By Clara Osten,
clara@wayneherald. com
The resignations of two teachers and one non-certificated staff member, along with a presentation from those involved with e-sports were among the items on the agenda when the Wayne Community Schools' Board of Education met in regular session on Monday.
Kayla Varley, 7-12 Special Education instructor, has accepted a position with ESU #1. She has been employed with Wayne Community Schools for 11 years.
Samantha Novak, sixth grade teacher, is moving out of state. She has been employed with Wayne Community Schools for three years. The board approved the hiring of Riley Wagner to fill her position. Wagner is currently student-teaching at Wayne Community Schools.
Board members also approved the hiring of Brooke Henderson to fill a third and fourth grade Special Education position. Henderson moved to Wayne last year and has been substitute teaching in the district.
The resignation of Business Manager Mary Jean Roberson, effective July 9, 2024, was accepted. Roberson will be moving out of state to be closer to family. The district hopes to fill the position in time for the newly hired person to work with Roberson before her departure.
A presentation from e-sports coach Alex Wieland and several members of the team was given during the meeting.
Wieland talked about how the sport has grown in the three years it has been available at Wayne Community Schools. There are currently 111 schools with e-sports teams and there are fall, winter and spring seasons.
Wayne has been successful in the competitions they have been involved with, both virtually and in person.
Wieland said he would like to get the sport recognized as a club sport at the school to assist with some of the costs associated with participating. He noted that the group has received funding from the Wayne Area Legacy Fund for the purchase of some of the equipment.
Aidan Bohnert, Colby Raulston and Harrison Collier, active members of the group, spoke to the board on the benefits of being part of this group, including the teamwork necessary to compete successfully.
A contract with First Student Bus Company was accepted. The four-year contract runs from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2028. It includes a 4.5% increase each year.
Superintendent Dr. Mark Lenihan outline some of the provisions of the contract, including the monthly billing and the fact that buses would not exceed 12 years old.
Considerable discussion was held during the first reading of the 7-12 Student Handbook for 2024-2025. The majority of the discussion involved developing a consistent cell phone policy for both the junior high and high school.
Dr. Lenihan told the board he had met with staff and several options were discussed, including banning phones in classes and turning them in to one central location. A decision will be made before the second reading of handbook at the next meeting.
Payment No. 7, in the amount of $1,454,235.30 to Hausman Construction was approved. An update on the construction/renovation project was given, noting there is "construction going on everywhere."
End of the year dates were provided to the board.
Theres include:
Monday, May 6 - last day for seniors;
Early Learning Center graduation - Wednesday, May 8 at the 6:30 p.m. at the Wayne Fire Hall;
Saturday, May 11 - graduation at 1 p.m. in the junior-senior high gym; and
Tuesday, May 21 — last day for students in grades K-11. This will be a noon dismissal.
During administrative reports, Dr. Lenihan told the board that he will be a part of a Community Activity Center Relocation Town Hall Meeting. This was scheduled for April 10 and was to include information from the architect for the project, City Administrator Wes Blecke and Dr. Leniahn.
Dr. Lenihan also shared information on success of having an School Resource Officer for the district. He would like to see the number of hours that person is in the district's building increase in the next school year.
Other topics discussed during administrator reports included the recently completed ACT testing, Spring Sprints on Friday, May 3, the fact that "Banquet Season" is happening as the school year ends and information on the Conference Art Show which will be held at the Wayne City Auditorium April 22-26.
The Wayne Community Schools Board of Education will next meet in regular session on Monday, May 13 at 5 p.m. in the junior-senior high school library.
