Rosenbaum joins board; members discuss safety

Janet Rosenbaum joined the other members of the Sidney Public Schools Board of Education (BOE) Monday her first meeting as a new member on the board.

But that was not the only change made that night.

It was also announced that board member Jeff Wernsman submitted his letter of resignation on March 4 to the board due to career opportunities that will place him outside of the school district, said Tom Von Seggern, board president.

Von Seggern said that Wernsman would be greatly missed but that board members wish him the best of luck with his new endeavors.

The board members decided that any registered voters who are interested in the new open position should submit an application at the district office by March 25. Previous applicants for a position on the board will also be contacted and allowed to resubmit their application with just one easy phone call.

A big topic that came up multiple times during the meeting was children’s safety.

A parent Martina Drewes addressed the board members concerning what she has observed as a dangerous practice.

Drewes stated that parents are stopping their cars on the opposite side of the street from schools and their children are crossing the street through traffic to reach their school.

Superintendent Jay Ehler advised Drewes that this problem is addressed each year to parents, and that the parents sometimes change their ways of dropping children off but then their old pattern reemerges some time after

Ehler agreed that if signs are posted, things might change.

“We send out memos to parents, we email parents and our school resource officer goes out and sit by the schools at various times to try and improve it,” said Ehler. “We’ve even threatened with tickets for people parking on the wrong side of the road or in the loading zone getting in the way of buses. It is a problem.”

“We continually coach the parents,” he said. “But the bottom line is that you can tell a parent one day to not stop on that side of the road so their child doesn’t have to cross traffic and they might do it that way for awhile but then they start to realize there are more parking spots over there or maybe they just aren’t worried about it and it’s a revolving door thing where we will fix it for a little while at one school and then the problem will ease back.”

Ehler said that kids’ safety is always an issue and administrators try and improve the current safety status at every meeting they hold.

It was passed by board members to not only purchase a new Chariot Floor Sweeper for $11,660.30, but to purchase several new sets of doors for West Elementary for safety purposes.

“The situation here is the doors that go into the media center, the cafeteria, the auditorium and then the back of the auditorium where a class is held currently, aren’t built in a way that will lock out an intruder,” said Ehler.

“So when we go into a level three or a level two lockdown where we don’t want anybody except for law enforcement or an administrator to come through the door, we can’t do that,” he said.

The superintendent said that according to Jim Rosenbaum (who specializes in items such as door locks) the doors to the auditorium, media center and cafeteria would only need some sort of rod put in the doors so they could lock the rooms, while a complete new set of doors would need to be put in for the back classroom where music class is held.

The cost estimated for this project is around $20,000 for all the new doors, equipment and labor.

“I think this is imperative, especially with all that has happened at other schools,” said board member, Steve Mattoon.

The board members gave approval for the project and gave the superintendent a go-ahead on getting an actual estimate in April and May and getting it approved with the board once more.

“We’ve talked about safety so often this year and I think we can’t let this slide - especially in this day and age,” said Ehler.

The board members also approved contracts for new teachers Sarah Birkey and Beau McConnell, and a new contract for high school teacher Matt McKay, who will be extending his technology services into the summer.

Board members also recognized Sidney High School students for their excellent performance in February. These students were: Payge Hoffman – Grade 7; Alex Linneman – Grade 8; Sesilia Campos – Grade 9; Allyson Hurt – Grade 10; Cassie Kennedy – Grade 11; Bryant Dagg – Grade 12.

State qualifiers for wrestling were also recognized. Those students were Scott Kelsey, Michael Muggli, and Tanner Wintholz who placed third.

The next scheduled Board of Education meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 16 at 5:30 p.m. Parents are encouraged to attend.

– Reporter Lisana Eckenrode contributed to this story