The new artificial turf soccer field at Hillsboro High School was expected to be completely installed this week, superintendent Tim Davis said at this week’s Hillsboro Board of Education meeting.

With the turf being installed inside the track, Davis said a cleaning kit was purchased for the track, where the Frontier Athletic Conference Track and Field Championships will be held this year.

Davis said excavation has started for the new baseball and softball fields being constructed on the school campus. As previously reported, the infields will have artificial turf and the outfields will be natural grass.

Another recent addition to the school grounds is a butterfly sanctuary installed by former Hillsboro High School student Kyah Chaney as part of a Girl Scouts project. Davis said the sanctuary is located on the elementary school grounds near the bus garage in a group of trees. He said it is accessible to both students and the community.

Chaney said she wanted to finish the project earlier, but then COVID-19 came along and delayed it. She said the area has been created to have ideal habitat for butterflies. She said she originally wanted to place the sanctuary on city of Hillsboro property, but was not able to work that out, so she went to Davis and he approved the project.

“What I’m hoping this will do is foster a love for the environment,” Chaney said. She said she hopes future students will care for the sanctuary, but if not she has family that will.

Chaney received the Gold Award from the Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland for the project, the highest individual award a Girl Scout can receive.

In his report, board member Larry Lyons noted that Hillsboro graduate Kendall Coleman was recently featured in Farm Bureau’s Our Ohio publication. Lyons said Coleman works as a logistics manager for Bryant Enterprises.

The board approved the following individuals for contracts pending satisfactory background checks and proper certification: volunteers — Jennifer Keech, HES, HMS, HHS; Mallory Parsons, softball coach; Jordan Phillips, HES; Pat Young, baseball coach; tutor — Jennifer Howland; sub classified — Samantha Crawford, aide; and Lili Hunt, cafeteria; sub certified — Ronni Burton, Michael Durham and Logan Reynolds.

The board accepted the following resignations: Kyleah Brey, assistant softball coach, and Stephen Mike Nartker, teacher.

A preschool tuition fee scale was approved by the board. The standard monthly fee will be $150 per month (September through May). Eligibility for free or reduced tuition is determined by completing the Free and Reduced Meals Application form. If a student qualifies for a free lunch, they will qualify for free tuition. If a student qualifies for a reduced price meal, the monthly tuition will be $100.

The board approved the Ohio Mathematics Pilot Course for the 2023-24 school year. Davis said it is a transition course similar to algebra II to help students meet their state requirements. He said the school district wanted to try the course as a pilot to make sure it’s a good fit.

Reach Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522.