A report about third grade fall test scores being the best ever and a couple brief updates on the new auditorium were topics of discussion Monday at a Hillsboro Board of Education meeting that lasted just 22 minutes.
During his report to the board, Superintendent Tim Davis said the school district recently received the results of the third grade fall tests and that the scores were the highest the school ever recorded.
He said 47 percent of the students scored at the proficient level, which is 3 percent above the state average and 9 percent above Hillsboro’s scores from a year ago.
“It’s just a testament to Mrs. (Pam) Hollon and her staff for preparing those students for the fall test,” Davis said. “This is the group we started with a couple years ago implementing our changes. We’re looking forward to the spring test to see those results.”
By a 4-0 vote (board member Jerry Walker was absent), the board approved a resolution recommended by Treasurer Ben Teeters for a Guaranteed Maximum Risk Amendment to the construction manager risk agreement on the auditorium.
“This is so they can start the early work on the auditorium… They’ll start the work now on the auditorium, and there will be another amendment to this contract in January for the second phase of it,” Teeters said.
Board member Larry Lyons said he hopes to see construction trailers on the school grounds this week or next week to begin pouring footers and doing other site work for the auditorium.
The $6 million auditorium will be 23,000-square-feet with seating for 800 and include flexible space for changing rooms and/or locker rooms, according to School News Ohio.
Woolpert is the architect on the project and the project manager is Todd Ford, a 2002 Hillsboro High School graduate who said the auditorium design will mesh with the existing school and include technology and amenities specific to the school’s needs, School News Ohio reported.
“There will be a 40-inch-high stage, which creates optimal viewing from all seats, LED lighting and acoustical design to ensure those on stage are properly seen and heard by the crowd. Hillsboro will be one of the few schools in the area that can hold its entire school population in its auditorium, and we want to ensure they are served appropriately and effectively,” Ford said, according to School News Ohio.
In other news from the meeting, the board approved a donation from NCB of gift bags with stuffed animals and food for the Power Pack students valued at $1,000.
In October, board member Tom Milbery asked the community to help the school district’s Power Pack program that sends snacks home with qualifying students over weekends and extended school breaks because it had 39 eligible students not receiving the food because the district exceeded its allocation from the Freestore Food Bank of Cincinnati.
“We have got a few donations. This is more of a gift,” Davis said. “They went home (with the students Monday or Tuesday). It’s kind of a gift and little food to take home, so we greatly appreciate that.”
The board approved Shane Ison as a volunteer with the bowling team, Jan Talbott as a volunteer with the wrestling team, and a supplemental contract for Ben Pence as a high school assistant wrestling coach.
Reach Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522.
