Rossford High switches wrestling, weight rooms

11/27/2012
BLADE STAFF

Rossford High School's new wrestling room is done, and the grapplers are training in it, Interim Superintendent Bill McFarland reported to the Board of Education last week.

The new weight room, which used to be the wrestling room, is almost finished, he said, but eight machines will not be moved into it because they have "mechanical issues" that might force them to be scrapped.

The board ordered the wrestling and weight rooms to be switched in October, after getting strong complaints from coaches and wrestler's parents about conditions in the wrestling room.

The complaints had been coming in since last year that the practice room, located beneath the field house under the northeast stands, was afflicted with moisture, mold, and peeling paint, and posed potential health hazards.

The room switch was expedited to accommodate the Nov. 9 start of the wrestling season. Volunteers transferred the weight-lifting equipment. The cost for the project came in at just under $10,000, and included the cost of bringing in a cleaning crew to scrub the former wrestling room from ceiling to floor. Mirrors also had to be taken down and reinstalled.

"It's cleaner than it's been in 15 years," Mr. McFarland said. 

In other business, board president Dawn Burks announced that the district would hold focus group sessions for the public on Dec. 12 that will focus on three areas in the search for a permanent superintendent: major issues over the next several years, performance expectations for the new superintendent, and the personal and professional qualities that officials should have.

The focus groups will be held throughout the day on Dec. 12 to accommodate the public's different schedules, she said: 10 a.m. in the Bulldog Center Conference Room, and at 12, 3, 4, and 6 p.m. in the high school auditorium.

Cheryl Ryan, the board's consultant from the Ohio School Boards Association, will be at the meetings to solicit community input.

Ms. Burks said the board's timeline calls for interviews with candidates to begin in late January or early February and a decision to be made in late February.

At its regular meeting, the board authorized having the Ohio state auditor do a full performance audit of the district in an effort to find ways to save money.

In June, the board heard a presentation from a representative of the auditor's office who said that such audits usually focus on finances, human resources, facilities, and transportation, but can be tailored to each district and cover fewer areas.

The board decided to have the full audit done. These cost an average of $65,000 and take six to nine months.