Marlington board discusses staffing, Esports at April 7 meeting

The Marlington Local School District Board of Education met Tuesday, April 7. This meeting took place less than a month from the last meeting on March 12, so district updates were limited. Superintendent Dan Swisher did state that they are close to offering the job of transportation coordinator to a new person to replace the retiring Sheri Sickles. Also, he gave a short update on the staffing levels for the 2026-27 school year as he sees it today. Negotiations continue with the teachers union.

At the last meeting in March, Swisher had announced that Esports was being looked at as another student offering. He mentioned that the Lake Local School District has had this program for 12 years, and they are working with them to get this on board at Marlington. It will cost less than $30,000 to bring this forward, and Bob Foss, the treasurer, has found money to fund this new offering. Swisher hopes to be able to announce this officially in May or June. Esports for students is a valuable tool for personal and academic growth, providing a pathway to develop essential skills and connect with peers in a structured environment.

Swisher also announced that there will be an administrative change in the middle school as Michael Risaliti, the current middle school principal, has asked to return to the classroom.

A new Project Lead the Way grant was announced for $10,000. This grant will be used to strengthen and expand the existing PLTW engineering career-technical pathway through targeted investments in equipment, technology and instructional resources that directly enhance student learning experiences. These upgrades will allow students to engage in more advanced design, prototyping and testing aligned with real-world industry standards. The funds will also support the acquisition of 3D printers, laser cutters, robotics kits and electrical components to strengthen project-based learning across all courses. Renee Kaley, the curriculum director, was instrumental in getting this grant and will institute it into Marlington’s courses.

On the subject of safety, Swisher gave a review of the many drills that are conducted each school year in the interest of safety. There are nine rapid dismissals for fire drills, four tornado drills, three functional or lockdown drills and one theoretical drill, where student participation is optional.

Rick Baxter, the president of the Alliance Chamber of Commerce and Alliance Area Development Foundation, was at the meeting to bring the board and others up to date on what is happening in Alliance. And it is a lot. He spoke of Morgan Engineering investing $25 million into its business with the expectation of 43 jobs. Robertson Heating and Cooling is building a 93,000-square-foot warehouse with 22 additional loading docks and several additional jobs. Crucible Industries, doing business as Salco, was given a $100,000 grant and loaned $840,550 at 2% interest from the city to increase its business with the expectation of having 26 more machining jobs.

He had a long list of new restaurants opening in Alliance. These included Chick-fil-A, Take 5 Oil Change, Wingstop, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Green Beans Coffee Shop, Pulp Juice and Smoothies, Jalisco’s Mexican, Townies Bar and Grill, Spicy Bravo Mexican Restaurant, owned by Mi Casa, and Carnation Center Zook Coffee. He also mentioned the new Alliance City Schools culinary arts building, and a new Alliance YMCA associated with an Aultman Clinic is being discussed. New retail businesses include Ballher Brand/Traditions, Mathes Marketing, East Main Vintage and Nailed It Wood Products. Other venues included summer concert nights at the downtown Carnation Caboose and stage/amphitheater.

Swisher talked about the legislative landscape at this time, with multiple bills in Ohio being discussed along with initiatives involving the elimination of property taxes. Swisher announced that Rick Baxter would be coming in April and that he hoped to bring the Marlington food services coordination into a board meeting for a presentation. Finally, Swisher stated that he had gotten notification that the Ohio Association of Public School Employees was ready to begin negotiations around March 23.

The board approved several policies after their second reading and the amended high school program of study and approved the Stark County Health Department contract and several personnel items. The personnel items included the re-employing Shawn Dillon and Curt Hamilton during their service retirement.

Two high school students were recognized as High School Elk Students of the Month. They were Delaney Martz, daughter of Todd and Kelly Martz, and David White, son of Rob and Gina White.

The board went into executive session for the purpose of considering the employment and compensation of a public employee. No action was taken when they returned from the meeting.

The next BOE meeting will take place on May 14 at 6 p.m. in the DLZ at Marlington High School.