Donation helps pay for gym-floor tarp

The weight room equipment fund has reached $37,000.
By MARY SMITH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
McDONALD -- The McDonald parents and teachers groups have donated an additional $5,000 to the board of education to complete paying for a new tarp-style cover for the new gymnasium floor at Roosevelt Elementary School.
The board of education accepted the donation Monday after accepting a previous donation of $1,000 from the groups in March.
The tarp came in over the district's Easter break, schools treasurer Thomas Radabaugh said, and has been used once already to cover the gym floor for the recent school science fair.
Donations for the 15-month-old fund-raising drive for the new high school weight room also hit a high of $37,000 with the board's acceptance of two donations. John M. Saganich donated $1,500 and Jack J. Dugan Jr. donated $1,000. The equipment fund was started based on donations in January 2003.
Money raised through the student Lift-A-Thon for the weight room this year doesn't have to be collected until May, so those proceeds have not been counted into the total.
Contracts OK'd
The board approved giving one-year contracts to 20 teachers for next school year. No reductions in force are planned for next school year, Radabaugh said. The district has 53 teachers.
A continuing contract was given to Samantha Rozzo, a high school teacher. No salary amount was available.
The board also hired Brenda Borton, high school detention supervisor, and Carl Eaton, elementary detention supervisor, effective Aug. 31, at a rate of $12 an hour.
The board set the new calendar year for the 2004-2005 school year. Classes for teachers start Aug. 26 and end June 9. Pupils begin classes Aug. 30, and classes end June 8.
Winter vacation will be Dec. 20 through Jan. 2. Spring recess will be March 25 to April 3.
Open enrollment
Open-enrollment applications for the district will be accepted until June 18. Contact the superintendent's office at (330) 530-8051, Ext. 3 for an application.
Open enrollment for grades two and four were closed this year because each grade level is already at its maximum of 65 to 68 pupils, Radabaugh explained.
The pupils will be placed in three sections of 22 or 23 pupils per class, he added. The board's next regular meeting is at 7:30 p.m. May 17.