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BEVERLY -- The Fort Frye Local Schools Board of Education renewed several staff contracts and hired one new teacher Monday.
Eight five-year contracts, seven three-year contracts, four two-year contracts and six one -year contracts were renewed at the board’s regular meeting, including the district’s administrative leadership.
Superintendent Stephanie Starcher will begin her next five-year contract Aug. 1 with a salary of $106,080.
“This is my fifth year with the district, before that I was a principal at Warren (Local Schools) for 12 years,” noted Starcher after the meeting.
Treasurer Stacy Bolden will begin her next five-year contract Aug. 1 with a salary of $79,619.
“That’s a good team right there,” noted board member Charlie Schilling.
High School Principal Andy Schob will begin his next five-year contract Aug. 1 with a salary of $84,673.
Schob has been with the district for four years, three as principal and one prior as assistant principal.
“One thing that we talk about often is stability and consistency and it’s really helping us that we’ve found and kept the right people on board for those,” said Schilling.
Schob agreed, saying he was happy to be working with the board and in the district.
“Fort Frye is an awesome place to be,” he added.
Assistant High School Principal Rachael Tullius will begin her next three-year contract Aug. 1 with a salary of $69,563.
Tullius has been with the district for two years.
Beverly-Center Elementary Principal Megan Miller will begin her next five-year contract Aug. 1 with a salary of $74,315.
Miller has been with the district for six years.
And principal Krista Ross will begin her next five-year contract with a salary of $69,865 plus an additional stipend of $5,523 for being assigned to two schools, Salem-Liberty and Lowell elementaries.
The board also unanimously approved the employment of Alicia Carter, 23, of Nelsonville in a one-year contract as an English language arts teacher with a salary of $32,801, one of six one-year contracts approved.
“I wanted to work here because it’s similar to where I grew up, that small town atmosphere is really what I was looking for,” Carter said. “I’ll be teaching eighth and ninth grade.”
Carter graduated from Ohio University with an additional minor in English and a minor in Teaching English as a Second Language.
“I also own my own photography business so hopefully I can contribute to yearbook (advising) in the future,” she said.
Other business:
• The board also approved the installation of a new WiFi networking project for $138,315. Bolden explained that 74 percent of the cost, or $102,353.10, would be reimbursed.
“This is what we apply for E-rate funds for,” explained Starcher. “It’s been five or six years since our Wi-Fi was last updated and we’ve added about 800 devices since then so it’s time to update. We should notice a difference in the buildings.”
Bolden added that the reimbursement should come within three months of submitting the paperwork after the new network is installed.
• The board approved an additional expenditure of $46,167 for a new phone system in the elementary schools in the district.
“I’m excited about this,” said Starcher. “We don’t currently have in all of our classrooms across the district a phone capability at the elementary schools so this will allow in every education space for there to be a phone.”
Starcher said it’s more of a safety feature than just a communications and connectivity concept. These new phones will allow for a district-wide alert to be made from any phone on the system in the case of an emergency.
“One of the things we have gotten feedback from when we’ve done our various state drills with law enforcement is that this is something we needed to consider,” explained Starcher. “These devices are such that no matter what we would do with facilities or if we need to move classes around, these are mobile and can move building to building and be switched in and out.”