The Boardman Board of Education held its annual reorganizational meeting on Sat., Feb. 8 at 9:00 p.m.
      Nik Amstutz was elected president of the school board, and Kim Poma will serve as vice-president.
      Receiving the oath of office as a new member of the board was Miss Vickie Davis, who unseated Mark Fulks in the November general elections.
      Amstutz first served on the school board from 2006 through 2009, and was re-elected in Nov., 2011.
      The five-member Boardman Local School Board oversees a near $50 million annual budget and some 600 employees.
      Also at the reorganizational meeting, the school bard approved resolutions signaling two renewal tax issues will be on the May 6 ballot.
      One issue, a three-year emergency levy was first approved by the electorate in Nov., 1984 and raises $1.468 million annually.
      The second issue, a five-year emergency levy, was originally approved by the electorate in Mar., 1979 and raises $1.999 million annually.
      During its reorganizational meeting, the school board also held a ‘workshop’ where a variety of matters were discussed, including negotiations with members of the teaching and non-certified staff that are expected to be held this year.
      Both employee groups have been working under wage-freeze contracts for the past six years, although in some instances a ‘bonus’ was handed out by the school board.
      Other topics for discussion during the workshop included updates of the drive to raise funds for a new Boardman Stadium on the grounds of the high school, a school bus garage update, a transportation director update, an Ohio School Facilities Commission update and ‘teacher/coach cell phone misuse.
      •Board members were told a drive for funds for a new Boardman Stadium has neared the $1.5 million mark in pledges and this summer a new artificial turf could be laid on the current soccer field site where the new stadium is proposed.
      •Board members were informed the St. Elizabeth Hospital has expressed an interest in purchasing the school bus garage property on McClurg Rd. The hospital has been buying up the land surrounding its current facility and had attempted to build a three-story parking garage on some of its adjacent property. That project may not get underway, as Boardman Trustees have heard concerns the health care complex is already clogging McClurg Rd., particularly during morning and after-business hours.
      •The post of transportation director will have to be filled at the end of the current year as longtime director Hugh Braham has submitted his resignation.
      •The Ohio School Facilities Commission would reportedly provide up to 16 per cent of the funding needed if a new Center Middle School was to be built.
      •A substitute teacher, no longer with the system, reportedly spent time talking on a cell phone, rather that providing instruction to students.