Crestview’s new ‘studios’ being put to use
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NEW WATERFORD -- Crestview received some criticism regarding the use of two mobile buildings at the elementary school this year, but now that they are in place and school has begun Superintendent Matthew Manley said people seem happier.
The school put a lot of work into getting the two buildings they are calling the "studios" moved from southwest Ohio and ready for the school year. Among other things, the maintenance staff put in many additional hours as they painted, fixed the flooring, added skirting, installed a bathroom, and built a deck and a ramp. This was in addition to the other cleaning jobs and waxing done during the summer to get the schools up and running.
Additionally, three rooms in the elementary school had to be converted into preschool classrooms. Technology projectors and smart pens were added in many classrooms, including the new studios. Manley said the district has put $130,000 in purchasing, moving and revamping the studio buildings to get them ready for classes like elementary music, art and therapy classes. More than 500 students go out to the studios each week for the classes offered there.
Manley predicts the investment will pay off large in the future. According to Manley, the additional students coming to Crestview, as well as the addition of the preschool classrooms will be considered when the Ohio Schools Facility Commission meets with them about a possible building project in the near future, possibly in October. He believes the school may be in line for 3,500 to 5,000 square feet of additional building because of these moves.
That would be about a $1 million in building expansion mostly paid for by state dollars.
During a tour by the school board Wednesday, principal Marian Dangerfield noted that while the buildings are crowded, she thinks it is worth it to get the funding from the state. There are 507 elementary students at the school and an additional 62 preschoolers at various times.
Besides touring the studios, the board got to see many of the classrooms from preschool to fourth grade, including classroom themed to be from the Wild West and Hogwarts.
In other matters before the board:
-- No boating signs have been placed at the lake for insurance purposes. Additionally, amurs, a type of grass-eating carp, were added to the lake by biology students to help keep the habitat healthy.
-- Board members decided to help with Bring a Buddy to Breakfast Days at the school, taking turns coming to eat with students who do not have anyone available to attend the event with them.
-- The school district is again in need of substitute bus drivers, with most of the substitutes from last year taking full-time positions at their school or elsewhere. Transportation supervisor Rich Burbick and Manley also talked about the bus involved in an accident about two weeks ago, crediting bus driver Alice Haldiman for keeping the students calm after the bus was struck from behind. Other staff members also arrived quickly from the school to the site of the crash down the road. Burbick said the bus is one of the newest in the fleet and is currently being fixed.
-- The board approved the annual contracts with the Columbiana County Educational Service Center and the Columbiana County Board of Developmental Disabilities.