The following letter from Greg Denecker, superintendent of the Bluffton Exempted Village Schools, can also be found in a newsletter mailed to Bluffton residents. On Wednesday, August 24, students are invited to meet their teachers; they go back to school on Monday, August 29.

Enrollment • New staff members • School security • Senior citizen breakfasts • Financial report • Professional development • Permanent improvements

We are looking forward to the 2022-2023 school year and to welcoming over 1200 students into our district on the first day of school. Our enrollment numbers have stayed very consistent over the past 25 years, which is a real tribute to our community and staff because many schools in our region have lost considerable enrollment in that same time frame.

We have some new staff members to welcome this year. Jay Stratton will take over Larry Diller’s bus route, due to Larry’s retirement. Martin Grace, Chasity Taylor, and Jill Wilson will be new employees in our cafeterias.  Mary Glick, our new elementary music teacher, is replacing the retired Alice Basinger, while Caleb Garmon will be a new third-grade teacher in our district.  In the middle school, Katrina Riepenhoff will teach math, due to the retirement of Dina Tadena.  At the high school, Emily Spallinger will be the intervention specialist, and Rachel Skilliter will replace Pam Riffle in the math department.  Missy Smith will fill a newly created position in the district as elementary guidance counselor.  Please feel free to reach out to Missy regarding any concerns you have with your students in the elementary; she will be a resource for academic and emotional support for these early ages.  We welcome each of these new staff members to the Pirate staff.

School security is always a point of emphasis with our students, staff, and community.  We have taken many steps to help with the security in our district and continue to have training with our staff in the event of an emergency.  Our latest step is to hire a full-time school resource officer in partnership with the Bluffton Police Department.  We look for this school resource officer to add a layer of security and to build positive relationships with students, staff, parents, and our community.  This position will be filled as soon as possible this fall when the Bluffton Police Department has a replacement available to free this officer for each day of school.  Please continue to talk to your students at home about anything they hear that is suspicious or unusual in any way.  If you see or hear something, please say something to a school administrator or the police.  In addition, our school system is a part of the Ohio School Safety Center tip line called SAFEROH.  The phone number, which is 844-723-3764, can also be found on our website.  

We are excited to continue our Senior Citizen Breakfast performances this school year; those dates are listed on page three.  Typically, breakfast starts at 8:30 AM with a performance starting shortly after 9AM.  Please spread the word and invite friends to this monthly event; it is great to see everyone showing interest in watching our students on stage.  Thank you to our kitchen staff and to our sponsors--Citizens National Bank, First National Bank, Sprunger Insurance, Ellerbrock Spine and Soft Tissue, Lewis Family McDonald’s, Blanchard Valley Hospital, Senior Citizen Center, and Mennonite Home Communities--for donating the free breakfast each month.  Our students and staff look forward to hosting these events each year.

The financial report on this page shows our general fund information for the 2022 fiscal year.  We have been able to achieve financial stability due to the cost-saving measures that have been put in place over the last several years.  Our district spends $3265 less than the state average per pupil, but achievement levels for the district are consistently near the top in the state.  This could not be achieved without the support of our parents, students, staff, and community; everyone plays an important role in helping each of our students succeed.  While our carryover balance is healthy, we are trying to be prepared for whenever there is a downturn in the economy.  If there is a cut to our state funding, our goal is to be able to continue to operate with nearly the same capacity of staff, without having to return to our taxpayers for more funding.  We will continue to look for ways to be fiscally responsible to you, our community, while still providing our students with an excellent education.

Our professional development this year with our staff will focus on using some new intervention platforms to help fill the gap for our students, especially in the areas of language arts and mathematics.  Part of the staff in-service this week will focus on these new learning platforms (IXL and I-ready).  Also, our in-service training will focus on student safety and emotional health.  On Thursday, August 25, our staff will hear from Dr. Ruby Payne on the topic of Emotional Poverty in All Demographics.  The intent of this workshop is to help our staff be able to aid our students emotionally when they are facing difficulties, thereby meeting the needs of all our students.   

On the second page of this newsletter, you will find the permanent improvement projects which were completed over the course of the past year.  These funds allow our district to make repairs and improvements to our facilities for our students and community.  While our buildings are not new, we believe the updates and upkeep with each facility make for an excellent learning environment.  We thank our community for the support of our school district and the ability to keep our district up-to-date.  

We look forward to educating the students in our district this year. This is wonderful privilege and opportunity. Thank you for your continued support of Bluffton Exempted Village Schools and the students we serve.  If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to stop in or call me at 419-358-5901.  

Greg Denecker
Superintendent, Bluffton Exempted Village School District