By Carly Rose
COVINGTON — The Covington Board of Education (BOE) heard from multiple Covington parents about concerns during its regular session meeting held on Wednesday, Oct. 16.
Covington resident Mathew Swiger expressed his concern about the safety of the school after he felt there was a lack of security at the building.
“It was expressed by board members and by faculty members in the chairs that this is the most secure building in Covington,” said Swiger. “I will tell you right now that it is not. … During the pep rally, the back door was totally unlocked, so it is not the most secure building.”
“Somebody needs to say ‘Hey, who’s in charge of making sure doors are secured,’ because if the pep rally was at the end of the day, if no one really went back to that office and took off from there, was that door secured for the rest of night?” Swiger said.
Superintendent Joseph Hoelzle said, “Thank you for bringing that to our attention, I know that we check the doors numerous times a day, but I will look into that specifically.”
A few parents also expressed their concerns with the disciplinary actions and supervision regarding their children after their kids were given detentions instead of disciplinary warnings.
Members of the board noted that there is more communication that needs to be had for those issues and needs to be followed up with the superintendent.
During the committee reports, Covington Mayor Lee Harmon gave an update on Upper Valley Career Center.
“The career center had an overall rating of five stars, achievement rating of four stars, career, and post-secondary readiness we got five stars, graduation rate we got five stars, and post-program outcome we had five stars,” said Harmon. “So everything looked very good for that.”
“Probably our biggest thing we’ve got going on right now is our 57,000-square-foot expansion to the facility,” said Harmon. “We got some funding through the state for career preparedness, and it was a very generous grant that we received for that, they are going to expand, and it’s going to benefit the medical careers classes, first responders academy, sports medicine, construction maintenance, electrical trades, robotics and automation, and manufacturing, so this expansion will add floor space for all of those classes for their various programming.”
“As of Oct. 2, our student population is 1,131 students,” said Harmon. “Sixty-three of those are Covington students.”
Also during the meeting the board approved the following items:
• The September 2024 financial reports including the first quarter budget vs actual reports;
The semi-annual debt payment was made this month. The next payment will be due in April and the final debt payment for the K-8 building will be in 2051.
Because the district received more than $750,000 in federal funds in FY24, Covington is required to have a single-year audit rather than a 2-year audit. The audit is currently underway with the auditor of state at a cost of $16,318.
The five-year forecast will be provided to the Board prior to the November meeting. Board approval will be required at the November meeting.
• Among the superintendent’s reports and requests, the following donations were accepted; Ebberts Field Seeds, Inc. for the FFA program for an amount of $600, BUCC Boosters for the Golf meals, and Football helmets for an amount of $3,072, Elliot Landscaping for the scoreboard sponsor for an amount of $3,500, Robert Brumbaugh for the football field maintenance for an amount of $1,000, and Covington Community Chest for the one call now system for an amount of $1,931.78.
• To enter into agreement with Finfrock Construction Company of Covington for snow removal and ice control for the school year 2024/25
• Dispose of obsolete equipment. Per policy No. 7310 – The two serving lines that were replaced in the cafeteria are declared obsolete and will be donated to a local nonprofit.
• The following certified substitutes for the school year 2024/25, as needed: Kaitlyn Balkcom, Emily Blackburn, Zachary Bambic, Robert Cooper, Michael Epperly, Karin Guadin, Cale Marker, and Juliana Linares-Smith.
• Various new coaching and supplemental positions for the school year 2024/25: varsity boys basketball coach, intramural boys basketball coach, junior high seventh grade boys basketball coach, high school varsity softball coach, Covington Middle School yearbook advisor, and intramural girls basketball coach.
• Volunteers for the 2024/25 school year: James Fulton, swimming volunteer; Pamela Fulton, swimming volunteer; Tate Honeycutt, girls basketball volunteer; Erin Morgan, softball volunteer; Avery Rench, boys basketball program; and Trenton Wood, baseball volunteer.
• Volunteers for the school year 2024/25 Washington DC trip: Carla Batdorf, Jeremy Hartwig, Janell Havenar, Scott Ray, and Barry Wiseman.
• A resolution for Covington High School students to participate in the 2024- OHSAA swimming championships on behalf of Covington High School, with the understanding that there will be no financial contributions from the school for this endeavor except for the OHSAA membership dues.
• Covington High School students to participate in the 204/25 indoor track and field season on behalf of Covington High School. There will be no financial contributions from the school.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 6:30 p.m.
