School board supports application for grant

The village and schools are working together to get
sidewalks installed.

By MARY SMITH

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

McDONALD — The McDonald Board of Education approved a resolution supporting the village’s application for funding for a Safe Routes to School grant for $250,000 sponsored by the Ohio Department of Transportation.

The board also agreed at its Tuesday meeting to have school administrators, the superintendent and treasurer give any assistance needed to village officials on behalf of the board to help apply for the grant to install sidewalks on McDonald Avenue.

Eighty percent of the district’s pupils walk to school. The village had applied for the same grant last spring but was notified in December that it was not approved for a grant.

McDonald Councilman Rich Harvey is spearheading council’s work to get the grant. Council is still waiting for a review of final details before it passes another resolution to apply for the grant.

Harvey said the village is applying for the grant, which requires no local matching funds, to get sidewalks installed on McDonald Avenue from Marshall Road to Second Street.

The road is a truck route, and pupils who walk to school on the road often have to jump into the storm ditch to avoid trucks.

The grant would pay to put in sidewalks and install storm sewers on McDonald.

The distance on McDonald is nearly a mile, and the application would be for sidewalks on the east side of McDonald. The west side is in Weathersfield Township.

The Safe Routes to School grant program is designed to promote having children walk or ride their bikes to school.

The school district has been helping the village by sending out surveys to parents whose children walk to school.

Harvey said the Trumbull County Planning Commission is helping the village write the grant, and one grant requirement is a visible involvement from the schools.

A meeting is planned for 7 p.m. March 18 at Roosevelt Elementary school gym to discuss the grant with parents and children and pass out surveys.

Another program will be April 9 at Roosevelt Elementary. Village Police Chief Lou Ronghi will have seminars throughout that school day in classrooms to encourage pupils to walk or ride their bike to school on nice days.

In other business, the board gave second reading to change school policy on the age of admission to kindergarten, making July 1 the eligibility date for entrance if a child attains the age of 5 on or before that date.

The policy previously had required a pupil be 5 by Sept. 30.