The Vantage Board of Education held their Regular May Board meeting on Thursday, May 1, 2025
in the District Conference Room. During the Board meeting, Minutes from the April 3, 2025 Regular
Board meeting were approved along with financial statements for the month of March, 2025.
Superintendent Rick Turner began the board meeting by welcoming Sam Shriver with The Times
Bulletin, Scott Truxell with the VW Independent, Mr. Benjamin Winans, High School Director, Mrs. Angie
Fahy, Adult Education Director, Mr. Chris Miles, Construction Equipment Technology Instructor and
student Wyatt German (Ottoville).
Mr. Turner spoke about the following items in his report:
➢ The .7 mill PI Renewal Levy on the agenda was first approved in November 1996. It has been
renewed 5 times in the past. (2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020). November 2025 will be the 6th
renewal of the levy. It will cost the taxpayer $8.48 annually for each $100,000.00 valuation for a
continuing period of time. This money is not part of our general fund and is used for equipment
upgrades and facilities maintenance.
➢ We are working to fill some staffing positions that include an anticipated network systems
instructor, a media center specialist, and a career technical supervisor. We also have an adult
education CNA part-time position posted. Our goal will be to have those positions on the June 5
meeting agenda for your consideration.
➢ American Fire Training Systems will install the fire training facility the week of June 2-6. They are
planning a walkthrough on the 6th and I have invited Van Wert Fire Chief Jon Jones to join us. We
will plan a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony for a later date.
➢ Our machining and engineering technologies students made a State of Ohio aluminum plaque for
State Representative Angie King. Mr. Ray, Mrs. Owens, three machining students, and I went to
Columbus this week and presented it to her. We also got the opportunity to meet with Mr.
Klopfenstein while there. Our students are so articulate and comfortable interacting with VIP’s,
much credit should be given to our staff as they emphasize those skills throughout the time each
student spends with us. The students were Kal-El Lands – Wayne Trace, Austen Kinder – Paulding,
Jaydan Kahn-Lothamer – Antwerp.
➢ Thirty Eight school districts from the region, including myself met with Mr. Klopfenstein, Mr.
Hoops, and Mr. Mathews (Hardin, Hancock, and Logan counties) today regarding the state
biennium budget that will go into effect on July 1st of this year. There was much dialog and a
considerable amount of input from the schools as the State Senate processes their version of the
budget. The process must be completed and signed into law before the July 1st date.High School Director Benjamin Winans reported on the following items:
➢ Enrollment – As I mentioned before we have a record number of new applications for the 25-26
school year. Letters were sent to all applicants and student services staff are in the process of
going to each school to physically meet with all those who have been accepted into our programs.
During this visit they are discussing schedules for next school year and answering any questions
the students might have in regard to the enrollment process. At this time all those accepted are
tentative as we need to get final records from the associate schools. To say the least this is a very
exciting time as our enrollment numbers are up.
➢ As we are wrapping up the school year, we continue to have students going out to visit potential
employers and also companies coming into our building to visit our students. Mrs. Cline and I
have scheduled a meeting with the county economic development directors to examine how we
can continue to work with them to plug our students into open positions that they have available.
We are specifically targeting our juniors who will be seniors next school year for positions this
summer that may potentially lead to an early placement option for next school year and
potentially full-time employment. Just a quick reminder that we also have our CAP signing day on
May 9, 2025 which will begin at 12:45 p.m. As of today, we have over 20 employers planning to
attend and roughly 25 students who will be recognized. Mrs. Owens is finalizing the numbers for
this event.
➢ Senior Awards – Monday, May 19, 2025 in the Van Wert High School Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m. All
are invited to attend.
➢ You may have seen the notice of our full evacuation drill which was conducted on April 16th. For
this drill we simulated a chemical spill that required us to evacuate the building and move to our
off-site location. I want to publicly recognize the Van Wert Police Department, Van Wert Fire
Department, Van Wert County Sheriff’s Department, Ohio State Patrol, EMA and CERT, along with
the representatives from the Trinity Friends Church for their assistance in this drill. Without theseorganizations our drill could not have happened and we thank them for working with us to continue to keep our students and staff safe.
Mr. Winans also reported the following upcoming events:
➢ May 5-9 Staff Appreciation Week
➢ May 9 Senior “CAP Signing Day”
➢ May 15 Seniors Last Day of School
➢ May 19 Senior Awards Ceremony at VWHS (7:00 p.m.)
➢ May 20 Last Day for Juniors
➢ May 21 Teacher Workday (½ Day)
➢ May 26 Memorial Day
Adult Education Director Angie Fahy reported on the following items:
➢ Welding Grant
○ $50,000 Equipment Grant
■ Gary Cearns and I worked on a grant through AWS in the amount of $50,000
■ Due 3/14/2025
■ Review and approval of grants will take approximately 2 months
➢ Police Academy Graduation
○ May 6, 2025
■ 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
■ Potential of 12 graduates (pending Physical Fitness Test)
➢ Customized Training
○ OSHA 511 General Industry Standards Certification
■ Terri Schmenk recently completed this class and passed the exam, so we’re now able to offer this training
○ Current classes:
■ Fanuc – multiple classes, multiple companies
■ Electrical/Arc Flash
■ Leadership/Management Courses Customized for local employers
■ Blueprint Reading
■ Fork Truck
➢ Rapids Grant
○ Collaboration with BGSU and several other institutions for grant funds totaling approximately $50,000 towards the purchase of an additional FANUC robot
■ Currently working through a request from the state for additional quotes and other documentation before final approval
■ Final approval will be received in July or August
In new business, the Board:
➢ Approved a list of non-certified employees for the 2025-2026 school year
➢ Approved a list of certified employees for the 2025-2026 school year
➢ Approved two adult education instructors for the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year
➢ Approved the Satellite Agreement between Van Wert City Schools and Vantage Career Center
➢ Approved the College Credit Plus MOU between NSCC and Vantage Career Center
➢ Approved the Rothacker Lampe Bequest equipment list
➢ Approved the substitute teaching rate of $110.00 per day for the 2025-2026 school year
➢ Approved an out-of-state field trip for the Culinary program
➢ Accepted the resignation from Ryan Strickler pending the approval of a new contract
➢ Approved the MOU between Vantage Career Center Board of Education and Vantage Teachers Organization
➢ Approved the Employment Agreement between Vantage Career Center Board of Education and Leslie Ringwald
➢ Approved three (3) additional days for new instructor, Luke Trinosky, Culinary Arts
➢ First reading of NEOLA new/revised policies
End of Superintendent’s Consent Agenda Items
Outside of Consent Agenda Items
➢ Approved the Permanent Improvement Levy Resolution to proceed
➢ Approved the MOU between Vantage Career Center Board of Education and Vantage Teachers Organization
Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22(G)(5), the Superintendent hereby requests that the Board
adjourn into executive session for the purpose of considering personnel matters of the school district.
Adjournment – at the call of the President and at the pleasure of the Vantage Career Center Board of Education
Next meeting – Thursday, June 5, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.
In The District Conference Room
Regular Board Meeting
