MANSFIELD — The Mansfield City School’s board of education approved a resolution Tuesday night awarding Honda of Mansfield a 10-year tax abatement for the company’s $1.3-million expansion.

By approving the abatement, the district will receive $15,766 from Schluter Realty Inc. each year.

According to district records, the expansion is expected to make available $355,000 in payroll. The company will begin recruiting eight new positions as soon as November 2016, when construction is expected to be completed. Final approval of the abatement rests with city council, said Economic Development Director Tim Bowersock.

“It’s a good thing,” district Treasurer Robert Kuehnle said in a separate interview. “We give a break on their taxes and they turn around and hire and bring new jobs.”

Springmill Learning Center news

The board approved a resolution that will add two kindergarten classes to the Springmill Learning Center. The classes are expected to be functional for the 2016-17 school year.

Before approving the addition of two kindergarten classes, board president Renda Cline expressed concern for “gym time.”

“Will they (the students) have gym class?” she asked Garverick.

He said students will be able to use the ropes course and the playground equipment for gym-type classes.

“They’ll have a gym teacher too,” he said.

Teacher Margaret Strong, who has been on a leave of absence for two years, was reinstated Tuesday night under a three-year contract for a $58,431 annual salary. She will provide teaching resources to kindergarten students at Springmill Learning Center, according to district spokesperson Larry Gibbs.

Garverick said the school held a screening session for 69 kindergarten students Tuesday, with 25 additional scheduled for Wednesday.

Food service news

Prices for school lunches at Malabar Intermediate School will increase to $2.75 from $2.50, starting in the fall. All other school lunch prices will remain the same.

Malabar Intermediate School will also gain air conditioning units, as the board approved a resolution to enter into a $149,796 contract with Gardiner Trane.

“This is part of the four-year plan we did. We’re in year two,” Garverick said before the board approved the resolution.

The board also entered a contract to purchase new cafeteria tables for the entire district, amounting to $133,736.

Garverick was excited about getting new cafeteria tables for the district. He estimated nearly $40,000 in extra costs spent to disassemble existing tables, combined with the manpower it takes to wax the floors.

“That’s going to be a great contract,” he told the board.

Other news

The board approved a list of Senior High graduates — 165 in all. The graduation ceremony will be held in the high school’s gymnasium Saturday, May 21 at 10:30 a.m.

“We’re excited for it and for the kids,” Superintendent Brian Garverick said.

The board also approved a recommendation from the treasurer that he, Garverick, Gibbs and another school administrators travel to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to meet with Online Education Ventures. Kuehnle said they have met with representatives from the OEV team on four different occasions to strategize ways to make the new online program, a five-year contract, effective. 

“This would be our first time coming to them,” he said.

The district, he explained, intends on paying for the trip because of “ethical issues” behind accepting OEV’s offer. The trip is scheduled for June 12 to 14.

Kuehnle welcomed members of the board to attend the meeting with them.  

At the onset of Tuesday’s meeting, members of the board, the superintendent and the treasurer held an executive session before voting on resolutions.

Cline said the session, which is closed to the public, was held to “discuss complaints against an employee and to meet with the board’s attorney to discuss matters which are the subject of pending or imminent court action.”

Board members did not comment on the nature of the private session after Tuesday’s adjournment.