Dalton school board buys two school buses, accepts over $20,000 in donations for district
DALTON – The Dalton Local Schools Board of Education accepted over $20,000 in donations during a meeting Monday night and approved several resolutions, including the purchase of two new school buses.
Superintendent James Saxer updated the Dalton Local Schools Board of Education about how the school year has been going, including an update on the status of COVID protocols and the middle school’s STEAM program.
Mask status on school buses: CDC relaxes guidelines on masks; schools follow suit making them optional on buses
Donations accepted and money spent on new buses
The Dalton School board accepted a $10,000 donation from an anonymous donor that will go toward Dalton Elementary School “Educational Opportunities,” according to the board agenda.
Saxer said after the meeting that the money could be used on a variety of things including scholarships for field trips and even assemblies, but there are currently no requirements for what it can be used on.
An additional $9,975 donation was made by the Dalton Music Boosters to reimburse the district for the band trailer that was purchased.
Art is in the air: Youth Art Month, Music In Our Schools Month® kick off with music, art events
The board also approved the purchase of two new school buses, with the help of grant money from the Ohio Department of Education. Each bus costs roughly $96,000 but Saxer said with the grant money, it was almost as if the district was buying two buses for the price of one.
Although the board usually purchases buses later in the year, Saxer said the board decided to put in the order now since there have been delays in orders and shipping. The new buses are expected to join the fleet in early 2023.
Outlook on the school year so far and next year
Saxer shared with the board that “the number of (COVID) cases in the county are dropping fast,” with only one case reported in the school each week for the past three weeks. He also shared the recent move from the CDC to remove the mask requirement on buses and shared that Dalton will be following that.
“We just follow the recommendations,” Saxer said. “So, we basically put out that it's recommended to wear a mask on the bus, but it's not required. Which is what it's always been in our schools.”
As the school year starts to wind down, Saxer said he is hopeful that this year’s graduation ceremony will return to the gymnasium and events such as prom will return as well.
Saxer also brought several proposed calendar changes to the board regarding extra training days for teachers. He said due to a law passed in the state, schools are required to screen students for dyslexia starting in the 2022-23 school year.
With the screening comes an additional 18 hours of training for teachers, Saxer said, so the board approved five additional teacher training days on Aug. 17, 18 and 19 and Nov. 21 and 22. Those additional training days will push back the start of the school year to Aug. 22 and provide additional days off near Thanksgiving, Saxer said.
Teacher allegations arise: Orrville High teacher sent home amid allegations of improper contact with female students
Other information from the meeting
Five new classes were added to the course catalog of Dalton High School and those classes include two business classes, an ACT prep course, a personal awareness and development class and a sports officiating class. The course catalog for next school year can be found on the high school website.
Three eighth-graders and Laura Grimm, the STEAM teacher at Dalton Middle School, updated the board on what they were doing with the new 3-D printers they received and what they are learning in the classroom.
Two volunteer assistant coaches, Hunter Shue and Nicholas vonBonin, were approved by the” Dalton school board and will be working with the high school baseball and track teams, respectively.
The next Dalton Local School Board of Education meeting is on March 28 at 7 p.m. in Dalton Elementary and Middle School Commons.
Check out more news from Wayne County here
Reach Rachel Karas at rkaras@gannett.com
On Twitter: @RachelKaras3
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Two buses purchased, over $20,000 accepted by Dalton school board
