Vantage October Board Meeting Held
The Vantage Board of Education held their October Board meeting on Thursday, October 3, 2024 in
the District Conference Room. During the Board meeting, the minutes from the September 5, 2024
Regular Board meeting were approved along with financial statements for the month of August, 2024.
Superintendent Rick Turner welcomed the following guests to the meeting: Sam Shriver, Times
Bulletin, Scott Truxell, Van Wert Independent, Mr. Benjamin Winans, High School Director, Mrs. Angie
Fahy, Adult Education Director, Mr. Justin Dickman, Dickman Law Office, Mrs. Ashley Cline, Supervisor of
Student Operations, Mr. Larry Ray, Precision Machining Instructor, and Mrs. Diane Laing, Health
Information Management Instructor.
Mr. Turner also spoke about and highlighted the following items at the meeting:
➢ Congratulations to our staff and students for the outstanding score on our State Report Card. I’m
happy to say we continue to be a 5-Star Career Center for the results of the 2023-2024 school year,
the highest rating attainable. This score speaks to the hard work and dedication of our staff and
students in meeting the benchmarks outlined in the report card data. You will see the results in
detail from Mr. Winans’ presentation during his report this evening.
➢ Kudos to our staff and students for a very successful Day of Caring and Blood Drive last week, andto our NTHS inductees.
➢ Progress continues on our CDL driving lot expansion. The paving was completed this week, which
will allow us to begin conducting classes again. Cleanup of the area is scheduled for today and
tomorrow with grass to be planted next week. Finalization of the lighting portion of the project is
anticipated within the next few weeks. We have taken delivery of two semi tractors. We also expect
the car prop and CDL simulator to be delivered very soon. All of this is funded through the CTE
expansion grant we were awarded through the state.
➢ Work continues to select a design firm for the Vantage Academy of Medical Careers across the
street. The meeting scheduled for October 23 will set the stage for submission of designs for this
project. If you didn’t receive a formal invitation to this meeting, please let me know.
High School Director Benjamin Winans reported on the following:
➢ We are very pleased that the Vantage Career Center Technical Planning District has again achieved
a 5-star rating. As you will note, our scores in the various areas are similar to what we saw last
year. We certainly appreciate the buy-in from our staff and students to work toward achieving at
high levels. As an administrative team, we will continue to sift through the data that is provided in
the report card and look for areas to continue to improve and maintain.
➢ I recently attended our Special Education departmental meeting and am pleased to report that our
efforts to keep Vantage Career Center in compliance with the State requirements for Special
Education services continues to evolve. The group of intervention specialists and coordinators are
working together daily to make changes to better accommodate the needs of our students.
Recently the group attended a State level conference and came back with many ideas of how we
can continue to provide services. If you remember, we expanded our intervention staff last year to
make certain we had enough staff to serve the required ratio of students. We also expanded
services as we now send intervention specialists into the student’s labs to make certain they are
receiving the required services. I want to thank the Board for their continued support of our
students and staff.
Mr. Winans also reported the following upcoming events:
➢ End of First Nine Weeks – October 18, 2024
➢ Parent/Teacher Conferences – October 30, 2024 and October 31, 2024
Adult Education Director Angie Fahy reported on the following items:
➢ Customized Training
○ Currently working with approximately 8 companies for customized training.
➢ Welding
○ We found someone to complete our Advanced class, but are still in need of a permanent instructor moving forward.
➢ Recruiting
○ AE staff will be setting up times to meet with Vantage Programs and area high school students.
➢ FA Solutions
○ Went live on Sept. 19th
○ Definitely the right choice for our department and students
○ Kiosk for students
○ Kendra and I both have access to see what the students see.
○ Working on procedures for students.
➢ CDL
○ Currently have students on a waitlist for upcoming classes as our October classes are both full.
➢ Part Time Instructors
○ The need for part time instructors is at an all time high.
○ Contributing Factors
■ Compensation
■ Difficult to compete with employers
■ Inconsistent hours
■ No benefits
○ Any suggestions or ideas on what we can do differently to attract more attention to these positions?
In new business, the Board:
➢ Approved employment of a secretary
➢ Approved a list of supplemental contracts
➢ Approved a list of Adult Education Instructors
➢ Acknowledged an amended Van Wert City ordinance
➢ Accepted a resolution approving a tax increment financing exemption
➢ Approved a compensation agreement
➢ Approved an out-of-state travel request
➢ Accepted one resignation for the purpose of retirement
➢ Approved a lease agreement with the county board of Developmental Disabilities
End of Superintendent’s Consent Agenda Items
Pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22(G)(1), the Superintendent hereby requests that the Board
adjourn to 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, November 7, 2024
Board of Education Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
In District Conference Room
Regular Board Meeting
