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Hocking College Increases Tuition
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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Full-time students at Hocking College will be paying an additional $99 a year in tuition starting next academic year, the college’s governing board decided Tuesday. The resolution passed unanimously. The college’s board of trustees also adopted 2013's revised budget to continue at least through September, when enrollment figures have been finalized. The tuition increase is… Read More
Teachers Say New Education Standards Challenge Students
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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A new set of curriculum standards for math and English called the Common Core State Standards will be in place in all Ohio schools by the start of the next academic year. Local teachers who’ve seen it phased in or who’ve received training say it’ll be a learning curve for them, but it will ultimately… Read More
N-Y Schools Hit Hardest by Federal Sequester
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger, Marika Lee | The Logan Daily News
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The automatic federal spending cuts from the financial sequester are expected to hit schools statewide at the start of the school year. While the impact won’t be as bad as expected, local school officials won’t know what this means until more data is released. On Monday, Ohio Department of Education officials said the state expects… Read More
Federal Sequester Cuts Into Local Schools’ Budgets, N-Y Hit The Hardest
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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The automatic federal spending cuts from the financial sequester are expected to hit schools statewide at the start of the school year. While the impact won’t be as bad as expected, local school officials won’t know what this means until more data is released. On Monday, Ohio Department of Education officials said the state expects… Read More
Camp Educates Children On Watershed System
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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On the beach at Burr Oak Lake, a handful of children splashed around in the water under the watchful eye of camp counselors. A few others built structures in the sand or went canoeing. On the far end of the beach, three girls scooped handfuls of muddy clay and rubbed the mess on their faces,… Read More
Fed Hock Gets Interim Superintendent For July
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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For the month of July, Rick Edwards will serve as the interim superintendent for Federal Hocking Local Schools. The school board approved the change during a special meeting on Friday. Edwards already serves as the superintendent of the Athens-Meigs Educational Service Center. George Wood retired this year as superintendent and secondary school principal but was… Read More
Innovation Ohio Says Many Schools Not Seeing Increases In State Budget
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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In a news release last week, State Senator Tim Schaffer, R–Lancaster, announced Ohio schools will see a boost of over $700 million in funding over the next two years as part of the state budget plan, adding it “is the largest increase for Ohio schools in over a decade.” Steve Dyer of Innovation Ohio, a… Read More
Trimble Local Schools To Put Five-Year Levy On Ballot
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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After two failed attempts to pass a 5-mill permanent improvement levy, Trimble school board officials passed the first of two resolutions Tuesday to put the levy back on the ballot in November with some changes. The first resolution means the county auditor will calculate how much the levy will generate. Instead of the levy being… Read More
OU Students Win National Engineering Competition
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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For their senior capstone class, four engineering students at Ohio University developed a contraption called the EZ Squeeze that not only increases productivity for workers with disabilities, it also won them $10,000. “It was a lot of fun,” said student Mitch Harble, who worked with Jeremy Ruff, Rob Garlock, Devin DeBoer, Mitch Harble and Juncheng… Read More
OU’s College Of Education Rates Poorly In Report
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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The teacher preparation program at Ohio University scored poorly in a new report prepared by a national teacher quality group, but the college dean says the methodology is flawed. The National Council for Teacher Quality (NCTQ) released its report, The Teacher Prep Review, earlier this week in which it rated more than 1,000 public and… Read More
Group Looking For More Volunteers To Help Repaint Town
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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The Glouster Volunteers will once again be working with the students of Skills USA to repaint the town, but the group needs something to make it happen — more volunteers. Last summer for the first time, 260 volunteers from the SkillsUSA Summer Leadership Camp at Hocking College joined the Glouster Volunteers in sprucing up the… Read More
Coalition Says Senate Budget Plan Does Little For Appalachian Schools
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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As the saying goes, the third time’s a charm. But that’s not the case for the proposed state budget, at least according to the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools (CORAS). The Ohio Senate has recently released its version of the state budget, now in its third iteration since the governor first proposed it in… Read More
Athens City Schools In Deficit But Paying Bills
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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Even while Athens City Schools still experiences savings from closing Chauncey Elementary School last year, the district faces deficit spending. While that’s not ideal, the district is expected to have enough funds to cover the expenses for the next few years, said Treasurer Matt Bunting. “We’re not a business; we’re not expected to make a… Read More
Athens City Schools To Get New Associate Superintendent
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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Athens City Schools’ new associate superintendent says he’s looking forward to working a little closer to East Elementary, where his daughter has been enrolled for two years. On Aug. 1, Tom Gibbs, 43, will officially take over for Business Manager David McAllister, who retired after serving 14 years with the district. Until then, Gibbs will… Read More
Alexander Schools Budget In The Black For At Least A Few Years
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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Due to wise spending, cost cutting and just plain luck, Alexander Local Schools expects to remain in the black for the next few years. But, a district can only control its expenditures for so long, says Treasurer Aaron Schirm. According to the district’s five-year forecast, the district may face deficit spending in the future. “We’re… Read More
State Senator Vows To Fight For Local Government Budget Amendment
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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In the latest version of Gov. John Kasich’s proposed budget, an amendment that would have funneled more money to local municipalities was not included, but the state senator who proposed the amendment says he’s not giving up. One local official says the news is a disappointment. Sen. Lou Gentile (D-Steubenville) recently reintroduced the amendment to… Read More
Athens 911 Director Resigns
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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Athens County’s 911 director Scott Warner has resigned effective Tuesday. He submitted his formal letter Tuesday afternoon after Athens County Commissioners accepted his resignation in the morning. Warner could not be reached for comment. No explanation was provided in his letter, however, Commissioner Lenny Eliason said Warner's resignation was partly due to the disciplinary settlement… Read More
Head Start Sees Setbacks
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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At the center-based Head Start program, children and their guardians celebrated the end of their school year on the back patio. Little ones posed with their rolled-up paper diplomas as family members proudly took pictures. Friday was the center’s last day, one week earlier than what Chris DeLamatre, who oversees Head Start at Hocking Athens… Read More
Community Members React To Failure Of Trimble Schools Levy
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger
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The day after the Trimble Local School District’s school levy failed, community members shared their reasons for supporting or opposing the issue. Despite their differences, several agreed on one thing — there needs to be a better way to support schools. “I am disappointed, but I knew it was going to be close,” said L.R…. Read More
Voters Reject Trimble School Levy
By: Arian Smedley | Athens Messenger, Gabe Ross
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For the second time in six months, voters in the Trimble Local School District have rejected a proposed 5-mill permanent improvement levy. The levy failed by a mere 16 votes. Unofficial results from the Athens County Board of Elections show that 361 people voted for the levy and 377 voted against it. Trimble Local Schools… Read More