A joint meeting of the Wapakoneta City Board of Education Facilities and Finance Committees was held on Tuesday, September 5, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. at the Board of Education office.  The meeting was called to order by Vice President Dave Copeland.  Roll call was as follows:  Sammetinger, aye; Copeland, aye; Kantner, aye; Mertz, arrived at 7:15; and Frame, aye.  Also in attendance were Superintendent, Keith Horner; Treasurer, Susan Rinehart; and William G. (“Corky”) O’Callaghan.

 

          The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Vice President Dave Copeland.

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

The Board conducted interviews with two potential consultants for upcoming Ohio School Facilities projects.

 

William G. (“Corky”) O’Callaghan, Jr. of Santa Rita Collaborative was present at the meeting.  He explained that his purpose is to help Wapakoneta City Schools with community engagement.  He wants to coach us to improve our public relations.  He thinks the message from the Board of Education and administration should be consistent and be presented in a story situation so it is easier to communicate to people.  He thinks it is important to mail out a survey to get community feedback on their perception of our school.  The school district has to have the public trust and respect.  Also, the district needs to find a core group of people who could help support them in getting the message out to the public.  It is important to have mutual respect and to have civil disagreements without battles, when discussing school issues.

 

Through a phone interview, Roger Effron from Effron & Associates reiterated the concepts from his letter to Mr. Horner (copy enclosed).  Additional comments from Mr. Effron were:  The school district should discuss “school finance 101” with community members and communicate that Wapakoneta City Schools tries to run the strict like a business, concentrating on customer service, with the students being the customers.  Mr. Effron felt he could help promote a positive image of Wapakoneta City Schools. 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

          The next Board meeting is Monday, September 18, at 7:00 p.m. at the Middle School.

 

 

 

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

          Sammetinger moved to adjourn at 8:50 p.m.  Seconded by Copeland.  Roll call:  Sammetinger, aye; Copeland, aye; Kantner, aye; Mertz, aye; and Frame, aye.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

 

 

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