Incoming Marietta City Schools Superintendent Mary Schaeffer attended the regular board of education meeting Monday night.

Her hiring approved at the April 29 meeting, Schaeffer will coming from Woodmore Local Schools to take the reins in Marietta when her contract begins Aug. 1.

“We really believe that Dr. Mary Schaeffer really had that perfect combination of experience, expertise and care for students that we were looking for, and we feel that she’s going to be a wonderful fit,” board President Cody Parman said Monday.

Schaeffer’s career includes teaching English language arts for five years, working as an assistant principal for four years and serving as director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for North Point Education Service Center for 10 years. She’s been superintendent at Woodmore for three years.

“My family and I are truly excited to be joining the Marietta community,” Schaeffer said in a statement from the school. “Marietta Schools has an incredibly rich history, and I’m so honored to have been selected to join this team.”

Attendees were encouraged to welcome her after Monday’s meeting.

The community was invited to attend and enjoy dinner with refreshments during a social hour prior to the meeting in honor of retiring faculty.

Representatives from Akron Children’s Hospital presented a pitch to provide services for the district such as telehealth appointments and a nurse practitioner that would be available for the district based on the volume of care needed. The goal was to prioritize student health and keep them in school for longer using these methods.

“Yes, Marietta is not Akron, and they recognize that, but they want to serve southeast Ohio because it’s been underserved and so they’re willing to not just invest their dollars but to bring their resources and their people here,” said Memorial Health System Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dan Breece.

Memorial partners with Akron Children’s Hospital on pediatric care.

School district Director of Operations Dash McNeal presented the financial analysis for potentially entering into a 10-year lease contract for four buses with Highland Fleets. The discussion focused on cost efficiency in comparison to diesel buses and the cost of maintenance.

“I’m not an electric person by any means; I’m a bipartisan person in all of this and I’m trying to learn it at the same time,” McNeal said.

Board member John Lehman stated that he knew the equipment business and he felt it was too early for electric buses.

“We’re not going to be buying these buses because outright they’re $500,00-$600,000 each,” McNeal said.

Treasurer Frank Antill thanked the community for the renewal of an emergency tax levy earlier this month, with 63% voting yes.

He then discussed a potential agreement to apply to the Community Eligibility Provision program, which would provide free breakfasts and lunches to all students in the district.

“Our free and reduced population is around 50%,” said Antill. “And this would be a four-year commitment.”

The board members had questions about where the funding would come from to support this. Antill said it is federally funded from money used solely for cafeteria expenses. There would be no need to transfer any money from the general fund because there is plenty to support the program.

“I haven’t seen anything quite like it, they offer four or five different entrees each day for the kids,” said Antill.

Policy updates on the amended agenda were postponed for discussion until the next regular meeting June 23 so all of the board members could look over the revisions before voting.