ASHLAND — Fieldhouse construction was chief among the topics discussed Monday night at the Ashland City Schools board of education meeting.
Superintendent Doug Marrah explained how the facility is one that can be used by students in various extracurricular activities.
“One thing that is significant is that it will be big enough to have the width of the football field inside,” Marrah said. “When our band is out and there is lightning, they can now come inside to practice.”
A pole vault box will also be installed into the so that pole vaulting athletes have an indoor place to practice with architects formulating landing zones to maintain the safety of the vaulters.
A sidewalk was also approved to be added, connecting Ashland Middle School to the fieldhouse.
“First and foremost, there are students walking over to use the field on a daily basis,” Marrah said. “This will keep them off of the road.
“Having the ability to connect all of that with the sidewalk will make sense for the next 30 years.”
The sidewalk is also advantageous for the handicap transportation around the area.
A new stadium speaker system and a replacement drainage system for the home grandstand area was also approved. Both the speaker system and drainage system are scheduled for completion this fall.
The BOE approved the purchase of 32 new notebook computers, each equipped with docking stations. This will provide students with a technology advancement while updating outdated machinery and programming.
The renewal of insurance coverage provided by Schools of Ohio Risk Sharing Authority (SORSA) was approved for the 2019-2020 year. The total annual premium comes with a 2-percent increase from the previous year (roughly $1,900).
Robert Knabe, Business Manager, spoke of the good relationship between SORSA and the Ashland City School District.
“The few times we’ve had to use it has been fantastic,” Knabe said. “When we had that windstorm that came through, a lot of shingles blew off of the roof of Taft.
“I had an adjuster come up from SORSA and the SORSA adjuster confirmed that it was going to need a complete replacement. They are replacing the roof this summer to the tune of about $45,000.”
SORSA has been involved with Ashland City Schools for the past 16 years.
New curriculum for both 9th grade English and World Languages classes in the middle school and high school were also approved.
