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South Side Education News & Notes



Manchester BOE conducts routine business

NEW FRANKLIN — During the Jan. 11 Manchester Local Schools Board of Education (BOE) organizational meeting, members elected Joe Hercules as president and Cindy McDonald as vice president of the board for this year.
In the regular BOE meeting that followed, the board approved routine items that included two personnel items, 10 policy updates and accepting donations totaling $2,200.
Board member Steve Rector also provided an update on the district’s upcoming construction projects. He said the new high school building project remains 13 percent over budget and district officials are petitioning the state to increase the state funding because of inflated costs of materials and labor.
In a follow-up interview after the meeting, Hercules said the project was originally 22 to 25 percent over budget and was redesigned at minimum state requirements, but remains 13 percent above the state’s budgets for the project. He added that district officials are reaching out to the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission Budget Commission to increase the budget for the project to help cover the extra costs.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the board moved into executive session to discuss property matters, with no action taken afterward.
The next BOE meeting is set for Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m., most likely in the cafeteria at Manchester Middle School, located at 760 W. Nimisila Road.