape.”
The district brought in $11,385,686 during the last fiscal year, while also spending $10,710,372. This means the district added $675,314 to its overall balance (which is now $5,798,441).
“Any time you can close the year with a little more money than we ended the year before, we’re doing good,” Scott said.
Delaware County activity
In light of the discussion about what might happen to Centerburg when a multi-billion dollar amusement park is built in Delaware County, Hebenthal seemed hesitant to worry.
“I don’t know what’s coming in out there on 71; I don’t know if you’ve read (about that),” Hebenthal said. “I don’t think we need to get all excited, but I do think we need to be thinking we’re going to grow.”
Hebenthal suggested the school district might absorb some of the community’s growth through the first floor of the old high school building, one level below where the board sat on Monday night.
The district is already in the process of getting an HVAC system installed in the school. Hebenthal said he would like to get the first floor restrooms and lighting renovated as well.
“At some point we’re going to have to start using this building again, I think,” he said. “It’s coming. I don’t think we’ll have to build, I don’t see that for a long time.”
While Hebenthal mentioned his plans to clean up the old school for potential future use, he also cautioned board members not to be swept away by the amusement park’s potential effects on the community.
“The numbers on that park, they’re mind-boggling…” McCann said.
“Yeah, those are some serious numbers they’re throwing around there, and you can see the growth of Sunbury,” Hebenthal responded. “But there’s a lot of green between Sunbury and here.”
Hebenthal noted Centerburg’s school district is already growing by “about 15 to 20 kids per year,” and that the village upgrading the sewage plant and switching to Del-Co for water will only increase the likelihood that people will want to settle down there.
He did not seem concerned about a massive influx of students, however. He said that the growth rate in Ohio for school-age children is estimated to decrease in the coming years, with less people ages 20-35 having children now than before.
