Board grants 3-year teaching contracts to two

The school board and the teachers union are in contract negotiations.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NORTH JACKSON -- Derek Cox is grateful for how Jennifer Sammartino helped him turn his struggling grades around and improve his attendance at school.
Cox, 18, a senior at Jackson-Milton High School, said that within a semester, his grades went from mainly D's and F's to "high B's," thanks largely to the efforts of the special-education teacher.
So he was quite worried when he attended last week's Jackson-Milton school board meeting and learned there was a possibility that Sammartino's contract might not be renewed after it expires in a few months.
He doesn't need to worry, though.
The board decided to give Sammartino and high school math teacher Mark Assion three-year teaching contracts, effective the beginning of the 2007-08 school year.
The board is in contract negotiations with the teachers union, the Jackson-Milton Education Association, regarding teacher contracts.
The board, however, agreed to phase out a business/computer science program and French from the curriculum starting in two years, which is when a new Jackson-Milton High School/Middle School is scheduled to open.
The new facility will be in line with Ohio Core Curriculum, which lists minimum standards for schools to provide.
It requires students to complete a minimum of 20 credits to graduate and be considered for admission to any four-year state college or university, the board said.
Crowd on hand
A standing-room-only crowd of parents, teachers and students attended a board meeting this week, mainly to offer accolades to Sammartino and Assion, and to urge officials to keep the two teachers. Others shared their opposition to proposed cuts in some programs.
One student read a letter stating how she had to miss a month of school because of being hospitalized for an illness and how Sammartino helped her stay caught up with her studies. Despite her absence, the student was able to later make the honor roll, she told the board.
A few people praised Assion for helping the football team achieve a 5-5 record this school year after the team had posted several years' worth of losing records. Assion also is the school's head football coach.
Also at the session, members of a levy committee were on hand to remind those in attendance to vote on a five-year, 6.2-mill emergency operating renewal levy on the May 8 primary election ballot. The levy would bring to the district about 985,000 annually that would be used for employee salaries, utilities and other operating expenses, Treasurer John Zinger noted.
Passage of the levy will not mean an increase in taxes for residents, Zinger has stressed.
In other action, Kirk Baker, elementary principal, announced a Literacy Night that will be for grades one and two. The event is set for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the elementary school, 14110 Mahoning Ave., and will promote reading and literacy.