Marysville will be funding more than a $1 million in improvements to the Marysville High School gymnasium, thanks in part to rising revenue from special taxing districts. District treasurer Todd Johnson told the Marysville Board of Education at a Thursday meeting that the improvements will include a new gym floor and bleachers, as well as replacing a troublesome HVAC unit with one that includes air conditioning. He said work is planned to begin in the spring. Johnson said the floor and bleachers will be obtained through a state collective purchasing group which allows districts to secure low prices on equipment…
Author: Chad Williamson
Plan is for K-4 to be in school four days a week starting Feb. 18 Elementary school students in Marysville will inch back toward normalcy when the district returns to in-class learning four days per week next month. The Marysville Board of Education voted 5-0 Thursday night to approve a plan brought by Superintendent Diane Allen that would see students in grades K-4 return to class every school day except Wednesday, beginning Feb. 18. Wednesdays will remain virtual learning days to allow the district to deep clean classrooms and due to contractual obligations with teachers. The entire district has been…
I don’t know how you could defend it. Protesting is an honored way for Americans to express outrage, but when it crosses a line those involved must be dealt with as criminals. When you stop following the rule of law, your protest is no longer about righting a wrong, but rather about vengeance. When police are attacked, federal buildings invaded, pieces of history destroyed and lives are lost, the goal is gathering a pound of flesh rather than cultivating awareness. To be sure, it was largely peaceful. In fact, there are claims that oppositional operatives in disguise made their way…
A resident’s request to change an ordinance prohibiting chickens in the village limits met stiff resistance at Tuesday night’s North Lewisburg Village Council meeting. Resident Angela Myers asked council what village ordinances barring residents from raising chickens and inquired about having those regulations changed. Mayor Cheryl Hollingsworth said that an ordinance prohibiting livestock from being raised in the village has been on the books since 1993 and added that she has no interest in seeing it altered. “I’m just not willing to make the change,” Hollingsworth said. The mayor said she did not want to open the door to the…
I don’t normally swear in my columns, but for 2020 I will make an exception. This has been a hell of a year. I’m not really wowing anyone with that hot take. I think at this point everyone probably shares that sentiment. This difference is I have proof, in black and white. I just finished doing research for the Journal-Tribune’s annual Top 10 stories of the year feature and can confirm that it has been a dangerous and dizzying year. And the funny thing is, I don’t think people realize everything that happened in the last 50 weeks. In the…
In general, science and medicine are the best weapons to battle a pandemic, but in education the most powerful tool is technology. The Marysville Board of Education was updated on Thursday night about improvements made within the technology department which have allowed the district to stay nimble in adjusting to virus-related changes. Director of Technology Tom Powers said that when he took his position in 2017 the department made a commitment to be prepared for changes rather than simply responding to challenges. In short, the district needed to be proactive rather than reactive in regard to technology hurdles. After completing…
A focus on belt tightening continues to pay dividends for the village of North Lewisburg as village officials approved the 2021 budget at Tuesday night’s meeting. The budget nearly mirrors 2020 numbers, with $1.2 million in projected revenue and $1.3 million in estimated expenses. Though the village appears to be projecting deficit spending, the numbers more reflect conservative revenue estimates coupled with aggressive expenditure totals. “Just because it’s there doesn’t mean we’re going to spend it all,” village administrator Andy Yoder said. The budget showed a similar shortfall in 2020, but the village will end the year with thousands of…
In any circle of friends each member tends to have one or two arenas in which they are the go-to person. For example, somebody is going to be good with car repair, another may have expertise in plumbing and there is usually someone with skill in household renovation. The list of specialties that a friend group can collect is wide. Painting, cooking, sewing, party planning, financial advice – your friends are amazing and generally so are their skills. Well, I am here to tell you that I can’t do diddly. Can’t fix ceiling fan, shingle a roof or repair a…
While Marysville officials are confident that precautions being taking during the school day are limiting the spread of COVID-19, events after hours may be a different story. Marysville Superintendent Diane Allen told the board of education during a Thursday meeting that starting next week the district will pause rental of facilities to non-school affiliated organizations. The superintendant also stressed that extracurricular activities in general require scrutiny. Allen said the decision on renting facilities will hold until at least mid-January. As of reporting Friday, the district had 26 student cases and 174 more in quarantine and 10 staff cases with 36…
District transportation cut until after Thanksgiving COVID-19 cases in Union County are spiking and the Marysville School District is not immune to the impact. A letter sent to parents Wednesday detailed drastic changes to the district’s transportation options which will last until after Thanksgiving. “Unfortunately as of this morning, nearly 40% of our transportation staff is unable to report to duty due to COVID related and extended absences,” the letter from Superintendent Diane Allen reads. “Transportation requires a skilled staff, and we have exhausted our substitute options. “At this point, we will need to make significant changes to our transportation…
Members of North Lewisburg Village Council were introduced to the new chief of the Northeast Champaign County Fire District at Tuesday night’s meeting. New chief Derek Hess is also currently a member of the Jerome Township Fire Department, where he will continue to work. Northeast Champaign County serves the village of North Lewisburg and shares operating space at the village hall. Hess said he began his career at the Mechanicsburg Fire Department in 1998, before being hired at Jerome in 2001. He is trained as a paramedic, fire safety inspector, hazardous materials technician and juvenile fire setter mentor, on top…
Reductions in state funding may force an attempt in 2022 Residents of the Marysville School District will most likely be asked to approve a levy sooner than expected. During the campaign to pass a permanent operating levy and reallocation measure in 2018, district officials said the move would allow the district to operate through 2023 without seeking new money. At a recent meeting, district treasurer Todd Johnson told the board that developments have pushed that timeline up by a year. “Originally, I expected it would be, probably, a little later than that, probably passing it in 23 (2023) and collecting…
Will revisit idea of full return at December meeting A meeting Tuesday night delivered good news and bad news for parents in the Marysville School District who hoped for an increase in the number of in-person school days. The board of education opted Tuesday night not to set in motion a proposal for a tiered return to class, four days per week, in November. The board did, however, do away with a planned move to remote learning from Thanksgiving through Christmas break, deciding instead to stay with the hybrid model currently in place. “I don’t care, honestly, about the decisions…
Marysville Football Coach Brent Johnson salutes the heart displayed by his team as he addressed them following the Monarchs’ 48-41 loss to Northmont Friday night in the second round of the Division I state football playoffs. The Monarchs fell behind early but clawed back and took a lead late in the fourth quarter, only to see the game slip away down the stretch. For full game stories and photos from the Marysville and Jonathan Alder playoff games, see pages 4 and 5 of today’s newspaper. Additional game photos can be found on page 10. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
In this screen capture, Ryan Grose, right, and Kevin Brandfass, Co-Presidents of the Marysville Education Association, address the board of education Thursday night at Creekview Intermediate School. The union representatives said that a number of teachers said they would not feel safe with a full return to school at the present time. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson) Teachers might not support such a move For the first time Marysville officials floated the idea of a full reopening, but that idea may not have the support of staff and likely will not involve five days in class. During Thursday night’s Marysville…