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Nelsonville-York Discusses Archery Equipment On Buses
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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After looking into a concern presented to the school board last week related to students carrying bow cases for the archery club onto the bus, Nelsonville-York City School Supt. Mick McClelland said students will still be permitted to travel with them to school.
“I contacted the state, and we’re fine to bring those onto the bus,” McClelland said Monday.
Last week, bus driver Kathy VanBibber asked the board and the administration said she was concerned the size of some of the cases, which are about the size of a trombone case, were creating a seating issue.
VanBibber said her 71-passenger bus transports 66 children on average. Adding the cases, which take up about three seats “gets to be a real issue,” she said.
In addition to her concerns about seating, VanBibber wondered if archery equipment would be considered a weapon. By law, weapons are illegal to transport to school. For safety reasons, students already aren’t allowed to transport arrows.
“You bring up a legitimate concern about the size of it,” said board member Tim Maiden. “The concern about it being a weapon, I think that’s a moot point, because it’s a board-approved club.”
McClelland said he also doesn’t see the equipment as a weapon. After looking into the matter, he said the district doesn’t transport enough cases for it to present a problem.
Also during the meeting, Board President Micah Covert presented to the board a proposal for contracting with the Ohio School Board Association to digitize the district’s policies and manuals. The project would create an online version of the documents, making them easily searchable, updatable and cross referenced to other sources like the Ohio Revised Code. The cost would be just over $10,000 with additional annual fees. Covert and McClelland both agreed it’s something the district needs. Other board members wondered about the cost.
Covert asked the board to review the proposal and to be prepared to make a decision at the December meeting.
Also at the meeting, fifth-grade language arts teacher Susan Ferguson recognized two students for their accomplishments in a recent essay contest sponsored by the Valley of Columbus 32nd Degree Masons. For the essay, students had to respond to the prompt, “Why my family is important to me.” Student Jocie Mash won first-place ($200 for her class) and Ashleigh Cantrell won runner-up ($100 for her class). Ferguson and McClelland presented each student with a plaque and certificate for their achievements.