The Buckeye Valley Local School District Board of Education held its first meeting of the 2018-2019 school year in the new Buckeye Valley East Elementary building.

East Elementary Principal Katie Karacson said she was excited to have everyone visit the new building. Karacson added she couldn’t be more appreciative of what the school’s staff had done and of the administration’s support for the new building.

“It is a great, amazing place to come to every day,” she said.

In a video presentation, teachers said they love the new learning spaces that have garage doors, which can be opened, allowing for a larger common area so that students in different classes can learn together.

One young student said he was glad there were no stairs, while one of the teachers expressed her love of having air conditioning.

James Lang, a high school social studies teacher, and Paul Brunner, band teacher, reported on the Global Scholars program that 14 students participated in over the summer. The two educators took the Global Scholar students to the Global Leadership Summit in Europe. Lang said the trip included visiting London, Paris and Berlin.

“In Berlin, there were 2,000 high school students from across the world working together on the theme, which was how can we leverage technology to better the lives of everyone,” Lang said.

Lang added one of the keynote speakers was Randi Zuckerberg, sister of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, who spoke on the power of women in the workforce.

Zack, one of the Global Scholars, said he came back with a better understanding of how people live in other countries.

“We’re all not really that different,” he said.

Brianna, another Global Scholar, said her biggest take away was how the monuments they visited affect the world globally.

“It was an amazing experience to be traveling in foreign countries,” she said.

Lang said the students were told, “Above all, you travel for the people. Soak in the culture, and travel for the people.”

In other business:

• The Buckeye Valley Athletic Boosters Club reported that volunteerism is down, which is making it tough to operate concession stands during events. The club also discussed that its emphasis is no longer on uniforms, but supplying anything a team needs.

• Superintendent Andy Miller reported things were going well with facilities and had to laugh when one of the children in Karacson’s video said he was proud to have paint on the walls.

“I didn’t think standards were that low,” he said. “I think he was talking about how bright it is.”

• The BOE approved the amended fiscal year 2019 certificate of estimated resources from Treasurer Kelly Ziegler.

“We’ve seen $47,000 come in through the online portal,” she said.