Lucas Local School District Board of Education appointed Lucas resident Joshua Schell to the board in late August, before their regular September meeting in which grants were discussed.
Schell, who was appointed to the seat vacated by Randy Endsley in August, is not only a Lucas graduate but his son recently graduated and he has a daughter in the third grade and another in kindergarten.
“I was planning to run during the next election,” said Schell, “and then I heard about the opening and applied for it. I’m really glad to be here.”
Schell was officially made a board member on August 29.
At the September meeting, the board voted on the acceptance of a Richland County Teacher Assistance Program (TAP) Grant for Carla Delianides for a program called “Math Minds.” The grant awarded the school $695.36. The “Math Minds” program will benefit both second grade classes with a total of 34 students, but the materials will carry over into next year.
“The teachers write these grants themselves,” explained School Board Treasurer Larry Lifer. “It’s a big deal because they don’t give out that many of them. The teachers put the effort in and do all the investigation.”
Superintendent Dan Freund said that it does take some effort on the part of the teachers because they have to attend a grant writing workshop and then do all the work themselves, so the board likes to acknowledge those who take the initiative.
“It was pretty neat,” Freund said of the “Math Minds” grant.
Board Member Jon Parman suggested the school district recognize Delianides in some way and Lifer suggested a partial match since the grants are limited to $1,000. “Some type of matching might not be a bad gesture on the board’s part. Actually, I think this is the first one we’ve received since I started in 2012,” offered Lifer. “We have the money to do it.”
The board voted unanimously in favor of matching the grant.
