By CECILIA FOX

Record Herald Writer

Courtesy of the Weekly Record Herald; Printed 2/3/2012

TIPP/MONROE - Members of the Tipp City Council, the Board of Education and the Monroe Township Trustees met Monday to discuss their plans for the new year ahead.

The quarterly tri-agency meeting gives local officials a chance to brief each other on current plans and projects, including road construction and school redistricting.

City Manager Jon Crusey presented an update on some of the current capital improvement plan projects, including the renovation and expansion of the fire and EMS station, the new water tower, and street reconstruction.

Several roads are slated for reconstruction this year, including Franklin Street and S. Third Street. Construction on Franklin is expected to begin this spring and be finished by August. It should not affect any school bus routes. The construction on Third Street will begin later this fall and is projected to finish by the end of this year or next spring.

“That probably will cause some issues for bussing and we’ll have to work with the school district on that,” Crusey said.

The new water tower remains under construction, and may not be fully operational until the end of this summer. Currently, the inner workings of the tower are being built. Painting is set to begin this spring.

“The next phase is, when that one’s filled, we’ll draw down the one behind Menards and that’ll be refurbished and repainted,” Crusey said.

That project is expected to begin next year.

Another upcoming construction project is the new Tipp City fire station. The city is currently working with an architect to come up with a design for the new station. Crusey said he expects to have design options and cost estimates prepared in two or three months. The fire department can also expect to receive a new 100 ft. ladder truck in 10 to 12 months. Council recently authorized the purchase of the new truck at $935,082.

Other updates from the city included the resurfacing of the tennis courts, the annexation of the Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church, and plans for the construction of a bike path through Lesher Woods, which depends upon funding from the Department of Natural Resources. The city will also undertake the revision of the planning and zoning code, a 12 to 15 month process, according to Crusey.

“Updating your planning and zoning codes aren’t really sexy and don’t really bring out a lot of people, but we will do our best to get as much community involvement as we can,” Crusey said.

The current code was developed in the 1970s and ’80s and has not seen much revision since then.

Monroe Township Board of Trustees President Phil Cox discussed the board’s financial difficulties. According to Cox, they’ve seen a $90,000 reduction in their receipts, about 10 percent of their budget. There has also been a 40 percent increase in the costs to repair and repave roads.

“Things are getting a little tighter for us, probably for everybody else as well, so we’re certainly scrutinizing things more carefully than we have in the past,” said Cox.

Cox discussed the newly formed water and sewer district for the unincorporated part of the township. It was set up to meet the water needs of unincorporated residents. A board was created to oversee the district which will hold meetings on the second Monday of each month at 7 pm in the township meeting room.

“That board will be responsible for establishing their financing and contracting the water, and maybe down the road, sewer services,” said Cox.

Tipp City Schools Superintendent Dr. Kronour discussed with the other officials the proposed redistricting of the schools and reiterated the need for the levy in August. The redistricting, which would move kindergarten and first grade to Nevin Coppock and second and third grades to Broadway, is expected to save the district about $150,000 in personnel costs. There will be a meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, Feb.6, at L.T. Ball Intermediate School open to anyone interested in the move.

Even with the cost savings of the redistricting, the school is still requesting a levy due to lower state funding. The levy will appear before the voters in August. The exact amount of the levy is unknown, but Kronour said he anticipates it will be approximately a 7 mil levy. If the levy fails in August, school officials will try again on the November ballot.

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By CECILIA FOX
Record Herald Writer
Courtesy of the Weekly Record Herald; Printed 1-27-12

TIPP CITY – The Tippecanoe Board of Education celebrated School Board Member Appreciation Month by announcing that the high school gymnasium will be renamed after a former board member Monday evening.
The Tippecanoe High School Gymnasium will soon be renamed the Pat Wampler Gymnasium.
“Pat Wampler is very deserving of the honor of having the Tippecanoe High School Gymnasium bear her name,” said board president Tom Merritt.
The renaming will take place at the last home boys’ basketball game of the season, Feb. 10.
Wampler served on the board for 32 years and as board president for 10 years. She was instrumental in the building of Tippecanoe High School and she has been a tireless supporter of the schools as a parent, fan, and board member.
According to Merritt, a recommendation to rename the gym was made to the board and a committee was formed to discuss the change. The school board voted unanimously in support of the name change, saying the recognition was very well deserved.
Wampler is a mother of seven and has 15 grandchildren. All seven of her children attended Tipp City schools. She and her husband are sports fans and attend as many Tippecanoe boys’ and girls’ events as they can.
Another presentation came from three teachers from the district, Lisa Colebaugh, Paula Goldsberry, and Pam Staub. They all teach family and consumer sciences, two at the middle school and one at the high school. The women discussed teaching financial literacy to Tipp City students.
Currently, an introductory course in personal finance is required for all seventh graders and more in-depth electives are available for eighth graders and high school students.
“I have a passion for teaching financial literacy because I know that’s one of the most important skills our students take away from our classes,” Colebaugh said.
These classes are intended to teach students the financial skills they will need later in life, especially as they go off to college and begin their lives after high school.
Some of the class topics include goal setting, saving and investing, banking, credit and taxes, among others.
Board member Scott Dixon raised the question of making a financial literacy class required for all high school students. He voiced concerns that not enough students are taking the elective financial literacy courses available at the high school.
“I think every kid that graduates should be required to take a semester of financial literacy,” said Dixon. Concerns were also raised that requiring students to take a financial literacy course could interfere with other classes they are required to take.
“I think that this is something that we could go back and have more discussion on,” said Superintendent Dr. John Kronour. Other board members agreed that the matter bears further scrutiny.
In other school news, Assistant Superintendent Gretta Kumpf reported that training for Project MORE is progressing. Currently 25 adult volunteers have been trained and 25 more potential volunteers from the middle school have shown interest.
“We are still needing more volunteers,” said Kumpf.
Project MORE is a volunteer based reading education program. Students and volunteers will meet four times a week for 30 minute sessions. The project has demonstrated significant reading results at other schools in the state since it began in 1999.
Project MORE kicks off in Tipp City schools on Feb. 6.
The board discussed the redistricting of the elementary schools at last night’s meeting. The board reasons that reorganizing the schools would save approximately $150,000 annually by eliminating three staff positions and increasing class size by only two or three students.
“The bad thing is we’re in a tough situation. We do not have enough money to run the school system as it is,” said board member Frank Maus.
The district has made $1.3 million in cuts already and will have to face more.
There will be a redistricting meeting on Monday, Feb.6, at L.T. Ball. It will be open to all members of the public to join in the discussion.
The board also announced the retirement of two district employees. Janet Butsch, an art teacher at the middle school, and school nurse Mary Teague will both be retiring in July.
“They’ve both been with us for many years and done an excellent job and we wish them both well,” said Merritt.

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This science fair is open to all homeschoolers in the area, not just residents of West Milton. If you have a child that is homeschooled and wish to have them participate, please register them using the form found in the link below.

Please click HERE for the registration form and the information regarding the Science Fair.

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Scott Dixon, Kate Johnsen and Tom Merritt

Tipp City, Ohio – Monday, January 2, 2012, at the Special Board of Education Organization meeting, Scott Dixon, Kate Johnsen, and Tom Merritt were sworn in for another four years. All three were re-elected in November to the Tipp City Schools Board of Education.

In August of 2010 Scott Dixon was appointed by the Tipp City Exempted Village Schools’ School Board to fulfill John Muldowney’s unexpired term that ended December 2011. He was re-elected in November.

Kate Johnsen and Tom Merritt are beginning their second terms.

Tipp City Schools’ Board of Education Reorganizes for the Year 2012

Monday, January 2^nd, 2012 at the Special Board of Education Organization meeting, Tom Merritt was elected as President and Frank Maus as Vice President. They will serve in their respective positions for a year.

By MICHAEL SHANNON

Record Herald Writer

Courtesy of the Weekly Record Herald; Printed 12-23-11

TIPP CITY-The possible reorganization of Broadway and Nevin Coppock Elementary schools was the primary topic for Monday night’s Tipp City Board of Education meeting.

Current discussion is to take the two elementary schools and make one of them house kindergarten and first grade, and the other second and third grade. This differs from the current complement of kindergarten through the third grade at both Broadway and Nevin Coppock.

Reasoning for this change is that it would save approximately $150,000 annually by eliminating three staff positions, yet only increasing class size by two or three students. According to the board, this follows along with their three top priorities for the school district: safety, academics, and staff.

Community response to this issue brought out some concerned parents seeking clarification.

Andi Trezciak asked board members if the reorganization would remove the need for new facilities.

Superintendent Dr. John Kronour replied, “That never goes away,” adding that many of the buildings have exceeded their life expectancy.

Carli Amlin-Dean was curious about the effect of the transitions from first to second grade, then from third to fourth grade.

Kronour responded that currently the transition anxiety comes from merging with new students from the other school going into the fourth grade. The new system will remove that issue because there will be no new class mates at the new locations. They will remain the same group from year to year.

Citing a recent conversation with L. T. Ball Intermediate Principal Sarah Patterson, Kronour explained that the difficulty in merging came more from new students than the new building.

Other question brought forth were: whether there is a model of success for this system at other locations, if coaching positions could be eliminated before teachers, and if the district was planning to begin this new organization of the elementary schools this fall.

Kronour said there were many examples of proven success all over the state, with many different ways to structure grading. He stated eliminating the coaching positions would not relieve the strain on the budget.

He also confirmed that the new organization would likely take effect at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year.

“Unless we receive overwhelmingly negative feedback, we are strongly considering it,” he said.

In other action the board approved replacing service vehicles for the school district. First, a new school bus purchased from Cardinal Bus Sales for $85,000. The average age for replacement in the district’s fleet is 15 years.

Also, the purchase of a truck with a snow plow package was approved for the sum of $25,120. The vehicle being replaced was purchased in the year 1986.

Normally the vehicles are replaced on a regular basis. However Kronor stated due to budget constraints it is not always available.

The budget constraints of students were a topic for board member Scott Dixon. He brought in literature to showon a financial literacy course. Next month teachers will be making presentation to the board for other options on the financial literacy curriculum.

Dixon stated, “(The financial curriculum) is part an obligation we have to create a well rounded kid.”

He went on to encourage the board to consider an in-depth course study of this subject matter. He said not having this curriculum would be doing students a “disservice.”

Board member Tom Merritt agreed students need this information presented to them in school.

“Once they graduate they are approached with many opportunities to incur debt,” he said.

Upcoming dates set for the board are Records Commission Meeting on Monday, Jan. 2 at 6:30 p.m. Organizational Meeting will be Monday Jan. 2 at 7p.m.

Also, the Facility Planning Meeting will be Wednesday Jan. 18 at 7p.m. This reinstates the Facilities Planning Commission. This event, located in the Tippecanoe High School commons, is open to the public. Kronour requests you inform him of your intent to attend so he can have materials prepaid.

The next regular Board of Education meeting will be held Monday Jan. 23 at 7 p.m.

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Tipp City, Ohio

The new Members that were inducted at the National Honor Society Induction Ceremony on Wednesday, December 7^th are: Zachary Allen, Britton Altic, Abby Andrews, Richard Andrews, Alex Baker, Zachary Berning, Samuel Bollinger, Meggan Bridgett, Chelsea Hemmelgarn, Nathanael Jensen, Grant Koch, Douglas Lehmkuhl, Jonathan Lin, Morgan Miller, Ashley Mohler, Michelle Monce, Nicholas Muse, Madison Netherton, Nicholas Noone, Jack Pelishek, Kyle Peura, Courtney Polhamus, Tyler Prentice, Allison Rawlins, Taylor Rittenhouse, Zachary Robbins, Travis Roock, Jacob Salyer, Lydia Schneider, Nicholas Sheriff, Austin Stalhood, Kelly Stillwagon, Kailee Tateman, Mary Tesch, Nicole Thomas, Kayla Vath, Lucas Vinski, Samuel Wharton, and Mitchell Zuzolo.

About Tipp City Exempted Village Schools

The Tipp City Exempted Village School District consists of five schools with an enrollment of 2700: one high school (9-12), one middle school (6-8), an intermediate school (4-5), and two elementary schools (K-3). Tipp City Exempted Village Schools district includes the City of Tipp City and most of Monroe Township.

Tipp City, Ohio

“Clean and accurate record-keeping are the foundation for good government, and the taxpayers can take pride in your commitment to accountability.” Auditor Yost said.

The Auditor of State Award is presented to local governments and school districts upon the completion of a financial audit. Entities that receive the award meet the following criteria of a “clean” audit report.

• Must be a GAAP entity without a CAFR (Certified Annual Financial Report) that timely files their financial reports with the Auditor of State;
• The audit report does not contain any findings for recovery, material citations, material weaknesses, significant deficiencies, Single Audit findings or questioned costs;
• The entity’s management letter contains no comments related to:
  • Ethics referrals
  • Questioned costs less than $10,000
  • Lack of timely report submission
  • Reconciliation
  • Failure to obtain a timely Single Audit
  • Findings for recovery less than $100
  • Public meetings or public records

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The Tipp City Exempted Village School District consists of five schools with an enrollment of 2700: one high school (9-12), one middle school (6-8), an intermediate school (4-5), and two elementary schools (K-3).Tipp City Exempted Village Schools district includes the City of Tipp City and most of Monroe Township.