BELLVILLE — The Clear Fork school board swore in a new board member and recognized personnel moves in both the athletic department and Butler elementary administration at its most recent meeting.
The board and elementary personnel are keeping an eye on construction efforts for two new elementary schools.
Board members appointed Amy Weekley to fill a vacancy on the Clear Fork school board. According to Board President Jim DeSanto, several qualified candidates were interviewed by the board over the previous month. This will be Weekley’s first term as a school board member.
Weekley said she is passionate about education and wants to address student achievement while moving the board in a positive direction. She noted that part of that positive direction includes the construction of the elementary buildings in the district.
On March 9, Jason Snyder informed fellow board members that he was taking a new job and would be stepping down from the board on May 26. Snyder, who was elected to the board in 2012, is relocating to Utica, Ohio.
The board then nominated Carl Gonzalez to assume Snyder’s duties as board vice president. Both Weekley and Gonzalez were sworn in during the meeting.
The board also took steps to address personnel needs in the athletic department.
Currently, Charles Schmitt serves as an interim athletic director, referred to as the “District Activities Coordinator” in Clear Fork parlance. He will remain in the position for the coming school year but will be joined by Jeff Gottfried on a limited administrative contract.
Superintendent Janice Wyckoff explained that Gottfried will be an assistant to Schmitt and is expected to take over as Activities Coordinator in the 2018-19 school year. Wyckoff said that Schmitt will “essentially tutor and train Gottfried for a year.”
Gottfried, known as “Gotti” to students and athletes, has coached softball and golf in the district. The goal of the mentorship is to “learn the bigger picture of all the athletic programs,” Wyckoff said.
The board also recognized Libby Nickoli as the new principal for Butler Elementary following the retirement of Steven Bloir. Bloir served for 16 years in the district and was principal of the Middle School and both Bellville and Butler elementary schools.
Board members and elementary principals continue to prepare for the construction of new elementary buildings. The Butler site appears to be on track but the open date for Bellville’s elementary school has been pushed back to December 2018.
It was previously stated that the school would be open at the beginning of the 2018 school year but Wyckoff said those students would face a “mid-year move-in.”
For now, the anticipated schedule includes air-quality tests in November and December of that year. She also said the school would have a three-week Christmas break to facilitate moving supplies and materials from the old building to the new.
