Lakota board removes college requirement for subs

At last week's Lakota Local Schools Board of Education meeting, the board temporarily adopted modified education requirements for substitute teachers for the rest of this school year. The change was made possible by Ohio Senate Bill 1, which went into effect on Oct. 28 to help ensure the availability of substitute teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The substitute shortage began in 2020 as the pandemic's effects became more devastating. Many former subs began to retire early or change career paths to decrease their risk of contracting the virus while working in-person at a school. Additionally, more and more full-time teachers were calling out sick as the virus spread, both increasing the demand and decreasing the supply of available substitutes. SB 1 allows school governing boards to employ substitute teachers that do not have a post-secondary degree, as long as they pass a background check and meet each board's own educational requirements. The provision is only applicable to the 2021-22 school year. The Lakota Board of Education consists of five members, and three seats were on the ballot for the 2021 election. Two incumbent members, Fred Keith and Tim Woodruff, were re-elected. The third seat went to Nancy Timmons, a write-in candidate who received almost a quarter of the overall vote. The term length for board members is four years, beginning on Jan. 1, 2022. The two other board seats will be on the ballot in two years. Timmons and one other write-in candidate, Darlene Linser, were introduced as write-ins at the board meeting on Sept. 27. At the same meeting, Keith and Woodruff announced their re-election campaigns. Timmons later introduced herself to the board at their meeting on Oct. 18. Dr. Chad Coffman, Lakota Superintendent, did not report COVID case numbers at the Nov. 15 board meeting like he had at previous meetings. In October, the district had a total of 33 positive student cases and seven staff cases for this school year — up from 21 student cases and four staff cases in September. Over the entire course of the 2020-2021 school year, only 28 students and 21 staff members tested positive. The first semester of the 2021-2022 year isn't over yet, but the student case number this year has already surpassed last year's total by nearly 18%. Lakota Local Schools does not have a vaccine mandate in place, and Sandusky County's youth (ages 12-17) vaccination rates are 12% lower than the state average. Another long-running project in the district has been the conceptualization and construction of a multi-purpose athletic building. In October, the outside walls and trusses were put in place for construction, and at last week's meeting, Coffman announced that the new building is fully framed in. The construction crew began interior work on the building last week. The board accepted a $1,500 donation for the multi-purpose facility from Lakota CAPE at the meeting. Additionally, they accepted a $25 donation from Robert and Maureen Brendle to buy books in memory of Janet Meyer, the grandmother of two current Lakota students. In other board business, Coffman announced that the district's new SMART boards were installed last week. The board moved to sell the old SMART boards and projectors to other schools where possible; any remaining equipment will be recycled. The Parent/Teacher Organization recently purchased new playground equipment for the elementary school, and installation was completed this week before Thanksgiving. Coffman also suggested adding two early release days to the school calendar — one in February and one in April. The extra time from early release would be used to support the implementation of a $500,000 grant the district received last winter. The board members agreed, but took no formal action. Finally, the time of the next Lakota school board meeting was changed to 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 13.