GALION — The Galion school board has is ready to take on the new year.
And after some discussion about changing next year’s school calendar to begin the school year a little earlier, board members opted not to change the date of the first day.
Board member Dennis Long said he talked with several students and they agree with him that the school year should begin earlier in August so the first semester could end before Christmas break.
“They said they do not like being off for two weeks then coming back from Christmas break to take exams,” Long said.
Student board representative Tristan Gosser agreed.
“It is hard to come back from break and try to remember everything we need to know for our exams,” Gosser said.
Long said two weeks are spent after Christmas break reviewing material covered between the first day of school and the break.
“That seems like a waste of two weeks when they could come back and hit the ground running with new material for the second semester,” Long said.
Grubbs said school would have to start around Aug. 14 to allow for the number of days required for the first semester to end before Christmas break.
“And if we have a few days off in that time period due to bad weather, it will make it difficult to carry it out,” Grubbs said.
Eventually, the board voted to approve the calendar for the 2017-2018 school year with the semesters left in place, but the issue may be revisited in the future.
Brian Carson will remain in his position as the board’s president and Jennifer Kuns will retain her role as vice president.
According to treasurer Charlene Parkinson, the district ended 2016 in the black with a little over $6 million to carry over into the new year.
The district did purchase a new piece of equipment, to replace an older truck with snow removal equipment.
“We purchased piece of equipment that can be used for multiple purposes including snow removal and mowing,” said superintendent Jim Grubbs.
During the regular board meeting, Galion High School athlete, Connor Moreton, was presented with the first-team All-Ohio football award.
Board meetings will now be held at 6:30 p.m. on the second Monday of each month in the Middle School computer lab area. The next meeting is Feb. 13.
