The Delaware City Schools Board of Education discussed a number of items on Monday, including the sentencing of a former Hayes High School student, while members also heard a presentation from Smith Elementary.
Superintendent Paul Craft addressed the board concerning the sentencing of 18-year-old Troy Ferguson, a former student at Hayes who was sentenced to jail time and probation earlier on Monday for making school shooting threats against Hayes in November 2018. The threats resulted in Hayes being closed on Nov. 8.
Craft told the board that Ferguson pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and would be serving jail time on the weekends for the remainder of the school year, and he is also scheduled to spend the summer in the Delaware County Jail.
“An apology was made,” Craft said. “It was very well done.”
Craft said he was “very pleased” with the resolution of the case, and the sentence “sends a message.” He added Ferguson was expelled from Delaware City Schools but has enrolled in an online academy and will graduate in May, albeit not from Hayes, and he will attend college in the fall.
Craft praised the board and the work of Director of Communications Jennifer Ruhe and Assistant Superintendent Heidi Kegley for they way they handled the situation in November.
Also during Monday’s BOE meeting, Smith Elementary Principal Rochelle Thompson gave a brief presentation about a number of activities involving students and parents at Smith, including a massive clean-up project that was done by Pack 39 in August.
“Our families are reaching out, and we are working together,” Thompson said.
Thompson brought several students with her to speak about various educational projects that have been completed, including a day where students pretended to run a town, and a project where students learned about westward expansion.
“There are so many opportunities for our kids to be leaders,” Thompson said.
Director of Facilities and Transportation Jason Sherman also spoke to the board. He showed off the completed staff area and new wash bay at the district’s transportation depot on Liberty Road. Sherman said the building was built in 1998 when the district had only 20 buses. He added the new wash bay will allow the district to maintain buses year round and will make buses last longer.
Sherman also asked the board to approve the sale of three school buses, an air compressor, and 54 radios that the district no longer needed since it upgraded its radio system.
The board approved a number of staffing changes at the meeting, including the resignations of Shelley Bohanna, who had been a teacher at Woodward, and Amber Smith, a classified substitute. The board approved the employment of Caitlin Morgan, a School-Aged-Child-Care (SACC) program assistant.
The board also approved an overnight field trip for the Hayes Robotics Team to travel to the State Robotics Competition in Mason on Feb. 22-23 and approved an overnight trip for the Hayes boys and girls swim teams to travel to the OHSAA State Championship at Canton High School on Feb. 21-23.
