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Construction crews have erected concrete block walls for a portion of the new middle school building in Maria Stein.
MARIA STEIN - Marion Local school board members had an opportunity Monday night to see first-hand the progress of the new $23.3 million middle school building currently under construction.
Superintendent Mike Pohlman conducted the tour during the regular board meeting. Pohlman walked board members through the building, including a large section that will serve as a two-court high school gym with a seating capacity of 2,000 spectators. The new building also will house 11 junior high and special education classrooms, an agriculture education suite including two classrooms and a greenhouse, a kindergarten through eighth-grade cafeteria/commons area, four locker rooms and administrative offices.
Construction crews have erected concrete block walls for a large portion of the facility. "We will soon see some HVAC equipment being set in place in the mezzanine areas and in late July will see steel being set in place," Pohlman said. "A majority of the concrete slabs have been poured with larger areas occurring later."
Pohlman has stated the building is expected to be ready for the start of the 2026-2027 school year. The project will be financed through a 0.5% earned income tax and a 5.3-mill property tax levy approved by voters in November 2023. Both will be collected for 30 years.
"We officially connected to the Chickasaw water tower on July 8," Pohlman said. The project involves the extension of the Chickasaw village water lines from the treatment plant in the Marion Industrial Park to the Marion Local Schools.
The $1.2 million water project will be financed with a nearly $900,000 Ohio BUILDS Water and Wastewater Infrastructure grant and $300,000 in district funds.
Construction crews have erected concrete block walls for a portion of the new middle school building in Maria Stein.
In other business, high school principal Tim Goodwin advised board members that the preliminary results from state testing reveal a 110.1 performance index for the school for the 2024-2025 school year, up from 109.7 the previous year. Goodwin said this is the fourth consecutive year the high school's index has improved. He said 95.7% of students passed all tests this year.
Elementary and middle school principal Kelli Thobe reported the school received a projected performance index of 112.1, down slightly from 112.2 the previous year. She said 94.8% of students passed all tests.
Both Goodwin and Thobe praised students and staff for their efforts in achieving success on the state tests.
The board approved a revised non-teaching pay scale to include the new position of maintenance/bus driver. The salary for the new position, which is held by Kevin Nagel, has been set at $52,832, according to treasurer Ryan Goldschmidt.
Board members also approved a revised salary schedule for bus and van drivers. The hourly pay range is from $29.65 to $31.93, depending on the years of experience.
Board members also:
• heard Goldschmidt report he has submitted a document to the county auditor certifying the amounts of sources available for expenditure and balances for fiscal year 2025. Revenue was set at $13.9 million and expenditures at $16.9 million. He noted that the figures include a $5,250,000 transfer from the general fund to a new capital fund and the start of payments on the new building project ($3.8 million in fiscal year 2025).
• approved the hiring of Jon Thobe on a one-year contract as a custodian effective Aug. 1. He also was hired on an as-needed basis July 21-31. Allison Bruggeman was hired as assistant band director on a one-year contract. The resignation of Jeanna Heitkamp as junior high Scholastic Bowl adviser was accepted.
• approved school lunch prices of $1.75 for kindergarten-eighth-grade, $2 for high school and $3 for adults. The lunch prices are the same as last year. Also approved were student fees and staff handbooks for the upcoming school year.
• accepted bids from Maharg for trash pickup, Maria Stein Grain for water softening salt, Burke Petroleum for liquid propane and Chickasaw Garage for bus repairs and road service for 2025-2026.
• learned the athletic boosters will be extending the handicapped seating area at the football stadium and constructing a press box at the softball field.
• went into executive session to discuss employment and compensation. No action was taken after the hour-long executive session.
