summer school anyone? - Arcanum

Arcanum High School Welcomes Hall of Fame Inductees
On January 19, three new inductees to the Arcanum Athletic Hall of Fame were honored for outstanding past achievements. Ralph Harshbarger, Class of 1949, was a
four-year starter on the basketball team. He was also a member of the baseball team
as a pitcher and excelled in track and cross country. Jim Fourman, Class of 1963,
excelled in basketball, baseball, track & field and cross country, lettering in seven
varsity sports. Jim was voted most outstanding athlete at the 1962 Darke County
Track and Field Meet and was a member of the 1961-1962 basketball team that finished with a record of 19-1 and won the Darke County Tournament. Steve Carroll,
Class of 1981, was a football standout for Arcanum from 1977-1980 seasons. He
was named to the All CCC and All County teams as a running back in 1979 and 1980.
Steve holds the school record for most points scored in 10 games.
Arcanum Alumni Hall of Fame Established
The Distinguished Alumni and Honorary Trojan Hall of Fame
has been established to honor those individuals who have
made a significant impact through achievement, actions and
contributions within their communities and professions and
serve as exemplary role models for Arcanum students.
Arcanum-Butler Local Schools
District Newsletter
April 2015
Superintendent’s Message: State Testing & Building Remedial Work
Criteria for the awards, as well as nomination forms, will be
made available in May at the Arcanum Board of Education
Office or online at http://www.arcanum-butler.k12.oh.us/. The
first induction will take place at the Trojan Alumni Homecoming
in April 2016.
Administration
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Online education for all Ohio students in grades 6-12
Teacher support 24 hours a day, 5 days a week
Classwork completed at home, or in our academy computer lab
Participation in Arcanum-Butler extra-curricular activities and events
The opportunity to receive an Arcanum-Butler Local School District
diploma
Mr. John N. Stephens, Superintendent
Mr. Matthew L. Huffman, Treasurer
Mr. Jason R. Stephan, HS Principal
Mr. Marcus D. Bixler, MS Principal
Mr. Ryan S. Malany, EL Principal
~The Arcanum Virtual Academy is now accepting new students for the 2015-16 school year~
Board Members
Mr. Ed Everman, President
SUMMER SCHOOL ANYONE?
Mr. Tracy Fout, Vice President
Mrs. Beverly Delk
THE ARCANUM VIRTUAL ACADEMY WILL BE OFFERING SUMMER SCHOOL COURSES FOR ALL STUDENTS
JUNE 1-JULY 31 (60 DAY TERM)
Mr. Kelly Norris
Mr. Mark Trask
Contact Jim Gray, AVA Director, at (937)692-1000, or jim_gray@darke.k12.oh.us
Winter Athletic Highlights
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Varsity Girls Basketball—Coach Rachel Fearon: Season record 12-11; CCC record 8-4; Bill Burkett Tournament Runner-Up; 1st Team AllConference—Alexis Abner, Stevie Johnting; 2nd Team All-Conference—Abby Ross; Special Mention All-Conference—Brittany Kinney; District 9 Media
Team—Alexis Abner
JV Girls Basketball—Coach Abbey Moore: Season record 8-11; CCC record 6-5
8th gr Girls Basketball—Coach Angie Cates/Eugene Cullers: Season record 10-7; CCC record 7-5
7th gr Girls Basketball—Coach Eugene Cullers/Angie Cates: Season record 17-1; CCC record 8-0; CCC Regular Season and Tournament Champs
Varsity Boys Basketball—Coach Marcus Bixler: Season record 12-12; CCC record 7-5; Sectional Championship Qualifier; 1st Team AllConference—Conner Pohl; 2nd Team All-Conference—Collin Habel; Special Mention All-Conference—Kory Baker; District 9 Media Team—Conner Pohl
JV Boys Basketball—Coach Matt Grote: Season record 8-14; CCC record 4-8
8th gr Boys Basketball—Coach Bill Poppaw: Season record 13-3; CCC record 10-2; CCC Regular Season Champs
7th gr Boys Basketball—Coach David Baker: Season record 18-0; CCC record 12-0; CCC Regular Season and Tournament Champs
HS Wrestling—Coach Rick Stone/Jared Beatty: Lucas Gower—District Qualifier, 4th place Sectional Tournament, 2nd place Valley View Invitational;
Kyle Collins—6th place Sectional Tournament, 6th place Eaton Invitational; Brent Oda—2nd place Tri-County North Invitational
JH Wrestling—Coach Daniel Edwards/Dustin Byers: 8 participants
Swimming—Coach Doug Thompson/Josh Artin: Morgan McKinney—school record in the 100 IM
Gymnastics—Coach Katy Boston: Emma Smith—35th out of 102 on bars at District
HS and MS Cheerleading—Coaches Cherie Goubeaux and Deena Meddock
Indoor Track—Coaches Chris Kessler and Theo Whitaker: Erica Zimmer qualified for the State Championship in shot put.
As some of you may recall, last spring in my newsletter updates, I discussed the challenges that our district was facing in light of
the implementation of new standards and new state assessments. This year marked a change in state testing previously known
as the Ohio Achievement Assessments. As required by the No Child Left Behind Act, under the Bush Administration, public
school districts must assess students in grades 3-8 and 10 in language arts and math at all levels, as well as science and social
studies in select grades. While those requirements did not change this year, the test itself did. The State of Ohio partnered with
PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) to implement new, on-line testing for language arts
and math, aimed at measuring whether our students were on track for success in college and in their careers. While I support
school accountability and testing that measures the growth of our students academically, I cannot support the current testing
format that saw testing time more than double for our students, including a nearly four week testing window, all for data that will
not be made available until at least late next fall, well past the time that teachers can properly use the data to guide instruction. I
applaud our students for their efforts, who managed the anxiety and adeptly manipulated Chromebooks and computers to answer
the questions the best they could. I want to thank our teachers and staff members who worked diligently to prepare the students
for the testing, while maintaining the level of excellence outside of testing that we expect. I am grateful for our principals, counselors and tech coordinator for their preparedness, guidance and hard work in managing the additional workloads. And finally, I
deeply appreciate the support of our parents, who helped calm the nerves of their children and who trusted in us to complete the
required testing. Because I believe that changes are required for the testing to be meaningful and manageable, I have addressed
those concerns, as have educators across the state, with our state representatives and am hopeful that adjustments will be made
as soon as next year.
Earlier this year, the district released a public statement regarding remedial work necessary to correct leaks associated with the
defective standing seam metal roof and the efflorescence staining of the exterior masonry walls on the District’s K-12 building. To
investigate and correct the defective work, the district has continued to partner with the Ohio School Facilities commission
(OSFC), the state agency responsible for administering state-sponsored school building projects. Because the District’s K-12
building was initially constructed as part of the OSFC’s Classroom Facilities Assistance Program (CFAP), the remedial work will
be performed as part of, and funded through, that same program. The District will initially be responsible for its local share of the
cost of the remedial work, which is 36%, plus any local initiative aspects of the project.
NEARLY 100 COURSES WILL BE OFFERED
Registration begins May 1, 2015
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We are now well past the midpoint of the school year and the change in the weather reminds us that
winter is finally over, spring is here and summer will soon follow. Thus far, there have been many positive moments in the school year, full of students successes and achievements. This year, the district has
focused on students and staff exhibiting the Trojan Way and I am proud to witness those accomplishments on a daily basis. I personally want to congratulate the many students recognized daily, weekly,
monthly and quarterly for their efforts and achievements in the classroom and on the playing field. There
have been students recognized for outstanding attendance, academic success, improvement, effort and
athletic achievements. Though I can’t mention all of those students by name, I would like to recognize
senior Brandon Fourman who recently was named Darke County’s Franklin B. Walter All-Scholastic
Award Winner and also recognize High School English Teacher Mr. Tim DeBrosse for being named the Arcanum-Butler Local
Schools Teacher of the Year! Brandon and Mr. DeBrosse are great representations of the outstanding efforts of our students and
teachers, which help inspire the Trojan Spirit in all of us.
The problems with the roof and masonry walls arose because members of the construction team failed to provide quality work for
our building, and we are committed to correcting the problem and holding the responsible parties accountable. It has been determined that to repair the standing metal seam roof, the current roof must be removed and additional underlayment and new roof
installed. Additionally, to repair the efflorescence, the veneer block will be removed and be replaced with new brick. The required
work is in the preliminary planning stage, and is anticipated to be performed over the coming two years, starting this summer, in a
manner that will minimize disruptions to school activities. The goal of the Board of Education with this repair work is to make sure
that our building and grounds continue to be a source of pride for our community. While the district is disappointed in the extent
of the necessary repairs, it is our commitment to continue to work proactively to correct this problem and work with the State
Attorney General’s office to pursue the responsible parties for reimbursement.
2011 Trojan Ave.
Arcanum OH 45304
I want to thank our teachers, staff, administrators and board members for their continued efforts to provide a caring and safe
environment where students are challenged to become lifelong learners and productive citizens. I want to thank the ArcanumButler School community for continued support of our students and staff this year. For current updates, please visit our district
website, view any of our school Facebook pages and follow us on twitter.
Sincerely,
John N. Stephens
Phone: 937-692-5174
Fax:
937-692-5959
www.arcanum-butler.k12.oh.us
“The Arcanum
Arcanum--Butler Local School District provides a
caring and safe environment where students are challenged to become
lifelong learners and productive citizens.”
Arcanum-Butler Teacher of the Year
Congratulations to Arcanum High School Language Arts Teacher Mr. Tim DeBrosse for being chosen as the Arcanum-Butler
Local School District’s Teacher of the Year. Mr. DeBrosse has been a language arts teacher for thirty-seven years, with thirtyone of those years being at Arcanum High School. He teachers a full schedule that includes English 10, Beginning Composition, Composition Research I and II, Technical Writing, Reading the Novel and Multimedia. He was designated a Master
Teacher in 2009 by the Ohio Department of Education and is a Martha Holden Jennings Scholar. He is also a fellow of the
Ohio Writing Project out of Miami University. Mr. DeBrosse is set to retire following the 2014-2015 school year.
High School Principal Mr. Jason Stephan shared the following, “Mr. DeBrosse is an educator that leaves a legacy that will
never be forgotten. He cares about the success of our students, and being the best teacher he can every day for the students
of Arcanum. When you think about great teachers, they make a difference in kids’ lives—they create lifelong lessons, and Mr.
DeBrosse has done that for our students.”
In response to receiving the award, Mr. DeBrosse was humbled and honored. “Needless to say, I
am appreciative of this special recognition, but I am often confused by the positive attention and
credit that I get from others for the work that I do. I look at the other teachers on our staff and see
many of them doing awesome things in their classrooms, and when compared to some of the ordinary things that I do, I feel quite humbled. I would rather be thought of as one member of a great
staff that serves our students well.”
Again, congratulations to an outstanding teacher who makes a difference in the lives of our students
and is well respected by his peers at Arcanum-Butler Local Schools. Mr. DeBrosse will join other
teachers from Darke County in the process of determining the Darke County Teacher of the Year.
Arcanum Trojan Homecoming Event Nears
The Arcanum Alumni Association cordially invites all alumni to the Trojan Alumni Homecoming, formerly called ArcanumButler Alumni Banquet. Come enjoy a good meal and the fellowship of classmates and friends in a relaxed, casual atmosphere on April 18. No suits, ties or high heels are necessary.
Under the new name and format, hosted by the Arcanum Alumni Advisory Committee and the AHS Class of 1990, classmates are invited to come early and take a tour of the new school. The evening will begin at 5:00 p.m. with registration and
an open house. The 50-year class (Class of 1965) will have a class picture taken at 5:30 p.m. and dinner, provided by Nancy’s Custom Cake and Catering, will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The Bottom Line from Treasurer Matt Huffman
5 Hot Topic Questions with the Treasurer
Q. What is CAUV and what is the impact on the school district?
A. CAUV is an acronym for Current Agricultural Use Value. The CAUV program allows for farmland to be valued based on the current use rather than at
its “highest and best” potential use (i.e. land proposed for development). Under the current CAUV program, the total agricultural valuation has nearly
doubled during this tax year. This increase has resulted in a temporary increase of revenue for the school district. However, after the reappraisal of
2017, it is expected that the agricultural value and revenue will significantly drop to past valuation levels. Likewise, the Ohio Department of Taxation is
considering modifications to the current CAUV that would have an impact on future agricultural valuations.
Q. What is the cost for the replacement of the block and roof project? How will the project be financed?
A. The estimated total project cost is $5,179,907. Remaining project funds from the original construction project will be used to pay for $1,407,164 of the project. Additionally, the
Ohio Facilities Construction Commission will be providing an additional $2,000,668 in funding. The district will be responsible for $1,772,073 of the remediation project.
The district has obtained additional financing of $1.5 million to help with the local cost of the repair project. The financing is over a term of 15 years, and is at a rate of
2.875%. Meanwhile, the district is also working with the Ohio Attorney General’s office to pursue the responsible parties for the reimbursement of repair cost.
Q. The current state biennium budget expires in June, how is the school affected by early school funding projections?
A. It is still very early in the state budget process. Before the last biennium budget was approved, the school district was initially projected to receive a 0% increase in both fiscal
years. After the budget was finalized, the district received a 6.25% increase in FY2014 and a 10.17% increase in FY2015.
For the upcoming biennium, the early projections provided by the Ohio Office of Budget and Management are positive for the school district. The district is estimated to receive
an increase of 7.1% in FY2016 and 2.6% in FY2017. However, it is likely that the state legislature will make several changes to the school funding formula between now and
the first of July.
Q. The latest Ohio Department of Education report included financial indicators. How did the district compare to other similar districts across the State of Ohio?
A. The district ranked 32nd out of 279 similar districts in the percentage of total expenditures that were allocated to the classroom. Additionally, the district ranked among the top
20% of school districts with the lowest operating expenditures per pupil.
Q. How does Arcanum-Butler Local Schools fare in regards to open enrollment?
A. Open enrollment is the process in which students who are residents of another district opt to enroll in a different, often neighboring, school district. In the State of Ohio, state
funding generally follows the student through the open enrollment process. From 2004 through 2008, the school district had more students open enrolling out of the district than
open enrolling into the district. Since the 2008-2009 school year, this trend has reversed. For the past 7 years, more students have open enrolled into Arcanum schools than
Arcanum residents open enrolling into a different school district. In our current fiscal year, the district has approximately 106 more students open enrolling into Arcanum than
the district has open enrolling to other districts.
Registration forms are available on the school website at http://www.arcanum-butler.k12.oh.us/alumni.aspx. Tickets are $20
per person. Reservation deadline is April 4.
New this year following the Arcanum Trojan Homecoming will be an “After Party” hosted by the class of 1965. They welcome
all classes to Beechwood Golf Course, 1476 State Route 503, Arcanum, from 9:00 p.m. to midnight, to enjoy fellowship, reminiscing, and catching up. There will be snacks and a cash bar.
The Arcanum Alumni asks that you consider sending a donation to the scholarship fund to further the education of our current senior class. The scholarships are funded by local businesses and the alumni base. Donations are encouraged and
accepted by Tanya Baker, 12 Summerfield Drive, Arcanum, Ohio, 45304. If you have questions, please contact Tanya at
937-621-4134, or via email at tanyalynn@icloud.com.
Students from Arcanum High
School, Middle School, and
Elementary show their appreciation to the PTO for their
contribution toward the new
Chomebook cart. The 30comptuer set will allow each
building to use the laptops for
educational activities and assessments. Thank you to the
PTO for their ongoing generous support of Arcanum’s
students!
Students Excel at Science Fair
Several Arcanum middle and high school students recently
participated in and earned “Excellent” and “Superior” ratings
at the Darke County Science Day held at Greenville High
School! Congratulations to Cassidy Clark, Shelbi Fourman,
Josiah Hootman and the team of Harley Rehmert, Phoebe
Weidner and Taylor Wirrig for earning the "Excellent" ratings. Amanda McGaffic and Erica Zimmer each earned a
"Superior" rating and will move on to district competition at
Central State University. Great job and good luck!
L to R: T. Wirrig, H. Rehmert, P. Weidner, S. Fourman, E. Zimmer, A.
McGaffic, C. Clark, J. Hootman
Congratulations to senior Brandon Fourman,
who recently was named Darke County’s
Franklin B. Walter All-Scholastic Award Winner! Ohio’s county superintendents started
this initiative in 1989 as a way to recognize
outstanding senior scholars from across the
state. Brandon will receive his award at the
Franklin B. Walter Awards Luncheon held on
April 15, 2015, at the Conference Center at
Double Tree Columbus/Worthington.