Oregon: Groundbreaking today for new Coy school

5/25/2006

If the weather cooperates today, Oregon City School District officials will be celebrating the district's fourth school groundbreaking outside at 5 p.m. at the site of what will be the new Coy Elementary School at Pickle and Schmidlin roads.

If the weather turns dismal, they'll move inside the gym of the existing Coy Elementary School at the corner of Pickle and Wheeling Street.

Officials will then quickly turn around to celebrate the fifth school's entrance into the construction phase - Wynn Elementary School - at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the gym of the school, 5224 Bayshore Rd.

The public is invited to attend the ceremonies, which will last about an hour and will feature student entertainment and speeches from district officials.

If the weather is nice, those who would like to attend the Coy groundbreaking ceremony can park at Cardinal Stritch High School, 3225 Pickle. A shuttle will begin transporting individuals to the site at 4:15 p.m., and will bring them back once the ceremony is over.

Representatives from TCI/TMP Architects have been working with the district for more than a year to create a game plan for the district's aging school buildings - all of which have seen their 40th birthday come and go. Each school is set to be modified for student safety and grade-level clustering, and Coy is the only building that will be completely rebuilt.

District voters approved a $45 million bond issue in November, 2004, that will pay off bonds for the building improvements over 28 years.

Officials have already celebrated the groundbreaking for Starr and Jerusalem elementary schools and Clay High School.

Another administrator has been added to the roster at Cardinal Stritch High School in Oregon to free some time for the principal to concentrate on other endeavors.

Kelli Malinowski was recently named to the newly-created vice principal position, giving Principal Timothy Mahoney time to implement and coordinate the school's technology efforts.

Mrs. Malinowski has been a Stritch faculty member for the past eight years and has taught English and communication skills. She plans to continue teaching English part-time as she serves as the main faculty support person, which includes teacher supervision. She'll also be instrumental in the leadership of the Cardinal Wings freshman mentoring program, said Michael Gocsik, Stritch's vice president for institutional advancement.

Mrs. Malinowski was appointed to the position by the Stritch president, the Rev. David Reinhart.

Perrysburg Township residents may have to put their complaints in writing or voice their concerns more quickly after the trustees unanimously approved a resolution limiting public comments at meetings.

Under the new rules approved last week, comments will be limited to two minutes per person, except when the chairman decides an issue deserves more time. Content will be restricted to items on the agenda, but residents can ask to speak on other items.

The resolution states that complaints about township operations, including specific departments, department heads, or employees, should be made in writing to the administrator, who can investigate it or bring it to the attention of the trustees

The trustees said they want to hear from the public but need to keep comments in line.

"Some of our employees have felt that they've been harassed," trustee Craig LaHote said.

The township's attorney, John Donahue, suggested the limits earlier this spring after a resident complained about a police dispatcher's behavior. Township officials investigated her allegations and said they were unfounded.

Three weeks ago, another resident spoke out against the township zoning administrator.

Trustees did not ask for public comment on the resolution before voting.

The communications liaison for Rossford schools will be sticking around for at least another year.

After meeting in a 30-minute, closed-door executive session, the Rossford Board of Education narrowly granted a second, one-year limited contract for Diana Hersch with a 3-2 vote.

Board President David Kleeberger and board member Diane McKinney voted against approving the contract. They later said they thought having such a position was not fiscally responsible.

Ms. Hersch is paid $39,444, which district treasurer James Rossler said could increase after July 1.