ASHLAND — Ashland City Schools has plenty to celebrate after Monday’s school board meeting.
The district plans to seek bids for a new artificial-turf athletic complex with a $1 million donation from Bob and Jan Archer.
The proposed Archer Athletic Complex would cover about 120,000-square-feet of athletic space between the softball field and field house and at the infield of Bud Plank Field at Archer Arrows Park.
The board will consider approval to seek competitive bids for the project at its Oct. 26 meeting.
The turf would give Ashland students more space for physical education and athletics.
Superintendent Steve Paramore said about 740 middle school students could use the area for physical education.
Football, boys and girls soccer, track and field, youth football and girls flag football also could use the space. The area currently hosts middle school and ninth-grade football, girls soccer practices and youth sports.
The site also has two discus rings. Paramore said the setup could allow Ashland to host larger track meets.
The Archers previously donated $1 million to establish endowed scholarships for Ashland High School students through the Ashland County Community Foundation.
“We are so grateful for Bob and Jan Archer. They continue to show their commitment not only to our school district, but the community at-large,” Paramore said.
Students and faculty recognized for hard work
The Ashland City Schools Board of Education started Monday’s meeting with a moment of recognition for standout students and faculty.
Here are the students and faculty recognized:
Ashland High School:
- Arya Fisher — Ninth grade
- Sophie Hochstetler — 10th grade
- Hadley Bechtol — 11th grade
- Leonardo Mancha — 12th grade
Ashland Middle School:
- Julia Carpenter — Sixth grade
- Aubrey Bowman — Seventh grade
- Devin Flick — Eighth grade
- Grayson Lawrence — Encore
Taft Intermediate: Piper Page
Edison Elementary: Evalynn Paulina
Reagan Elementary: Briggs Repp
Support staff member of the month: Felisha Efaw
Certified staff member of the month: Megan Ewing
The board plans to continue recognizing students and staff members each month.
Foundation works toward $500,000 endowment
Barb Queer and Dwight McElfresh of the Ashland City Schools Foundation also spoke to the board about the organization’s goal of building a $500,000 permanent endowment.
The foundation has raised about $203,500 toward the goal.
The endowment would provide annual funding for academic programs and educational opportunities for students and teachers.
The foundation recently awarded 22 teacher mini-grants and has supported projects throughout the district like Library Lake, Project PAVAS, Leader in Me and Arrow to Arrow mentoring.
