CHS to get new gym floor

Middle school

will go to

trimesters

By BECKY BROOKS

Enterprise Editor

clydenews@bizwoh.rr.com

Clyde High School will be receiving a new gym floor as part of the Ohio School Facilities Commission renovation project.

The local board of education approved a change order at its Monday night meeting for Mosser Construction, Inc. of Fremont to do the job at a cost of $142,094.

School Superintendent Gregg Elchert explained that the OSFC agreed to fund 66 percent of the cost of the gym floor project.

"The original plan said that we could make the high school gym larger but structurally it could not be done," he told the school board Monday. There was no room to widen the main gym, he said.

"OSFC has agreed to co-fund some items to bring it as close to their standards as possible," he said about the gym.

"That gym floor is not going to last 50 years," he said about the current floor, which is a standard of the OSFC projects.

Clyde High School Principal Joe Webb also discussed the OSFC renovation project at CHS.

"This week we will start our move from Phase 3 to Phase 4. We have 8 teachers to move out of their classrooms," he said.

The principal added teachers will be moving back into completed classrooms, which will also have new technology in place.

Also at the Monday night meeting, the school board approved the Trimester plan for the new middle school for 2010-11. Instead of four-nine weeks or two semesters, middle school students will be graded in three trimesters. It will also allow students to take some elective courses for one trimester and switch to another the next trimester.

Elchert pointed out the trimester system will allow the district to add grade six to seventh and eighth at the new middle school without needing to hire additional teachers.

Transportation director Dan Shafer informed the board that he has begun looking at bus route changes going from five schools this year to four school buildings in 2010-11.

This month he documented that the district has 1,080 student who ride the buses.

"We're looking at a 20 to 25 percent increase in eligible riders," he said about 2010-11. He said that could add another 200 to 250 students to the bus rider list. "We're looking at a 20 to 25 percent increase in eligible riders."

"Hopefully we can take those in with the current bus routes and not have to add any routes," he added.

McPherson Middle School Principal Jon Detwiler said that besides giving tours of the new middle school to staff groups, he has also had his first request to give a tour to a group from another school district that is interested in the design of the building now under construction on Limerick Road.